• Published 12th Jun 2012
  • 3,401 Views, 72 Comments

The Mailmare And I - MaxBeezy



A Writer travels to Ponyville, and starts an unlikely relationship with Derpy Hooves.

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A Promise Made

The morning sun shone brightly that day, and all the ponies were out and about, blissfully unaware of the events that transpired during the night. I walked through town, paying no mind to those around me. Any greeting I received was only replied with a halfhearted “Hi” on my part, and attempts to ask me what was wrong, were ignored entirely.

I walked back into my home, finally closing the door after all the time it was open. Thankfully, Ponyville was such a peaceful community, that nopony came in to steal anything. I never had that luxury in Manehattan.

Manehattan. A city of big business. A city with almost anything a pony could want.

That’s when it hit me; Manehattan is home to plenty of doctors, maybe I could find one who can help Derpy! I began to plan, map out all the places I could go to find what I was looking for. I started packing, already getting prepared for my trip. But, I couldn’t go now. I had to be there when she got out of the hospital. When the time would come to go, what would I tell her? I couldn’t tell her the truth, who knows how she would react? I wanted to be honest with her, but for the time being…I had to lie. I told myself that if I found help, that I would tell her, and if I didn’t, I would say nothing. That seemed reasonable enough.

Further preparations would have to wait however, as there was one more thing I had to do before she woke up.


I arrived at Sweet Apple Acres when the afternoon hour chimed on the clock. Everypony appeared to be inside, beating the heat on this particularly hot day.

When I knocked on the door, it immediately flung open, with three fillies running past me in excitement. It was so sudden; I nearly tripped over them, and fell. I regained my balance, however, only to nearly walk head first into a magenta colored mare coming out the door. She yelped in shock, not expecting me to be there. I nearly jumped back myself.

“Oh dear! I almost ran into you!” she said.

“It’s quite alright.”

“Wait, do I know you?” she said, as she looked at me with a look of familiarity. A few moments of awkward stares, and she got it.

“You’re the one that’s dating Derpy! I knew I recognized you!”

I tried my best to give her a nice grin, even as my thoughts drifted back to Derpy in the hospital bed.

“I don’t even know your name, what was it?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m looking for Big Macintosh. Is he here?”

“Of course.” she turned her head to the interior of the house. “Big Mac! That colt that’s living with Derpy is here!”

As soon as she finished her call, Big Mac came into view. As soon as he saw me, he smiled that friendly smile and walked to me and this mystery mare. Once again, he forgot my name. He never was very good with remembering my name, but it was okay.

“Oh, what are my manners?” Big Mac said as he turned to the mare next to him. “This here is Cheerliee, she’s a teacher at Ponyville Elementary.”

A teacher? It was then I remembered back when Fancypants talked of Big Mac coming to his restaurant with a teacher. So, this was the pony Big Mac was too shy to talk about.

“It’s nice to meet you.” I said to her. She responded with a simple nod.

“Likewise.” she turned to Big Mac, “I’m going to take the girls out. See you later?”

“Of course.” He said, giving her a nice friendly smile.

As Cheerilee took the three eager fillies out of our sight, Big Mac looked back at me, confused.

“If everything okay?”

“No.” I shook my head. I paused, trying to find the right way to say the news. Throwing caution to the wind, I said “Derpy’s in the hospital.”

Big Mac took a step back in shock. It took a bit for him to compose himself.

“Is she alright?”

“The Doctors says she’ll be okay, but she took a bad fall. It’ll be a week before she’s better.”

“Oh my. What about you? Are you alright?” He asked. I appreciated his concern.

“I’ll be alright. I’m actually here to ask you a favor, if you’re not busy.”

“No, I’m not busy at all today. What is it?”

“I need help bringing the bed downstairs.”

He closed the door as quick as a whistle, and followed me to the house. I didn’t need to convince him any further than that.


When we started bringing the bed down, I told him what happened. I told the story I best I could without going into tears, but I could see the sadness on Big Mac’s face as the tale progressed. The bed itself was awfully heavy, I never had to move it before, and I was ever so thankful for Big Mac’s assistance. We moved it into my study room, which had more than enough room for the bed, provided we moved my desk elsewhere. Ultimately, the desk was moved upstairs.

“Thanks, Big Mac. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“Ya probably would have broken your back. That bed was heavier than two wagons full of apples!”

"No doubt about that." I had my first chuckle in what felt like ages, "So, Cheerliee. She seems nice."

"Yeah..." he trails.

"What's up?"

"She actually came over today to break up."

"Ohh..." I felt awkward now. "But you two seemed so nice together."

"Yeah, but we both decided it wasn't going to work. Don't worry bout me, it was entirely mutual. We're still friends. Just not....FRIENDS friends."

"That's too bad. I'm sure you'll be alright."

"Ah hope so. Got a hoedown coming in a couple weeks, and ah hope to meet some nice mare there."

"That's the spirit!" I laugh. It felt good to get something else on my mind, after what had transpired. However, as soon as I thought that, I instantly became down again.

Before Big Mac could leave, he noticed my packed bags in the living room. Eyebrow raised, he turned back to me.

“Ya goin’ somewhere?”

“Yes. When Derpy comes back home, I’m going to Manehattan.”

“What are ya going to be doing in Manehattan, that’s more important than Derpy?” His voice sounded judgmental, as if I was abandoning Derpy for something less important. I couldn’t lie to him; there was no getting passed this, not unless I told the truth.

