Bubbles
An anthropomorphic MLP fan fiction
“Mmmm,” Derpy sighed as she nuzzled your hand even more.
The two of you were sitting on your couch, you sitting normally, and Derpy with her head in your lap, a blanket draped over her body, while you only had your sweater for warmth. Your toes were frozen. You started to absentmindedly scratch behind her ears, but she didn’t seem to mind. Quite the opposite actually. And that is what you have been doing for the past hour or so, scratching Derpy behind her ears, with Kat laying under the covers with Derpy. It was snowing pretty hard out so you couldn’t do anything. It was snowing too hard for either of you to go to work so you decided to lounge around the house. About an hour of lounging the power went out and you didn’t have any spare fuses to fix it. So with nothing else to do you and Derpy just sat on the couch. You lit some candles, but Derpy only had scented candles so now the house smells like pretty flowers. You only had one lit and it sat on the coffee table, but you had one in the bathroom, one in the kitchen, and one in each of the bedrooms.
It’s been a little more than a week since your little trip to the hospital and you have completely recovered from the little cold you had. Though you have yet to stop pissing rainbows. You made a mental note to ask Twilight about that.
Though ever since your trip to the hospital you have had your mind elsewhere, and your friends have started to notice.
“Hey,” Derpy said, snapping you back to reality. You look down and see her looking up at her with concern in her eyes. “Are you alright? You seem a million miles away.”
“Uh,” you say, scratching your chin, “yeah. I’m fine.” The tired tone in your voice said otherwise.
Derpy sat up and looked at you. “No you’re not. What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” you say, getting up. “Gotta use the bathroom.” You pick up the zippo lighter from the coffee table and bring it with you to light the candle in the bathroom.
The candle you lit smelt like rainfall.
You don’t use the bathroom at first. Instead you just looked at your reflection.
You got your mane cut a week ago to get rid of the black and red tips and it hung down to your neck. Same thing with your tail. Your eyes looked tired and you had bags under your eyes, but they were only noticeable if you looked for them. The light from the candle light up your face, making it look a little spooky. Staring at your reflection you find yourself being taken back to an old memory. It was the last time you had spoken to Momma Melody.
~~~
“There you go, Momma,” you say as you straighten your back. You had just carried a very heavy box of toys into the playroom on the second floor, from the donation truck out in front of the street.
“Thank you child,” Melody said, patting your arm. “I wouldn’t know what to do without you around.”
“Probably pay someone to do it.”
“Perhaps, or perhaps I could be stronger than I am now,” she said, making her way out of the room.
“You may be short but you’re a lot stronger than what you give yourself credit, you know,” you say following her out.
“I ain’t short! I’m fun sized, dammit!” Melody said shaking her fist at you. You can’t help but laugh. It truth she was pretty short. Just at five foot? Give or take an inch or two.
The two of you go to the kitchen and she sits at the table with the paper. You fill a teakettle and set it on the stove, taking out a few tea bags. The children were all playing out in the backyard with one of the volunteer people, a nice cute girl in your year. The two of you became friends when she had mistaken you for another helper. You wait for the water to boil before fixing two cups of tea. You set one in front of Melody and you lean on the counter, adding sugar to yours.
“Thank you child,” Melody says before taking a sip.
The two of you sit in silence for a few minutes until Melody put down her paper.
“So tell me; when are you going to leave?” Melody asked, sipping her tea.
“I though you like having me here, Momma?” you asked, sipping your tea.
“I do, don’t get me wrong. It’s just you have your whole life a head of you. What are you going to do with it?”
You set down your tea before talking. “I- I’m not sure, to be honest. I was just going to go through life one step at a time. You know, tackle one thing at a time. I have too much to worry about now to worry about my future.”
“Poppycock!” Melody yelled, making you jump. “You should always know what you are to do in life.”
“What about you? Did you always want to run a home for orphans?” you countered.
“This isn’t about me, this is about you.” She always pulled that card. “I know what is going to happen to you in life.”
“Here we go,” you say letting out a big sigh. She used to be a fortune teller and she has a habit of telling you your fortune. That wouldn’t be a problem if her predictions weren’t so vague.
“Yes, here we go. One day in the future you will find yourself in a new place, with new friends, a new job, and an all around better life. Then you will be torn in staying there and coming back to your old life.”
“That just sounds ridiculous.” She ignored your remark.
“You will need to choose. And only you can make that decision. You will have to choose a life in a place you don’t belong, or a life in the place you were meant to be in.”
