Derpy, along with Fancypants and Fleur-de-Lis, toured around town for around two hours. Canterlot was a beautiful place, but it somehow lacked cheer. It didn't matter much, since she would live a serious life from now on.

  "And that's pretty much the whole city of Canterlot for you.", said Fancypants, as the tour came to an end. "Now, we're off to buy you a house. Any special requests?"

  "I'm hungry.", said Derpy, in an innocent tone.

  "That's not what I meant... but if you're feeling hungry, I know a really good restaurant we can go."

  The restaurant was modeled after an ancient culture, so it looked pretty fancy. Derpy gulped at the sight of such a serious and cultured cityfolk. Everypony was completely silent, and the only sounds that could be heard were those of table utensils and classical music.

  The trio sat on a table for three, close to the band performers. A couple seconds later, menus were handed for two of them. Fleur-de-Lis decided to let Derpy take it first.

  "So...", said Fleur-de-Lis. "... what are you hungry for, Derpy?"

  "There are lots of good options here.", said Fancypants. "Would you like some onion soup, or maybe some steak au poivre?"

  "Gesundheit.", said Derpy, managing to get a chuckle from the gentle stallion.

  "It's the name of the dish. Do you want that, or do you want something else?"

  "French fries."

  "... just that? Do you want anything along with it?"

  "Maybe some onion soup, and a chocolate chip muffin."

  "Okay..."

  "Maybe she's not used to our culture yet.", said Fleur-de-Lis.

  After a few minutes (their food hadn't arrived yet), Derpy felt a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't the restaurant, or her two new Canterlot friends. Something didn't feel right... at least to her.

  "Is something wrong?", asked Fleur-de-Lis. "You seem uncomfortable."

  "I don't know...", said Derpy. "... something here doesn't feel too good."

  "Maybe some music will make you feel better.", said Fancypants. "There's a jukebox over there, just pick the song you want."

  "Jukebox, eh?"

  Derpy went over to the jukebox thingy on the corner, and started digging through all the songs available. Most of them were classical tunes, but she eventually found a few good songs, even a few polkas. However, Derpy felt like making a good first impression, so she had quite a hard time deciding which song to pick... until she found the perfect song. She then played that song and went back to her table, with an innocent smile.

  "What kind of music do you like?", asked Fancypants.

  "Just wait.", said Derpy, keeping her smile.

  Pee Wee Hunt - 12th Street Rag

  The song ended at the same time as the food had arrived. While the fancy couple started eating, Derpy looked at the other tables, who were looking back at her with a somehow-approving look. She waved at them, only to get waved back at. She then giggled quietly as she started to eat as well.

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  Twilight, Pinkie and Rarity were walking down the road to Canterlot. They had started their journey two hours ago, and both unicorns were feeling tired from all that walking. Pinkie Pie was as determined as ever. It wasn't because of Derpy. She would stop at nothing to save any of her friends. The trio stopped at a park bench, similar to the one in the Derpy & Petherick scene.

  "Why didn't we just use a carriage?", asked Rarity. "It would be a much faster travel."

  "Well, we shouldn't let anypony know that we're doing this.", said Twilight.

  "Besides, we get to talk about more stuff!", said Pinkie Pie.

  "Yeah, let's talk about... what?"

  "Could you imagine how unfitting it would be to see Derpy in Canterlot?", said Rarity. "I mean, such a prejudiced pony wouldn't have a good impression at all."

  "Who knows?", said Pinkie. "Maybe she's better off there."

  Twilight sighed, remaining silent for very few minutes.

  "... you know...", said Twilight. "... every time I'm feeling down, or when it feels like I shouldn't even get out of bed, just seeing her fly around, without a care in the world, makes me feel better about the day. Makes me wish I could get under her skin for just one day."

  "Why would you want to get under one's skin?", asked Pinkie Pie, with a confused look. "That's just plain gross."

  "She didn't mean it literally.", said Rarity. "And I've got to agree with her. What also makes me happy is that I'm the one who gave her her first piece of clothing. The poor thing never gets invited to formal parties like Celestia's welcome party... and when she does, she gets kicked out of town."

  "Yeah.", said Twilight. "Why would Princess Celestia do something like that? As far as I know her..."

  "You see?", said Pinkie Pie. "Everypony loves Derpy somehow."

  "You do a little more."

  "Haha, anyway... I don't get why everypony keeps prejudicing her like they did at the party. We didn't win anything by kicking her out. She just wanted to have a good time. Did you see the way she played with that dustball? She didn't mean to wreck the whole place."

  "Twilight, what did you mean by 'do a little more'?", asked Rarity.

  "We'll explain everything on the way.", said Twilight. "I think we're ready to continue."

  "Let's find Derpy!", said Pinkie Pie, jumping out of the bench and skipping along the road, while the two unicorns followed behind.

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  "Derpy, this is your new house.", said Fancypants, as Derpy opened the door to her brand new home. It was a tad bigger than her old house, and it looked far fancier as well.

  "Nice.", commented Derpy.

  "It belonged to our old neighbor, Smartypants.", said Fleur-de-Lis. "He moved out to Manehattan due to one of his usual wit battles with Fancypants, and he left this property of his at a fairly low price."

  "I'm glad he moved out.", said Fancypants, holding a grudge against his neighbor.

  "Well, thanks, guys.", said Derpy. "I think I'm gonna lay down for a while."

  "By the way, there's going to be a party at this French-cultured restaurant down the block. Can we invite you?"

  "... a formal event?"

  "If that's what you call it..."

  "... sure..."

  "Is anything wrong?", asked Fleur-de-Lis. "You seem a little worried."

  "Nothing... nothing. I suppose it would help me practice my socializing skills, or something."

  The couple let out a few chuckles and giggles, thinking it was some kind of joke.

  "Okay, we'll get you by 8:00.", said Fancypants, as both unicorns went out the door.

  "Oh, brother...", sighed Derpy, as she laid down on her bed and fell asleep. Next Chapter: Rivals Estimated time remaining: 23 Minutes