When Derpy finally stirred from her tranquil sleep, the sun was shining through the living room windows and she could hear birds chirping from outside. Rubbing the last traces of sleep from her eyes, she got up and entered the kitchen. Carrot was nowhere to be found, but Derpy quickly spotted a hastily-scribbled note left on the kitchen table. She trotted over to it and read the note.
Derpy,
Went into town to fetch some ponies who can help. Be back soon.
Carrot
P.S. Have a name for your “mentor” by the time I get back.
Glancing up at the cuckoo clock on the kitchen wall, Derpy saw that it was already well past noon. She crumpled up the note and tossed it into a trashcan beneath the kitchen sink, then made her way upstairs. She had no idea when Carrot might return, but figured that in the meantime she might as well start getting her room in order while she tried to come up with a name for her fictitious mentor.
Upon entering her room, Derpy was rather surprised to find that it looked exactly the way she’d left it. Well, that wasn’t quite accurate; truth be told, it was actually considerably cleaner than when she’d left, Carrot’s doing no doubt. There wasn’t so much as a speck of dust to be found, and she’d even kept Derpy’s old stuffed elephant toy Mr. Trunk out on her bed, neatly resting between two pillows. To say that Derpy was touched was an understatement.
Wow… I would’ve expected at the very least some things to be packed away, but she took care of everything while I was gone. She never really gave up on me, did she? Never once doubted that I’d come back. I never… I didn’t realize she cared that much. Never knew our friendship meant that much to her.
With no tidying up needed in her room, Derpy headed for Carrot’s instead. She didn’t want to snoop around or stick her nose where it didn’t belong, especially given how good Carrot had already been to her, but she’d earlier glimpsed a rather large clutter of paperwork on Carrot’s nightstand beside her bed when she’d been in there hiding her armor in the attic. For whatever reason, she couldn’t shake that image from her mind; it just wasn’t like Carrot to leave such a mess like that out anywhere, much less in her bedroom.
Upon closer inspection she found all manner of documents in the pile of paperwork. Letters, receipts, payslips and bills, all piled haphazardly over each other in one great big hodgepodge of forms. The payslips in particular caught her attention, seeing as Carrot shouldn’t have had any given she was self-employed; looking them over, her heart sank like a stone as she realized they were payslips from the local Hay Burger.
Oh no, how could I have been so stupid? Of course she got a second job while I was gone, how else could she possibly have kept paying the rent for this place? Sweet Celestia, I must be the most insensitive jerk in all of Equestria. Here I am, just dropping in on Carrot out of the blue and asking her to take all of these half-baked, crazy risks just for me, and I didn’t even think to ask how things had been for her! I can’t even imagine how hard this past year has been for her. Gotta find a way to fix that pronto, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Sifting further through the papers, Derpy found a number of letters in torn envelopes addressed to Carrot from her Aunt Dot and Uncle Silver of all ponies. From what she gathered as she read through a few of them, it seemed as though Carrot had been keeping them up-to-date on the ongoing search for Derpy as well as any news or rumors out there about her whereabouts.
She did that on top of working two jobs? Buck, I’ll really have to make things up to her. Seriously, what didn’t she do? Also have to remember to get a letter out to Dot and Silver soon, let them know I’m back safe and sound. Should probably visit them soon too, been too long since I last saw them. A few more letters here, wonder if Carrot was in touch with any other fami-
Her whole train of thought ground to a halt upon seeing two words on an envelope addressed to Carrot from a Canterlot address: Hardy Hooves.
That can’t… no. No, it can’t be. How could she have even gotten in touch with him? I didn’t even know his address.
But hard as it was to believe, there it was, clear as day. ‘Dr. Hardy Hooves, PhD,’ in a crisp, clean script she’d all but forgotten. Digging through the pile she found two more letters from him, and for a minute just stared at all three, eyes wide as saucers. Then, just as quickly as she’d found them, she put them back down, even hastily burying the letters beneath more papers as though to put as much between her and them as possible. She didn’t even know what to feel about that, or what she should. All she did feel was a cold numbness in the pit of her stomach. Old, buried, something she’d rather forget than face. She didn’t like it. Not one bit.
