//------------------------------//
// Sealing The Envelope 
// Story: Sealing The Envelope 
// by JackLikesPancakes 
//------------------------------//

There is something magical about getting mail.

The transition of a letter or package from hoof-to-hoof is nothing short of magical either. While transportation of mail is often taken for granted, the mail ponies responsible are nothing short of extraordinary. Their job, as oblivious ponies would say, is to take letters from Point A to Point B. However, the journey and adventure a mail carrier must endure to complete a job is nothing short of incredible. The climate can be unforgivable, with hellish heats and freezing colds that would be lethal had it not been for the mail carriers' resilience and determination. They face terrains unimaginable. Mountains whose apexes seem to be eye-level with Cloudsdale, houses mangled by growth in the Everfree Forest. Mr. Prickle's cactus farm!

A true mail carrier doesn't whine, doesn't stall. Even if the uncaring environment makes them bleed, they keep their goal in mind: "Point B, Point B..." 

There are some ponies that are grateful for their mail, and this makes a mail carrier's day. For not even the admittedly minuscule pay or sense of adventure can compare to a satisfied customer. Other ponies, much to the shock of the carriers, are disappointed with their service. Their stern expression is the first thing to greet our mail envoys. "You should have had this to me an hour ago!", they may say. "You got dirt on the letter!", the disgruntled ponies may complain. These "complainers", as the mail ponies call them, ruin the day for the carrier. 

But they don't complain. They don't whine. The mail carriers still have a job to do, a destination to get to. 

Point B, Point B...

At the end of the shift, which may stretch from dawn until midnight, the mail carrier happily hangs up their sash. The trusty canvas bag swings slightly, awaiting the next chaotic day. The mail carrier can't wait for tomorrow, no matter how challenging its going to be. Because the mail carrier knows that there are at least a hundred other ponies that could do their job. But they were destined to do the work others take for granted. But nopony works as tirelessly, as faithfully, and as downright hard as the yellow maned pegasus simply called Derpy Hooves.

For such an arduous occupation, one wouldn't think that the mare prefers the simple life. But it's true. Derpy doesn't care for the pay. It does pay the bills and pay for toys for her loving daughter Dinky, but she does not put it over her priorities. Her love for the simple life fuels her ambition for exceeding in her career. It truly made her happy, come a thankful customer or a "complainer". No one gives it their all like Derpy. 


So why was she dealt a terrible fate?


Tuesday. An average Tuesday for our mail carrier heroine. The humdrum mail office is bustling with other carriers, waiting for their shift to end. There was not a thread of hindrance in the young pegasus' mind. She has deliveries and ponies waiting for the magic of mail. She grabbed her sash, hung precariously on the rack, and deftly slung it over her shoulder. Just as she did every weekday. The adrenaline was pumping through her veins. Five deliveries today, each spread out through Equestria. She looked at her friends, fellow mail carriers ready to attack the day. They looked a bit down. Derpy attempted to remedy the situation.

In her cute, bumbling voice, she proclaimed, "Good morning! How's everypony feeling?!"

One of the pegasi exasperatedly looked at her. In a low voice, she said, "Get lost, cross-eyed freak..."

Freak. Derpy chuckled, the nickname she had accumulated in her years at Equestria Postal Service. In fact, a lot of ponies called her "freak". She felt very popular having such a well-known nickname.

"Alright, girls! I'll try not to get lost! Not like last week, anyway, when I looked at the 'W' on the compass sideways and thought it was a funny looking 'E'! Well, at least the pony got her mail, right, girls?" 

Derpy noticed her friends had left, walking towards the mountain of mail they would have to shovel into their sashes. "They must be too busy with their routes." 

She squinted, talking to herself. "Focus, Derpy. Today's the day you beat your time record for fastest delivery route."

She trotted over to the burlap sack containing all of Equestria's outgoing mail. Unsorted and unwrinkled, every letter had a destiny to fulfill, much like the mail carrier herself.

She carefully careened around the sack, making sure not to tip over the contents. Her poor eyesight caused her grief sometimes, but she looks past it. It makes her special, her mother always told her. She began to take out each letter, one by one. She carefully placed each one in a neat and organized position, which for a pony with eyesight like Derpy Hooves, was as hard as getting dizzy and throwing darts on a dartboard. Organized? Yes. Efficient? No.

One letter's contents nearly fell out. Derpy let lose a small gasp, quickly pinching the whole envelope in her massive gray hoof to keep the letter from slipping away. She turned the letter right-side up. She looked left and right. All the other carriers were looking down at the cement floor pacing in negativity. In all honesty, the description of a true mail carrier only matched Derpy. Everypony else whined about their job, talked back to "complainers", thought only of payday, and hated the very concept of mail. Not Derpy; she truly cares about her line of work and all of her customers. She called all her customers "friends". In fact, she called everpony she knew "friends". All the ponies that were grateful for their mail just may as well be friends with her. Even the "complainers" knew there was something special about that mare. She was far too kind to be hated. She earned the nickname "Freak" from her friends, hadn't she?

Derpy's mind was full of questions. The mail she held on to for dear life was penned in ink, ink that did not blot onto the envelope. She was so desperate to know what the pony had written. But she refused! 

"I can't invade somepony's private mail! It goes against company policy!" she thought. 

She tucked the note back into the envelope neatly. She pulled up the envelope to seal it. Company policy also excluded using one's tongue to re-seal letters. They were required to use company sealer tape, an acrylic adhesive that would keep the letter from opening mid-delivery. But Derpy knew that that tape wasn't as good as sealing the envelope with her tongue. Besides, if it was taped, the receiver might assumed somepony got a peek at the letter. She wouldn't want that to happen! 

So, utilizing as much focus as possible, she found a dry spot on the tip of the envelope flap, where she quickly rubbed her tounge against. The taste of the dry seal hit her instantly. 

"A job licking seals and stamps wouldn't be too bad," she thought aloud. She placed that letter particularly close to the top in her mail bag.

She was completely ready, in mind and with her gear. She opened her wings, flapping them to make sure the bag would not hit her wings mid-flight. Perfect. The "Derpy Express", she half-jokingly called herself, was ready for takeoff. And as usual, the halls were empty. The Cloudsdale flag waved with integrity, the only colorful thing in this barren facility that had a splash of color. The rest of the pegasi carriers were far gone, delivering mail. Derpy had just finished getting ready.

With a leap, she dove out of the postal facility. The mail bag fluttered by her side as her wings began to catch air. She was flying now. She took out her compass from a sash pocket. She examined it for a moment. That "E" for "East" looked funny. She squinted skeptically. She rotated it 180 degrees. Much better. 

She thought about the letter, the one whose envelope she repaired. She thought about its contents being spilled mid-flight. She put her priorities on getting it delivered, safely and quickly. She looked at the address on the envelope and put the letter back in its snug position.  

"West we go!" she said aloud. 

She banked westward, moving towards the ground. This address was located in Canterlot, a city known to be upper class. Perhaps even a letter to the Princess! Derpy shook her head. She knew the Princess' castle's address, and the letter's address definitely wasn't it. Besides, a purple dragon covers her mail. Nonetheless, she was determined to get to this place. Where was it again? As she touched down in Canterlot, the posh buildings seemed to go on and on and on for miles. Any one of these buildings could be-

"Hellooooo! Mail mare? Is that you down there?" 

A voice from above. Derpy looked up, noticing an elegant pony waving a snow white hoof from a balcony. That must be the pony expecting mail. 

"This mail must be important. She was waiting for it!" Derpy realized.

She flew up to the voice and hoof, which was connected to a mare on the balcony of a beautiful Tudor home. Derpy's Cloudsdale accommodations were never this grand. But Derpy wasn't here for real estate. 

"Yup, I got your letter right here, miss...uh..." 

The white pony swiped the letter away before Derpy's thought process was complete. She turned her back on Derpy and tore open the envelope, giggling to herself. Derpy didn't mind seeing the envelope she personally sealed get wrecked; it was the note that mattered. The white pony screeched in delight and began hopping about. 

Derpy became concerned. "What's the matter? Is the letter alright?" 

The ecstatic pony exclaimed, "More than ALRIGHT, dear! EXTRAORDINARY! DIVINE! CREME DE LA CREME! Those words would better describe it!" 

The pony brought her arm around Derpy and stabbed her hoof at the document. "Look, look, look!" she begged. 

Derpy squinted, attempting to sort out the jumble of letters with her scrambled eyes. She skipped words that were too big. 

"Canterlot Theater...role in 'The Princess and I', this...play is now casting Miss Sandstone as Princess Celestia!"

Derpy looked up, her face matching the delight on the white pony's face. Derpy spoke finally.

"Are YOU Miss Sandstone?!" 

The pony shrieked in delight again, saying "The very same! The very same!" 

The pony threw her other arm around Derpy, embracing Derpy in the spirit of the moment. "Thank you, my friend! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" 

Derpy did not anticipate the hug, but it wasn't a bad surprise. "That's great, Miss Sandstone, ma'am! Congratulations!"

Miss Sandstone stopped being excited and became serious. "Oh dear, I need to clear my schedule for rehearsals! Okay, I'm willing to bet that Saturday and Sunday are the days when the actual plays are," she said, checking her letter for confirmation. "Okay, yes, it is. Every other day starting Monday is singing practice, Tuesdays and Thursdays are both acting and line reading sessions. Perfect!" She looked at Derpy, with puppy dog eyes. 

"Promise me, please, please, please. Promise me you'll be there! You were the first to know, invite your friends! This could be the last chance before Ponywood takes me up. This is the biggest role in my career. Please, please, pleeeeeease?!" 

Derpy thought about Miss Sandstone's offer. A night in Canterlot for some fine arts would be lovely. Not only that, but she can bring her work friends, or her mail friends. That would be lots of fun; her friends don't hang out with her much. Heck, Dinky would love to watch a musical.  A live show would be spectacular. 

"A live show? I'll be there!" Derpy promised. She intended on keeping that promise. 

Miss Sandstone giggled again, like a little filly. "Thank you! I promise I'll be the best Celestia I can be!" Miss Sandstone walked back into her home's top floor, using her unicorn magic to close the door behind her. 

