Derpy on the E.T.A.

by Trombone2015

Rating: everyone
Tags: Derpy Hooves, Slice of Life, Doctor Whooves, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Mayor Mare, Other
Length: 5414

Ever wonder what it would be like if The Friendship Express was under the ownership of a public transportation system?

Derpy Hooves, the mailmare of Ponyville, takes the Friendship Express to begin her vacation in Dodge Junction near Appleloosa. However, the conductor on the train tells her that she needs to pay an additional bit in order to get off the train. Comedy, sadness, and adventure ensues in this journey of the mare who never returned.

Based on "MTA" by The Kingston Trio.

E.T.A. stands for the "Equestrian Transit Authority"

Published 2014-12-23 01:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-01-03 18:21:29 UTC

Chapter 1: Prologue

It was a cold December morning in Ponyville and everypony was getting ready for Hearth's Warming Eve. The festive spirit was brighter than ever.

In one of the many houses that was nearby the town hall, a gray pegasus with blonde hair was awakened by her alarm clock alarm.
Yawning and stretching her wings, Derpy was soon awake. It was precisely 8 o'clock in the morning and the sun was shining in the sky through a window. She noticed that her husband, Doctor Hooves, was still asleep. She moved her head to his ear and, as a joke, whispered to him in a quiet voice.

"Wake up sleepy head!"

"Gah!"

Startled, he fell out of bed, landing on the floor in a pile of bed sheets. Immediately recovering from the joke that his wife just put forth, he poked his head out from under a sheet to see Derpy laughing hysterically at him from the bed.

"Derpy! You gave me such a fright ," he exclaimed as he got up from the floor. "Good morning to you." He shook off the sheet and made his way to the bathroom to get freshened up for the day. Derpy smiled, knowing that her joke had worked.

"Doc, today's the first day of my vacation right?" Derpy asked from the bedroom.

"Oh of course it is my dear," replied the Doctor. "I can recall that you were given a full week off from mailmare duty. But where exactly will you going?"

"I'll be vacationing in Dodge Junction," Derpy replied as she trotted out of the bedroom and stood outside the doorway, waiting for her husband to finish his morning routine.

"Excellent," replied the Doctor. "I'll go make some breakfast while you get ready for your trip."

"Thank you," Derpy acknowledged. "Please be sure to have a plate of muffins ready for me. You know how much I love them."

"Of course you do, honey. Muffins and the mail will always be your best interests," The Doctor replied enthusiastically.

After Doctor Hooves finished getting ready for the day, he stepped out of the bathroom and made his way to the kitchen. Derpy giggled as she entered the bathroom to get freshened up for her vacation.

A couple of minutes later, Doctor, Derpy, and Dinky were all sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. The Doctor was eating hay cereal from a bowl using a spoon, reading the Sunday edition of the Ponyville Express and enjoying a mug of hot apple cider. Derpy, with a plateful of chocolate chip muffins, was happily eating her second muffin. Dinky, who had just gotten back from a slumber party the night before, was happily finishing her bowl of muffin bits cereal, afterwards finding the prize inside of the cereal box.

"Sweet Celestia!" The Doctor exclaimed, pounding a hoof onto the table and throwing the newspaper onto the table. "Derpy, I think you should read this immediately." He slid the front page of the newspaper towards Derpy. She picked up the newspaper and began to read the headline.

"Mayor Mare gives the green light for the ownership of the Friendship Express."

Derpy was surprised. She has been a regular customer on the train service, which was the most efficient way to travel around Equestria, competing with flying and teleportation. Derpy read the article.

"Ever since the Friendship Express began service in Equestria, ponies everywhere have boarded this train to get to their destinations on time. Nowadays, money is now the only solution that can keep this train in service. The Equestrian Transit Authority, known as the ETA, have happily acquired the train and will keep it updated, spotless, and clean for the ponies who commute around Equestria. Basically, a fee of 10 bits will give a pony the chance to travel to any part of Equestria. Let us give this authority full responsibility of the Friendship Express for years to come."

"Do you think that is a bit conspicuous?" asked The Doctor. "I make 200 bits a week. And you Derpy only make 175."

Derpy pondered the question for a moment.

"Well, 10 bits does seep like a cheap fare. But I'll be alright. I don't care if the seats are dirty," she exclaimed. "I"ll still enjoy my train ride to Dodge Junction no matter what the circumstances are."

"Mommy?" asked Ditzy who had just finished her breakfast. "How long is your vacation?" Ditzy didn't know how long her mother would be on vacation since she was still at the slumber party when her dad had asked her mother earlier.

