BUCK

Big Mac stared sternly at the piece of paper, crumpled and folded and torn and taped.

“Where’d yall find this?”

Well, about the day before, Derpy Hooves was sitting in the back of the Mail carriage, flying over the west end of Ponyville.

“I’m so glad wh-, when I can come to work with you, mummy!” Dinky hugged her mother sitting next to her on the seat, and Derpy managed to reach a hoof around and show her appreciation even though she was pre-occupied with rooftops.

“I’m happy too, muffin, but mummy’s trying to deliver everypony’s mail... Ughh, get down from there, sweetie!”

Dinky looked up at her mother curiously. “Down from where?”

Derpy turned slightly and sighed. “Uhmm... nevermind, muffin.”

“Who are we deliv-, deliving to now, mummy?”

The gray pegasus grinned at the opportunity to profess in her occupation. “Well, sweetie, this box here is going from... Auntie Carrot Top... to... somepony else!” Derpy tossed the box backwards, out of the flying carriage.

“Mommy! You didn’t, you-, you weren’t even looking! What if, what if the box doesn’t-, doesn’t go in the right house?”

“Oh, it went in the right house, muffin. I see a lot more than some other ponies think. Plus your mom’s just a pro at being a mailpony; guess it’s all the experience I’ve got under my belt!” A faint crunch was audible behind Derpys pride, as Auntie Carrot Top’s present landed on a roof.

“Wooowwww!” The young filly sighed. She was absolutely astonished with her mother’s work, and how she worked. Derpy was a mailpony; that was one of the best jobs a grown mare could have! She got to fly around all day, the wind in her hair, delivering important messages to everypony, come rain, sleet, or snow. If Ms. Hooves ever took a day off, the whole town would go to pieces!

Unknown to Dinky, though, today Derpy Hooves would deliver a letter she would later regret; truly, on this day, it would have been better if she had taken the day off.

The small window in the front of the carriage was cracked only slightly, to prevent Derpy and her filly from getting stuffy. Through the crack, speeding almost as fast as Rainbow Dash on a bad day, came a small paper airplane. It rode an air current to the left, made a small loop-de-loop, crashed into the wall with a small “chh”, glided back in a reverse-motion, and landed, pleasantly, in Dinky Hooves’ lap. She almost made a sound of alarm, but held it back for fear of distracting her mother. The purple-gray filly picked up the paper device and began to inspect it. At a first glance, from far away, it appeared to be a simple paper airplane, but Dinky Hooves quickly discovered writing on its wings.

“FLP APPLL”

Dinky took a few moments to read over the letters a few times. What in Equestria could they possibly mean? “Flp Appll,” she whispered to herself. None of it made sense to the small pony’s mind. “Maybe it’s one of those things where each letter means something, and that’s why they were written in all capitals..,” she thought.

“You’re getting awfully quiet back there, muffin. You okay?”

Dinky hotly moved the airplane behind her. “Nuh-, no, mummy. I’m just a little-, a little tired...”

“D’aww... Don’t worry, sweetie, all the mail’s almost gone, then we can go home and you can take a nice nap,” the gray pegasus said, tossing another package out blindly.

“Okay mummy..,” Dinky forced a yawn.

* *

“Find Lost Pet... All Ponies... Personally... Loved... hmm...”

Dinky had set herself to deliver this letter to whomever was supposed to get it. Then she could show her mother how good a mailpony she’d be when she was grown-up.

“Free Link Pink... Well, that can’t be it. I saw Link Pink just yesterday when one of mommy’s boxes landed on her...”

The unicorn foal heard a noise downstairs. She turned around, looking at her closed door with the kind of fear a deer gets when about to be run over, then quickly looked around for a place to hide the note. But her efforts were futile. Derpy Hooves flew right up the stairs to Dinky’s room and burst through her door.

“Muffin! Muffin! I’m home!” she said, opening the room, “Dinky, what do you want for dinner?

Dinky had to think a moment. “...Cake.”

Cake? That’s an unusual choice for dinner. Dinky didn’t even like most types of cake, except for carrot cake.

Derpy Hooves grew suspicious, and her daughter only seemed more conspicuous. She glanced around the room and noticed the smallest point of some kind of folded paper behind her hoof.

“Muffin... what’s that?”

Busted. “Uhh... I made it...” Dinky hooves grasped at straws. Her mother had trouble focusing on one place, but even so, she could feel her staring. She wasn’t good under pressure.

“I fa-, found it while I was at work with y-, you yesterday,” Dinky admitted, “I was gonna sa-, save it and delivit myself, like a ra-, real mailpony...”

Derpy grinned almost noticeably. The filly handed her the aircraft reluctantly. She inspected if for a while, and got an eye on it.

“... Dinky, I don’t even think this is a letter, it’s just a paper airplane somepony made.”

“It says ‘FLP APPLL” on it, though!”

Derpy took a second look. There was writing on it. However, Derpy managed to think of unfolding the airplane, a thing her daughter had not yet tried, and

Riiippp.

“Oh, darn!”

* *

“Really, it’s pure luck that I found it. Dinky would have probably hid it and tried to deliver it herself, that silly filly!”

“Now how did it git’ ripped, again?”

“Ahh, I had to fight her a little for it, and it ended up ripping. At least the tape makes it legible. You sure you don’t need any help anymore, Big Macintosh?”

Big Mac put the note in his mouth. “Nhh thnnk Nggm Ghhd.”

Derpy Hooves took a few moments to construct Big Mac’s speech, but then responded. “Well, okay. I certainly hope my muffin didn’t mess anything up... fer’... yall’s?”

Her red counterpart chuckled, and spat out the note. “Oh, she didn’t. Juss’ try to keep remindin’ her that we already HAVE a fine mailpony, kay’?”

“For sure, Big Mac.”

Derpy hooves began to fly away. Big Mac walked back to the barn and hid the note under a barrel out front.

“SEND HELP
TO SWEET
APPLE ACRES,

ASAP!”

He took a journey deep into the apple fields, where he was going to buck.

Hard.