Lyra's Human 2: Derpy's Human

by pjabrony

140: At a Crossderps

Derpy had gone to bed early the night before. With Dinky off at school and her work done for the week, she felt free to set her own schedule. Normally she liked routine, but delivering mail had grated on her so much that she felt both physically tired and eager to get to her time with Karyn. So when she woke up and still saw darkness out the window, she rolled over and fell back to sleep.

When she woke again she flew up, assuming that she had overslept and would be late, but in fact she was perfectly on schedule, and felt that, for once, everything was going her way. She washed up, put on her saddlebag, and flew to meet Karyn.

The brief relapse into winter had passed, and spring was in bloom, even if the trees weren’t. Derpy’s keen nose told her that a squall had passed by a day or so before, and probably they were soaking up the water from the ground to begin growing.

Bouncing into Karyn’s rooms, she cast off her invisibility and gave Karyn a warm grin and a hug. “Hey, friend! How’s everything?! I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you.”

“Good morning, Derpy.” Karyn said it flat and placidly.

“Do you want help making breakfast?”

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes, but not famished. If there’s something you want to do first...”

“No, let’s eat first.” Karyn took out the pans and began cooking. Derpy saw that the coffee maker hadn’t been touched, but Karyn still seemed awake enough. Between the warmth and both of their states of alertness, Derpy thought they could let it pass.

“Do you have anything fun planned for today?” Derpy asked through bites of toast and jam.

“No, I don’t.”

“Do you just want to hang out here?”

Karyn didn’t answer for a long time. Placidly, Derpy finished eating. Normally, she would wonder if she did anything wrong, but she knew she hadn’t, and just needed to wait for Karyn to be ready.

“Derpy, can we sit down and talk about some serious stuff?”

“Of course. But let’s clean up first and make sure that we’re not going to get interrupted.”

Karyn smiled for the first time that day, just a little, and put the dishes in the sink. Derpy took the towel and waited to dry them. She checked for other distractions, but so long as the phone didn’t ring and Gayle didn’t stop by, they were free.

Derpy didn’t know where to go, but since Karyn sat down at the kitchen table, just as they had for breakfast, she joined her there. It reminded her of the times that she would have to redress Dinky and would sit similar.

The one difference was that in her house the background noise was the ticking of a clock. Here it was only the fan on Karyn’s laptop. Derpy looked over, again waiting for Karyn to start.

“What’s going to happen to us?”

She snapped back to attention. Now she was afraid that she’d missed something. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve been friends for a long time.”

“Over three years.”

“Is that long?” Karyn didn’t want to call Derpy old, but it seemed like a long time to her. “Ever since I came to college. But I’m not going to be going anymore. What are we going to do then?”

“Does anything have to change?”

“I know it sounds silly, but I always thought I would outgrow ponies. But that was before I met one. So I don’t know if it’s right to still have half my heart in Equestria.”

“Ooh, nice expression.”

Karyn huffed. “Please, Derpy.”

“Sorry. But I think you’re being a little silly about this. Ponies are people just like humans. I understand that our worlds can’t cross over. But I know a couple of humans, like Gayle...and Albert. I don’t worry about them.”

“You have a point. But like I said, it’s different from before I knew you. Anyway, that’s not the main issue.”

“What is?”

On the laptop, Karyn brought up a calendar application and switched it from weekly to monthly, then moved it back and forth a few screens. “Soon I’ll be done with school. After that I’m going to have to decide what to do. What I decide will make a difference about how we’ll be interacting.”

“What are your options?”

“Briefly, I could try to go to graduate school. I’d either stay here or find a different school and keep studying IT. Or I could say that I’m finished with school and decide to look for a job.”

Derpy thought about it. Dinky was in a similar situation, but going to school had been a bonus for her. Finding what you wanted to do was easier as a pony. Karyn had to make a choice.

“It’s a big decision,” she said, not really knowing what else she could say. Derpy wasn’t the best when it came to important things.

“Here’s what really bugs me about it. I need to make the decision sooner rather than later. There’s no deadline, but I’ve got to apply for schools or for jobs now. That means that I can’t wait and get more information.”

“Can you do both?”

“Apply for jobs and schools? Yes, but in the first place it means that whichever I decide on, I’ll have wasted my effort for the other. And it means that I’ll probably make a half-effort on both. But more than that, I need to stop running from the choice and make a decision.”

