Long story short, Derpy was able to get Fluttershy to foalsit Dinky for her while she went out on a date with Time Turner. The mail mare arrived at Time Turner’s clock shop around 6pm; she had made her hair up a bit nicer than normally and was wearing a blue sun dress. Time Turner, meanwhile, had simple put on a nice green necktie; he attempted to slick his hair back nicer, but it always seemed to spike back up on its own.
“You look quite lovely,” said Time Turner.
“Thanks,” said Derpy, blushing. “You don’t look too bad yourself….So, got any particular plans?”
“I was thinking we’d have some dinner at the Blue Bridle,” said Time Turner, clearly nervous. “Then we could just have a walk and get to know each other. That sound alright to you?”
“Sounds good to me,” said Derpy, with a little smile.
The Blue Bridle was nicer than the average fast food joint, but not overly fancy. So thankfully, Time Turner and Derpy were dressed just right for the place. They were seated almost immediately, and while things started off a bit slow, Derpy finally broke the silence.
“So, tell me something about yourself,” said Derpy. “I’ve heard plenty of stories involving Doctor Whooves. But now I’d like to hear about Time Turner.”
“Well, there isn’t a lot to know, really,” said Time Turner. “I was born and raised in Trottingham. Born to a unicorn couple.”
“Then how did you end up being an earth pony,” asked Derpy.
“Genetic anomaly,” said Time Turner. “One of those one in a million incidents. Most of my family are involved in the watch business, so it seemed only natural that I’d follow that same path. I never really wanted to do anything else. Time made the most sense to me. That must sound so dull.”
“Not at all,” said Derpy. “You should always do what you love. And with your knowledge of clocks and such, I’m sure that’s helped you in telling stories to the school ponies.”
“True,” said Time Turner. “What about you? What made you want to become a mail carrier?”
“Necessity more than anything,” said Derpy. “I had to be able to support Dinky.”
“I see,” said Time Turner. “Would it be safe to assume that the father is a unicorn?”
“You would assume correctly,” said Derpy. “He was an on again off again kinda coltfriend who bailed once he found out I was pregnant. He was from one of those privileged families, just looking for a good time, and it didn’t help that I had my condition.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Time Turner.
Derpy could tell by his tone, that he meant it when he said he was sorry.
“It really sucked when it happened,” said Derpy. “But, I wouldn’t trade Dinky for the world. I bet she wishes she had a mother with normal eyes though. I know she has trouble with the other ponies in school.”
“She loves you very much,” said Time Turner. “She’s told me enough times.”
“Well that’s good to hear,” said Derpy, with a tiny smile. “Bet you’re wondering how this happened to me in the first place?”
“I wasn’t going to impose,” said Time Turner.
“No, it’s fine,” said Derpy. “It used to bug me; a lot. When I was a filly, a couple years younger than Dinky, I got a really bad fever that took away my hearing for a while. Hence, the speech impediment.”
“Oh,” said Time Turner in a perplexed tone.
“You didn’t notice,” asked Derpy, also perplexed. “That’s probably the second thing ponies notice about me.”
“I don’t know,” said Time Turner. “I just never really noticed.”
Derpy was amazed by this colt; she had never come across anypony like him.
“Well,” continued Derpy. “For close to two years, I had no proper hearing. And one day, I somehow got away from my mother, and got in an accident where a cart hit me.”
“Oh dear,” said Time Turner.
“I woke up a few days later in the hospital with a bandage over my right eye,” continued Derpy. “First thing I noticed was that I could hear my parents talking to the doctors. I think at the time I only knew it was them, because they were saying my name to the doctors and sounding so scared over my well being. Then, a few days after that, the bandages were removed and I got to see my eye. It wouldn’t stay in place, I could still see out of it, but it wouldn’t stay in place. In a way, it would’ve been better had my eye lost it’s vision. Because with my vision being the way it is now, I often have trouble focusing on the right object or direction.”
“Then what happened,” asked Time Turner.
“Despite their reluctance, they let me enroll in school,” continued Derpy. “Of course they had good reason to be concerned. It was during my first year of school, that I was given the nickname Derpy Hooves. Not all the school ponies were mean to me, but most of them were.”
“How did you cope,” said Time Turner.
“A couple years later,” continued Derpy. “I finally earned my cutie mark. But I wasn’t really sure what it meant. I mean, it was a cluster of bubbles. I only recall getting it because I was playing around with some actual bubbles with some other ponies in my class. I thought no longer being a blank flank would help…but it didn’t. Most of the ponies didn’t get what my cutie mark was. Most of them said it was because my head was full of bubbles, and nothing else.”
“Fillies and colts can be so cruel,” said Time Turner. “I got made fun of some because I was an earth pony in a unicorn family. Though, sounds like you had it worse…I didn’t mean offense.”
