"Sorry, bub. This is a civilized restaurant. We don't serve retards. Now get your ugly eyes out of my face! Don't make me call security..." the tough, mean looking

pegasus yells at Ditzy. She's scared, but she knows she needs to make a stand. She won't let these bullies push her around any longer. She stands up taller and stares menacingly into the pony's eyes. With her left eye, at least. Her right eye is wandering around, looking for possible escape routes. They're in the alley behind a fancy restaurant. It's dark outside. Ditzy is trying to get inside the restaurant. She thinks that if she can get in, she can prove to every pony that she is not a retard, that she can be civilized, and that she wishes to be treated as such.

"No." Ditzy says to the bouncer. She looks confident, but she is scared.

"No? We'll see if you'll want to go inside after I'm done with you." The bouncer replies.

Not giving her any time to respond, he slams his hoof into Ditzy's stomach, sending her flying backwards. She lands hard on the ground, sending a shockwave of pain across her back. Groaning, she looks up just in time to see the bouncer's front hoof connect with her face, knocking her down again. She puts her hoof up to her nose, feeling something warm and sticky. She wipes the blood off of her face and stares deep into the bouncer's eyes. She kicks at the bouncer's side, but he grabs her leg with both hooves and twists it, sending another wave of pain up her leg.

Ditzy falls down again. There are tears in her eyes. She tries pushing herself up, but the bouncer kicks her hard in the ribs. He does so again and again, until Ditzy starts sobbing and wailing loudly.

"Stop it! Stop it please! Stop! Please!" Ditzy manages to say in between sobs. The bouncer pays no attention to her crying and keeps kicking her. He kicks her in the ribs one last time, then kicks her face. Ditzy feels a sharp pain in her nose. She thinks it might be broken. Her ribs are probably fractured as well. The bouncer turns and starts walking away.

"If I see you again-" he says over her shoulder, "-I'll break every single bone in your body." He opens the kitchen door and walks through, slamming it behind him.

Ditzy just lies on the ground, crying. The blood from her nose has formed a small puddle in front of her face.

After what seems like hours, she hears voices.

"What is that?" a female voice asks.

"Don't know. Let's go take a closer look." a stallion replies.

She can hear their hoofbeats getting closer. The mare gasps. The stallion circles around Ditzy, and is now standing in front of her.

"Are you okay? What happened?" he asks Ditzy. He is answered by a whimper.

"Why, she's just a filly!" the mare exclaims. "Who could have done this?"

"Whoever this is, we can't just leave her. Do you think we could take her back to our

place, just until she recovers?" the stallion asks the mare.

"Of course." she replies.

Ditzy feels the stallion's hooves slide under her back, lifting her. The mare is asking her questions, but Ditzy doesn't pay attention to her. She falls asleep to the rhythmic hoofbeats of the stallion carrying her.

Ditzy opens her eyes. At first she doesn't know where she is, but the memory of last night hits her. She must be in the house of the two ponies that found her. She is laying on top of a bed, with a blue blanket covering her. The room is cozy. There is a beautiful painting of a waterfall hanging on the wall to her right. There is a wardrobe leaning against the wall in front of her. Ditzy's right eye notices a nightstand next to the bed. A pair of medical scissors and a small roll of gauze sits on top of it. Behind the gauze is a towel. Its original color is white, but it is now stained red. There aren't any other decorations. Ditzy thinks this might be a spare bedroom. She tries sitting up, but a sharp pain in her back forces her to lie back down.

The door opens, and the mare from last night walks in, holding a tray of food in her mouth.

"You're awake!" she exclaims. "Are you feeling better? My name's Day. Blitz and I found you in the alleyway last night. You were in a really bad condition. Who are you, and what happened?"

"My name's Ditzy Doo," Ditzy replies. "I was trying to get into the Iron Rose, you know, the fancy restaurant. The bouncer wouldn't let me in, but I stood my ground. Then he beat me up and left me there."

"And why did you want to get inside so badly?" Day askS.

"Because I thought if I could have a dinner at that fancy restaurant, it would show people that I'm not stupid, and that I can do things they didn't expect me to be able to do." Ditzy explainS.

Day looks perplexed. "But why would you need to prove that you're not stupid? You look like a very smart filly with lots to offer."

"It's my eyes. I can't see properly because of the way they are. It makes me clumsy. People think that I am stupid because I can't read properly. It's not fair! There's nothing I can do about my eyes!" Ditzy yells. After a few seconds, she says "Sorry for yelling at you."

"It's okay. Tell you what, you stay and rest here. Tomorrow you, Blitz and I will get this sorted out, okay?" Day asks Ditzy, and is answered by a nod. She turns the light off and leaves the room, closing the door behind her.