The sound of the front door opening and Carrot calling for her snapped Derpy out of her moment of melancholy, and she gladly abandoned those pensive thoughts for another time and headed downstairs. In the entryway she found Carrot along with two other ponies: Twilight Sparkle and Mayor Mare, both of whom Derpy had figured might show up.
Ever since she’d moved to Ponyville and assumed the role of bearer of the Element of Magic, Twilight had become something of a local leading figure around town. Be it some sort of emergency involving a creature from the Everfree Forest (which occurred virtually on a weekly basis) or the even more common social disputes that cropped up, one could almost always guarantee that Twilight would become involved in it at some point. As a national hero, she’d already helped save Equestria multiple times along with her band of closest friends, including from Queen Chrysalis and her changeling army, and it was a safe bet that she had been playing a considerable role since then with keeping an eye out for any signs of another changeling incursion. As for Mayor Mare, as Ponyville’s leading municipal official, it made even more sense that she be here as well. If anypony in town needed to know first that Derpy was back and was who she said she was, it certainly was Ponyville’s mayor.
Both ponies stared up at Derpy in wonder as she lightly trotted down the stairs, like they were witnessing a group of buffalo ballerinas (again). Thankfully, before their jaws dropped any lower, Carrot spoke up.
“Derpy, you know Twilight and Mayor Mare,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Yeah, sure, of course. How’s it going?” Derpy asked, trying her best to set them both at ease.
Before another word was spoken, Twilight teleported in the blink of an eye over to where Derpy stood, eyeballing every inch of her as though she were an antique collector verifying the authenticity of a rare item. Just as Derpy was about to say something, a shimmer of magic radiated from the unicorn’s horn and an indescribable sensation swept over Derpy’s body. It felt like a wave of raw, unadulterated love, somehow transfigured into a physical state, was rolling over, in, and under every fiber of her being.
The sensation lasted only a few seconds, but the second it passed Derpy blinked with a dazed look on her face as though she’d just been hit over the head with a shovel. Twilight herself seemed to markedly relax after her spell’s effects ended, only to replace her newfound peace of mind with an anxious regard.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry! That must’ve felt strange, I know, but, well, it couldn’t really be helped. Had to make sure you weren’t a changeling and all, better safe than sorry, right? You aren’t hurt, are you? The changeling detector spell’s never had any negative effects to date, well, on ponies at least, but I suppose there could always be an exception to the rule. How many hooves am I holding up? Are your ears ringing? Quick, what’s your earliest childhood memo-”
“I’m fine, Twilight, really,” Derpy assured her, recovering from her momentary surprise at the spell. “It’s good to see you too.” That helped Twilight reel in her rambling digression and her cheeks instantly burned a reddish hue out of embarrassment, smiling sheepishly at letting her anxiety almost get carried away as it all too often threatened to do in more cases than she cared to admit.
“It’s true then?” Mayor Mare piped up. “It’s really her?”
“It seems to be,” Twilight affirmed. “Unless of course changelings have somehow found a way to circumvent the spell’s effects, but I don’t see how they could. Still, it can’t hurt to be sure, though we’d best hold off on that until the rest of our party arrives.”
Derpy cocked her head to the side. “The rest of your party? Who else is coming?”
Before Twilight could answer, a knock came at the front door, and Carrot promptly answered it. In the doorway stood Twilight’s diminutive dragon-assistant, Spike, though it was the ponies accompanying him who really caught Derpy’s attention. Behind Spike stood two pegasi: Cirrus Gust and Nimbus Gust. As Ponyville’s police commissioner, Cirrus’s presence was hardly surprising; if Derpy’s return was need-to-know information for anypony in Ponyville, it was him and Mayor Mare. But Nimbus being there, on the other hoof, perplexed Derpy just a tad. Sure, she was an officer of the Royal Guard, not to mention Cirrus’s sister, but whereas Cirrus was wearing his police blues, badge and all, Nimbus didn't seem to have any of her Guard attire on.
