That Way

  Satisfying hunger was something Twilight said that Derpy had to stay on top of, now, and when her foal was born. If she did not eat, the baby wouldn't eat. Everything depended on what she did, and her every action, that would make the outcome of how healthy the filly would be when she was born. Right now, her little one was healthy, and she wanted to keep it that way. Derpy found it hard to eat as she watched Narley take boxes in and out. She chatted with him about some things, but not she did not want to leave him. After their stare down, she found it hard to leave her side. Her stomach growled, and her baby kicked lightly. The muffin was not enough, and her cravings could not break the wall that was Derpy making goo goo eyes with Narley. Why did she even bother? It wouldn't work, she was a idiot! Narley only covered for her flank, they could never have a relationship. It would be awkward, and it was something that would probably make him look bad. Dating the derp eyed, single mother. The last thing he wanted was a daughter to deal with, and Derpy understood that. She would have to admire from a distance, and maybe when she didn't have her pregnancy toying with her emotions, she would try to date him. The problem was though, is that would it be the same thing as Jet? This time around, Derpy thought that she would be helping Narley more then she would be helping herself. He was such a depressed pony, even as he walked by, she could see in his eyes that he wanted to be free. He was a bird, a very intelligent, funny, and creative one, trapped in a cage. That cage was his past, and what happened with that mare. Derpy knew what it was like to lose ponies, but she never experienced death. How tragic it must have been to lose that. She knew that was Narley though, he let ponies step on him, and he would blame it on himself when it wasn't even him. Yes, maybe he was a bit selfish, but it sure is a lot better then not caring about yourself at all, and being depressed. That was definitely not the way to live.

  Even when he was a new pony in town, Derpy remembered. Pinkie Pie threw a party, of coarse, and he was very quiet. He probably had seen enough parties in his days, the last thing he wanted to do after escaping Califneighah was party. So, that turned more into a excuse to throw a party. Derpy had been to every single one of those parties, and that had to be one of the dullest. He joined the post office shortly after, and somehow became a manager rather quickly. Hard work probably, it was something he was good at. For some reason or another, he was wise. It made Narley a good manager, knowing what was usually wrong, and made the right decisions instead of the easiest ones. Derpy knew that he was the best manager she had by far. Now he was helping her set up this room for her little filly. She couldn't wait, and Derpy knew that this little unicorn would probably be the cutest thing in Equestria. Narley finished up the couple of large boxes he had. There was dust on his wings and it made Derpy giggle as he noticed and started flapping them. throwing the particles up in the air. Her stomach growled, her baby kicked again, and she waited for Narley to respond ignoring both of those things. Derpy looked into the room, and saw the sunlight shine in, already imagining what a perfect room it would be. She browsed through, checking out the closet and rug. It was dirty, stained, and ugly.

"I really appreciate the help. Are you sure you want to buy the furniture? I think that a new rug would be a good idea too. I am sorry, you really can take the money you need. I don't want to be rude or anything, I just needed the hooves, I was going to take care of that stuff" Derpy sighed, turning around and looking at him

"Ditzy, it is on me and you won't change that honey. I have a good amount of money in my accounts, since I don't have to support anyone. Well, now I do, and I want you to have this for your baby. If you really feel bad, think of it as I am doing it for the foal, and not you. Well, I am doing it for you, but it is- I think you know what I mean" Narley said smiling.

"Okay.... I don't really know what to get though"

"That is something else I can help with. I am thinking a lighter color furniture would be nice for such a bright bedroom. But we have to paint it first, and I was thinking a light shade of pink for a filly. Then we can paint the closets different bright colors, and make it a nice happy room, but still something she can have when she is older. That, and install blinds, that is one of the cons of having a bright foal room. She may not sleep" Narley looked out the window "Nice view"

"I have that under control. I am sure we can just get nice blinds, and put the crib somewhere where the sun is not always shining. It is better I think, if it is going to be a happy room, it has to have sunlight" Derpy said.

