Derpy Hooves was enjoying another wonderful busy workday. Although it was work and it kept her flying all over the place, she liked soaking in the warmth of the sun on her coat and greeting all the smiling ponies that she came across. It made her happy to see smiles on the faces of others, especially if she helped make others smile; it was one of the many things she enjoyed immensely. In fact, the only thing she liked more than bringing smiles to others were muffins. Mmm...Muffins, she thought dreamily.
The thought of delicious muffins caused Derpy to stop flying and daydream about their tantalizing image. She imagined many different types ranging from delectable chocolate chip chocolate muffins to mouth-watering poppyseed muffins. The images teased her by taking residence within her mind, causing her stomach to growl hungrily.
Unfortunately, Derpy was so focused on her beloved muffins that she forgot she was still in flight. The gray mare plummeted like a rock towards the ground. However, she quickly realized her mistake and immediately righted herself. With a contented sigh, Derpy ended her scrumptious thoughts and sped along to continue delivering her mail.
Derpy quickly cruised through Ponyville, stopping to deliver various parcels and letters along her route. She was always pleasantly surprised at how she was able to complete her route nowadays. Since she had been a mailmare for a while, she had completely honed the best methods to doing her job. In fact, she took great pride in her delivery skills that camewith her responsibilities as the main mailmare in Ponyville. Although Derpy could be extremely clumsy when it came to being on her hooves, she thought she was a pretty decent flier.
As she rounded a nearby house, Derpy spotted one of her final stops and halted. A distance away from her was the Ponyville Library, which made her both excited and nervous since it was home to her friend Twilight Sparkle. Twilight was always very kind to her and always treated her as a close friend. However, there were two things that made Derpy approach with hesitance.
The first reason was hard for Derpy to explain. Although she loved reading immensely, Derpy had a great difficulty in actually reading words in texts and books. No matter how long she stared at the pages, the word jumbled up and became very hard to read. The idea of anypony knowing this about her frightened Derpy, since she didn’t want to seem disabled any more than she was. That, and she didn’t want to bother anypony with her small problems.
Derpy slowly started her way to the treehouse before her, but continued to ruminate about her ordeal. She unconsciously swelled with pride as she thought of her ability to get by so far with her problem, especially being one of the best mailmares on the mail force. She had developed little tricks and techniques to get over her problem all by herself. Sometimes it required coming into work early or staying late, but Derpy made the extra effort to pull her weight and then some.
The second reason that she was hesitant was a lot simpler to understand: She had a big crush on Twilight Sparkle.
Derpy continued towards the large tree that served as Twilight’s home and started to feel her heart beat faster at the prospect of seeing Twilight again. Maybe it was Twilight’s intelligence that attracted her. Maybe it was the incredible beauty. Maybe it was even her kind and caring personality. One thing that Derpy was certain that attracted her to Twilight Sparkle was that she loved the sound of Twilight’s voice, especially when she read aloud.
Derpy got closer to the treehouse, slowly swallowing her nervousness. She recalled the last time she had seen Twilight, only a little while ago…
It was a wonderfully sunny day in the spring, a slight briskness to the air, but none to discourage everypony from enjoying the weather. Derpy was certainly enjoying such a warm and peaceful day to get her deliveries done. Thankfully, she didn’t have too many stops to make, so she could get done with work early enough to maybe go to Sugarcube Corner for some delicious muffins.
The mailmare fluttered along, feeling a small twinge of sadness at the thought. Despite absolutely loving the muffins at Sugarcube Corner, she knew that because her clumsiness, she wasn’t extremely welcome there.
But, she had developed a way to get her muffins without endangering the store and angering everypony. Instead of using the front door like everypony else, Derpy went to the backdoor by the kitchen or the kitchen windows, and order one of the Cakes’ coveted treats.
She smiled once more and continued her flight, renewed with hope at her compromise. As she grew older, she had come up with many ways to avoid causing too much destruction. This helped her from being the butt of jokes and being disliked by others others.
The gray mare quickly sped up to complete the rest of her work. Within several minutes, she brought her deliveries to the waiting ponies, many of whom tried very hard to avoid possible “Derpy Destruction,” but were friendly enough to her nonetheless.
With her last parcel in hoof, Derpy zoomed towards Twilight Sparkle’s home, feeling excitement at her last delivery. Landing a few feet from the doorway, Derpy quickly realized that she was still holding the package in her hooves, which caused her to unceremoniously tumble over herself up to the door.
