"Dinky! Dinky? Where are you my little muffin?" The gray mare called out as she entered her house.
"I'm in your room, mamma!" a little filly called back.
"What are you doing in mamma's room?" The mare walked down the hallway, into her room, and found her little unicorn filly rummaging through her closet. She let out a small gasp and quickly walked over to the filly. "Dinky, how many times have I told you not to go into mamma's things while she isn't around? You promised me last time that you wouldn't do it again, you know better than that," she scolded, an annoyed look on her face.
Dinky was facing her mother, but was staring down at the floor, dejectedly. "I'm sorry mamma, I guess I forgot. I get lonely when you're away on you're mail route. I was just trying to get my cape so I could learn to fly, like you, that way I could come with you to work..." The little filly started to tear up, and sniffle.
The gray mare's expression softened, and she embraced her daughter. "Aww, it's okay Dinky. I could never be angry at you." She put a hoof under Dinky's chin and lifted her head up so they were looking eye-to-eye. She gave her a sincere, caring smile that only a mother was capable of.
Dinky looked up into her mother's off-center eyes. 'She may not be perfect, but she's the best mamma I could ever ask for,' Dinky thought to herself. She was a smart filly, and knew to appreciate everything she had. "I'm sorry mamma, I'll remember next time."
"I know you will, Dinky. You know, you mean the world to me. I love you so much." She held her daughter close, again.
"Hehe," Dinky giggled, "I love you too. You're the best mamma in the whole world!"
"And you're the sweetest little filly ever! I love you with all my heart." She gently pulled away, and looked at her daughter, with teary, glistening eyes. "Now don't you worry, I'll be back from work before you know it, and then we can bake a big batch of tasty muffins together!"
"YAY! Mamma and me are gonna make muffins! I can't wait!" Dinky exclaimed, bouncing around the room, filled with excitement. Then she stopped. "Oooo, oooh, hey mamma? While you're gone today, can I go play with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo? They invited me to go crusading with them! We're gonna find out our special talents and get our cutie marks!"
"Oh, of course you can, Dinky! Just try to be home before it gets dark. You know how much I worry about you!"
Dinky began jumping up and down again, and laughed happily. "Ok, mamma, I'll make sure I am! I'll see you tonight! Love ya!" She rushed to the closet and pulled on a little red cape with a blue patch and golden filly on it. She gave her mother a quick hug, and ran out the door to go meet up with the Cutie Mark Crusaders for their big adventure.
The gray mare walked to the door, and looked out after Dinky. She sighed. "There goes my little muffin... I know it won't last forever, the Doctor made that clear. Nothing ever does. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy every moment we have together." She then returned to her room and retrieved her mailbags. Ready to make her deliveries, she stepped outside of her house, shutting the door behind her, then took in a deep breath of fresh, spring air. She spread her wings, bound off the steps, and flew into the sky. As she headed to her first delivery, she glanced down and smiled as she saw her little filly, Dinky, trotting along with her three friends. Then she looked back up to see her first stop rapidly approaching. It was the only house in Ponyville made of clouds.
Derpy Whooves landed on the cloud that Rainbow Dash's house was on. Well, landed was putting it nicely. Crashed would be a more appropriate term in this situation. She had slammed face-first into one of the dense cloud columns supporting the house with such force, her head stuck out of the opposite side. She quickly pulled herself free of the column and shook her head, thankful that her worst crashes always seemed to be up in the soft clouds.
The mailmare giggled to herself at her own clumsiness, then walked up to the house's door. She knocked and fished out the letter for Rainbow Dash from her mailbags. She stood patiently, but was surprised at how long it was taking for the door to be answered. 'Maybe she isn't home right now,' Derpy thought to herself. 'Oh well, I'll just leave it in the mailbox.' Just as she was turning to do so, the door swung open to reveal a panting and excited cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane. Derpy was a little startled, but maintained her professionalism. "Hiya Rainbow Dash! I brought you a letter!" She said happily, using her trademark delivery line. On it was the crest of Equestria's most famous aerobatic stunt fliers, the Wonderbolts.
