//------------------------------//
// Chapter Seven (Nailah) 
// Story: Operation Exquisite Corpse 
// by The Red Parade 
//------------------------------//

After the delivery, Derpy sighed heavily to herself. It was done. Finished. Why did delivering mail have to be such a headache?

“Ugh…” groaned Derpy, as she took a minute to simply enjoy the beauty of the orchard that surrounded her. There was such a simplistic and rustic charm to it. The place felt like love. Derpy smiled to herself. “Oh no Dinky!” 

With that she extended her wing tips, and soared into the sky. She had to get home. Her little daughter needed her, and she didn’t have any more packages to deliver. The wind felt calm, yet vigorous and full of spirit. She spiraled down to her little cottage home, landing there in front of her little quaint home. 

Derpy trotted inside to see Dinky eager to greet her as she dashed up to her, lifting herself up on her hindlegs, and embracing Derpy in a warm, and welcoming nuzzle, as she shouted gleefully.

“Mom! You’re back. Can you stay longer this time?” she asked with a slight pout. 

Derpy nuzzled against her, and nodded, wrapping her wings around her daughter, she sighed blissfully. The package was delivered and for once she could spend some quality time with her daughter. Being a mail mare kept her busy, so occupied that she felt she hardly had time to just lounge around and enjoy the calm stillness that was family time. But not now. Now she was here, and she was going to spend as much time as she could with the ones she loved. Especially her daughter.

Derpy started supper, deciding to make some french onion soup for the both of them. It was just a simple dish and wouldn’t take her long to make. She pulled out an onion from her fridge and grabbed a cutting board, and began slicing up the onion, while being cautious not to cut herself. Once the onions were cut, she started up the water getting it to a rolling boil. She put some herbs in it to help give it more flavor, as she felt Dizzy bouncing up and down around her hooves.

“Is it done yet? Can we play now mom?” asked Dizzy, as she looked up at the water boiling.

“Go and sit down little one. This will be done in no time,” smiled Derpy, as she attended to the task at hoof. She sighed heavily. She knew she shouldn’t feel so stressed, but she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. Every letter, every package was important, and it was her duty to get it to the ponies that were waiting for it, just as Dizzy was waiting eagerly for her mom to spend some family time with her. It might not be the same as a battle for Equestria, but to her this was enough stress for her to handle. She just hoped to raise Dizzy to understand there was good in the world, to know no matter how hard things got, there was always a bright side even during the darkest moments. You could find a ray of hope, and for Derpy, it wasn’t hard to find, she smiled as she watched Dizzy playing with a ball. Hope. 

“Momma is it done yet?” asked Dizzy again.

“Yes it’s done.” replied Derpy bringing the onion soup in, and carefully sitting it down on the table. She had Dizzy blow on it before giving her the nod to begin eating. She didn’t want her little one to burn herself on the hot meal.

Dizzy sat there across from her mom with a big grin plastered over her face. Derpy smiled back at her. Ah. Innocence. Derpy ate her soup, and after they were both finished, she went and took care of the empty bowls, washing them in the sink.

After that she went back to Dizzy, and took the ball in her hooves.

“I’ve got the ball now. What are you going to do about it?” asked Derpy, as she began to dash around the room, making a little tuck and run for them to enjoy. Laughter and stillness surrounded them, and for once Derpy felt calm. She knew there would be more packages. The mail never seemed to end, and there would always be trouble, but there was a certain degree of calm that washed over her, from head to toe, as she sighed blissfully.

Derpy heard a knock on the door, It seemed like the calm wasn’t going to land, she got up and went to see who it was. She was surprised to see it was Princess Twilight. What was she doing here? What did she want, and why did she look so...uneasy. Derpy gulped, and felt the sweat dripping down her cheeks.