Differences

Derpy blinked.

It had been over ten hours since she had arrived at the forest, along with a small stuffed bunny. The toy had long ago lost its novelty, and now the only think Derpy could think about was eating. Her mind drifted to thoughts of the muffins Mommy made. They were always so perfect, and the flavors were always offset by the thought that Mommy had made them for her.

Because she loved Derpy. She had made a simple mistake, that was all. She just hadn't come for her yet, because she had a lot to do. She'd be come for Derpy soon.

"It's your fault our daughter is a retard!"

These thoughts had been filling her mind, with the raw hunger offsetting each one, when she blinked. The sky was a deep blue, and the sun was filling her vision. She must have fallen asleep, and as she blinked, trying to clear her muddled brain, she became aware of another pony, sitting nearby, watching her. She was bright, like the sun. Her coat was yellow, like Derpy's mane, and Mommy's as well, and that made her smile. The stranger's mane was a deep orange, and it reminded Derpy of the carrot raisin muffins she had sometimes.

"Hi!", said the stranger cheerfully. Derpy was taken aback by her smile. It was rare that anypony greeted Derpy without  speaking slowly and with an air of impatience. It was refreshing, but before she could get her mouth to form the words she wanted to say, the new pony continued to speak, and far too fast for Derpy to follow.

"I'm Golden Harvest, but my friends call me Carrot Top. You can call me that too. I was walking with my Mom and Dad. They said to stay with them, but they're too slow. It's not like I'll get hurt or something if I walk a little farther than them. I'm hungry. Carrots sound good right now.Why are you out here anyway?"

"Uh..." Derpy tried to say something, and her eyes traveled in opposite directions. Golden let out a musical giggle.

"Hee hee! Your eyes! They look funny!"

"Uh..." Derpy tried to speak again, but a sharp pang of hunger ripped through her insides, and tears welled up in her eyes. Golden Harvest's expression crumpled immediately.

"Oh no! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I don't always think before I say things, and it makes people feel bad, and I'm sorry, please don't cry!"

"No..," Derpy moaned, so quietly that she barely heard herself, much less Golden, who continued to spill out an apology.

"One time I lost my friend Applejack for a while because I did this, and I should have learned my lesson from that, and I'm so sorry, please-"

"Golden Harvest!"

Her rant was cut short as two ponies, a mare and a stallions emerged from the woods. The mare had the same bright coat as Golden, while the stallion's colt was a deep blue, the same as the sky. Golden trotted up to them, her head down. Derpy watched as the two berated her. After a few minutes of the lecture, the mare looked over Golden's shoulder, and her eyes fell on Derpy, then moved to her eyes and her dirty, stained coat. A flicker of understanding crossed her face and she slowly made her way to Derpy. The stallion glanced at Golden once more, then followed his wife's lead. The same expression she had worn now was fixed onto his face.

"I met her," Golden said simply. "She's um...."

"What's your name, dear?" asked Golden's mother. Derpy's eyes slowly slid back to the correct position as she tried to speak.

"Derpy," she managed.

"Where are your parents, Derpy?"

"Hungry."

"Um."

"We can fix that!" Golden Harvest chirped. "We have lots of food!" The blue stallion started to say something, but was interrupted by Golden's mother. She glanced at him, and a subtle understanding was passed between the two. He looked down, and cleared his throat.

"Um. Yesh. I mean yes. I think that's a good idea."

"It's a great idea," she agreed.

Derpy was confused. Mommy had told her never to go with anypony she did not know, but these ponies seemed so kind and friendly, and she was so hungry. She let herself be picked up by the big ponies, and closed her eyes. The last thing she was aware of was the stuffed rabbit being slipped into her mouth.

***

Derpy looked around her, awed. The family's house was enormous, painted a brilliant yellow. A large farm was visible behind the house, filled with carrots and other root vegetables. She was led into the home, and Golden Harvest giggled at Derpy's expression again, as her eyes walled to take in every single inch of the house. It was a much nicer house than Derpy was accustomed to; Mommy's house had always been stained and had a bad smell.

They placed her in a chair at a square oak table, and gave her carrots and bread and a pink juice that entranced Derpy. While she messily ate, Golden chatted on about everything that came to her mind: the school, her house, the squirrel she saw yesterday, and so forth. Derpy didn't mind. She liked to hear Golden talk passionately and cheerfully about random subjects. There had not been a large amount of cheer in her home. She reached for the glass of juice, but it slipped from her hoof and smashed on the ground. Golden immediately stopped talking and froze, staring at Derpy with a horrified expression on her face. Derpy immediately felt sweat break out on her face, and her control over her bladder failed. She tried to shrink back into her chair, because Mommy had always said when accidents happened, she will get a spanking. She could hear the ponies trotting from the living room into the kitchen, and she braced herself for the pain she knew would come, squeezing her eyes shut.

It didn't come. She opened one eye, and Golden's mother was gazing at her, but with a very pained expression. Derpy had seen it before on some of the ponies who saw her, almost as though they were about to cry but were struggling not to.

She didn't understand. The other eye opened, and while Golden's face was twisted in disgust, the blue stallion's face so resembled the look her Mommy had worn so many times. Golden's mother whispered something into his ear, and he closed his eyes, exhaling. Then she scooped Derpy up.

"I think it's time for a bath," she said smiling, and Derpy's ears perked up.

A bath meant one thing.

Bubbles.

***