A day off! I love helping ponies by delivering packages and letters but it’s hard sometimes. I can’t read hoof writing too well and I get it wrong a lot. Then I have to go back, find the package and bring it to where it was really supposed to go.
It can be exhausting. Sometimes I just come home and just fall right to sleep, sometimes right in the middle of the floor. Luckily my roommate understands and can normally get me into bed. Except for those times when she trips over me.
But I didn’t have to worry about that. I had the day off. I could do whatever I wanted and I wanted to see my girlfriend, Princess Twilight Sparkle. It had only been a month but it was the best month ever. I was sure if I could see her my day off would be even better.
“You leaving, Derpy?” My roommate, Cherry Berry called out.
“I was thinking of going to Twilight’s… do you think that’s ok?” I didn’t want to crowd my new girlfriend but I wanted to see her so bad. I was thinking about her more than ever. Especially at work, all I wanted to do want snuggle with her, and kiss and-
“I’m sure it’s fine. You two are going out now. She should be just as happy to see you.” Cherry patted my shoulder and I felt a little better.
“Derpy! I’m glad you’re here!”
“You are?!” I stood outside the castle, feeling the shock of Spike’s words run through me. Somepony was glad I was there! Even if it wasn’t Twilight at least it was close.
“Yeah, come in, I’d like to talk to you about something.” He waved a claw at me and I followed him into the library. I didn’t see Twilight anywhere. Was she on another mission? I felt my excitement pop. She probably was on one for my day off.
“Uhh you ok?” Spike sat down on a really comfy chair, but didn’t look as happy as he was before. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I didn’t? Good. Is Twilight away on a mission?” I scuffed my hooves on the floor hoping that it would cover the answer I didn’t want to hear.
“No, she’s still reading in her private study I think. She’s been hitting the books pretty hard again. She does that every so often.” Spike looked towards the door, a little concerned.
It was my cue to go cheer her up and help her live a little. I started towards the door he looked at. Twilight might be just as excited to see me as Spike was. I could give nice hug and smooch and-
“Derpy? Aren’t you going to help me?” Spike looked a little pale.
“Oh right.” I returned to the chair while he shook his head. “What do you need me to do?”
“Just listen. I like this other mailcreature that works in your office.”
“Another mailmare?” I couldn’t think of any other ones that work there except me.
“No she’s not a mare. I think they’re called a hen?”
“You fell in love with a chicken?”
“What! No!”
“I didn’t know you liked chickens like that!” I had no idea that dragons and chickens could be a couple.
“I don’t-“
“I guess you do both come from eggs so you have that in common.”
“Derpy-“
“I will help you find your chicken of love!” I wrapped my wings around him. It was a very special moment trusting me with a thing like this. I couldn’t think of any postal chickens but if Spike liked one there must be one.
“Derpy listen! She’s not a chicken.” His little claws pushed me off him and his face told me that I messed up again. “She’s a griffin. A griffin!”
“Oh… I know one of those.” I remembered meeting a mailgriffin recently, she talked a lot and very fast. “I think she works at the post office! Maybe she knows the griffin you like.”
“She is the griffin I like,” sighed the little dragon, holding his head. Maybe I hugged him too hard.
“Oh good! Then she definitely knows her. Do you want me to get her?” I could fly over to the office but I was told not to on my days off. They said I helped a lot by enjoying myself someplace not at work.
“No! No! I just… how do you tell someone you like them? I’ve never done that before.” He looked so small and scared. I had to help him.
“Mail her a letter.” Letters could tell somepony anything you wanted and you didn’t have to be there.
“Uhh I could maybe … she is a mail carrier. If I make it a cute thing it won’t seem so sad.” He looked excited and rushed out of the chair to the writing desk. “Do you think you could deliver it?”
“Uhh it’s my day off. I can’t go back there today.” I wanted to help but I didn’t want to upset the post office either.