“Can you keep a secret, Big Mac?”

“You ain’t seeing another Mare, are ya?!” he shouted. I had to quell that fast, before he got real mad.

“No! No, nothing like that! I would never do that!” I said. He calmed down, but was still suspicious. “But please, if I tell you, do you promise not to tell anypony, especially Derpy?”

Big Mac had to think about this, and I could empathize with him. He had no idea what I was going to tell him, it could have been anything. Of course, I was no mind reader; I could only imagine the scenarios that were playing in that head of his. He then turned to me with a smirk and said…

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” That Pinkie Swear again, it had become engrained in my memory for so long, that I still have no idea who came up with it. There was no time to question that, as there were bigger issues to attend to.

“I’m going to Manehattan to find a doctor for Derpy.”

“Whadda mean? We have doctors here.”

“No, not that kind of doctor, an Eye Doctor.”

“You…you’re gonna fix her?”

“I’m going to try.”

“What…what if ya can’t?”

That question stung me more than I thought it would. I had considered what would happen if such a case occurred, but having somepony else ask me about it made me realize the risks I was taking. I thought that I would be able to handle it, just take it in stride, come back home, and never speak of it, but now…

“I…” my voice started to crack, “I don’t want to think about it. I can’t fail her, Big Mac. I just want to see her happy. I love her so much that I…”

I felt a hoof on my shoulder. Looking up, I saw Big Mac was close to me, smiling. Just then, he hugged me, but it wasn’t one of his usual hugs that would end with me loosing oxygen, but it was a gentle, comforting hug, not unlike one that a colt would give to a brother.

“She’s lucky to have ya, ya know? Not many ponies out there are doin what you’re doin. I’m proud of you, whatever happens.”

He let go of me, his reassuring smile still on his face. I wiped whatever tears I had on my face off, though the wet spots on my coat still remained.

“Thanks.” I said, “If it’s not too much trouble, can you check up on her every now and again when I’m gone?”

“Of course ah will.” he answered.

He left soon after. He didn’t know it, but even though he had a tendency to forget my name, I always thought of him as a big brother. The closest thing to family that I ever had.


After letting Derpy’s boss know of the situation, I returned to the hospital by the time the sun went down. Nurse Redheart said that Derpy was still asleep, but she had stabilized a great deal. They moved her to the recovery wing of the hospital, where she got her separate room. Not wanting to leave her for the night, I asked Redheart if I could stay with Derpy. She allowed it with no reservations.

Walking into her room, I saw that she no longer had that ventilator in her mouth, nor the heart monitor attached to her. She was sleeping peacefully. I sat by her, resting my head on the side of the bed to find comfort. Unfortunately, I could feel that their beds hadn’t improved since the last time I was at the hospital. At least Derpy looked comfortable.

I couldn’t get much sleep, due to bouts of watching Derpy’s condition, and fighting the uncomfortable bed, but whatever sleep I did get couldn’t have lasted more than a couple hours. When morning was rearing its head once again, I saw Derpy slowly begin to wake up. I kept my eyes on her, until she finally opened her eyes to see me. She smiled.

“Hey…” she weakly said.

“Hi.” Seeing her smile was a sight I loved seeing.

She looked around the room, surprised to see her surroundings.

“Where am I?”

“You’re at the hospital.” I told her, “You’ve been asleep for more than a day.”

“A day?” She tried to get up, but winced in pain at her injuries. None of this was familiar to her.

“Why is my wing bandaged?” she asked, before noticing the leg cast. She looked back at me with a look of confusion and panic. “What happened to me?”

“You fell down the stairs the other night. You fractured your leg, and broke your wing. The Doctor said you’re going to be fine in a few days.”

She buried her face in her hooves.

“Awww, I’m going to miss so much work! What is my boss going to say?”

“It’s all taken care of. He’s aware of what’s happened.”

She sighed. Looking back towards me, she placed her hoof onto mine.

“Are you okay?” she asked me with more concern for myself, than her.

“You gave me a bit of a scare. But I’ll be okay.”

She leaned to me, fighting the pain to give me a gentle kiss on the lips. As much as I would normally welcome a kiss such as that, the thought of my journey to Manehattan was still on the mind. She noticed.

“What’s the matter?”

“I…um…” I thought about what story I had to tell. She had a gift for seeing through me, and I had to make this story convincing. “I have to go away for a little while.”

She placed her hoof on my shoulder, trying to hold me down from leaving, as if I was going to leave her right then and there.

“Was it something I did? I messed this up, didn’t I?” her voice began to crack.

“It’s not that!” I quickly replied, “I got a letter from my editor at the Equestrian Sun Times. He wants to meet with me to discuss something.”

“Oh…” she said, embarrassed at her little outburst. “What does he want?”

“I don’t know. Hopefully, it’s something good.”

“When do you have to leave?”

“Tomorrow, after I bring you back home.”

She looked down at her bed, noticeably upset.

“Don’t worry. It’ll only be for a few days, and Big Mac said he’ll check up on you every now and again.”

“Okay…” she said timidly, “Are you sure it’s not something I did?”

“Absolutely positive.” I said convincingly.

She attempted to lean forward to me again, but I decided to meet her halfway. I did not want her to be in more pain than she already was. I embraced her, and she embraced me. I held her as tight as I could, as it would be a while before I could do it again.

“I’m going to miss you.” she said, as I could feel a tear fall on my shoulder.

“I’m going to miss you more.”

“I hope the news you receive is good.”

“……………Me too.”