Derpy Hooves flew away from the house when she saw Octavia step into the yard. There was a tearful smile on her face, crossed golden eyes brimming with liquid. She'd delivered the letter that would bring a family together again and she felt proud; this was one of the perks to her job. On quiet wings she flew back to her home in Ponyville, wincing as her wing stiffened up. She landed and rubbed it with a hoof, letting out a soft grunt. "That's not gonna be fun tomorrow..." She murmured, flinching as memories of what had happened flashed inside her mind. Blue eyes full of anger and regret, a stallion's voice crying for her to come back and the racing of her own hooves as she fled, a bundle held securely in her mouth.
Shaking off the wretched memories, Derpy entered her house and noticed her daughter asleep on the couch. A soft smile lit her face and she scooped up her daughter, placing her gently on her grey back. She put Dinky Doo to bed and smiled warmly, tucking her in and giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight my little muffin." She whispered sweetly, closing the door as she exited.
Derpy walked into the living room and saw a letter on the table. With a quick hoof she snatched it up and sat down on her couch, opening the seal and pulling out the letter. She instantly recognized the stylish scrawl and dropped the letter like it burned her hooves, eyes wide with horrible memories. She looked at her wing, seeing the old scar his strike had left, the scars his teeth had made. With hesitant hooves she picked up the letter and opened it fully, fearful eyes reading the first two words,
Dearest Derpy,
As she read on, every unwanted memory of that stallion flooded into her mind. Tears brimmed at the edges as she was forced to see it all again, everything she wanted to forget. She knew she should burn this letter, she should just leave it to collect dust and rot or throw it away, but something deep inside her heart compelled her to read on, to see what her old coltfriend had to say,
If you're reading this, then that young colt Pipsqueak was kind enough to deliver my letter to you. I know that you'll want to burn this letter or you'll leave it to rot, but please, let me say something.
I'm sorry.
I know that I can never make it up to you. I know I can never go back in time and fix the mistakes I've done, undo all harm that came to you on my behalf. I'm a greedy, stupid stallion who never deserved your love. I wronged you so much, but you tried so hard to make me happy and treated you like dirt. I even had the nerve to strike you for no good reason.
Please Derpy, please don't ignore this letter.
For the past five years I've sat and watched from my old rundown house, too afraid to venture into the light of day. Everypony knows what I did and they hate me, whenever I leave my house I get set upon by shouts and insults, I deserve it all. You were the most amazing thing that ever happened to me and I treated you like a burden. Then you introduced me to your daughter Dinky Doo and I made the most unbelievable assumption.
I assumed you were cheating on me and had had sex with another stallion...
Derpy Hooves walked up to Time Turner, a tiny foal resting on her back. "Timey, this is my daughter Dinky Doo," She turned to the side so that he could fully see her child, a proud smile on her face, "Say 'hi' Dinky!" She cooed, giggling when her daughter waved a tiny purple hoof in the direction of the stallion.
Confused rather than happy, Time Turner looked at Derpy. Behind his eyes there was anger, but he wouldn't let it out just yet. "You have a daughter? Why didn't you tell me before? Where's the father?" The last question was spat out like venom, but he controlled himself and looked at her with slightly chilled blue eyes.
Derpy shrank back a bit. "She's just a couple months old and you never really brought anything about it up and I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. I was ma-" She was cut off as his hoof pressed against her lips, silencing. She turned her crossed, fearful gaze to his suddenly cold and angry face, shrinking even more.
Turner glared down at her and took his hoof away. "Do you mean to tell me there's another stallion? You had a foal with another stallion and never told me? Derpy I take you for a kind and caring mare, not some... some cheater!" His voice increased in volume and he stomped his hoof, starting to lose himself to his anger.
Derpy gasped and flared her wings, protecting the precious filly on her back. "I didn't cheat on you Time Turner! If you'd let me explain then-" She was cut off when a hoof was thrown in her direction and she ducked, eyes filling with tears. She looked at the enraged stallion and her walled eyes grew cold. "You... You're nothing but a jerk." She hissed venomously at him.
The brown stallion lifted a hoof, aiming at the mare. "LIAR!" He roared, bringing it down as hard as he could.
Derpy moved to the side, but not quickly enough.
Rather than a small foal, Turner's hoof came down on a soft and feathery appendage.
And her screams filled his ears.
Something inside his fury snapped and the flames were extinguished. He opened his blue eyes and saw her wing pinned beneath his hoof. The little unicorn filly tumbled and began crying, flailing her hooves as she searched for her mother. Blood started to seep from her wing, beneath his hoof. His eyes widened in horror and he quickly pulled away, regret filling his blue orbs.
Derpy screeched in agony and sobbed, tears sticky and hot as they ran down her face. Her wing was clearly broken, badly. Splinters of bone had torn through her flesh, the bone was broken clear in half. There was blood leaking from the wound and the imprint of a clearly etched into the feathers and flesh, a scar that would never leave. She stood up and picked up her daughter, wing uselessly at her side. "We're over." She snapped through her crying daughter and tears.
