//------------------------------// // Achoo! // Story: Derpy Vignettes // by Kaylee //------------------------------// The sun was shining. The flowers were blooming. The birds were singing. It was the perfect Spring day. “ACHOO!” CRASH! Well, perfect for everypony except Derpy, who swore she was allergic to the whole season. “Stupid flowers and their stupid pollen,” she grumbled as she extracted herself from the tree she had flown into after that last sneeze. At least she hadn’t crashed through a window or into another pony this time. A bit clumsy at the best of times, her allergies had made things a million times worse. Each sneeze had a good chance of sending her careening drastically off course. All four hooves now firmly on the ground, Derpy did a quick check for injuries and to make sure that she hadn’t lost any mail. Fortunately, the flap on her mailbag had stayed securely closed this time. She hadn’t been so lucky yesterday. Taking flight again, Derpy resumed making her way to Sugarcube Corner. It was her last stop of the day and then all she had to do was get the outgoing mail to the post office without killing herself or anypony else. Derpy breathed a sigh of relief as she landed in front of the building. She had made it. She was in one piece, she hadn’t lost any mail, and she hadn’t broken anything. She walked into Sugarcube Corner, the cheerful ding of the bell above the door immediately grabbing the attention of the pink pony behind the counter. “Yay! Mail time! Anything for me?” Pinkie Pie bounced over the counter, landing so she was nose to nose with Derpy. Sniff “Yep, a letter for you and two for the Cakes.” Derpy nosed through her mailbag, finally finding the three letters and grabbing them in her teeth. “Mmrph mmph mmph.” Pinkie took the mail and set it on the counter. She turned back to Derpy with a concerned look on her face. “Are you okay, Derpy? You’re a bit snuffly and your eyes are red.” Sniff. “Just allergies. It’s like this every Spring with all the pollen in the air. It’ll go away eventually.” Sniff. “That’s awful!” Pinkies pulled Derpy into a big hug. “Maybe we can see if Twilight can use her magic to turn off the pollen making bits in all of the plants.” Derpy pulled herself out of Pinkies arms and smiled. “I don’t think it works that way, Pinkie.” “You’re probably right.” Pinkie said, frowning. After a few seconds she perked up again. “Hey! Do you want a muffin? Those always make you feel better!” “Not today.” Sniff. “I’m already running late and need to get this mail to the post office before I get into trouble.” “Okey dokey! See you tomorrow!” Pinkie called as Derpy turned and headed out the door. Once outside, Derpy double checked to make sure her bag was securely fastened and took off. She had barely gotten all four hooves off the ground when she felt it. That tickle in her nose that signaled on approaching sneeze. AH- Oh, no. This was going to be a bad one. AH- Derpy rubbed her nose in a desperate attempt to not finish sneezing. ACHOO! Eyes closed, Derpy tumbled backwards through the air, hoping her landing wouldn’t be too painful. CRASH! Derpy felt herself crash into a hard surface that quickly gave way, dumping her onto her back. Ding! Derpy opened her eyes to see Pinkie Pie’s concerned face looking down at her. “I think I’ll go ahead and get that muffin now.”