If she’s off duty, then what’s she doing here? Unless… nah, no way, that was so long ago. I mean, I guess she might remember mom’s funeral, and what happened afterwards, but still, I have no idea what that day meant to her. Could’ve just been some official state duty of hers, or something. And yet… she didn’t treat it like it was only business. Everything she did that day, it was… genuine. No, not just genuine, truly heartfelt. Wait, what am I even thinking, what difference does that make? It certainly doesn’t tell me what she’s doing here, that’s for sure.
“Ah, perfect timing, thank you Spike, you were very prompt,” Twilight commended her assistant, beaming at him.
“No problem, always happy to help. Although I don’t suppose you’d be willing to throw in a gem for tonight’s dessert?” he asked hopefully.
“Spike!” Twilight said in a warning voice.
“Alright, alright, it was worth a shot though,” he acceded, taking his place at Twilight’s side.
Mayor Mare beckoned the new arrivals to come in. “Commissioner, glad you could join us. And you brought your sister, I see,” she remarked, sounding somewhat surprised herself. The commissioner grunted in affirmation.
“Major Gust insisted on coming along,” he coolly explained. “Seeing as this is a local matter falling under the town’s jurisdiction, I insisted that her presence was not needed. As you can see, we compromised; the major is here in an unofficial capacity as a civilian observer.” Derpy noted a tightness to Cirrus’s tone and wondered if there was some sort of sibling squabble going on between the two. Then again, the commissioner had always had a fairly dry, no-nonsense personality; she should know, given the number of times he’d had to get involved in “incidents” she’d caused around town.
“Well, come on in, please, make yourselves at home,” Carrot urged. “I’ll fetch some chairs from the kitchen for us. Would anyone like anything to eat or drink?”
Spike’s eyes lit up and he raised a scaly claw, but before he could take Carrot up on her offer, the commissioner interjected. “No, thank you. This is official town business, not a social gathering, after all.” Spike crossed his arms, glowering at the commissioner.
After they were all seated, all eyes were on Derpy. Despite Twilight’s assurances that she’d already confirmed that she was no changeling, Commissioner Gust, much to Derpy’s annoyance, demanded that she double check in his presence just so he could be sure. It was a simple enough task, but it still felt just as bizarre as it had the first time for Derpy. Once that was finished, the commissioner’s demeanor appeared to slightly soften, though he still remained poised in his seat, rigid and alert. For her part, Nimbus stayed quiet for the moment, content simply with leveling a calm, steady gaze in Derpy’s direction, not taking her eyes off her.
“So you’re officially not a changeling,” Commissioner Gust noted. “That’s a good start, but there are still quite a few questions that need answering.”
“I’m afraid the commissioner’s right,” Mayor Mare agreed. “It’s not that we don’t trust you, Miss Hooves, we just can’t be too careful these days after everything that happened last year in Canterlot. You understand, yes?”
“Of course, mayor, I’ll do whatever I can to answer any questions you might have, all of you,” Derpy avowed.
“Splendid!” the mayor replied. “Then let’s begin.”
“So let me see if I’ve got this straight?” the commissioner said. “You ran off without any notice, not so much as a word or even a letter or postcard to any friends or family, after a nervous breakdown?”
“Yes sir,” Derpy said.
“And you… wandered aimlessly about until meeting a “wise old hermit” on the road. What was his name again?”
“Full Heart, sir, and yes that was how we met.”
“Right. And this Full Heart, he just took you into his home, in a remote area up north, for over a year and talked you out of your state of mind?”
“He did more than just talk,” Derpy countered. “He treated me. Therapy sessions, meditation, stringent daily exercises, an improved diet, all to promote health of body, mind, and soul.”
“And he did all this simply out of the goodness of his heart?” the commissioner asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
“That he did,” Derpy answered. “I know it sounds unreal, and I can’t quite explain it even myself, but you just have to believe me. He told me I wasn’t the first pony he’d ever helped out; he’d helped out many others before me, always has. Said it was his purpose in life to be a teacher, a mentor, somepony to help others struggling to find who they are. I guess he just likes doing it on his own terms, because trust me, I still wonder myself sometimes why he chose to help me.”
