This chapter will have some revelations as to Ditzy’s past. I tried to make a slightly unique Ditzy story, even if it is very short.

What could make Ditzy this sad? I mean, what I said wasn’t really THAT hurtful, was it?

I think to myself as I watch Ditzy cry into her hooves, occasionally stopping to wipe her tears on her hoof. I begin to tear up a bit myself, but quickly stiffen up.

NO, DO NOT CRY! You’ve watched children burn, villages get bombed, and overall, you’ve been to hell and back. Why would some candy-colored horse make you cry?

I don’t know. Now shut up, you son of a bitch.

I refocus back on the depressing scene and decide that I need to intervene and cheer her up in any way that I can. She doesn’t deserve this; nopony does, but especially not her. She’s completely innocent. It’s like that To Kill a Mockingbird book. She’s like the mockingbird; she does nothing but make everypony smile.

I grab a burst of courage and emerge from the bushes, sending Ditzy into an erect state. She stares at me with a shocked and fearful look.

“What…What are you doing here?” She manages to utter, still in shock.

“I was…uhh…out for a walk.” Ditzy begins to look at me carefully, seemingly gazing into my very soul. Eventually, however, she nods in approval of my story.

“Okay, but why do you have a gun?” She gazes fearfully at the large rifle on my back.

“Critters around here can be…’disagreeable’.” I grin a little, putting on my rifle’s safety before detting it down on the grass next to me, “What I wanna know is; why are you out here in the middle of the Everfree? I mean, I saw you crying, what’s that about? Is it what I said?”

“N-No, well, maybe a little…” She frowns once again, her ears drooping down, “When you said…that…it brought up bad memories. R-Really bad memories*sob*.”

“You can tell me, I promise not to tell anypony. I wanna know what’s bothering you Ditzy.” I say, scooting until I’m sitting next to the mare, “I really care about you.” I wrap my arms around the mare, who is now sobbing lightly into my shirt.

“Y-You mean it?” She asks me in a stunned voice, eyes staring directly into mine for the first time, “I mean, n-nopony’s ever said something like that to me, ex-except my little Dinky.”

“Yeah, I mean it. I wanna know what’s bugging you, please tell me…” I say to the mare in a compassionate voice.

“W-Well, okay, but only because you’re really nice.” I smile at her and she smiles back, though her grin is missing its usual carefree feel, “It all started one day at flight school. I was only seven and I was so excited for my first year of school. I was so excited to make a bunch of friends, if only I knew…”

“They all were nice enough at first, but that all changed soon enough.” I see her begin to tear up again, but she continues regardless, “Over time, they started teasing me because I was really clumsy. I was never that good at sports, so I was always last to get picked. On top of that, they fought over who didn’t get me.” She begins to cry again and I have to comb her mane to get her to calm down, which she eventually does over the period of a few minutes. I can’t help but notice how soft her mane is; like cotton.

“You know, what I really wanna know is why the kids call you Derpy. I really haven’t heard any of the fillies I know say anything like that.” I frown as I see Ditzy’s pupils shrink to the size of, well, my pupils.

“Well, I guess you kinda deserve to know.” She is still in a state of immense depression, “Derpy…is my real name.”

“Woah, what!?!” I am shocked by this, “I don’t understand; how are you insulted by your own name?”

“Well, awhile after they started make fun of me, they came up with a new game.” She looks into the wall of trees and brush surrounding us, crying her eyes out, “They started using my name as an insult; they called anything that was lame or stupid Derpy, and…and it really hurt.” She plants her head in her hooves once more, crying. I frown and pull her in for a hug, which I enjoy. She begins to clutch to me, sobbing into my shirt.

“Ditzy, you shouldn’t be ashamed of your name. I personally think that Derpy is a great name, I like it better than Ditzy.” I tell the sniveling mare, honesty ringing off every word, “It’s beautiful, just like you.”

“Thanks Jaycee, thanks a lot for all of this.” She wipes her nose on her hoof, “Ma-Maybe you’re right; maybe I should start using my real name.”

“I think you should, everypony deserves to use their real name.” I lie on my back, staring at the sky, “I’ve got few secrets too, and I guess that you deserve to know mine.”