Thankfully, she held the package close to her as she fell. She sat up and shook off the dust, she examined with satisfaction that the parcel was still in perfect condition. Nopony would know what had just transpired.
Derpy quickly adjusted the parcel in her saddlebag before looking towards the entrance to Twilight’s home. The door was already open, she noticed, and that she heard someone talking energetically inside. Unable to withhold a goofy grin at not attracting any attention to her mishap, she proceeded to walk slowly through the doorway.
As she entered cautiously, she let her eyes adjust to the darkened room within. The first thing Derpy noticed was all the books lining every shelf on all the walls, all immaculately organized. The other thing she noticed was a small group of foals sitting in a group, staring at Twilight Sparkle who was sitting in front of them. Twilight was gesturing dramatically as she continued to tell a story to the foals who were watching with avid attention.
Derpy’s eyes grew ever wider and her mouth went slack as she became enthralled with Twilight’s graceful movements. Accompanied with her moving, Derpy listened to Twilight’s wondrous voice and could no longer formulate any thoughts. For some reason, Derpy was spellbound to Twilight Sparkle’s tale, hanging on her every word.
“….And as Star Swirl the Bearded swept his mighty cane, he brought forth a wave of light and blinded the Ursa Major!” Twilight motioned with her forehooves forward dramatically in front of the foals, who gasped in surprise.
One small colt asked in a voice full of wonder,”Twi’, did it die?” To which Twilight smiled and shook her head before answering.
“No he didn’t, Thunder Struck. Star Swirl the Bearded didn’t kill a single creature. Instead, he used that light to allow him time to prepare a sleep spell large enough to put the large Ursa Major to bed for a long time.” She spread her forehooves wide for emphasis, to which the foals all responded with exclamations of amazement.
A filly in the front piped up, “I wanna be a great wizard just like him, and fight all the Ursa Majors!” She emphasized the last part with flailing of her hoof, which just excited the rest of them. Before they could get any more excited, Twilight got up and started gently nudging the group towards the door. “Well, there’s no better time than now to go out and adventure. Why don’t you all try and practice your spells outside?” This new plan caused the group of foals to quickly scramble out the door, some narrowly avoiding pushing the dazed Derpy aside.
Twilight approached Derpy with a friendly smile, “Hi, Derpy. I didn’t notice you until just now. Is there something I can do for you?”
Derpy was still lost for words, and tried to formulate something to say only caused her to blush. She gave a faint smile and looked at the ground for a moment. She tried mumbling something, “H-hi, Twilight. Y-you’re really g-good with foals.” She wasn’t sure if Twilight even heard her, but when she looked up, Twilight smiled sheepishly.
Twilight gestured to where the foals were sitting a moment ago, “Oh, that? It’s nothing. I always enjoy reading to foals. They share my joy for reading.”
“Well you’re very prett- have a pretty – you have a nice voice for reading to them,” Derpy said, immediately feeling herself blush harder at her attempted compliment. She stole a glance at Twilight, who was smiling at her.
“Well, thank you, Derpy. I’m happy you think so.” Then Twilight looked at her curiously. “By the way, was there something you needed, or did you stop by just to compliment me?” Twilight laughed warmly at her friendly teasing.
Unfortunately, Derpy didn’t realize it was a joke. Her eyes widened and she blushed more than she probably ever had in her life. “NO! I-No, it’s- I-S-sorry, I- This--“ She cut herself off and quickly shot her forehoof into her saddlebag, hastily retrieving her package. “Here’s your prett-I mean packing- package—Here.” Derpy set the package in front of a very confused Twilight before beating a hasty retreat. Turning swiftly, she dashed to the door, which she didn’t realize was a little more to the left.
With a loud thump, Derpy hit the doorway, but managed to right herself and stumble out of the doorway in a flurry of hooves and feathers. With a jump, she got airborne and departed Twilight’s house in a very crooked pattern.
Ever since then, Derpy had wanted to spend more time with Twilight, seeing her wonderful smile and listen to her lovely voice. Never before had she been able to enjoy a story as much as when she had heard Twilight tell it. But sadly, she didn’t have the courage nor the confidence to approach Twilight with her feelings.
Eyes widening with realization that she had been standing outside Twilight’s house, Derpy decided that she should deliver her package. Trotting carefully up to the door in order not to destroy anything, she quickly knocked on the door.
