The Bubbly Mare

2, 10
"Warm Evenings"

Derpy let out a breath, eyes frantically darting around the meadow she'd landed in outside Ponyville. She had been there a few minutes, pacing, at first unable to think... but it was all coming back to her quite quickly.

Okay, okay, okay, okay... She looked down at the bottle, her vision blurring. "No..." She took a breath. "It's not okay."

Letting out a hushed cry, Derpy began to shake. Had any ponies been nearby they would've come to see what was wrong. She was closest to Fluttershy's cottage, but still too far away to be heard by anything other than birds in the nearby trees, which didn't care one way or another how she felt.

The pegasus stood there a moment, crying, finally able to process something other than the intense desire to get away from Thunderlane. I did everything like I was supposed to. I- I just needed to help... this is all like a bad dream. She looked to the skies, just turning to dusk, barely able to make out the pastel horizon. "I don't know what to do."

She collapsed to her belly and cried. It wasn't a loud cry, but a long one. She was no longer thinking about Thunderlane or getting away from him, but how much he had hurt her. Though everything was a blur, and she could hardly remember what he said word-for-word, she could remember two things clearly -- how it felt, and that she would never, ever forgive him.

After a while Derpy's cries began to fade and the sound of chirping grew over her own sobs. She got up slowly, rubbing her nose... an image of the hook she gave Thunderlane flashing through her mind. She looked over at the bottle again, a good distance away, thanks to her earlier pacing, and walked towards it... scowling.

I hate you.

She picked up the container, then eyed the trees a good ways off... imagining the eruption of glass and cider it would make after she threw it. Winding up she pitched underhoof towards the nearest, thickest tree. It didn't fly as she expected, much more slowly and unsteadily... bouncing off its mark and rolling to the grass.

The pegasus bit her lip and walked up, bending over to pick it up. The label was specked with grime, but it was otherwise pristine. Before she realized what she was doing she had started rubbing it, instinctively cleaning it up... she almost threw it again.

Derpy looked to the long road winding off in the direction of Ponyville and took a breath. Having thrown the bottle once already without much luck she found she didn't want to throw it again... the idea of destroying it started to feel strangely empty. Besides it made no sense to waste all those bits Thunderlane didn't deserve... but she still wanted to get rid of it.

Stepping on to the dirt road Derpy turned towards town, spotting chimney smoke in the distance. She took her first step toward Ponyville.

From this point Derpy would walk. She had a place in mind to go, and would be better off getting there by hoof. If she kept her hooves moving the journey would feel better than flying... she knew that from experience. Walking always felt good whenever she was like this. More relaxed, familiar... she needed familiar.

* * *

When she arrived in town it was still early. Looking at the Ponyville clock tower -- which she could see well before entering Ponyville -- she knew it wasn't six yet. Around five forty-something. She still had plenty of time.

To say Derpy was focused would have been an understatement. It was a rare mood for her to be in when she didn't want to talk to anypony, much less be around them, but she was in that mood for a good reason. All she wanted to do was return the bottle and go home, sleep a few days and stop thinking. At least her walk was silent, for the most part.

She passed Cherry Berry, who was headed home after an afternoon of showing her balloons to a group of tourists from Manehattan. Instantly recognizing the pegasus Cherry Berry waved, expecting Derpy to beat her to the punch and say "hi!" like she normally did... the mare was always so bright and bubbly, after all. Though Derpy turned toward the motion she looked right past Cherry Berry and walked on by... scowling. The pink earth pony stopped for a moment and looked back, mouth agape, before shrugging and moving on.

Derpy passed Sugarcube Corner. She passed Golden Oaks Library, the Quill and Sofa shop, and Rarity's Boutique. It all went by in a blur. Finally, in the middle of town, she came to Horte Cuisine.

There was just one pony out front, no customers. It was not a pony Derpy recognized, but she wasn't usually in the mood to be studying the place's employees whenever Thunderlane brought her there. She approached the earth pony stallion, who was around her age, cleaning the tops of the tables with a rag.