"A full week, but don't worry, I promise I'll be back." She smiled and kissed Ditzy's forehead. "You can have as much slumber parties as you want while I'm away on vacation." Due to the fact that her winter vacation had already begun, Ditzy beamed with excitement.

"Wow! Thanks mom! Have a great trip. Oh, and dad, thanks for making my breakfast!"

"You're welcome," The Doctor replied.

Once Derpy had finished her breakfast and the Doctor finished reading the paper, Ditzy ran to her room to begin planning her slumber party for that afternoon. Derpy checked the clock. It was 50 minutes past 9.

"Well I better get over to the train station. Take care of Ditzy and make sure the house is spotless when I return okay?"

"Of course! See you in a week!" He shouted as he waved goodbye to Derpy as she flew off towards the train station.

On her way to the train station, Derpy felt better than ever. It was a beautiful sunny day and weather team did a wonderful job making sure that the clouds were correctly in place. She smiled and waved at the ponies below her, going about their business that morning. Soon, she arrived at the train station, landing carefully onto the platform. Derpy trotted over to the ticket booth.

"A one way ticket to Dodge Junction please," Derpy asked politely.

The ticket pony gave Derpy her ticket.

"That'll be 10 bits ma'am."

Derpy placed her saddlebags onto the platform and found 10 bits in a small bag. She placed the bag onto the counter. "Here you go sir and thank you." She collected the ticket and placed it into her saddlebags.

"Have a safe journey," replied the ticket pony.

Derpy carried her saddlebags and waited for the train to arrive. 10 minutes later, the train pulled into the station and came to a complete stop. Boarding the train, Derpy found a comfortable seat and relaxed, falling asleep and waiting for the train to arrive at her destination.

...4 hours later...

At 2 o'clock that afternoon, the train pulled into Dodge Junction and came to a complete stop. Derpy yawned and woke up from her nap, stretching and ruffling her wings as she got up from her seat. She was just about to depart the train when a conductor stopped her.

"Hey! This is my stop!"

The conductor told her to get back into her seat. "Excuse me ma'am, but word from the boss has told me that all passengers need to pay a fee of one bit in order to leave the train. You need to have your own money to pay for that extra bit."

Derpy was shocked, flabbergasted, and furious. She noticed other ponies in the coach, handing their extra bit to the conductor and disembarking from the train.

"What should I do now?" she asked, worried.

"I am sorry to say this," the conductor began. "There's nothing I can do to help you. Passengers who don't pay their extra fare can't depart this train. Either that or blame the ETA because I need to make a living too you know."

Derpy gasped. This new policy was ridiculous! And to make things worse, she had forgotten to bring extra money with her.

"Let me off!" she screamed, trying to get to the door. But it was too late. The conductor had shut the doors and the train began to leave the platform. Stunned, Derpy sat on her seat and looked out of the window, seeing her vacation spot behind her. Her ears drooped as she slumped into her seat, tears forming into her eyes.

"What...will become of me?" she sobbed.

And just like that, Derpy was trapped, trapped on the best modes of transportation in Equestria: The Friendship Express, owned by the Equestrian Transit Authority.

Author's Note

Please try to give me positive comments. I previously posted a story and soon took it down due to me being self inserted in it. If there are any edits you have, please let me know what needs to be changed. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: The ETA

A few minutes after Derpy had departed Ponyville for Dodge Junction, the first meeting of the Equestrian Transit Authority was held at the town hall. The main topic of the meeting was what should they do to keep the Friendship Express in service. The committee of the ETA voted for somepony to lead this new authority. The committee were soon shocked when they discovered that Mayor Mare, mayor of Ponyville, had been unanimously selected as the president of the ETA. In one of the meeting rooms in the town hall, Mayor Mare began the meeting.

"Alright everypony, let's all have a seat so we can discuss this situation," she exclaimed.

After a couple of minutes, the members of the committee were soon seated. Each member of the authority had a specific job that made up the ETA. One pony was in charge of the maintenance of the Friendship Express, basically in charge of making sure that the train was clean and spotless for every journey. Another pony, a pegasus, was in charge of marketing and advertising, hiring pegasi to fly with banners advertising the Friendship Express. Two more ponies were responsible for fare collection and the finances of the authority. Basically deciding how much money should be spent on fixing signals, train tracks, stations, and repairs to maintain the Friendship Express. The last member of the committee was in charge of security. This pony had hired conductors to monitor every station and every coach on the Friendship Express.

