Autumn Nights

by AutumnHeart52413

Chapter 1: The Package

Chapter 1: The Package

The sun was going down, and Ditzy Doo had finished her shift at the post office. The pocket watch that she kept in her mailbag read 7:33 PM. The days were getting shorter, it seemed, and Night Mare Night decorations were beginning to dominate front lawns and shop windows. Night Mare Night was not until October 31, which was about three weeks away, but that did not stop eager young fillies and colts from parading down the streets in their homemade costumes.

She landed in front of the Golden Oaks library. Her friend, Twilight Sparkle, had asked her to meet with her after her shift at the post office earlier today…or at least she thought it was today. She sometimes had trouble keeping track of the time, and her mixed up eyes made it easy for her to get lost or bump into things. She had such a klutzy reputation, it was hard to believe that she’s never been fired in the six years she worked for Pony Express.

Ditzy knocked on the door. A breeze picked up behind her, sending chills down her spine. The days are only going to get colder, Ditzy told herself. I’d better get myself something warm to wear before winter hits.
Twilight opened the door moments later, and Ditzy couldn’t help but to flinch when she saw her friend. Her eyes were dull and her mane was a tangled jungle. Her purple coat looked slightly grey, as if it hadn’t been exposed to the sun in days. She looked so…tired…

When Twilight’s eyes met Ditzy’s, they seemed to glow, despite their current state. “THERE you are! WHERE have you BEEN?!” she exclaimed. “I thought I asked you to come in days ago!” Ditzy blushed, apparently she was wrong “Sorry…” Ditzy began. “I guess I just lost track of the time, and I-” “That’s okay, it doesn’t matter.” Twilight quickly interrupted. “You’re here now, and that’s the important thing.” She moved inside the building, and waved her hoof to Ditzy, in invitation.

As Ditzy entered, she realized how messy the place looked. The books, papers, quills, and inkpots were scattered across the floor, and there was no way she would let the place look like this unless she was too preoccupied with something super intense. Twilight caught her gazing at the destroyed room. “Yes, I know the place looks bad, and I’ll fix it later.” She defended. “This is more important.” Well there’s something that I never thought I would hear out of her mouth. Ditzy thought to herself. Twilight searched the desks and drawers for something. After a few moments, she stopped, as if she had just remembered something. “Wait here,” she instructed, and trotted upstairs.

Ditzy scanned the room again. The mess reminded her of the time she visited her friend Rainbow Dash at her cloud house above Ponyville. At one point, Rainbow had to leave the room for a moment, leaving Ditzy on her own. Ditzy had managed to trip over Dash’s coffee table, causing her to crash into a nearby lamp. The lamp fell and shattered on the floor, but not before it was able to hit her on the head, which lead her to stumble backwards onto a shelf filled with items and artifacts which rained down on her on impact. Ditzy was unable to watch the rest of the disaster unfold because of all the pain the objects had given her when she fell, but when she opened her eyes, it looked as if a bomb had gone off in Dash’s living room. Rainbow arrived seconds later, her mouth agape with a mixture of fear, surprise, and furry. Ditzy remembered lots of yelling and cursing following that, most of it along the lines of:

“Damn it Derpy!”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!?”

“I only left you alone for a minute!”

“How could I have been so stupid as to let your clumsy ass enter my house?”

Ditzy never liked the name “Derpy”. It was a rude name that bullies would call her because of her eyes, and it really hurt when Rainbow Dash called her that. She left after that, and hadn’t talked to Rainbow since.

After quite a wait, Twilight returned, levitating a medium-sized package, about the size of a large book. There were no stamps, no addresses; nothing except for a small sticker on the side that read: “To my dear friend, Jackle”
“Princess Luna sent this to me about a week ago.” She explained “I tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge.” She glanced over at the box for a second, “Hard to believe, seeing that it’s just a simple cardboard box…” she added. She then pulled out a letter and gave it to Ditzy. “Anyway, she sent me these instructions shortly after I received it.”

Ditzy stared at the writing on the paper and began to sound out the words under her breath. The addresses on the packages for her to deliver were big and simple enough for her to read without too much difficulty, but when it came to reading books or papers, the text was always too small and close together for her to read quickly. Twilight quickly took notice of this, sighed, and took the paper back and read;

“Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Following this letter is an important parcel that must be delivered to a close friend of ours whom dwelleth in and old manor in the Everfree Forest. Unfortunately, His home has a spell cast on it, making it rather difficult to find. If we can remember correctly, we believe it could only be found by, ‘A pony with lost eyes and a true heart.’ We trust that you can work past this spell and deliver it. Do not disappoint us…this is very, very important.

Sincerely, thy royal princess of the night,

Princess Luna”

“I don’t get it,” Ditzy responded after a short while. “How are you supposed to find this place?” Twilight’s face fell. “I honestly don’t know. I’ve tried every spell I know to find the place myself, but nothing’s worked.” She let out a long, tiring yawn, her hard work and stress seemed to be catching up to her. “But I can’t let the princess down.” Her voice was dull and hopeless, weighted with defeat . She let out a sorrowful sigh and closed her eyes.

She opened her eyes a second or so later and spotted Ditzy again, and felt a drop of hope drip from the inside of her heart. “Now, that’s where you come in…” She started again with a slightly confident smile. “I thought that you might possibly be able to find this place.”

“ME?” Ditzy asked, astonished. “How do you expect somepony like me to find this guy? I can hardly find anything outside of Ponyville, much less inside the Everfree forest.” Twilight’s eyes fell to the floor, her confidence died along with the smile on her muzzle. “W-well…I thought, maybe-” she stammered. “-when I was searching the Everfree myself, I couldn’t help but wonder what Princess Luna meant by ‘Lost Eyes’. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it meant that I had to become lost, but there could possibly be more to it…” Twilight looked at Ditzy’s face and looked like she was going to say something more, but she changed her mind and continued.

“You, on the other hoof, are a pony that can get herself lost quite easily…no offence…” Ditzy didn’t really didn’t mind. In fact, she thought she could recall seeing a building like this before, but she wasn’t certain. She thought for a few moments. Twilight did seem truly desperate for help, and Ditzy did not want to disappoint a friend. “I think I might be able to help,” Ditzy replied with a friendly, yet doubtful grin. Twilight perked up. “Really? You mean it?!” This sudden spark of joy surprised Ditzy. “Umm, I can sure try.”

Twilight lit up at this, and began to bounce around in circles around Ditzy in pure delight. "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!" She exclaimed, but her rapid speech slurred the words together, making it hard to understand.

She eventually calmed down and gave Ditzy the package. “Now, just in case you don’t find this pony, give the package back to me tomorrow evening” She instructed. Ditzy nodded in understanding and stored it in her messenger bag.

“Oh, and one more thing!” Twilight called as Ditzy turned to leave: “Whatever you do, do not enter this pony’s home. We don’t know if he’s a safe pony or not. Besides, there’s probably a reason this pony keeps himself isolated in the woods.

Comments

[Kapuchu]

Inspired by This Song by any chance?

[AutumnHeart52413]

3536882 Yep. I believe I stated that in the author's notes. This story is also a remake of this story by Brindle: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/90736/autumn-night#comment/2927424

[DismantledAccount]

Do you have an estimated time of arrival for the next chapter?

[AutumnHeart52413]

I hope I can get it done over the break. Sorry this story might take a little while, High School is a butt