Pinkie Pie walked over to Derpy's house in the next morning, feeling sorry for what had happened yesterday. It wasn't Derpy's fault... it was, actually, but she didn't mean to do it. She'd never expect Princess Celestia to just kick her out of town like that. She wasn't like that at all. Where was the kind-hearted alicorn that everypony respected and loved? Why would she do such a thing to such an innocent, defenseless creature? It didn't matter now.

  Arriving at Derpy's house, Pinkie Pie knocked on the door. It took around thirty seconds for the door to finally open. Derpy was at the other side, wearing the same blue dress from two days ago. Her eyes were reddish, as if she had been crying recently.

  "Oh...", said Derpy, in a gloomy tone. "... hi there, Pinkie Pie. Come in."

  Pinkie Pie wiped her hooves before going inside, to see one of the cleanest places she had ever seen.

  "How did this place get so squeaky-clean?", asked Pinkie Pie, rather impressed.

  "Well...", said Derpy. "... this house is on sale, so I thought I'd set it up for whoever's willing to buy it... can you help me pack up?"

  "About that... Derpy, I beg you, please don't move away! You're one of my very very very best friends, you can't just go like that! If you're moving away, then I'll move away as well."

  "But you have friends around here. Lots and lots of friends. A stupid pony like me only has one friend, and that would be you."

  "You're not stupid. Although you're not very smart... and you tend to be a little clumsy sometimes."

  "YOU'RE NOT HELPING."

  "Sorry, I'm really sorry. What I'm trying to say is, you're still one of the wisest ponies I know. You may not look like one, but I think you're a true genius."

  "I really appreciate your help, Pinkie, but fate can't be changed. They're Princess Celestia's orders, and I can't disobey them. Now, would you help me pack up?"

  "... okay."

  Derpy and Pinkie went to her bedroom, to find an empty bed with only a pillow on top of it.

  "... I guess I don't have anything to bring along.", said Derpy, with an unsincere chuckle.

  "Does that mean you're... moving out already?", asked Pinkie Pie.

  "Well... yeah. I guess this is goodbye for now."

  Pinkie let a few tears flow across her cheeks, as the two sad ponies went outside.

  "Let's hope you make some more friends in another town.", said Pinkie, with an unsincere smile.

  "Yeah...", sighed Derpy. "... it's been a great time with you and the other guys. I hope we can meet again sometime."

  Derpy started walking to the road, before Pinkie stopped her by walking in front of her.

  "Pinkie, I should be going now.", said Derpy, with a frustrated tone.

  "Before you go...", said Pinkie. "... I'd like to give you something... as a goodbye gift."

  "... what is it?"

  Pinkie Pie leaned over to give Derpy the warmest, friendliest, sincerest hug she had ever gotten. Derpy started to tear up as well, and hugged her friend too. It was a really sad moment, but the friendship contained in it helped make it bearable. They hugged for what felt like forever, until Pinkie finally decided to let go. Her face was soaking wet, just like Derpy's face. They both smiled as they realized how much of a friendship they had. They were, like, best friends forever, or something.

  "See if you can move to a better place.", said Pinkie Pie, sincerity contained in her smile.

  "A magical, far away place.", joked Derpy.

  "Where the sun is always shining and the air smells like warm root beer."

  "And the towels are oh-so-fluffy!"

  "Haha, okay. I think you should go then."

  "Bye, Pinkie. It was nice knowing you."

  Pinkie waved at her cross-eyed friend, who hovered towards the road leading out of Ponyville, still with her blue dress on.

  "Don't forget to write!", said Pinkie Pie, feeling a bit happier about all this.

  "I won't!", said Derpy, feeling the same thing.

  Pinkie stared at her for a while, as she hovered into the horizon. It was a pretty sight, somehow.

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  In the early night, Derpy sat down on a park bench, after she had traveled all day, with no place to go. The sky was still dark blue, and the road was pretty much empty. The scenery was just some random park in the middle of the road leading to Canterlot. Derpy started to cry silently, afraid of all the worst things that could happen at that moment. None of that would have happened if Pinkie hadn't invited her for that stupid party. It wasn't Pinkie's fault, though. They were great friends after all, so you'd expect something like an invitation to happen sooner or later.

  After quite some deep thinking (relatively speaking), Derpy noticed a humble-looking earth pony standing next to her with a box of chocolates on his lap. He looked friendly enough to start a conversation with.

  "... hello.", said Derpy, trying to sound friendly.

  "Oh.", said the humble earth pony. "Hello there, pretty lady."

  "My name is Ditzy Doo... but most ponies call me Derpy Hooves."

  "Name's Petherick. Most o' my companions call me Ol' Pete, for convenience's sake, and I tend to like that name better as well. So just call me Pete."

  "Okay, Pete. What are you doing around here?"

  "Y'know... headin' off to the big city, t'see if I'll get a decent job around there. How 'bout you?"

  "I'm going to Canterlot. I used to live in Ponyville."

  "Home of the Mane 6? That sounds like a good place to stay at with those heroes around!"

  "Yeah... they're great friends. In fact, I think they are the best friends you could ever have. Especially the pink one. It's a laugh a minute with her."

  "I don't get it. Why are you leaving, when you've had so much?"

  "I ruined Princess Celestia's welcome party, and she kicked me out. Now I'm here, talking to you about it."

  "Gee, that's not something Princess Celestia would do... I'm sorry for you."

  "Now I'm going to Canterlot to see if I can have a better time trying to socialize."

  "Good luck to you. Want some chocolates?"

  "Don't mind if I do!"

  Derpy took around five chocolates from Pete's box, and started chowing them down.

  "You know, I think I understand you more than you think I do.", said Pete. "No offense, but you look like the kind of person with Dittzer's syndrome. Am I right here?"

  "... yeah."

  "I have a friend that has the same condition as you. He's a wonky old fellow, and he was bullied everyday when he was in high school. I've heard he got a negative number on his SATs. He isn't good-looking, and he's kind of disgusting as well. But there is one thing that he can do better than anypony else."

  "What is it?"

  "That dude can dance."

  "Whoa."

  "And I mean dance."

  "Whoa, ho ho."

  "He looks like a total jerk. But when he walks in the door, all the ladies scream. You should see his moves, I don't know how such a boring guy like him can dance so well. And, after all those years of friendship, he has taught me a valuable lesson: it doesn't matter how dumb you are... or how clumsy you are... or how utterly stupid, retarded and ugly you are. Everypony, and I mean every stinkin' pony, has got a unique feature deep inside their souls that shows how special they are. It doesn't have to be unique, actually. It only matters, though, if it makes you truly special, and significant among all the other ponies in the room. In other words: we can all find our true qualities if we put our differences behind us... and that's all I have to say about that."

  Derpy didn't say anything for a few minutes. She was too busy crying from what she had just heard.

  "Everything okay?", asked Pete.

  "... yeah. Thanks, Pete. I'll always have a bit of hope left in my heart, as long as I know that there are ponies like you and Pinkie Pie around this world."

  "Always tryin' to help, it's what I look forward to be. You're welcome."

  "I gotta go now. You have motivated me to go forward and only stop when I reach my destination!"

  "Haha, okay! Bye, and say hello to whatever friends you get that happen to know me."

  "I will!"

  Derpy got up and flew across the road to Canterlot, stopping at nothing to reach her destination. Next Chapter: I Miss You Much Estimated time remaining: 32 Minutes