Dancing Under the Starry Night.
When holidays approach, you usually enjoy the great, extraordinary and magnificent moments with your family or along with your closest friends; joy, happiness, emotional and sentimental jewels are witnessed by so many that it’s become quite common to share them all.
However - and unfortunately for several - not every creature is capable of having a smile drawn on its face, but - on the contrary - they bear a part in common expressions that are seen on other occasions, but not on holidays. Sadness, such a deep, pure and inevitable emotion that not even the monarchs are capable of avoiding; loneliness, a destructive feeling for every soul that has it at any time in the long path of life; - finally - sorrow and pain, a devastating fusion for the positive feelings of every living being in the universe and, despite denying it, we all have them...
Now one particular pony felt all of this; sadness, loneliness, sorrow, and pain had merged into one to shed an unbearable weight on her.
She observed herself, through the water of a fountain on which she leaned while shedding her tears; when she felt like not having the capability of containing her emotions, she liked to go places with a lot of water to vent, since there she felt her tears were small compared to all the immense amount of water and liquids around her.
She was crying out of not only grief and pain, but also out of shame towards herself; she had a hunch, one she tried to ignore for a long time, but from which she could never escape...
"Why?"
Her whisper seemed to echo in her surroundings, though no pony happened to be around to hear it; more than a whisper, it sounded like a rhetorical question to the air, the wind and whatever was near her at that instant. Wanting to have an answer, but not expecting one at all.
Looking back at herself, she removed some of her hair, exposing her right eye, one of which - for some - was her “flaw”; nonetheless, despite many saying the opposite - that it’s more of an advantage - the reality was both as cruel as benevolent...
Her vision was special, but not in a bad way - mainly -. She might not see well in one single direction, but that same flaw made her more than capable of seeing more than one side at the same time - and without anyone noticing -; it was a pride and, at the same time, a disappointment for the pegasus, who did nothing but ignore the good side of the fact itself...
"Is it... because of my e-eyes?" She wondered aloud, still keeping her gaze towards the water, seeing and analyzing her entire face.
Another tear ran down her cheek as a very cruel thought came to her, despite her soul’s wide innocence. She was considered a failure, although this wasn’t true; just her career as a mail mare said it all, that - despite her vision impairment - she held and maintained a record unbeatable by anypony else at Ponyville’s post office.
Nevertheless, that evening gave her this very negative thought for a fact; absolutely no pony had volunteered to be her partner at the Heart's Warming Eve dance that the newly elected mayor, Mayor Mare, was holding...
And this wouldn't be a problem if there weren't two more facts that made her feel devastated.
The first was that she and her childhood friends knew that most of the citizens of Ponyville didn’t usually have a partner for events like this and, when she saw them with a partner, she knew immediately that they were doing it to avoid "possible" embarrassment in front of others.
The second was even more heartbreaking... This wouldn't be the first time it happened; in fact, in other occasions, the population of both the town and, previously, Cloudsdale avoided at all costs being with her in any event. Only her friends, Lyra, Bon-Bon and Rainbow Dash - along with Fluttershy - did not allow such an idiocy to keep them away from a cute and kind pony like Derpy.
When she realized this, just a few minutes ago, the pegasus preferred to leave the place in silence to avoid attracting attention; with only a few seconds walking, she was already far enough away to allow herself to shed the occasional tear.
And that's exactly what she did, cry to stop feeling an invisible, but dense weight on her shoulders; although another extra weight, this time physical, on her shoulder made Derpy compose herself and turn to see behind her...
Her surprise was very great when she found herself face to face with the confused and worried face of a young and handsome earth pony, who looked back at her, but with concern taking the place of a huge impression, which the mare did possess.
Seeing him, she quickly wiped her tears with one hoof, dropping them to the ground in a matter of a blink before looking back at him; then, with a bit of nervousness, she spoke...
"H-Hey."
She shifted her gaze elsewhere, preventing the stallion from making eye contact with her, - incidentally - making it impossible for him to continue showing his concern for her, a mare that - perhaps - he knew little, but with whom he sympathized after meeting whom would be the mail mare of Ponyville par excellence...
"Hey," he replied, still confused by her reaction to seeing him. "an apology if I ask this, but... why are you sad, ma'am?"
To his question, no answer or sound was received; on the contrary, as he continued to look at her, he noticed that the pegasus had completely ignored what he’d said, which - instead of enraging him - worried him even more...
"Listen," said the stallion. "I understand that you are in a bad mood, but that is precisely why I am here. I want to help." He assured.
"And why should you?"
Her question confused the earth pony even more, who did not seem to be fully aware of what was happening to Derpy; therefore, he asked again...
"Pardon me, ma'am?"
Said pony turned her head towards him, looking at him with a bit of annoyance - but keeping her sad expression -; she answered...
"Virtually no pony has ever wanted to help me." The pegasus affirmed. "So why should it be any different with you?"
His reaction to the drastic question was immediate, showing unpreparedness for this kind of behavior by a pony who - from what little he knew - was friendly and quite calm; but he didn’t fall before the typical thing that any pony would do - leave the place and let her be -, no. He remained determined to help, but in a calm way...
"I assure you that my intentions are honest." He responded after a few seconds of silence.
Then, a long silence was given between both ponies, which took the opportunity to examine the physical appearance of the other. Whereas Derpy observed a light brown fur stallion with a somewhat wild mane and a thin, but visible mustache; said stallion was before a mare with grayish fur, with a normal yellow mane - although a little of it covered her right eye - and somewhat peculiar ears, but which did not attract much attention.
