“Ditzy Doo’s an airhead~! Ditzy Doo’s an airhead~!”
The laughing jeers were nothing new. She’d heard them a thousand times before. If anything, Derpy wished they could be a little more original with their insults. It was incredibly tiring you see, for it always the same joke over and over.
“Oh! Your cutie mark is bubbles!” They would say, “Is that because you’re bubble-brained?” They would ask, fake curiosity slipping into cruel smirks mixed with false revelation, “Oh, no, I got it, an airhead! An Airhead right? Ditzy Doo’s an airhead!”
They’d always mock, so couldn’t they at least expend the energy to be creative about it? Derpy sighed, keeping her wings folded by her side, she trucked her way through the market, finishing her shopping, as she passed by the stalls. It was a lovely, warm sunny day, and she refused to let the uncreative, lazy, jerks get her down. For, as loud as their laughter was, there was a voice inside her that wasn’t her own, that sang even louder.
“Your cutie mark is just like you, Derpy. Bright, and shining, bringing joy to others just by existing. It’s perfect. I guess you have that in common too.”
Her steps grew a little lighter, a smile crossing her face as she turned and forced her way straight through the crowd, their laughter cutting off abruptly as she gently pushed her way past them. They were being very rude- How on earth were ponies supposed to get their shopping done if the foals were standing in front of the flower stand?
“Hey! Watch it airhead!” One of them snapped. Derpy didn’t look up to see which colt said it, to be honest she didn’t really care.
Derpy sighed, “You’re in the way.”
“Oh, I’m in the way of your crash course am I? Why don’t you learn how to walk straight, you cross-eyed fre-“
“No,” She said patiently, her voice gently cutting him off, “I mean you’re literally in the way- No-pony can get to the stand here, and it’s very troubling for Rose. Why don’t you move over a few feet? I can hear you perfectly fine from over there too. My eyes may be “weird”, but my hearing’s just fine.”
The stallion, whichever it had been, faltered, before muttering something crude under his breath in an embarrassed sort of way as he and his friends wandered away from the stand. She could feel them staring at her, glancing back even as they walked away, but she didn’t care. His voice was still stronger, teasing but honest, riding easily over the cruel, boring predictable words she’d heard a thousand times before.
“Your eyes are so marvelous Derpy! Absolutely fascinating! Can you see in two different directions? That must be so interesting! And they’re so beautiful too, bright gold, just like a winter sunset... I’m not sure how I’ll ever manage to look away from them.”
She smiled again, her mind off remembering that warm night by the fireplace, as she recited her grocery list to the mare in front of her, habit making it unnecessary to think. Daisies for the salad, daffodils for the soup, sunflowers to brighten the table. As Derpy finally looked up to take the bundled flowers from Rose, she caught the warm smile from the earth pony in front of her. Honest friendship, gratitude, and kindness, looking past what she was, and straight to who she was. The smile was returned, sincerely and truly as the bits were handed over. Derpy would only notice once she was home that Rose had given her a very hefty discount.
“Hey freak!”
Again with the uncreativity! Uncreativity? Was that a word? She was pretty sure it was a word. Uncreative was a word, so surely uncreativity was too. Or maybe it was supposed to be “lack of creativity.” That didn’t sound quite right though, that was more like there wasn’t a sufficient amount, rather than it never having been there to begin with.
Lost in her musings as she was, she nearly didn’t notice when one of them barreled into her. She stepped aside at the last second, sparing the eggs from the blow, but unfortunately tripped over her own hooves, allowing the remaining force from the push to knock her off balance and straight into a large mud puddle. The weather team certainly had done a lovely job with the spring showers last week, but it unfortunately left a lot of things still very damp. Including her now.
Derpy rolled her eye at the laughter as she picked herself up, and shook the majority of the muddy water off her fur. Thank Celestia that Rose was so clever to double bag the flowers. They were still safe and dry.
“Tripping over your own hooves now freak? Wow, I can’t believe you’re as clumsy on the ground as you are in the air! I didn’t think that was possible! Did you?”
“No, I didn’t! Ohmigosh that’s like, so sad!”
