Unforeseeable Crumble and Finding Hardship's Double

by sweeT2010Tooth

Delivering Consequential News

Standing amid the bustling activity of the local post office, I patiently waited for the postmaster to free up enough time to delegate today's responsibilities. Every now and then I would have to dodge those that were diligently working. It felt more like my presence was an unwanted obstacle rather than a beneficial newly transferred employee helping to lessen the day's workload. It is not that the room was very large or there were many employees. The sorting room was rather small and only two employees remained active. Be that as it may, their rapid movements in carrying out their work had them bumping and colliding into me every few passing seconds waiting for the postmaster to come out of the office.

I have been working in the postal industry for a decade now. However, this particularly ignorant postmaster requested I retake training before being assigned my carrier route. It is such a wonder on how some like this postmaster readily disregard prior experience as though they are teaching something new. Retaking training doesn't bother me, but doing nothing around others at work makes me feel a little out of place. If others are hard at work, I might as well keep up with them or stay out of the way. Besides, working hard keeps my mind off of...other things.

Moving out to a peaceful small town like Ponyville is the exact reason why I made such a choice - to escape a place of bad memories. I told my son about the move and he seemed to be the only one upset. He was so upset that he hugged me and wouldn't let go for at least ten minutes. Maybe when he gets older he'll understand that this is just the way the world works sometimes. If your present situation is not providing you any happiness, feelings of wandering and moving on will take root.

To my relief, the postmaster reappeared, exiting and closing his office door. With a lot on his mind, he didn't make much eye contact with me as he lead the way out the front door of the post office to the town's streets. When we were both outside he drew in a deep breath of fresh air making comments on today's heavy workload and huge piles of mail to sort.

"Sir, why am I retaking training?" I asked without hesitation trying to hold back my irritation in being treated like an inexperienced mail carrier.

"It's not training, son," he quickly replied with one eye on me while trying to enjoy a short break before the day's activity. "You keep asking me the same question but my answer is not going to change. Think of this as an opportunity of getting associated with a welcoming small community. I just wanted your first day to be spent socializing with those that might want to know who is delivering their news."

"Why would anypony care who is delivering their mail?"

"In a small community such as this you'd be surprised, son. Besides, think of it more as 'news' than 'mail' and you'll see things in a different light."

"All right, fine. Its 'news' but why would anypony care about who is delivering it?"

"Son," began the postmaster giving full attention to his new worker, "you come from a big city and might not understand the way small town folk see things. You may have been comfortable having complete strangers affect your personal private life but, out here, we care about who we're dealing with on a daily basis. Friends and family intertwine to form communal living. How many neighbors did you get along with back in the city?"

"I believe two or three," I said trying to think about who my neighbors were in that city but only remembering a couple off the top of my head.

"Well, you're in a different environment now, son," he said turning his attention back to the outside air, "one that'll embrace you wholeheartedly. You'd be surprised at how much you could have in common with those whose 'news' is delivered by your hoof. You have a chance at becoming part of this accepting community, son. Let them get to know and take you in as one of their own."

"Hold on a minute! Sir, just because I didn’t know my neighbors too well doesn’t mean I need lessons in communicating with others. As a mail carrier having years of experience, I can assure you that my social skills are more than adequate. Speaking to others is one the reasons I took a postal worker’s position. It is a worthwhile experience to talk with others on a mail carrier route. Besides, you make it sound like I'm going to be brainwashed by a cult or my daily job is to build friendships with the townsfolk. I’m not put off by the latter as making new friends would be fantastic, but the first better not be true."

The postmaster couldn't help but burst out laughing when he heard these words. His laugh lasted for a few minutes while I stood nearby eyeing him curiously trying to figure out what was so funny.

"Ah, city folk," he said wiping a tear from his eye. "Son, I'm only trying to get you acquainted with the local community. I'm not trying to brainwash you, force you to have friends, or...whatever it is you're thinking about. I'm merely trying to get you to understand the importance in delivering 'news' from a trusted hoof."

"I understand that sir, but-"

"-ah, right on time as always."

I was cutoff mid-sentence as a mare came bounding happily towards us. The gray mare's eyes were shut while she made her way down the street. I noticed that a postal worker's hat sat upon her blonde-haired head making it clear this is where she worked. As she came closer joyfully humming to herself, she opened both eyes, one normal and the other lazy. She gave a short enthusiastic wave of one foreleg in our direction to which the postmaster returned it with a smile on his face.

"Sorry I'm late, sir. I was just dropping off Dinky at school," she said within speaking distance of the postmaster and I.

"No need for apologizes, Ditzy. In fact, you're right on time. I'm not sure why you're always convinced that you're late," replied the postmaster.