"Excuse me Mayor," said the pony in charge of security. "But I think that we should try to make a documentary on this train service to increase advertising."

Everypony stared at him. Then all at once, they shouted at him that they didn't have the technology or the money to produce, direct, and film a documentary.

"Yeesh, I was just making a suggestion," he said sternly.

"Anyone else?" asked Mayor Mare. The room was silent. Nopony knew what to do. Just then, one of ponies in charge of financing spoke up.

"I've done some research in Manehatten and found out that their subway system has this thing called an exit fare."

The rest of committee or Mayor Mare didn't know what an exit fare was. The pony was annoyed.

"Ugh! It's when a pony has to pay an extra fare in order to leave the subway system!" she shouted as she pounded a hoof on the table. "It will increase the finances of this company and will help fund enough money to pay for the maintenance and advertising of this train service," she said importantly.

"Well then!" replied Mayor Mare. "Who here agrees with this new policy?" Everpony's front right hoof was raised.

"Then it's settled. From this day forth, the Friendship Express shall have an exit fare policy for all ponies who commute on this great train service!" Mayor Mare announced. The committee cheered at the decision and soon the news spread to all conductors at every station in Equestria.

The time was now 5:00pm. Instead of enjoying dinner at her hotel, Derpy was sitting on one of the benches in one of the passenger coaches. The train had been traveling since 10:00am when she got on the train in Ponyville. 2 hours ago, she found out that she couldn't pay the exit fare to get off the train. Now, dissapointed, she sat there, watching the scenery go by outside one of the coach windows.

"I wonder how my family is doing?" she asked to nopony in particular. An hour later, the train arrived in Manehatten, the terminus of the Friendship Express. The doors opened and the conductor in the coach started collecting the exit fares.

"Attention everpony!" he announced. "This is the last stop for this train. Please take all your belongings." Derpy began making her way to the coach door when the same conductor stopped her again. "I am sorry miss, but you are going to have to spend the night in this coach. I can't provide you food and water, but I'll try and make sure the heat is on." he said to Derpy. "It's going to be a cold night tonight."

"Thanks," Derpy sadly replied.

The conductor closed the doors and soon the train had departed Manehatten to be stored in the train yard. The train stopped in a siding and the lights in the coach were turned off. The only light was from the train yard lights, shining through the coach windows.

"Well, here I am on the Friendship Express," Derpy said to herself. "I better get some sleep."

She yawned and fell asleep on one of the benches in the coach. That night she had a terrible dream. She was at a muffin factory, watching the muffins being made. At the end of the assembly line, the muffins were being packaged into boxes and put on a train. The smell of the muffins made her hop into one of the freight cars and soon was eating the muffins happily. Suddenly, the doors of the boxcar closed shut!

"Hey! Let me out!" she shouted. She began kicking the door with her backhooves. After a couple of minutes, the door broke open with a splintering crash! But Derpy's kick was so strong that she had lost her balance. Unknown to her, the train was crossing a tall viaduct and she helplessly fell out of the boxcar. Since she had eaten too many muffins, her wings couldn't support her weight!

"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" she screamed as she tumbled into the valley, boxes of muffins falling around her. She closed her eyes and braced for impact.

THUMP!

"Ow!" she yelled. "What a-" she stopped. She was on the floor of the coach! She had just fallen off the bench that she was sleeping on.

"Oh...my...goodness! It was only a dream!" she happily exclaimed to herself. "I realize now that the only way I can get off this train is to be patient. No matter how long it takes, somepony will find me and rescue me from this train!" she yelled happily. "Well then, I better get some sleep, what a day," she said as she got back on the bench. After one long yawn, she fell asleep, snoring happily. And soon, at 9:00pm, the heating system came on, giving warmth to Derpy as the weather pegasi outside began making snow in the clouds, ready to fall on Hearth's Warming Eve the next day.

Chapter 4: The Mare Who Finally Returned

Derpy was inside the passenger coach looking out the window when a picnic basket landed onto the seat on the other side of the aisle. Looking inside the basket, there was a mug of cider and a perfectly made chocolate chip muffin. Attached to the mug was a note. "What this? A note from somepony?" She began to read.

Dear Derpy,

It's nice to know that you are okay. I made you a muffin and bought a mug of hot cider for you. These are my gifts to you, Derpy. I miss you and love you so much. Dinky misses you too. She has gone off to the Friendship Castle to notify Twilight Sparkle about your situation. And don't worry, everything is going to be okay. Enjoy your muffin and gulp down that delicious hot mug of cider as you watch the scenery go by.