A mare then, by the sounds of it. Makes sense really, the colts weren’t usually willing to knock into her- Probably because they knew the townsponies would be less-than-willing to turn a blind eye to it. In fact, she knew that voice. Flitter, wasn’t it? The other voice was no doubt Cloudchaser then, those two were nearly inseparable -Derpy stopped herself, shaking her head, it didn’t matter who it was. Ponies shouldn’t be judged by their moments of weakness, by what they stoop to when they are in pain. Even if it was, hypothetically, Flitter and Cloudchaser, then it was only because they were still so hurt about getting expelled from The Wonderbolts Academy. They would be, hypothetically of course, so upset about their dreams of being aerial acrobats being shattered, that they would feel worthless, useless even... So much so that they would be willing to lash out at others, and degrade them to nothing so that they could feel like something.
Better me than somepony who would take it personally, Derpy would always think, and she left them to their hollow laughter as she continued on her way home. It didn’t really matter anyway, empty words like that didn’t mean anything at all. Words forged from pain had less worth than the dirt beneath her hooves. Good things could come from the soil, after all; bright plants of green and gold, flowers, and fruits, vegetables and sweet tasting roots. A smile pushed its way out from the tired exasperation, as his voice pushed its way to the surface again, making warmth bloom in her chest as her cheeks tinged with pink.
“Why on earth would I care if you’re clumsy, Derpy? What a silly question that is! Your clumsiness only allows your tenacity to shine through even brighter! That’s one of the most amazing things about you, you know, your determination. You don’t let anything get you down, not anything at all. I look up to you for that, it’s truly a wonderful thing indeed.”
*THUD*
Derpy blinked, staggering a step back as she reached up a hoof to rub her sore muzzle. She’d just walked into her front door. Was she really home already? What a short walk it was today! She was home early too, now that she was actually paying attention to the time. Good then! She’d have plenty of time to make a snack or two for her darlings when they came home. She’d gotten some lovely apples from Big Macintosh today, some cinnamon crumble muffins would be perfect.
She pushed her front door open, dropped her saddle bags to the floor, while carrying the grocery bags into the kitchen. She quickly busied herself, bringing out all the bowls, spoons, pots and pans she’d need for her baking. Instinct and rhythm took over as she settled into the wonderful peaceful chaos that was cooking for her. Every step was perfectly in beat with the timing and chemistry of the food. Cooking down the apples into sweet jam, simmering the caramel, adding this or that, it required not so much thought as feeling, and it was one she knew well and loved. The crescendo came and went, trailing off into a happy hum of her own making as she carefully set the finished sweets on the counter to cool. It was with perfect timing too, as the front door swung open again just as she was putting away the pot holder back into its proper place in the drawer.
“Derpy, I’m home! Are you here ye-“
Time Turner was cut off mid-question as the grey mare tackled him in a very delighted hug, and he all but fell over in her exuberance.
“I’ll take this as a definite yes then,” he laughed, settling down onto his haunches so he could return the embrace, “So, I think it’s safe to assume that someone had a good day.”
“Thanks to you,” Derpy replied, leaning back to boop her lover on the nose with the tip of her hoof.
“Thanks to me?” He repeated, a look of quizzical amusement crossing his face, “What did I do?”
He got no reply, other than the teasing tongue stuck out at him as his wife wove her way back into the kitchen. He paused to enjoy the view for a moment, before getting up to hang his bags up on their proper hooks, so that he could investigate what the delicious smell was without getting shooed off to put his things away.
Derpy giggled as a sound of exasperation came from the living room, followed by a laughing Time Turner asking with false irritation, “Honestly Derpy! How on earth do you carry these horrid, heavy things? I know you’re a strong mare, but at this rate you’re going to be able to carry me!”
“Good! Then I’ll be able to carry you home next time you get into Applejack’s hard cider!”
“One time!” He popped his head around the corner of the door frame to give her his most baleful look, which fell utterly flat as he was trying hard not to laugh. “It was one time, Derpy! And you never let me live it down! By heavens, when are you just going to forget that whole incident?”
“NEVER!” She declared, pointing her hoof into the air with as much drama as she could muster while laughing so hard, “I shall never forget! After all, you were just sooooo cute, all drunk like that, and wobbly as a long-legged foal.”
He huffed, faking indignation as he walked up to try and steal one of the still-cooling muffins.
“Ow! Hot!” He muttered, as he juggled the pastry between his hooves, trying his best not to drop it now that he’d grabbed the ill-gained goodie.
Derpy caught it on an outstretched wing just as he finally fumbled, and she sat it gently on the counter beside the tin, with a small smile of exasperation. Turning back to her sheepish husband, she giggled slightly as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck.
“My silly Doctor.”
“My lovely Derpy.”
The kiss they shared was sweeter than anything she could ever bake.