"Well, we just have to be careful. We need to go around the house and prepare it for a foal. Nothing she can choke on, no open sockets, nothing she can get into. I think we have some time before we really have to get to that though" Narley gave a pat on her back, as he began inspecting the room.

"A-are you sure you want to pay? That is really generous" She bit her as he looked at the floor boards.

"No Ditzy, it is fine. Not only do I know ponies, but I can get free shipping on everything" With a reassuring smile, he went back to looking at the room, now looking up at the ceiling. It made Derpy sigh, he was not going to let up. It was a awkward situation, at least he knew she felt bad.

  It did not take long for Derpy to get a little bored watching him. He looked in the closet, at the rug, and the floor. Deciding what had to be done. For the most part, his responses seemed good. By the way he was looking at things, it seemed like he wouldn't have much to do. Derpy did not have the slightest clue what was good and what was not about the room, and Narley didn't say much until the end if it would be a easy or hard room to set up. He first looked at the ceiling, which just had cobwebs on its white finish. Then at the floorboards, that were also white. Last he checked the walls for cracks or problems. Derpy did not think there were any, all she knew is that its dull grey color had to go. Narley hugged her before he walked out of the room. His warms arms made her blush, afterwards her stomach growled.

"I don't think it will be a hard fix Ditzy. No major problems that I can see, we just need to clean up a lot. Mostly dusting, then our painting. I am going to go now, and stop by the store to get what I need. You stay here, and Celestia please get something to eat. Remember what I said about having to care for two pretty girls now" Her face immediately turned red.

"Oh stop it, you... Thanks for the help, when will you be back?"

"Probably in the afternoon, around 3. I will stop by the hardware store, and maybe begin researching some furniture. I think that I am going to have it a pink room, with light blue floor boards. Then what I will do with the closet, is make it light blue as well, but have the blocks in the middle of it pink... I think it will be nice" Derpy really not have that much of a artistic eye. She trusted Narley.

"Sure, that sounds good... I guess you will bring a cart?" She replied.

"Yeah, with some painting tools and such. If everything turns out really good, I should be ready to paint by 6, then I can get a nice start. I am doing this because remember I have work, so this project may take awhile. This head start will be good" Derpy nodded.

"Okay Narl- Ryan... Thanks again for the help" He looked at her with a small smile on his face.

"Ditzy, I here by declare that you can call me Narley. You are aloud to call me it as much as you want" Derpy giggled, her stomach growled, and this time it brought pain with it. She grunted a little.

"Okay... Narley" Derpy giggled "I will see you later"

"Alright, bye... Please get something to eat while I'm gone" Narley trotted down the stairs, talking to himself about the project. He opened the door and flew out. She watched him fly up into the cloudy sky. Derpy still felt bad, somehow.

  The first thing to deal with was the empty stomach of hers. There was not many options, and she did not want to go out. There were a few things, like soup she could cook on the stove, or a hayburger. Derpy would probably somehow mess up the soup, and a hayburger would make her sick, and she would probably also mess that up. There was peanut butter, so a peanut butter sandwich was not a bad idea. Her mother would make them all the time, probably because she was too lazy to make anything else. All Derpy knew is that is was fast and simple. She pulled the peanut butter out of the closet, and a knife. As a extra, she toasted the bread, which was a bad idea. The two pieces of toast were slid in the toaster, and Derpy thought it would be a good idea to go to the bathroom. Of coarse, she somehow figured out some way to burn the toast so bad, that the fire alarms went off.

          When she came back, her initial reaction was to panic and run in circles, while sprinklers went off and sprayed the oven. It was a old mechanism that was in the house since she was little, for oven fires. It would not help her, since this was burnt toast she was dealing with. Derpy got the idea what was going on, and unplugged the toaster. Immediately, the fire alarm fell off, but now her kitchen floor was soaked. Great, now Derpy had a large mess to clean up, but her happy attitude made her crack up. How she freaked out, and all the chaos, just over burnt toast. The toast popped up when she fiddled with it, and it was the darkest black it could be. With a sigh, Derpy ignored it, and slathered peanut butter on it. The mare was so hungry, that she ate it without complaint. The question though was why she was so hungry, she did have a giant muffin. It was probably just her pregnancy playing with her again.