Commissioner Gust gave an exasperated sigh and abraded his face with a hoof. For the past couple of hours, question after question had been thrown Derpy’s way. Commissioner Gust had by far had the most, and it was quite apparent to Derpy that he was the most skeptical and guarded of her interrogators, but both Twilight and Mayor Mare had fielded a fair share of questions themselves. While Spike had kept busy taking notes down, Nimbus remained silent as the grave, still simply watching Derpy with a look that in no way betrayed whatever thoughts were ranging through her mind.
“Miss Hooves, is there any way you or anyone else can verify any of this?” the commissioner asked. Derpy shrugged helplessly in response.
“I’m sorry sir, but I really can’t. Full Heart’s a wanderer and roams all over Equestria; the place we stayed at while he aided me was just a temporary lodging for him. I couldn’t possibly say where he might be now.”
“Swell, real swell.”
“Now commissioner, let’s not lose our temper,” Mayor Mare gently admonished. “Miss Hooves has been nothing but cooperative so far, not to mention her account seems far too detailed to be a tall tale or forgery.”
“With all due respect, ma’am, but a year ago a changeling queen was able to pass herself off as the Princess of Love and managed to fool almost everypony around her, including said princess’s fiancé and our own alicorn rulers. Surely you understand if I’m a bit overly-cautious in light of that. Now, she may not be a changeling, but that doesn’t mean she’s telling the truth.”
Horsefeathers, he is relentless. Guess I can’t really blame him. I wonder what the rest think? The mayor’s been all ears for the most part, and Twilight hasn’t had nearly as many questions as the commissioner, so they may be buying it just a touch more than he is, or at least are being more open-minded about all this. Then there’s Cloud’s mom; I still have no idea what she’s doing here, much less what she thinks of all this.
“What I still don’t understand is, if you were as truly troubled as you say you were to the point that you suffered a nervous breakdown, why weren’t there more signs beforehand that you were struggling?” Twilight inquired. “Sure you were always a bit… uncoordinated around town, but you always seemed to bounce right back from any mishaps and laugh them off. What changed?”
“I still struggle to answer that myself.” Derpy frowned, trying to grasp the right words to convey her meaning. “I guess… it’s easier than some may think to bury the negative, the bad in your life, beneath a veneer of positivity. I think I did that for a long time, too long, maybe wasn’t even aware of it until it just became too much to keep it buried any longer. Then when it finally boiled to the surface, it all spilled over at once and before I knew it, everything was spinning out of control and for a while there I didn’t know what to do.”
Silence reigned for several moments after that, every pony in the room struggling with what to say next. Stroking his mustache in quiet contemplation, Commissioner Gust was the first to speak. “Well I’m stumped. There’s really no way as things are that we can definitively verify what you’ve told us is the truth, and yet as fantastic as your story is, your retelling has been very convincing. Legally there’s only one way we could verify it; through a magical probe of your mind, though you’d have to consent to that of course, otherwise it’d be in violation of the Laws of Magic. How about that, Miss Hooves?”
Oh dear, careful Derpy, treading on some thin ice here. Have to convince them somehow I’m not hiding anything but simply can’t go through with such a procedure. OK, stay calm, you can do this. No biggie.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to say no,” she answered, eliciting a flummoxed look from the commissioner. “I wish I could, believe me, but there’s just some memories from that experience I simply wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing in such an intimate manner.”
To her surprise, Twilight herself nodded in agreement. “That’s probably for the best, to be honest. I’ve read quite a bit about mind probing, but don’t have any real experience with it since it’s so seldom used and largely forbidden magic. We’d have to get an outside expert to conduct a mind probe if we chose to go that route, and that would take a few days at least to arrange, but even then whether or not we could probe her mind would hinge on Derpy giving us her consent. If she doesn’t want to have her mind probed, we can’t really force her to, not without a court order or royal decree at least. With what we’ve heard, despite the unusual circumstances of her return, I’m not sure we’d have enough to convince any legal authority to grant us permission to forcibly probe her mind.”