“What do you mean; you have secrets?” She looks at me quizzically, tilting her head, “I mean, what are they?”

“Well, about my service in the military…it wasn’t a week like I told everypony.” I frown, knowing the real length of my service, “It was a year; I was in a war for one year. I’m not really fourteen, I’m fifteen. It was hell, but it was my hell.”

“One year!?!” She exclaims, then frowns, “You were there for one year?”

“Yeah, one year of killing, planning, attacking, and bonding with my squad.” I feel a tear come through, as I have been trying to forget how long I was really there, “They were like brothers to me; they were more family to me than my real family.” I clench my fist in anger at the memory of my family.

“What do you mean by that?” Derpy’s ears droop down at this, clearly not understanding.

“My dad and my mom…I fucking hated them.” I state simply, causing the mare next to me to gasp, “My mom left me with my dad when I was only five; ran off with some other dude. I hate her for that; the stupid bitch could be dead for all I care.” I crack my knuckles, pissed at my family, “Then my dad, he blames me for everything. He started drinking awhile ago, around when I was ten. Now he beats me on a daily basis almost. That is, unless I can beat him more.”

“That’s that’s awful.” Derpy begins to sob loudly, clutching me, “Why didn’t you just tell somepony? Like the police?”

“Because I had Danny; me and him were inseparable.” I put on a determined face, “He sorta had me over all the time. His parents cared about me more than my own.”

“D-Did they know about your parents?” Derpy asks, still clinging tightly to me.

“Nah, I don’t think so. I mean, Danny did, I think.” I explain to the mare, “But he didn’t tell anyone because he sorta knew what they would do to me. I wasn’t gonna live in no foster house, especially if they live somewhere on the other side of America.”

“That’s just…so terrible.” She cries.

“Yeah, their cruelty sorta fueled my rapping motivation, though.” I say, still angry at my family, “All of my rage, my sadness, my pain; I poured it all into my rapping. I’ve actually impressed a lot of people with my skills.”

“What’s rapping?” She asks, curiosity showing through her bloodshot eyes.

“Think…lyrical poetry, but with more anger and emotion.” I explain, piquing her curiosity, “You wanna here some? I guess I could show you some Eminem.

“Okay, I guess.” She answers, “Let’s hear it.”

“This one’s called Lose Yourself, it’s by Eminem and I personally think it’s the greatest rap song ever made. It motivated me every day to keep chasing my dreams, even when the odds were against me.”

I stand up and dust myself off, ready to rap. Here we go…

(Listen)

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy

There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti

He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready

To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting

What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud

He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out

He's chokin' how, everybody's jokin' now

The clock's run out, times up, over, blow!

Snap, back to reality, oh, there goes gravity

Oh, there goes Rabbit he choked, he's so mad but he won't

Give up that easy, no, he won't have it he knows

His whole back's to these ropes, it don't matter he's dope

He knows that but he's broke, he so stagnant he knows

When he goes back to his mobile home, that's when it's

Back to the lab again, yo

This whole rhapsody better go capture this moment

And hope it don't pass him

Derpy stares at me, mouth gaping as I stream out line after line of my personal motivator. I barley have to breathe, having a so-called ‘natural talent’ for this line of work.

You better lose yourself in the music

The moment, you own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo

You better lose yourself in the music

The moment, you own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo

I stare into the sky, absorbed in the song. The lyrics pass through me and my soul, finding meaning everywhere.

His soul's escaping, through this hole that is gaping

This world is mine for the taking, make me king

As we move toward a new world order, a normal life is boring

But superstardom's close to post mortem

It only grows harder, only grows hotter

He blows it's all over, these hoes is all on him

Coast to coast shows, he's known as the Globetrotter lonely roads

God only knows he's grown farther from home, he's no father

He goes home and barely knows his own daughter

But hold your nose cuz here goes the cold water

These hoes don't want him no mo', he's cold product

They moved on to the next schmoe who flows

He nose dove and sold nada, so the soap opera is told it unfolds

I suppose its old partna, but the beat goes on

Da da dum, da dum da da da da

I ready myself for the hook yet again, loving every moment of it. The mare in front of me seems to be highly absorbed in what I’m saying, which is a good thing, because this song is extremely deep.