"Oh, right. Silly me." The mare blushed in embarrassment.

"Right. Introductions. Ditzy, this is our newest employee. I want him to follow you around on your route today so as to get acquainted with the town. I'm sure you'll both get to know each other better, but right now I need to get back inside as there is a lot of work to do today. If you two need anything, let me know."

With that said the postmaster disappeared into the building leaving me behind with an awkward stare from a fellow coworker I didn't know yet. Her wide open smile was freaking me out a little so I tried to come up with a greeting to break the silence.

"So, hi, um. My name is-"

"-Oh, wow! A new pony! We're gonna have so much fun today: we'll go visit a few friends, eat muffins together, learn all about each other, tell funny stories, maybe go frolicking through tow-"

"-Frolicking?!"

"Uh-huh. Yeah, we're going to have so much fun today, mister."

Frolicking. I lowered my head into my hoof trying to curb an oncoming headache. I closed both eyes for a second so I wouldn't have to see that outlandish smile and sighed a deep breath.

"Listen. Let's just get this day over with as I'm not in mood to go...frolicking."

"Okay, mister. You might change your mind, though."

She gave me a wink and headed into the post office to get her mail bag sorted specifically for that carrier route. I stayed outside in not wanting to spend the day with a childish mare. I didn't go to work everyday to play games meant for fillies or have fun.

Today brought on one irritation after another. I must had been outside waiting for nearly half an hour before the gray mare emerged from the building. We were about ready to head off when she noticed she had the wrong mail bag. She then blushed and went back inside. I continued to wait outside watching the sun rise higher into the sky. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally came back out with the right mail bag.

As said before, I've been working in the postal industry for a decade now so following this gray mare around felt a little more than strange. Everywhere we went, ponies waved to her and she waved back. On several occasions we stopped to have idle chit chat and conversations with the locals. This didn't bother me. What did bother me is that she kept referring to me as some inexperienced new worker needing her guidance.

"Hey there, Rose. Those flowers look awfully pretty," Derpy said to a mare tending to a small rose garden in front of her house. Ditzy bent down to get a good smell from them.

"Why thank you, Derpy. Who's this handsome stallion? Haven't seen him around before," the pony said looking me up and down.

"Just a new inhabitant to Ponyville, ma'am," I said with a tip of my hat.

"Well, it's nice to meet you too, you stud," she said giving me a wink.

For once today, I was glad when Ditzy broke the silence. I felt like this conversation would have made a turn for the worse.

"Oh, him?" Ditzy said raising her head to look at me. "I'm taking him along my route today per the boss's orders. He's like my little protégé."

I felt a little rise in agitation from hearing that last word. She was treating me like an underling that needed direction and guidance. As we were leaving this pony to tend to her garden, Ditzy accidentally stepped on some of the flowers. She repeatedly apologized for being clumsy and not paying attention. This wouldn't have been such a bad thing if she wasn't still standing on the said flowers. I almost had to push her off of them to save what little life they had left.

The monotony of the morning was spent in this manner of not only delivering mail but speaking with every single pony we passed. The strangest part in these conversations is that each pony referred to Ditzy as Derpy starting with that pony tending the rose garden. Why? By the time lunch came, I requested that we leave each other's company for a short break. She, however, insisted with pushes and shoves that we visit the local bakery for some delicious muffins. I had no alternative but to agree to this 'lunch.'

Entering the bakery, we were greeted by an overly joyful pink pony. She asked many prying questions about me to which I responded that I had already answered these questions when I first arrived. Before I had gotten off the train, I was nearly attacked by this pony curious about my move to Ponyville. She stopped asking questions after a while and seemed to know what Ditzy was going to order before she could say anything. Quicker than a flash, she dove into the back of the shop to get fresh muffins for Ditzy and I. We both thanked the pink pony and exited the bakery making me glad to get away from that pestering.

A thought from an earlier conversation came across my mind.

"Ditzy, why do some of the ponies around here call you 'Derpy' if you don't mind my asking? That pony tending to the rose garden mentioned that name."

"Derpy's my name, silly!"

"And Ditzy is not?" I said a little confused.

"Ditzy is my name, too."

"Is Derpy a nickname, then? I don't see how that can be an actual name."

"You can say that it is a nickname if you want, mister."

"Why the name, Derpy? It seems a little insulting."

The smile she held all day promptly disappeared from her face. She turned to look away from me sitting down where we stood.

"Well, the name Derpy was given to me a long time ago due to my clumsy nature. It IS a little insulting, mister. But I've only learned to accept it as time went on. One particular pony called me by that name a long time ago and it has been with me since. Gossiping and rumors spread it around I suppose. A name is only a name and doesn't say who I am."

She turned around with her face forming the bright awkward smile again.