Rainbow Dash squealed with delight as she took the letter. "Oh, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" she exclaimed, wrapping the mailmare in a strong hug, before backing up and tearing open the letter. "I've been waiting for this letter forever! Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, I'm so excited!" She calmed down enough to stop and read the letter out loud.
Dear Rainbow Dash,
On behalf of all of the Wonderbolts, I would like to thank you for taking the time to try out for the open position in our team. While we had many applicants, we are only accepting a hoofful of ponies for the official tryouts.
However, due to your excellent performance during the in-pony interview, I am happy to inform you that your application has been accepted. I will personally escort you to the Wonderbolts training area from Ponyville station in two weeks. You may bring along two friends to cheer you on during the tests. Please keep in mind that earth-ponies and unicorns will not be able to attend, due to the training area's cloudside location. Cloudwalking spells are not advised, as your stay will extend beyond the duration of such spells. We only wish to ensure safety of your guests.
I sincerely hope to see you in two weeks time at the station.
Truely yours,
Spitfire At this point, Rainbow Dash was trembling with excitement, the grin on her face as wide as the skies she flew in. "That's awesome Rainbow Dash!" Derpy said, "Congradulations! Best of luck if I don't catch you at the station when you leave!"
Dash scoffed, "I won't need luck, I've got skill... But still... Thanks." She suddenly jumped into the air, and began performing all manner of airial acrobatics. Doing twists, loops, turns, and dives, all while shouting, "Woo hoo! I'm going to be a Wonderbolt! This is gonna be sooo awesome!" She dove down to the mailmare again and gave her a quick hug. "Thank you sooo much Derpy! You just made my day!"
"Oh, you're welcome Rainbow Dash," Derpy replied, smiling brightly at her cyan companion.
"I gotta go tell all of my friends about this," Dash backed up from Derpy and prepared to take off. "See ya Derpy, and thanks again." With that, Dash launched herself off the cloud and sped away, leaving a tell-tale rainbow in her wake.
Derpy sighed, content. "Another job well done," she told herself. "Now, let's see who's next. She pulled another letter from her mailbags and strained her wall-eyes to focus on the address. "Oh, it's a letter for Pinkie Pie! She's gonna be sooo excited when she gets it." Derpy quickly stored away the letter, and jumped off the edge of the cloud, gliding to her next location.
At Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was happily bouncing around, preparing for a big celebration party for Rainbow Dash. The pegasus had already flown by and given Pinkie Pie the news, and she was more than happy for her friend. The pink pony was zipping around the room, gathering her supplies, when she suddenly stopped. Her tail twitched, and her nose wrinkled up, without her doing it on purpose.
She hesitated for a moment, then gasped. "MAILPONY!" she cried, and rushed to the window to unlock it. As soon as she did, she stepped back out of the way, with a wide grin on her face.
Derpy's aim was a little less than perfect, as she flew, head-over-hooves into the second floor window of Sugarcube Corner. Luckily for her, the window was unlocked, and fell open easily when she hit it. She tumbled in, running on her two front hooves for a moment, before bringing herself to a stop right before hitting the opposite wall. She looked around the room to get her bearings, but Pinkie Pie pounced on her before she could.
"Hiya, Ditzy! I just knew you were coming because I got a twitchy tail, and then I got a wrinkly nose. And a twitchy tail means something is falling, but a wrinkly nose means something is flying, so I didn't really get it right away, but then I remembered that pegasi fly, and you're a pegasus, and sometimes you fall, but so does Rainbow Dash, but I had already seen her, and she couldn't be back already, so I figured it had to be you, and I thought, 'huh, if she's flying and falling, she'll probably fall through the window' cause falling through a window is the only way that would make any sense. So did you bring me mail? Huh? Didja, didja, didja?"
Derpy laughed at Pinkie's enthusiasm, and sillyness. She really liked this pony. "Yep," she said, "I brought you a letter!" She pulled out the letter addressed to Pinkie Pie, and gave it to her. "All in one piece, too! That's two in one day!"