You better lose yourself in the music

The moment, you own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo

You better lose yourself in the music

The moment, you own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo

I waste no time in going into my favorite part of the song; the third verse. This verse, for me at least, has my favorite rap line of all time, and has more emotion than any other line.

No more games, I’ma change what you call rage

Tear this mothafuckin’ roof off like two dogs caged

I was playin’ in the beginning, the mood all changed

I’ve been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage

But I kept rhymin’ and stepwritin’ the next  ipher

Best believe somebody’s payin’ the pied piper

All the pain inside amplified by the fact

That I can’t get by with my 9 to 5

And I can’t provide the right type of life for my family

Cuz man, these goddamn food stamps don’t buy diapers

And it’s no movie, there’s no Mekhi Phifer, this is my life

And these times are so hard and it’s getting even harder

Tryin’ to feed and water my seed, plus teeter-totter

Caught up between bein’ a father and a prima donna

Baby mama drama’s screamin’ on and too much for me to wanna

Stay in one spot, another day of monotony’s

Gotten me to the point I’m like a snail

I’ve got to formulate a plot or end up in jail or shot

Success is my only mothafuckin’ option, failure’s not

Mom, I love you, but this trailer’s got to go

I cannot grow old in Salem’s lot, so here I go it’s my shot

Feet fail me not, this may be the only opportunity that I got

The mare flinched at every curse, but she seems to be taking the words to heart. She starts to bob her head a bit to the beat of the song.

You better lose yourself in the music

The moment, you own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo

You better lose yourself in the music

The moment, you own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo

I relax, inhaling and exhaling heavily. My post-performance routine is interrupted by the sound of clapping coming from Derpy. I blush a tad, scratching the back of my neck.

“That was great! You should be famous or something!” She exclaims, “I could really feel the music, I could feel the emotion. You’re great, Jaycee, you really are!”

“Heh, thanks!” I sit down next to Derpy, or at least begin to. I hear a growling come from my left, which causes Derpy to curl up in fear. Oh fuck no…

“Who’s there!?!” I take my tomahawk out of its usual spot on my belt, “Show yourself!”

The creature begins to reveal itself as it creeps out from the darkness of the forest. As the body comes into view, I can clearly see that it’s a manticore.

“Come at me bro!” I twirl my tomahawk using the hole at the base of the handle, taunting him to attack me. The beast, being angered already, lunges at me, but I am ready. I swing the tomahawk straight down on its skull, drastically slowing the momentum and killing the creature with a moist-sounding thunk.

“Heh, don’t fuck with me.” I grin as I dislodge the head of the axe. The blade starts to drip blood, so I quickly wipe it off on my shirt. I’ve got a washer at home, so whatever.

After sheathing my weapon, I turn back to a cowering Derpy. Did I scare her? I hope not. Once I start walking towards her, she opens her eyes. I continue to walk to her, until I am, once again, sitting down next to her.

“You…You killed it…” She continues to cower.

“Yeah, I sorta did. Either him or us, and I sure as hell ain’t dying at the paws of some dumbass manticore.” I grin at the mare, “And I wasn’t about to let you die either.” She seems to relax at this.

“Th-Thanks Jay, I guess I owe you one!” She goes back to her usual carefree state, surprising me, given the circumstances.

“I think we should go now, don’t wanna get jumped again.” I glace around, wary of my surroundings.

“Yeah, I don’t either.” The mare states, getting up off the ground and sticking close to me. I pick up my rifle, slinging it over my back.

“Hey, do you mind if I stay at your house tonight?” Derpy asks, making my stomach flip on the inside, “My house is gonna be really lonely without Dinky.”

“S-Sure, you can stay the night at my place.” I grin, blushing a bit. The mare simply responds by rubbing against my side in an affectionate way.

Why do I feel this way? I guess I know how Danny feels now…

I begin to walk towards the forest’s exit, Derpy by my side. Hope this doesn’t go wrong, don’t wanna screw this up.

Well, my pre-reader is on vacation at Disney World and I was too lazy to get another pre-reader, so sorry if there are any errors.

By the way, here's my newest song (Don't worry, I improved a LOT)