The forest was dark and cavernous, heavy with overhanging plant life and the pungent scent of moss and soil. Under the canopy it was impossible to tell day from night. A gold-pelted filly, the last thing anypony would expect to find here, was fumbling through the undergrowth. She could feel the salty sting of tears as they threatened to spill from her dark lavender eyes, burning like hot coals in the darkness. "Daring! Daring, wait!" a tiny voice called out. The gold-pelted filly turned around abruptly, her gray mane swishing against her neck. "Ditzy, I told you not to follow me!" she snapped as her little sister, a gray filly with a tousled yellow mane, burst from a grove of bushes. "Daring...what..." Ditzy panted, chest still heaving from the exertion of her run, "what were you thinking? You know we're not supposed to go out into the forest alone. It's dangerous!" "I'm not scared of this stupid forest! I could fight off a pack of Timberwolves with both hooves tied behind my back. I'm brave and strong, and...and smart too! Twice as smart as Dad will ever be!" Daring's eyes were wide and her body was quivering. Ditzy could sense but not see the tears she was holding back. "Daring..." "'Get you head out of the clouds' he said!" Daring snapped suddenly, voice cracking like a thin sheet of ice. "'Stop dreaming and grow up'!" "He didn't mean that," Ditzy assured her gently. "If he didn't mean it, then he wouldn't have said it! He never believed in me...he never cared about me at all." "That's not true!" Ditzy snapped, eyes alight with anger for the first time. "He cares about both of us. But you know how sad he's been since mom died." "We were sad too, Ditzy. Don't you remember that? We were crying alone in our rooms for hours and Dad was never there. If it hadn't been for Uncle Rainbow Strike we would have been all alone. Now he's moved us out into the middle of nowhere where we don't have anypony at all. He doesn't care about us, he just wants to keep us for himself." "We just...we need to give him more time," Ditzy's voice was trembling with desperation, "he'll get better if we just..." "Wake up, Ditzy! I know you want to believe that everything's going to be all right, but you're wrong! Thing's can't get better because Mom's never coming back!" "Stop it," Ditzy cried out, shaking her head frantically, as if she could somehow repel Daring's dark lament, "just stop it! Why are you being this way?" Daring hung her head and glanced up at her sister with rueful eyes. "I'm sorry. I guess...I guess I've changed too." Ditzy rubbed a hoof against her nose and gave a great sniff. "I wish Mom was here. I wish none of this had ever happened." "I know," Daring replied, "so do I." The gold-pelted filly glanced up at her little sister, a look of decision passing over her face like the dapples of light trying desperately to pierce the canopy. "Look...Ditzy...you know what I always said? About travelling the world and going on adventures?" "Yeah." "Well, we can still do that. You and me. Together. We can go anywhere we want, and we don't have to listen to Dad or anyone else ever again." Ditzy gave a start and took several steps back from her sister. "Daring...you don't mean that." "I do," Daring exclaimed, the corners of her mouth drawing up in a smile, "come on, Ditzy, you know it's what we've always dreamed." "But we can't just leave Dad behind like that. What if you're wrong about him? What if he can still change?" "What if frogs had wings?" Daring mumbled tersely. "I'm not kidding around here! I can't believe you would even think about leaving him here all alone." "And why not? He never thought about us." "That's not true! You're just mad because of what he said to you!" "Yeah, I am mad, but that's not why I'm leaving." "Why you're...? You mean you're...you're gonna go...without me." "You can come with me. Nothing's stopping you." Ditzy clenched her eyes tight shut, feeling the throbbing of her heart, as if for the first time. "No. I'm not leaving him." Daring snorted angrily, pawing the ground with one hoof. "Fine, if he means so much more to you than me, then...fine!" She turned her back to her sister and unfurled her tiny wings. She wasn't sure she could break the thick canopy, but she had to try. "Daring..." Ditzy's voice was very weak, as if she were struggling for breath. Daring tensed, but didn't turn to face her sister. "Daring...please...don't go. Things will get better soon, I...I know they will." For the first time, the gold-pelted filly allowed one hot, burning tear to roll down her cheek. "I hope you're right. Goodbye, Ditzy. I promise, the next time you see me, everypony will know my name. I'm going to have the kind of adventures everypony will want to read about." "Then I hope you're happy," Ditzy's voice was tense, but not unkind, "you know I'll always be happy for you. I love you."

-Segment from What Went Wrong, the fan fiction I currently have in my head.

---

Well, here it is, my first official piece of pony fan art (I don't count Ardor's ref sheet, since I used a base for that). I was kind of late to the party when it comes to MLP, but I fell for it hard. Specifically I just adore Derpy as a character. I know there's not much to her canon-wise, but that's what makes her so intriguing. I knew for my version of her backstory I didn't want her to be portayed as an idiot, but rather a optimistic, naïve pony with a tendancy to leap before she thinks.

This idea first came to me when I was mulling over Daring Don't in my head. That was an episode I absolutely hated when it first came out, and I wasn't the only one. It seemed like a pointless story development, making Daring Do a real pony. But as I got to thinking about it something occurred to me. Derpy's original name, given to her by the staff, was Ditzy Do (I know it's spelled Doo now, but I always have and always will spell it Do). Daring Do...Ditzy Do... Are they related? Are they sisters? Did Daring feel betrayed by Ditzy and therefor refuse to trust anypony else again? It all came to me in a rush and I just had to get it out. From that spawned this whole story about how Ditzy's dad starts to physically abuse her after Daring runs away, resulting in the head trauma that causes her to be wall-eyed. The story deals partly with that, partly with Ditzy moving in with her uncle Rainbow Strike (Rainbow Dash's dad) in Cloudsdale and getting to know her dysfunctional family. This ties in her relationship with Dinky, Dr. Whooves, Rainbow Dash, and several background ponies. But I'll go more into that when I post the family tree I'm working on ;) Also she does pick up the nickname Derpy later on, so she won't be referred to as Ditzy throughout the whole thing ;P Anyway, I don't see myself actually working on the fan fiction outside of small bits like this, but you never know. Also, forgive me if my writing skills are a little rusty, I'm just coming out of a severe funk.

I hope all you guys like this, and remember to be nice if you're going to leave a comment. Don't hate on my theories or start any drama, this is just for fun. Also, please don't just rip off my fan fiction ideas and claim them as your own. Using the theory is one thing (I mean, isn't that how all headcanon's get started?) but ripping it off line for line it another. Be respectful.

---

No Critique Desired. Please respect that.

My Little Pony: Friendship is magic and all characters mentioned above belong to Hasbro, DHX, and Lauren Faust

Credit goes to Hasbro and DHX for the original screen shots I used as visual references while making this.

The art and written work above belong to me. You are not permitted to steal, trace, copy, reference, or otherwise redistribute them in any way. I also do not want to see this posted on RP sites, Facebook, YouTube, etc. That's still art theft.