Derpy stared up at the stars, a sort of sadness creeping over her. It was the hundredth time she’d come to this park, and yet she still missed him. She knew she always would.
The grey pegasus shivered, the cool of night beginning to settle over the world. Luna had already begun the task of raising the moon, and the park was quickly emptying. She tried to ignore the strange looks from the normal ponies returning to their normal homes and normal families. After all, normal ponies didn’t come to the park each night after dark and stare at the sky.
Normal. It was a word Derpy had come to despise. She wasn’t normal enough, and everypony had made sure she knew it. Just because her eyes didn’t point the same way didn’t mean she was blind. She’d seen the stares, the chuckles, the parents shooing their children away from her. It wasn’t her fault she didn’t look normal! It wasn’t her fault she tended to mess up everything she touched! It wasn’t her fault she loved muffins! It wasn’t her fault she didn’t have a proper talent… just delivering mail.
That’s all she was, really. The stupid mailpony that couldn’t even deliver letters correctly. She’d tried so hard to fit in, to make friends. But she just wasn’t normal enough. Even her name was bizarre.
That’s when she’d met him. The most un-normal pony in the whole universe.
It had been like any other Thursday. A few ponies milling around, but most inside enjoying lunch. Derpy had been wandering down the center of town, trying to find a vendor that would sell her something.
She’d heard the sound of hooves pounding towards her. Derpy froze, spinning around.
“Run!” A strange brown pony with a messy mane rounded the corner, galloping at a breakneck pace.
“What?” She called back. The few ponies still on the streets hadn’t even turned to look at the stranger, still engrossed in their own conversations. But surely he hadn’t been talking to her?
“I said, run!” he yelled as he flew past her. “Doesn’t anypony listen to me?”
Derpy blinked, unsure of what to do. Any normal pony would’ve rolled their eyes and written the poor fellow off as mad. But Derpy was not normal. So she ran.
The grey pegasus flew down the streets after him, panting as he ducked around shops and jumped over haystacks. Suddenly, and without warning, a tremendous explosion rang out from behind her. Screeching, Derpy increased her pace, her hooves barely skimming the ground as she ran.
The brown earth pony disappeared into a dark alley, and Derpy skidded after him. She’d come this way many times, trying to avoid the main streets where ponies would stare and mock her. Once she’d rounded the corner, she froze.
The pony had stopped running, and instead was fiddling with the door of a strange blue box. Police Box, it read. Derpy had never heard of a police box. How was a box supposed to arrest anyone?
“What is that?” Derpy asked, her eyes wide. First the strange pony, then the explosion, now a box she’d never seen before in her life.
The stallion spun around, frowning slightly. “I told you to run, not follow me,” he complained, though he didn’t seem surprised to see her.
“I… I’m sorry,” Derpy stammered. Why couldn’t she do anything right?
He studying her for a moment, still frowning. She flinched, waiting for the derogatory comment on her eyes, or perhaps a joke about how stupid she was.
“Well, you’re here now,” he said at last. “Might as well help me out. Say, what’s your name?”
“Derpy Hooves…” she muttered, not meeting his eyes. What an awful name.
“Okay, Miss Hooves. I need you to tell me exactly where the town hall is.”
Needless to say, the rest of the day had been terribly, horribly, wonderfully chaotic. After many, many near-death experiences, the cyberponies attacking Ponyville had finally been vanquished. Not once during the thrilling chases, the tense waiting, and the exciting victories had the mysterious pony treated Derpy like she was strange. He’d never brought up her eyes, or her clumsy gait, or the way she’d stared at him when he rambled on about physics and technology and things she could never hope to understand.
“You aren’t normal, are you?” she asked between shaky breaths as they watched the last of the cyberponies fall.
He looked at her, frowning again, and immediately she regretted asking him. After a moment, however, he gave her a smile smile. “No, Miss Hooves, I suppose I am not. But who would ever want to be normal? It’s so much more fun this way.”
“Who are you, really?” Derpy continued, allowing herself to smile back.
“Me? I’m the Doctor.”
Almost as quickly as he’d come, the mysterious pony vanished. She was sad to see him go, though admittedly, he’d almost gotten her killed on several occasions. But he was the first pony who had told her it wasn’t so bad not being normal.
Thank you. Those were the last things he’d said before ducking into the dark alleyway with the strange box.
The next day, Derpy could hardly believe any of it had happened. As she stumbled over the ruins of the town hall, the young pegasus tried to recount the events of the previous night. She realized, with a pang of sadness, that she missed him. Was it possible to miss someone you’d only just met? Surely that wasn’t normal?
Derpy rounded the corner, approaching the place where he’d disappeared. She slowed, peering into the alleyway. It was empty. No blue box.
Perhaps she’d imagined the whole thing?
Suddenly, a strange noise began to fill the deserted street. The leaves on the ground began to swirl as the faint outline of something began to fade in and out of sight.