"Um, excuse me?" she said, plainly.

He jumped, turning to face her... slowly.

She held up the bottle.

"I want to return this."

Without a word he pointed toward a canopy right beside the restaurant, where she could see just outside the building sat the waiter she'd seen each time she came here... the one who knew her and she knew him, but they hardly said a word to each other. She looked back at the young stallion, still holding up the bottle, and he continued to point, a bit more intently this time... his eyes wide for some reason.

"There, there..." he mouthed. "Over there, miss. I can't do anything for you. Talk to him."

She turned towards the waiter and trotted up. He was facing away from her, his head down... focused.

"Um, I want to return this," she said, loudly.

He turned his head slowly and nodded, too busy polishing glasses to turn around completely.

"But of course, m'dam. May I first see your receipt?"

Though Derpy couldn't remember everything Thunderlane had said to her, she remembered throwing his bag... and that the receipt was resting somewhere on his floor.

"Ugh..." She let out a sigh. "I don't have it."

"Well, that's too bad. There is nothing I can do for you."

He returned to giving the glasses his undivided attention... focused again, away from Derpy.

The mare shook her head, feeling a throb in the back of her neck. She swallowed hard, which felt surprisingly difficult. Shaking away the dizziness, Derpy spoke more firmly:

"Hey! You sold it to me earlier! I-I don't want it anymore. Okay?"

The stallion let out a sigh, setting down the glass neatly with the rest in a row, all of them sparkling. He turned around, smiling... appearing friendly towards her for the fist time. He got up from his seat and approached.

"Oh, oui, I do recognize you m'dam! You've been here at least half a dozen times with that dark, Special Somepony of yours, non?"

Derpy heard a roar in her ear:

"He's not my~!"

The waiter put up a hoof:

"Be that as it may you, unfortunately, have no receipt. No receipt means no returns. Simple enough to understand, non?"

"But you sold it to me earli-"

"M'dam, you have come up to me when we are closing and I am most busy, and now you make demands of me? Why should I do this favor for you, hmm?" He crossed his eyes, grinning at her. "You think you can scare me by merely scowling and raising your voice? I lived with Griffins! You are nothing."

He stared at her for a moment, Derpy normally would've guessed waiting for reply... in actuality he was waiting for her to make the next move. She was shaking, he could see that... little did he know less than an hour before a stallion she'd cared about was talking to her a bit like he was now.

"Well?"

She continued to shake, her vision starting to blur. Through it all she could see the Prench stallion shake his head.

Despite her body's emotional response, Derpy was able to present something of an argument... at least from her point of view:

"Um, m- my mom used to work here a long time ago," she said, sniffling. "Diamond Hooves?"

"Oui, I do remember a Diamond Hooves when I was just starting out here in Ponyville... so you are the daughter she kept talking about, all grown up now, eh?" He smiled brightly. "I distinctly remember her mentioning a daughter with special needs. This changes nothing, and you'll find tears do not work on me either. Diamond was an excellent dishwasher, and you are wasting your time here."

Derpy cried more loudly. Gritting his teeth the waiter finally turned away. He went back to examining the last few glasses, preparing to sit again.

"I do not care what you do with that bottle, M'dam. Without a proper receipt I will not take it back. Now va-t'en! A good day to you."

Derpy sighed. "Please...?" She took a sudden interest in her hooves, struggling hard to continue to look up at him. "I, um... really don't want it. I spent too much money on it and... I- I hate him!"

Glancing back the waiter smirked one final time as he sat down comfortably:

"This is as good a time as any to take up drinking, then, non?"

* * *

With blurry vision Derpy walked away from Horte Cuisine. She offered the bottle to the pony cleaning tables on the way out, but he just put his hooves up and backed away. Little did she know he was acting a lot like she would have ten years before, though the scowl on her face when she first approached probably didn't help matters. Either way she was stuck with it.

Without a plan Derpy just walked away, head down. This was the second time in less than an hour she felt a strong desire to get away from someplace (and somepony) quickly... and she was sure she wouldn't be going back either.