“I would obviously take the life of where I was mean to be,” you say, taking a big drink from your cup.
“Are you sure? This will happen, child. You need to think about this long and hard. Starting today.”
“It won’t ever happen, you know.”
“Have I ever been wrong before?”
“Well, no bu-“
“Exactly, I have never been wrong, and I never will be.”
“Then which one would you want me to pick, Momma?”
“I just want you to be happy. But that choice is for you alone,” Melody said, standing up. “Thank you for the tea. I’m going to take a nap, ok?”
“Yeah alright,” you say, draining the rest of your tea. You turn around to wash out your cup.
“I love you, you know that right?” Melody asked. “You were the child I couldn’t have, and I could not be any more proud.”
“Thanks, and I love you too,” you say, turning around. You put a smile on your face. “You were always the mother I needed.” It was true too.
Melody smiles sadly before turning around.
“Good bye.”
~~~
You could feel tears on your face as you came out of your memory. The low wick on the almost gone candle told you that you should probably hurry up and get your business done. You quickly used the bathroom (you were totally keeping the rainbow piss, it was too awesome) and get out. Through use of magic the water still ran in the house, as well as the gas stove. Just not the heater or electricity.
“Hey, I though you may have fallen asleep,” Derpy said. She was laying on the couch, taking up the whole space of it. “I was thinking of making lunch, anything specific you want?”
“Nah, just whatever you want,” you say. You tried to cover up the bit of sadness in your voice, but Derpy caught it.
“Hey, what's wrong?” she asked, sitting up. She patted the seat next to her.
“Nothing,” you say as you sat down. “Just thinking of old memories.”
“Oh. Did you want to talk about it?”
You just started at your hands, thinking if you did want to talk about it.
“It's just my adoptive mother, was always right. She's dead and she's still right. Derpy, my mother is dead, and she is still right. How ridiculous is that?”
“Mothers do that sometimes. But how is she still right?” Derpy asked as she leaned on your shoulder, taking one of your hands into hers.
“The last time I talked with her she told me I would have to make a decision. Live a life in a place I shouldn't be, or live a life in the place I was meant to be. And she is still right. Stay here, or go back to my world.”
The two of you sat in silence for a few moments.
“So, which life do you choose?” Derpy asked quietly.
“That's just it Derpy. I want to choose this life, but I can't.” You say, rubbing your face.
“Well, why can't you?” Derpy asked.
“I just can't.”
“Well, I’m sure Princess Celestia would would be happy with you staying here forever.”
“I'm sure she would too, but it's not that simple.” Derpy sat up and looked at you.
“Well, why not?”
“It's just not,” you say, standing up. You walked a few steps away and ran your hands over your face and through your hair.
“But why?” Derpy asked, her voice sounded pleading. You look over at her and it looked like she had tears in her eyes. “Is it because of me?”
“Of course not Derpy,” you said, quickly moving to comfort her. You gave her a big hug and held her close. “You are part of the reason I’m having so much trouble figuring out if I will go or not.”
“I just don't understand. Why do you have to go?”
“I don't belong here.”
“Why not? You have friends, you have a job, you have ponies who love you. Why do you have to go?”
“Because I’m not a pony, Derpy.” Derpy sat back and looked you up and down.
“Well, I beg to differ.”
“Look, I may look like a pony, but I didn't grow up like a pony.” You straighten up and look at her. “Derpy, I was a human. I swore on a daily basis. I got mad just because someone cut me off on the freeway, then had thoughts of running him off the road. Derpy, I ate meat. Sure I only ate it when I could afford it, which wasn't often, but I still did it. And I have done so much other stuff that a pony doesn't do! … how can I be a pony when all my life I have been a human?”
“...I-I'm not sure.” Derpy said quietly. She stood up and quickly walked to her bedroom. You would have went after her but the way she moved told you to stay away.
In hindsight, it probably wasn't a good idea to just lay everything on her at once.
Your really wished you could just go for a walk. It would be much easier to just walk and clear your head and not have to worry about this stuff right now. But you can't, and you have to worry about this stuff right now. But you couldn't. Of all the times for you to stop worrying, it had to be now, when you had time to worry about it. You fall back on to the couch and let out a big sigh.
“The universe hates me doesn't it Kat?” you ask as Kat climbs onto your chest and curls up. She let out a meow and began to purr. You really needed to talk to Melody right now. You always did talk to her when you had a big problem and you didn't know how to solve it.