Derpy called in after her. "So does this mean we're friends?" Derpy's message was cut short by the slamming door.

She was excited. She now had plans after work. Derpy flew away, going from place to place to finish the mail route. The play was still on her mind. She might have to buy her tickets in advance just to get a seat. So much to see, so much to do! And she was friends with somepony IN the play! How cool is that? After delivering her twelfth and last letter, on time, she returned to the base, thinking of the play. 

Miss Sandstone had said, "Bring your friends." However, Derpy didn't know who to invite. How could she sort out all her friends and decide who should get tickets? She devised that she should make a poster and hang it up on a cork board at the postal office. She might also make little tags on it, so if somepony is interested, they could tear a tag off. It was perfect.

She got back before anypony else did. She happily skipped over to the paperstock room and swiped a piece of white paper, similar to the color of the mare's fur. How nice. "Now, what do I write?" she asked no one in particular. She thought and thought. Then she had it. In her best hoof-writing and spelling, she wrote down "The Prinses and I! Come one come all! Staring Miss Sandstone. For tikets, take a tag!" she attached ten tags, as they were the maximum amount of tags the bottom of the page could hold. "When they all disappear, I'll add more," she thought to herself. She grabbed it in her mouth, careful not to crinkle the paper with her teeth. She went up to the corkboard, which was only occupied by an application for mail colts or mail mares to take different routes and a crude sketch of a mail colt somepony down in Ponyville drew during Career Day. She placed it against the board, and picked up a brass pin. She drove it into the paper and board like a hammer and nail through wood. It hung, ready for tags to be ripped off. Perfect.

There was no more mail to deliver. Derpy Hooves was done with another day. She places her sash on the hook in the employee locker room. She turned the lights off to conserve energy. She was ready to go home to her daughter. And she simply couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Arriving to her fluffy cloud home, Derpy thought of all the ponies she helped today.  Especially Miss Sandstone. She was very excited upon receiving the letter, excitement not even the most grateful of customers exhibited. All was peaceful inside her sterile white cloud home. It was really hard to see the furniture, even for somepony with good eyes. She stepped two feet into the house and, per usual, she hit her left ankle on the staircase. Luckily, clouds had the consistency of cotton candy, so there was more damage done to the stairs then there was to Derpy. 

"Oops! My bad," she said aloud. 

She scooped a bit of cloud from the floor and repaired the stairs. There was no sign of breakage. It was good as new. There was a voice from upstairs, a voice Derpy recognized all too well. "Mommy!"

A small Pegasus filly raced down the staircase, skipping steps, nearly falling down them had it not been for the tiny fluttering of her excited wings. The orchid-colored filly leapt to her mother, her yellow eyes eager to hug her. 

This was her daughter, Dinky, and she was about as simple and carefree as Derpy. 

Derpy bumping into the stairs and saying "Oops! My bad," was such a daily occurrence that Dinky learned that her mother was home only after hearing it. Derpy's smile returned. "Hey, kiddo! What did ya do today?" 

The filly bounced as she listlessly recited the days events. "Today, in school, we talked about what our parents do for work! A lot of the colts said their dads are in the Wonderbolts, but we didn't believe them! And when the popular filly Swan Feather said her mom was designing new vests, all the students thought it would be cool if we bought vests. Y'know, to help business! Can we buy the vests next year? Please?" The puppy dog eyes once again. How could Derpy resist saying yes? 

"Alright, sure. You know, I'm going to have to save up my bits. And you might have to, too. Those vests are hard to get on mail transport specialist pay. Maybe you can get a job at the postal office." 

Derpy legitimately considered this, thinking of jobs on the form that were not too tough for a filly like Dinky. She remembered what she had said about stamp and seal licking. "Maybe you can lick the stamps and seals on envelopes!" 

The filly looked at her with great skepticism, an expression that said "That doesn't sound good." 

"Licking stamps ALL DAY? Ew, no. Stamps are yucky."

Derpy was a bit disheartened, not only that Dinky did not like her idea, but also because Dinky did not want to work in the mail industry. With a frown, Derpy said, "You...you don't want to work with me?" Dinky looked up, a bit hurt.  "Of course I do, mommy! I wanna job like yours! What do you call it...mail carrier specialist?" Derpy acknowledged the fact that her offspring aspired to become a mail carrier like her. "Of course you can! C'mon, let's make dinner," Derpy said with a smile. Both mother and daughter walked to the cloud kitchen.

The cold cloud holding the food served as the pegasi's icebox. She was very hungry, but she forgot about her hunger after Dinky's warm embrace. The duo walked to the cloud and opened it, awaiting the selection of foods to greet their famine-ridden eyes. 

Instead, they were greeted with a near-empty shelf. It held three-quarters of a loaf of bread. Derpy and Dinky let out a collective whine. Derpy took the bread out, and with a sinking spirit pulled out two slices of bread. Their food supply was diminishing. She'd have to get more soon. She couldn't let the limited appeal of white bread get her down. She feigned a smile. "We can have this with imaginary jelly." Dinky was confused. "What's that?" Derpy's smile became real. "My mommy used to always have her bread with imaginary jelly. You can have your jelly be whatever flavor you want." 

She pantomimed taking a knife and dipping it into a jelly jar. She carefully spread the pretend substance around on her slice. She took a bite. "Mmm, strawberry," she proclaimed. Dinky clumsily mimicked her mother, and when she took a bite, she smiled in delight. 

"Hey, you're right! This tastes like peaches!" 

The two continued to eat their respective jelly-spread slices. Dinky rubbed her hoof on Derpy's face. Now it was Derpy's turn to be confused. "What was that for?" she insisted. Dinky giggled a childish giggle. "You have imaginary jelly on your face!" Derpy felt her face in panic, but then realized it was all pretend. She got a manic grin. "YOU have some on your face!" she exclaimed, taking a hoof and smearing the invisible substance on her daughter's face. "Ack, you got me!" They continued to have a full-blown jelly war. They ended it with peace, laughter, and a lot of hugs. They never finished their slices of bread.

Upstairs, the two slept in the same room. Derpy had moved her bed into Dinky's room because Dinky was afraid of the dark and needed somepony to comfort her. Truth be told, the dark kind of scared Derpy as well. It was a win-win. 

The white cloud room seemed to glow incandescently with the moon shining down on the house. Derpy tucked her daughter in, kissing her on the forehead. 

"G'night, Dinky." 

"I love you, mommy." 

Derpy smiled as she floated to her bed. "Love you too." She serenely closed her special eyes for a well-deserved rest. 

"Mommy?" 

Dinky's voice. 

"When will I be able to see you for a whole day?" 

Derpy hoped she could evade this question. She knew she's working all week this week, and likely all week next week. "Can't hear you, I'm sleeping see?" She made some unbelievable snoring noises. Dinky bought the front. "Alright, I'll ask you in the morning. I'm pretty good at remembering things," a yawn interrupted her train of thought, but she brought it back, "in the morning." And that was it. Dinky slept without a word. Derpy felt bad having lied to her daughter, but she laid her head to rest. She deserved this sleep. She had big plans for where she was going. And that was to work.

A clock rang out, waking Derpy and Dinky. Dinky was ready to go to school. But Derpy felt uncharacteristically drained. She had a good enough sleep, but she felt like she was carrying an eighty pound load on her chest. Her legs were numb. She strained to open her eyes, and she noticed that her filly was not sitting on her. This was invisible weight. She was almost frozen. She used her wings, which worked miraculously well today, to pick herself up and off the cloud bed. Her mind was foggy. This wasn't waking up with a headache. This was sincere pain that rivaled being hit in the face with a brick. 

She flew down her stairs, ate the rest of her bread from last night, had a drink of water, and exited her house, all while being pinned under the pain of Celestia-knows-what. She scooted up to the office, her vision particularly blurred. Nopony should ever experience pain like this. She slung the bag around, taking its weight with a grunt. Something was wrong. She put the mail bag down, sweat breaking out on her face. She attempted to exit the office, when suddenly there became blackness. It enclosed her, like an iris-in. Her ears rang. She ran for the exit, dizzy and confused, the blackness closing in on her. She attempted to scream but a fainting yelp emerged. She was surrounded by blackness. And then, she felt herself hit the floor.

It was a terrifying yet relaxing ordeal.

She could still hear voices over the ringing, as if she was coming out from underwater. "What's a'matter with the freak?" 

Her friends were there. She knew they'd try and rescue her. 

"I dunno, doing some weird stuff." 

"Brass Bells, listen. I can't hear her breathing."

Derpy felt a heat wave as a body approached her. "You're right. She needs help. Can we get somepony to call a doctor, because we got a ma..." That was all Derpy heard before slipping completely out of consciousness. 

She was floating, through pink fluffy clouds. Sheep flew beside her. She had mail for all of them. "Oh, Mr. Sheep! I got you your mail!" she said to the ram. "Baaaaaa! Thanks, Derpy Hooves! You're the best mail specialist ever!" Derpy was so ecstatic to serve a friend. "Goodbye, Mr. Sheep! I'm off to see Miss Sandstone's play!" Derpy said. The sheep leaped away, and suddenly Derpy was in an opera house, watching Miss Sandstone create beautiful music, her voice projected throughout the building. Not a dry eye in the house. The second her beautiful serenade ended, the crowd stood and applauded, their hooves wildly clapping. Clapping for her. Flowers, out of nowhere, sailed onto the stage. Miss Sandstone, looked in the crowd and pointed out Derpy, who was clapping along. "None of this could have happened without the help of my mail mare AND dear friend, Miss Derpy Hooves!" The blinding spotlight shone on her. The crowd cheered almost louder for Derpy. 

Humbled, she fluttered on the stage, the spotlight following her like sunlight. The crowd began to chant, "Derpy Hooves! Derpy Hooves! Derpy Hooves!" 

Somepony threw a bundle of roses towards her, but the trajectory was a bit low. They began to descend short of the stage. "I got it!" Derpy quickly shouted, scrambling to get the roses before they hit the floor. She dove and caught them, but she had put too much force into the dive. As the audience chanted, the name surrounding her, she hit the floor face-first. She woke up.

