//------------------------------// // 2 Days Untill Evalution // Story: I Am Derpy Hooves // by defender of the herd //------------------------------// 2 days until evaluation The sun cracked over the roofs tops of Ponyville and began to filter into the streets. Raindrop was flying as fast as her wings could take her to the post office. She was in a desperate panic. Golden Harvest had told her that Ditzy had not come home all night. The pangs of fear in her heart out weighed the sore stiff pain in her wings. Ideas fought back and forth in her mind out what could be happening to Ditzy. Was she hurt? Was she lost? Did she not get the scrap book she and Ditzy’s other friends had made to cheer her up? Did Overnight loose it? Did Ditzy just throw it away? The mind of Raindrop was choking on its own fear and sorrow for Ditzy. Tears began to swell in the eyes of the pony and she wiped eyes. During the blindness another pegasus pony heading to the mail office happen to crash right into Raindrop. They both fell to the ground with a thud. Raindrop rubbed her head and took a deep breath. “Ditzy?” she coughed out with a twinge of hope in her throat. “Sorry my pretty pony just me”, came the soft voice of Shipping. The eyes of Shipping shot up to meet Raindrop’s. “What happened to Ditzy?” Raindrop couldn’t hold back the pain any longer. Right there in the streets of Ponyville in front of Celestia and country she wept. Long wails of anguish came from the bottom of her soul as she buried her head into the shoulder of her coworker. Other ponies looked around to see what the source of such a soul crushing wail. A small circle of vendors came and formed a circle of concerned ponies. “She’s hurting really bad right now. Her heart I mean. She’s broken on the inside. She got in a fight with Dinky and Golden Harvest last night. Golden Harvest found me last night and she was in a tear stained mess and told me Ditzy didn’t come home last night. I’m so worried, so very worried. What do I do? How can I help her? Why is this happening?” Raindrop let it all out from deep inside herself. She sobbed into Shipping’s shoulder and felt the weight of the world fall on to her head. She needed to help Ditzy and she couldn’t, it was an awful feeling. “There, there, little angel, it’s going to be ok. We will find her and we will help her. I Pinkie promise. You’ll see. We will find her and we will help her get through this.” Shipping’s voice was different than it normally sounded. The voice was one of confidence and real concern, the voice of real love and a real desire to help. The ponies who had circled around them had heard them talking. An orange earth pony with a cowboy hat walked up to them and put a hoof on Raindrop’s shoulder. “Sugar cube Ah reckon we will all help ya any way we can. Ditzy is every ponies friend and every pony will do their part for her. Hay, not o’ us would ever get mail without her.” Raindrop looked up unto eyes of Applejack. Inside those eyes she saw the truth looking back at her. Raindrop didn’t have any idea if Applejack could help at all, but somehow when Raindrop saw those eyes she knew Applejack would do everything she could to make it happen. “Alright yall we need to fan out and find Ditzy Doo. She’s feeling a mighty powerful sad so we need to get her a heap o’ help. Let’s get’em up and move’em out!” With that Applejack, Rose Luck, Bon Bon, and Daisy went to their stalls and put up closed signs and trotted off to find Ditzy. Shipping stayed in the street holding Raindrop in her arms. Shipping stroked Raindrop’s mane and tried to comfort her. They stood up together and walked toward Raindrop’s home. In her condition Raindrop was not able to work and needed some help of her own. Today was going to be one hay of a day. Overnight trotted up to the post office and let himself in. He made his way over to the sorting area and began to start his work. Then her overheard a loud cry from outside the door. The crying went on and on and then her herd the voice of a mare he recognized, Raindrop. Overnight shuffled over to the door to see what foalish thing she could have done to hurt herself. It was the only logical reason that she would make all that noise. Then he stopped, Chained dead in his tracks. He heard what she was saying on the other side of the door. Ditzy was missing. Overnight smiled and listened as the scene played out on the other side of the door. When he heard the streets clear out, Overnight got a large sheet of paper and wrote something on it. He then left the office and locked the door behind him. He took the large sheet paper and placed it on the door. It was a sign that read, 'Closed looking for Ditzy'. Overnight cantered off down the road without stopping and looked around to make sure he wasn't being followed. He smiled again, because he knew exactly where to find Ditzy. Overnight had made it to the practice field he had set up for Ditzy Doo. He knew this is where she must have spent the night and must have used a cloud overhead for a bed. On his back he carried a basket, and in the basket was a jug, a bit of food, a satchel, and a note. Overnight called out for Ditzy. He got no answer but saw a cloud fidget around like somepony was just waking up. Overnight left the basket with all of its contents in a small pile near the moving cloud and with that, he trotted back into Ponyville. Ditzy awoke on the back of a cloud she had cried herself to sleep on. She felt the cruel heat of the sun strike her eyes and burn them behind their lids. Ditzy wiped away the crust and the muck from her eyes. She had been up most of the night crying while reading a book. The most gut wrenching and tragic book she had ever read. The scrap book was the idea of her closest friends and family and it was a cruel joke at her own expense. She was working so hard to to help herself be a better pony for their sakes, and then they had the nerve to kick her in the heart when she needed them the most. The worst part was when she confronted Golden Harvest about it, she had the gall to lie right to her face! Golden Harvest told her that wasn't the right book, that Ditzy was wrong. Ditzy cursed under her breath, Golden Harvest must have thought she was dumb to fall for that. She wasn't dumb, she wasn't a Derpy Hooves. Ditsy rolled off he cloud and swooped down to the ground. She remembered hearing a voice a few seconds ago and was now trying to find it. She looked around for a few minuets and then she saw it. Ditzy spied the basket