Arthur v 2.0 by Alexannah
"No, you're not having a horse." Rose crossed her arms firmly and glared at the Doctor, who stared beseechingly back.
"I let you have Mickey!" The Doctor stroked the horse's nose, and it whinnied appreciatively.
"That's entirely different!"
"How so?"
"Mickey's a human being, not a pet."
The Doctor thought for a moment. "I let you have the guinea pig."
"Which is a lot smaller than that!"
"Don't listen to her, Arthur," the Doctor said, giving the horse a pat. "You're the perfect size."
"Doctor, stop baby-talking the horse." She paused. "Arthur—it's not the horse from the spaceship, is it?"
"No, don't be silly. He's living out his days in the eighteenth century. This is Arthur point two. Or Arthur the second. Or … I haven't quite decided, something along those lines."
Rose's mouth twitched. "Not José?"
"What?"
"As in, no way José."
"Oh, come on, Rose!"
Rose rolled her eyes. "You're really attached to this thing, aren't you?"
The Doctor didn't answer, engaged in rubbing down the second Arthur's nose while murmuring something that sounded disturbingly like 'who's a pretty boy then'.
"A spaceship is no place for a horse. You'll feel different once it's spacesick everywhere. And you, mister, will be clearing it up. Along with anything that comes out the other end."
The Doctor looked back at her. "No, it'll be fine. He's not a real animal, Rose."
"What?"
The Doctor peeled off the horse's face, and Rose gaped. "He's like the robots?"
"I made him," the Doctor said proudly. "Inspired by them. Space-age clockwork horse. No need to feed, clean up after, or exercise daily. What do you think?"
"I think you're mental," Rose said. She hesitated. "Do you have full control over how he moves?"
"Yep. Why?"
Rose grinned. "In that case, dibs on the first ride!"
The End