Golden bands rose over the hills overlooking Ponyville, bringing light into the darkened town. A gray mare stood in front of an old building with strips of plaster peeling off of it in copious amounts. She wore a red and yellow checked suit with frizzy pink buttons, and a bright purple derby hat with a green plastic flower fitted into the brim. Her wide hat hid her blond mane, and made her ears stick out sideways.
The colors on her outfit were faded, but could still be seen from some distance away. It was a little bit baggy on her, but was just the right length. Ponies that were visiting often took pictures of the, "strange mare in the loose, loud outfit," to share a chuckle with friends back home.
Removing her saddlebags from her back, she withdrew three small red balls from one of containers, and flexed her wings, hearing a satisfying pop. Looking to the east, one of her lime yellow irises rose upward while the other moved down as she watched the sunrise. After the brilliant orb had just peeked over the horizon, she gathered all three balls in her front hooves, shakily stood up on her hind legs, and slowly tossed them into the air, one at a time.
She closed her left eye, as her cross vision threw off her concentration, and focused on the balls. Her muscles tensed as she threw all three balls into the air. As each one came down, she caught it and threw it back up again with expert precision.
She took a deep breath and let a cool, relaxed wave release the tension in her muscles. She had to stay relaxed and focused, keeping her good eye on the balls, making sure that she didn't drop one, just like he'd taught her.
Ponies slowly began to emerge from their houses and arrive on the corner, where the pegasus juggled in her strange outfit. The first few formed a semicircle around her, and it wasn't long before a crowd of colorful ponies were watching the spectacle.
Most of the ponies there had seen her act before. It happened every Sunday, on the mail mare's only day off. They stood in stone silence as the juggler manipulated the balls through the air, slowly increasing the speed at which she threw them.
"Atta way to handle them balls Derpy!" Cried out a male voice. Snickers traveled among the stallions in the audience.
"You're a champ at playin' with them balls Derpy!" Fewer snickers were received at the second attempt at a joke.
Without taking her eyes off the balls already in the air, Derpy slid another red ball from a hidden compartment in her right sleeve, and tossed it into the air. After a couple of tosses, it was in sync with the others.
Silence buzzed through the air as the performer slowly increased the balls' speed, causing them to leave small red trails in their wake.
An emerald unicorn with a heart shaped cutie mark turned to a light red earth stallion and whispered in his ear, "Is she aware how ridiculous her costume looks?"
The red stallion smirked, "Probably not, Derpy ain't the brightest crayon in the box."
"Well, at least she knows how to throw balls around, even though she probably gets dressed in the dark."
The stallion grinned, "That's about all she knows how to do. That mare there is our mail mare, and by Celestia, is she horrible. She always delivers my mail to the wrong address, and she crashes into things because she can't fly straight. Do you know she destroyed town hall's roof, twice?"
The green hued mare snorted, "No I didn't, is it just because she's dumb or something?"
"It's mainly because she can't see straight, she's cross eyed. But, I suspect that might be part of the reason."
"Why is she cross eyed?"
"I don't know, maybe she hit her head or something. She lives up to her name though, she's a complete ditz."
Several more of these conversations were interspersed throughout the audience, accompanied by chuckles and giggles.
The gray juggler heard some of these conversations, however she let all slander fall on deaf ears. She was too busy focusing her good eye on the fast moving balls to be worried about what anypony said. Derpy felt the ball hidden in the compartment of her left sleeve, and was tempted to toss it in the air as well. She wanted to show Ponyville that she was a truly great performer. That would teach them to make fun of her!
Reality gripped her mind as soon as this initial thought passed. She couldn't juggle five balls. She probably never would be able to... He told her to not worry about being great though, or to worry about what other people thought, he just told her to be her. So she continued to juggle, ignoring the chuckles she received for her eccentric attire. She didn't want to upset him.
She continued her act until the sun reached the apex of its ascent. Once it was over, the one-eyed juggler caught the balls in her forelegs and then placed them on the ground. The air was filled with hollow applause as all ponies halfheartedly stomped their hooves against the dirt. Ditzy gave a simple bow in response.
