Equestria’s brilliant moon gently illuminated everything below; its beauty and serenity carefully graced by the sound of serenading crickets in the nearby trees. Princess Luna’s magnificent work made this night perfect. There was no pony in Equestria who wouldn’t appreciate the scenery, except one.
Derpy’s hooves scraped along the ground, hovering just slightly above it, as she struggled to flap her wings. Moving forward at a moderately slow pace, the pony felt like some elderly pegasus on her morning stroll. Her hopes of gaining altitude had disappeared along with that seemingly boundless energy.
A calm stream passed beneath the pony as she lay on top of a small bridge, her legs and wings spread out.
“Pizza… need to deliver… pizza,” she said in an exhausted tone. The sound of the cricket’s gentle lullaby echoed lightly in the night air as the grey pegasus repeatedly struggled to find that lost energy. Her dutiful mind rejected the notion of giving up and fought to continue. But the pony’s tired body refused to obey her commands.
“Must deliver… must deliver pizza…” the mail mare said with one last breath, succumbing to the peaceful song of the night. She closed her weary eyes and slept on the cold wooden bridge. Her heartfelt words however, never went unheard as a passing pegasus neared her home.
“O my, let’s get you inside.”
A warm, gentle embrace greeted the grey pegasus, slowly opening her eyes to find a comfortable blanket covering her body; its hoof quilted butterfly pattern was barely visible in the moonlight that came from a nearby window. The pony fought to stay awake, but that wondrously soft, thick blanket soothed her to sleep. Not even that strange creature’s chaotic magic, raining down rhinos and elephants onto large pieces of bubble wrap containing explosive chocolate flavored liquid could wake her.
However, one sound, almost inaudible, pierced the air of the calm moment, reverberating in the pony’s ears. The sound horrified the tired mare and caused her to immediately open her eyes. She shoved the thick blanket off of her then dashed for the nearby door. The mail mare, wanting to be polite, slowly opened the door before darting down the steps to the main area of the cottage.
“THIEF!” she quickly bellowed. Her suspicions confirmed.
Derpy snatched the pizza box away from the white rabbit before it could take a slice. The bunny crossed its front paws and rapidly tapped its right hind leg on the ground, staring callously at the mare. Without hesitation, the pegasus gazed back at the animal with an equally terrifying gaze. She was ready to defend the contents of the box with whatever energy was left in her body.
“Angel? Angel is our guest awake?” a charming voice said in a quiet, polite tone. The yellow pegasus came from a side room and saw the two in their battle of wills. “Now Angel, be nice to our guest. It’s not nice to stare.”
“Hello, I’m Fluttershy. It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss… ” the shy mare’s words barely reached Derpy as she continued to stare at the rabbit. A small moment presented itself, allowing the grey pegasus to look inside the pizza box. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief after finding every slice in pristine condition. Not a single chocolate chip was out of place or touched.
The grey pegasus--taking a second to calm her frayed nerves--politely introduced herself to the animal loving pony.
“Did you bring me inside?” Derpy slightly grinned. Fluttershy quietly replied, “Yes. Well no, actually, it was me with the help from my friends. We found you collapsed on the little bridge that led to my home. You seemed very tired, so we brought you into my room. I’ve never seen a pony recover so quickly after trying some of my homemade soup. It’s only been seven minutes since you were brought inside.”
The dutiful mare felt a cold chill run up her spine after hearing the kind pony’s words. However, she wiped the sweat from her forehead, letting out a quick and quiet sigh, seeing the minute hand pointing at three. Only ten minutes total had passed since her collapse instead of an hour. She could still make the delivery on time and claim her reward.
“Won’t you stay for a late night snack? I could certainly use the company.” The yellow pegasus smiled, watching the grey pony about to leave. “I’m really sorry, but I must decline Fluttershy. I’m on an important mission right now. This dessert pizza needs to be delivered to…”
Derpy quickly turned to see the white rabbit happily sitting on her flank. Angel closed his eyes, heavily sniffing the wonderful aroma coming from the open pizza box. He gave a sinister stare towards the yellow pegasus after being removed from the grey pony’s back. The white rabbit maintained his deadly gaze as he turned towards the mail mare.
“Now now little bunny, this isn’t for you. It’s for….” being interrupted, yet again, the pony felt the rabbit standing on top of her light hued mane. Angel flung open the pizza box’s cover once more and tried to remove a slice as the grey pegasus held the pizza box above her head with her left hoof.
Fluttershy latched onto her bunny, and then promptly set him on the ground, gesturing towards the corner with her hoof. Angel gave the yellow pegasus a sorrowful, wide-eyed look as he repeatedly pointed to his mouth. The cucumber lettuce salad with a banana split chaser barely sedated the rabbit’s hunger. A slice--or several slices--of dessert pizza would do the trick in taming his appetite.
“Go play in the corner Angle bunny, I need to talk with our guest.” the yellow pegasus told her pet in a firm, yet kind tone. Derpy watched the pony calmly put her pet in the corner; it was anything but an “Angel” the more she looked at the shy mare’s white rabbit.
Resuming her train of thought, the dutiful mail mare promptly told the kind pony that she had to deliver the pizza to Princess Celestia and it was urgent.
“It’s great to help out a fellow pony. There’s no need for that,” Fluttershy said, refusing the pony’s bits as compensation for the hospitality. Derpy stretched out her wings, flexing them as she felt that lost energy returned. The grey pegasus thanked the animal loving pony for the kindness once more before heading outside, flying into the night sky to continue her journey. Though she couldn’t beat Rainbow Dash’s record, Derpy could still make it to Canterlot on time.
Only a few seconds had passed since the mail mare’s departure when a loud knock came from the front door of the cottage. Fluttershy found Derpy calmly standing at her doorstep, and then proceeded to the corner with the mail mare calmly behind her, showing the contents of the box to Angel. The white rabbit--giving a sheepish grin to both pegasi--produced the real dessert pizza box from his hiding place under the rug.
“Alright, time to get my pizza and get home to Dinky. No more side tracking,” the dutiful pony said, wrapping her favorite scarf around her neck. Derpy happily resumed humming her song under a quiet breath as as she flew into the night sky once more, heading for Canterlot Castle. “O so gooey, cheesy and chewy. O so gooey and perfectly right, nothing better for a cold bitter night. Deep Dish, Deep Dish… “