"Miss Hooves? Ah, good, you're finally up!" A voice. "Huh?" Derpy groaned. Her vision did not return in full. It came back as a reverse iris-in, just like she had seen passing out. "It was all a crazy dream?" Derpy said to somepony she couldn't see. "Well, I'm not quite sure how much you saw, but you were likely experiencing a contusion." "Confusion? I'm not confused; I know EXACTLY where I am." As her tunnel vision dilated, she saw the bland wall. Yes, she knew all too well. "We're still in the post office, and I'm on the floor with-." She froze. 

Her voice wasn't echoing as it normally would. It was stagnant. They were in a smaller room. "That's not possible." she thought. The walls were blanched, just like in the post office. But as her vision became clearer, she noticed posters. "Proper Pony Hygiene", "Myths and Facts about the Flu-ster Shot", and "The Egghead's Guide to Proper Hoof Washing" were laminated neatly on the walls. She was not on a concrete floor, she realized. She was lying flat on a green leather stationary bed. She also saw an unfamiliar figure. A stallion in a sterile white lab coat and a pair of half-rim glasses. Derpy was confused now. 

"Is this a doctor's office?" she asked, worriedly. 

"Yes it is, Miss Hooves." The stern face matched the unphased voice of the doctor. "And we need to talk."

Keep in mind: Derpy is a mare of the simple life. When she does not want to do something, she doesn't do it, and vice-versa. Shots and injections are something she doesn't want to do. The very thought of being pierced made her skin crawl. So, she avoided every checkup since she was eight years old. Luckily, from all the work she does and the healthy choices she makes, she has the immune system of a goddess. Never once has she called in sick from work. She is always ready for the next morning, no matter how arduous the day before was. So why had this morning been so impacting? Why did this morning hurt so bad? Why did this morning have to be the day she might have to call in sick? It turns out, "this morning" was five days passed. 

It was now a Sunday afternoon.

"How did I get here?" Derpy insisted. The doctor took off his glasses with a hoof and set them on a table with sharp instruments. "I will answer that, Miss Hooves, as soon as you answer me. When's the last time you got a checkup?" Something inside her told her to lie. She went on a whim. "Two weeks ago." The doctor looked bemused. "Mhm. Who was your nurse?" Derpy's eyes widenned. She thought of a name, anything. She listened in the hall. "Whambulance, could you clean up the vomit in room 243?" Another, much younger voice, responded, "Pfft. Do I have a choice?" The other voice retorted "Yes, in fact. You can clean it or find work elsewhere." That shut up Whambulance real fast. Derpy turned to her doctor. "His name was...Whambulance?" The doctor leaned in. "Whambulance is an intern. He's not licensed to nurse yet. Stop lying, Miss Hooves, this is serious. Your well-being is at stake!" Derpy broke down. "Okay! It's been years, okay?! I just don't want to get a shot!" she wailed. The doctor put a hoof on her shoulder, the first kind gesture he has showed since Derpy snapped back to reality. "I promise, Miss Hooves, there will be no needles, no shots. Doctor's promise." he smiled gingerly, comforting her. He became a rock again. 

"Now, when we examined you while you slept, the fundamental thought was that you simply passed out due to lack of carbohydrates. Did you skip breakfast that morning?" It would make sense. She only had half a slice of bread with non-existent strawberry spread. "We thought about that," droned the doctor. "But then you didn't become conscious within the next hour, or next day. We began examinations from there, and we had to wait for prints of your insides to develop." Derpy winced, but again the soothing hoof of the medic calmed her. "There were no needles involved." Derpy unwound. "'So what was the cause?' we asked ourselves as we waited for the prints. Well, we got a look at your eyes and...it's quite a possibility that it's the symptom of a much larger problem. You see, one's cerebral core is the hub of activity in the nervous system. The brain can be formed after birth with such issues like crossed eyes and delayed reaction times. Tell me, and tell me the truth. Do you forget names and faces?" 

Derpy thought about this. She remembered a lot of ponies' names and their faces weren't unfamiliar. For the life of her, she could not remember her husband's name or face. But she remembered how he left her. 

"Sometimes," she said. The doctor leaned in, staring straight into her pupils for a minute or two. "Did your mother or father have those eyes?" 

A voice outside rang out, "Doc, I've got those x-rays for patient Derpy Hooves." Doc turned, looking out the open door. "I'll get the prints now. Wait here." Doc left the room, leaving his glasses on the table.

Derpy thought about her mother. Doc's question resounded in her head. "Did your mother or father have those eyes?" Derpy didn't know much about her father. Her mother told her that he died in the Great Pegasus-Unicorn War. Derpy had never heard of the battle, but she accepted the loss. His picture, however, showed two straight eyes turned eagerly at the camera in an old wedding photo. Straight, bright eyes. Derpy sighed, looking about the room. She brought her focus on a picture of an injured Pegasus, posing for "Where there's WINGS, THERE'S RISK!"

"My mother," she pondered. Derpy remembered her mom had straight eyes since Derpy was a foal. But in the years of Derpy's beginning adulthood, she noticed her mothers eyes were scrambled. "Could it have to do with getting older?" Derpy thought. She remembered the day. At their house, during flu season, Derpy's mother was caught in the middle of it. She was hacking, coughing, and sneezing up a storm. What a horrible season. 

She remembered her mother telling her that she was going on vacation for a while, and Derpy never saw her again. Her thought turned to anger. And just what happened to her? Did her "vacation" provide a free pass to go anywhere without her daughter? Is that why Derpy was working at such a young age, with a deadbeat husband who walked away after the child? A tear enveloped her eyelid. Her husband. 

The start of a single motherhood wasn't easy for somepony like Derpy. It took forever to teach her foal the basics: walk, talk, fly. Then she put her in a nice school with other ponies to teach her right and wrong. Nopony had a life story quite like Ditzy. Nonetheless, he was never there, never cared. Celestia only knows what happened to him. "Good riddance," Derpy furiously thought. Doc and another Pegasus walked back into the room. After being so immersed in thoughts of cruel fate and prevailing love, the only thing she could think to say is, "My mom says they make me special."

"Quite," Doc said without enthusiasm. "Miss Hooves. May I call you Derpy?" Derpy shook her head in silent approval. "My intern and I have received the prints. They are...I'm sorry." Doc paused, recalling his composure to drop the news. "The prints revealed that the eyes are the result of a serious brain tumor that obstructs the nerve endings in most of the skull. This tumor has gone unchecked, and has grown more than double in size over the years." He leaned in, uncomfortably close. "Derpy, this tumor will eventually cut off the connections to vital organs. I'm afraid you...may not have much longer." Derpy was shocked. The impact seeped into her mind. "Does this mean I'll have to miss work?" she finally said, tears surfacing and brimming on her eyelids. The intern, who must have been Whambulance, put his head down. He seemed more emotionally wrecked by the situation than Doc. He spoke, his voice riddled with grief. "You're going to miss a lot more than that, my dear."

Death. Doc and Whambulance both said it was coming. The hands of fate have dealt Derpy Hooves a death card, and she didn't understand how to play it. She handled every other disaster by ignoring it, repressing it deep into the recesses of her mind. But this...this could not be condoned. It was too hard for the intern to talk to Derpy, who was still disheartened about missing work. Doc, however, continued to speak to her. "We're so sorry to tell you this. We have...alternatives." 

Derpy's ears perked. An alternative would be great, anything. 

"This...tumor will expand over the course of the next five days, maximum. You may only have five days left. We could put you down easy, with a simple venom."

Venom? 

"Venom?" Derpy asked. 

"Yes, a paralyzingly agent that will make you sleep. Only you won't wake up." Doc was grim the entire time, attempting to fish out alternatives to the agonizing death he knew Derpy would endure. But Derpy kept coming back to the venom. 

Going peacefully, in her sleep. Not waking up early for work again, time to say "goodbye" to her friends at work. It seemed to be the most painless and humane. 

"So, is it a pill? A medicine?" 

It was the last question she'd have to ask. 

Whambulance looked uneasy, lifting a hoof to indicate that he would pass on answering. Derpy's heart sank. She knew what was coming. "Venom, Miss Hooves, is needed in the bloodstream for the slowing to begin. It's not the best to think of." Doc paused. Here it comes. "The venom is injected by a syringe." 

Derpy leapt upright on her leather pad. "You wouldn't! I can't take a shot!" Doc attempted to reason. "It's much less painful than what could happen without it, Miss Derpy! Please!" Derpy fluttered out of the seat, in a tizzy she flipped the instruments. "No! I can't, I won't! You made a doctor's promise!" "Nonsense, Derpy. Please, believe me. It's the best way. Whambulance get the needle."  Derpy flew out of the room, looking at the bright red emergency exit. She darted for the door. "Derpy, wait!" Doc called behind her. She continued, tears of absolute despair raining out of her eyelids. Death. It was coming for her in five days. Maximum.

She flew back to her home, which unbeknownst to her was relatively close to the hospital. She entered the door and went directly upstairs. She flopped onto her cloud bed, almost missing, and cried. "H-h-how could this happen to m-me?!" She wailed as she contemplated the whole ordeal. It was all too unbecoming of those doctors to suggest a needle. Derpy hit herself. Needles. If Derpy hadn't been afraid of the stupid vaccinations, she could have been safe. There would be no brain problems. No issues. No worries. She'd be as carefree as she used to be on Tuesday. But that wasn't the case. She was also riddled with guilt. 

How could she tell Dinky, her own daughter, that she wasn't much longer for this world? She'd have to break it to her at some point; leaving Dinky in the dark would scar her. What would she do to earn money? Who inherits her? It's going to happen, but why to her? Derpy showed more concern for Dinky's sake than her own. It was parental instinct, after all. She rolled onto her back. She needed to plan her final days.

And so, Derpy tried to arrange days for her to savor the very life she had before it was ripped away. She couldn't think about anything but mail. The mail is what made her happy. Her work took her to faraway places. Maybe she could tell Dinky a fib that she is hoof-chosen by the princess to deliver an important letter to the other side of Equestria. Maybe Dinky would buy it. It would spare a whole lot of pain.