One pink pony, with a dark pink mane, could be seen hopping up and down over the heads of the other spectators as she cheered loudly. This brought a smile to Derpy's face. Pinkie Pie always made her feel warm after her performances. After a few seconds, the gray mare put her balls in her saddlebags and started walking back home.
The crowd parted as she made her way through them. She felt the snide glares and sympathetic looks burn into her back. She ignored them, she had a thick skin by now. The cheering pink pony bounced over to the performer, "Oh my gosh Derpy, you were so terrific! You should join the circus instead of being a mail mare! You are so talented!"
"It's not talent, it just takes practice," Derpy replied, like she did every time Pinkie complimented her work.
"Do you mind if I walk back with you?" Pinkie said with exuberant excitement, "Your house is along the way."
Derpy just nodded and smiled. They began walking together as the crowd around them dispersed.
Together the mares walked in silence toward Derpy's house, like they had done every Sunday for the past five years. After several minutes, they reached the mail mare's house. It was very small and red, with chipping paint and a straw roof with wilted thatching.
They passed the large places where the paint had peeled away to reveal the light, cracked wood underneath.
Once they were both inside, the pegasus hunched her shoulders and sighed, placing her saddlebags by the door. She walked over to a rectangular, standing scratched mirror on the wall. Her eyes came slightly into focus as she looked over her costume. She removed the clothing, carefully folded it, and pulled out a large pink box that rested beneath a coffee table by the mirror.
Pinkie Pie quickly rose from her seat and walked over to Derpy, her characteristic smile fading just a bit. The mail mare took the lid off of the box, and looked at four newspaper clippings. She was about to drop the clothing in the box but her good eye started reading them.
The headline of the top one read...
Sidewalk Juggling Clown Spotted All Over Equestria!
There was a black and white picture above the article of an earth stallion smiling as he stood on his hind legs and juggled small balls. On his shoulders was a small pegasus wearing a wide smile, as she looked upon awed gawkers with wall-eyed glee.
The next headline read...
Corner Juggling Busker Taking Equestria by Storm!
A black-and-white picture in this article showed the same stallion standing one one of his hind feet juggling five balls while a small pegasus stood beside him, one eye on him and the other his captivated audience.
The headline of the third article read...
Juggling Jester Performs for the Princess
A color picture accompanying this article showed the stallion was stone gray with the same lime yellow eyes, focusing on the five balls he juggled while balancing on one foot on a large blue circus ball. He was wearing the same costume that Derpy had worn that morning.
Sitting in front of him were two black stallions in golden armor, guarding the smiling, large white alicorn, Princess Celestia, as she watched the performer. On the edge of the picture, Derpy could see her smiling face.
The last newspaper clipping, taken the day after the third carried no headline. It simply read...
Quick Hooves, a.k.a. The Sidewalk Juggler, was involved in an accidental head on carriage collision yesterday, just a few hours after performing for Princess Celestia. He is survived by his only relative, his daughter Derpy Hooves. May he dazzle audiences in the hereafter as he did here in Equestria.
Derpy didn't realize that her chest felt so tight, she also didn't feel the pink mare's fore hooves around her neck in a gentle hug. The gray pegasus gently placed the clothes and hat into the box and returned the embrace.
From behind her, a small, light purple unicorn with her eyes tapped Derpy on a hind hoof, "You forgot the balls mommy, they go in the box too."
Derpy broke the embrace so she could scoop her daughter into her fore hooves for a big hug while Pinkie placed all four balls into the pink box.
"Would you two like to come to the Sugarcube Corner for some lunch? I'll make some Cherry Chimichangas!" Pinkie bounced.
Derpy's daughter just nodded and climbed on her mother's back. The two mares just smiled to each other and made their way out of the house, to partake in the last leg of their Sunday ritual.
The End
Author's Notes: I had a random idea for a story early one morning when I was tired. 45 minutes later, I ended up with this. After rereading it I'll be honest, it stinks. I rushed through this story without much thought and it wasn't nearly as good as it could have been. I would go back and fix it, but right now I am working on another story that hopefully will be much better. A big thank you goes out to StarsGuide and Taranasaurus for prereading this. Thank you for reading the writings of a tired madman, I hope it wasn't too terrible.
