//------------------------------// // First Meeting // Story: Muffin Time // by DrJohnSmith //------------------------------// Muffin Time First Meeting By Dr. John Smith A young unicorn filly was excited as she always was. Cheerilee had given the class an assignment on how their parents had met each other. Dinky was excited because she got to ask her mom how she met her dad. The young filly burst from the school door and almost instantly rammed into a tree. An array of laughter echoing in her ears and a snarly voice ringing out in an all too familiar tone. A familiar “Watch where you’re going ‘Dinky Dork’ before you hit one too many trees and become just as weird as your mom.” The snarky Rich family descendant bellowed. Diamond Tiara with her lackey, the whimpering Silver Spoon, cackled from the school yard. Dinky shook off her insults with a look. “Hey! My momma has perfect vision!” The filly defended. Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes at Dinky’s attempt to defend her mom. This gave the foal a nasty idea. With a smirk she turned to Dinky. “At least I have parents. You have a weird mom and the weird clocksmith.” The words hit Dinky deep. Tears welled in her eyes as the Cutiemark Crusaders chased off Diamond Tiara. Sweetie Belle wrapping a hoof around her shoulder to make sure she was feeling okay. “Dinks, don’t let Diamond Tiara get to you.” The Crusader unicorn gave it some thought. She was rejoined by her cohorts when an idea struck. “Hey! Why not ask Derpy how she met Dr. Hooves!”  Dinky’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea!” The filly collected her books and charged up and raced off with a ‘Thanks guys!’ as she ran off. -000- The door to the cottage flung open as the filly raced in. Derpy was resting on the couch as Doc was working on some clocks and rambling on about his recent experiments. He often brought his work to their house so he could keep Derpy company, and vise versa. The sounds she made woke her mother and scared Doc and caused him to drop an hourglass. Dinky excitedly sat next to Derpy as she pulled out her assignment paper. “Miss. Cheerilee gave us an assignment on how our parents met. Since I don’t know my birth dad I thought “Why not ask mommy how she met Doc!” that has to be an interesting story!” She finished talking and happily pulled out her papers. With pen in mouth the filly was excited to hear about how Derpy met Doc. “Oh dear, I dunno Muffin.” Derpy began, “It’s long and boring. You sure you wanna hear it?” Dinky nodded excitedly.  “The young girl has to hear Cheerilee ramble on and on about ancient Equestrian history, and the times Celestia had to give a speech while her mane was on fire. I’m sure she can handle our first meeting!” Doc chimed in. Both mare and filly shot each other knowing looks. “You sure it’s not also ‘cause a certain stallion goes on and on about science?” The mare joked. Doc fell flush as he turned back to the clock. With a clearing of her throat, Derpy began. “Well… it all started many years before you were born. The day Doc moved to Ponyville.” -000- The young pegasus flew through the streets of Ponyville with glee. A paper in hoof as she zipped by the newly opened flower shop. Derpy Doo had just applied to become the new mailmare after the retirement of Courier Post. Due to excitement, and the little problem with her eyes, she wasn’t entirely watching where she was going. When she looked up and was flying face first to a cart full of… clocks?  BAM Derpy landed face first into the cart. All she could hear was coo coos and tickings. Her mane covered in sand from broken hourglasses. With a yank, she felt herself being pulled out and onto the ground. “Sweet Celestia! Are you alright!?” She looked up to catch who was talking to her. A grayish amber Stallion wearing an unnecessarily long scarf and fedora stood over her. He spoke in an accent that sounded like he was from Trottingham. “Ma’am? Ma’am! Oh Luna… I do hope she’s okay.” He held out a hoof. Derpy slowly reached out for the hoof to stand back up. The stallion took off his hat to reveal a slicked back mane of dark gamboge. “That was a nasty crash you made.” Derpy shook her head to clear her mane of any debris. She faced the stallion as in an attempt to act as if she didn’t land face first into a pile of clocks. “I’m so sorry sir! I just don’t know what went wrong.” The mare said with a weak smile. Noticing the cart was a moving one, she only had one thought. “Are you new in town?” “Indeed! I am Time Turner! I am here because I heard Ponyville was in need of a clocksmith.” Time Turner explained. Derpy’s face beamed. “Oh we need one of those! Town Hall's clock hasn’t rung since-” Derpy gave it some thought as she rubbed a hoof under chin. “Oh, well I guess since I was a filly.” She said with a smile. The stallion nodded. Taking out a few clocks from his cart to show them off to the mare. “Mayor Mare sent letters pleading for an expert clocksmith all over Equestria.” The stallion reached into his cart. Digging through and tossing clock after clock. The mare dodging a flying grandfather clock. “Aha!” he exclaimed as he showed her a flyer.  