There were a few places she could go: home, Sugar Cube Corner, Sweet Apple Acres; then it dawned on her. Applejack had said she and Rainbow would be high up to watch the sunset. The only place that could be, other than in the night sky (which didn't make sense because Applejack couldn't fly), was the Acres.

Normally this is where Derpy and Fluttershy had something in common -- both pegasai would be too shy to interrupt Rainbow Dash and Applejack when they were alone. This was especially true after meeting Thunderlane. Scootaloo had interrupted them just once to ask if they wanted to watch Rainbow Dash do a few tricks and even Thunderlane got angry... though thinking about it that wasn't surprising to her anymore. Thunderlane was the only one to say something to Scootaloo, though... Derpy just felt annoyed. For some reason thinking about how Thunderlane snapped at Scootaloo, telling her "take a hike, you lil wannabe" brought a smile to Derpy's face. Though she normally would have felt bad, it made him seem even less... nice every time she thought about it. So she thought about it again and again, and again for a while.

* * *

The closer she got to the Acres, the more she started to relax. This was especially true since she took the trip on hoof. Though it would take longer, she was used to walking from having nothing but houses on the ground since foalhood. It felt familiar... it felt right.

She passed Fluttershy's cottage and couldn't help noticing (despite being quite spacey) that the mare was either asleep or not home. The lights were out, no animals looked at her from the windows or outside as she passed. It was all silent.

As the sun set the world started to turn purple. It was nearing dark, yet Derpy kept at it on hoof, with the bottle tucked tightly under her wing. Normally she would've been questioning what she was doing -- it was growing late, the trek would take over a half hour, and she was tired. Aside from needing time with nothing going on around her, all she could think about was seeing Applejack... how Applejack, even when she couldn't help, could still make her feel better. All of the Apple family could... though she wouldn't want to share was was going on with Apple Bloom.

Eventually Derpy began seeing apple trees, then, of course, the ground started to slant upwards, towards the home. It wouldn't be long now. She began to pick up the pace, looking around... recognizing trees, even in the dark, as well as paths around the farm. This place... this place could always calm her down. It was a shame it had been so long since she was last there, but Applejack was always so busy.

She saw the Sweet Apple Acres house off in the distance... or at least she knew where it was. Like Fluttershy's cottage, the lights were out. It appeared just a abstract shape in the distance. Applejack was known to go to bed early, but not this early... or at least Derpy thought it was still early. She wasn't sure what time it was anymore.

Derpy picked up the pace, cantering towards her destination now... almost running. Carrying the bottle made it a lot harder to move fast (especially with her coordination) but she managed. She made it to the stairs and trotted up to the top. There, despite her mood, she tapped out a familiar rhythm:

Tap-tap-tap, knock-knock! ... Knock-knock!

Then she waited, and waited... and waited. There was no answer, so she knocked again:

Tap-tap-tap, knock-knock! ... Knock-KNOCK!

Nothing.

Derpy bit her lip, taking a deep breath. "A-applejack?" She poised to strike the door a lot harder.

Knock-knock-KNOCK!

Again, nothing. Derpy put her ear to the door just to be sure. It seemed nopony was home.

She plopped her rump against the wood of the porch, letting the bottle roll away. There Derpy put her head down and sighed... but didn't cry. If anything she felt strangely... blank.

There was so much Applejack could help her with, even if she couldn't actually do anything. In reality, Derpy just needed somepony to talk to. She didn't have other ponies in Ponyville she felt she could share this with. She also hoped, in the back of her mind, not that she would want to admit it (much less was thinking far enough ahead to put this into words)... that Applejack might offer to buy the cider off her, after hearing what she had to do get it. She would've been right, but Applejack wasn't there. Nopony was.

Again, Derpy picked up the bottle, looking off to the trees... it was so dark and they were so far away tha the bottle was unlikely to hit anything if she threw it again, but it was nice to think about. She wrung her hooves so hard, manipulating the bottle.... squeezing it, imagining just throwing it away or shattering it against the steps. She just wanted it to go away. She wrung it so hard...

