My little Background Characters

My name is Derpy "Ditzy Do" Hooves. I don't have a pleasant past, but my present is kind enough. My future, however, is extravagent. It started back when I still felt a...distrust towards most other ponies. I'm shocked that it was a stranger that changed my life. For the better, too.

        "C'mon, Mom!" shouted Dinky.

Derpy laughed at her foal's enthusiasm. She jumped around wildly on her bed. That is, until Derpy caught her and tucked her in.

" Come on, little cricket."

The filly immediately stopped and dove under her covers.

Derpy smiled. " You've never been this exited to go to bed. Guess you really don't want to fall asleep before tomorrow."

Dinky smiled. "I have a feeling I won't want to miss a second of tomorrow."

Cryptic, the mother thought. "It is the first time the Summer Sun Celebration is coming to Ponyville since the Age of Dragons

"Please read me something, mommy!"

No-pony ever said being a single-mother was easy. Derpy thought. She glanced at the small filly, who gave her a wide grin. No-pony also said it would be so rewarding. She grabbed a large book from the shelf. "Mare's Tales to tell your Foals, that sounds like something you would like." She floated over to Dinky, book in hoof.  "Let's see, hm... this one looks interesting."

"Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, two sister princesses ruled. Okay, I know one is Celestia, but who's this mare?"

"Just keep reading!" Her filly persisted.

"Alright, alright."

"These two sisters ruled peacefully, and kept complete balance. For the eldest would raise the sun at dawn, and lower it at dusk. The youngest would raise the moon at dusk, and lower it at dawn to make room for the sun. The two sisters kept the land like this for decades, but resent grew in the younger one's heart. Ponies played and relished in her sister's day, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. Stuck in the elder's shadow, the hatred she felt transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon! The mare was bent on shrouding the world in eternal night. Left with no choice, the eldest harnessed the power of the Elements Of Harmony. Thus, permanently banishing her sister to the moon. However, it is said that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape. Nightmare will return to bring everlasting night to Equestria."

An unfamiliar sense of panic rose into the mare's throat.

Derpy wasn't a superstitious mare. Not at all. This was only a legend, a legend without power. Yet this strange coincidence was enough to send shivers down her spine.

"We started celebrating the solstice one thousand years ago, interesting..." She discarded this panic. It was a silly mare's tale! It can't be true.

"Thanks for reading to me, Mom. Now shoo! Shoo, shoo!"

"What is it with fillies and privacy nowadays?"

"I can't have privacy? Gooooo!"

She laughed. "Alright, cricket. But don't stay up too late doing whatever you plan to do, I want you bright eyed and bushy-maned for the sunrise."

"Don't worry, Mom! I'll be ready for tomorrow, you wait and see!"

"Okay, okay." The pegasus mare shut the door behind her, waited a few seconds, then silently creaked the door open. Dinky was sitting at her desk, furiously scribbling down words in a letter.

The mare sighed. The filly studied far too much. Three different boarding schools wanted to interview her, despite the fact that she was only six. Her teacher wanted her to slow down, though Dinky refused to do so, Derpy secretly agreed with her.

The mare discarded her worries, it was time to relax!

Derpy retrieved a muffin, her favorite kind. Blueberry and poppyseed, making complete sure that they WEREN'T purple. On the side, a half-full mug of hot chocolate filled to the brim with marshmallows. Her mouth watered for the treat.

The mare sat herself down on a couch, flicking on the television for a mindless hour of The Simpsons.

She had just settled in when it happened.

The house rumbled in a fashion far too unnatural to be an earthquake.

She tried as hard as she could, but she failed in the vital task of keeping her cocoa from tipping.

"N-n-n-n-no, no-"

The mug tipped over, spilling all over her and tinting her coat light brown.

"NOOO!" she screeched, frustrated and annoyed.

The rumbling intensified, and a metallic noise filled the air.

Startled by the noise, Derpy looked out the window. Only to see a small blue box wildly flailing about in the night air, obviously on a crash course.

"DINKY! STAY AWAY FROM THE WINDOWS!" She called, before diving for cover herself.

Sure enough, the strange box  crashed in the front yard.

