What We do for Love

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

“Ahhhh,” I sighed, as I closed my eyes, and kicked back in the soft, green grass. It was a beautiful summer day; the sky was clear, it wasn’t too hot, and I didn’t have anything better to do than to relax in my backyard, and ignore the rest of the world around me. As I reveled in the comfortable warmth of the sun, I began absentmindedly running my fingers through the grass. That’s when I noticed something...odd.

Although the air around me was warm, the grass in my fingers was freezing cold. And wet. In fact, the more I touched it, the less it felt like grass. I opened my eyes, and sat up to see what was going on. To my surprise I wasn’t sitting on grass at all; it was a large cumulus cloud. Well that’s certainly different, I thought, as I continued to run my fingers through my fluffy, white cushion. Wait a second, how am I sitting on a cloud? Clouds are made up of water vapor. Shouldn’t I just-

I didn’t get a chance to finish my thought; no sooner had I realized the absurdity of my new seating arrangement, then I fell right through it, into the open sky below me.

It seemed impossible; one minute I had been undoubtedly lounging in my backyard, and the next I was in the middle of the sky, flapping my arms helplessly as I hurtled towards the ground miles below. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. All I could do was watch as the hillside under me grew closer and closer with each agonizing second. Suddenly, I felt something grab hold of me; I looked down and saw what looked like an arm, covered in a coat of soft gray hair, wrapped tightly around my chest. What’s more, I noticed that I was no longer falling.

“Don’t worry I’ve got you,” came a cheerful, feminine voice close to my ear.

I looked back up and nearly screamed in surprise; the thing that had somehow saved my life was a small, horse-like creature with...wings? I looked into it’s eyes; it had strange eyes; they were bright gold, and one was looking right at me, while the other was looking up at the sky. I knew I should have been frightened by the flying, talking, crosseyed horse, but something about the soft smile that she gave me put me at ease, and told me that everything would be fine.

“Oh hey look at that,” she said, “a giant blueberry muffin.”

My jaw dropped when I saw it; sure enough, just a few feet below us, was a muffin the size of a mountain growing up from the ground.

“I’m gonna set you down now,” she said.

Before I could protest, she released her grip from around me, and I was falling again. Luckily the muffin provided me with a soft cushion, saving me from what would have certainly been my doom. I leaned back on the ridiculously large pastry, and started laughing uncontrollably, thankful to be alive.

“Look out, muffin, I’m going to eat you,” the flying horse thing said, opening her mouth wider, and wider, and wider. Before I knew it, her head, and mouth had grown large enough to devour the giant baked good in one bite. Then she dove at me, enveloping the muffin, and me with it, in darkness.

“Noooooo...

...

“...oooooooooooooo!” I woke up in a sweat, screaming, and flailing about, tangled up in the sheets of my bed. It was just a dream, I thought as my bedroom began to swim back into view. I clutched at my racing heart, as my mind continued to process the fact that I wasn’t sitting on a muffin, about to be eaten by a giant pony mouth, but was actually sitting in my bed, in my room, in my house. Well not my house, but the house of the pony who I considered to be my closest friend in all of Equestria.

A soft knock at my door finally brought me back to reality.

“Are you ok in there, Sam,” came a tiny, sweet, and obviously concerned voice from the other side of my bedroom door.

“Yeah," I said with a yawn, "everything's fine, Dinky."

The door inched open, and a little unicorn filly poked her golden maned head through the crack, giving me a worried look.

"Sorry, I was just checking to make sure," she said, as the rest of her body squeezed into my room.

I smiled reassuringly at the little pony, as I freed myself from my blankets, and climbed out of bed. Dinky quickly returned the smile, and sat on her haunches, extending her forelegs in a similar way that a human child would hold out it's arms when it wanted to be held. All I could do was laugh, as I reached down, and pulled her close to my chest. It was hard to believe that this was the same filly who, back when I first moved in, would dart behind a couch to hide from the “weird monster” whenever I entered the room. But stranger things do happen, and over time the two of us had grown close, and were now the best of friends.