“Momma, why must you do these things to me?” you ask. “Why must you tell me of my future before it happens?”
You know she can't hear you, wherever she is, but it still kinda makes you feel better.
“In the human world, I have a job, I have people who need me, I have a life. Not the best, but one all the same. And here I have friends, I have a job, I have a girlfriend and some other things. But no matter how I look at it, I can't find a compromise between the two of them. God, I wish you were here right now.” you say, turning over. You forgot Kat was on your stomach when you rolled over and she fell off you. She let out an annoyed meow before she started to clean herself.
With nothing else to do, you just look at her, the candle was almost out and it cast the room into an almost twilight feel. After a few second the candle finally went out with a very tiny fwoop.
You just lay there in the dark. There was a little light coming from the window, but it was still too dark to see anything. You turn over onto your back and just look at the gray window. You found yourself thinking back to Momma Melody.
She always loved cooking pies, and she taught you how to make them too. She always liked to tell people jokes, and she taught you how to make your own jokes. She loved children and she felt rather obliged to take care of the ones who couldn't take care of themselves, and she taught you how to have a heart. But one of the most memorable things about her, was that she always wanted to see other people happy. She didn't care if she was happy, just that other people were.
You started to smile at an old memory of her giving the last slice of her favorite pie to a baby, who decided that it would make a better hat. You were only nine at the age and you looked at Melody and asked why she would do that if she knew he was going to just waste it. And she told him, “Simply because he was happy with it.”
From that day you did all you could to make others happy. From telling a joke, to carrying books. It made you happy that others were happy and you figured out why Momma Melody did it.
However, now that you think about it, in the need to make others happy, you have stopped trying to make yourself happy.
…
Perhaps, it's time to change that. You thought after a few minutes of thinking.
But first, you have one last pony to make happy once again.
~~~
Knock knock knock
“Hey, Derpy?” you call out. You wait a few seconds before the door opens.
“Yeah?” she sleepily asked. It sounded like she just woke up.
“Um, I made some muffins if you wanted any. They're blueberry.” It was tough, but you made then in the light of a candle.
“Um, sure I could go for a muffin right now,” Derpy said. She followed you to the kitchen and sat down at the table. You took a plate piled with muffins off the stove and placed them in front of Derpy, who took one.
“Mmm, these are pretty good,” she commented.
“Yeah, I thought they turned out well,” you say, taking one. “Oh I need you to remind me when this storm is over to go to the library.”
“Why?”
“I have to send Princess Celestia a letter asking if I can stay in Equestria forever.”
Derpy stopped chewing and looked at you. You couldn't quite place her expression because of the low lighting.
“Really?” she asked after a few moments of silence. “I though you needed to leave?”
“Well I got to thinking. All my life I have made others happy. I think it's time to make myself happy. You know?” Derpy just kept quiet for a few minutes.
You're not too sure as to what happened next. All you know is you were on the ground, getting hugged very tightly by a crying Derpy and your head hurting.
Oh yeah. This was the right choice.
~~~
~A few days later~
"Dear Princess Celestia,
I want to stay in Equestria to live out my life here. After some hard thinking, and a visit from certain memories, I have come to the conclusion that my life would be much better here. Sure I had a life back in my world, but I wasn't happy with that one. So with your permission, I would like to stay here, live with Derpy Hooves, and work at Vinyl Scratch's electronic shop, fixing electronics and such.
I suppose I should include some sort of lesson I have learned. Twilight says that is what she and her friends do and she suggested I do the same. So, here is the lesson I have learned; While making others happy is one of the best things you can do, you also have to make yourself happy.
It's kinda selfish, but hey, who isn't once in a while.
-Signed, The Alien."
“What a fine report,” Celestia commented as she read through it, a smile on her lips. She handed the letter to Luna, who was trying to read it over her shoulder. Luna read it, rather fast.
“Sister,” Luna began, “when are you going to tell him that the spell you showed him was a fake? Or that he can't even go back home?”
“Meh,” Celestia shrugged. “He's smart, he will figure it out sooner or later.”
“And if he doesn't?”
“What he doesn't know won't hurt him,” Celestia simply said as she sat down on her throne.
“Another thing, why does he refer to himself as 'The Alien'?”
“I'm not sure,” Celestia admitted. “Perhaps it's some human thing?”
“Hmm, maybe,” Luna said, walking back to her chambers.