Wingless ~ Part One

"Have a great day Daisy!"

"You too Derpy! Try not to collapse in any more flower beds okay?"

"You got it!" the mail-mare walked down the street, her cheeks still red in embarrassment. That's the last time I'll let Princess Twilight teleport me anywhere... Whew! Derpy shook her head vigorously, That spell really messed with my head! As she strolled down the street, the pegasus brushed off some dirt on her shoulder with her wing. I wish I didn't fall into Daisy's garden, ugh, that was so embarrassing! "Clumsy mare! Why can't you do anything right?" Derpy muttered to herself, "Daisy doesn't need another fainting episode 'cause you can't balance on your own four hooves! I mean really! It's bad enough that your eyesight is-"

"Hey! Watch out!"

All of the sudden, Derpy could feel herself being jerked back by her saddlebag. The pegasus squeaked in surprise as the jerk made her fall back on her flank. Irritably, the mail-mare looked over her shoulder, but looked back in front of her to see a herd of cattle pass. She yipped in shock and shifted backwards. "W-w-whaa?!"

"Winona! To the left girl! Big mac! You able to catch up to the front?!"

"Eeyup!"

"Get to it! We gotta stop these cows before they hit Sugarcube Corner!" A yellow filly raced next to a straying cow and shoved it back in the herd of running cows. "Catch the leading cow Big Mac!"

The commotion continued through the street, the filly's voice dying away as the herd of cattle continued its "rampage". Derpy shakily stood up and fixed her saddlebag strap. Remembering the reason for her flank being slightly sore, she looked around to see who the culprit was. "Now the hay-"

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yipe!" Derpy whipped her head around to see a unicorn standing behind her. One of the mare's hooves hung in mid air as if she had meant to poke her or something. The pegasus was about to snap at the pony for sneaking up on her, but noticed their expression seemed confused and alert. She doesn't look like she was sneaking up on me.

Realizing she hadn't said anything, Derpy faced the unicorn and gushed a bit. "Yeah, flank's a bit sore but I'm alright."

"You sure? You seemed pretty startled when those cows passed you."

"I'm fine, really." The pegasus pretended to dust something off her foreleg. "Anypony would have been startled to see a herd of cows running past you."

"If you say so... Sorry for tugging you so hard, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Oh?" Derpy tilted her head, "That was you?"

The mare smirked sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"It's okay, I should've been looking where I was going." Derpy smiled, "Thanks for saving my flank!"

The unicorn blinked, then returned the smile. "You're welcome," The pony reached her hoof out, "I'm Crystal."

Derpy hoof-bumped the pony's hoof. "I'm Derpy Hooves, nice to meet you."

"You too!"

"Wait a sec!" Derpy chuckled, noticing the purple suitcase next to Crystal. "How come I didn't think of this sooner? You're new around here, right?"

"I am," Crystal gestured slightly to her left. "I just came from the train station... Say, do you know where the 'Ponyville Apartments' complex is?"

Derpy nodded, "Yupper pupper! I'll show you the way!" The pegasus lifted herself a few inches off the ground and headed off while the mare followed levitating her suitcase. The mail-mare kept a few paces ahead of the unicorn, making sure Crystal didn't see her face. Derpy scrunched her nose, First impressions Derpy. Just fly straight. Don't let her know you're clumsy, She turned her head slightly to look at the unicorn. But what if she already knows? What if she'll judge me for having weird eyes? Oh no! She must think I'm a klutz with all this dirt on me from the garden! Oh Derpy! You're such a bamboozle! The pegasus gasped and looked forward again, her lip beginning to tremble. What if she's a Canterlot pony?! Is she a snob just like that one mare that visited Rarity that day?

"Is everything alright?"

Derpy looked over her shoulder to see Crystal looking at her with a concerned expression. The pegasus landed on the ground and continued walking, "Yeah, I just forgot that I still have mail to deliver." Smart excuse Derpy, now you sound like you want to leave her. Change the subject before she says anything!

"Eh, I'll take care of it later... So," Derpy lowered her pace to match the unicorn's, "You said you came from the train station, where'd ya come from?"

"The Crystal Empire."

"The Crystal Empire?!" Derpy's eyes widened, and looked at Crystal up and down. "You don't... look like you're from there."

"I know," Crystal snorted jokingly. "I get that remark a lot. I'm actually half-crystal, half-unicorn. So that's why I don't have that 'crystal' effect on my body."

"Ah, I see."

"So what about you?" The unicorn continued walking, "I noticed your eyes are a bit different from everypony else's."

Oh no! She's gonna judge! She's gonna judge!

"Is it Amblyopia or is it Strabismus?"

Wait, what?

Crystal noticed the pegasus' expression. "Oh, I'm sorry." The unicorn pulled back her ears, "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Oh no no no!" Derpy shook one of her hooves in the air. "You didn't offend me at all! I-I was just surprised."

"Surprised by what?"

The mail-mare faced forward again. "By your question." Derpy's expression began to sulk, "Normally when I meet new ponies they either just stare at my eyes or tell me how weird they look."

"Well, that's kind of stupid."

"I guess... Anyways, I think it's Amblyopia. I'm not sure honestly, heh, I keep forgetting."

"That's alright, those names do kind of get confusing... Um, do we go left or right?" Crystal stopped and looked to Derpy, the mail-mare lifted her head to see the intersection between town-square and the housing area.

Oh! I didn't think we'd get here so fast! Derpy turned to the right and pointed to Hoof Road, "Right. You go down that street and you'll see the Ponyville Apartments' sign. It'll be slightly to the right of the street but I'm sure you won't miss it."

"Okay." Crystal walked past Derpy, stopped, then looked at the pegasus. "Thanks for helping Derpy, it was nice meeting you."

"It was nice meeting you too Crystal!" The pegasus lifted herself off the ground, "If you need anything, be sure to let the office pony know you want to talk to Chilly Puddle. She's one of the best employees at the complex! And if she isn't there, ask for Lilac Links. Both of them will be able to help you with anything that relates to apartments!"

"I'll keep that in mind! Thanks again Derpy! I'll see you later!"

"Bye!" Derpy waved as Crystal walked down the street, keeping her suitcase close to her. After a few seconds, the pegasus took a letter out of her saddlebag and read the address. "Golden Harvest. Well, that's not far from here!" The mail-mare bit the letter and flew away towards town-square.