Derpy frowned, shaking her head. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t. The blue box.
The strange metallic hum died down, and the door creaked open. A brown pony stepped out, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
“What… how…” Derpy began, finding herself unable to form a complete thought.
“Oh that?” The Doctor asked, seeming to only just notice her, though again offering no sign that he was surprised to see her. “You didn’t see that, did you?”
She nodded.
“Well, nevermind that,” he said.
“Who are you?” Derpy asked, frowning.
“I told you. I’m the Doctor.” He flashed her a smile.
“No, really. Who are you? Where did you come from?”
The Doctor shrugged. “Oh, I’m just a traveler. Just passing through.”
Derpy sighed, unsatisfied. It was clear he wasn’t going to tell her. Fine, whatever. Normal people answered questions, and she didn’t want him to be normal.
“Why did you come back?” she tried, genuinely curious. The cyberponies were gone, to her knowledge, and it seemed they’d been the only reason for his visit.
“I came back,” he answered, his tone serious, “because I forgot something.”
“What?” Derpy asked, frowning.
“You.”
The next year had been the most amazing in Derpy’s life. She’d seen everything. Galaxies, planets, and worlds that nopony could comprehend. While Ponyville celebrated Twilight’s victories over the enemy, they had no idea another of their citizens was also saving the world. Many worlds, in fact.
Of course, there’d been times when she’d faced death. The planet made of books had been absolutely terrifying, and she didn’t want to think about the ponies made of stone. There had even been a time when he’d left her.
For days she’d sprinted around the foreign planet, dodging aliens and searching every crevice for his blue box. She was almost convinced he wouldn’t return.
She was wrong, of course.
“I thought you weren’t coming back!” she told him as he pulled her into the TARDIS. “I’ve been looking for you for nearly four days!”
“What, you didn’t trust me?” he asked, smiling mischievously.
“Well… I… Of course I trust you.” Derpy said with a sigh, matching his smile.
“Good,” he murmured. Suddenly, he frowned. “Four days? Really?” He pulled a lever on the TARDIS. “No. Really? Four days? But… That’s impossible!”
Derpy laughed.
It had been wonderful, that year. Nothing about it had come even remotely close to normal. The Doctor, she learned, had a way to make anyone feel special. The way he called her brilliant every time she noticed something that other ponies hadn’t… The way he protected her from aliens when it would’ve been easier to just leave her behind… The banana muffins they’d traveled to 29 different galaxies to locate ingredients for…
Just as quickly as the year had begun, it ended.
It was Hearth’s Warming Eve, and she was so excited to be sharing it with him. He seemed weary about something, always glancing at the sky as they wandered down the decorated streets of Ponyville. He’d insisted they return to her home for the holiday, even though she’d dreamed of spending it on some magnificent planet far away.
In a heartbeat, the peace ended. It had been dangerous, so very dangerous. Hordes of aliens, the likes of which she’d never seen before. Derpy closed her eyes, willing the memories to go away.
They’d been stuck on the enemy spaceship, trapped with no hope of escape, just one teleporter between them. The TARDIS lost, captured.
She’d begged and pleaded, but there was simply no reasoning with him. Derpy found herself back in Ponyville, alone.
She fought off a tear as she continued to stare up at the stars. He was still out there, somewhere. He had to be. He always got out of tricky situations, and this was no exception. He was okay. He’d survived. He’d come back. He always came back…
She sniffed, stretching her wings and preparing to return home. She was back on mail duty, and Derpy would have to get up early to make her morning rounds. The more tired she was, the more mistakes she made.
As she headed down the path and out of the park, the pegasus caught something in the corner of her eye. A grey pony was standing in the shadows, watching her curiously. She paused, frowning. Derpy was used to being stared at, but this stranger was rather giving her the creeps.
Without warning, he came trotting towards her. She eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing.
“Ah, there you are, Miss Hooves.” He announced with a grin. “Come on, then. We’ve got things to do!”
Derpy blinked, but said nothing. He knew her name. Well, everyone knew her name. She was the butt end of every joke, the favored topic of local gossip.
“Oh, yes, of course,” he continued, still grinning. “You don’t recognize me, do you? Must be the bowtie.” He patted the accessory fondly. “I wear a bowtie now. Bowties are cool.”
Derpy continued to stare, opening and closing her mouth several times as she searched for something to say to him.
“Please tell me it hasn’t been that long,” he whined, frowning all of a sudden. “It’s only been a few days, right? The clock’s a bit messed up after the crash, but I can’t be that far off, really. And I’m still learning to drive the thing… Oh, look at that! The stars are bright tonight!”
“Who are you?” Derpy questioned at last. This pony was certainly not normal. So un-normal, in fact…
“Me?” The grey pony chuckled. “Well, I’m just a madpony with a box.”