“Are you actually suggesting that we simply take Miss Hooves at her word based on a judgment call and nothing else?” Commissioner Gust asked, his agitation most apparent in the incredulous look he was casting at Twilight. “I’m sorry, Miss Sparkle, but I can’t simply jus –”
“What did I bring to your mother’s funeral?” Nimbus Gust asked, jarring everypony in the room.
“Nimbus, what on earth are you –” the commissioner began, but just as before he was cut off yet again.
“I’ll ask again: what did I bring to your mother’s funeral?” Nimbus asked, looking Derpy right in the eye. Derpy blinked in surprise, caught off guard by the seeming randomness of the bizarre question, but after a moment she thought she had an idea of what Nimbus was getting at.
“Irises. Two black irises. You left one before her casket and kept the other.” Nimbus nodded and rose from her seat, walking over to where Derpy sat.
“And what did I tell you afterwards, all those years ago?” she asked in a low voice, barely more than a whisper, that only she and Derpy could hear.
Derpy took a deep breath, trying her best to maintain her composure as she dug up the old, painful memory. She may have made peace with it in the past year, but that didn’t mean it didn’t still hurt to recall. “You told me she’d never leave me. That everything that she was, the goodness she channeled her whole life, would never die.” Her words were even softer than Nimbus’s had been, but just loud enough for the guardpony to make them out. Nodding again, more it seemed to herself than to Derpy, she turned to face the others watching them both with anticipation.
“It’s her,” she said. “There won’t be any need for further investigation, mayor. I can assure you all, she is who she says she is.”
“We already established that she is who she says she is,” Commissioner Gust retorted. “But nothing she’s said has in any way definitively verified that her story checks out. How can you possibly be sure that we can trust she’s told us the truth?”
“Because she’s her mother’s daughter,” Nimbus calmly replied, “and I trust that she’d do the right thing and be forthcoming with us. Think about that, brother; you know I wouldn’t make a judgment call like that easily.” The commissioner pondered upon his sister’s words momentarily.
“No, you wouldn’t. But what if –”
“If it will make you feel better, I’d be glad to keep in touch with Miss Hooves for the foreseeable future and help her acclimate back into life in Ponyville.”
Translation: she’s offering to keep an eye on me.
“I think that sounds like a more than acceptable solution,” Twilight concurred. “As long as you’re sure it’s not too much trouble, Major.”
“It’s no trouble at all, Miss Sparkle. I can stay in touch with one pony easily enough. What say you, Cirrus?”
Darting his eyes back and forth between Derpy and Nimbus, the commissioner remained in a state of deep thought for a while more before finally saying, “Alright. If you’re sure it’s not too troublesome, I think that can work. But I expect to hear regularly from you about her; I want to stay on top of this situation as much as you are. Understood?”
“Understood,” Nimbus answered.
“Well, it appears we are all in agreement then,” Mayor Mare stated. “Miss Hooves, you are free to go about Ponyville as you wish for the time being, on the condition that you regularly meet with Major Gust, of course. We’ll let you both work something out. As for breaking the news of your return, I think we’ll take Carrot Top’s earlier recommendation and have the Ponyville Express publish a story about it. I’ll get in touch with their editors as soon as possible. Don’t worry, we won’t share the more intimate details of what you were up to in your absence; we’ll just let them know that you were away for ‘personal reasons.’ How’s that sound?”
“Sounds real swell to me, Mayor!” Derpy replied, a gracious smile fixed on her face. “Thank you all so much for hearing me out, you have no idea what this means to me.”
“Just make sure you vindicate our trusting you,” Commissioner Gust warned. “And try to stay out of trouble, my force has got enough to worry about these days, we don’t need a spike in property damage on top of it all.”
“Don’t worry, sir, my days of being a pain in your neck are over,” a sheepish Derpy assured him.
“Spike, did you get all of that?” Twilight asked her assistant, who was still busy taking notes.
“Just finishing up the last of it,” he told her.