“See, kiddo,” I said, giving her a big hug, “I’m fine; I was just having a weird dream, that’s all.”

I walked her over to the window, wiped away a layer of condensation that had built up on the glass, and leaned in close so we could both look out; the ground was covered in a thick layer of fresh, white snow. My eyes turned to the sky, and watched as the pegasi above pushed the clouds around, revealing the dimly lit, morning sky underneath.

“Looks like we got a present from Cloudsdale last night,” I told Dinky. “I think there might even be enough for us to build a snowpony when you get home from school. Would you like that?”

Dinky smiled, as she wrapped her forelegs as far around me as they would reach.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” I chuckled. “Come on, let’s go downstairs and grab some breakfast; I bet your mom got up early and made us some blueberry muffins.”

With the smiling little filly still in my arms, I exited my room, and made my way downstairs, where, sure enough, the familiar aroma of baked goods filled the entire first floor of the house.

“Good morning, you two,” Derpy said, giving us both a huge, bubbly smile, as we entered the kitchen.

“Good morning, mama,” Dinky said cheerfully.

“Morning, Derpy,” I said, setting Dinky on her little stool at the table, before taking a seat on my own, slightly larger stool.

The blonde pegasus mare trotted over to the table, a small white plate balanced on her head, and a pink one in her teeth, both topped with a freshly baked blueberry muffin. The pink one she placed in front of her daughter, who thanked her by giving her a big kiss on the cheek, and the white one, she slid onto the table in front of me.

“Thanks, Derpy,” I said, taking my muffin, cutting it in half, and spreading a nice helping of butter on the steaming insides, “they look, and smell, amazing, as usual. And please, don’t give me that look,” I added, when I saw the smile on Derpy’s face change to a look of annoyance, “You know I prefer my muffin’s this way.”

“But you don’t need to put butter on muffins,” she said, rolling her eyes at me, as she trotted over to the sink and started washing the dirty dishes, muttering just loud enough for me to hear, “ruining perfectly good blueberry muffins with butter; I’ll never understand humans.”

I just chuckled as I took a bite of my muffin; every morning since I had moved in, we would eat muffins for breakfast, and each time Derpy would get upset, saying I was “ruining” the baked goods that she had worked so hard to make for me because I insisted on putting butter on them. It was never anything serious, at least, it wasn’t anymore; we just liked to tease each other like that. Plus, I figured if she really hated the way I ate my muffin’s, then she wouldn’t keep putting the butter dish in front of me, day after day.

To be honest, I didn’t think that Derpy had a single mean bone in her body. Ever since I arrived in Ponyville, she had been nothing but kind to me. While most of the ponies would run and hide in their homes whenever I walked around town, Derpy was always right by my side, talking happily about this or that. Not only that, but since I had no place to live, she had gone out of her way to let me move into the extra room in her house for as long as I was here. She even got me a job with the Ponyville Postal Service (once everypony in town was used to my being here, and were no longer afraid of me of course) so I could earn money to pay for clothes that I had to have custom made by the town's seamstress (a unicorn mare named Rarity), and (even though Derpy said that I didn’t need to) so I could pay rent to Derpy for letting me stay with her. And she wasn’t just kind to me; everypony she met, whether she knew them, or not, she would greet with a smile, and kind words of hello. Sure some of those ponies would tease her behind her back about her eyes, or her clumsiness (an act which I had unfortunately witnessed a few times as we did our shopping in town), but Derpy never let it get to her; she was a stronger mare than that.

To top it all off, Derpy was a fantastic mother to Dinky; despite the fact that she was busy with her job delivering the mail, and her occasional help with Ponyville’s Weather Patrol, Derpy always made sure that she had time to spend with her daughter. From making her breakfast in the morning, to tucking her in and reading her to sleep at night, Derpy was always there for Dinky. I could only imagine that my mother had been just like that before she died.