"Thanks Ditzy! Oh, I absolutely LOVE getting letters! I wonder who it's from." Pinkie tore open her letter, only to find another letter inside, already addressed and stamped. She and Derpy both look at it in confusion for a moment, before Pinkie burst into laughter. "Silly me, I forgot I mailed this letter to myself so I would remember to mail it today." She gave the letter back to Derpy, who gave a quick glance at the address, then returned it to her mailbags, without any questions. "Thanks for the reminder, I would have forgotten all about it if you hadn't!"
"You're welcome Pinkie. Have a good day." Derpy turned around to hop back out the window she entered, and prepared to take flight again.
"Oh, and Ditzy, make sure you watch out for falling fillies by Applejack's house!"
"Falling fillies? Umm, okay Pinkie Pie, if you say so. I'll be careful." As soon as she finished that, she tripped out of the window and was lost from sight. A moment later she flapped back into view, giving an embarrassed smile to Pinkie. "Whoops, guess I wasn't being very careful, huh? But don't worry, your letter's still safe, and I'll make sure I watch out for those fillies. Gotta go!" And with that, she was off, headed to her next stop.
Derpy landed in front of the wagon door. She pulled out the three letters for this stop and knocked on the door. There was an audible groan from within, and the sound of somepony rummaging around, as if looking for something. A minute or so later, the door opened up to reveal a blue unicorn with a long, white mane. She looked as if she hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep, and had just crawled out of bed. When she spoke, she sounded more than a little irritated. "What is so important that you had to disturb The Great and Powerful Trixie's beauty sleep? She has had a long night and she needs to rest."
"Oh, I'm sorry Trixie, but I have your mail for you," Derpy said around the envelopes in her mouth.
Trixie put on her showmare's grin, her bad mood completely forgotten, and used her magic to take the letters from Derpy. "Oh, but of course! The Great and Powerful Trixie should have been expecting this. Fan mail on her awe-inspiring performance last night. Let's just see who these are from, shall we?" Her smug grin fell from her face as she looked at the letters. "What? Just a bill? And what's this one, A NOISE CITATION!?! Why, of all the nerve... After the incredible show she put on for them, they send her a bill and a citation!?! Trixie doesn't believe her eyes! They should be showering her with adoration, gifts, and fan mail! This is outrageous!"
Before she could continue ranting, Derpy pointed out, "Um, Trixie? There's still one more letter you forgot to open."
Trixie stopped for a moment, shot Derpy a nasty look, then glanced at the last letter she had levetating before her. "Hmm, this one is from a 'Vinyl Scratch'. Ah, THIS must be the fan mail Trixie was expecting. Let's just read what this fan had to say, shall we? Ahem. Hey Trixie,
Just wanted to say thanks for letting me use your stage for last night's party, it really is a great stage. You really outdid yourself with it all. The lighting was killer, and the way you handled those wicked effects, like the smoke machine, and the pyrotechnics was perfect! Meet me at the record shop later today, if you're willing to host another one of my shows. I have some new mixes I'm working on, and I'd like to use your stage again.
Oh, one more thing, Tavi said she'd send your payment in the mail with my letter. It's everything we promised to pay. Plus a little extra from both of us. Mine's for the awesome effects, and Tavi said hers was compensation. Something about the music being too loud for town regs. Anyway, thanks again, and I hope to see you at the shop.
From Vinyl Scratch
AKA DJ Pon-3 Oh, THAT Vinyl Scratch. Well, she should be thanking The Great and Powerful Trixie for use of her showstopping effects and marvelous stage. But where's the payment she said she was going to send?" Trixie turned the envelope over, looked inside of it, and reexamined the letter, but found nothing. Thinking this was some sort of joke, she started to yell at the mailmare, but before she could get anything out, she was cut off.
"Oh, yeah!" Derpy's face lit up as she remembered the package she was suppose to deliver. "I almost forgot, this bag is yours, too." She pulled out a heavy coinpurse from one of her mailbags, and dropped it in front of Trixie. It made a loud clink as she set it down.