“Excellent! I’ll get copies made for you and the Mayor, Commissioner, just for posterity’s sake, of course. I’ll also get a record of our business here made up and sent to Princess Celestia as well.”
Derpy and Carrot exchanged a quick look with each other. “Uh, you’re not going to send Princess Celestia to my front door, are ya?” Derpy asked.
“Oh no, no, no! It’s merely a formality is all,” Twilight assured her. “I just want to fill her in on the situation and that we have everything under control is all.”
“Oh, OK, yeah, that makes sense,” Derpy said, internally breathing a sigh of relief. The last thing Carrot and she needed was for a princess of all things to get involved in this, but so long as she was just being given a report about Derpy’s return, she didn’t see the harm in that. After all, Twilight was Princess Celestia’s very own personal student, so she imagined the royal would take her protégé’s word for it that her account could be trusted.
“Be sure that my vouching for Miss Hooves is on the record, Miss Sparkle,” Nimbus Gust requested. “That should satisfy her Highness that all is well.”
“Of course, Major,” Twilight agreed. “Well, I think that about wraps up everything here. Thank you both so much for all your patience and help, I know this has been a difficult process.”
“It’s no trouble at all, Twilight, we were happy to help,” Carrot said, a great deal of tension noticeably melting away from her. “I’m just glad we’ve been able to mostly get everything squared away. Would you like anything before you go?” Spike appeared ready to jump at her offer yet again, but this time Twilight spoke up before he could say anything.
“No thank you, we really must be going. Maybe some other time though when things are a bit less crazy.” Everypony with the exception of the equally-sober Gust siblings and the evidently-hungry Spike chuckled at that.
“Here, I’ll show you all out,” Carrot offered, trotting over to the front door and bidding their guests farewell. Derpy started doing the same until she felt a gentle hoof upon her shoulder. Turning around, she saw that it belonged to Nimbus Gust, who was beckoning the mare to follow her into the kitchen. After a second glance at Carrot and their departing guests, she followed.
When she joined Nimbus in the kitchen, the older mare looked her up and down, still wearing that same neutral expression she’d managed to maintain throughout the entirety of their meeting. Just as Derpy was starting to get a little uncomfortable beneath her scrutinizing eyes, she finally spoke.
“Are you well?” she asked. Derpy was mildly taken aback by the simplicity of the question, but tried to roll with it.
“Uh, yeah, doing pretty good,” she replied. “Why, something the matter?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Nimbus assured her. “I just want to be sure you’re doing alright, is all. You do look well, I’ll say that much, but that only tells one so much. You’re in a good place, yes? In here?” She laid a hoof on Derpy’s chest. It took her a few seconds, but Derpy quickly understood her meaning.
“I think so, yeah. Better than I’ve been in a long time, at least.”
“Good, good.” A temporary stillness hung between the two, neither sure where to go from there. “Well, I’ll be in touch. We don’t have to make our get-togethers formal or anything, we’ll just meet when we can. And listen, if you ever need to talk about anything, anything at all, just… let me know, OK? My door’s always open.”
“Sure… sure, yeah, I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” Derpy said.
Where the hay is this coming from? I don’t think she’s suspicious, I mean, she did vouch for me after all. But why’s she so interested in me all of a sudden?
Those thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind after what Nimbus said next. “Oh, one more thing. Cloud’s out of town right now, but she’s coming back tomorrow. I’ll be sure to let her know you’re back, she’ll be very happy to hear it.”
“Oh great, thanks!” Derpy said in appreciation. Cloud Kicker had been one of Derpy’s closest friends for a long time, going back all the way to summer flight camp in Cloudsdale, long before she’d even met Carrot.
“I imagine you’ll be at home, yes?” Nimbus asked.
“Yeah, probably just gonna lay low tomorrow and let news of my return spread around Ponyville. Don’t want to be walking around town before everypony knows I’m back, right?”
“Yes, that’s probably for the best,” Nimbus granted. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure my daughter doesn’t come barging in after she learns you’re back. I’m sure you’re rather tired after your journey, after all.”
“Yeah, just a bit,” Derpy allowed, trying to stifle a yawn.