Derpy stood there and waited, trying to suppress her growing anxiety of seeing Twilight. After a minute of no response, Derpy knocked another time with a little more emphasis.
Still with no response, Derpy looked curiously at the door. Maybe something’s wrong with Twilight, she thought worriedly. She practically pounded on the door this time, her concern growing with each passing second.
After what seemed like ages, the door opened to show a confused-looking Twilight opening the door. Derpy’s heart practically jumped out of her chest upon seeing her, and she stood dumfounded in place, taking in Twilight’s face. She looks so beautiful today, Derpy thought dreamily. Golly, she has such wonderful eyes…
“Derpy, is everything alright?”
They’re so bright and intelligent and complement her face so nicely...
“Derpy!”
Derpy suddenly realized that Twilight had actually asked her something, her cheeks burned in embarrassment as she struggled to regain her composure. Shaking her head wildly, Derpy tried to remember the reason she was here in the first place.
“Oh, h-hey Twilight. Uhh… What are you doing here?” Twilight’s expression grew more confused, and Derpy was unsure why that was. Then she realized what she had asked and blushed even harder. “I mean, uh, hi! And, um, I-I’m glad you’re alright, because I was worried you were hurt or something.”
To her relief, Twilight grinned sheepishly at her. “Oh, thank you for worrying, but I’m completely fine. I just get so caught up in my books, sometimes.” Then Twilight looked at Derpy curiously, “Is there something I can help you with?”
Derpy perked up after remembering her purpose for being at Twilight’s house and quickly reached into her saddlebag to retrieve Twilight’s package. Carefully holding it, she presented it to Twilight, whose face brightened at the package.
“Oh, yes! My latest volume of Socio-Political Dynamics of Modern Griffin Society! I completely forgot about that. Thank you very much for delivering it.”
Derpy flashed a smile at Twilight.“No problem, Twilight; I’m happy to help.” Derpy shifted her wings slightly and prepared to leave. “Well I hope you enjoy, and I’ll let you enjoy your book. See you later, Twilight.” As the grey mare went to leave, Twilight interjected. “Would you like to stay for a little while? That is, if you have time. I know you have probably had a busy day.”
The mailmare immediately stopped, her mind going blank. N-no, she didn’t mean me, she thought. But a part of her had a feeling that the purple mare behind her did mean her. The same part immediately made her heart race and her mouth dry. She couldn’t possibly have meant that. No, I heard wrong. She probably said something else, and I heard what I wanted to hear.
“Derpy?”
She probably was asking if I’ve been busy for a while. Well, maybe I should tell her I have? Oh, maybe she was saying that she’ll be busy for a while. That was a large book.
“Derpy!”
With a start, Derpy focused back in to the present to realize Twilight had been calling her name. A wave of warmth made its way to her cheeks, but she managed to turn towards the confused mare behind her. “Oh, h-hey Twilight. Sorry about that, I guess I was lost in my thoughts.” The grey mare laughed nervously before continuing, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear what you said earlier. What did you say?”
Twilight gave her an uncertain look, but repeated herself. “I was wondering if you wanted to relax her for a bit. That is, if you’re not busy with work.”
It seemed that Twilight’s question sent another wave or heat go to Derpy’s face since she felt even hotter than before. The mailmare’s heart started to beat at breakneck speed, and her breath started to become irregular. Yet her voice didn’t come out breathy or normal. Instead, it came out as a quiet, slightly high pitched version of its original sound. “U-um, I w-would really-- well kinda-- No, I would enjoy spending time with you. I mean, here.” Derpy smiled nervously at the mare in front of her, who returned the smile except a lot calmer.
“Sounds good. You can set your saddlebags by the door if you would like.” With that, Twilight closed her front door before heading off towards a pile of books.
The nervous mailmare breathed slowly, trying to regain her composure. I can do this. Play it cool and take it slow and don’t break anything. With that thought to relax herself, Derpy slowly and carefully took off her saddlebags at the door before following where her hostess had gone. She glanced briefly to where the violet mare was sitting on a couch, levitating a book towards her. Then the grey mare cautiously started her way, watching where she planted each hoof, occasionally looking up to correct her course from anything she might break.