Love,
Doctor Hooves

Derpy began to cry, not in a sad mood but in a joyful mood. "I miss you too Doc," she said to herself. She drank the hot cup of apple cider and enjoyed the delicious muffin, savoring every bite. As she finished her muffin, a glimmer of light shown from the basket. Confused, she looked inside. In the far corner of the basket was a coin. One more bit that Derpy needed.

"YES!!" she screamed. Holding the coin in her hoof, she smiled and sighed happily. Just then, a conductor arrived. "Sir! I would like to make a payment."

The conductor looked at Derpy. "What do you need miss?" he asked.

"I would like to pay my exit fare please and disembark at the Ponyville Train Station please," Derpy replied as she gave the bit to the conductor.

The conductor observed the bit. "Hmmm, well you did need to pay one more bit. Payment accepted. Make sure you have all your belongings. This train will be arriving into Ponyville in an hour. Thank you for riding The Friendship Express madame." The conductor tipped his hat and left.

Derpy smiled as she stared out the window, waiting for her long journey to be over.

Meanwhile, Dinky had just explained the situation to Twilight when Applejack ran into the main hall of the castle.

"Twilight!" she yelled. "There's an emergency!"

"Don't worry," said Twilight. "Dinky here had just explained to me the entire situation."

"Um...Twilight?" asked Fluttershy, who had just arrived after feeding her animals breakfast that morning.

"Yes Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.

"What is the...um...ETA?"

"E.T.A stands for the Equestrian Transit Authority," Twilight proudly announced. "Formed recently, they control and own the Friendship Express. Why do you ask?"

"Well it's just that...um...there has never been...uh...a company like this before."

"Hey!" shouted Dinky, standing between them. "What about my mother? She's gonna miss Hearth's Warming Eve! How long have you been without your animals huh?" she asked to Fluttershy. "Do you know how much I miss my mother? Her name is Derpy!" Dinky began to cry. "Her name is Derpy Hooves!" Dinky began crying on the floor, tears flowing out of her eyes leaving puddles of water on the floor.

"Oh...I...am...um...very sorry Dinky," replied Fluttershy. "I didn't know you loved your mother that much."

"Of course she is!" Shouted a familiar voice. It was Rarity, who had just overheard the conversation after arriving back from her spa treatment a couple of hours ago. She trotted over to Dinky, who was still crying.

"You see Dinky, whenever somepony is traveling for business or leisure, they always promise that they will return. Take me for example. I have to go and showcase a new line of fashion once a month in Manehatten. Before I leave, I always say to my sister, 'Sweetie Belle, I'll be Manehatten for a couple of days. Take care of the house for me until I get back.' When I return home, the place is sparkling clean as a red ruby."

She paused dramatically.

"You see Dinky, no matter how far away somepony is, they will return," she concluded. Dinky had stopped crying.

"You mean, after we deal with this situation, she'll be home in time for Hearth's Warming Eve?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course! In fact, let's go to the town hall right now and confront Mayor Mare about this situation." Rarity began packing her saddlebags. "Come on everypony! Let's declare that Derpy will be the mare who finally returned!" Once when everypony was ready, they all dashed out of the Friendship Castle, quickly making their way to the town hall to confront Mayor Mare, president of the ETA.

A couple of minutes later in the town hall, Mayor Mare had just wrapped up another meeting with the Equestrian Transit Authority. All the members had reported that all was well and the company was in full stride and very profitable ever since they have been incorporated. Mayor Mare was sitting in her desk chair looking outside the window, watching all the citizens of Ponyville happily playing in the new fallen snow and going about their day.

Well it's a bit chilly, she said to herself. Just then, her office door burst open and broke off its hinges with a mighty crash. Mayor Mare turned around fast and noticed the Mane six, with a filly whom she did not know.

"Oops, sorry about that Mayor," replied Applejack. She had bucked the door open with her back hooves with great strength that the door was now broken.

"What is the problem, my little ponies?" asked the mayor. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Yes there is mayor," Twilight confronted. "Read this letter first." It was the letter that Derpy had written to her husband, Doctor Hooves.

Mayor Mare read the letter. She studied for a couple of seconds, then gasped.

"My goodness!" she exclaimed. "I thought the policy of an exit fare was okay. Everypony had agreed to pay the extra fare to get off the train."