After breakfast, Dinky ran upstairs to start getting ready for school, and I got up to relieve Derpy of her dish washing duties. She told me that I didn’t need to (like she did every morning), but I insisted (like I did every morning); it just didn’t feel right having her do everything around the house when I was perfectly capable of helping out every now and again.

While I took to washing what was left of the dirty dishes, I noticed Derpy just standing there, watching me work.

“Everything alright, Derpy?” I asked, with a bit of a laugh.

“Yup, everything’s A-Ok,” she said, looking up at me with only one of her eyes (the other one was looking down at the floor). Then she did something I wasn’t expecting; as I was placing a clean plate on the drying rack, Derpy got up on her hind legs, so that we were almost the same height, and wrapped her forelegs tightly around me.

“Wha… What’s this for?”

“You’re too good to us,” she said, a hint of pink flooding her gray cheeks. “You do so much around here - cooking, cleaning, helping Dinky with her homework - even though you don’t need to; I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate everything.” Then she buried her face next to mine, and nuzzled my cheek. “I lo-”

Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!

Seven sharp peels from the Ponyville belltower cut Derpy off.

“Guess it’s almost time for work,” she said, “you better go get ready; I’m sure Mr. Speedy Delivery will be upset if you show up to work in your pjs, and with a messy mane.”

I just looked at Derpy, a look of curiosity on my face.

“Were you just about to say something else just now?”

She just winked, and stuck her tongue out teasingly.

“Don’t worry about that; it can wait until later.” In one swift move, she released her grip, and spun around on her hind legs so she was facing the counter. Then she gave me a swift flick of her tail. “Now move your rump, mister, or we’re going to be late.”

“But what about-”

“Go; I can handle the dishes. I know I might be a bit clumsy, and I know that you like to help out around here, but I’m fully capable of taking care of dirty plates; I did it for years before you fell out of the sky.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but quickly shut it again, deciding that I was better off not arguing, so I turned, and went back upstairs to change.

…

Twenty minutes later, I was dressed in my mail carrier’s uniform (which consisted of dark blue, custom made shirt, pants, cap, mittens, a heavy winter coat, boots, and a scarf), following Derpy, and Dinky down the snow covered streets of Ponyville towards the schoolhouse. Other than the chilly winter air, it was a beautiful morning; in the amount of time it had taken us to eat breakfast, and get ready to go, the weather patrol had finished clearing the sky, allowing the morning sun to shine down on the snow below, reflecting the bright light throughout the entire town. Ponyville was starting to come alive with the hustle and bustle of ponies leaving the warmth of their homes on their ways to work, or taking their foals to school, or, in the case of a very pink, very curly maned mare, building surprisingly accurate snowponies outside of the local bakery, Sugarcube Corner.

I felt a smile spread across my face as the crowd of ponies slowly grew around us; the town - no, this world - just had that effect on me. Before I came here I wasn’t exactly living the ideal life; married, then divorced, then moving in with my older brother because I had no place else to go, and working a dead end, part time job, all before I was thirty. Not really what I had planned for myself when I was growing up. But Equestria had given me a fresh start; a second chance to do something good with my life, and I wasn’t going to waste it. Especially when I had two ponies relying on me to not mess things up.

When we got to Ponyville Schoolhouse, Derpy and I said our goodbyes to Dinky, and watched her as she went to join the other foals on the playground to get in a little early morning fun, before they had to spend the rest of the morning in class.

“Kids have it so easy,” I said, as Derpy and I continued trudging our way to the post office, “they get to spend their whole day learning in a warm classroom, while we go off to work in the snow.”

“You can always go join them,” Derpy laughed, “I’m sure Cheerilee would love to have you as a student.”

“No thanks, I’m good. I finished school long ago, and I’m not all that eager to go back. I mean, yeah, I had lot of fun back in college, but… Derpy?” She wasn’t there. I looked back and saw her sitting on her haunches a few feet behind, a worried look on her face.