Derpy approved of this sentiment, but something about it nagged at her.

“The thing is,” Karyn continued, “it’s the first real big decision about my life that I’ve had to make completely on my own. When I decided to come to college, it was out of necessity. And USCI was close to home and they would take me with my grades. It’s the kind of school that takes local people. If I had chosen college a year before, I could have done work for it. Applied to better schools, gone for scholarships or grants, stuff like that.”

She still didn’t fully understand, but Derpy did see the parallel between Karyn’s decision then and her decision now.

“Thank you,” said Karyn.

“For what?”

“For not asking why I didn’t do that. Everyone else did.”

Derpy didn’t accept the praise. She just hadn’t gotten that far yet. “The point is that you’re doing the right thing now. And I think we need to talk about this deeper.”

“That’s what I want to do. Let’s sit down again.”

“No.”

Karyn had one hand on the chair, but raised her eyebrows. “No?”

“If it’s a decision that’s this important, we can’t just sit down at the kitchen table. We need to find the right place to talk it over.”

“Is it going to change anything?”

Derpy was slightly cowed, but stuck to her point. “No...and yes. It won’t change any of the factors in your decision, but it might change your emotions, and sometimes, just facing the fear of a tough choice is enough to lead you in the right direction. And I know just the place.”

Bemused, Karyn cocked her head and invited further information, but Derpy strapped on her saddlebag and motioned her on. “I didn’t think you meant in Equestria, but of course there’s no place you’ve been on Earth that I haven’t. And somehow it seems right. If I get away from everything, maybe I can get perspective on my dilemma. If nothing else, I’ll have extra time to make it. Hmm...”

“No, you’re not going to take all your applications and fill them out there.”

“You’re getting good at reading me.”

Derpy warped back home, but almost immediately banked around two-hundred-seventy degrees to the left. It wasn’t away from Ponyville toward the train station, nor was it toward home. If Karyn had to guess, she was trying to get close to the border without actually entering the town.

Far in the distance the mountains of Canterlot loomed. They caught the eye so much that Karyn barely noticed that they were descending, and that there were some foothills where Equestrian geology had pushed up less. This was what Derpy was making for.

“One time I flew completely in the wrong direction, and I wound up all the way here before I figured it out. It’s kind of a barren area.”

The grass was only on the hills nearest town, after which they became bare rock. One of the last rolling hills kept rolling as they flew over it, as the natural—or pegasus-caused—effects of weather erosion had made a little curl in one part of the hill. There Derpy lit.

“Cool spot,” said Karyn.

“Yes. After I found it I would come here some times to clear my head. Not much of a view though.”

Indeed, it could have been a rock quarry if there had been a crew to mine it, and if ponies didn’t farm rocks instead of quarrying them.

“So here we are, what do you think we should do?”

Karyn wasn’t sure to what degree Derpy was just delaying. Well, now that delay was no longer an excuse. “What I think,” Derpy said, “is that we should lay out the good and bad about each choice.”

“You sound like my parents. But sure, let’s do that. I wish I’d brought something to write with.”

Derpy checked her saddlebag. “I don’t have a quill, but there’s this spell that will let you carve into the rock.”

“I’m not sure if I want my thoughts etched in stone for anypony to see, but we’ll go with that.”

“Actually, can we go back a step. You said that I sound like your parents. What did you mean by that?”

Karyn remembered what she was thinking. “Just that they too think it’s a simple matter of laying out the pros and cons and seeing which one is better. And if I could see both futures, maybe it would be. Hey, do you have a spell for that?”

“Seeing the future? No. It wouldn’t work. You’d see the future, and then just decide to do something else.”

“I suppose. But that’s for another day. Let’s lay this out.”

Rather than spoil what little view they had, she turned to the rock wall which was at a near-perfect angle to use as a writing desk, which made up for the discomfort of her carving tool. She drew a T and above one she wrote, “G. Sch.” Above the other, “Job.”

“You want to write fast, huh?” asked Derpy.

“And I want it to be a little obscure if anyone does find it. It’s force of habit. When I take notes they’re for me to read, not anyone else, so I like to be private.”

“Enough avoiding the issue. Let’s make a list.”

Karyn squared up to the rock. “So, the main thing that works against going to graduate school is that there are more student loans involved.” An “SL” went up under the left column.

“Good. What else is for job?”

