The Heart of the Outcast
A Ditzy Doo Story
By Jacoboby1
Chapter 1: “Muffins”
Ditzy was walking to school smiling happily. Mama said she was going to a school for big ponies today and she was very excited. The sun was shining and her lunchbox was filled with muffins. She couldn’t wait to eat them but Mama said she wasn’t supposed to until lunchtime. Ditzy would fly to school but mama said bad things happen when Ditzy flies. That wasn’t on Ditzy’s mind right now though; it was the big school before her.
There were a lot of ponies around her, all her age. Ditzy looked around at all of them. There were unicorns and earth ponies along with the familiar Pegasi. Ditzy was happy to see so many ponies in one place. It meant she could make lots of friends among them. Ditzy heard some ponies laughing. That must be a good sign then if this is a school where ponies could laugh. Ditzy smiled and started heading inside the building once the loud bell rang.
Ditzy looked at the paper mama gave her. She was supposed to go to the door with the same number as the one on the paper. She squinted her eyes to see the numbers when suddenly she bumped into an earth pony. A really big earth pony that looked very grumpy. Ditzy reached down to pick up the lunchbox she dropped. The earth pony looked at her, he did not look happy.
“Watch where you’re going freshman!” He growled
Ditzy didn’t look up at him as she said “Sorry, I was just tryin to read the numbers...”
That didn’t satisfy him “Why don’t you look at me freshman? Am I not good enough for you to look at?”
Ditzy tried to avoid looking at the earth pony. “I gotta go to class; Mama said I gotta go to class so please move...”
He still sounded angry “So you wanna order me around to eh? Well this’ll teach you to mess with boulder!” Ditzy felt him smack her across the face. It hurt really bad and Ditzy fell on the floor on her back. Everypony stopped to stare at her....at her now open eyes.
The earth pony looked at her in surprise “What’s up with your eyes freshman?”
Another pony said “They look all wobbly and cross”
“I think you mean Derpy”
Another pony shouted “So begins the saga of Derpy Hooves!”
Everypony laughed at her...Ditzy got on her hooves and ran out of there. It wasn’t the good kind of laughter that Ditzy’s mama made whenever she saw something funny on TV. It was the kind of mean laughter Ditzy wanted to avoid. She ran down the hall and didn’t look to see she forgot her lunch box.
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Cobalt opened his locker for the first of what would be many times this year. It may be clear now but it would soon be filled with all manner of junk by years end. He set his saddlebag inside and levitated out the books he would need for the day. He felt a hoof tap his shoulder. He turned to see a black Pegasus behind him with an icy blue mane and violet eyes. “Hey Darkcloud!”
“Hey Cobalt! Summer treat you alright?” Darkcloud said smiling. The two brohoofed and started walking on down the hallway.
“It was alright, Drama camp proved to be less than exciting though”
“You and your plays Cobalt, honestly I would think this school wouldn’t have a drama department if you haven’t taken the time to write them”
Cobalt huffed “No it wouldn’t because everypony is busy funding stormball stadiums”
“I getcha I getcha. You can’t blame us jocks for everything you know”
“I know I know I just wish this school would take their plays more seriously. I’m sorry to vent about things you have no control over”
“Hey no big, I’m used to hearing it all the time from the nerds. So what’s the newest play?”
Cobalt shrugged his blue shoulders “That’s the thing, all through drama camp I haven’t had a single idea of what I wanna write about”
Darkcloud looked over at his friend suddenly worried “Nothing? Dude if you don’t get a play idea soon...”
Cobalt nodded “I know. Principle Gunshy will cave to whatever coach Thundersky says. This means I’ll probably get the ax and the auditorium will be held in the hands of the music department”
Darkcloud shook his head “You know, most sophomores are probably thinking about grades and mares at this point”
Cobalt gave his friend a bemused expression “I already have a girl you know. Dawnbird hasn’t broke up with me yet”
“Hey, a guy can dream can't he?”
“You wish. Well speak of the moon...”
There she was: Dawnbird. A beautiful golden coated unicorn with a shining orange mane. She was a sophomore like Darkcloud and Cobalt. Cobalt and she have been dating for some time but Cobalt has never remembered her laughing so hard.
