The carnival was in town. Lyra, Bonbon, Octavia, Vinyl, Derpy, and the Doctor had planned to go together, but each went their separate ways. Except the Doctor and Derpy.
" I think I like Equestrian fairs best. I've never seen so much food in such a sanitary place!" The Doctor said as he glanced around. It was true, the Carnival was extremely clean.
" Yeah, Celestia passed a law two centuries ago that Carnival had to be this clean. This was due to a plague brought on by rats who were attracted to all the discarded food. Not very many died, but hundreds caught it."
The Doctor didn't hear her, a cotton candy kiosk caught his eye. When she galloped to him, he handed her a cone. " So, we have a few minutes before I told Sparkler I'd be home. What do you want to do?" Derpy asked.
He looked around for a short time, but his eyes settled on a Photo booth. With no warning, he pulled Derpy toward it.
The first picture was how one would expect a family photo. The smiles were neat, not goofy, and not-so genuine happiness was within their eyes.
In the second picture, Derpy playfully shoved Doctor out of focus and posed.
The Doctor didn't take it well. They then got into an argument about the differences between joking and violence. Creating the third picture.
It took only a few, crucial moments for them to break out of the fight and into a giggle fit. Thus, the final picture.
The two looked at the photo strip. " Maybe we should try again." he pointed out.
But Derpy smiled. " No, it Depicts us perfectly."
A few minutes later, they sat together on the Ferris Wheel. As they were going down, The Fireworks started. It was a magnificent show, with bursts larger and more color than Derpy thought.
" We should do fun stuff like this more often." The Doctor's voice surprised her.
" Okay, how about dinner tomorrow?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
" Sounds fun." he smiled.
When Derpy awoke the next day, she was cranky and groggy, like every morning. But all the negative feelings within her vanished when she remembered about what was happening that day.
She clutched the photo strip close to her chest. Then she remembered she had nothing decent to wear. She looked at the clock. 9:10, the boutique down the road should be open. She grabbed her wallet and trotted out the door. ( This felt more important than grooming herself for the day)
A tiny bell rung as she let herself into Carousel boutique. There, a white mare was setting up her displays. Derpy cleared her throat, and the mare immediately turned her attention to her. " Good morning, welcome to Carousel Boutique. I am Rari- oh goodness!" The mare was horrified at Derpy's appearance.
Rarity zoomed around the boutique, returning to the shabby mare with a brush and a can of manespray. She proceeded to shove Derpy into the restroom.
" Don't worry darling! I'll have the perfect dress for you drawn up in a moment. What's the occasion?" Rarity asked through the door.
A single beat of pink energy glowed from her heart as she said the words. " Err. Date?"
Nothing, but the faint sound of scribbling.
Derpy glanced at the supplies. She put the manespray on the edge of the sink and brushed out her mane.
As she opened the door, she found the mare right in front of her, eyes twinkling as she levitated a note in front of her.
" I believe the shoes will accent your eyes and the colors will be meant to draw the eyes to your coiffure, which I hope you'll do. The dress isn't extremely poofy anywhere, but the design is still the most extravagant I've managed in…well, ever!"
Derpy was a little disturbed by the mare, but her sketch was gorgeous. As Derpy gazed at the detail, her own eyes twinkled. She reached for her coin purse.
" How long will it take to make it?"
" Oh, it's mostly done darling, but I still need a few hours to finish the detail."
So Derpy waited while Rarity finished the dress, and the result looked better on fabric than paper.
" How much?" she asked.
Rarity smiled. " Darling, this is my finest work yet. It's meant to be shown off for it's beauty, not for it's expense. Free of charge."
" Oh, wow, thanks! I still owe you…" Derpy glanced at the make-up display.
After purchasing some eyeshadow, eyeliner, manespray, and mascara, Derpy left for home, only to find bonbon, lyra, Tavi, Vinyl, and Sparkler in her living room.
" Oh, how exciting! You have a date!" Bonbon shouted with euphoria.
Derpy blushed and hid it. " It's not a date. Just a get-together…"
Vinyl pointed out the bag. " You did buy the fanciest dress ever and make-up."