"Your mommy is a dummy, and you aren't helping" She giggled. A couple minutes after munching on her burnt sandwich, she heard a knock on the door. Who could it have possibly been? Nobody really ever knocked, unless Narley was already back. In that case, she didn't mind the mess, but just in case it was somebody else, Derpy quickly took a towel and somewhat wiped off the water on her floor and oven. It was probably nothing more then a prank pulled by some colts, or a delivery, but then again, it could be Twilight. Derpy trotted to the door and quickly opened it. It was Rainbow and Rarity.

  It was a surprise to see them. She was, sort of mad at them for telling her all about Jet, but she got over it. Rainbow did always just want to protect her and be loyal, but Rarity just always wanted to gossip, but still comes out generous in the end. They smiled awkwardly, and Derpy thought it was odd that the two of them were together. Rarity was more of a popular mare, while Rainbow was the rough, tough, and dirty one. Seeing them together without the rest of the group was odd. Derpy may have even came to the conclusion that they did not like each other. She was obviously wrong, but it brought the two of them together even more when they both fought together for Derpy. Trying to help her, and that was why they were there.

"Hello Ditzy"

"Good Afternoon Ditzy" The two of them said, their heads kinda low with awkward smiles.

"Well hiya you two... is s-something wrong?" She thought for a moment, noticing the smell of burnt toast, and smoke coming out her door. Derpy didn't know that Rainbow and Rarity did not care, or probably notice. "Oh, the burning is just me... I burnt some toast...."

"Oh... wow, you must have really burnt it, well that is not really what we are here for..." Rarity took over, stepping in front of awkward Rainbow.

"We just want to apologize about the whole Jet thing darling. It really was not supposed to turn out that way, we just wanted what was best for you sweetheart. Please don't hold any grudges or anything, Rainbow Dash and I just over stepped our boundaries a little, and we should have been more careful. It was just a odd situation. We didn't know if we should have told you or not, because we were not sure if it would hurt you or help you" At the end of the unicorns words, she stepped back, by Rainbow Dashes side, waiting for a response. "Twilight told us all about it..." Derpy let out a deep breath, she was going to try make it better.

"It's fine... I am happy it is over, and now my daughter can live a happy life. I have had a lot of ponies say I would be a great mother, and I believe them. The last thing I want my little one to have to do, is suffer through what I had to... Jet is happy with his new mare, it is good it turned out that way. Nobody had to tell anyone, or had to wait, it was just finished. I am happy you guys are concerned though, you are real friends" They smiled, relief washed over their faces. Derpy sighed "But somepony mentioned something about having to hide things around me. That you only talked about the foal to avoid being awkward? That kind of confused me... a little" Rainbow Dash stepped up to the plate this time.

"We did not want to trigger anything that would make us start talking about Jet. That, and we can all agree... that maybe a lot of, not so happy things are going on around you. We talked about her, because it was a happy topic, and we wanted to avoid you being upset. I am sure egg head Twilight said that stress is bad for your little one"

"Again, that was to protect you Ditzy" Derpy smiled, she looked at the two of them. She came in close and brought them in for a hug.

"Thank you.... A friend is helping me set up the foal room, so I am going to go now. I was eating lunch" The both of them nodded.

"Okay, see you later Ditzy... Good luck"

"Bye..." And like that... they left.

  So Derpy decided to go back to her very burnt lunch. The taste was not so bad, but it was the pure hunger she was feeling that made her finish the sandwich in seconds. It boosted her mood that Rainbow and Rarity were concerned about her situation. Derpy definitely loved having her friends, although they made a mistake she forgave them for. Rarity just gossiped, and like her friend, she could be a loud mouth. It would have happened sooner or later. With a final bite of her sandwich, she tried to find something to do. The song Narley sang was stuck in her head now, as she waited for him to return. Derpy actually wanted him to come back, she never seemed to want to hang out with him so much. As her mother would say, she was getting "papillon coeur" or "Butterfly Hearted" in a fancy language she knew. But the feelings faded, when she looked at herself. Derpy was a cross eyed, not very smart, not very good looking, and pregnant mare. Narley probably did not feel the same. No chance. Ditzy was always known for a positive attitude, even when in the worst situations. So what did she do? She laid down on the couch, and day dreamed about ways to get with the handsome stallion. Eventually her thoughts drifted back to her baby.

