Monsoon
By Arcelia
The cold, wet drops of rain showered the pony in their miserable downpour before filling in the cracks beneath her. Through the stone they ran, before dripping to the ground below. With only her little blue umbrella to cover the small portion of her back and head, she sat there, watching as a little lady bug crawled its way to cover.
Her eyes cast down to her little companion which now sat by her side, taking shelter under her umbrella. But the lady bug’s efforts were aimless, for the large holes in her parasol gave way to the water that fell from the sky.
She looked up at the eternal grey above, not one bit of sunshine came through the thick layers of clouds that covered the sky. Derpy sat there and thought about all the ponies who had come this way before her. All the curious little fillies who had gazed up at this magnificent statue and wondered who it depicted. It was a question that so few knew the answer to, if only…
Perhaps, in the centuries that were to pass, ponies would find this figure carved from stone and try to identify them. If she stayed here forever, would they find her too? Would they think she was an important pony? Would they think she held an important correspondence to the statue? Or would they see it as a mere coincidence?
Derpy wondered if somepony would ever carve a statue of her someday, so that she could be forever remembered as somepony who made a difference. Somepony worthy of remembering. Or perhaps, she would die and only ever be the simple little mare that delivered ponies' mail. The pony who could never quite figure how to fly in a straight line and sometimes sent packages to the wrong address. Maybe there was nobility in humility.
Despite working everyday but Sunday and despite the fact that she was the only pony who could deliver the mail, Derpy still felt... unappreciated. Anytime something went wrong, it was always her fault. It didn’t matter if she had nothing to do with the reason a package hadn’t arrived on time, or the mail cart that came down from Canterlot having a broken wheel. She always took the blame.
Which is precisely why she had decided to take a day off. She didn’t care that it was Tuesday morning and everypony wanted their newspaper, she didn’t care if somepony got their bills a day late. She just needed a day to sit out in the pouring rain and enjoy the company of a tiny insect.
A warm, happy feeling grew in her heart and somehow, she knew that she was doing the right thing. Like some part of her was finally letting go, finally being released. Whether or not she would be remembered wasn’t important anymore, what was important was her being satisfied with her existence. Her place in the world and how she played a part in the overall grand scheme of things. Which was mostly to deliver ponies mail. But maybe that was okay, maybe she could be happy with that.
After all, there was no need for recognition, just the appreciation of one pony. To know that just one pony saw the efforts she put in and appreciated them.
Along the path, a tall, figure approached in the distance. Her eyes peered to see who it was, but the heavy fog shrouded the pony in a grey mist. Derpy sat and waited, hoping that she had not disturbed the spirit that resided within the marvelous statue.
“I thought I might find you out here.” spoke a voice.
Derpy’s gaze shifted from the ground up to the pony standing before her. “P-Princess Celestia?”
“I apologize for startling you, but I thought you could use some company,’ she said, her eyes fixating on the little lady bug that rested on the stone. ‘I see you’ve made a new friend.”
She looked down at the insect. “Oh. Why yes I have, Your Majesty.”
Princess Celestia smiled at her, filling the mare with a glow warmer than the sun. “Well, I’m certainly glad to see it. I’ve always liked seeing my subjects make new friends, pony or not.”
“Um, if you don’t mind me asking, your highness, why are you out here anyway? Shouldn’t you be inside doing important princess stuff?”
The princess’s eyes saddened and as she turned away from Derpy. “To be perfectly honest with you, it’s not everyday I get to visit my subjects. So finding a pony like yourself sitting out here in the garden, it’s... unusual," she turned back to face Derpy. "It takes a rather special pony to want to be out here in the pouring rain. So what has brought you all the way out here today, Derpy?” she asked, gazing into the mare’s bright yellow eyes.
Derpy started at the ground, her eyes darting back and forth. “Well...I...I just felt like I needed to be alone.” her head drooped.
“Now why would somepony as warm and caring as you, ever feel the need to be alone? Besides, don’t you have lots of wonderful friends back in Ponyville who all love you and support you?”
“Yes, your majesty. But I don’t feel like anypony appreciates me.”
Princess Celestia rested her hoof beneath the mare’s chin, before bringing Derpy’s gaze to meet her own. “Derpy, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and my subjects over the years. If it weren’t for you, ponies wouldn’t receive their mail. Nor would they have a special mare like you to call their friend. You may not think that you’re important, but you are.”
Derpy’s eyes welled up with tears. “So how will I be remembered then?”
The princess smiled at her and said, “History has a funny way of showing us that sometimes, even the littlest pony can make the biggest difference without even realizing it.”
Wiping away her tears, Derpy beamed up at Princess Celestia. “So do you think I’ll have a statue of me carved out of stone someday?”
A light chuckle came from the princess. “We’ll have to wait and see now, won’t we?”
Derpy drooped her head. “I suppose so.”
“Now, come inside. I don’t want you catching a cold.”
“Okay…” She jumped off the statue platform and onto the cobblestone path. “Princess Celestia?” Derpy asked.
“Yes?” she replied.
She walked alongside the princess now. “What do I have to do to be remembered?”
“Hmm...I think you’ll have to figure that out for yourself.”
Derpy thought about the princess’s response. Maybe she just needed to keep being Ponyville’s trusted mailmare and let the rest work itself out. “Okay...but maybe one day somepony will find a statue of me and wonder what I did that was so important that there is a statue of me.”
“Maybe…” Princess Celestia smiled at the mare’s blissful innocence. If only she knew…
If only…
The End
Author's Note
Thanks for reading. Much appreciated. It definitely feels good to be back.
Honestly, this story hits rather close to home. I wanted to write a more personal piece, so while a lot of the time I do feel like my hard work does go unappreciated, I think that's also something many of you can relate to.
I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know your thoughts. 
~ A
