RRRRIIIIIINNNNNG! RRRRIIIIIINNNNNG! Derpy awoke as the loud, unmistakable sound of an alarm clock rang in her ears. As her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room (Well, as much as they could when they both insisted on going in opposite directions), she rolled out of bed and wasted no time putting a hoof down to shut the thing up again.
Her job as a mailmare required her to be up before the sun, starting her route around six O'clock, and sometimes earlier.
Derpy didn't mind having to be up so early though, because it meant that when she finished her rounds a little past noon, she had the rest of the day to herself.
Making her way into the kitchen, she picked up the brown paper bag that she had prepped the night before, containing three fresh-baked blueberry muffins; Her breakfast, lunch, and dinner. stopping by the door, she tossed the bag into her work satchel and threw it over her shoulders.
Derpy hummed to herself as she trotted along happily down the path to the PonyVille Post Office. Upon her arrival, she opened up her satchel and took out her rations, setting them down on the counter that separated the back of the post office from the front. She looked at the clock, closing one eye and forcing the other one towards it. Five Thirty. She smiled, knowing she had enough time to enjoy her breakfast.
Derpy squinted, holding an envelope inches from her face and trying to make out the address on the first letter she was tasked with delivering. They were always more difficult to make out in the early morning, but the mail schedule didn't have time to wait until Celestia felt like bringing the sun out. She had to make do with what she could make out from the little light the moon provided.
"Three Zero..." - She strained her eyes harder - "Three Zero... Sailboat?"
She moved her gaze downward, hoping that the street name would be easier.
"Fried chips lane? Is that what that says?", Derpy wondered aloud, her confusion becoming more and more visibly apparent.
After a few more moments of staring, her eyes widened.
"Oh!", She exclaimed loudly as the realization hit her.
"Three Zero Four Friendship Lane! I know that one!"
She giggled to herself as she placed the envelope back into her satchel, making sure to keep it close to the small box that was to be delivered alongside it. She unfurled her wings and slowly began to gain altitude. When she reached a height that enabled her to see the very top of the town hall, she began flying forward with a determination that showed that she knew exactly what house she was headed to.
She arrived at her target destination a few minutes later, allowing herself to glide down and hoping that she could make a smooth landing. Unfortunately, a small gust of wind made her lose balance a few inches from the ground, and she went tumbling forward into the dirt.
she groaned, starting to stand back up slowly and shaking off as much as she could.
Luckily, she was used to these kinds of fumbles and had made sure all of the mail she was carrying was secured as tightly as possible to prevent any letters from going astray when things like this happened, which was pretty much a daily occurrence.
After briefly readjusting her saddlebag, Derpy looked up at the house in front of her. It was a fairly modest house, with daisies laid out on a flowerbed on each side of the front door. As she walked up to it, she made sure to stop for a second to smell them. After savoring the flowery aroma, she raised a hoof and knocked. This delivery was confirmation required, which meant that she had to get the signature of the recipient before she left any items.
A friendly, mint-green unicorn with the cutie mark of a lyre opened the door.
"Good morning derpy!", Lyra said, clearly trying to present herself as more awake than she was.
"Morning! Mail's here!", Derpy replied happily. She presented Lyra with a clipboard, on which was a piece of paper with a highlighted field for her signature. Lyra ignited her horn, taking the quill that was loosely attached to the board in her magic and elegantly signing her name in a fancy script that Derpy assumed she had to have learned in Canterlot. After placing the clipboard back into her saddlebag, Derpy pulled out the envelope and the small cardboard box that was addressed to Three Zero Four Friendship Lane and set them down in front of Lyra.
"Thanks!", Lyra exclaimed, clearly unable to hide her excitement for whatever was in the box in front of her.
"You're welcome!", derpy replied as she turned and trotted back down the road.
Stopping at the end of the short pathway that led up to Lyra and Bon Bon's house, Derpy stopped to take a look at the next address she needed to stop by. This one was much easier to make out - by now the sun had been raised, making everything warm and clearly visible.
Derpy once again held the envelope square in front of her face, reading aloud the address.
"Seven Six Three Harmony Avenue... That's right next to my house!", Derpy exclaimed as she happily took off again in the direction of the home directly to the right of hers.
Upon arriving at the next house, and nailing the landing this time, Derpy took out the letter she needed and placed it neatly into the mailbox directly outside of the home of her neighbor. As she was about to turn to leave, she noticed a young filly unicorn smiling wide and waving at her ecstatically. She waved back and giggled as she began to make her way out into the main road again.
The rest of her deliveries went more or less the same way, with her leaving packages and placing envelopes into mailboxes, occasionally getting a friendly greeting from the recipient.
After placing the last letter in the mailbox it was designated to, Derpy let out a sigh.
"All done", she said to herself quietly.
Author's Note
I wrote a story I think.