“Well, I’d best be going. Take care now, Derpy, it’s… I’m glad to see you’re safe.” Derpy smiled appreciatively in return, still not entirely sure where Nimbus’s personal interest in her wellbeing was coming from, but grateful for it nonetheless.
“Thank you, ma’am, that’s very kind of you to say.” The two mares nodded to each other and Nimbus Gust turned to leave, bidding farewell to Carrot on her way out. As soon as the door closed behind her, Carrot slumped to the floor and leaned her head against the door, breathing a great sigh of relief.
“Wow. I can’t believe that actually worked,” she remarked.
“You and me both,” Derpy said, chuckling. Sitting down next to her friend, the two quietly sat there awhile, each preoccupied with her own thoughts. They were well and truly in this together now; in a day or so the whole town would be fed their fabrication, sold to them as the bona fide truth, and Carrot would be just as accountable as Derpy if their deception was ever discovered. An accomplice: all for being a true friend, because Derpy chose to entrust the truth with her, she’d be considered an accomplice, an accessory to her deception. That alone was reason enough for Derpy to swear by her mother’s memory that Carrot would not pay, would not sacrifice her life on the altar of another’s dreams.
After they’d been sitting there for some time, Derpy remembered what she’d found on Carrot’s nightstand earlier. “You didn’t tell me you were working two jobs,” she remarked.
Carrot didn’t say anything for a few moments, didn’t even look Derpy in the eye. When she finally did speak, she kept her head bowed low, just staring at nothing in particular on the ground. “You didn’t ask, and it, well… didn’t seem important before.”
“Not important? C’mon, don’t be like that; you’ve always paid short shrift to your own needs, your problems. I’ve certainly lived with you long enough to know that about you. But you didn’t have to hide that from me, Carrot; I’m a big girl, I can handle it. I know it’s my fault you had to get a second job to pay the rent on this place. Why’d you even keep it, huh? You didn’t need a place this big, you could’ve easily found somewhere smaller and more affordable to live. Don’t tell me you kept it on my account.”
“I did look for a smaller place,” Carrot uttered, with a tremor in her voice. “About three months after you disappeared. I’m not proud that I did. Almost moved to a new place at one point too, but… I don’t know. I just couldn’t do it.”
“Why?” Derpy asked.
“I guess I figured I’d be totally giving up on too much if I did,” Carrot admitted. “Not just you, but my dreams too, and for whatever reason I just couldn’t do that. We’d made a home here, you and I, a life, and I didn’t want to lose that. I’ve wondered many times if I made the right choice, but since then finding a new place to live in Ponyville has grown far more complicated than it used to be.”
Derpy perked an eyebrow. “How so?”
“Well… you’re not the only one who’s changed. Home’s just not the same anymore. Lots of new faces around town, lots of new… problems.” Derpy was about to press her further about what she meant by that, but Carrot seemed to sense as much. “Can we not talk about this right now, please? It’s been a long day.”
Although somewhat discomfited by that, Derpy nonetheless honored Carrot’s request. It was, after all, the least she could do after everything Carrot had already done for her. “Sure, sure, no problem.”
“Thanks,” Carrot replied. “So, what else did you find while you were snooping around, hmmm?” she demanded, her tone more than a bit miffed.
“Just some letters about me is all,” Derpy answered. Carrot stiffened at that, her eyes widening.
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” Derpy’s voice began tightening ever so slightly. “Care to explain how you got in touch with my father?”
“I didn’t!” Carrot hastily exclaimed. “Derpy you gotta believe me, I would never have done that, not on my own. I reached out to your aunt and uncle, but not him, I swear! He contacted me.”
“What? How? That doesn’t seem possible. We haven’t connected in years, didn’t even know each other’s addresses, so how the hay did he know where to write? For that matter, how’d he even know I was missing?” Carrot shrugged, wearing an expression just as bewildered as Derpy’s own.
“You got me. I certainly didn’t tell him. I thought maybe your aunt and uncle did, but they never said anything to suggest I should expect to hear from him. He sure didn’t either. Didn’t really have anything to say except for questions about you.”
