BBD- Big Black Dog
“Is she alright, sir?” Derpy asked, a worried look on her face. “I heard the crash was pretty bad… but I didn’t know it was bad enough to require hospitalization.”
“She’s going to need a bit of time to heal, her wing got fractured.” Swift Delivery sighed, “She’ll heal up though. It’ll just be a few days. You know, you don’t have to cover it, we can find somepony else… or even go until she comes back without the night deliveries.”
“I can handle it, sir,” Derpy said, nodding. “Do you want me to start today- er, tonight?”
“Yes! That’d be great.” Swift nodded in return, smiling a little, “Just do be careful, I don’t want to risk having two ponies being hurt.”
“You got it, sir.” She gave a cute salute before adding, “In that case, I’ll return at four!”
“I’ll be back in when you get back.” He waved, “Have a good night, Derpy.” He walked out of the office, leaving Derpy alone to her first night shift.
She had heard some interesting things happen during the night, and it was strange to think in Ponyville of all places there were ponies who were up so late every night. Though she doubted any of them would be bad.
Later that night:
It was almost the end of her first shift when she came to a house she hadn’t been to before. She didn’t assume anypony lived in it, but still, there was a package for the house. Judging by the size and weight of the package it was definitely a pair of shoes, or maybe boots. She walked up to the door, knocking on it and waiting for somepony to answer. The light behind the door flipped on and she heard the clacking of claws against the ground, instantly it set her on edge. The next thing to set her off was the large black… thing that opened the door.
Her tired mind was setting off a few alarm bells, and so she took a step back, only to be greeted with what seemed like glowing crimson eyes, (though the glow was simply the light from the closely street lamp reflecting from his eyes).
“Mmpphs!” The creature greeted, a toothbrush in his mouth and a large towel wrapped around his lower body. He pulled the toothbrush out, “Hi!” He waved, smiling at her, showing off his pearly white teeth, all of which were incredibly sharp. “Oooh! They finally came in!” He said, his tone giddy. Derpy had to pause for a moment to take in the fact that there was a pitch black… dog… living in town… with crimson eyes… sharp teeth… and he was wide awake in the middle of the night?
“Ah… er, yeah, h-here you go!” Derpy said, a little nervous as she held out the package, hoping he didn’t notice her shaky grip.
He took the package, stepping back to put it down. “Did something happen to the other mailmare?” He asked curiously, turning to look at her again. “I haven’t seen you around before…”
“Sh-she hurt her wing! So I’m covering for her until she returns, M-Mr… ah… what’s your name?”
“Rex, it’s nice to meet you.” He introduced himself.
“Rex. It’s… nice to meet you too.” Derpy said, growing a little less nervous. She didn’t see any reason to be scared, now that she’d looked at him for a little while. Sure, he was big and kinda scary at first... But he seemed nice. “I’m… I’m Derpy Hooves, delivery mare extraordinaire.”
Rex let out a chuckle, “It’s… nice to meet new ponies, more things to experience.” He said, pausing for a moment, “How much longer are you working for?” He glanced back to the clock hanging on the wall- it currently read two thirty.
“Um… about another hour and a half.” She answered.
“Well… usually, I’d invite the other mailmare in… usually get a snack in before she ended her shift.” He mused.
Derpy thought it over for a few moments, before giving a small nod and a smile. “Well, okay! I don’t have many deliveries left, so I can take a small break. Maybe five or ten minutes.”
“Come in!” Rex stepped aside, motioning for her to enter. “I’ll be a minute or two, have to get dressed. If you find anything you’d like to eat or drink, just go ahead.”
“Alright.Thank you, Mr. Rex.” Derpy said, stepping inside and casting a glance around his house. The house was completely normal, the entry way leading right into his living room.
Rex vanished deeper in the house, leaving her alone to at least explore the kitchen and living room. He didn’t leave her alone for long though, coming back out rather quickly. Any fears were pushed off as she saw him come out in a uniform. He looked exactly like any of the security officers at Ponyville Hospital, though he had his hat in hand as opposed to on his head. “Sorry ‘bout that.” He apologized, “Now, what can I get for you?”
