In Loving Memory
By Draklox
Derpy awoke with the rising sun. It had been her habit for so many years that even though she hadn’t needed to for so long, she still did. She yawned as she stretched her legs and wings, her joints making popping sounds. Even though she had a full nights sleep, she was still very tired. The doctor had told her it came with getting into her twilight years. But today was a special day. Dinky was coming into town and had some great news. She didn’t know what the news was yet, but for her daughter to come all the way from Canterlot so it had to be something special.
As Derpy slowly walked down the hall towards the kitchen, she passed tokens of a long and successful life. Hung on the wall was a picture of her and her daughter, taken moments after Dinky’s birth; a plaque she received when she retired, denoting thirty years of service with the Equestrian Postal Service; a picture of her daughter graduating Canterlot College For Advanced Magical Studies; a copy of her commendation for bravery for helping the Ponyville weather team corral a wayward storm from the Everfree Forest. Yes, she was proud of her own accomplishments, but her true treasures were the accomplishments of her daughter.
Derpy entered the kitchen and started boiling water for her morning oatmeal. While the water heated she went to her porch and retrieved the morning paper. These days she moved much slower than she had when she was younger. As she set the paper on the kitchen table, she heard her kettle whistle. She pulled a bowl from the cabinet and poured some oats into it. Then she poured a measure of hot water on top of the oats. She got a spoon from the drawer and took her breakfast to the table. She sat and ate her food while skimming through the paper. Nothing caught her eye so she finished and put the empty bowl in the sink, filling it with water so it would be easier to clean later. She then took the paper into the living room to browse through it more completely.
An hour later she still had found nothing interesting to read. She stifled a yawn and went to her bookshelf to get something to read to pass the time. Once she made her selection she returned to the couch to pass the two hours till she was to meet Dinky at Sugarcube Corner. As she read she continued to yawn, her head slowly lowering. Slowly she drifted into a peaceful sleep. Shortly after she fell asleep her breathing and heartbeat slowed. As she napped, her body slowly shut down, drifting off into an eternal slumber.
Dinky arrived at the Ponyville train station at eleven thirty. She had to take a later train than she would have preferred, but her morning doctors appointment confirmed what she had thought. And that was the whole reason for the sudden visit to her mother. Normally she came to Ponyville one weekend a month to spend time with her mother, but this was special. She had just found out she was pregnant with her first foal. She couldn’t wait to tell her mother the good news. Derpy was going to be a grandmother. She had taken the rest of the week off from The Canterlot Center For Advanced Magical Research just for this trip. She would have brought her husband along as well but his work was at a critical stage and he couldn’t take time off without wasting months of work. Dinky didn’t mind, she knew he would make it up to her the next weekend she came to see her mother.
As she waited in Sugarcube Corner, Dinky glanced at the clock. Derpy was almost half an hour late. This worried Dinky, her mother was never late. Maybe she had lost track of time. Dinky decided to go to her mother’s house to make sure everything was ok. As she turned the corner to the street her mother lived on, she waved to her childhood friend Apple Bloom. She was running the family apple stand today. Apple Bloom smiled and returned the wave. Dinky continued down the street to her mother’s house.
When she arrived, she knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked again. Still no answer. This worried her. She opened the door and walked inside. “Mom” she called out, trying to see if her mom, however unlikely, had just forgotten the time. She walked into the living room and saw her mother laying in the couch, apparently napping peacefully. “Hey mom, did you forget about our lunch together at Sugarcube Corner?” Dinky asked. Her mother didn’t stir from the sound of her voice. “Mom, are you ok?” she asked, confused as to why her mother continued lying there. Still no response. She lightly prodded her mother with a forehoof. Still her mother didn’t move. Then she noticed that her mother’s chest wasn’t moving. “MOM!” she yelled. And still her mother laid there. Then the situation dawned on her. A feeling of terror washed over her as she realized the horrible truth.
Then she screamed.
Apple Bloom was having a good day at the market. It was barely past lunch and she had sold almost all of the apples and treats she had brought. As Snails dropped the bits for the turnovers he bought onto the counter of the cart, a loud scream tore through the din of the marketplace. Apple Bloom immediately turned to the direction the scream came from. Her blood chilled when she saw the source of the scream. It came from Dinky’s mothers house. Losing all concern for the apples and the bits, she ran from her cart to the house the screaming was coming from.