Octavia put her hoof on Derpy's shoulder. " Whether it's a date or just a get-together, we can all agree that it's going to take two to assemble the look you have planned."
Derpy realized two things. " How did you find out about this anyway?"
Vinyl raised her hoof. " I asked the Doctor to help me move a stereo system into my room, then he told me, " I can't. Me and Ditzy are going somewhere." Didn't take a genius to find out…"
Derpy felt an odd sense of relief that her friends weren't stalking her. " One more thing, where's Dinky?"
Meanwhile, at Ponyville's city hall
" And that's why I believe that a separate school for the developmentally challenge is near necessity for foals of all pony subspecies. We must act to help those who can't help themselves!" Dinky shouted into an onstage microphone. the city council and mayor clapped.
The clock read 7:30. " This subject must be continued tomorrow, my bedtime's in a half-hour. Meeting adjourned."
As the small filly walked through the streets, she felt powerful pulse of magic coming from the east. Canterlot specifically. She looked, and saw the sky had turned yellow in that area. Frantic, she began galloping home.
Derpy shrugged. " At least she knows to be back by eight. Wait, the Doctor gets here in a half-hour!" Ditzy trembled.
Octavia grabbed Derpy's hoof. "This will be my biggest challenge yet, but I think I can work with that time limit. Vinyl, stall him!"
Vinyl saluted and ran out the door. Octavia grabbed derpy and the supplies and led her into the restroom.
38 minutes later the Doctor came through the door with Vinyl. " Alright, might someone tell me where Ditzy is?" The four mares stuttered, but the door thankfully creaked open.
If they hadn't seen her enter the room, no pony may have recognized Derpy.
The front of her mane retained it's usual rough quality, but the back had been carefully braided and curled delicately around her neck. Octavia had applied the mascara in a way that made her lashes long and dark. The eyshadow was thinly applied, but it still complimented her natural look.
That was nothing compared to Rarity's dress.
The shoes were a deep, glittery amber. Matching her eyes, like Rarity said. The first layer of the bodice was a shade lighter, the second was dull yellow, and the third overlapped and draped over the first. The frill was light yellow, the color of her mane. The sleeves frilled just above her shoulders.
The skirt had countless layers, but they mainly consisted of orange frills and fabrics ranging from dark amber to creamy yellow. The mares gazed at the dress in awe.
The Doctor took Derpy's hoof and led her downstairs. " Well, if I knew you were going to dress this fancily, I would've found a tuxedo to wear."
" Oh, it's fine. Really!" an awkward silence swept across the room.
The Doctor broke it. " So, where to?"
" Oh, there's this really nice place a few blocks away. It's a short walk away." Derpy smiled, then took the Doctor's hoof and led him away. The four other elements waited several minutes, then gave chase. They wouldn't let Derpy face this on her own. Sparkler, having been left behind, she returned to her reading.
Dinky burst through the door. " Sparky! Where's Celestia's diary!?"
She flashed her an odd look. " Since when do you have Celestia's Diary?"
" Let's just say it took a LOT of favors and my life's savings to get it. WHERE IS IT?!"
Sparkler shrugged. " Probably in your bookshelf." she went back to her reading while Dinky ran up to her room.
Her eyes darted through a section before realizing what the threat was in horror. " I have to find mom."
When Derpy and the Doctor stepped into the restaurant, Derpy gasped. Her eyes sparkled at the magnificent place. The hostess sat the two down in a spacey booth.
" Oh, goodness! This place is amazing! Fancy decor, fabric napkins, bubbly water!" a waiter came by and put bread on the table. " Bread!" Derpy was overwhelmed.
" I'm surprised, Ditzy. Surely you've been to places like this before."
" My first time in a restaurant in general. My mother never took me anywhere when I was little."
" Ah…" he lowered his voice to a quieter lever. " Does Dinky know why she'll never meet her grandmother?"
" She just knows she shouldn't try poking around to find out why…"
The Doctor drank his water. " So where's her father anyway? She had to come from somewhere."
Derpy sat there for a moment. " Th-that's a subject for another day, Doctor."