“What kind of questions?” Derpy asked carefully. Much as she still didn’t know how to feel about this, she couldn’t help but inquire about what her father had wanted to know about her. It simply piqued her curiosity too much.
“You didn’t read the– oh, I see,” Carrot said. “Just updates about your situation, that’s all. If I’d heard any news about you, that sort of thing.” Quickly noticing her friend’s disquietude at this information, Carrot hastily added, “But, if it helps, he seemed genuinely concerned in his letters. I mean, like I said, he never asked about anything else. There was always some new question about you he’d manage to scrounge up. How was the search going, who was looking for you, had anypony passing through town heard anything? If there was a question to be asked about you, he always seemed to be the first to think it up.”
“Huh,” was all Derpy could muster. Despite how little she knew, this was still a lot to think about. This was the first time in years her father had taken any interest in her affairs; she couldn’t simply ignore that. Still, she wasn’t about to jump into action either. First things first, she had responsibilities to take care of here, for herself, for Carrot, and for her home. For now, this could sit on the backburner. She’d figure out what to do eventually, but only when the time was right; no use being hasty, not in a matter this delicate.
“Do you… do you want me to write him and tell him you’re back?” Carrot delicately asked.
Derpy thought long and hard about that before finally answering slowly and deliberately, “I suppose. But just the facts, nothing more. Please don’t make it sound like I’m in any rush to reach out myself.”
Carrot nodded understandingly. “Sure, of course.”
“Thanks Carrot,” Derpy said. “You’ve done too much already, you know that? Horsefeathers, you even kept my room completely the same!”
“Well, you know me, stubborn as a mule when I set my mind on something,” she said, grinning wryly. “And my mind was set on not giving up on you.”
“Yeah, you’re kinda awesome that way,” Derpy said, wrapping a hoof around her shoulders and pulling her in for a quick hug. “Now it’s my turn to repay the favor.”
“What’s next?” Carrot asked.
“Well, first things first I gotta get a job. I’ll lie low tomorrow since that’s probably for the best, don’t want to freak anypony out after all. But after that I’ll start looking for something; the sooner you can quit your second job, the better. Might start by trying to get my old job back with the post office.”
“Ooo, you sure?” Carrot asked with a concerned look on her face. “I don’t know. Postmark was pretty miffed when you went missing. You know how short his temper can be.”
“Sure, but are they short staffed as ever?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I should be fine,” Derpy replied. “Post can be a hothead, sure, but I’m not the klutz I used to be. If he needs the help, and he sees how I can work now, then I’m sure I’ll be able to get him to come around and take me back.”
“I hope so. Be nice to get back to working one job and putting all my efforts toward my gardening again.”
“Don’t worry Carrot, you will. I promise you that,” Derpy declared.
“And after that, what then?”
“You got me,” Derpy remarked. “But I’ll figure it out. I’m not just gonna settle for getting my job back, no way. I can do something with all of this, everything I’ve learned, something real special, I know it. The trick’s just figuring out what exactly, but I’m sure if I look hard enough the opportunity will present itself, a chance to help others like I’ve never dreamed of before.”
“You make it sound like you’re searching for your destiny,” Carrot observed, chortling, but Derpy didn’t laugh.
“Who knows? Maybe I am. Maybe that’s exactly what I’m out to find: my destiny.” Neither said anything for some time after that, both just letting that last thought of Derpy’s sink in.
“Well, no matter what destiny you might find or where it takes you, I’ll be with you all the way,” Carrot stated. Derpy gave a sad smile at that, and felt a pang of shame.
“I’m sorry Carrot,” she stated, hanging her head.
“Sorry? For what?”
“For not realizing until now what a true friend you really are.” Once more the two pulled each other into a tight embrace and held one another for some time, content at this very moment just to have each other. There are few things in the world more indispensable than a true friend, and in this moment these two fully understood the truthfulness of that sentiment more than they ever had in their entire lives.
“Welcome home Derpy,” Carrot said, still holding onto her friend. “Welcome home.”