As she entered the house, she saw Dinky sobbing and hugging her mother. Then as she looked at Derpy a flash of memory came to her. The memory of the day Granny Smith died. Derpy had the same peaceful look on her face. Apple Bloom rushed over and grabbed the sobbing Dinky in her forelegs and held her in a tight embrace, tears from the day her grandmother died rising to her eyes.
Rainbow Dash was resting on a cloud, her exercise routine taking a lot out of her. Though she had gotten older, she refused to slow down any more than she had to. She was in top shape for a mare her age. And she aimed to keep it that way. As she dozed, she heard a scream of terror. Immediately she was in flight, zooming towards the sound. Then she realized where the scream was coming from. It was her friend Derpy’s house. “What the hay?” Dash thought. She came in for a harder landing than she normally would have. The door was standing wide open, so she rushed inside.
The scene in front of her sent a chill down her spine. Dinky and Apple Bloom sat locked in a tight embrace, both crying. And on the couch lay Derpy, appearing to be peacefully asleep. But Dash could see the awful truth. Something was seriously wrong with Derpy. Apple Bloom saw Dash out of the side of her blurry eye and yelled to the pegasus “Get help!”. Dash did the only thing she knew how to do in this type of situation. She bolted for the door and took flight, as fast as she could at her age, straight for Ponyville Hospital.
When she arrived, she was out of breath. Her heart was hammering away in her chest so hard she feared it would give out under the strain. The young nurse at the counter looked at Dash with concern. She had never seen the pegasus push herself so hard. “What’s wrong, Rainbow Dash?” asked the nurse. “You look like you’re going to have a heart attack!”
“Quick, I need a doctor to get to Derpy Hooves’ house right now!” Rainbow yelled.
“What’s going on?” the nurse asked again.
“Something is terribly wrong with her.” Dash explained
At that moment a unicorn doctor came into the lobby. “What’s wrong with who?” the doctor asked
“It’s Derpy, I think she’s badly sick.” Dash replied.
“Where is she?” the doctor inquired.
“Her house.” Dash said.
“I’ll teleport there right now. You stay here and rest. I wouldn’t want you to become a patient from overexertion.” the doctor said and teleported out of the hospital.
The nurse led Dash to a waiting room and gave her a glass of water. Rainbow sat in a chair and silently hoped her friend would be ok, but a part of her knew the sad truth.
The doctor arrived to a terrible scene. Two mares sat on the floor, holding each other and crying. A third older mare lay apparently sleeping on the couch next to them. He subtly used his magic to scan the older mare, and gasped as his worst fears were confirmed. The mare had passed away over an hour ago. The sound of his gasp alerted the younger mares to his presence. The earth pony looked at him with knowing eyes, but the unicorn had a pleading look. Softly, he simply said “I’m terribly sorry for your loss.” The unicorn broke down, harder than before, sobbing uncontrollably.
As soon as he found out, Dinky's husband dropped everything and took the next train to Ponyville. Months of research would be lost, but he didn’t care. He had to be there for his wife. When he arrived, his wife was still crying. He took her in his forelegs and held her tightly. He had never seen her like this, but he also knew how close she was to her mother. He could tell her whole world was falling apart. All he could do for her was be there and provide emotional support.
The next three days were the closest thing to Tartrus for Dinky. All the arrangements for her mothers funeral had to be made. It would have been impossible for her if not for her friends and her husband. Scootaloo had flown in from Cloudsdale, and as captain of the Wonderbolts, she had called off all training for the duration of her trip. Sweetie Belle had came in from Manehatten, canceling several performances to be there for her friend. They, as well as Apple Bloom, Ruby Pinch, and her husband, had not left her side since they had arrived. If not for them, Dinky would have had a complete emotional breakdown.
The day of the funeral was sunny and warm. Rainbow Dash had called in a favor with the weather team. As the ponies attending took their seats, Dinky smiled for the first time since her mother died. Her mother had made many friends, and it seemed all of them had made time for her. In the front row across from her were the Elements of Harmony. Even Princess Twilight Sparkle had chosen to be here. In the row with her were all her Ponyville friends. Behind her seemed to be half the ponies in Ponyville. It warmed her heart that so many ponies cared about her mother.
As Sweetie Belle finished singing the song she had written for Derpy’s funeral, she took a seat next to Dinky. Then the princess took the stage and began to speak. “Today, we lay to rest a pony that exemplifies all the traits that we all strive to achieve. A loving mother that gave everything to see to it her daughter had the best chance for a good life. A loyal friend, there to help any pony that was in need. A hard worker, who always gave her all at any task. Many ponies knew her. More knew of her. And though she made some mistakes in her life, those are overshadowed by the good she did.” The princess restrained a small sob. “Many came from all over Equestria to pay their respects to Derpy Hooves. So let us begin.” And with that she stepped down to allow the next speaker.
