She could do this. How hard could it be to just walk up to some pony and introduce yourself?
“Derpy.”
Well, not just somepony.
“Hey, Derpy!”
Just the most handsome stallion she had ever seen.
“DERPY!”
Startled, Derpy looked up into a very annoyed pair of green eyes.
“Just what are you doin’ hiding behind my apples?”
Derpy grabbed Applejack, pulled her down behind the cart, and shoved a hoof in her mouth. “Shh!”
She peeked over some apples to make sure that he hadn’t seen her. It looked like she was safe.
“Mmph.” Applejack pulled Derpy’s hoof out of her mouth. “What in tarnation has gotten into you?”
“I can’t let him see me.”
“Let who see you?”
“Him!”
“Sugarcube, you’re gonna need to be a mite more specific than that.” Applejack tried to stand up, but Derpy quickly pulled her back down.
“That new stallion. The brown one with the hourglass cutie mark.”
“You mean the one settin’ up that new clock shop?”
“That’s him.”
“Exactly why do you need to be hidin’ from him?”
“I...well...see…”
“Ahh, I get it. You fancy him.”
Derpy’s face turned bright red under her grey coat and Applejack chuckled.
“Why don’t you just go up to him and introduce yourself?” Applejack asked.
“I can’t do that!” Derpy shot Applejack a horrified look. “He’s probably already heard about how accident prone I am and then he’ll see my eyes and he’ll think I’m just a dumb little mare like everypony says and then--”
This time it was Applejack’s turn to shove a hoof in Derpy’s mouth. “Now listen here. Anybody who knows you knows you aint dumb. If he decides you’re not smart afore he gets to know you, he ain’t good ‘nough for you anyhow.” Applejack removed her hoof and gave Derpy a gentle shove. “Just go and introduce yourself.”
“I can’t.” Derpy’s head dropped. “It’ll all go wrong.”
“That’s it, missy.” Applejack stood, pulling the other mare up with her.
Derpy tried to dart away, but Applejack grabbed Derpy’s tail in her mouth and dragged her towards the stallion. Derpy tried to get away, but soon gave up. There was no way for her to escape from the stronger earth pony.
The came to a halt and Applejack released her tail.
“Howdy, mister.” Derpy heard Applejack say.
Derpy dragged herself upright and slowly turned around, still blushing and refusing to look at the stallion.
“Hello, miss…”
“Name’s Applejack. I heard you was new in town.”
“Why yes, I just moved here. I’m Time Turner. Pleased to meet you.”
“This here’s my friend, Derpy.” Applejack elbowed Derpy. Hard.
“Hi,” Derpy squeaked, hiding behind her mane.
“She’s the mailmare in this town. Since you’re new and she knows this place better’n anypony else, I was thinkin’ she could show you around.”
“Well, that would be wonderful. I have to admit that I’ve already managed to get myself turned around a few times.” Time Turner ducked his head toward Derpy, trying to meet her gaze. “Miss Derpy, I would be very grateful if you would be willing to give me a tour of Ponyville. I’m sure you would be the best pony to help me get to know the place and introduce me to people.”
Derpy slowly lifted her head, slowly meeting his gaze. She had expected to get some sort of negative reaction once, he noticed her eyes, but his smile never wavered. Feeling a bit more confident, Derpy stopped hiding and responded in a voice that was only slightly quieter than her normal volume.
“Well, I do know Ponyville pretty well. If you really want me to, I could show you around.”
“Great!” Time Turner beamed. “Are you possibly free right now? If so, you could show me around for a bit and then I could take you to lunch. I’m sure you know the best place to get a sandwich.”
Derpy perked right up. “Oh, I do! I know all the best places for food. And after lunch, I can take you to Sugarcube Corner! They have the most amazing muffins!”
Derpy and Time Turner walked away, Derpy still happily telling him the best places to go for all of her favorite treats. Applejack smiled as the two took off, deep in conversation and never noticing that they had left Applejack behind. They were going to do just fine without her.