He sensed her discomfort and sank his face into his hooves. " I'm awful at talking to you."
" Oh, No! No, Doctor, just stay away from questions like that." They stared at each other, then realized how hot their cheeks had become.
Bonbon and the others spied through the window. " It looks like it's going well!" she pointed out. The three other mares nodded. Something strange happened. Out of the corner of her eye, three candies bearing a resemblance to her cutie mark bounced just out of her field of vision. Bonbon was not a curious mare, but she felt compelled toward them.
" Hey, BB! Where are you going?" Lyra called.
" Oh, I'll be back!" She shouted back.
Just as she stepped out of her friends sight, she found the candies. She reached for them, but they spun into a small figure, which grew.
The figure had an oddly shaped head. On his head, a horn and antler sat. His legs were just as strange, each was different. To top it off, he had a bat and a bird wing. Bonbon tried screaming, but he snapped, and her mouth was gone.
" Relax, Bonbon. Well, some might call you the element of Honesty." The creature snapped and Bonbon's mouth returned, she whimpered and tried to run away.
But every time she'd run a couple yards, The creature would snap, and she'd be back where she'd started. She took a breath and faced him. He bowed politely.
" I am Discord, here to serve." He shifted his claw into a hoof, and Bonbon timidly shook it. " I am here to tell you of your future."
" F-future? Like a Seer?"
Discord nodded, hiding a nasty smirk.
Bonbon breathed deeply. " What will become of my friends?"
Discord conjured up a crystal ball. " Before you gaze into this, I just want you to know that sometimes, lies are easier to take,"
Bonbon wanted to retort, but simply gazed into the ball.
It showed Ditzy on that cliff, dangling above oblivion. Bonbon, made her promise, but the mare slipped from her grasp. " I trusted you," she whispered as she fell. The words stung like a hoard of wasps.
It then showed the group, plus Sparkler and Dinky at her grave. It was dark and rainy. All the ponies looked starved and giant. Sparkler scowled at her. As did the others. Discord's voice echoed in her head lies are easier to take. lies are easier to take.
She felt her old self drain away, leaving a gray, depressed husk. Discord was gone, and so was Bonbon's honesty.
Lyra felt concerned as soon as she saw Bonbon come back. " BB, you-you okay?
" Yes!" Bonbon turned her eyes away from her.
Lyra was confused, her friend was gray, and she didn't sound like her normal self.
" Well, uh, The thing with Doctor and Derp-"
" Derpy?" Bonbon's muscles instantly tensed. She began rocking herself on the grass, which grayed around her. " There is no Derpy. She's gone, remember? I remember, I'll always remember…" she sobbed. The other two returned, also confused.
Derpy and the Doctor were in hysterics. " "Go to your room?" Ha! Those WOULD have been terrible last words!" derpy giggled.
" But if I hadn't taken the risk, Earth may have become a planet full of Gas-masked people wondering where their mother is."
" I could only imagine the terror the three of you felt. Although to me, it sounds hilarious."
" I imagine it would, Ditzy.''
" Sooo, have you decided on what you want yet?"
" Well, I'm just not used to all the foods here. Alfalfa h'ors derves? Odd…"
" They have a broiled vegetable tray. We could split one."
" Sounds good."
Derpy turned and sighed in relief. So far, so good. But a sudden pain jolted in her heart. She doubled over in pain. " Ditzy, are you alright?" The doctor asked. Derpy saw a faint black energy beat from her heart. But it soon dissipated.
" I'm fine. Don't worry." she plastered a smile on her face.
Lyra had trotted off to take a frantic, lying Bonbon home.
She dropped her off at the cottage. " You gonna be okay, BB?"
" Yes! Yes, of course. You have no possible need to worry of me, Lyra!" Lyra gazed at Bonbon. When her sentence was finished, she noticed intensity of her shivering. Reluctantly, she galloped away.
Not long after, she heard a lyre. She was drawn to the hypnotic sounds of the ancient instrument.
She soon found herself in a meadow, filled with ponies dressed fancily. Each danced with great enthusiasm. She watched as several butterflies swirled around her. She clapped as a lavender dress appeared on her.