"Now then," replied Dinky. "If you don't revoke this, ridiculous policy, we have no choice but to inform Princess Celestia, who will most likely remove you from your position as mayor of Ponyville and the president of the ETA! So, do we have a deal?" she put a hoof over her desk.

Mayor Mare thought for a moment, shocked about the question. Then she smiled and shook Dinky's hoof.

"It's actually my fault for this policy. I had everypony in the company agree to this and I wish I never put it forth. I will make the announcement later today to revoke the policy."

If somepony was trotting down the hallway, they could have sworn hearing Pinkie Pie's party cannon go off. The mayor's office was booming with sounds of cheer and thanks.

A couple of hours later, the mayor had called a meeting at the front porch of the town hall.

"Attention everypony. Ever since I have become the president of the ETA, I have been proud to be the leader of such a pristine group of ponies who have continued to keep the Friendship Express in operation." She paused dramatically.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, I am proud to announce that the exit fare policy will henceforth be revoked and that from now on, the cost to ride the Friendship Express will be zero bits!"

There was an eruption of applause and cheers from the audience that had gathered. A couple of minutes later, Pinkie Pie had arranged a welcome back party for Derpy.

"She'll get first dibs on her favorite muffin! Chocolate!" as she began hopping in place, cheering with everypony else.

An hour later, the Friendship Express pulled into Ponyville station. A red velvet rug had been rolled out on the floor of the platform. Twilight told the conductor to stop the train when the second coach reached the middle of the platform where the rug was. The train screeched to a halt and only one door opened.

"Derpy!" shouted Twilight. "You can come out now, your husband is here to see you."

Inside the coach, Derpy got off the bench and made her way to the door.

The moment she opened the door, there was thunderous applause with streams of confetti flying everywhere. Derpy was flabbergasted. Her husband ran up to her and gave her a hug.

"Derpy!"

"Doc!"

The moment when they hugged, there was another applause, one that was even louder than before.

"Derpy! It's great to see you again. Wait a minute...you paid that bit to get off the train?"

"Yes I did Doc, all thanks to you." Derpy kissed her husband on the cheek, making him blush. A sound of aw's echoed from the crowd.

"Mommy!" shouted Dinky as she ran up to hug Derpy. Derpy happily returned the hug.

"It's good to be home."

That night, Derpy and the Doctor Hooves were in bed. They had just had the greatest Hearth's Warming Eve celebration and the best dinner ever cooked by the citizens of Ponyville. Dinky had just gone to bed a couple of hours earlier, sleeping happily knowing that her mother was finally home.

"Good night Derpy."

"Good night Doc."

Derpy turned off the light and went to sleep. For the many years to come, she will be forever known as: The mare who finally returned.

The End.

Author's Note

Well that's it! I finished my first story. I hope you enjoyed it and please give your comments on it and suggest any edits that I need to make to this story.

Edit: I have recently edited all the chapters of the story and tried my best to make them better. If there is anyone who would like to edit this story, please send me a PM. Thank you and stay awesome!

Chapter 3: Hearth's Warming Eve

The next day, Derpy woke up and looked around. She was still in the same coach she had been in since the day before. The train was now at one of the many platforms at Grand Central in Manehatten. The conductor, who was new to the job, had announced that the train would be leaving in five minutes at 8:00am.

"Excuse me?" she asked the conductor who had just passed her.

"Is there anything I can do for you miss?" he asked Derpy, checking his watch.

"May I please borrow a piece of paper and a pencil so I can write a letter to my family?" Derpy asked.

The conductor thought for a moment. Then he took out a pencil and a folded piece of scrap paper from his pocket.

"Take all the time you need. Where does it need to be delivered?" he asked Derpy.

After Derpy had wrote the letter, she gave it back to the conductor. "This letter is for my husband, Doctor Hooves. He lives in Ponyville not far from the station. You should have one the conductors who monitor the station deliver this letter to him as soon as possible," she told him.

"Alright then. Just relax in your seat. I'm sorry that you haven't paid your exit fare yet. It happens at least once here in Manehatten. But don't worry miss. Everything is going to okay," the conductor replied.

Just then, the station clock struck 8:00am.

"ALL ABOARD!!" shouted the conductor as he shut the doors of the coach. The train driver in the cab blew the train whistle and soon the train began to leave the platform, bound for Ponyville.

A couple of hours later, it was 10:00am and the Doctor had just finished making breakfast for Dinky. The Hooves family had celebrated Hearth's Warming Eve for many years. But this was the first year that Derpy would not be home for the holiday.