“Uh oh,” she said, as she got up, and started to pace back and forth. “Oh nonononoooooooffff!” In the midst of her pacing, Derpy stepped on a small patch of ice, and slid into the side of the building that she had been walking towards, hitting it so hard that a mass of snow was knocked loose from the roof, and fell in a pile on top of the poor, clumsy mare.

“Derpy, are you ok,” I shouted, as I ran over to dig her out. But before I could shove my hand into the deep snow, Derpy flew out and shook as much of the white, wet powder from her mane as she could.

“No, I’m not ok,” she said when she was firmly back on the ground, “I just remembered that the Weather Patrol’s assisting with a huge snowstorm in Trottingham this weekend, and I volunteered to help them take some clouds over, and bring the empty ones back when it’s done.”

“Oh. Do you know how long the storm’s supposed to last?”

“A day, maybe two. It’s quite the flight from Ponyville to Trottingham, so I probably won’t be back until Monday, so-”

“So you’ll need me to look after Dinky, and take care of things around the house while you’re gone.”

She nodded her head, and gave me an understanding smile.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but I already promised Rainbow Dash that I’d go.”

"I think we'll be-"

"I suppose I could stop by her house and tell her I can't make it."

"Derpy, really, we'll be fi-"

"Don't you worry, Sam, I'm not going-"

I placed a finger against Derpy's muzzle, and she fell silent.

"Derpy,” I said, as I looked her in the eyes (well, one of them anyway), and gave her a reassuring smile, “everything will be fine; this isn’t the first time you’ve had to leave us home alone for a couple of days.”

“Yeah, but-”

“Trust me; Dinky and I will be fine.”

Derpy’s worried look faded into a sheepish smile, and quickly changed back again when the sound of the Ponyville clocktower rang out the half hour.

“Uh-oh, we’re gonna be late.” Derpy tried to run forward, but she wound up slipping on the same small patch of ice instead, and landed face first in the snow in front of her. I quickly helped her up, and we both laughed, as we continued our way towards Ponyville post office.

…

It was a little after two in the afternoon when I returned home from work, changed out of my uniform into more casual clothes (my old Earth jeans, a t-shirt, and sweater), and put a few logs in the woodstove for a fire so the house would be nice and warm when Derpy and Dinky got back. It was still going to be another half an hour or so before they returned, so I decided to plop down on the couch, and kick back for a bit while I waited. That was pretty much how every day was for me; since I couldn't fly like a pegasus, and lacked the physical strength and speed of an Earth pony, I was only allowed to deliver letters and small packages to the citizens of Ponyville, leaving the larger items for an Earth pony stallion to take care of, while Cloudsdale deliveries had to be made by Derpy and the the other pegasi. Because of this, I had a much simpler mail route than any of the delivery ponies, and I always ended up finishing before anypony else. At first I thought that the other employee’s might have hated me or something for not working as hard as they did (and honestly I wouldn’t have blamed them), but the ponies here were much kinder than any of the coworkers that I’d had back on Earth. Plus, the amount of effort that I put in each day was roughly equivalent to theirs, so it wasn’t like I wasn’t pulling my own weight. Still, delivering the mail was hard work, but I didn't mind; I was just happy I could do something to contribute to the well being of the town.

As I lay there on the couch, listening to the soft ticking of the old clock on the mantelpiece, I began to feel myself starting to drift to sleep, until a sudden loud knocking at the front door roused me from my peace. Slowly, I got up off the couch with a yawn, walked to the door, and opened it to see who had woken me.

“Package for Sam Anderson,” Derpy said, taking me by surprise as I opened the door.

“Package?” I asked, “but I didn’t order anythi- Ooof.”

Something soft, and cold, hit me square in the face.

“Haha, I got you,” Derpy giggled in triumph, as she watched me wipe away the rest of the snowball that she had thrown at me.

I stared at the pile of slush in my hand, watching as it melted through my fingers, and dripped onto the floor. A smile started creeping across my face, and I began to remold the leftover snow into a much smaller ball, and threw it at the jubilant mare. I missed.

“Haha, can’t get me,” she said, as she ran off into the front yard. I went to chase her, then ran back into the house when I realized that I had stepped into the snow in my bare feet.