She'd feel bad for lying to her daughter. But she eventually laid her head to rest. She had big plans for where she was going. And that place was to work, like any other day, to live her last days to the fullest.

The alarm clock rang. Derpy stopped it instantly, because she hadn't slept at all. She felt her daughter's presence in the room, and felt when Dinky shook her to make sure she was asleep. But not once did she give the impression that she was awake.

She felt sick to her stomach, the thought of passing away replaying in her head like a taunting voice. "You're gonna die out there, Freak." But Derpy wasn't scared. She had lived her life with love and happiness, and that's how she would go. She trudged out of her bedroom and into the bathroom. She splashed water on her face, letting each drip pass under her chin and fall into the sink like grains of sand in an hourglass. The last drop dripped off her. 

Time's up.

She slowly flew to the post office. Lingering thoughts of death distracted to her. The sickly pegasus bumped into very unfriendly faces. "Watch it, lady," a well-dressed business stallion snapped. "Sorry, friend," she said, genuinely apologizing for being such a wreck. "How could this be happening to me? I never felt it coming." she thought as she slowly ascended into the building. "I've gotta make sure no one knows what's wrong." She feigned a smile, but the morbid atmosphere and dark thoughts reduced her front to rubble. 

Her face matched the faces on everpony in the building. 

Maybe they were dying too. 

If they were to spend their last days working in the mail industry, Derpy could understand why they were so glum. Nopony noticed her enter.

Her friends were as miserable as she was. 

They gathered around the coffee table, eating nearly stale donuts straight out of the box. They complained and whine, the opposite of what a good mail carrier's attitude should look like. Derpy would intervene their drab congregation with her happy-go-lucky charisma. But she hadn't the energy. She approached the coffee table, head down, mane ruffled from restless rolling. The mares were still blocking the way. Derpy tried to be polite. "Excuse me, sorry," she droned, her exhausted voice hardly escaping her mouth. The largest Pegasus turned, her piercing ivy colored eyes startling Derpy. They looked as exhausted as Derpy's. "Well, well, well," said the large Pegasus, her slow voice and wry smile disorienting Derpy . "If it isn't the little misfit that cried sick day." 

Derpy thought the statement was harsh. She was called a freak, and she was certain it was a jest. But "misfit"? Unheard of. She didn't let it get to he. "I-I-I just want to get a donut." 

The pegasus' threatening, condescending smile turned to a bitter, hateful mask. "Zip it. Because of your little "stunt" last week, I had to carry over your shift. For the ENTIRE! WORK WEEK!" Derpy sensed violence was afoot, and she took a step back. The powerhouse of a Pegasus stepped forward. "Do you know how much weight you pull around here, sunshine? With your 'special deliveries' and your 'customer's always right' attitude? Zero. You should have been replaced months ago after that compass screw-up you had. Usually, I just ignore you, mainly because you are a freak. A reject. A loser." Every synonym for freak hit Derpy like a punch, and she staggered back. Her head ached. She was so confounded by emotions, she raised a hoof in the air.

She was ready to strike. Tears flooded to her eyes.

The big pegasus had a manic expression. Her friends left the room quietly. "Do it, Derpy. Hit me. Because that entitles me to stomp you out like the worthless roach you are. You lay your hoof on me...I'll start bashing in your stupid skull and those messed-up eyes, too!" She leered, bringing her face in closer. Derpy held her breath. Her hoof started to shake. It descended, hitting not the loudmouth Pegasus but the hard concrete floor with a loud clop. 

The loudmouth strutted away victoriously out the door. "Enjoy the donut, freak!" The door slammed, leaving Derpy alone with her tears of sheer despair.

Her friends hated her for not being around. There was nothing she could do; she was recuperating from a brain lapse. If only they understood. And where did those harsh words come from? She finished crying, a concept that was once foreign to her, and walked away from the table. That donut was for somepony else, not a freak like herself.

She passed the corkboard and instantly a wave of memory surged through her expiring mind. "The show!" she thought. She had promised to attend Miss Sandstone's performance the day before the accident. That was nearly a week ago, meaning that the play was tonight. Derpy audibly gasped. She hadn't even bought tickets! The seats might have sold out! She hit herself weakly. She thought about the money she did have, which wasn't a lot. Tickets might cost hundreds of bits. She had never been to a live theater before, but she assumed it was fancy. And expensive. She gazed at her poster. None of the tags were taken.

She snuck to her mail bag and, when nopony was looking, consolidated her letters into somepony else's mail sash. With any luck, it would be that loudmouth pegasus' sash. It would be her just desserts for the verbal beating she dished out moments ago. She snuck out of the office and flew back home to check her money.

Derpy descended to her place. She remembered her sickness, and thought what would happen if she was to pass the next day. She told herself, "If that's how it's gonna be, there's not much I can do. At least I went helping a friend. After all, I did promise." Her poor eyesight caused her to ram into the stairs again. She hadn't the energy to say, "Oops, my bad," and repair it. Instead, she neglected the steps and went straight upstairs, where she stored money in her cloud desk. She counted the bits; only 23 bits were present. She didn't have a bank account, as they were too confusing for somepony who wants the simple life. She sighed. It would have to do. Maybe she could get a loan. She went back downstairs, but she was unprepared to see a figure. A small Pegasus was sneaking about Derpy's house. "DINKY?! I thought you were supposed to be in school!" Dinky turned in shock. "I...I...I can't!" She ran to her mother, crying with the most sorrowful of tears. She leaned against her, still crying like a newborn. "Whoa, whoa! What happened?" Derpy asked. Dinky looked up with her tear-stained face. "My teacher last week said that you fainted at work and you were in the hospital and I had to go to a care place! But they didn't like me there and kept telling me that you were going to be okay but I heard them saying that you didn't have much longer!" Dinky took a long, sniveling breath before continuing. "And, and, and the fillies and colts at school were talking about it and I got scared and so I cried and flew home! Don't make me go back, mommy! Don't make me go back!" Derpy embraced her, rubbing her back as she cried on her chest. "Easy," she finally said. "I'm still going to be around, I promise. It was just a fall. And I'm out of work because the boss excused me for a week." An idea sprung to her mind. "We might go out and see a show tonight! Whaddaya think of that, huh Dinky?" That caught Dinky's attention. "R-really?" she squeaked. Derpy lowers her eyes. "Yes, really! It starts in a few hours, and we should get ready. I'm going to take a nap to rest up and then we'll go. Sound good?" Dinky buried her head in her mother's chest. "Thank you, mommy," she said in a muffled voice. Dinky ran off, leaving Derpy to take a nap she hoped she'd wake up from. When she got upstairs, the beds were neatly made. Dinky must have spent her time around the house tidying up. She felt bad about lying to her daughter, twice, but she finally laid her head to rest. She deserved this sleep. She had a big plans ahead of her for when she were to wake up in a few hours. And her plans were to support a friend like she promised she would.

She awoke from her nap. It was much needed and she felt refreshed, almost like new. With a smile on her face, she walked downstairs. She felt like she's been sleeping for years, but it's only been an hour and twenty-four minutes. Nearly showtime. Her daughter was ready to go, bouncing up and down. "We're going to a show!" she sang. Derpy opened the door, and her daughter ran out in front of her. "Yay!" Dinky squealed. Derpy trotted behind her. "Careful, Dinky! Watch out for other ponies!" Dinky heeded the warning, looking left and right for oblivious fliers. None in sight. The whole town was inside. Nopony was heading to Canterlot for the play of a lifetime. She was relieved: this meant it was going to be much easier finding a seat for the play. They wove through the bustling regal city, avoiding carriages and weatlhy townsponies taking a night stroll in their precious city. The big theater was up ahead, and the thought of payment came up again. Nopony was in line, and the show started in eight minutes. It was now or never.

The dorky usher in the ticket booth spun the role of tickets on the ticket rack, bored out of his mind. Perhaps if he knew what a marvelous show he was taking bits for, maybe he'd change his tune. But that was beside the point. Derpy and Dinky approached the window. "Two tickets for "The Princess and I", please," she said politely. The usher sighed as he deftly ripped two red tickets off the roll. "That'll be ten bits." the angst-ridden teen droned.  Derpy thought about the price. "Two tickets for ten bits?" she asked. "Eeyup. Two tickets, ten bits." he replied. Five bits for one ticket was a steep discount from what Derpy thought she would pay. Miss Sandstone must have known that Derpy would take all her friends, so she asked to lower admission price so they could all see her without paying much. How thoughtful of her. Derpy plopped down ten bits and took the two tickets in her mouth. She and Ditzy went through the door. Another usher, looking more energetic than the pony behind ticket sales, was standing at the velvet rope. He cooly took their tickets away, ripped them, and handed them the stubs. "Enjoy the show!" he beamed. Derpy like this pony much more than the ticket vendor. Nonetheless, the show was starting any minute. They walked past the gate into the theater.

The first thing she noticed was the grandeur of this theater. The rows of velvet seats seemed to stretch for a mile until hitting the gilded oak stage. Spotlights shone without a subject onto the platform. Artwork was everywhere under the common theme of art. They even had the faces of theater, one representing the comedy, the other representing tragedy. Everywhere Derpy turned, a new aesthetic detail came to view. It was majestic! It was beautiful! It was regal!

It was nearly empty.

Yes, nearly empty. There was a sea of velvet seats unoccupied by theater going ponies. It was bare. Other than the front row, which held nine sophisticated unicorns, each with a clip board and quill. They must have been theater critics. Derpy thought back to what Miss Sandstone had said last Tuesday. "This could be the last chance before Ponywood takes me up," she had said. Derpy hoped that those critics liked her play, and moreover they liked her. It would be so amazing to know a famous pony before they went into the big time. Even without a turnout like Derpy anticipated, she was sure Miss Sandstone was going to shine. The room lights flickered. The universal symbol for showtime. Derpy got into one of the many seats, holding Dinky close to her. The curtains drew, revealing a beautiful set, organized like a castle. A record player began to play through the speakers. An old-timey tune played. The spotlight locked on to the subjects; a navy pony acting as Luna and a familiar white pony as Celestia. Derpy waved wildly. Miss Sandstone looked at the crowd with a smirk that quickly disappeared from her face. No one came to her show. She put it behind her. The show must go on.