Trixie's eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped as she saw just how large her payment was. Then her showmare smile was back on her face. "Trixie knew there were ponies out there who truely appreciated her talents. She is pleased with this. Thank you, mailmare." She looked at the letter from Vinyl. "Now if you would excuse Trixie, she needs to take care of a prior engagement." Then she glanced, disdainfully at the other two letters. "And clear up a couple of issues at town hall." The flashy unicorn used her magic to lift her signature hat and cape onto herself, then set off into town with her bag of bits.
Derpy smiled widely, knowing she had completed yet another successful delivery. "Hope you have a good day!" She called out. Then, to herself, "Ok, who's next?" She pulled out another package from her mailbags. It was wrapped in brown paper, and was addressed to the Ponyville Library. She put the package away, and flew off, heading to the large hollowed out tree that doubled as the residence of one of most intelligent unicorns she knew, Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight woke up to an annoying pounding on the library door. She huffed, slithered out from under the covers of her bed, and sluggishly made her way downstairs. She opened the door, only to be run over by an extremely excited Rainbow Dash. "Twilight! Twilight, look! You gotta check this out!" Dash suddenly stopped and gave her friend a questioning look. "Uh, did you just get out of bed?" Twilight stood back up, rubbing her head with a forhoof. All she managed was an unintelligible groan, before Dash laughed. "I don't believe it! The always on-time, miss perfect woke up LATE! Hahahaaa!"
"I didn't wake up late," Twilight said, letting her voice reflect her annoyance. "I scheduled this time to catch up on sleep I missed last night."
Rainbow Dash stopped laughing and gave her an astonished look. "Seriously? You actually SCHEDULED to sleep in? But how is it sleeping in, if it's scheduled?" Just as Twilight was about to answer, Dash stopped her. "Nevermind, it's not important. What IS important is this letter I got from Spitfire!" She held it out, allowing Twilight to read over it.
After a short moment, she had finished, and looked to her cyan friend. "Wow, Rainbow Dash, that's impressive. I'm so happy for you! Congradulations!" Twilight said.
"I know, right? This is just sooo awesome! I can't wait to get to Cloudsdale. Training with the Wonderbolts in real life, this is gonna be great!" She jumped into the air, looping and zooming around the library.
"I really am happy for you," Twilight said, amused by her friend's enthusiasm. "So, who are you taking with you? Have you decided yet?"
Dash was caught off guard by this. She stopped in her excited flying around the library, and hovered in front of Twilight. "Huh? Oh that. I don't really know, I haven't thought about it."
At this time, Spike came down the stairs, holding his blue blanket, rubbing one of his eyes. "Haven't thought about what?" He yawned.
"Oh, Spike, I'm sorry we woke you," Twilight said to him. "Rainbow Dash was just telling me about a letter she got from Spitfire, and how she's going to be auditioning for the Wonderbolts at Cloudsdale."
Spike suddenly seemed to forget all about his sleepiness, perking up at the mention of the Wonderbolts. "Wow, that's really awesome! Are you really going to be a Wonderbolt?" He asked, addressing RD.
Just then, there was another knock on the door. Twilight trotted over and opened the door, making sure to step aside, just as Pinkie Pie burst into the door. "Twilight!" She cried out. "Twilight! Twilight, did you hear? Rainbow Dash is going to tryout for the Wonderbolts! Which means we have to throw and extra-special, super-big, good-luck party!" Pinkie then noticed the pegasus in question. "Oh, hiya Dashie! Did you already tell her about your tryouts?" But before she could respond, Pinkie gasped. "OOO twitchy twitch, wrinkle nose!" She rushed up into Twilight's room, the others following behind cautiously. They knew to be wary whenever Pinkie had one of her little moments like that.
Pinkie was standing by the window when they came up, as if waiting. Twilight gave her a questioning look, glancing above her head for falling objects, and making sure she stood clear of the door she had just entered. "Uh, Pinkie? What exactly did you feel coming?"