  Giving birth sounded like the scariest thing ever. It found a way into her head as she curled up on her mothers old couch, after thinking about Narley, and other things happening in her life. Rarity did say her life was not so happy, but Derpy was happy, so how couldn't it be a happy life right now? Now, she loved her baby, she was just nervous about how she would meet her. A lot of things would happen to her back side. Honestly, as disgusting as it was, how would a foal even fit through there? Derpy immediately shook her head, thinking about all the rumors she head about being in labor. The pain, and such. It was one of those "Sunshine comes after rain" things. She would have to go through the painful process of having her daughter, but in the end, the sunshine would come. That sunshine being her little foal, a little unicorn filly that Derpy promised to spoil, and love to death. It was something she created, something beautiful for once, and successfully made it through. Being a mother, and doing it alone, was sure to have ponies impressed. Derpy could just feel that her foal would be something special given to her. Maybe even something to fix her problems.

  It was a topic, that made her gently fall asleep on the couch, thinking about it in her sleep. She totally forgot that Narley would return. It was six, when he came in the sunset of a beautiful winter night. A little late, but it was okay, since the mare was sleeping soundly inside. His cart was filled with rollers, paints, stand up lights, cleaners, dusters, tools, and trash bags. He even had somethings to fix any dents, bumps, or holes in the wall. He pulled it up nice and close, and started bringing things inside. Narley knew Derpy wouldn't mind, so he opened the door quietly, and came in. The door was already cracked. The pegasus balanced his tools in his hooves. A smile went on his face, as he noticed she was sleeping.

"You are the sweetest mare..." Narley whispered, trotting up the stairs. His materials dropped with a loud thud, accidentally, in the room. He winced, hoping he didn't wake her up. It was a good idea to make sure she knew he was here. Narley trotted right back down stairs, standing by Derpy. "Wake up sweetheart" He gently whispered, pulling her wing. It was a good way to wake up a pegasus, without pain.

"H-h-huh?" Derpy's wing opened up and slapped him in the face. He chuckled, as she stretched a little more, noticing what she had done. "N-Narley! Sorry! I was- just-"

"It was obviously a accident... You can go right back to sleep. I just wanted to make sure you know I am here. Did you eat?"

"I did..."

"Is everything checking out? No problems right?"

"Everything is great... Rainbow Dash came by with Rarity" Narley sighed, he knew that they were the ones that caused her the troubles with Jet.

"How did that turn out" He patted her back, replying.

"O-okay... I don't know... the entire Jet thing was a bit fast. How it ended so quickly. I just don't know how to feel. It is all mixed up to. Rainbow Dash said she heard from Twilight about the breakup, so how did you figure out?" Narley accepted the question.

"It was late in the morning Ditzy... She probably stopped by Twilight's before she went"

"Alright I guess..."

"Do you need some light shined on it... Do you want me to tell you what I think" Derpy knew Narley never proved her wrong before.

"Yes" She immediately spit out. He hesitated, picking the right words to say.

"You are a extremely nice mare. One of the sweetest I ever had. Don't doubt yourself, Ditzy, that was a really brave move. Sometimes we all think you aren't smart... but you really are. It is just confidence, and you gathered it to kick him out. Jet abused and used you. I told you this before. Jet is not even in your league, he is in a much lower league. I met a lot of handsome wonder colts like him, that in the end do that."

"Thank you Narley, I don't know what I would do without you"

"Your welcome... Now that room is awaiting. That little filly is the only thing that matters now"

"Agreed" Derpy nodded, with a grin. She trotted upstairs while Narley went back to get more materials.