After quickly changing into more winter appropriate clothing, I rushed outside, scooped up a handful of snow, and started running around, looking everywhere for Derpy. But she was nowhere to be found.

“Up here, Sam.”

I looked up and caught a glimpse of Derpy hovering in the air above me, a pile of loose snow clutched in her hooves. Before I could jump out of the way, she let it fall, covering me with a fine layer of the white stuff. Derpy laughed uncontrollably, as she watched me shake the snow off of my head.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” she said, as she landed on the ground in front of me. “Here, let me help you with that.”

Derpy took a step towards me, and for the third time that day, hit a hidden patch of ice, and slid, crashing into the nearest solid object to her. Me. I tried my best to catch Derpy, but it was no use; the minute she hit me, the two of us collapsed under our collective weight, and fell to the ground. I was so thankful in that moment for the snowfall that we had gotten the night before, because without it, the landing would have been a lot more painful.

“Are you ok,” I asked, my arms still wrapped securely around Derpy.

The mare looked down at me, and for a moment I thought she was going to say something, but she just stared at me, our faces just inches apart. Suddenly she leaned in close, and gave me a great big hug.

“Thanks for saving me,” she said, gently nuzzling her cheek against mine affectionately.

“Oh, uh, it was nothing. Really.”

Derpy pulled away a little so I could see her smiling; she had a cute smile.

While the two of us lay there, waiting for the other to make a move to get up, neither of us heard the sound of little hooves creeping up on us.

“Pony pile!”

Derpy, and I looked up just in time to see the little filly go into a full on gallop, then a jump, spreading all four legs out, as she landed square on Derpy’s back.

“Dinky,” Derpy giggled, as her daughter scooched up, and wrapped her hooves around her neck. “How was school today, muffin?”

“Good,” she said, “but I couldn’t wait to get out so I could play in the snow.” Dinky looked from her mother to me. “You said we’d build a snowpony, remember, Sam?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“That’s true, I did say that,” I chuckled, “but it’ll be kinda hard to build a snowpony with you two lying on top of me.”

“Oops, sorry,” Derpy said with a sheepish giggle, as she got back on her hooves, making sure the little filly on her back didn’t fall off as she did.

When I was finally free, I got up, stretched, then lifted Dinky off her mother’s back, and set her back on the snowy ground.

“Alright, who’s ready to build a snowpony?”

...

That night, after dinner, and after I had put Dinky to bed, and read her a bedtime story (the one about the first Hearth’s Warming Eve), Derpy and I were in our usual places on the couch, relaxing by the fire, working on the Manehatten Times crossword. It was something that we did every night, even though neither of us were ever any good at it. I was just filling the answer for "author of 'Daring Do' series," when suddenly Derpy got up and smiled.

"Be right back," she said, before running into the kitchen.

I sat there silently wondering what it was that she was looking for, when I heard the sound of breaking glass come from the other room.

"I'm ok," she called, "I just dropped a wine glass."

Wine glass?
A few minutes later, Derpy came fluttering in wearing the happiest smile I'd ever seen, with one hoof wrapped around a couple of crystal wine glasses, and the other holding an open bottle of red wine.

"What's this for?" I asked with a chuckle, as Derpy set down on the floor, and started pouring the wine.

"I know red is your favorite,” she said, “so I stopped by Berry Punch's on my route today to pick up a bottle so we could celebrate."

I gave Derpy a confused look.

"Celebrate what?"

"What do you mean " celebrate what?" This is the one and a half year anniversary of your arrival to Equestria."

A year and a half, I thought, as I took the glass of wine that was passed to me, has it really been that long? It seemed like just yesterday that (as Celestia explained it) our universes momentarily collided exactly where I had been sitting in my backyard, sending me plummeting towards Equestria from the sky, until I was caught mid-fall by Derpy, who had fortunately been flying by at the time. Well not so much caught, as crashed into, and hung on for dear life as Derpy glided us into a less than pleasant landing.