(5:00 PM, following afternoon)
Derpy and Rex were rather quick to befriend each other, both agreeing she’d stop by nightly to talk some more. She found out he worked a rather bleak shift at the hospital, usually there late at night till early in the afternoon. She found it rather odd that he’d want to work like that, it must have been pretty lonely, and he seemed really, really happy the first time she came in. But now, she was given a day off, and she was spending it going out with her best friends Lyra and Bon Bon.
The three went to a small cafe to talk for a little while, “It’s so great to see you again, Derpy!” Lyra hugged her. “When you told us you were temporarily going to the night shift, we both got a little worried.”
“I remember Redheart telling me about how hard it was to adjust to night shift when she worked it for a little bit. We’re just worried about you not getting enough sleep.” Bon Bon continued, also hugging Derpy. “It’s nice to see you up and about during the day, though! It’d also be nice to hear what’s been going on!” She hinted. The three walked into Lyra and Bon Bon’s home, Lyra closing the door behind Derpy as the other two mares sat down on the couch.
“And you’re sure you’re okay being up right now, yeah?” Lyra asked, her face taking a slightly concerned shift. “We don’t want you flying sleepy, hun.”
Derpy waved her off. “I’m fine, Lyra. Really! I stayed up until Dinky went to school, but after I made sure my little sis was alright, I conked out until about an hour and a half ago.” She said. “I’m gonna be fine. Promise!”
“Alright!” Lyra smiled, “Why don’t you catch us up on what you’ve been doing?” She sat down beside Derpy, wrapping her arm around the pegasus.
“Meet any interesting characters?” Bon Bon joked.
“Well… yeah! Just one, though.” Derpy answered. “He’s a dog- not, uh, not a Diamond Dog, but… I think a Doberman… He works at the hospital- so Redheart might know him- but he works night shifts, which is why I’ve never seen him before.”
“Huh…” Bon Bon tapped her chin.
“What does he look like?” Lyra inquired. “And, what did you two do?” She added teasingly.
“Shaddup!” Derpy scolded, whapping Lyra’s shoulder with a wingtip. “Well… he’s about six feet tall, I think. And he’s completely black, I mean, everything. No different colors anywhere, except his eyes were red. His name was Rex.” She finished, though she had a small blush on her face.
“Wow…” Bon Bon said. “He sounds like he could be a hunk…”
Lyra bit her lip as she stared at Derpy for a few moments, “My… with that blush I’d think you two would have done more than just talk… and what do you mean everything is black on him…” However, she couldn’t keep a straight face through her teasing. This time Bon Bon was the one who pushed Lyra.
“So, is he nice to you?” Bon Bon asked, trying to be a tad more serious.
“Yes, he was! And… well, h-he is kind of a hunk… he opened the door with, um, with just a towel on. He’s really muscled.” Derpy admitted, blushing a little more. “He invited me in for a snack… said he does that for the normal night shift mare all the time.”
“Oooh! Sounds like he was waiting for her.” Lyra joked.
Bon Bon sighed, “Well if he’s nice enough to invite a stranger into his home and give them something to eat, he definitely can’t be bad.” She said, “It seems to… well both of us, you might think something… more about him.” Now Bon Bon began to lightly tease Derpy.
“Don’t help her!” Derpy huffed, leaning back into the couch. “Honestly… I was a little scared when I first saw him. Rex is large and intimidating… and he has some pretty sharp teeth.”
“All the better to eat you with!” Lyra laughed.
“Heh… I actually thought he was… a vampire, for a few seconds, because his eyes looked like they were glowing. But, uh, that was just the streetlight.” Derpy added.
“That must have been frightening, thinking a vampire was inviting you into his home.” Bon Bon said. “Hey, if he’s so nice, and such a hunk… maybe you should… you know…” She gently elbowed Derpy.
“I should what?”
“Oh come on… you know…” Lyra continued. “I mean if he’s your type, and you blushing whenever you talked about him…”
“W-wait…. You… you think Rex and I should…?”
Bon Bon and Lyra looked at each other, grinning widely, before shouting “Hook up!”