“Maybe she’s on her rounds? I would really appreciate it if you could.” He held the little letter close to his chest and I felt the want it also held. It was a letter with a very special purpose. As much as I wanted to see Twilight, Spike needed me.
“Ok, do you know her route?” I tried to remember which one she had but the board got so confusing with numbers and lines on it.
“She should be between Carrot Top’s and Fluttershy’s cottage by now...” Spike looked away, very red.
“Wow! You’re devoted!” He seemed to know her schedule better than I know mine. That was true love.
“It doesn’t sound creepy?” Spike didn’t want to look at me for some reason. Maybe he was just thinking about the griffon.
“Of course not! It sounds like some dragon is in loooove. I’ll take this letter to her ok? Don’t worry! I’ll make sure it gets there.” I patted his head and turned to leave.
“Derpy?”
“Hmm?” I trotted down the hallway a bit.
“The uh letter?”
“Oh…” I returned and he carefully handed me the letter in a little envelope. I placed it in my saddle bag. This was the first friendship mission I had been entrusted with. I couldn’t screw it up.
I flew through most of Ponyville and I couldn’t find her. Was Spike wrong? Was she even working today? I checked halfway between Fluttershy’s Cottage and Applejack’s farm but no griffin. I checked halfway between the Mayor’s office and Sugarcube corner, no Gabby. I even checked halfway between Twilight’s Castle and the creepy Castle of Two Sisters and that turned out to be a swamp in the Everfree Woods!
I was nearly turned to stone by a manticore and bitten by a chicken snake. Then a squirrel jumped on my face while the chicken snake tried to answer a simple question. Or was it a chicken snake that turned ponies to stone? Maybe the squirrel was helping. Either way I made it back to Ponyville, wet, tired and my nerves hurt. This was not the day off I hoped for.
“Hey Derpy,” said a cheery voice, as I flopped on the road. Hopefully the chicken snake didn’t follow me. “You look… tired.”
I looked at the griffin behind me as she smiled an awkward smile. “That’s not a bad thing. Some ponies can pull off the tired look, I’m sure it looks ok. I could help pull the twigs from your mane if you like. Unless they’re supposed to be there. Oh! Is it like a pony rite of passage?! Like a quest! You have to run through the Everfree forest screaming and finish the quest with a squirrel on your face?”
The squirrel finally let go and was panting next to me. It looked like it was scared to death but glared at me like I had offended it. I gave it a few friendly pats on its head with my wing.
“No, I was in the forest looking for a mail griffin.” I slowly stood up and offered the squirrel a ride. It looked around as if trying to think of any other choice then begrudgingly climbed on my back.
“Oh a male griffin, those aren’t that hard to find in Griffin Stone. Did you check there? That’s not in the Everfree Forest though it’s miles and miles away. And most of them aren’t very friendly. Well most griffins aren’t very friendly but the males are really really unfriendly. Especially Grandpa Grif, he takes care of me and Gilda, oh! Did you know Gilda and Rainbow Dash are a couple now? I told Spike about it but he already knew.” The griffin talked a lot and I got a little dizzy. Finally she asked, “What did you need a male griffin for?”
“I have a letter for them.” I pulled the letter out of my bag. It was a little swampy but I could still read the words on it.
Gabby took it and peered at the address. “That’s not for a male griffin, silly. It’s for me! I’m a female. But you knew that. Oh did you mean a mail griffin because I am that. That’s good you didn’t go to Griffon Stone because I was in Ponyville today. Who’s it from?”
I was staring at the clouds to steady myself from all the information when she stopped talking. What had she said? She looked at me happily and I looked around for clues. Maybe she asked me a question. “That’s a tough question,” I guessed. “Maybe you could ask Twilight?”
“Was it from her? Oh wait it says from Spike on it. Sillyhead, trying to trick me. I should read it!” She announced it like everypony should gather around her to listen.