"Dinky, do you miss Derpy?" the Doctor asked his daughter.

"Of course I do," she replied. "It's been a whole day since she has left."

"Well I hope she is enjoying her vaca-" the Doctor was interrupted by a knocking at the door. He ran over to the door and opened it. There, standing in front of him, was an official ETA conductor. Panting, he reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a folded letter. He gave it to the Doctor. "I think you should read this letter," he said. "Happy Hearth's Warming Eve!" He tipped his hat and galloped away back to the train station.

"What's this?" the Doctor asked as he got back to the kitchen. He opened the letter and began to read.

Dear Dinky and Doctor,

If you are reading this, you may still think that I am on vacation. Well, I'm not. I am sitting on one of the benches in a coach on the Friendship Express. Yesterday, I paid the 10 bits fare to get on, but didn't realize I had to pay one more bit in order to get off the train in Dodge Junction. Now it's Hearth's Warming Eve and I miss you guys very much. Please ask anypony to help me get off this train. Spread the word about how the ETA implemented this exit fare policy and have them revoke it immediately. I demand that whoever is the president of the ETA should step down and that the ETA should be shut down! Oh and Doctor, the next time the Friendship Express comes into Ponyville, try to toss a muffin into one of the coaches. I'm starting to get a little bit hungry and thirsty. I'm in the second coach from the steam locomotive.

Happy Hearth's Warming Eve!

Derpy Hooves

After reading the letter, the Doctor put the letter down and immediately began to make a muffin for Derpy.

"Ditzy!" he shouted as he put the muffin in the oven. "Please run to the Friendship Castle. Ask Twilight that there is an emergency. Explain this situation about your mother to her and then bring her to the town hall to confront the mayor."

"Yes dad. I'll be as fast as a wonderbolt!" She put on her saddlebags, put the letter into one of the bags, and ran out of the house.

Once the muffin was finished, the Doctor placed one bit coin, a delicious muffin and a mug of fresh apple cider into a picnic basket. Carefully packing the basket into his saddlebag, he locked up his house and ran towards the train station, about to make the greatest delivery on the best holiday of the year.

When the Doctor arrived at the information booth at the train station, he asked the attendant when will the next train arrive. The attendant told him that the next train will arrive from Canterlot at 12:00am. Thanking the attendant, he took a seat onto one of the benches on the platform. Sighing, he placed his saddlebags onto the floor next to him.

"Why do you look so glum?" asked a familiar voice. It was Applejack, waiting for the train from Canterlot as well.

"It's just that I haven't seen my wife for a whole day," he told her. "I made her a muffin and will also give her a mug of apple cider."

"You mean the fresh Sweet Apple Acres apple cider?" asked Applejack.

"Of course!" the Doctor said enthusiastically. "It's probable the best gift for someone who is stuck on a train."

"Say what now?" asked Applejack, confused of what the Doctor just said.

"Oh...it's just that," he paused dramatically. "My wife Derpy Hooves didn't pay the exit fare to get off the train at Dodge Junction. Now she's sitting in one the coaches, waiting to finally get off and see me again." The Doctor began to cry. Applejack was surprised. "An exit fare? That can't be right. Ever since the Friendship Express began service, a pony didn't need to pay to get on the train or get off. It was a free service!" she thought to herself.

"Uh, Doc?" she asked.

"Yes Applejack?" the Doctor said wiping a tear from his eye.

"Everything is going to be okay. I'm just here waiting for my cousin to visit my family for Hearth's Warming Eve. I'll pass on your situation to my friend Twilight as soon as I can."

"Thanks Applejack. You're the best," he said.

Just then, a whistle sounded. The Friendship Express pulled into the station. Ponies began to disembark from the train.

"Now's the time to deliver them gifts to her," Applejack said.

"Alright then," he said. "These are for you, Derpy." Doctor took out the picnic basket that he had packed into one of the saddlebags and tossed it into the second coach.

"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, Derpy," he said as the train departed the station. He watched the train disappear from view. Once the train was out of sight, Doctor trotted back to his house.

"I hope she is okay," he said to himself as he unlocked the door to his house. As he closed the door, he signed and sadly made his way to the living room. He sat down on the couch and began to read a book, waiting for Derpy to arrive.

Author's Note

I would like to make an apology real quick. I can't do Applejack's use of grammar. It is very difficult to type up and I tried my best. If there is anyone who would like to help me fix the grammar, please comment below. Thank you and stay awesome.