"You mean a year and a half since you saved my life," I corrected her.

Derpy blushed, and took a big gulp of her wine.

"It was nothing,” she said. “I was just in the right place at the right time.”

"I'm not just talking about that,” I said. “You took me in, helped me find work, and pretty much made me feel like I was right at home. That's more than anypony else did for me during those first days." I laughed, as the the memory of Mayor Mare trying to have me put in a cage, and dragged into the middle of the Everfree Forest along with all the other weird animals. That's what I had been to them; just a strange creature that wasn’t fit to live amongst the ponies. But now, nopony thought twice about me living here. Sure there were still a few ponies that gave me odd looks when I walked down the street, and I was often the subject of stares, and whispered conversations of the many ponies that passed through town, but other than that, I had become just another resident of Ponyville. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, thanks. For everything."

Derpy smiled sheepishly, as she downed the rest of her wine, and poured herself another glass. Not wanting to be left behind, I took a nice long sip from my own glass. Like everything else in Equestria, the wine tasted sweet; much sweeter than anything back on Earth. In fact, if I hadn’t known any better, I would have sworn I was drinking grape juice. But I did know better than that; it was still wine, and it still contained about as much alcohol as a bottle Merlot from home (sometimes even more if it was one from Berry Punch’s private collection).

The two of us spent the next hour drinking our wine, and laughing, as we told each other stories about our lives from before I dropped into Equestria. Derpy always liked hearing about my old life, especially the stories from when I was a little kid. I would tell her about the times when my friends and I would hunt for monsters in the woods behind my house, or the time when my brother tricked me into thinking that he had turned into a vampire, and chased me around the house, pretending to try and suck my blood. I’d probably told her these stories hundreds of times since I arrived in Ponyville, but each time she would listen intently, and laugh at the funny parts. In turn, Derpy would tell me stories of her life, to which I paid just as much attention. The only thing that neither of us talked about were our past relationships. I'd made the mistake of asking Derpy once about Dinky's father, but the only thing that she would say was that the best thing he had ever done for Derpy was help to make Dinky. After that, we agreed to never ask each other about the other's exes.

When the wine had finally run out, Derpy rested her head on my lap, while I absentmindedly scratched behind her ear, the two of us wordlessly watching the embers in the fireplace die.

“Hey, Sam,” Derpy said, breaking the silence with an exaggerated, and slightly slurred whisper, “can I tell you a secret?”

“Tell away,” I said with a chuckle, still scratching her behind the ear, until she sat up to look my in the eyes.

Derpy’s cheeks were flushed a deep red (probably from the alcohol, I thought), and she looked at me with a mix of drunken giddiness, and a hint of timidity that I’d rarely seen from such an outgoing mare.

“I, uh, I think I l-l-like you.”

Her eyes shut tight as she waited for me to react.

“I like you too, Derpy,” I said, giving her a comforting pat on the head. “I’ve lived in two worlds, and I can honestly say that you’re the best friend I’d ever had.”

That clearly wasn’t the answer she was looking for, because she frowned at me, as she flopped over backwards on the couch.

“That’s not what I mean,” she groaned. Suddenly, she climbed back up, wobbling on her hooves, and looked at me with determination in her eyes. Then she leaned in close, and pressed her lips firmly against mine.

My mind began to spin. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the wine, or because of the fact that I was suddenly kissing a pony.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a moment,” I said, as I pulled away from Derpy, “what are you doing?”

Derpy gave me a surprised look, followed by a fit of laughter.

“I was kissing you, silly,” she said, as she leaned in for another kiss.

“I know...but why were you kissing me?”

The humor began to fade from Derpy’s face.

“Because…because I like - no - because I love you.”

I began to feel a lump growing in my throat.

“Love...me?” I choked out.

The smile returned to Derpy’s face when she saw that I was finally catching on. She then began to inch closer to me. At first I thought it was just the wine talking; that if this was just any other night, she wouldn’t be acting like this. But there was something in her eyes, a sense of longing, that made me believe that she was being sincere.