Unbeknownst to the cautious mare, Twilight had stopped reading to watch the progress across her house. The small event interested her greatly because for once, the mare in front of her was not accidentally destructive. Instead, she was very cautious with everything around her, avoiding the coffee table, several piles of books, and brushing past a chair without breaking anything. Maybe there’s a solution to her clumsiness, Twilight continued observing in deep thought.
The mailmare finally reached the small couch that Twilight was sitting on, and slowly sat down into the comfy upholstery of the couch. With a sigh of relief, her grey shoulders sagged and her posture softened. She slowly turned her head to look at her companion, and she began to get really concerned. Twilight was staring at her intently, scarcely even blinking. The more Derpy returned the gaze, the more embarrassed she got. After turning a dark shade of red, the nervous mare decided to say something. “T-Twilight, umm... Are you alright?”
Thankfully, just the small voice brought Twilight back to the present, helping her realize that the beet-red face before her had been the subject of her focus for a while.
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Twilight smiled at the other mare before turning away. “I’m sorry, Derpy. I guess I just got lost in my own little world.”
“It’s okay, Twilight. I do that all the time too.” Derpy gave a reassuring smile back, relieved that her friend’s stare was nothing more than absentmindedness. However, she still felt that the situation was a little more awkward than she would like. Maybe it was that she was very nervous, or maybe it was that Twilight seemed to be lost in thought. Whatever it was, the grey mare was starting to have second thoughts. ‘
“Derpy, how did you manage to not break anything when you walked over here?”
Caught a little off guard, the mailmare looked to her companion, who still seemed lost in thought. She took a small breath before continuing. “Well gee, Twilight. I don’t really know. I guess I just really focused on not breaking anything of yours and slowing down alot. Why?”
“Why were cautious here and not just all the time?”
Without thinking, Derpy thoughtfully replied. “I guess that’s because I like you--” Throwing up her forehooves to cover her muzzle, the mare started to blush furiously. Twilight turned to her with a look of surprise.
“What do you mean by ‘like’?” Twilight’s question only got a furious shake of the grey mare’s head, her yellow mane flying wildly with each shake of her head. Twilight decided to continue pressing the issue. “Derpy, what did you mean by that? You know you can talk to me about this, right?”
This time, Derpy shook her head again, but quickly hopped off the couch and made a mad dash towards the door. As she tripped over an edge of the rug on the floor, Twilight used her magic to suspend the fleeing mare in mid air and slowly brought her back to the couch. The unicorn mare kept her companion floating above the couch and waited for the trapped mare to say something.
Derpy looked away for what seemed like a while before making a resigned sigh and speaking in a tone hardly more than a whisper. “Fine... I’ll tell you.” the mare then related her story about first liking Twilight and why she really liked her. Finally getting these secret thoughts out in the open was a sort of a catharsis, but also slowly brought an anxiety of how Twilight might feel about this information. Twilight merely nodded her head in response to whatever the grey mare said, but didn’t interrupt once. Finally when the explanation ended did the purple mare say anything.
“So your clumsiness is caused by excitement or you being thoughtless about your actions?”
Derpy looked down towards the floor. “That’s right. So when I’m here with you, I don’t want to ruin anything by being my clumsy self. Especially not our friendship.”
Twilight couldn’t help but smile towards her friend, pleased by how much she cared about Twilight’s friendship. However, Twilight dropped the smile and thought for a little while. “I’ve never been in a relationship with anypony, let alone another mare.” Her comment only resulted in the mailmare dipping her head a little lower. “However,” she continued as she slowly levitated the mare down to couch and stopped using her magic. Derpy sank into the couch a little bit but still hung her head. “I’m not opposed to the idea. I’d just need a little help.”
This new development caused the yellow-maned mare to look up at her counterpart. “So, what does that mean?”
“I’m not sure.” Twilight admitted. “I can’t say I’m all for it, but I’m willing to work towards it with you. And if you’d like, maybe we can work on that clumsiness together.” the mailmare pounced from her position to where Twilight was, wrapping her forehooves around the surprised purple mare. Once she got over her surprise, Twilight returned the hug with a smile on her face.
Derpy settled her head into Twilight’s neck, fuelling the embrace. Her warm tears dripped against the purple mare’s coat. But for once, these tears were of pure happiness. The grey mare smiled and managed to choke out a response. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”
Author's Note
Thank y'all for reading and please leave comments and criticisms. Sorry it's been so long since I wrote anything. It's taken a lot of focus and work to try and get this idea and others together, and a lot of stuff has been happening. But hope you like this!