Even for a mare not raised in a cultured home, Derpy knew acting when she saw it. And this show was a mess. The Luna impersonator was flat, with hardly any voice to project at the audience, or whoever showed up. The guards weren't very energetic in any of their three musical numbers, and the rest of the cast waited a beat to read their line. But Miss Sandstone...she was fantastic. Her acting was superb, making the rest of the production crew look like a fourth grade play cast. The emotion was felt, her words conveyed, and even for somepony as simple as Derpy, the story made sense. After Luna was banished to the moon, Celestia needed somepony to mentor not only for the sake of Equestria, but for herself. That was good theater. And after every transition when the curtain closed, no matter how uncouth or obnoxious it was, Derpy and Dinky clapped and cheered. The critics were annoyed. Derpy worried that they would deduct points from the play, so she put her hoof on her daughter's head to get her to stop. It worked. As the play progressed, Derpy began to drift because there was a lack of Celestia. She thought about the moon, and what it must feel like to be away for a thousand years. "How did Celestia feel about her sister being gone for that long?" Derpy thought. A staccato snort rang out, and Derpy wheeled her head around. Dinky was sound asleep in her chair. Nopony else noticed. Derpy's mind returned to the dreadful subject. "Where will Dinky go when I go?" There were so little connections between Derpy and her friends. Sometimes Derpy didn't remember their names, let alone know any personal information. Who would be there for her? She didn't want to think about it. She turned back to the play. "Luna" was onstage, hamming up the role without direction. She was on a roll. "...because there is nothing WE, the almighty Nightmare Moon, cannot accomplish! Young Sparkle! Join my legion of dark force!" A voice from offstage boomed, "No!" Derpy recognized this voice. "Celestia" came out, looking angry and ready to fight. "Such great acting," Derpy repeated quietly.

"My student will NOT be ushered into the darkness, Nightmare Moon!" "Luna" scoffed and delivered another straight-off-the-cue-cards banter. "Haha! That is where you are wrong, foolish sister! For we, Nightmare Moon, have already undertaken her in my magical...mind vortex! She is now under my complete control!" "Celestia" looked hurt. "You lie, Nightmare Moon! The darkness and isolation has corrupted you! Truly you do not believe that a student as bright as Twilight would ever be seduced by evil! Be true to your heart, my sister!" A genuine tear fell out of Miss Sandstone's eye. "Please, sister. I'm sorry." The "Luna" yelled at the ceiling and blue smoke came out from under the stage. The effect lasted a bit too long and cut into "Luna's" lines. She dropped all of her Nightmare Moon armor. "You have freed me, sister! You used the power of love and forgiveness to free me from the grasp of insanity I developed during banishment!" "Luna" gave "Celestia" a hammy hug. "I love you, sister Celestia!" "Celestia" closed her eyes and said, "I love you too, princess Luna. One may rule this nation well, but the two of us can rule better in harmony. Don't you see? We are the benefactors to this kingdom, and us alone! We must never forget our benefactors, or we will lose sight of what is most important to us." The line stuck with Derpy. "We must never forget our benefactors, or we will lose sight of what is most important to us." She didn't know what a benefactor was; again, she didn't like big words. Yet there was something in the "never forget or we will lose sight of what is most important to us" part that held merit to her. "If I forget my benefactor, I will forget everything important?" she said to herself. She thought about it as the curtain drew to a close. It re-opened with the whole cast and director hoof and hoof. The critics stood and applauded; nothing wild, but not out of pity. Derpy, on the other hoof, leapt out of her seat. "Yeah, Miss Sandstone! Whoo!" Miss Sandstone waved back. Something glistened in her face. Was it a tear of joy? Derpy turned to leave, but then she noticed Dinky, startled awake by the thunderous applause. Derpy smiled. "Hey, you wanna meet the pony who plays Celestia?" Dinky nodded, rubbing her eyes. "She's so cute when she's sleepy." Derpy thought. Derpy heaved Dinky on her back and walked towards the backstage. No ushers were there to restrict her. She and Dinky walked right through. They passed wooden doors with stars and interchangeable name plates on them. "Surge, Teletalk, Shimmer Shine, ah, Miss Sandstone!" Derpy proclaimed, finding the door with Miss Sandstone's name on it. The door was closed tight, but not locked. She rotated the doorknob. "I'll go get her for you. You wait out here. Don't go anywhere, m'kay?" Dinky said, "Well okay." Derpy pushed on the door and it opened with a slight squeak.

The room smelt like perfume and linoleum. "P.U.!" Derpy whispered, clamping her nostrils with her hoof. She tried to find her, but the room was quiet. Except for little sounds coming from the left corner. She turned, and adjacent to a studio mirror surrounded by wig stands and combs and accessories was a white figure. Curled up. Crying.

Derpy approached Miss Sandstone. "Miss Sandstone, are you...crying?" Miss Sandstone looked up, her face a mess of tears and stage makeup. "Oh! I'm so glad you came! Why did nopony think to come tonight?! Is it because I replaced the Celestia from last year? Oh, they'll think ILL of me if I didn't perform better! Those critics are going to eat me ali-i-iiive!" She threw herself into another fit of tears. THAT'S what Derpy saw. She wasn't crying in joy onstage; she was shedding a tear because all that effort went to waste. Derpy put her hoof under Miss Sandstone's chin, causing Miss Sandstone to look up. "Miss Sandstone, please, listen. You did wicked awesome out there. You were like the real Celestia." Miss Sandstone smiled through her tears. "Oh, why thank you darling. I just wish those critics were as kind as you are." "And those critic guys? They LOVED your performance. You should have seen them between scenes. They said you were the 'star of the show', Miss Sandstone." Miss Sandstone was surprised. "R-really? You heard all that, darling? About me?" Derpy reached for a tissue to give to the teary-eyed actress. "Mhm. I heard it all. I'm not that smart, but I know what I hear!" Miss Sandstone gave Derpy a hug, one that tripled the power of the one she gave Derpy that fateful Tuesday. She still had a question on her mind. "But why didn't anypony show up?" Derpy shrugged and offered, "Because they're waitin' for the reviewy thing?" Miss Sandstone was pleased with this answer. "Of course, how foolish of me! Everypony will want to know if the show was excellent or not before paying for tickets! How did this not occur to me?" Derpy shrugged again.  Miss Sandstone smiled a faint smile. "Well, you said I did "wicked awesome" out there. I did work hard on the role, and I did have a lot of fun..." Miss Sandstone stamped her hoof on the ground with confidence and flamboyancy. "Phooey on those critics! I had FUN! It was great!" The opportunity was too easy. Derpy proclaimed, "More than GREAT! It was EXTRAORDINARY! DIVINE! CREME DE LA CREME! Those are better words to describe it!" They both laughed at their inside joke.

Derpy had just remedied Miss Sandstone's bad night. Just by being herself. There needed to be a lot more ponies like Derpy Hooves around. But now Derpy had a question. "Miss Sandstone, what's a benefactor?" Miss Sandstone completed wiping her face on the tissue. There was nearly no residue. " A benefactor, dear, is sompony or something that helped you get your start. My agent is a benefactor, for example. He told me I should take this role. He wasn't mistaken." She remembered Dinky. Derpy turned to Miss Sandstone, saying, "There's somepony outside who really wants to see you!" Miss Sandstone beamed. "A...a fan? An honest-to-goodness fan?" She ran to the door. She looked out the door and saw nothing. Then she looked down. Derpy, from behind, explained. "That's my daughter, Dinky Doo! She really liked your play! Isn't that right, Dinky?" Dinky sheepishly looked at her hind hooves. She muttered, "yes." Derpy looked at her daughter. "Aww, c'mon Dinky! Don't be shy, she's a friend!" Dinky looked up at Miss Sandstone. Miss Sandstone genuinely grinned. "Aren't you just the cutest little thing? You enjoyed the show, Dinky?" Dinky looked up, with a shy grin. "Yes. You were really good." Miss Sandstone lifted her hoof to her chin, taking the compliment dramatically. "Oh, why thank you, Dinky. You and your mother served as excellent audience members; you were kind, congenial, and above all enthusiastic. Thank you for coming tonight." Without warning, Dinky hugged Miss Sandstone's leg. It shocked Miss Sandstone how she suddenly latched on, but she giggled. "How affectionate! A real torta de carino!" Derpy worriedly clenched her teeth. "Miss Sandstone, I'm sorry. Sometimes she-" Miss Sandstone quickly butt in with laughter. "Don't you worry about it! She's a beautiful pegasus. You must be one happy mother!" She was right in her phrasing. Derpy was, in fact, ONE happy mother.

When Dinky decided to let go (which wasn't a long time), she and her mother waved goodbye to their good friend Miss Sandstone and flew home. It was getting late, and the late summer air wafted into their noses. The copper scent of precipitation impacted their flight as they flew with ruffled feathers. Dinky was thinking of sleep, while Derpy thought of her benefactor. Whomever it was, she needed to find him or her. She did not want to lose sight of the important things before she passed away. She continued to think about it all the way up to the door. She entered, whiffing the stairs. She hadn't repaired it, so she took the time now to do so. She and her filly walked upstairs to sleep.  Derpy tucked in Ditzy and kissed her forehead. She got into her own bed. She closed her eyes. A voice quietly said, "Mommy, thanks for taking me into town." Derpy's eyes fluttered open. "No problem, Dinky. Good night." She slowly closed here eyes, letting her tension and stress go. But suddenly, she opened her eyes. She just had a revelation. She knew who her benefactor was. And that pony was not going to be at work tomorrow. "I think I'll let somepony else take my route." she thought silently. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Four.

She awoke, remembering the warning the doctor gave. "Five days, maximum." Derpy Hooves had already outlived the minimum time. She has to live out every day from now on like it's her last, because it may just as well be her last.

