//------------------------------// // (BONUS) A Happy story for a Sad Friend // Story: Hush Now, Quiet Now // by DBoS //------------------------------// The cool night breeze wafted over William's face as he lay back in the soft, green grass. A content sigh escaped from his lips as he gazed up at the countless stars in the sky. It felt nice, laying there peacefully, with barely a care in the world; back in the Capital Wasteland, he was robbed of the luxury of simple relaxation, knowing full well that, if he slept too long, either a Raider would get the jump on him while he was asleep, or a Super Mutant would tie him down and send him off to...wherever they took their prey. Here, however, he was free of that ball-and-chain. No longer would he have to keep his guard up at all times. No longer would he have to carry a weapon just for the feeling of security. No longer would he have to fight every day just to live to see tomorrow. William let out another sigh, reveling in his new position. How long had he been here in Ponyville? Three weeks? A month? He barely kept track of the time spent, but whether he had stayed for only a couple of days or two years even, he was already used to his new life. And now, laying in a clearing in the middle of Whitetail Woods, William felt as though nothing could break his peace. That is, until he heard the faint sound of sobbing coming from somewhere behind him. He pushed himself up from the ground and turned to the forest behind him. He could've just picked himself up and went somewhere else, leaving the poor soul to their own sorrow, but he wasn't like that. Rather, William cautiously stepped over to the woods, where he could immediately hear the crying grow louder. It sounded female – that much of which he was sure – but he couldn't tell just who it was. That question was answered when he rounded the corner. Sitting under the thick tree trunk was a familiar gray pegasus, hunched over as though shielding herself from the world. Her bright blonde mane hung past her shoulders, and William could just make out her cutie mark to be a small cluster of bubbles. Her most noticeable trait, however, was her eyes; one dark yellow eye seemed to be staring down at the ground, while the other one of the same color was peering off in a completely opposite direction towards the canopy of the forest. Despite her goofy-looking eyes, William also saw the redness in the whites of the pony's eyes, and the dried up tears that stained the fur around her snout. Immediately recognizing the mare, he knelt down next to her and asked, “Derpy? Is everything alright?” Said pegasus flinched when she heard William's voice, but relaxed when she saw the human's compassionate expression on his face. In spite of her comfort, she looked away from William and nodded her head, not saying a single word. William could only raise an eyebrow. This wasn't the same Derpy that he knew. What happened to the mailmare that would always deliver his letters with a smile on her face, asking only for a muffin in thanks? “Is there something you want to talk about?” he pressed, sitting on the ground next to the pegasus. Derpy turned her head ever so slightly towards the human to see him out of the corner of her vision before shaking her head. Again, she remained silent. “Don't lie to me,” William replied, his tone now taking a stern edge. “If anything's wrong, you know I'm here to help you, right?” The pegasus was still for a moment before nodding her head. William was about to ask again before the pegasus asked, “Do you think I'm...weird?” William recoiled at the question. While “weird” was something that would come up, that certainly wasn't just his definition for Derpy; he would've gone more with “interesting”, or even “fun”. Still, he answered plainly and honestly, “Of course not. Why do you ask?” Derpy sniffed as she raised a hoof to wipe a tear in her eye before turning further towards willimg and answering in a melancholy voice, “Other ponies don't really like me.” William's eyebrow went higher, but before he could ask, Derpy continued, “I heard the other ponies in Ponyville talking about me. They call me nasty things like “screw-up”, “klutz”, and even “retard”, and...and it really hurts.” She then looked up at William, tears pushing themselves out of her wall-eyes and down her face in streaks, and she choked out, “I just...I just want it to stop.” Before William could react, Derpy plunged her face into the human's chest as she wrapped her forelegs around his chest, sobbing violently as her tears soaked into his shirt. William could only wrap his arms around Derpy in a futile attempt to cover the sorrowful pegasus. Still, he never knew this was going on. He never heard anypony say anything about Derpy, not out loud, and he wondered how such a gentle soul like her would be cursed to such misfortune and intolerance. In the Capital Wasteland, that was just an everyday thing, but here...here, that shouldn't have been possible. Still, William couldn't truly relate to Derpy's plight; sure, back in Vault 101, he was picked on for being smarter than other kids, or for being the son of a doctor, but he didn't know anyone in the Vault being picked on for being stupid. Or did he...? “Derpy,” he started quietly, the pony now quieting down to a simple whimper. “Would a story cheer you up?” The mailmare didn't respond, exactly, but she just looked up at William with confusion in her eyes. William paid this no mind as he began, “Back where I was from, I had a friend who, well, wasn't really like the others. She wasn't as smart as they were, and she looked different, so everyone just called her Ditzy.” As soon as William dropped the name, Derpy's ears perked up as she listened intently. “She was a lot like you in a few ways. She was very nice, she loved muffins, and she even had a bit of a fondness for bubbles. Of course, there were people there who just couldn't go past her clumsiness and the way her eyes were different, so they began calling her mean names.” Derpy was now feeling tears well up in her eyes; this “Ditzy” human must have gone through exactly the same things she was going through now. The tears stopped, however, when William added, “Still, no matter how many people called her “stupid” or picked on her outside of school, she always had a smile on her face, so one day, I decided to ask Ditzy why she was always happy.” The enthralled pegasus took that moment to speak up as she asked the storyteller, “What did Ditzy say?” William smiled as he finished, “She told me, 'No matter how many people don't like me, I know there's always one person out there who loves me.” William felt the corners of his mouth tug into a grin at the ending of his tale. He looked down at the pegasus to find that she was pressed against him once again. This time, a small smile appeared on her face. “I like that story a lot,” she confided, tears of joy slipping out. “I'm glad Ditzy was happy.” William's smile grew as he stroked Derpy's soft, bright mane. “So am I,” he whispered, leaning back against the tree. “So am I.” =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ William lost track of how long he and Derpy lay in the middle of the forest. By then, Derpy's sobs of joy were reduced to slow, steady breaths, and he didn't have to ask if she was asleep. William didn't mind, however; the important thing on his mind was that his friend was feeling at least somewhat better. William shifted against the tree to get himself comfortable before closing his eyes and willing for sleep to come. Before he was pulled into unconsciousness, he whispered one thing to the sleeping pony in his lap. “Good night, Ditzy.” ----------------------------------------------- Yes, I'm well aware that I have not fully indoctrinated William into the story yet, but after hearing about the whole "Derpy Redubbing" fiasco, this just sort of popped into my head. It didn't help that I had seen the "Derpy's apology" video on youtube and I shed many a tear. That's why I chose to do this now, before the whole feeling dies down. Anyway, the next official chapter will be coming out pretty soon, hopefully, so keep watch until then.