She managed to calm herself by the time she got to them “Hey guys! You’re not going to believe what I just saw!”
Darkcloud looked thoughtful for a moment “An embarrassing photo of Cobalt in pony garden?”
Cobalt looked at his friend not amused “Need I remind you I was a foal and was never told that glue was inedible”
Dawnbird shook her head “No, though that would be just as funny. I saw this freshman Pegasus come in today and she had the funniest eyes!”
Darkcloud looked at Dawnbird inquisitively “What? Were they rainbow colored or something?”
“No! They were all cross eyed like this” She screwed up her eyes trying to get them to face opposite directions. “She wouldn’t even look at Boulder she was so embarrassed by them it was hilarious”
Cobalt looked at Dawnbird “Did you get her name?”
“No, but Trickspin said ‘so begins the saga of Derpy Hooves!’”
Darkcloud pointed a hoof “I get it! It’s because her eyes are all funky!” They both started laughing at their newfound punching bag. The warning bell rang and the three bolted for their classes. Cobalt was just about to reach first period when he tripped over something. “Dang freshman, always leaving crap in the hall” He said trying to get up. He turned to see what he tripped over and saw it was a lunchbox. It was one of those old tin lunchboxes with the cover art long faded away.
“Somepony forget their lunch?” Cobalt said as he levitated the lunchbox to eye level. His silver eyes looked at the box and saw a message on the back of it. “If found please return to Ditzy Doo, you will be rewarded with muffins?” Cobalt shrugged and put the lunchbox inside his school bag. He then marched off to class blissfully unaware how much his life would change.
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Ditzy tried to pay attention to the teacher. It was a class about Equestria history and Ditzy had just cemented herself in it. Everypony saw her eyes back there and it would soon be all over the school. She could already hear the other classmates snickering at her. Then when the teacher wasn’t looking another student threw a wad of paper at her. Ditzy tried to ignore it but the grunt she made was audible.
The teacher looked over at Ditzy “Please be quiet during the lecture Miss Doo”
Several Ponies snickered at Ditzy getting scolded by the teacher. Ditzy didn’t mean to cause any trouble she only wanted to just get by class so she could get to her muffins. She looked at the clock, the class would be over soon and she could go on to the next one. Then one more after that meant muffin time!
Ditzy then realized something! She left her lunchbox back in the hallway! Somepony probably picked it up and used ate her muffins! Ditzy raised her hoof to get the teacher’s attention.
The teacher turned “Yes Miss Doo?”
Ditzy looked at the teacher trying not to hear the snickers around her. “I uh...teacher I lost my lunch earlier...could I go get it?”
The teacher raised an eyebrow at the unusual request “You can get it after class”
Ditzy sighed and slid back in her chair. That would mean somepony would run off with the muffins. The excitement she had for school earlier dropped like an anvil. She wanted to go home but she knew Mama wouldn’t like that. Mama told her to be tough and brave through school. Mama was right of course, Ditzy just had to be brave.
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“Do you know anyone by the name of Ditzy Doo?” Cobalt asked Stillsail. Stillsail was his favorite teacher. He was the ponish teacher at the school and its drama director. Stillsail was an older earth pony with a white coat and a short mane that looked like a Mohawk.
“Not that I know of, I don’t think I have her in class. I teach sophomores and juniors this year, not freshmen”
Cobalt levitated the lunchbox out of his school bag. “See I was hoping to give this to this Ditzy. Apparently she lost it and I want to hand it back to her”
Stillsail smiled “Always the kind helper Cobalt...Well if I see her I’ll tell her you’ve got her precious lunch box”
Cobalt nodded “Thanks sir, I’d better get to third period now...”
Stillsail held up a hoof “Before you do, have you got any ideas of what you wanna do this year for the play?”
Cobalt shook his head. “Nothing yet...I’m sorry”
Stillsail smiled “Well when you overcome writer's block let me know. Now get to class before I have to report you”
Cobalt made a mock salute “Yes sir!” He walked off, Stillsail chuckling behind him.
