>Be Mister Anon >It’s another beautiful day in this neighborhood as you slip on your shoes and green cardigan for a nice walk >Your right foot fits snugly into the loafer but before the left foot gets its turn, a knock at the door interrupts you >”Now I wonder who that could be, maybe it’s the mailmare” >Ponies often wonder why you speak your thoughts aloud. You tell them that it’s a force of habit from your old life on Earth >Secretly, it’s to encourage them to talk about their own thoughts and feelings to you >Nopony likes to feel vulnerable if they don’t know what the other one thinks about them >Your hand turns the knob on the door and on the other side is revealed a familiar grey Pegasus with eyes that face two directions. A gentle smile forms on your face and you speak with your low voice in a steady pace, making sure to annunciations every word “Hello Ms. Hooves, how are you today?” >Ditzy always has a perpetual smile on her but it grows even wider when you start speaking >With great effort she focuses both her eyes towards you >”Hello Mister Anon! I’m doing great!” >You’ve told these ponies that it’s alright for them to just call you Anon but they still insist on adding the title. There wasn’t any issue in it, in fact you were honored that they considered you an older role model >”You’re the last one on my route today and I have a special delivery for you!” “That’s great to hear Ms. Hooves. Would you like to come inside and rest for a bit?” >”Would I!” “Would you?” >”Would I!” “Would you?” >”Would I what?” she asks with genuine confusion as her eyes go mismatched again >A small chuckle escapes your lips. The ponies in this world acted like the many children that you worked with over the years but Ms. Hooves was especially endearing. As always when working with young minds, patience was the key “Would you like to come inside and see what I ordered? >”Sure thing Mister Anon!” >You move aside as she slowly flies into your home and pass your pet goldfish to land gently on a chair next to your small kitchen table >You follow her and take a seat on the other chair in the dining room >An offer of a cold glass of lemonade was made to the Pegasus but she denies it stating that lemons were too tart for her >A thought enters your mind briefly of if Derpy knows that Lemonade is more than just water and lemons >She searches through her saddlebag before finally pulling out a small brown box that fits in the palm of your hand >”I just need you to sign right here!” >A blank piece of paper is taken out of her saddlebag as well, along with a blue crayon >You create your own X and a line to sign your name on before Derpy withdraws the sheet and wax writing utensil >Cursive was a bit too advanced for most of them to read so you made sure to sign everything in print now >The box opens easily enough, every package being designed to be opened without a knife since those were sharp dangerous tools after all >Within the packing peanuts inside the box, you pull out a long tube that had a mouthpiece and handle jutting out of it >”Wow is that a flute? I knew that you played the piano Mister Anon, but I didn’t know you played the flute too!” “Hehe, no Ms. Hooves, that is a very close guess though. This is called a slide whistle” >To illustrate the device, you close your mouth on one end blow into it >The pitch remains constant until you slide the handle forward to decrease the pitch only to move it back again to rapidly increase the pitch >Those large yellow eyes of the mailmare go wide before she bellows out laughter at the sounds that your instrument makes >After attempting an impromptu song on it, you let go of the mouthpiece to give another smile at the pony across from you “I’m happy to see that you liked to hear my slide whistle” >You wait patiently for her laughter to finally subside before she gives you a reply “Yeah, it’s funny and really silly!” >Suddenly, the jovial air around the two of you change. Derpy isn’t looking at you anymore with either of her eyes and a small frown overtakes her >Your own smile disseapears as well. >Obviously something is bothering her and it’s your duty as a neighbor to try and rectify it “You know Ms. Hooves, whenever I’m feeling bad, I like to talk about it with my friends and family to make myself feel better. Because they’d be worried about me” >Derpy focuses one eye on your green cardigan, either too nervous or distraught to make eye contact ”And right now I’m worried about you. Do you want to talk about your feelings?” >The invitation is always one that can be denied, but rarely in this land of magic and ponies is it ever sent back to the sender >You remember one time when Ms. Dash sped away after an argument with one of her friends, a Gryphon you believe, and you offered to talk to her about conflict >It was only about three hours later did you meet her once again at your steps >”When I said your slide whistle was silly, I didn’t mean that it was bad...” >Her gaze still lingers on your shirt “I don’t mind you calling it silly. It’s a silly instrument and that’s why I wanted it” >”It’s just that, a lot of ponies call me silly...” >Ah, that’s what this is about you think to yourself. >You suspect that silly is not the harshest word she’s heard from the mouths of others. These ponies really were like children in their mannerism but children could be quite cruel >”I like silly things because they make me happy. You make me happy Ms. Hooves” She blinks her eyes before a look of uncertainty graces her. Finally, one of her eyes goes up and looks at one of your own eyes >”But a lot of the ponies here make you happy. I’m nothing special at all” “Of course you’re special Ms. Hooves. There no other pony in the whole wide world that’s the same as you. You have talents that everybody likes” >”I do?” “Yes you do. You do a good job bringing everyone their important mail everyday, you are a very kind mare, and your laughter makes me laugh too” >The rate of growth of your smile is matched only by her own >”I like you as you are, exactly and precisely” >The mare can take it no longer and clumsily flies into you for a hug. The impact is nothing major and the hug is nice and warm, just like one of her muffins that she likes to bring occasionally >Before long, the hug is broken and one of Ditzy’s eyes notices something >She giggles before speaking again >”I like you too Mister Anon and I think you’re silly too!” “Really? How so?” >She takes one of her hoofs and points down at your left foot >”You forgot to put on one of your shoes today!” >You share a chuckle with her as the two of you walk back to your door >Before she departs however, you decide that she could use another friend “Would you like to borrow my slide whistle today?” >She gasps is shock >”But you just got it today! Don’t you want to play with it some more?!” “I’m sure that you’ll bring it back tomorrow when you give me my mail. I think that it’d make you and Dinky very happy to be silly with it all together” >The slide whistle is extended out from your fingertips as the grey mare thanks you profusely and grabs onto the mouthpiece with her own mouth >Her wings start to flutter as her body is lifted from the ground >After a few practice blows, Derpy manages to make the whistle make the shifting pitches with the handle as she happily flies off home >Ponies walking outside can’t help but turn their head towards the humorous noises and giggle along with Derpy as she creates her own songs >Soon the mailmare with her speedy deliveries is over the horizon and the noises fade into the wind as you continue to stare off into the distance grinning >Again you speak to nopony in particular but you hope that they all hear you somehow regardless “You make each day a special day. You know how, by just being you”