I hoped they didn’t. Spike wrote that for her, not to be read aloud. Oh! I remembered it was a love letter, maybe I should give her some space so she-
“It’s-it’s a love letter! It’s a love letter from Spike! He -he never told me he loved me!” Gabby’s neck feathers puffed up, making her look like she had a beautiful mane around her head. She looked around like she won a prize. “Derpy what do I say?! I never had someone tell me they loved me before! The most I could hope for was being tolerable. And I don’t get told that often either! What am I supposed to say?!”
“Well, do you like him?” I never expected so many ponies -er creatures to be asking me for love advice. Was it because I was dating a princess? I owed the two of them the best advice I could give.
“Of course I do! I want to see him every day! Sometimes every second of that day! I want to play that weird game he talks about, and read those comics he has and learn about his favorite foods and clothes and-“
“It sounds like you like him a lot.” My head was getting fuzzy again.
“Oh I do! But but but what do I say? I can’t tell him all that stuff! I’d sound like I live for him or something. I don’t even know how to date a dragon. What kind of compliments do they like? They might not like griffin compliments.” She started running around like a cat chasing her tail. It made me dizzier.
“What are griffin compliments?” I stopped trying to watch her before I fell over.
“You know, things like ‘Your voice is grating but at least you look pretty’ or ‘When we hold paws I want to vomit after a full quarter mile’” Gabby finally sat down after she noticed my eyes starting to move away from each other. Was she serious? Those sounded like horrible things to say.
“Maybe just stop at the good parts? Like ‘you look pretty’ or ‘you’re very… shiny?’” I didn’t know what Spike would like to hear either. Someponies like to be shiny.
“He is! He’s the shiniest dragon in Equestria! It’s so stunning to look at him! Do you think I should tell him that?! I could! Maybe… oh my gosh! I’m so nervous now! What if he hates how shiny he is? What if he’s embarrassed by it?! What if I suck at Ogres and Oubliettes?!” Her puffy feather mane started to look matted and some feathers fell off.
“It’s a fun game. I played that with him and the rest of the girlfriend team a few days ago!” It was a proud moment to remember. Sitting down around the girlfriends of the most important ponies in Equestria and I was one of them.
“You did?! Did you win? Was it hard?!” She grabbed me with her paws and shook me a little. The squirrel on my back nearly fell off. Maybe I should feed him some acorns for all the trouble he went through.
“N-no. Spike m-made easy so I could understand. We did defeat the evil Squidmonster and saved Princess Smabby.”
“Smabby?! Who’s that?”
“A girl in the game Garbunkle, Spike’s character, likes. He’s a wizard. She’s a griffin too.” I thought it was odd how much Smabby and Gabby seemed similar. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence. Could Spike have done it on purpose?
“I see. Well, I-I guess I should talk to him about it. But-but I’m so nervous. Why am I so nervous when I know he likes me like I like him?! How do I get past it?! What if I can’t?! Will I ever be able to see him again?!” Gabby flopped on the ground in front of me. I petted her head with my wing, like ponies had done for me when I was upset.
“It’s going to be ok. Spike is a good dragon. You’re a good griffin. You’ll both get through this scary thing. You’ll be happy you did, even if it’s the most terrifying thing you’ve ever done.” I continued petting as her feathers started to lay back along her neck. She didn’t look as scared, the petting was helping.
“You’re right. It’s probably so scary because it’s really worth it. Spike and I have been friends for a long time and we both like each other. I think we have to take that next step, to see where it leads. If we want to be together, we will.” She wiped her eyes with her wing. “Thanks Derpy, you’re a great friend.”
She stood up, looking determined and tall. I wish I could look like that. Then she uncurled her wings and started to fly towards Twilight’s castle. She paused a few flaps away. “You coming? I need somepony to make sure I don’t chicken out.”
So Spike did like a chicken. I snickered as I followed the griffin, she didn’t chicken out but she did slow down a few times. I made sure she got there, like a real friend would.