"Calm down, Twilight. It's not like anything is gonna fall on you. Unless you stand in front of the window. You might not want to do that." Twilight heeded her friend's warning without question, which was unlike her. After her encounter with the hydra, though, she had stopped questioning the Pinkie Sense.
Pinkie waited for just the right moment, and pulled the window wide open. She stepped back, and just in time, as the mailmare came tumbling in. She barely managed to dodge Spike, but ended up crashing straight into RD instead. They rolled to a stop right at the edge of the stairs, with Derpy sitting on Dash's back. "Whoops, my bad," She said, giving her embarrassed smile to everypony in the room. Then she looked back to her fellow pegasus. "You okay, Rainbow Dash?"
Dash just groaned. "I'll be fine. Just as soon as you get up off my back." She stood up, rolling Derpy off of her.
Derpy jumped to her hooves, seeming unaffected by the little crash. Then she pulled out the rectangular package from her mailbags, and gave it to Twilight. "I brought your package! It's in perfect condition, too. Nothing damaged."
Twilight took the package with her magic, and opened it up. "Oh, it's my new book! I was hoping it would get here soon."
Spike jumped up on Twilight's back and read the cover of it out loud. "Sound Spelling: A Compendium of Sound Altering Spells. It came a little late, don't you think?" He said, dryly.
Derpy gasped, "What!?! It is not late! I made sure it got here right on time!" She looked at the purple unicorn, clearly worried. "It IS on time, right Twilight?"
"Of course it is." At that, the mailmare visibly relaxed. "Spike just wishes we had recieved it before last night. There was a big show, or party last night, and it kept us awake for a long time. He was only joking about it being late."
"Oh, I get it now. Ok, then. Well, I really should be going. I have to get to my next deliveries before they leave for the spa. See ya around!" With that, she walked towards the window, and jumped out. She didn't like leaving in a rush like that, but she had her deliveries to make, and time waited for nopony. Except, it seemed, for one particular pony she was fond of. She planned to have lunch with him, but she had to make all of her morning deliveries before she could.
Derpy made it to her next delivery stop in no time. She hoped this delivery wasn't as long as the other ones had been. She really needed to speed things up. The mailmare landed on the front steps of the townhouse, and knocked brisquely. A few moments later, the intended mail recipient was standing in front of her. "Hi Carrot Top, I brought you a letter," Derpy said rapidly, pulling out the letter.
"Oh, hello Ditzy, come on in. I was just getting ready to go grocery shopping. For some reason, I always seem to be out of food the day after I buy it."
"That's because I emptied your fridge," Derpy said, happily. "It was really full, so I took care of it." She gave a bright smile to the orange-maned pony.
"What?" She asked, wonder clear in her voice. "But, how did you... I mean, I always lock my doors when I leave and... There was so much food in there, how could you possibly eat it all?" Then she shook her head, thinking it best not to hear the answer. "Ditzy, do me a favor and stay out of my fridge, ok?" She took the letter from Derpy and shut her door, leaving the mailmare outside.
Derpy giggled. She was actually glad Carrot Top hadn't let her in. She was also glad that she didn't have to try and answer any questions. Sometimes things just happen, and ponies are better off not knowing the hows and whys of it. Besides that, she was on a tight schedule now. This delivery had been short enough to make up for some lost time, though. Derpy took off, flying to her next delivery. She would be really quick with these, and not stop to chat.
At the town record shop, a well-known showmare was with an equally well known DJ, discussing and finalizing a deal. "So, I can just store my equipment backstage, and then we don't have to worry about setting it up all the time. Plus you'll be able to get familiar with the systems I use, and we'll make sure you're credited in the show as our effects pony. Is that a fair deal?" The DJ asked, holding out a hoof.
"Trixie is pleased with the terms," the showmare said, "She agrees to give you use of her stage and talents." She took the DJ's hoof and shook it.