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Ditzy sat on the steps in front of the school. It was lunchtime, she could tell because the numbers said it was. But she didn’t have a lunchbox and no lunchbox meant no muffins. Ditzy searched the whole school for it before a teacher said she had to go to class. She wanted to go home but the teacher said Mama had to call. Mama wouldn’t want to hear about what happened today.
Why’d she have to show everypony her darn eyes! So what if they were weird!? It didn’t mean she was that much different from anypony else...right? Right now those eyes that caused her so much grief were filled with tears. She cried for a long time, she was just so confused and hurt. She shook her head; Mama wouldn’t want her to cry over something as stupid as this.
She reached into her school bag and pulled out a bubble bottle. When Papa was around he would always blow bubbles whenever Ditzy was sad. Ditzy unscrewed the bottle’s lid with some effort and began blowing the bubbles. Suddenly she felt better just watching them float off. They didn’t have to worry about being made fun of. Everypony enjoyed looking at them for the short time they were there. Ditzy wished one day to be like the bubbles, just capable of flying away when life got things down on her. She smiled and laughed as one of the bubbles popped as it landed on her muzzle. Okay, maybe today might not be so bad after all.
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Cobalt was getting worried. Three teachers and nopony had seen the pony since lunchtime began. The pony was probably mad that her lunchbox was missing. Cobalt looked out a window that's when he saw the weirdest thing He’s seen all day. There was a Pegasus: grey as a raincloud with a blond mane sitting on the school steps. She was blowing bubbles and watching them with a strange childlike wonder. Cobalt couldn’t help but smile at her. She seemed so innocent just sitting there blowing those bubbles.
“Maybe she knows where Ditzy Doo is” Cobalt said to himself. He took off down the stairs and out of the school. He walked up to the Pegasus and smiled “Hi there!”
The Pegasus leaped out of her skin and into the air. She fumbled with her bubble bottle and screwed the lid back on. She was about to take off when Cobalt stopped her by standing in front of her intended escape route. She looked at the ground when Cobalt started talking. “I’ve never seen you around before, what’s your name?” He was just saying it to be polite but also to take care of his own curiosity.
She didn’t answer at first just kinda said: “Ditzy Doo...”
“Ditzy Doo! Are you the one who owns this lunchbox?” He levitated the lunchbox in front of her. She lifted her face to look at it. Her crossed eyes were aglow with happiness.
“My lunchbox! You found it!” She took it then hugged Cobalt with her front legs.
Cobalt broke away from the Pegasus’ embrace and smiled at her. “It was nothing really, I just saw it on the ground and I was hoping to get it back to you”
She smiled back at him then opened her lunchbox and retrieved a muffin. She held it out for Cobalt. “Reward muffin! For finding my lunchbox!”
“Uh, thank you” He politfully took the muffin. She looked at him expectantly. Only now did Cobalt notice her crossed eyes. He thought “Didn’t Dawnbird say a pony had derp eyes at our school? Could this be her?”
She looked at him then frowned “Are you gonna eat it?”
Cobalt snapped out of his train of thought “Oh yeah, sure” He took a bite of the muffin. It wasn’t bad to be sure could use some blueberries in all honesty. He smiled at Ditzy who returned it with glee.
“I’m glad you like it! Mama worked very hard to make them!”
“Thanks, they are very good Ditzy”
She raised an eyebrow “Not Derpy?”
“I’m sorry?”
She looked crestfallen for a moment “Everypony else calls Ditzy Derpy”
He shook his head “Then I’ll fix things” He held out a hoof “I’m Cobalt Masquerade”
Ditzy looked at him for a long time then met his hoof with her own “Ditzy Doo...”
“There, now nopony will be able to get your name wrong now that somepony knows it” Cobalt smiled.
Ditzy smiled in turn “You’re weird Cobalt. Will you be my friend?”
Cobalt nodded “Sure Ditzy, I’ll be your friend. You sure look like you could use one”
At that is what started this story. This is a tale about those on the outside. Not everypony can see beyond their own little world. For the few that are outside of that world, they are the outcasts. This is the story of them, those who are there but never acknowledged. Those who you see every day but only acknowledge just to make fun of them. There is a heart in everypony, now you to will see the heart of the outcast.
