Derpy Hooves cringed as her mother yelled at her once again. "Is it any wonder this family is falling apart?!" her mother screeched, rearing her hooves back for a mighty stomp. As she brought them down, Derpy took a step back, averting her gaze from the enraged mare. "You're always messing everything up, Ditzy! You've never brought anything but misery and bad luck to this family!" Derpy's mother continued on and on, and Derpy attempted to ignore her bellowing voice. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she sniffed quietly, trying not to further infuriate the mother she held so dear to her.
"I want you OUT of my house, you useless filly!" Derpy quickly looked up in fear as her mother trotted toward the front door, smacking it open with a single hoof. "Out, out I say! You're not allowed in MY house until you make yourself USEFUL for a change!" Derpy turned to her mother, her amber eyes glazed over with tears.
"But mom..." Derpy protested weakly.
"No buts! Get out of my house!" Her mother snapped back.
"Wh..what about my..."
"I don't care, it isn't MY fault you were born that way! Now out! Out out OUT!"
Derpy Hooves begrudgingly made her way to the door, and her mother promptly shoved her outside. Derpy stumbled awkwardly onto the streets of Ponyville, her mane becoming thick with rain as she did so. She had forgotten about the scheduled storm today, and she hadn't been able to hear out over her mother's unrelenting insults. She sighed quietly to herself, tears dripping imperceptibly down her face with the rain.
She continued down the road, looking for anypony who might be able to at least let her get out of the rain. Every door was closed tight. At the end of the road she saw the library. "Maybe I can at least rest under the canopy..." Derpy thought to herself. She galloped toward the massive tree, taking refuge just next to the trunk on the side. Firelight danced off the walls inside, and Derpy hoped that nopony could see her in this sorry state. She laid herself down on the slightly muddy ground, and she broke out in quiet sobs once again. This time she could feel them run down her cheeks, with only a light drizzle overhead.
As Derpy became drowsier and drowsier, the door of the library swung open. A purple unicorn trotted out from the doorway, waving a hoof in the air to Derpy. "Hey, you! What're you doing, come inside!" she called out, her voice partially dampened by the rain. Derpy looked up at the unicorn, struggling weakly to her feet. She trotted slowly over to the doorway, as the purple pony looked at her with deep concern in her eyes. Derpy followed the purple pony inside, the door closing behind her.
"Woah, Twilight, who's that?" came a voice from somewhere in the room. A tiny baby dragon bounded out from behind a stack of books, running over to look up at Derpy. "And why's she all muddy and stuff?"
"Spike, be nice. I found her lying in the mud outside... she looked lost," Twilight said, turning to Derpy. She smiled warmly, trying not to stare at her. "So, erm, are you alright? Why were you outside in the storm? Didn't you know there was one scheduled today?"
Derpy shook her head sadly. "I, um, I'm uh... lost, yeah," she said after some hesitation. Twilight tilted her head slightly.
"Well, okay, where do you live, then?" Twilight asked.
"Um... well, see, I don't uh... remember," Derpy replied quietly, her voice trailing off on the last word.
"You don't what? I didn't quite catch that."
"I don't have a home anymore."
Twilight turned her head back to look at Spike, who merely shrugged. "Well, it's getting rather late... do you want to stay the night? I'd be more than happy to help you find a place tomorrow, but..."
Derpy hung her head, wiping the tears from her face with a hoof. She was determined not to cry in front of her gracious hosts. "I don't want to impose..."
Twilight beamed happily. "Oh, it's no trouble at all! I couldn't just leave you out there in the rain! Now then, what's your name?"
"I... my name's Derpy."
"Derpy?" Twilight looked a little confused.
"Yeah."
"My name's Twilight Sparkle. It's nice to meet you!" Twilight gave an awkward smile, shooting a glare at Spike, who had begun to snicker quietly. "And THIS is my assistant, Spike," she added, rather angrily. Spike cleared his throat, giving an exaggerated wave to Derpy.
Derpy smiled weakly. "Thanks so much... I'm sorry that I am such a burden."
"Really, it's no problem. Here, let me show you where you'll be sleeping..."
Twilight led Derpy upstairs to the bedroom, pointing casually at the guest bed. Derpy had trouble focusing on it, and she realized it was because her eyes were watering yet again. She sniffed loudly, muttering another quiet, "Thank you..." to Twilight, who nodded happily as she trotted back downstairs. Derpy felt the first hint of hapiness she had felt in years well up within her heart. She would have to try with all her might to not mess this up... like she always did.