“Look, Derpy, I-”

“I know I’m not as pretty as some of the other mares in town, and my eyes are funny, and I can be a little clumsy sometimes, but you’ve always so sweet to me. And to Dinky too.”

“Listen, Derpy, I-”

“You know, you’re almost like a second father to her. Of course when we’re married, then you really will be her father. And-”

“Derpy, please.” I placed a finger over her mouth so I could could say my piece. “Derpy, I had no idea that you felt that way about me. Honestly. But,” I could feel something in my heart break, as Derpy’s smile began to turn into a frown, “but we can’t do this.”

Derpy looked at me, confused.

“What do you mean “can’t do this”?”

I was beginning to wish that I hadn’t drunk so much; the heat from the wine was overwhelming, and making it harder to think clearly.

“I mean, we can’t kiss. Or date. Or get married, or any of that stuff.”

“I-I d-d-don’t-”

“Look, you’re really nice, and like I said before, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, but I just can’t think of doing any of that stuff with you.”

“Why,” she said, tears beginning to stream down her eyes, “why can’t we be together?”

“Because.” For some reason I found that I could barely get the words out. “Because you’re a pony. And humans and ponies aren’t supposed to be together. Not like that.”

Derpy looked at me, completely devastated. I knew I shouldn't have said any more, but the wine had gone straight to my head, and I just couldn't stop myself.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, if you were a human then I would totally date you, but-"

Whack!

I had no idea that a wing-slap to the face could hurt so much, but it did. Derpy just stared at me through tear filled eyes, and didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to; I knew that I had hurt her.

Doing everything she could to avoid my gaze, Derpy climbed off the couch, and began making her way towards the stairs. At one point she stumbled in her drunken daze, and I rushed to help her, but she just pulled away from me, and rushed away, bouncing off the walls, as she retreated upstairs, and locked herself in her bedroom.

Chapter 2

I didn’t get much sleep that night; I just laid on my back, and stared at my ceiling in a drunken haze, watching the patterns in the wood swim, feeling like a complete idiot. Damn wine, I thought, as I slammed my fist against the mattress in a fit of drunken rage. I knew it wasn’t the wine, but I found it easier to blame the alcohol than myself for the fact that I'd just screwed things up. And I'd just screwed things up big time. But I did the right thing, right? Derpy needed to know that things can never work out between a human and a pony, no matter how much like a human the pony seems. That was what I kept telling myself, but the muffled sounds of Derpy crying down the hall, and my stinging cheek reminded me that no matter how much I thought an interspieces relationship would never work, I still hadn't handled things as delicately as I could have. I wanted to get up and go apologize to her, but I knew it wouldn't do any good; all I could do was try to sleep, and see how things were in the morning.

The next morning, I woke just as the sun was beginning to creep over the horizon. I climbed out of bed, and quietly made my way through the upstairs hallway, listening to hear if Derpy was still crying. But as I passed her room, I noticed that the door was ajar, and her bed was empty. She must already be up. As I continued downstairs, I was surprised when I was met with the scent of freshly baked muffins, and the sound of Derpy and Dinky laughing.

When I entered the kitchen, Derpy looked up, and for a split second I saw the smile slip from her face, but she quickly caught herself, and turned back to her conversation with Dinky. I helped myself to a muffin, sat at my usual seat at the table, and began spreading butter on the insides. Before I took my first bite, I looked up, expecting Derpy to berate me about the butter like she did every morning, but she didn't even turn away from Dinky. Yup, I'm in trouble, I thought, as I took a bite of my breakfast. I'm not really sure how, but I gotta find a way to fix this.

But I couldn't, or at least Derpy wouldn't let me; over the next three days, any moment I tried to talk to her, she would either respond halfheartedly, or just leave the room. Suddenly I was left without my best friend. No joking, or snowball fights, or late night crossword puzzles, just awkward silence. The only time Derpy acted like nothing was wrong was when Dinky was around. No matter how difficult things were between us, she always put on a smile for her daughter so the little filly wouldn't worry.