After the adrenaline pumping through Derpy's bloodstream faded, and the mare knew a heart attack wouldn't befall her if she stood, Derpy burst into the front yard to inspect the damage.

A magical tingle overwhelmed her as she stepped off the porch. In the middle of her yard, was a crater three times the length of a pony. In the center was a blue, police box.

"Oh, Celestia," she quietly muttered, mouth agape. "I just got the grass perfect!"

Despite her better nature, and all impulses of common sense, Derpy approached this box.

She reached over to tug on the doorknob, only to find it burningly hot.

She winced and instantly pulled away, sucking on the tip of her hoof. "What is this? Hello!?"

The doorknob clicked, and the mare flew ten feet away from it in shock. Great, whatever evil, demonic, or alien presence in there is something I probably just offended...

What confused and shocked the mare even more was when the door unlocked, a stallion fell out. Along with plumes of smoke, ash, and sparks.

The stallion had a chestnut coat and handsome, brown hair. However, the majority of his coat and his tail was hidden underneath a coat that spanned the length of his body, a dark brown vest, and a denim piece of clothing she was unfamiliar with that covered his legs.

He would've looked...good...were it not for dozens of injuries that covered him. His face was scratched and scarred and covered in blood. His hind hoof bent beyond natural capacity. Smoke drifted from his mouth when he exhaled.

"Ohgoshohgoshohgosh!"

Diving into the smoke, Derpy pulled the stallion from the machine.

Hacking up smoke as she set him into the cool night, she dashed towards her door.

Anger filled her body when she realized the front door was locked.

The mare pounded on the door until a ginger mare with bloodshot eyes and an annoyed snarl gracing her muzzle.

"I was already woken up once tonight by some freaky noise in my dreams. Now you start POUNDING on the door while I-"

The pegasus stepped aside, revealing the smoking crater and the mangled stallion in the yard.

The ginger dragon set aside the new name on her KILL list. "Oh dear!"

"I know how many millions of questions you probably have right now. I can honestly say that I can't answer any of them. But right now, we need to get him a doctor."

Carrot Top snapped out of her shock. "Get him onto the couch."

The pegasus dragged the earth pony inside.

Carrot top propped his head with pillows and threw a blanket over the mysterious stallion. Carrot Top trotted by, armed with a bag full of ice. She pressed it against a purple bruise on his forehead, where he was clearly knocked out. "Get his clothes off. We'll need to assess whatever damage has been done," she ordered. As Derpy removed the tie, she noticed a strange device stuck in the knot. Shrugging, set it on the coffee table.

"Remind me how you know WAY too much about medicine?"

"Remember that term in college I took as an intern? I was working at a hospital."

"Wow, I have literally nothing else to say about that..."

"Keep checking his pulse and breathing. I need to make a few calls." Carrot said as she beat each number. Derpy watched the stallion's chest heave up and down. It seemed normal. She took his hoof into hers, and pressed the tip of it into his wrist. The pulse was almost too fast to belong to an unconscious body. It actually seemed to...overlap. "Whaa?"

Derpy pressed the icepack on his forehead, carefully listening to Carrot's phone call. " Hello? Yeah, this guy fell from the sky, now he's unconscious. Injuries? Um.. covered in bruises, a few cuts, no doubt he has a concussion, and I think his ankle is broken. Yeah, he fell from the sky. What? No, he's not a pegasus. No, he wasn't in a carriage. A blue box just...crashed in our yard and he was in it. Yeah, you heard me, blue box. Hey! You listen! I am not a mental patient. Guh!" Carrot thrust the phone back into the holder in frustration. She typed in another number.

    After a few attempts, Carrot typed in one last number. " Doctor Green? It's Carrot. I took a temp job for a semester with you? Yeah, that Carrot Top. What other Carrot Top would it be? Listen, I know how crazy this must sound, but some guy fell from the sky, he's covered in bruises, cuts, he has a concussion, and he broke his ankle, no, he's not a pegasus, nor was he in a carriage. You will? Ohhhh, thank Celestia!"

After a few minutes, a green, unicorn mare with a black ponytail trotted in.  " Enter, Doctor Emerald Green." Carrot said.