She went into the kitchen and went through the supply drawer. Egg beaters, assorted measuring utensils, everything except what she was looking for. But then, much to her relief, she found it. A quill and ink well. If she was going to remember her benefactor, she'd have to go on a personal mission to present her with a written memo of how much she appreciated that benefactor. She grabbed a parchment, and thought what she had to write. It took every cell of concentration to write it out, as well as her best hoofwriting and spelling. It had to be presentable, after all. She tapped and paced and shook and crossed out. Every part of this letter was important. It would likely be her final letter. She grabbed a fresh parchment. Carefully, she wrote out the revised version of the old letter. She scanned the note once, twice, three times to assure that it was flawlessly written. She smiled at her product. She grabbed an envelope and brought it close to her mouth. If she was at work, she would be scolded for what she was about to do. But this was not the case. She stuck out her tongue, moistened the seal, and finally sealed the envelope.

She tucked it away, concealing it from the world. Only her benefactor should be allowed to handle the contents of that letter. And now, to deal with Dinky. She walked out the door, leaving Dinky in bed. Dinky was perfectly content with sleeping in and skipping school, and Derpy supported it fully. Whatever makes her feel comfortable. Derpy spread her wongs and flew about Cloudsdale, thinking of past caretakers. Who was a good foalsitter that Derpy hired? Who would be a suitable replacement guardian, one who would treat Dinky like the angel she is? She thought about this, a bit sickened that she actually considered looking for somepony to replace her when she died. Then, like a bolt of lightning, it struck her. Foxtrot.

Foxtrot was a pegasus foalsitter Derpy knew she could trust. Every time Derpy was out late, Foxtrot watched Dinky. She was so kind, fun, young, pretty, and an excellent role model. She could easily pass for being a mother with her vast knowledge of fillies and colts. She loved to take Dinky to the zoo where she worked, watch movies with her, and order pizza. No matter what time she's been over, Dinky always loves her company. She's always a bit sad when she walks out the door to go home. Sometimes, she refuses pay. "No thanks, Miss Hooves. Dinky and I had a lot of fun tonight, so this one's on me." She was such an influence that Dinky actually wanted to go to school to learn how to study animals, just like the ones at the zoo. Especially foxes, Foxtrot's favorite animal. She'd be perfect.

Derpy remembered everything about her. Including where she lived. She made her way to the corner of Nimbus Road, close to the edge of Cloudsdale. She felt like Foxtrot had to travel quite a distance to get back home. Maybe that was just the disease weakening her, depleting her energy. Like an asthmatic walking up a flight of stairs. She knocked at the solid wood door, the only solid material the pegasi used in their home construction. There was a hesitation, and Derpy thought to try again. But the door opened, and there she was. Her khaki fur complimented her shiny ginger mane, which was neatly tied into a bun. She had a black necklace that lined her lean neck. She looked at Derpy with her soft, affectionate hazel eyes. "Oh. Miss Hooves. How are you doing today? What can I do for ya?" she said with a hint of guilt in her expression. She seemed like she was hiding something behind the door. Derpy took it into account.  "Uh, yes. I need to talk to you. It's important. Is...is this a bad time?" As if fate wanted to answer the question, a voice came from deeper inside the fluffy cloud abode. "Foxy? Who's at the door?" The voice sounded familiar, almost as if she remembered it from...no. It couldn't be. But a glimpse at the pegasus through the door crack proved her wrong. The pegausus approached the door, looking a bit disgruntled. His face changed in shock, and that familiar voice choked out, "Derpy?" Foxtrot gave a badly faked smile. "Derpy, this is my...colt friend, Whambulance. You two seem to know each other well."

The last thing Derpy wanted to see; a medic-in-training that agreed that she wasn't much longer for this world. Did Foxtrot know that she was dating somepony that knew this? Had he told everpony else, too? Derpy felt violated. Things like these were supposed to remain confident between the doctor and their patient. She hoped she was being paranoid. Then again, this might make asking the favor much easier. "May I come in?" Derpy cordially asked? Foxtrot opened the door wider, both her eyes and Whambulance's eyes pinned on her. Whambulance knew of her situation and attempted to keep his mouth shut. He seemed more surprised about Derpy's visit than Foxtrot. Likely because it wasn't his house. "Come in, come in," Foxtrot offered. Derpy slowly walked in. She quickly excused herself. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything. You two weren't in the middle of anyth-" They both quickly answered "No." It offset Derpy for a second, but she remembered the objective. "Sit, sit, please," Foxtrot insisted. Derpy obliged, taking a seat on a fluffy cloud recliner. It felt a bit too firm, but it was better than standing. Besides, she might need to take a seat for this one. The couple sat down on a couch together. Whambulance placed his hoof near Foxtrot, and Foxtrot put her hoof on top of his. He was years older than Foxtrot, but love had no age. "What lovers," Derpy thought. "I remember when me and the mister were like that." She shook the thought away. The objective. Cut to the chase. "Foxtrot, I'm not sure if I can tell you this. Can you keep this a  secret? Has Whambulance told you?" Foxtrot looked at Whambulance, who was looking down at his white hind hooves. "Told me what? Are you two hiding something from me?" Whambulance looked up at her. "No, it's not like that, Foxy. It's...you see..." He was looking for an easy way to approach this, but couldn't find one. He went for the throat. "Miss Hooves, or Derpy, went down to the hospital I'm interning at. Remember it? She had passed out due to a brain lapse caused by a tumor in her head. That tumor went unchecked, and it's spreading to her vital nerves. Foxy...this mare is facing a total vital organ shutdown any day now. She doesn't have long to live." The first thing Foxtrot said after two minutes of deafening silence was, "What?" Then she began to cry.

Derpy attempted to console her. "Please, don't cry. It's not me you should worry about. It's Dinky. She needs a role model when I'm gone, somepony like you." Foxtrot stopped crying, but the intense sadnes carried through to her once-energetic voice. "Are...are you asking what I think you're asking?" Derpy nodded. "If what you think I'm asking is to take care of Dinky, then yes. I trust you above all else, Foxtrot. You're beautiful, generous, a good role model. You're like a big sister to Dinky. Please...as a last wish." Derpy gave her the puppy dog eyes that have wooed Derpy over in the past. Foxtrot considered it for a bit, then turned to Whambulance. "A filly of our own...that's a lot of responsibility. We hardly make enough as is, what with your internship making you maybe fifty bits an hour on the job and my foalsitting, which brings in maybe twenty bits if I'm lucky. I may need a second job." Whambulance put a hoof on her shoulder. "Foxtrot, you always tell me you wanted a little sister, right? Think about it; how close you two are. It'll be like foalsitting 24/7. You're great with the little ones. You said you wanted to have a foal with me, didn't you? Then you and I gotta take up the responsibility of having a filly around the house." He put a strong hoof around her shaky hoof, filling her with confidence. "Together." The word "together" caused them to hug. "Oh, you're so right, Whambulance! I love you!" She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Foxy. I love you too." She turned back to Derpy, who, from the mood of the room, could tell what she was going to say. But she still waited for her to say it. "Okay, Miss Hooves. We'll do it." Derpy smiled in relief. "Thank you, Foxtrot. From the bottom of my heart."

Derpy Hooves left the cloud home and flew back to her own home. She was going to think of a story to tell Dinky about why she was going. And she would have to make a point that she did not know when she was going back. But instead of having time to do so, she was greeted at the door by none other than Ditzy herself. She looked concerned. "Mommy, where were you this morning? Did you go for a walk?" Derpy had to generate a lie, and a lie that would tie in with her fib and a lie that would satisfy her answer. "I actually..." she stopped, thinking of her lie. "...went down to Canterlot! Because, uh, Miss Sandstone is going to Ponywood! To be in a Schwartneigher film! And she wants me to go with her!" This was it. If Dinky didn't take the fabricated tale, Derpy may have to tell her the truth. Sweat trickled down under her left ear. She was such a bad liar. "Really?!" Dinky squealed with enthusiasm. "That's so cool! You knew a famous pony BEFORE they were famous! Everypony at school's going to be so..." Derpy let Dinky's excited tangent run on, as she was just relieved that she bought the bogus story. Dinky tugged on her mom's hoof. Her sad faces washed away Derpy's relief.  "Does this mean you're going to be away for a while?" she said. Derpy got down on eye level with the filly. "Yes, but I'm leaving Foxtrot in charge. Isn't that great news? You're favorite foalsitter ever!" Dinky was still donning the same melancholy expression. "You're...leaving me?" Derpy could not stop herself from saying it. It was on impulse. "Yes, but I'll be back. I swear." She really wanted to avoid telling her that particular lie, hoping not to build up hope when there was none. She was in despair. She imagined Dinky waiting at the door every night, crying, asking Whambulance and Foxtrot where her mother was. Would they come clean, or would they cover it up? What would be more painful? Derpy hadn't the slightest idea, but she didn't want to think about it. The next thing Dinky said really took the rug out from under Derpy's hooves.

"Dad never came back. Did he promise you he'd come back?"

Derpy thought back to the day. The missing clothes from the closet. The empty bed. The note.

"Derpy, I fear that you and I are not what we would used to be. I used to value your sense of humor, your positive outlook. Your sense that everything was going to be alright even if it wasn't. I loved that about you. But put that aside, and you don't have much for me. Your salary is bare: how can we expect to raise a daughter? We can hardly feed ourselves, never mind a third mouth. So, I went back to school. I tried my best, got my degree, and I am pursuing a better line of work. I am learning at a very prominent medical school. I've met somepony else during the semester. I helped her study for a test, and now she's got a job. She told me she loves me. I think I love her too. I'm sorry, my dear. It is over." Derpy fought biting tears, forcing her mind into overdrive. What was his name? She stayed on the scene, looking at the letter. With all her might, she attempted to visualize the signature at the end. It was curly and boldfaced in blotchy black ink. It was so obvious, it was the first thing on the page she looked at. There was nothing. Her mind couldn't compute. She zoomed out, still anchored in reality. Her daughter implored her again. "Will you come back?" Derpy sighed; a painful lie was about to unfold. "Yes, I'll be back. Dad's...dad's gone to live life elsewhere. He still loves you very much." Her heart kicked at her ribcage. She went upstairs without another word. She went to the back of her room, where her drawers were. She removed every drawer. She put her hoof in the top slot and felt the paper in the back of the drawer. This is where she kept the note. She hadn't read it since the day. She was saving it in case he came back to his senses and came back into her life. But it never happened. She read it over. Derpy had remembered it ad verbatim. But the name was still in question. She scrolled her eyes, her special eyes, to the bottom. The cryptic signature showed. She read it, and dropped the note in tears.