At that moment, the mailmare came through the door and trotted quickly to the DJ. "Hello Vinyl, I brought your package." She quickly pulled out a square envelope and handed it to her. "Sorry I can't stay to chat, I have to make my last delivery before I start running late. Oh, um, is Octavia at home right now? I've got a package for her, too."
"Yeah, Tavi's there. She's probably upstairs practicing that up-tight, sophistocated stuff she calls music in her studio." The gray pegasus turned to leave, and Vinyl called out, "Thanks for the package!" Derpy nodded in response, and left the store, headed to Vinyl and Octavia's house.
Vinyl turned to Trixie, holding the flat, square envelope with her magic. "This is what I was telling you about. It's my new record, and it's gonna give me some awesome sounds to work with in the show."
Trixie eyed the package, curiously, "Well, what record is it?"
Vinyl opened it and removed its contents. "Uh-oh." She said, a small frown appearing on her face.
"What?" Trixie asked, "What's the matter?"
The DJ held up a bunch of sheet music, "I think Ditzy got me and Tavi's packages mixed up." She laughed, seeing the humor in the situation.
Trixie didn't like missing out on the joke, and spoke up. "What is so funny? Without that record, how are you going to make your next album for the show? If you don't have something new, we won't be able to sell tickets, and that means no pay."
Before she could get too worked up, Vinyl put a hoof over her mouth. "Chillax Trix," she said, as she began reading the sheet music. "I think I can work with this. Yeah, if I adjust my soundboard to match the instrument notes... Then throw in a couple of heavy drops in the right spots... Oh yeah, I can work with this." She smiled, and walked to the back of the store. She looked over her shoulder at Trixie, who still couldn't believe she had been silenced in such a rude manner. "Just come back at the end of the week. I'll have something put together by then."
Trixie just huffed before leaving the store, making a mental note to return at the end of the week. She would need to hear the music to get a feel for the effects she was going to use.
At Octavia and Vinyl Scratch's house, Derpy arrived and knocked loudly on the door. She hoped that Ponyville's Canterlot Ensemble member wasn't practicing at that moment. She was lucky, and caught the cellist player during a break. The gray mare opened the door, surprised to have a visitor. "Hello, can I help you?" She asked, her Canterlot accent making it clear where she had been raised.
Derpy nodded, and pulled a square envelope from her mailbag. "I brought you a package!" she announced happily.
Octavia grinned and took the package, "Oh, thank you Ditzy. I've been waiting all weekend for this. My newest sheet music to practice."
Derpy smiled in return, "You're welcome, Tavi." She snickered at the cute name the cellist's roommate had used for her.
Octavia blushed, and laughed uncomfortably, retreating behind her door. "Heheh, oh my, would you look at the time, I have some practicing to do. Well, it was nice talk-" She was cut off by the mailmare.
"TIME!?! Oh no, I'm gonna be late! Sorry, I gotta go, there's somepony I'm suppose to meet. Oh, and don't worry, your secret's safe with me!" Then she jumped into the air and took off into town.
The gray musician slipped back into her house, wondering about the last part Derpy had said to her. "Secret? Just how much did Vinyl say to her?" Her face went pale as she thought of what secret the mare was talking about. "That Vinyl better not have told her what I think she told her." Then she shook herself, "Oh come on, she promised she wouldn't tell anypony about that. I just need to get back to my music, and take my mind off of it for a little bit." She opened up her package, "Now, lets just see what the Ensemble has planned for our next... Oh my, this isn't what I was expecting." She examined the record that was in the envelope. "This can't be right, it looks more like something Vinyl would order... Oh well, perhaps it's meant to be something inspirational." Octavia went back upstairs to her studio and put the record on the player. As the music began to play, she stood by her cello, picked up her bow, and began to play along with the music, doing her best to come up with complementing tunes to it.
Derpy flew as fast as she could with out running into anything. It didn't take her long to arrive at her destination, Sugarcube Corner. She looked around and was relieved to find the pony she was suppose to meet with. She trotted over to the brown earth-pony. "Hello, Doctor. I'm sorry I'm late."
"Oh, not at all," the Doctor replied, "You're actually right on time."