Each pony parted, allowing Lyra to dance in the center of the meadow. The young mare laughed aloud as she twirled. Eventually, she became daring enough to spin on her hind legs, but promptly tripped and fell in the mud.
And every time she tried getting up, she'd slip, and soil her dress even more. She began to sob as All the ponies stopped to point and laugh. Among the crowd, all of her friends, all laughing louder than everyone else.
A brown pony came up to her. " What's wrong Lyra? Isn't this fun?" he giggled.
Lyra finally stood. " N-no! It's only fun if something cruel happens to no pony!" The stallion didn't listen, he was too busy laughing at her. Lyra wasn't sad anymore, she was angry.
" What? Doesn't laughter make you happy?"
Lyra cringed as color fled from her body, along with any positive emotion she had left. " Happy?" she scowled. " I don't think so."
Back at the restaurant, Derpy felt that same striking pain while drinks were brought to the two.
Octavia tapped her hoof impatiently. " Lyra should've been back by now."
Vinyl looked at her. " Come on Tavi! Look, she's just down the path!"
True, Lyra was trotting down the path. Vinyl galloped to her, ready to greet the mare, but found herself worrying for her. " Hey you alright?"
" Why wouldn't I be?" be mumbled.
" You Just seem…gray."
" Oh, is that funny, or something?" She scowled at her friend. Vinyl glanced to Octavia, both sharing the same look of worry.
Octavia grabbed a few bits. " We're all a little thirsty. Some water will do good for all of us." she smiled, trying to reassure Lyra, but it fell when Lyra huffed at her.
She was the local market, when the sweet sound of an orchestra reached her ear. Curious, she trotted away from the market.
She was greeted by discord.
" Well, if it isn't Octavia. The element of Generosity."
Fear jolted through Octavia. " Yes? So?"
" I'm just shocked. You gave up your sight just so your "allies" could go down a short-cut. What if you didn't get your sight back?"
Octavia couldn't answer.
" What I'm trying to say is, you deserve more. They don't respect you as much as they should." It then struck her.
" Wait. The others, acting so different… It was you. wasn't it!?!" She yelled at him.
Discord Shrugged. He snapped his claw, and an ebony cello, half buried in the dirt appeared. Her mouth dropped at it's sight.
" It's all yours if you want it." He disappeared.
Octavia took a breath. She tried walking away, but the cello's pull was strong. " You can do this, Octavia. Just one step in front of-" The spell was too strong. She rushed back, lifting her hooves to dig up the cello. " MINE!!" she obsessively dug into the ground, not noticing the color draining from her.
She smiled. " Oh dear, I'm filthy! Well, sanitation was a small price to pay for such a beauuuutiful instrument." She began dragging it to her home, not caring for her friends anymore.
Derpy paled as she felt another piece of herself die horribly. The Doctor comforted her. Dinner was brought to them, the waiter was oblivious to her discomfort.
Vinyl was officially scared. This wasn't something that was daily. But her friends were becoming gray and the opposites of their elements.
Vinyl no longer cared about the date, she trotted along the cobblestone path tensely. Each step made feel more and more despairing. Out of the corner, of her eye, she witnessed a record roll just out of her vision. Hesitantly, she trotted towards it.
She found Discord, examining the record. She somehow knew. Deep down, she felt he was responsible for her friends' behavior.
" I don't know how this technology thing became popular. I'm still trying to figure out how music comes from these things. Either way, it's not actual music coming from this, just noise." Vinyl was now angry and offended.
She charged at him, but he snapped, and she found herself suspended three feet above the ground. She yipped as Discord dropped her.
" I don't care what you do to me. You know I can resist!" She shouted.
" Do to you? My dear Vinyl, I came to deliver a message. Octavia is in danger. "
Vinyl continued to stare at with with anger and mistrust. "Don't believe me?"Discord produced a crystal orb.
Vinyl's curiosity was no match to her anger. She looked into it, seeing only Octavia's fearful gaze.
" Octavia…" She galloped away.