on the ground and she glided down to it. She looked at the note and picked it up to read it. To Ms. Doo, Here is some food and your mail satchel. Work may take your mind off the evaluation and help you clear your head. There is a special drink here for you too. I recommend you drink it all before work, it should give you a burst of energy. Ditzy grabbed the food and started to chow down. It was awful. Stale and tasteless bread, but at least it was something. It was really nice of Overnight to help her out again; he sure was a great pony. Ditzy finished off the food and slipped on her satchel. One of her eyes fell onto the jar that Overnight left. She twisted the top right off and killed the drink in one swallow. It tasted of apples and a few other things Ditzy couldn’t quite out her hoof on, but boy was this drink good. Ditzy tossed her mail bag on her back and took off for Ponyville. The day was bright and sunny and the town came up fast over the hill as Ditzy zoomed ahead. As she raced into town she began to feel a bit odd. Did Sugar Cube Corner get a second sign? Wait why were there two Applejacks? Ditzy’s head began to swim and she felt the world slow down. She started to panic as her vision began to blur and get twisted. She closed her eyes and shook her head trying to clear her mind. Ditzy took a deep breath and opened her eyes and grit her teeth. She must be pushing herself to hard. Too much training or something. Oh well, she wouldn't let that stop her, the mail must make it through and by Celestia she would make it through also. She was not a Derpy Hoofs, and she would not droop the ball this time. Ditzy withdrew the first envelope from her mail bag and tried to read the address on it. The letters swam around the front of the envelope and caused her eyes to strain. This was not going to be easy for her. Ditzy swallowed hard and concentrated on the letters. The words came back into focus for just a moment and she knew she could do this. The address was Sugar Cube Corner! She really could do this! With a confident smile she placed the letter in the mail slot and went on her way to the next address. Overnight let out a long sigh as he walked back to his office. He was starting to feel a bit guilty for his actions with Ditzy. He knew she needed to grow up, to be a better pony. He knew in the end he would be proven right and she would be better for it. This was being done for all the right reasons, and for the benefit of Ditzy and Dinky Doo. She would get the help she needed after all this. Overnight was going to make sure of it. She would no longer be a Derpy Hooves, and she would be like every pony else. Still there was a nagging voice in the back of his head telling him he had pushed a bit too hard with the scrap book trick. He swallowed hard and tried to put his mind at ease. To help himself feel better, he thought back to his past and the time he spent in Fillydelphia. He thought about the orphanage and his time there. The lessons on how to be a good pony and how to make a better world. If there could be better ponies and a better world, then foals wouldn't end up in orphanages in the first place. Discipline, duty, hard work, and total focus was necessary to grow up and be a real pony. These were the lessons that had been drilled into Overnight all his life. He had gone on to be a real pony and a successful one at that. His very success was proof that his parents had been wrong! They left him in that joyless place because he would never make it. He would never grow-up and make the world better. He showed them how wrong they were. Now, with his faith renewed, he knew he had to keep going. He had to help Ditzy! She was so lost she didn't even know that the world was being cruel to her. He knew he was the only pony who could help her, because he had been like her once. “Wait Ditzy come back!” bellowed Applejack. She tore through the Town after Ditzy trying to get her attention. Ditzy was lost in her own world worse than normal. To make matters worse she crashed into the door at Sugar Cube Corner and busted it into a dozen pieces. Applejack was extremely worried about the incident, not because of the damage, but because Ditzy was crashing a lot more than normal and didn’t seem to notice or care. “Yall ain’t gonna get away from me! Ditzy! Please listen to me sugar cube!” Ditzy flew on over Ponyville and away from Applejack. Despite her speed the earth pony couldn’t keep up with the flying pegasus. Ditzy pulled away and a faint crash was heard from someplace Applejack couldn’t tell. This was followed by another faint crash, then another. Applejack knew something very wrong was happening. “I need somepony who can fly ta help me out…” Applejack mused to herself. "Dang it! Rainbow's out with Pinkie on some trip ta Cloudsdale." Applejack cursed her rotten luck. A grey blur whizzed by overhead on a flight path towards Carousel Boutique. With that nothing was left were Applejack had been standing other than a cloud of dust. PAIN. Hot. Searing. Pain. This is the feeling Ditzy had all over her body when she finished her mail run. Her legs, wings, her very bones hurt. She had no idea why she felt this way but she was glad the day was over and she could go back to the practice field and sleep it off. Ditzy knew she could go home, but she was worried about what Dinky would say. No she was worried about the way Dinky would look at her. She would see a failure; Ditzy knew she couldn’t go home until she had proven herself. She had to prove to herself, to Dinky, to all of Ponyville that she was a success and not a Derpy Hooves. The practice field had become her home for now. Here she could hone her skills, and be better for the ponies she loved. This had become her sanctuary and refuge from the world that had grown cold to her. She really needed to thank Overnight, he was a true friend and a good pony. She would have to recommend him for an award or a promotion for all the help he had given her. She would be lost without him. Ditzy sighed and rubbed her head, she had finished the worst work day of her life. Her face was swelling and she could feel her temples pounding in rhythm with her heart. Despite all her aches and pains she couldn’t stop thinking about the evaluation in her near future. She swallowed hard and tried to choke back tears. She felt so bad right now both emotionally and physically, how could she pass like this? What was she going to do? She thought of Dinky and began to cry herself to sleep.