"Derpy I-I-"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
He took a step away and gaped at her as tears flew from her eyes. "I'm so-"
"NO." She snapped eyes cold with pain and anger. But in those golden irises, he saw hurt. He saw sadness and anguish and despair. "I have a foal because I had a husband. But my husband died, he was killed in a storm. My foal was the only thing I had to look forward to because I wanted to DIE. I wished I was dead, but I had a foal to give birth to. And then I did and she looked so much like him. Her father's name was Written Script." With that she ran past him, brushing blood onto his pelt.
Blood he had drawn.
I was in jail for several months after that and when I came home, my windows were broken and graffiti was all over my house. I'd been robbed and I was yelled at by everypony in town.
I got what I deserved.
But throughout these five years we've been apart, I've grown to miss you. I miss you so much Derpy Hooves, if you would give me another chance it'd make this worthless waste of flesh happier. I regret everything I've done to you. I'm sorry. I'm more sorry than anypony could ever be. I know you didn't cheat on me. I was an inconsiderate, horrible coltfriend.
Please-
Derpy was crying hard by now, but the tears that made the rest of the ink run were not her own. She heard something knock on her door and she put the letter down. "Come in!" She called. The sound of the door creaking open, followed by the sound of rain before the door closed and hoofsteps coming closer. She turned around to see her visitor, but was surprised when a drenched bouquet of white roses fell onto her lap.
Crossed golden orbs met bright blue ones.
A disheveled, exhausted and unhealthy Time Turner faced her. He looked at the ruined end of his letter and back at her, seeing the tears in her eyes. "Please, won't you take me back?" He finished the letter and looked at her with hopeful eyes.
"NO!"
When his mind caught up with his body, he was outside int he pouring rain again, chasing after the fleeing Derpy. His eyes widened when her hoof slipped and he took an impressive leap, catching her before she hit the ground. He looked into those golden eyes, those beautiful eyes that always haunted his mind. He looked deep into them, seeing her fear and right into her soul. "Derpy please. You don't have to go out with me again, I'm a fool for thinking you'd want me anywhere near you. Please accept my apology at least, if you do I'll never come near you again. All I want is your forgiveness, I've needed it for the past five years. If I could change the past, I'd never have done this to you. This is all my fault and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ever did anything to you and I promise I'll never hurt you again. Forgive me, Derpy Hooves.
Forgive me... Ditzy Doo."
Derpy's eyes widened. Nopony had called her that for five years. She'd just gone with the name Derpy, signing things with that name and referring to herself as that, but she hadn't been called by her birth name since... Since she had left him.
In the pouring rain, two pairs of lips met as the pegasus forgave the earth pony.
~~~~~
Ditzy walked back into her house, Time Turner at her side. They were both thoroughly drenched, manes sopping and dripping with rain water.
Dinky Doo instantly ran to her mother and hugged her. "Mommy! I heard yelling and crying and when I came out you were gone! I was so worried!" She wailed, clinging to the warmth of Ditzy's chest for dear life. She seemed to notice the stallion and turned to him, eyes wide. "Who's this mommy?" She asked.
Ditzy smiled and ran a hoof through her daughter's blonde mane. "This is my coltfriend Time Turner. He met you when you were just a tiny little couple month old foal. One day... He might be your father." She explained.
Dinky hugged Turner and looked at him with shining golden eyes. "Hi... Um... Maybe-daddy!" She squealed, nuzzling his neck.
Time Turner looked at Ditzy with tear filled eyes, biting his lip. His marefriend joined the hug and the little family was brought together, both adults trying to hide the tears of happiness rolling down their faces from the filly.
~~~~~
Pipsqueak entered the orphanage, a little smile on his pinto face. He had successfully delivered the letter for Time Turner, though he hadn't the slightest clue why the stallion didn't want to deliver himself. Something about an apology. Maybe they got into a fight? He hadn't the slightest clue. The small colt ran inside, sheltering from the rain.
"And just where were you?"
Busted.
Pipsqueak turned around and faced the disappointed gaze of the orphanage's head mistress, Pepper Sprinkle. The elderly mare was pale brown in color with a long black mane and silver-rimmed glasses that she stared down at him through, grey eyes questioning.
"I was helping Time Turner deliver a letter. My apologies for not telling you ma'am." The little colt bowed low to the ground, reciting the apology he'd used so many times.
"Just don't let it happen again. A letter was left for you, it's on your bed. Goodnight Pipsqueak."
Instantly the little colt brightened and charged into his room with all the speed of a torpedo. He jumped onto his bed and rummaged through his now messy sheets to find the letter. He pulled it out of hiding and tore off the seal with haste, tearing a clean hole in the envelope in the process. He quickly opened the letter and looked at it with bright eyes, wondering who could've sent him this letter,
Our most cherished Pipsqueak,