Pinkie Pie made her way to the podium. It was apparent she had been crying. Composing herself, she began. “I remember the first time I met Derpy, I had just moved to Ponyville. It was my first day working at Sugarcube Corner. She came in at lunch time and ordered a blueberry muffin. After that, she came in everyday and ordered a muffin. She was the first friend I made here. I even made a habit of starting the muffins at the same time every day so they would be as fresh as they could be when she came in. Then, one day, she didn’t come in for her muffin. Several days went by without her stopping in. I soon learned from the Cakes that they had cut back hours at the post office and she couldn’t afford her daily muffins. She was spending all her bits to make sure her daughter had enough food. She was going days without food.” Pinkie sniffled at the memory.
“So, I started dropping off a basket of muffins at her house every day. I tried to pay the Cakes for the muffins, but they wouldn’t let me. When Derpy found out, she tried to pay for all the muffins when her hours picked back up, but I flat out refused. Any pony that would sacrifice her own comfort and wellbeing for their child deserves nothing less.” With a choked sob, Pinkie left the podium.
The next pony to speak was Rarity. She looked composed but Dinky could tell she was as sad as anypony else. “Derpy was a bastion of generosity I only could hope to approach. When her daughter's senior prom was approaching, she came to me to commision for a dress for Dinky. She offered to model for me in exchange for the dress, due to her shortage of bits to pay for it. Naturally I took her offer, a live model works so much better than a mannequin. Then one day she fell asleep waiting for me to retrieve the next outfit I wanted her to try on. When she realized she had fell asleep, she apologized profusely. I let her go home, but decided to look into it further.
It was then I found she had been moonlighting as a part time delivery pony for a local restaurant at night to earn extra bits to pay for her daughters prom. She was putting in so many hours she was not getting enough sleep. The next day, I told her we were even for the dress, and to go home and get some sleep. I contacted my friends and arranged some rather hefty discounts for Dinky, so her prom would be most memorable, and her mother would be rested enough to attend as well. Of all the things that can be said about Derpy, she was an exemplary mother who would go to any length to make her daughter happy.” Rarity concluded her speech and stepped down.
Next up was Rainbow Dash. Out of the previous speakers, she was closest to Derpy. “Derpy was the most loyal pony I ever had the pleasure of knowing. She made mistakes, but we all do at some point. I still remember the city hall incident. I was mad at first, until I found out that she was a little ditsy from lack of sleep. She had just hired a tutor to help Dinky learn magic, since she couldn't help her learn. And to pay for it she had taken a second full time job. Me and the rest of the weather team took up a collection, after Apple Jack returned from the rodeo, to pay for the damage, so Derpy wouldn’t have to. It would have devastated her if she had to. From that day forward if she got called on for weather duty, I gave her the easiest jobs I could find.
Then came the day of the Everfree storm. I had seen it brewing for a few days, but it looked like it was going to head out to sea. Then it turned toward Ponyville. I knew there was no way I could handle it on my own. I called upon every Pegasus I could find to help break it up before it devastated the town. We all attacked the storm, but most were quickly overwhelmed, and soon it was only me and Derpy still in flight. We pushed ourselves to the breaking point, and we were just barely able to break it up before it got to Ponyville. We both received commendations from the mayor for our actions day, but her’s was more deserved than mine. I was the head of the weather team, she was only a postal pony, with no formal weather training. Yet she pushed herself to the breaking point to save the town. That was the kind of mare Derpy was. Even after Dinky's father passed away soon after she was born, she never gave up. Even having to raise a foal by herself, she never gave up. And now we must all remember, no matter what life gives you, never give up.” With tears in her eyes, Rainbow Dash stepped down.
Many other speakers shared memories and stories of Derpy's exceptional life. When all had said their piece about her, six stallions carried the coffin that contained her worldly remains to their final resting place. As the casket was lowered into the grave, Dinky broke down again. All the sacrifices her mother had made to see to it she had the best life possible, all the effort to give her the life her mother never had the chance to live, was more than the unicorn could handle. And as the casket reached the bottom of the grave, she tossed in a hooffull of dirt. Through her tear filled eyes, she could only make out the first three words on her mother's gravestone.
In Loving Memory.