The Doctor was reading over the desert menu. " Mmm, Banana creme pie…"
Derpy crumbled, the pain in her heart grew to immense to dismiss. She fell out of her seat, too pained to cry.
" Ditzy!" The Doctor dropped to her side, stroking her mane in an effort to comfort her. Something sounded outside. " I'm going to be back, I promise." The restaurant was vacant, he needed to find outside help.
He was meant with Discord. Oblivious to his intent, he galloped to him. " Please! Someone needs help, I can't help and she's-"
" You're trying to help her?" He questioned. " You're not afraid she'll die?"
The Doctor grimaced at him. " That's why she needs help, sir!"
" You're the Doctor."
" Yes?"
" The oncoming storm. That sounds like a proper nickname for you."
" Why do you say that?"
Discord gave him an angered look. " You! You're the reasons thousands have died!"
" W-What!? I-"
" Where ever you go, death follows. I can't believe you call yourself a savior, while others fall."
The Doctor covered his ears, but Discord's voice still bled through.
" Why do you continue to denis this!? People die for you, and you just forget them!" The Doctor began slowly began losing his color.
Discord turned, but before he left, he said one final thing.
" You're not a guardian, you're a monster."
The last bit of optimism left the Doctor, leaving only remorse and hate.
Derpy Trudged out of the Restaurant, seeing all that had happened. She forgot her pain and galloped to him, throwing her hooves around him.
Anger sparked within the gray that was once her beloved. He hated the comfort she tried to provide to him. He suddenly felt the need to do something horrible.
To extinguish one final life.
He shoved her to the ground, and ground her wings into the dirt, breaking both of them. Everytime she tried getting up, he'd kick her ribs, bruising as well as breaking them. He continually kicked her, until she could no longer move…
The Discorded Doctor put his hoof on her skull, ready to crush it. Then came three words that made him stop
" I Love You"
Derpy's voice was so weak, It was almost too quiet to hear, but it was there.
" I love you so much." Her tears mingled with blood, making it seem as though she was crying blood.
Derpy's Eyes Darted to him. " W-Why did you do this?"
The Doctor cried at what he did. Color was restored just long enough for him to run away.
He met Dinky Along the path. " Doctor! I-" he shoved the small filly aside.
" Insolent foal." He muttered under his breath.
Dinky's ears flopped down as she realized she was too late.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a gray and red mass. " Mom!" She realized in horror that her mother had been beaten.
Dinky helped her up, before running away.
Derpy stared at the path, until the Doctor was far out of sight.
Her body color darkened. Her final bits of love within her died, and black energy pulsed once. She didn't feel pain this time.
That area felt numb.
Everything felt numb.
Dinky ran away, and as the world turned more and more chaotic around her, Derpy lowered her head, and cried.
Derpy's home was dismal. Dark and unlovely. Painful.
She watched the sky instantly turn dark, just as her heart pulsated with another burst of abuse.
A glimmer of Gold caught her eye.
The elements, they felt as though they had no meaning left. Each had turned black, just as their holders had.
Derpy had made up her mind.
She would leave Ponyville.
And the Doctor.
And her friends.
Forever.
As she glanced one more time at a photo of them all, another slipped from the frame.
Derpy, Carrot top, and her mother, Golden Carrot, were all in the photo. Each smile was genuine, not false.
" All my life, I had been abused and tortured and unloved."
A dark, dark shade of pink beat within her.
" Then you two found me, and gave me a chance when others would gladly let me die."
She felt a certain warmth in her heart again,as it beat lighter and lighter.
" You taught me that everything in life isn't won without a fight. I guess friendship counts…"
She couldn't fight a smile as a bright pink light filled the room. The energy filled her body, restoring color, and healing her injuries.
Derpy ran downstairs and threw on her element, then grabbed the others and ran to BB and Lyra's house.
Only BonBon was inside. And boy was she a sight. She trembled on her couch, stroking her tail.
" Bonbon?" she wasn't used to seeing this tidy mare bedraggled.
" No! Bonbon isn't here!" Derpy pulled her friend up.
" Bonbon, it's me."