Later, they both saw the way they were dressed. Derpy was wearing a golden yellow coat, along with a red scarf - albeit with green and blue details - that gave her an almost rainbow look, something that - personally - he liked to wear in Winter; besides, on her mane, she wore a brooch - being this one a Christmas tree -.
Meanwhile, the pony in front of the pegasus had a multicolored scarf, although - curiously - lacking any blue on it; at the same time, he was wearing gloves for all hooves colored in different blues and colors derived from it. Last but not least, a formal coat-jacket in dark brown, resembling black - with white lines running through it.
Derpy looked back at him, this time, straight into his eyes. "How can I be sure of it?" She said...
"You can take it as a fact, I promise." Again, assured the stallion, who returned the gaze.
The pegasus was somewhat indecisive and unsure whether, to be honest with him or just ask him to leave, but he looked like somepony to be trusted; and she, from experience, after some time scrutinizing ponies, had a hidden gift for knowing who to trust and who not. It was thus that she gave a sigh with her head bowed and began to speak...
"Honestly, I feel... withdrawn." She confessed in a low voice. "Withdrawn from everypony. From those around me, from my friends even if they want to help me and... from m-my family."
The earth pony raised an eyebrow as his face showed obvious surprise and even more confusion, which - after all - is understandable; however, a word, he didn’t say and allowed her to continue speaking...
"I don't want to delve into it now, but..." She paused, then looked behind the pony, in the direction of the street she had come from earlier. "I feel that not only Cloudsdale but also the majority of those here see me as... a failure."
"Even after t-trying so hard." She ended up whispering in between a few tears...
Gradually the stallion's face changed, being replaced by a curious, yet completely understandable expression; he felt bad for the tearful pegasus, who made a great effort to tell him about her issues, an act that he deeply appreciated, since it gave him the opportunity to help her morally. But, even so, he continued to keep silent as a way to show respect towards her, a pony who had done nothing wrong as to treat her with disrespect...
"And... everything, just-" Derpy sighed in a sad tone. "...for this."
Instantly, she proceeded to remove part of her mane, revealing her right eye to the pony, so he could see it; at that moment, everything fell into place for the equine because of the bad reputation that many ponies with "defects" - according to society itself - got, just for having them...
"Oh," he expressed, denoting a feeling of pity for the pegasus. "I'm really sorry. I never thought it was this bad."
His honesty wasn’t gone unnoticed by the mail mare, who smiled slightly. "I know, quite unexpected, but... it's okay, you know?"
The last words that came out of the pegasus's mouth highlighted a negative emotion, mainly sadness, seasoned with a touch of loneliness that could be perceived in the way the pony spoke...
He gave a smile. "Not for me." It was there that he extended a hoof, offering it to her. Derpy watched in surprise and, at the same time, confused by such an act; then, after keeping her eyes fixed on the hoof, she looked up at the stallion herself, who nodded in response.
Slowly, and still very unsure deep inside, the pegasus took the hoof and, with the help of the equine up ahead, got up...
"Thank you." She said.
"You're welcome." The pony replied. "Still, I think it's appropriate to introduce ourselves; my name is Time Turner, but you can call me Dr. Whooves or the Doctor."
"Why do they call you like that?" The mare asked, curious about the information the Doctor had given her. "Are you a doctor, like those in hospitals?"
Whooves chuckled. Clearly, that question was unexpected and caught him off guard. "No, but I have PhDs in psychology, psychiatry, and different kinds of sciences."
"Seriously?" The female equine asked, to which the Doctor nodded in response. Then, she spoke, leaving a great impression with the naked eye...
"Wow." She expressed. "That's so muffins!"
Whooves chuckled again. "I guess that's your way of saying 'amazing'." He commented.
"Eeyup!"
The Doctor smiled at Derpy's new attitude, who was finally beginning to show signs of joy and happiness, as described to him by whom he had spoken to. Consequently, for no apparent reason, he looked up and admired the sky; night had fallen and the stars, along with the moon, illuminated everything throughout Equestria, bringing even more positivity to all the inhabitants of this particular continent...
"Beautiful night, isn't it?"
"It is." The pegasus replied, who then lowered her head to see him again. "Well, Doctor... *Ahem* ...I think it's time for me to go."
"Yes of course," Whooves replied. "I just hope that-"
Suddenly, a sound interrupted them both before they were able to finish their farewell; their attention was focused as much as possible on it to know from where it came, but after many seconds of trying, they ended giving up. Later, paying attention to the lyrics, they began to hum it in unison while shaking their heads a little from one side to the other slowly; so...
"It's a very good song, one of my favorites." The Doctor commented, Derpy nodded in response. "Would you... like a dance?"
The mare, surprised again, looked at him for a few moments and then lowered her gaze, meeting with the stallion's hoof extended toward her, expectant of an answer. She looked back at him and smiled, accepting the invitation by taking his hoof...
Later, in a matter of seconds, they were already getting into position to begin the dance. They waited for the right moment before taking the first step in unison, only to be followed by another and another after this; they toured the place a bit while keeping the rhythm with the song and its exquisite, calm, and romantic melody, enjoying the moment to the fullest. They both had smiles on their faces, which implied that they didn’t mind at all accompanying each other in this beautiful scene... Dancing Under the Starry Night...
THE END.