Grrr-ggriiippp!

Derpy wasn't familiar with this brand of cider, but she knew that sound. She'd just broken the seal on the Fauxjax cider. She checked it just to be sure...

It was broken.

Derpy looked around, imagining just tossing the bottle somewhere in the dark, forgetting about it and going home. She knew Applejack wouldn't ask anypony about it... touring ponies left things on The Acres all the time. To just get rid of it, though, after having it for so long suddenly felt kind of... weird. While she did want it to go away, holding on to it while thinking about Thunderlane also felt kind of nice. Then a thought occurred to her:

What's it taste like?

Derpy could remember Thunderlane always raving about the food from Horte Cuisine. Always. The food wasn't cheap, though, and Derpy had things she needed a lot more than gourmet food... things Thunderlane was nasty to her about. This was a chance to actually try something she'd bought herself, even though she really didn't like the taste of alcohol or what it could to do her. This felt better than throwing it away, though, something so expensive... afterall it was hers, not Thunderlane's. It never was. She didn't realize it but she was smiling.

Since the seal was broken, as far as Derpy was concerned she had two options -- give it a taste or get rid of it.

Slowly she took the cap off and gave it a sniff. It smelled sweet. Surprisingly sweet, like juice. Hesitantly she took a small swig, looking down at the bottle... surprised by what she found.

It's actually good.

It had a tangy quality to it, lightly carbonated. While alcohol normally burned her throat, this tasted nice. Little did she know compared to most drinks (Applejack's cider included) this was considered light.

This was what Thunderlane liked so much, and she could actually understand why. She took another swig, a bit deeper, laughing.

"It tastes like soda!"

She got up, stretching, walking off the porch. Applejack wasn't there... nopony was, and Derpy had no clue when they'd be back. Aside from heading out to a place like Sugarcube Corner (she had no money, so she'd just be there to say hello), there was one more place Derpy thought might be a good idea to go: home.

She began trotting away, past the trees closest to the Apple house. She still had the Fauxjax cider on her and would hold on to it... Thunderlane wouldn't have it. She walked home slowly... the trip would take a good half hour to forty-five minutes, but Ponyville was a safe place to be at night. She could make it even with her eyes closed.

She took another swig, even deeper this time, looking up at the night sky. It was dark, almost cloudless, the moon was full. It looked kind of pretty.

What was odd was how, since everything was completely over, Derpy wasn't thinking of anything any longer. Her mind was blank, hazy... and it felt kind of good. She took another swig, followed by another.

The mare stumbled as she approached a bend in the road... she looked back and saw a small rock at the side of the path by her left back hoof. It made sense that must've been what caused her to almost fall to her knees. She kicked it out of the road, stretching, taking yet another drink from the Fauxjax cider.

Strangely she felt light, a bit numb in her extremities... particularly her hooves. It had been a long day, though, and it made sense she would feel tired since she'd been walking for most of the day. She took another drink and stopped for the moment, resting on her rump by a tree.

She looked around... everything was a bit fuzzy, but she knew where she was. She was still on the road, but if she turned left and walked straight over a few hills she would see what had become Apple Bloom's clubhouse. It was a nice place to play, she could remember that.

I wonder what it looks like now.

Derpy giggled, imagining herself going up to the tree fort in the middle of the night. Had she been in her right mind even she would have found that a bit unsettling.

She took yet another swig of the Fauxjax cider, hearing the remaining liquid slosh around in the bottle as it shook. She then realized she'd drunk over half of it. She laughed, realizing she'd gotten carried away. Doing that with something new was not unknown to her, though.

Derpy would rest by the tree for a while, then she would get back up and go home. That was best, she just had to cool down a bit... she felt so warm. But at the moment she would be content to just sit there and look at the night sky through the trees. A few fireflies lit up in the distance, capturing Derpy's attention for a moment. It felt like she was eight again, looking at their glow for the first time.