"Whambulance"

Derpy thought back to what the doctor said so long ago. "Do you have problems remembering names or faces?" This was the name and face she could not put together. It was so unapparent to her. "How could I be so stupid?" she said aloud. This stallion was so kind to her for the reason that she was once engaged to him. They bore a child together. He left her. She waited. He betrayed her. He told her she wasn't going to make it. And now, he was going to raise her child with another mare while she slowly withers away. Derpy nearly collapsed, barely grasping the thread of sanity she had left from this whole experience. She knew that her quest must be completed. She'd have to find her benefactor so she wouldn't lose sight on the important things, like her daughter. She found the letter, sealed and prepped for a very special delivery.

She grabbed a compass. She would need it, for her benefactor was quite a distance. She always liked how her benefactor was so far away, yet could still comfort her. It made her feel a bit less depressed, even now. The whole world was spinning, and the center of gravity was off. But that trusty compass would not let her down. Her benefactor awaited. She went downstairs, coaxing the confused Dinky Doo outside to go to Foxtrot's home. She closed the door behind her, gazing for one last time at the house her heart broke in. And the house Dinky mended her heart in. She flew slowly to Foxtrot's, her filly following behind her closely. In silence, they careened around buildings until they found the house. They landed in front of the door. "Have fun mommy! I'll miss you!" Dinky shouted. Without warning, Derpy grabbed hold of her child. She didn't want to forget her. That's why was going to find her benefactor.  "We have to show our benefactors we care about them. Otherwise, we'll forget what matters most," she whispered into Dinky's ear. She kissed her orchid forehead and ruffled her soft mane one last time. This is the last time she'd see Dinky. There were not enough words in the world to illustrate how grave a time this was for Derpy Hooves, previously known as the happiest soul in Equestria. She sniffed as she held her daughter tightly, making the moment last. "I'll never forget you, I promise," Derpy said. Dinky was dumbstruck. "Uh, yeah. I'll miss you too, mommy. You said you're coming back." Derpy hesitantly let go, pained by her past self filling Dinky's head with lies. "Right. Go knock on the door." Dinky strolled up to the door. And knocked twice. Almost immediately, Foxtrot opened the door. She saw nothing but Derpy at a distance. Derpy was shedding silent tears, inside and out. Her grey body trembled. Foxtrot looked down and spotted the reason. "Foxy, yay!" squealed Dinky. Foxtrot picked her up in her arms and held her in a hug. She looked over Dinky's shoulder back at Derpy with sinking eyes. "Goodbye, Dinky Doo Hooves." she said. "Bye mommy! Have fun! I love you!" Derpy turned and began her flight. She felt bad for lying to her daughter, but she began her quest. She had big plans for her last days. And that was to find her benefactor.

One of the first problems with her flight was the clouds. They were dark and foreboding, like her prognosis. She worried about having to stop for a while, waiting for the demonic bursts of thunder, and blinding whips of lightning to roll over her area. Time to wait, however, was something she didn't have. Her quest to find her benefactor could not be delayed. She braved winds and storms indescribable on mail duty; what would be so different about these storms on a final delivery? Mainly nothing. She tried not to think as she flew, because pegasi tend to have less energy when they're negative. But thoughts flowed to her. Sometimes she'd get lost in those imaginations, sometimes she'd fantasize. Yes, fantasize! She thought she was a glorious Hermes, delivering a letter to the almighty Zeus. Thoughts like these powered her on her eternal journey. She checked her compass to make for certain she was going due south. There was no error. She flew with confidence, the wind pushing her wings, propelling her forward with ease. She did not have use much energy, which was a good thing considering how much energy this flight would need. She braced herself as a roll of thunder shot out in the distance. She timed it in her head, carefully counting the number of seconds before the next dealing call of the storm rings out. It became louder, the danger growing. "I have to get there...my benefactor..." Derpy panted. There was one more thunder clap before she knew that the storm would be behind her. She counted down, "Three! Two! One!" On cue, the last clap banged out, showing a bright streak that slithered down from the Heavens. She sighed knowing it was over, that her quest was over. But, suddenly, a flash overcame her and in that same instant, a thundering whip made her whole body vibrate. She was hit, and going down fast.

She began her nosedive into the forest below. She could only hear ringing. Her flesh was numb. She couldn't tell if her wings were flapping or not, since every part of her seemed to shut down. Except her eyes. Those magnificent eyes. They watched the blotches of green get closer and closer. Different shades emerged. These were not inviting colors. She dove without chooce, water trickling out her half-open eyeballs and flying out beside her. Everything began to black out. She was in a dreamlike state, feeling like a kite floating on simple open breezes. She liked the feeling. Until she felt her back get bent in an awkward direction and her own hooves clap together. Then she felt it rock her insides. Her nerves tingled with sharp pain at every angle. She still was blind and deafened. But she was not mute. "I'm coming, benef..." Blackness.

Three.

Or perhaps two.

Derpy wasn't sure how long she had been knocked out. Her senses slowly came back to her. She expected to be at the doctor's office. With Doc telling her there were no needles. And Whambulance taking care of her. Oh, how she missed those times. She began to feel the crunching of her spine as she leaned up against the tree bark, her hooves dangling off a sturdy branch. That cannot be healthy. With sleepy reactions, she fumbled out of the tree. In her absence of feeling, she attempts to pry open her left wing. The letter was there, wrinkled but safe.  She also nabbed her compass, which was still pointing due south through a cracked lens. No sense replacing it. "I'll just have to make due," Derpy sighed. She got up, every appendage aching from the dive. Something cracked here, something popped there, and suddenly she felt brand new. Actually, she felt terrible. But at least she survived with her life and the letter intact. The seal was untampered. As it turns out, she was not struck, but being within inches of a thunderbolt shut down her nervous system with its shockwave. That's a relief; the letter could have been burnt up by the bolt. She looked up. The storm clouds were going right. They were still visible. The day had not yet ended.

Four.

She talked to herself for hours. It was the only voice she had to talk to. Anypony else would be called insane. But what could you expect from a "freak"? With nopony to judge her, she began to narrate. "Ouchers! Looks like the Derpy Express has crash landed in the Forest of Doom!" "Commander! Gimme a status report! Hooves, can you hear me?!" "Yessir, chief sir!" "Good, I thought we lost you. Nopony's ever survived a run-in with the evil Dr.  Badpony's zapper ray!" "It takes guts, chief sir." "Guts...I like it. Do you have visual on the target place?" "No, sir." "Blast! We'll have to set back Operation: Benefactor. Our ETA is-" It took a little bit to stay in the character she created as she walked alone, her wings hurting and her bruised body limping towards her goal. "Four days." Death or no death, she needed rest. She found the edge of the forest, still due south, and found an abandoned fox burrow. She squatted down, wincing with pain as she did so. It hurt so bad, but the dream of sleep and the sound of silence was the catalyst for pushing herself to the edge of pain resiliency. With gusto, she flopped into the dirty burrow, which surprisingly had a lot more room on the inside than it appeared on the outside. She shivered as the cold dirt offered no respite from the frigid night. She looked up at the tree roots that formed a cage around her temporary bed. She reflected on the day. She felt bad for lying to her daughter, but she layed her head to rest. She had big plans for where she was going. And that was due south as soon as she awoke. If she awoke.

Three.

She woke with a start that morning. The only explanation was the nightmare she had just had while sleeping on the burrow. It's strange sometimes, how somepony can experience a nightmare and forget what it was about the second they wake up. Derpy realized that she'd regret thinking about what it was that scared her in her slumber. Every other part of her was still sore, and the only thing she did not want was worry herself sick or lose the letter. She remembered the dream, frame by frame. Everything being black, and then a flash of white with a snap. Kind of like the lightning that almost cut her journey short. Every now and again, she'd hear the drumming if her own heartbeat against her ribcage, like bongos. A creature approached her on a flash of lightning, in first-pony view. It was jet black, reflective, and snake-like. It had glowing gold eyes that pierced Derpy's very soul. "I have been waiting for you, Derpy Hooves..." it growled in a voice that would make monsters scared. "According to my list, you had a maximum of five days to live. You have spent them, and have drained them doing not what you sought out to do." The frightening serpent leaned closer, revealing it had razor teeth. It spoke, and Derpy could see the grey smoke it exhaled. "As of now, the tumor is chiseling away at your psyche, your memory, and lastly, your organ function. You should have spent your measly final days digging your own grave. Arranging for what your headstone would read." The dastardly demon leaned in, his glinting jaw exhaling venomously rotten breaths. "I have a suggestion, if I may. Miss Derpy Hooves. A freak and a reject. Born? Who cares? Died? Not soon enough!" The monster laughed, it's sense of humor too sick for even a hardened stallion to take. Derpy broke down as her nightmare dropped her down, down, down,  into a wooden box. She was confused. The box closed. Outside, voices said. "Poor lass...hadn't the slightest idea where she was going. Got struck by lightnin', ended up under a tree." she heard nails being banged into the coffin. It reminded her of the thunder. She banged at the lid, but the eulogies continued to flood in. They became flashes of mockery. "She gives wide-eyed and bushy tailed a whole new meaning!" The crowd of "mourners" laughed. Familiar voices stepped up to the mic. "She made me the hard worker I am today. Literally! I had to pull that klutz's workload for a week!" The crowd roared. "She was with me until the end. End of our relationship. Now I'm living better than Derpy and I combined. It just didn't work." Derpy held her breath. "Whambulance?" she asked to nopony in particular. Clapping and laughter came from the mocking patrons. Derpy clawed at the coffin. "Let me out! I still have time!" Somepony got up to the stand. "Mommy, I thought you promised you'd come back..." The crowd bursted into laughter regardless of Dinky's serious subject matter. Derpy hopelessly hit the lid of the sealed coffin. Now she knew how a letter felt. "No..." she whined. And that's how she woke up that morning; kicking the roots of the tree and whining, "No..." She feared for her life. She decided that there would be no more sleep breaks on the trip. It was hazardous to her remaining sanity and health.