Clocksmiths of Equestria: I seek expert clocksmiths to fix the Town Hall clock. A terrible thunderstorm struck the clock precisely 10,000 moons ago and it hasn’t rung since! Please respond post haste or visit in person by coming to Ponyville Town Hall. Sincerely, Mayor Mare of Ponyville Derpy stared at the paper with awe. She was excited that somepony might finally be able to fix the clock. The mare offered to take the stallion to town hall. She blushed slightly at him as he put his hat back on. Derpy tried and tried to think of conversations but she just wasn’t much of a conversationalist. It wasn’t until she turned to the post office that ticked something off. Time Turner noticed her giddy glee when she began to giggle to herself. “Excited, are we?” “Yuhuh! I just applied to be a new mailmare!” Derpy nodded repeatedly with the biggest smile that could outmatch Celestia on a good day. “I’m so excited!” Time Turner smiled and chuckled at his new companions' excitement over her new employment. The two walked along more until they reached the center of town. A beige mare with a pink-ish graying mane trotted back and forth. The pegasus whispered closely. “That’s Mayor Mare. She’s who you need to talk to!” Time Turner tipped his hat at the mare as the two trotted up to the delegate pony. Mayor Mare; a regal mare in charge of all of Ponyville, greeted her potential time telling savior. “Mayor, I think this stallion is here to help with the clock.” “Thank you Bubbles.” “It’s Derpy.” “Whatever you say, Muffins.” Mayor Mare bowed to the scarfed pony. Guiding them to the inside and the very tip top of the tower. The two trotted up the inner mechanisms of the clock. The gears old and the cogs not moved in 10,000 moons. Dust caking the inner walls and all the pieces. Time Turner scanned the clock's innards closely to see what the problem was but nothing stood out. Most of the deeper parts scorched from lightning and many from the years of neglect. Time Turner thought for a moment as he eyed his surroundings. The stallion rubbed his chin with a hoof as he pondered what to do. Mayor Mare stepped forward with eyes pleading towards the clocksmith. “Can you fix it?” “Not only can I fix it, but it will ring and tick much louder than it did before!” Time Turner exclaimed. Both mares cheered with Derpy clapping her forehooves together. “I need to collect my tools and then reconstruction begins!”  -000- “HOLD IT!” the voice of the young filly cried out. Derpy stopped mid-story with her forehooves slowing down from clapping. The older mare chuckled in embarrassment. “Doc, your name is Time Turner? And you came to Ponyville to fix the Town Hall clock?”  Doc nodded at the filly’s question. “Before making roots in Ponyville I travelled the land fixing clocks to fund my research.” Doc held up a bright pink clock covered in glitter. With the tick of the hour hand an explosion of confetti burst from the clock and covered the stallion. “Note to self; ask Pinkie to de-Pinkie her clock when it needs repairs.”  The mare and filly giggled to themselves before Derpy turned to her daughter. “Can I continue, Muffin?” The filly nodded. “Good, now where was I? Oh right! Doc ran out to his cart-” -000- The mare floated shyly out of the hall as she watched the stallion tossed his scarf and hat into the cart. Showing off a white collar with an elegant green tie. Tossing more clocks aside he pulled out a small wooden tool box with an emblem to match his cutiemark. Derpy marveled for a moment as he dug through for tools. All of them being made for clocks on a much smaller scale. The pegasus felt a heat creep across her face as he mumbled to himself. Attempting to clear her throat the pegasus bumped into his cart, causing it to tip over and cover her on clocks. ‘I’m okay!’ was uttered from the pile. The stallion looked over from his tools with a start. “Good word! Are you okay!?”  The mare popped up from the pile, her mane full of sand. “I’m okay.” It was then he noticed her eyes. Her golden eyes that peered off in two different directions. “Oh my, are you sure you’re alright?” He inquired. “I’m pretty sure, why?” “It’s just-” Derpy’s eyes widened. “Oh! You mean my eyes?” The stallion nodded “Oh no! My eyes have always been like this. Carrot Top calls them ‘wall eyes’ it’s very common from what I’ve been told.” The stallion held her head in his hooves as he stared into them. His ocean cerulean gleamed at her golden glow as she fell with a blush. “I’m Derpy, by the way.” “Time Turner and you simply must visit my lab!” “Your la-” “Oh! First, I must fix the clock! Be out in a jiffy.” The stallion zipped into town hall. Derpy sat there for a moment as purple hearts protruded from her person. Her heart beat heavily and her face as hot as an oven. Her mind began to race at the thought of the stallion. He wants to check out my eyes? But, they’re not that special… As her mind thought she began to think of the one pony to help. Her oldest friend; Carrot Top. The only place her friend could be found this time of day was the bizarre setting up her carrot stand. “Carrot Top! She’ll know what to-” -000- “HOLD IT!” a new voice shouted out. Derpy stopped floating in mid air to greet her friend sitting in a recliner across the coffee table. The yellow mare with an orange mane