"Exactly, where is the patient in question?" The mare asked. Carrot trotted to Green.

" Hey! How long has it been?" Carrot was giddy in the  presence of her teacher.

The unicorn sighed. "You called me here to do a job. I'd rather do my job than exchange pleasantries right now..."

Carrot Top, dejected, gestured to the stallion.

   Green cleared her throat, and galloped to the stallion. She stole a variety of contraptions from her bag. First she pried his eye open and shined a light in it. "You're right about the concussion," she took a look at his hoof, watching him wince in his sleep, "And about the broken ankle. My prescription? Bandage the worst of his cuts and press ice on the head. I'll splint his hoof and bandage it. When he wakes up, keep him off it until I can get crutches his size." Emerald instructed.

        Green examined the worst cuts closely.

"Breathing?" she asked.

" Fine," derpy replied.

"Pulse?" Green needed the vitals fully listed.

"Ermm..fine?" A unicorn mare stepped into the house. " Sparkler!" Derpy hugged her older daughter. " You do realize it's an hour past your due time, right?"

" Yeah, Button Mash's mom got caught in traffic. sorry." Sparkler said, embarrassed.

Dinky suddenly bolted down the stairs. " Sparky!" she threw her little hooves around the mare. " Dinky! I told you bed!" Derpy scolded.

" I know, but I wanted to stay up and see Sparky. Oh, and this is for you..."

Dinky gave Derpy a scroll.

The pegasus undid the seal.

Dear Ditzy Do,

I must say, your letter on Nightmare Moon

caught me by surprise. With honesty,

I planned to send my student

to check up on the preparations for the

Summer Celebration. But after a background

check on you, perhaps you'd be a better

choice. On the back of this letter, you'll find a

list of ponies you'll need to check on.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Derpy stared at the letter, her left eye twitching with anger.

"I already had WAY too many things on my plate, then this HIGHLY coincidental letter comes, and now I'm going to go scream in my special pillow." The pegasus slowly walked up the stairs."

Sparkler grinned at her sister. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?"

"I sure did."

"That's my sis."

Dinky suddenly spotted the stallion in the corner of her eye. She gasped and squealed in utter glee at the sight of someone new.

The young foal trotted to the unconscious stallion just as Derpy came down the steps. " Who's he, mommy?" she asked. Sparkler gazed curiously at the stallion.

" Yeah, mom. Who's that?" Sparkler gazed at the curious stallion.

"Really? You honestly didn't notice the giant crater literally right outside our house?" Derpy asked sarcastically.

Sparkler looked out the window. "How did I not notice that? Uh, and that just raises further questions." She gazed at Celestia's letter, "I'll give you a hoof with the decor if you need it." Derpy sighed in relief.

       Doctor Green finished and left, promising Derpy she'd fashion crutches within the next day.

"Alright girls, go to bed. I'll be asleep soon, too. Looks like I'll be waking up earlier tomorrow."

The younger mares obeyed.

Derpy yawned. It was late, and she was tired. She sat herself on the cushion next to the stallion's his hind-hooves, and watched him carefully. She watched him cringe and worm around uncomfortably. The mare obtained a rag to wipe the sweat emitting from his forehead. Tears rolled down his cheeks. On occasion, he'd mumble something in his nightmares. She listened, but he said a large multitude of words. She couldn't exactly pinpoint what he was dreaming about.. Derpy cried as well. It pained her to see anyone like this. He'd need her company to survive the night.

       She curled up on the recliner next to the chair. Even with her special eyes, she managed to focus them on him. Grief and sorrow mixed in her heart. She could remember being in similar situations. The terrors she had after she was abandoned, and after the event. But something else stirred, in her. The spark. She felt it once before. She remembered feeling this way for him. She knew this could become an inferno if it was left unchecked. Derpy shoved the thought aside. She didn't even know this guy. She shouldn't start falling for stallions falling from the sky.

The next morning, the Doctor awoke. He looked at his surroundings, but his vision was heavily blurred. It became focused when he laid his eyes on a mare. A saddened cringe remained on her face, although she was asleep.  The first word he uttered was a confused "What!?"