She still had three days. She headed south, with her compass, letter, and the haunting properties of her nightmare. It truly was a race against time.

She tried to analyze it. The snake was obviously a demon. But the laughing at a funeral? Did everypony think so poorly of her that they laughed at her death? At her mourning daughter? How cruel. "It was all a dream, Derpy," she reminded herself. She found it hard to shake off. It's not every night you envision being buried alive. She tried to think of hopeful things. This was something she'd need to keep up her energy. Dinky being happy, ponies getting mail, the benefactor getting mail. It was all too perfectly planned. She flew further, thinking and fantasizing as she would. The snake popped up again in her sick mind, hissing, "Time's up, Miss Hooves." She snapped out of her trance in time to watch the sunset on the dawn of her third day. It refueled her hope. It was beautiful. And it burned away the snake. She hoped she could stay awake. But suddenly as she flew, she felt a headache coming on. "Probably just me worrying myself," she said to herself. But it progressively got worse, the thumping became deafening, a ringing sensation beginning to take form in her ears. It was painful. She landed to sort it out. She felt exhausted, likely due to the flight, but her body began to feel problems as soon as she landed. Like weight, pushing against her. The same weight like the morning of the accident. "Oh no."

The weight dropped on her. The worst part is that her mental state weakened her, so the impact was much worse this time. Luckily she had landed on the ground. Who knows how this would have gone if she had been flying? Crashing again could seriously damage her. She began to see the tunnel of light forming in her eyes. The iris-in she never wanted to see. She became dizzy, her head shifting left and right. Nausea waved over her. The pounding was relentless in her head. Darkness consumed her vision fully. The ringing continued. She lost feeling, but her expiring mind was furiously pumping away, concentrating on recovering. "Please," she echoed in her head. She pictured how somepony walks, how they walk. How their joints move. She attempted to replicate it. He couldn't tell if she was moving forward or backwards. Then she slowed to a stop.

"No."

With that one word in her head, she beat the darkness. She kept crawling  without direction. Forwards or backwards did not matter to her. She was moving. She began to feel the rich earth's soil that she squirmed on. The blackness will not claim her. Her other senses faded in, the ringing stopped. She felt that it was harder for her to breathe, like she had choked on a piece of food. But she hadn't eaten in three days. Something was wrong internally. But she puffed her way forward, her crawl now more concise, covering larger distances with full vigor. Her sanity was the last thing to regain. The black serpent she had hallucinated a night ago returned to her. "Where are you going? You would have looked stunning dead under that tree." She strove onwards. "Fine, die out here in the middle of the forest. It is ungrateful, but who am I to stop your final wish?" It chuckled, but Derpy paid no heed to the demon. That's when things got physical. It picked up rocks it found lying on the path. It tossed them at her, pelting her withering body with stones. "Stop it. Stop right there," the beast continued as it tossed rocks at her bruised flesh. "Oh, when will you just roll over and die?" Derpy persevered, avoiding the deranged hell spawn and moved on. Its tone became worried. "I'm not sure I'll allow you to go further. I enjoyed watching you squirm, though. Please...stay and rest." Derpy would have none of it. She cried out to nopony because she was lonely and scared. She yelled, "Enough!" She grabbed a rock. "I'm going to make it, and you aren't coming with me!" With force, she bashed her skull with the rock, not enough to break it, but enough to damage the rift of sanity. The demon disappeared. She felt satisfied. She beat her inner demon. She wobbled as she attempted to get to her feet. She put one hoof in front, and with a deep exhale she moved another hoof forward. She was moving nearly normally now. She began to walk away from the disaster scene, one in which she had blacked out, yelled at herself, threw rocks at herself, and bashed her own cranium with a roadside stone. And now she felt normal. And ready to meet her benefactor and deliver a very important letter. She witnessed the moon rise. She was due South, just as she had hoped.

Two.

She walked up that lonesome dirt lane to the home. Her benefactor had always lived close to the trees. She remembered everything her benefactor gave her. The skills to learn, to live, to love. Now she was giving that love back. The letter she had painstakingly wrote was prepared for delivery, her very last. Her good attitude slowly returned, and it pacified her need to talk to herself. She thought wonderfully warm thoughts as she continued to breathe heavily through her one good lung. The other had given out on her after her face off with, well, herself. It did not concern her, though. She knew that the lungs were going to shut down, along with the rest of her vital organs. Doc said so himself. So, she thought the most of it and inhaled the deep, crisp air that was close to eluding her forever. She did not care, though, for every day she lived her day like it was her last. Why should this be any different? She was the happiest soul in Equestria once again, against all odds! She thought after she delivered the letter, she'd go back home and tell Dinky the truth. She deserved to hear it. She may understand and perhaps for one last time they could hold each other. And maybe she'd return to Doc's office to get that venom. She did not want to go painfully, even if it meant getting a shot. She wondered where she'd go after dying. She hoped for the best.

Out of nowhere, Derpy's walk was stopped by a wall. Not JUST a wall, but a giant oak tree. It's cool bark had hit Derpy in the face. She looked up and was excited again. Her heart began to beat too fast. She attempted to calm down, knowing that beating too quickly may result in cardiac arrest. It would be a shame to come so far and come up short of the door. The message would never get delivered. With force, she heaved her way up the mammoth tree's surface, revealing a tiny cottage inside the tree. This was it. She opened the door, and was a bit shocked that the old place looked the same after all these years. Her benefactor would play with her, teach her, love her like a child in this very treehouse where her benefactor dwelled. She began to remember the time they spent down by the lake. Her flash ack began to resurface. "Why are we looking for frogs?" "We're looking for frogs, Derpy, because we need to teach you patience." The young filly threw her arms in frustration and udder disappointment. In a voice that was a bit too loud, she cried, "I give up! We'll never see any frogs, and we've been here for an hour! I'm going home!" Before she stormed off, her benefactor put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "You have to learn that patience is key, and you must also unceasingly pursue your dreams. Don't let anypony tell you different." the memory faded, like old film that gets burned by the projector light. She knew that her benefactor was around here somewhere. Derpy decided to yell out her name.

"Mama, I'm home."

She huffed and puffed around the house, looking at all the different knick-knacks on the shelf. Her mother was not here. How strange. Surely the vacation was over by now. There was simply no other explanation. It must be a long vacation. She began to think of Dinky Doo again, and her heart began to beat harder. She did not attempt to control it. She, again, felt bad for lying to her daughter about going with Miss Sandstone.

She froze.

She told her daughter that she was going away...but coming back. Derpy made a connection, right there in her benefactor's cozy cottage. The connection that would change everything. Her mother, her teacher, her light, her benefactor had left her, saying she was going on vacation...but she would be back soon. Her heart was pounding. The facts rushed to her. Used to have straight eyes, had crossed eyes for two years, began coughing and wheezing. Was it flu season? It was July. There was no flu in sight. So her mother was losing it, her grip She made up the story about going on a vacation to protect Derpy from the truth. She really wasn't coming back. She was going out to get venom in her veins to go silently. She knew this was happening. It was hereditary all along. Her mother wanted to keep it under wraps so Derpy could live the carefree life she lived before the hospital, before the fall, before the letter. Before the quest. Was Derpy simply following her hoofsteps? Was it destined to happen? She could not believe it. Her heart was on full throttle. Every emotion hit her in waves. Tsunamis of hate, typhoons of sadness, tides of denial. Everything was hitting her and at full force. She felt her heart slow. Almost immeasurable. And then she dropped.

She looked about in desperation, but the house was empty except for the ghost of her benefactor. Derpy clawed at a table leg to prop herself up, but her reach could not be completed. Instead, she shook the table, causing a photo frame to fall. It shattered on impact but the image was clear to see. It was the wedding picture of her father and his mother, and both pairs of straight, dreamy eyes. Those damn eyes. They were nothing special; they meant her death. She crawled as far as she could. Her nerves were shutting down again. She had little time left. She grabbed her letter and shakily placed it on the table for nopony to read. She had completed her quest, but was now struggling to survive. "It's not fair," she thought as her body shut down. "I still had a day left! I had more time than this! No, this couldn't be the end!" But the light faded, and Derpy's face went cold. She extended her arm, as she thought stretching would stop the internal explosions. But they only made it worse. She clenched her stomach with her hoof, writhing and bleeding from the mouth. In her struggle, she knocked the letter off the table. She did not see it hit the ground, but she watched it fall. It fell, unopened, onto the oak board surface. Derpy was not done yet.

Accumulating as much muscle as she could, she squirmed over to the letter and with her teeth she managed to rip it open. She figured she would be the last pony to read it since nopony else would. She forgot everything. She couldn't see, all she could see was blackness. The letter was faded, just like every other memory. She lied agape, begging for mercy in silent thought. The note unfurled as she lay gasping for air, her organs stopping pulsing one by one.

"Hi! It's Derpy.
I really really really miss you. I remember when you said you were leaving me for vacashun but you never came back. You must still be out. I got sick, doctor guy says I don't have much longer.  I don't know what to say. I just came to leave this letter here, so when you come back frum your vacashun you can reed it. I left Dinky with a foalsitter this time, because your house is so far away from Cloudsdale. By the time you read this letter, I'll be home safe with Dinky. I love her so much! She wants to be like me. I wish you were back so you could see how big she's  getting! She makes me a proud mama!
I hope I made you feel like a proud mama, too.
I love you mommy. You are my Benifactor." 

At the bottom was a blotchy "Love, Derpy Hooves".

Derpy coughed and wheezed, plasma dribbling out of her mouth. Her air was being constricted because her lungs were not opening, and she felt like a fish out of the ocean. She was on the floor, pressed by her bad fate. She tried to review her life, like other ponies do. Their lives flashed before their eyes. But Derpy's accursed eyes only saw her, the marvelous Ditzy Doo Hooves. "Why did I leave you?" she thought slowly. She rolled on to her back, the darkness swallowing her retinas whole and her heart on its last beats. She felt bad for lying to her daughter, but she finally layed her head to rest. She deserved this sleep. She had big plans for where she was going. And that was where her benefactor was.

Where she was meant to be.