Derpy sighed, relieved. She had made it after all. "So, Doctor, what did you want to meet me here for, anyway?" It wasn't often that he invited her out like this.
"Ah, yes, the reason for bringing you here. Well, you see, you've been my assistant for quite a while now..." He began.
"Yes?" Derpy wondered why the Doctor was being so fidgety. He wasn't usually like this.
"And we've been through quite a lot together, haven't we?"
"Yes?" Derpy said, realizing that the Doctor was building up to something big, and she had a good feeling about what it was.
"Well, I've been thinking, and I've come to a decision." He said, with certainty. He looked directly into her eyes, which seemed to have straightened out. His own becoming half shut, as he prepared his next words, carefully. Derpy couldn't believe it, was he really about to ask her for this? To share a life with her forever? Yes, he must be, what other reason would he have for bringing her out here during her deliveries? "Ditzy?" He asked.
"Yes Doctor?" She replied, leaning in, both of her golden yellow eyes focused on him, the smile on her face one of the most sincere she had ever made.
"I think you need a vacation," he said, plainly, his expression quickly returning to normal.
Derpy stared back at him, confusion on her face, and just a fraction of her disappointment showing. "What?" She asked, completely thrown off by what he said.
"Yes, a vacation. So, I've went and gotten a temporary assistant to take your place while you spend the next couple of weeks relaxing and recharging. I brought you here so you could meet her. Ah, here she is now!" He pointed to a light blue unicorn with a blue and white mane.
"She?" Derpy asked, feeling crushed.
"Yes, I'm Colgate. I'll be helping the Doctor while you're on vacation. Nice to meet you," the unicorn said, holding out a hoof.
Derpy took it, and put on a smile, trying her best to look friendly, although with marginal success. She took the hoof and shook it. "Hi, it's nice to meet you in-pony. I never see you when I make my deliveries to your house."
"It's cause I'm usually busy all day."
"Oh, while you're here, I have your magazine for you." Derpy took out a magazing from her mailbag with a closeup of a pony's shiny white teeth on the cover. She set it on the table, her friendly facade falling from her face.
"Thanks, Ditzy." Colgate said, happily accepting the mail.
"Well, I'm glad you two are getting along," the Doctor said.
"Yeah," Derpy said, uncomfortably. "Anyway, I have to be going. Lots of deliveries to make still." She turned away and began walking off with her head hung low, rather than flying. That alone made it clear that she was upset.
After a moment of wonder, the Doctor started after her, "Ditzy, wait!" He called out. He walked along side her. "Ditzy, what's wrong? If this has anything to do with my new assistant, I assure you, it's only temporary, and it's for your own good."
"What's for my own good?" She said, her voice quavering slightly, "You replacing me with somepony else? It's because of my eyes, isn't it? I bet you just think they look weird and now you want to get rid of me. Is that it?"
Doctor Whooves was shocked, he had never seen his assistant in this state. "Replace you!?!" He stopped her, and turned her head to face him. He lifted her chin, so she was looking up at him. "Ditzy, how could you think something like that? I could NEVER replace you." He gave her a soft, caring smile that spoke volumes, without words. "Look, I've noticed you've been acting strange, recently. I also know that you don't get to see your daughter all that much because of the two jobs you have to take on to support her. It's been stressing you out. You may not notice it, but I have. That's why I've given you this vacation. I care about you Ditzy, so don't think I could ever replace you."
Derpy's eyes were once again focused on the Doctor, shining with tears that were trying to form. It seemed like he was the only pony, other than Dinky, that could get her eyes to straighten out. She returned his smile with her own. "Thank you, that means a lot to me." She sniffed, and turned away, "I need to be alone for a little bit," she said, her voice cracking, slightly. She stepped away from him, and flew off.
Colgate came up next to the Doctor, concerned. "Is she gonna be alright? She seemed pretty upset. I don't think I've ever seen a pegasus walk off like that."
"Yes, she'll be fine. She just needs some time alone," he replied, watching as the pegasus flew.
