Protecting Derpy Hooves

Dinner, a sandwich with lettuce, two tomatoes, and cheese. This was on a plate in front of Foster. To the side, a glass of milk. Foster was ready to dig in, then the chair across from his pulled out, and replacing the vacant seat was his mother. She had the same meal as Foster. Foster took a bite, the crunch of the lettuce draining out the sound of his mother speaking. He stopped and raised an eyebrow.

"I said, I signed you up for school. You'll be taught by a Mrs. Dandy," she said.

"Will Derpy be in my class?" Foster said almost immediately after his mother finished.

"Does my Fosty Wosty have a crush on somepony?" she asked sarcastically. She reached across the table and booped Foster on the nose.

"No, mom," Foster said, laughing. He thought about what to say next. He contemplated telling her about Derpy but in a way that didn't reveal the events of the day.

"I met her while I was looking around," Foster said. Foster's mom winked.

"I don't know who's in your class. All I know is that you have to go to the school house we saw on the way here. Remember?" she said. Foster nodded, resuming the eating of his sandwich.

"Still, finish up, you need to get to sleep. School starts at eight," Foster's mom said.

"How long does it take to walk there?" Foster asked.

"Mmmm... about 10 minutes," she answered. Foster finished the sandwich and downed the milk. Foster's mom took the dishes and washed them. With a kiss and a goodnight from his mother, he was off to bed.

Blowing out the candle by his bed, he went to sleep.

Foster's mom snuck through the door. Laid out in the bed was her son. She raised her hoof and shook her son. His eyes opened and he groaned at the remeberance of the reason why he had been disrupted. He leaped off bed and went to the bathroom. He heard the door shut and assumed she had left. He brushed his teeth and contemplated brushing his hair. It was a new school, new people. He could change it for at least one day. He stared at himself in the mirror. He shook his head. Not today, Foster thought. He went down the stairs and met his mom.

"What time is it?" Foster questioned.

"Now, it's 7:37, so you have about 15 minutes to get there," she said. Foster's eyes widened.

"I have to go! I'll just take an apple and some cheese as breakfast," Foster said, grabbing the items he just listed. With a kiss goodbye, Foster left. Shouting behind him, was his mother.

"I'll pick you up after school!" Foster nodded and doubled his pace. He wanted to get there earlier so he can meet the teacher. He soon entered the market. He saw and heard ponies murmuring to each other. He found why when he heard a familiar voice in the distance.

"Foooooooster!" the voice said. Foster turned around and smiled. The voice was from the filly he met yesterday, the good one. It was Derpy. She was flying towards him. Foster's smile turned into a panicked frown as he saw that even though she got closer, her speed did not falter. Derpy collided with Foster with a thud. Foster hit the ground with thud. He opened his eyes, met with the smiling face of Derpy.

"Hehe, sorry about that. I just don't know what went wrong. Are you okay?" Derpy asked.

"Hahaha, yeah, I'm fine," Foster answered, laughing. Derpy started laughing, too. They laughed for a while before Derpy held out a hoof. Foster took it and picked himself up with her help.

"Here, want an apple?" Foster asked, holding out half of his breakfast. Derpy thanked him and took it. She took a bite.

"So, where are you going?" Derpy asked, walking now. Foster caught up with her.

"School, you going, too?" Foster asked. Derpy nervously looked around.

"Er... no, I'm not," she answered. Foster looked at her.

"Why not?" Foster asked.

"Well, I did. But my mom pulled me out," she answered. She was looking down. Foster thought he already knew the answer, but he feared it.

"Why?" Foster immediately regretted asking her.

"Well, honestly, I used to go to school at Cloudsdale, but... everyone bullied me, so she pulled me out and moved," she answered, looking at Foster. Foster frowned.

"I-I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I'm really sorry," Foster said, embarrassed.

"It's okay, I'm not that ashamed of it," Derpy put her hoof on Foster's shoulder. Foster looked at Derpy.

"I'm not gonna let that happen, though. Why don't you tell your mom you want to go to school. You do, don't you?"

"Of course I do! I just don't wanna get bullied," Derpy said.

"Why don't you go tell your mom you want to go to school. Tell you think it's gonna be different, here. Because it is, missy. I won't let you get bullied," Foster said, pulling out the cheese and biting off parts.

"I'll go tell her. Thanks, Foster. You better be telling the truth," and with that, she lifted off in the direction she came from. Foster turned around started walking. Sweet Celestia, Foster thought, bullied so much she had to move? And her mother didn't even want to have her back to school! Maybe it's better if she stays there, maybe she's getting homeschooled. No, I promised her I'd protect her. But is that a promise I can keep? I will have to. I don't want to see her get bullied again, and even more, I don't want her to move again. And she even said she wanted to go back to school. Yes, I did the right thing. Foster then heard a shout, it sounded like a female's.

"Hey! Are you Foster? Hello!?!" Foster turned to see a mare standing in the doorway of a building. Further examining the building Foster found that it was the school house.

"Yeah, I'm Foster," Foster replied.

"You don't think you can skip school just by walking past it, do you?" she replied. Confused, Foster looked around. He realized that, while he was deep in thought, he walked right by the school. He turned around.

"No, ma'am," he replied.

"Well, the class doesn't start for another seven minutes, but I believe it's best to be early," the mare said. Foster made his way over to her.

"I'm Mrs. Dandy, and you are Foster," Mrs. Dandy said, stepping to the side, leaving space for Foster to walk through. Foster smiled and walked in the building. As he walked he thought. That's the second time I've been distracted by my thoughts, he thought. He felt a pinch of pain as he realized he had ran into one of the chairs, once again oblivious to his surroundings. Laughter erupted as the other children around him found joy in his pain and embarrassment. His cheeks flushed red and his eyes watered. He wasn't gonna cry, but embarrassment got to him. He sighed and took a seat. Already losing himself in thought.