“Umm...nothing. For grad school is that once I do get out, I’ll earn more.”

Derpy moved her hoof from one side of the list to the other. “So that should cancel out the student loans. If you earn enough to cover it.”

“Which is its own question. Like I said, I can’t see the future and now how much I would earn with the graduate degree and without. Probably more. Companies would advance me sooner. Of course, that does mean more work.” Karyn was writing throughout. “But here’s the main thing. Going to graduate school feels like running away from my problems. It’s like I’m trying to still be a child for longer. Two more years of school.”

“Here’s something. If you go to graduate school, you can start looking for jobs immediately, and have two more years to get one.”

“If I have time to do so. I’ve got time management down fairly well now, but grad school would mean learning a whole new course of study, and that would take time to do. I might find myself in the same position two years from now. And there are no IT doctorates. I think.” She completed her list. More items filled the left column for staying in school.

“Anything else?” said Derpy.

“Maybe, but this is something to start with. Thanks for bringing me here. This is a lot easier than trying to do it at home, or worse, in front of my folks.”

“Like I said, a calm, relaxing spot is the best place to think.”

Karyn looked out over the vista. It wasn’t the most beautiful spot in Equestria. The only think it would be useful for, she thought, would be to get away from it all. But that was a purpose, as it seemed everything in Equestria had one.

“I don’t think it’s that,” she said. “It’s always easier to do something than to start doing it, if you know what I mean. Plus the way you ask me to do something I have to do, it’s different. You actually ask, instead of making me feel pressure to do it.”

“And it’s not like choosing where to go have lunch. This is a big decision. That said, I think it would be a good idea if, by the end of the day, you at least have a direction that you’re leaning. Maybe take a week or so to confirm it, but definitely have one picked.”

“The shame of it is, if it were a simpler choice like that, I’d just flip a coin. But for something this important...hey, Derpy?”

Derpy had prepared to tune out when Karyn started talking about the coin. She knew that Karyn was just thinking out loud. But now her attention was needed. “Hm?”

“What would you do, if it were your decision?”

“I can’t answer that.”

Karyn rolled her eyes. “Come on. I know that it’s my decision and I’ll ultimately make it myself. I’m not going to automatically go with what you say. Or against it. I just want to know what you would do, and then we’ll talk about how you came up with that.”

“It wouldn’t help. You see, my decision would me for you to go to school more. But I say that out of pure selfishness. I want to keep our Sundays together.”

“But if you didn’t have that bias, what would you do?”

Shaking her head, Derpy scowled in sympathy. “I can’t do it. I’m too attached to you. You’re part of me now. But I know that you’ll find the right answer. That’s something that’s inside you.”

“I guess.” Karyn stared at the rock a little more. As the sun traced its daily course, Derpy looked at it, trying to determine the time. She rose to her hooves with a start.

“Oh, no! I’ve got to rush home. I’ll be right back, OK?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I left my uniform in the laundry tub to soak because I got a stain on it. Normally I would hang it up tomorrow and use my backup, but it’s going to rain tomorrow, so I’ve got to get it in the sun today. I won’t be long.” She took off, and Karyn couldn’t argue with her. It was inconvenient to not have power dryers, but then again, she also knew for certain that the rain would come.

Without the noise of Derpy’s breathing, it was a very quiet place indeed. The Everfree Forest was still some miles off, and that gave her some comfort, since she was unable to defend herself. For the first time, she wished she had her changeling powers back. As it was, she had to just wait for Derpy to come back.

She thought back to the time that she had fixed Derpy’s computer and thought about staying in Equestria permanently. This was the decision she had hoped to avoid. But Derpy had talked her out of it and so she would have to make it. At least she wasn’t emotional the way she was back then. Scared, maybe. But not stressed. Not yet. The stress would come once she made her decision.

What was it Derpy had said at that time? That she thought Karyn’s inertia bound her to Earth. To Karyn, that was just another way of saying that she was stuck in a rut. But although that had only been a few months before, she felt that she had grown up just a little.

Karyn picked up the rock-carving spell and ran it back and forth like an eraser, wiping out all her illegible notes. She didn’t need them. She knew what to do.

She carved herself a nice little seat with room for her legs to dangle while leaning back against the stone. Crossing her arms, she smiled placidly with her eyes closed and let the sun warm her face. It wasn’t that she felt the release of stress that she expected, but for the moment she did not have to think.