"So, mister, how about those delicious muffins?"

I reached into the bag given to us by the pink pony, pulled out a muffin, and handed it to Ditzy. The moment it touched her hoof it crumbled to pieces and blew away in the wind. I'd not believe such an event could happen if I didn't see it with my own two eyes. Ditzy was a bit sad and confused with me not able to say anything. I reached into the bag for another muffin but the rest had fallen apart. A cold shiver ran down my back as this occurrence didn't seem normal.

---

[/hr]

The afternoon offered the same amount of aggravation as the morning. We continued Ditzy's mail route to deliver mail stopping to talk to everypony. Some ponies we didn't talk to because we had already greeted them in the morning hours. More than once Ditzy caused other ponies problems. For starters, she accidentally tripped over some ponies trying to move a heavy object down stairs. She later collided into an unaware citizen while looking back to talk with me. Next, she gave a pony the wrong mail while distracted by idle conversation. Good thing she realized the mistake a few seconds later. Additionally, she placed a muffin into a mailbox rather than actual mail.

I wanted to argue with the insulting nickname but her actions validated it. By the day's end, my desire to part ways was reaching a feverish point. That moment came when we finally gathered the outgoing mail needed to be collected for sorting. We made our way back to the post office with the collected mail. I carried said mail to feel like I actually did something for the day.

When we got back, Ditzy took the mail into the back room and I noticed the postmaster eyeing an open letter in his hoof with a somewhat serious expression and his other hoof raised to his chin. His eyes raced back and forth as if studying every word. When Ditzy reemerged from the back room she said her goodbyes before heading off to pick up her daughter from school. The postmaster said nothing but eyed her with a serious look on his face. After leaving, the postmaster returned to reading the letter now scratching his head.

"This is a little harsh," he whispered to himself. "How am I going to break the news?"

"Excuse me, sir," I said interrupting his deep concentration. "I didn't transfer to this post office to be treated like an inexperienced mail carrier. All day I've had to follow that mare around only to see her commit mistake after mistake. I don't see how this day would have provided me with a real learning experience. I could have gotten to know the town's citizens well enough on my own. If you could just please give me my own route, I'll be more than happy to quit complaining and start working the job I've been assigned. I need some work. Any work. To keep my mind off my wife leaving me and taking my little colt away. Assigning a day's worth of aggravation is not going to help with that or provide any beneficial learning. If I'm being too abrupt or forward, then I'm sorry sir. But this needs to be made clear."

"Wife and colt?" he said raising both eyes to meet mine. "I'm very sorry to hear that. No, no, I understand. I'll get you a mail carrier route tomorrow. It seems I should value your employment a bit more."

"Thank you, sir. I'll be heading home now."

"Can you hold on for one second and stay a while longer?"

I halted my exit to wait further instructions while he kept reading. Once in a while he looked up to the nearest window to look outside as though seeing somepony. Curiosity got the better of me and I followed his gaze to see Ditzy outside the building fiddling with some of her belongings in a pack carried at her side. The postmaster gave out a sigh.

"Right. This letter in my hoof is supposed to be given to Ditzy. It is from her husband. Some of her mail goes through me for...various reasons. Normally, I would give her this mail but...and this is a long shot...I think you should give it to her. If I'm right, this will help you both in the long run. You still have a few moments before she leaves for the day. So, get to it."

He handed me the letter with a serious look on his face. I took the letter while feeling a bit of suspicion from this act. Nonetheless I walked outside to see Ditzy still shuffling around in the bag.

"Hi, Ditzy."

"Oh, Hi!" She said giving me her full attention.

"The postmaster wanted me to give you this letter that was delivered to him," I said handing her the letter to which she immediately began reading its words. "I'll be leaving now. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Take care."

I watched her read the letter with fast eye movements and started to walk away. Being glad the day was over, all I wanted to do was relax at home. There was enough on my mind and today's activities didn't help to draw thought away from my own problems. I was about ten paces from where I had just been when I heard a loud wail. I turned around to find Ditzy on the ground audibly and visibly crying. She desperately tried to cover up the despair with a foreleg as many tears hit the ground. I didn't know what to do and my only recourse was to approach her. Nopony came out from inside the post office and none were found nearby. I was the only one there.

"...Ditzy? A-are you okay?"

She looked up at me with tear-filled eyes and said one thing. "I-I just don't know what went wrong!"

I stood there speechless trying to form a comforting response.

I said nothing.

Author's Note:

No, her husband is not dead. This story has nothing to do with death. There is a social issue I don't see touched upon too often on this site and I'm going to make an attempt in expressing its impact. Building off of that I'm aiming for a much deeper message that I'm sure most of you will quite enjoy. So, stay tuned everyone! There's more to come!