“No no, it’s fine,” said Derpy. “One day, during the winter, I was just walking home, not really thinking of anything in particular, when I met a strange earth pony, around my age I think, though he was still a blank flank. He had a curly mane, and a funny accent, and was wearing an overly long scarf that he often tripped over.”
As Derpy got to this part of the story, Time Turner seemed to gain a lot more interest.
“Some other ponies began making fun of his clumsiness,” Derpy continued. “So I went over and defended him, shooing them off.”
“Thank you kindly, ma’am,” said the young colt.
“No problem,” said young Derpy. “I hate dealing with bullies. Why were they picking on you?”
“My mum decided to perm my mane,” said the colt. “And this scarf here is so bloody long, that I’m having the hardest time walking properly. They also seem to thing my accent is funny.”
“Where are you from,” asked young Derpy.
“Trottingham,” said the young colt. “I’m here with my mum and dad visiting some relative.”
“Why aren’t you with your parents,” asked young Derpy.
“I sort of ran off on my own,” said the colt with goofy smile. “I wanted to be able to explore on my own. That’s when those bullies showed up and starting poking fun.”
“I get that all the time,” said young Derpy with a frown.
“Why do you get made fun of,” asked the young colt.
“It’s not obvious,” said young Derpy.
“No,” said the young colt.
“I have this funny eye,” said young Derpy.
“That’s it,” said the young colt. “That’s not really all that strange, really. I mean, you can see in two different directions right?”
“Yeah,” said young Derpy.
“Sounds cool to me,” said the young colt. “Course, I suppose you need to work on that so it doesn’t get too confusing of where to go. But, if you were to control it right, I bet you could tell if somepony was trying to sneak up on you or something.”
“Doesn’t help with my voice,” said young Derpy.
“I can’t really tell,” said the young colt. “I’m sure my voice sounds funny to you. At least you have a cutie mark.”
“I get made fun of that, too,” said young Derpy, frowning again.
“Why would anypony make fun of that,” said the young colt.
“Because they’re bubbles,” said young Derpy, showing the young colt her cutie mark.
“Oh, I like bubbles,” said the young colt with a big smile. “They make me feel really happy! That must be your special talent!”
“Making others feel happy,” asked young Derpy.
“Of course,” said the young colt.
“Because you have such a bubbly personality, how could somepony not feel happy when around you,” interrupted Time Turner.
“Yeah,” said Derpy. “That’s exactly what the little fella said. How did you know?”
“Because…I was that little fella,” said Time Turner with a stunned look.
“That can’t be,” said Derpy. “This colt had a curly mane.”
“When I was really little my mother gave me a perm,” said Time Turner. “And one of my grandparents gave me this overly long scarf. I mainly remember these from picture though, because I was quite young. And…I do recall once meeting a filly in the snow. I told my mother about it and she figured I was just making up a story. She didn’t think a pony would have bubbles for a cutie mark.”
“I don’t believe it,” said Derpy in amazement. “You and I have met in another time and place!”
“In a sense, yes,” said Time Turner, also amazed. “Sounds like something out of one my stories.”
“Is that why you’re so interested in me,” asked Derpy. “Because we met all those years ago?”
“I didn’t know that was you back then,” said Time Turner. “In fact, because my mother insisted that it was just an overactive imagination, I began to believe it as I got older. It must’ve been some sort of subconscious tick when I saw you again for the first time again. You didn’t recognize me because I didn’t have a curly mane, a long scarf, and I’m clearly no longer a blank flank.”
“Something must’ve struck though,” said Derpy. “You not noticing my eye did take me aback a bit; brought up that memory from so long ago.”
“Truly is a small world,” said Time Turner.
After their dinner, the two went for a walk.
“I have so much to thank you for,” said Derpy.
“What do you mean,” asked Time Turner.
“That conversation we had years ago changed my life,” said Derpy. “I learned to be proud of who I was no matter what. I even embraced my nickname, Derpy Hooves. So in time, the ponies in my class stopped making fun of me.”
“And here I thought I was just a boring colt from Trottingham,” said Time Turner.
“I think you’re the greatest colt I’ve ever met,” said Derpy, with a bright smile.
She then leaned in and kissed Time Turner. Naturally, he had a shocked look on his face, but it didn’t take long for him to start enjoying it. After pulling away, Time Turner had goofy, but cute, smile on his face.
“So, I take it you’ll want to go out again,” said Time Turner with a hint of sarcasm.
“Does the mayor dye her mane,” said Derpy with a sheepish grin.
Although, this remark confused the time artisan.
“Oh, I guess you weren’t aware of that rumor,” said Derpy with a giggle. “Yes, I meant yes.”
“Fantastic,” said Time Turner with another goofy smile.
He leaned in to give her another kiss.