True to her word, Derpy returned swiftly, coming in for a hard landing instead of her usual glide. It broke Karyn’s mood of serenity, but not much.

“Were you trying to sleep on the decision?” she asked. “That can be a good idea sometimes. You just wake up with the right answer. Or at least a new idea. I’ve heard ponies say that, but it’s never happened to me.”

“No, I wasn’t.” Karyn opened her eyes and spoke with extra clarity to let Derpy know that she hadn’t nodded off. “I’m not going to graduate school. I’m going to look for a job.”

“Can you say why?”

“Yes. I realized that where I am is a crossroads, not a fork. If I go to school, I’m just going straight. I don’t want to do that. Because while I’m not unhappy, I’m also not where I want to be in my life. I said it back then, too. I’m going to shake something up in my life. This is what it’s going to be.”

Derpy spoke with acceptance. She knew that even if she could change Karyn’s mind, she wasn’t willing to. “And what about us?”

“I don’t know. Our routine might change. I’d like it not to go away altogether.”

“Of course it won’t. But we’re going to have to figure out a time plan for how best to get you a job.”

Karyn realized that her decision meant that she was now obligated to start working on it, and that this—pure procrastination—was holding her back from making a choice. She picked up the carver one more time, then laughed. “I don’t need to cut this into stone. Come on. Let’s go home and do it the old-fashioned way. On a computer.”

Derpy got her joke and laughed with her, then flew her back to Earth. They banged out a draft for a schedule. “Are you sure this is the most efficient use of your time?” asked Derpy.

“No, but the schedule isn’t the project itself. All I need to do is use it as motivation to job hunt.”

“How are you going to do it?”

“Some online. Those are the late-night times I’ve marked out. But I also want to use the college’s job connections and the library. There’s not much I can do in the library that I can’t do here on the laptop, but there are fewer distractions. It’s just like when I do my papers.”

Leaning over to look at the laptop screen, Derpy said, “I think you should hone it better, but you’ve accomplished a lot today.”

“What have I done?”

“Something important. If you stick with it and don’t think about grad school.”

“I’m not.” Karyn closed the laptop and sat on the bed. “I’m writing it off completely. Unless some school calls and says they’re going to give me a full scholarship with room and board. But that’s rather an edge case. I’ll worry about that when it doesn’t happen.”

“Then that’s a big step. I’m glad I could help you.”

Karyn looked at her with a quizzical expression. “Did you plan this?”

“Huh?”

“Did you know it was right for me to choose not to go to school and just make me see it for myself? It’s like when Dinky went to see Princess Celestia. I wondered if she intended for her to—“ she cut herself off before she could reveal the secret that Dinky didn’t want to tell her mother yet. “—to come back to school just for a little. She seemed to know what was going to happen.”

“Maybe Princess Celestia is that smart. I’m not.”

Karyn wasn’t sure if she believed her. It was more a question of empathy than brains. “You’re right. You’re only nine-tenths as smart as her.”

“Not even that.” Derpy missed this joke.

With some time left on their visit, Karyn and Derpy put all thoughts of importance out of their mind and relaxed. They swapped anecdotes, chatted idly, and watched videos until it was time for Derpy to go.

“There’s one thing,” Karyn said, and Derpy turned to look back. “One thing we have to make sure of, because of this.”

“What’s that?”

“If we have to change how we see each other, then we still have some good weeks left. And they have to be the best weeks ever. We need to work extra hard, hang on to the time we have with our fingernails.”

“I don’t have fingernails.” Derpy showed her hoof.

“No, you have good, strong hooves. Just right for holding on. The rest of this semester is going to be the best ever. Promise.”

“I promise too.”

Author's Note:

Next week we've got a chapter suggested by Chiroknu. Something else they wanted to see Karyn and Derpy do. Come back to find out what it is!

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Having a good freind around to help just be there when trying to work out how your life is going to try to be next is the sign of a good freind?

[Sir Top Hat]

Albert...

[kaboom36]

And here is the beginning of the end...
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

[tsaukpaetra]

Yay job! Then when she's bored and has no life she can get right back to college, right?
Keep going! ;)

[Morphy]

If she ever needs a reference for her new job she can always have the Princesses write one out? Heh, although the parchment will be a little unusual. She could even get a part-time job as a Human Adviser to the Earth Embassy in Canterlot-- Earth doesn't need to know they have one.