"No! Stay away! I don't need you!" She struggled, but Derpy's grip was strong. Gently, she put her head against hers. Pink encased both of their hearts. As the energy spread through Bonbon, color was restored.
" Ditzy!" She hugged her friend.
" I saw you fall, I thought you were gone, and I thought you died seeing me as a liar. So, I stopped being truthful. And-and…." She sobbed quietly. " I'm sorry."
" Our job isn't done yet." She offered Bonbon her element. She smiled as she donned it.
And so, Derpy went to each of her friends' homes, or wherever they were.
Lyra laughed at herself for being so foolish.
Octavia realized the cello was made of cardboard filled with stones to add weight. She swore to break it over Discord's head.
Vinyl found holding a doll, sobbing. Lyra couldn't stop laughing when she explained that Discord made it seem like it was Octavia.
The Doctor was the last one.
It was easy finding him. He was just walking, mumbling incoherently.
It wasn't easy restoring him.
It took a long struggle between the two, but eventually, Derpy managed to put her head on his.
But the energy didn't work.
" He's too far gone." Octavia quietly exclaimed.
The Doctor shoved her to the ground, and ran to his home.
Derpy lost color again, and she couldn't be consoled. She trudged in the opposite direction.
Discord reappeared. " Okay Ditzy! Check this out!" He snapped, and a mare was suddenly upside down. She screamed as she dangled helplessly above the ground Derpy ignored him and kept walking.
He caught up to her. " Cheer up, Ditzy. This your home, get used to it!" She glanced around at the destroyed houses, and the rogue clouds, and the trembling roads. She simply began trotting again.
Discord laughed and flew away to his throne near the center of Ponyville.
Meanwhile, The Doctor prepared to leave Ponyville. But a blue bolt hit him, making him scream out painfully. Dinky was its source.
The Doctor gave chase to the small filly. Never in her life had Dinky ran with such speed, but she had finished the first part of her plan, now she needed the Doctor to get to a place where he was in the open.
Incidentally, she ran into Discord's area. She turned, but there was the doctor. Discord smiled, she had no where to run. She looked to the clock. Just 15 seconds. The Doctor closed in, but the clock struck 7. Dinky smiled determinately.
" What? What did you do!?" He yelled at her. Discord was curious to what a small filly could've done.
" You've always had a flaw Doctor. You would tell me stories about your journeys before Ponyville. And Every night I would listen, refusing to miss just one word!"
" So?"
" In one of your stories was about your year-long struggle with the Master. How Martha told people about you, to think of you. To believe in you. So I did the same thing."
He was about to forcefully hit her, when a spark of yellow appeared. Murmurs came from around Ponyville, and Dinky joined them. The elements appeared, and said that one word.
That one little word.
"Doctor."
" Stop this!" Discord shouted, but the murmurs only became louder. The Doctor shrieked as yellow energy encased him, but it wasn't enough.
Then Derpy Appeared.
And she saw him.
Rope markings decorated her neck, having only stopped her suicidal attempt at hearing his name.
The two stared at each other for a long time.
She trotted to him.
" Stay away!" He couldn't push her away.
She preceded to stare at him, before figuring things out.
Derpy's energy beat strongly, refusing to die down.
The Doctor reared up, trying to keep above the mist, but failed. " No!"
Derpy put her hoof on his cheek.
" Doctor." She whispered hopefully.
And She kissed him.
Ponyville exploded with Pink and yellow energy. Leaving Discord shrieking as his body formed into a stone statue.
12 hours later
Ponyville was back to normal, and the Celebration was joyous. Ponies cheered at Discord's defeat.
Derpy spotted the Doctor listening to Vinyl's music. She galloped to him.
" So,…um… Doctor. I-I know how…awkward that must have been, and I want to…apologize for an tensions that it may cause between us." The Doctor didn't answer.
Instead, he returned the kiss.
" Would you like to dance?" he ask.
" Y-yes." She stuttered, cheeks bright red.
He pressed her close, and they danced for a long time.
But out of the corner of her eye, she saw a stallion.
The same one that appeared at the Celebration of Nightmare Moon's fall.
He looked at his watch, and ran away, just as he did before.