and three carrots for a cutiemark stared at Derpy with a twitching eye. “THAT IS NOT MY NAME!” She yelled out, “MY NAME IS GOLDEN HARVEST!” Derpy floated back to her seat next to Dinky and cleared her throat. “Hiya Carrot Top! How long have you been here?” The orange mare let out an exasperated groan/sigh. “I’ve been here the whole time!” Derpy blinked “You invited me over for tea while Doc works?” Another blink “Just get to the part where I come in already.” Derpy nodded. “So, there I was; flying through Ponyville looking for Carrot Top-” -000- The pegasus flew through the bizarre with purpose; finding Carrot Top. The orange mare was setting up her stand with bushels of carrots. She may not have the same audience as the Apple Family’s apple karts but her carrots made a decent living. She spent the greater part of the day setting up her stand only for her bubbly friend to crash into it and ruin hours of setting up. With a roll of her eyes and groan she knew who it was that caused it all. “Hey Derps, mind explaining why you set me back hours of setting up?” The gray mare shook the carrots out of her mane with an embarrassed giggle. “Hey Carrot Top.. how long have you been here?” “That’s not my name and I’ve been here since sun up. I’m here every day, remember? I kinda sell carrots?” Derpy blinked at her friend's explanation. The mare stared back in deadpan before shaking it off. “Okay Derps, what’s up?” Derpy went on to explain her meeting with the stallion. Her expressions of almost infatuation for a stallion she’d just met only a few minutes ago. Golden Harvest put a hoof to her chin and gave it some thought. Derpy cared deeply for the stallion and it was clear. Carrot Top had only seen Derpy this happy one other time — her ex husband — That was a time best be forgotten. The carrot mare walked with her friend back to the center of town, unknowingly to Derpy, Golden Harvest was leading her back to the clock tower and kept her talking so the pegasus was none the wiser. It didn’t take Derpy long to realize until she ran face first into the familiar clock kart, and the stallion beside it. Derpy paused with a blush across her face. “Buh-Wah- Carrot Top!” “Oops! Well, I gotta get back to my carrots. Bye!” Golden Harvest zipped off to leave the flustered mess as Time Turner returned to greet her. “Derpy, dear girl! This clock was sure something.” “Did you fix it?” “Not yet. I asked Mayor Mare if it was alright to set up shop here until it’s finished.” Derpy began to celebrate until the last bit hit her. ‘Until it’s fixed’ Oh no.. he’ll leave when it’s finished. “Say, Timey Wimey,” Time Turner gave the mare a confused expression as he repeated her nickname back to him. She giggled at his confusion. Her giggle. Like he was to Derpy, Time Turner felt an infatuation with the absentminded mare. Something about her wanted him to stay in Ponyville. He could hear his mother’s voice calling out ‘love at first sight.’ Her messy blonde mane that hung over her face but still gave him a view of her walled eyes. “Yup! It’s my nickname for you.” She paused for a moment. “Should.. Should I not give you a nickname?” Time Turner shook his head. “Oh no, my dear girl! By all means. Timey Wimey is a fine nickname!” Derpy pulled him into a hug as her head nuzzled into his neck. Time Turner’s face was blushing brighter than Celestia’s sun. “O-Okay Derpy, y-y-you can let go now.” Derpy realized just how long she was hugging and quickly let go. The two walked through town to the residential part. Looking for a nice single home for Time Turner to call home while he fixes the clock. The mare listened in fascination as the stallion went on about his true passion; science. This struck her with a question. “So why do you like science so much anyway?” Time Turner’s eyes widened at the pegasus’ question. “Dear girl, my love for science and my passion began when I was just a foal. A traumatic experience where I witnessed a mare wearing an eyepatch blipped into existence. When she vanished I dedicated my life to discovering who she was and where she came from!” Derpy looked on in awe at his story. Wondering where he got his cutiemark as well. Time Turner noticed her looking and scratched his head in embarrassment. "Well, that came from when my mother’s hourglass broke and I spent a week trying to fix it. It’s not as impressive a story. My special talent allows me to produce funding for my true passion; science!” “Wow, you’re a regular Dr. Hooves!” Derpy paused at her own words. A wide smile creeping across her face. “Oh, I know! Your new nickname is-”  -000- “Doc!” Donkey finished off in front of her class. Everyone, including Ms. Cheerilee and all the other parents, stared in wonder at Dinky’s story. “And that’s how my momma met Doc.” Upon her finishing the entire class cheered.  In the back, Derpy clapped her forehooves together as Doc wrapped one heroung her shoulder. “Derpy, she is growing up to be a fine young girl. Isn’t she?” Derpy rested her head against his neck and began to nuzzle. “You’ve been a big part of that, Doc. I don’t know what either of us would do without you.” Doc rested his chin against the top of her head as he nuzzled her mane. “I could say the same to you, Muffin.”