It wasn't until Thursday night that Derpy finally spoke to me again.

I was lying on the couch, reading from Daring Do, and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone, when she approached me, a downhearted look on her face.

“I just wanted to remind you that I’m leaving early in the morning to go to Trottingham tomorrow with the Weather Patrol,” she said. “You’ll need to wake up early to fix breakfast for Dinky and yourself. I won’t be back for a while, so try to take care of yourselves, alright?” She gave me a weak smile before turning towards the door.

“Derpy, wait,” I called, jumping off the couch, and placing a hand on her back, to try and get her to stay. “Derpy, about the other night, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so insensitive, and-”

“You know,” she cut in, refusing to look back at me, “ever since I was a filly, ponies would tease me about my eyes, calling me weird, or slow, just because I looked different from the rest of them. But I never let it get to me. Then I finally find someone, someone who can look past my eyes enough to become my best friend, and yet he can’t fall in love with me because I look different from him.”

As Derpy talked, I could feel an uncomfortable clenching in my chest, like someone was trying to crush my heart. I hated that such a bubbly pony was so distraught.

“I can leave...if you want me too.”

Derpy sighed, and shook her head.

“No. I just...I just need some time to figure things out.”

Then she turned back, and gave me another half hearted smile.

“Goodnight, Sam,” she said, “I’ll see you when I get back.”

Then she turned, and trotted up the stairs.

Derpy had already left by the time I woke up, and made my way downstairs. In the dim light of the rising sun, I made my way through the house to the kitchen, lit the little lanterns so I could see better, and started making breakfast for me and Dinky.

While the muffins were baking, I took a moment to clean the dishes, brewed some coffee, then sat down at the table to wait for Dinky to wake up. I took a look around the empty room; it was so quiet without Derpy around. She’d been away before, but this was the first time that it felt like she was actually gone. Usually we’d be here, baking, and laughing together, but now the kitchen was silent. And lonely. But I couldn’t let that affect me; I still had a little filly to look after, and I couldn’t let my missing Derpy distract me from that. It’ll be fine, I thought, when I got up to check on the muffins, she’s only going to be gone for the weekend.

When Dinky finally joined me in the kitchen, I took the muffins out of the oven, put one on the filly’s little pink plate, and gave it to her with smile, and a ruffle of her mane, then sat down to eat my own breakfast.

“Your muffin’s aren’t as good as mama’s,” Dinky said, biting into her muffin.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the filly’s bluntness.

“That’s just because I don’t have as much practice as she does,” I said, before taking a bite of my own muffin. Dinky was right; it was nowhere near as good as Derpy’s. "Don't worry, I'll work harder at it so hopefully someday they'll be just as good as your mom's."

After breakfast, we took care of our plates, and went upstairs to prepare for the day ahead of us.

...

“Hurry up, Sam,” Dinky called from her perch on my shoulders, “I don’t wanna miss mommy.” She gave me a gentle kick in the shoulder to spur me on.

“Don’t worry, we've got plenty of time to get there” I said. Besides, I don’t want to go any faster than this; the roads are a bit icy, and I wouldn’t want to slip with you on my shoulders.”

Dinky’s grip around me tightened, as if she was afraid she was going to fall off.

“Sorry,” she said, “I’m just so excited to see mama again.”

“Yeah, me too,” I said, although I wasn’t feeling all that enthusiastic. The truth was that I had been dreading this moment since I had woken up Friday morning. Sure a weekend of playing games, building snowponies, and sledding with Dinky had been a good distraction from my problems, but now that we were on our way to meet up with Derpy at the Weather Patrol's rendezvous point, I was starting to feel the weight of what was to come growing with every footstep. But I didn't let it show. I couldn't let it show; I had to be strong for the little filly riding on my shoulders.

When we reached the park, I set Dinky on the ground, and sat down on one of the wooden benches, and watched the little filly play in the snow while we waited for the pegasi to show up. I looked up at the clocktower. 3:28pm it said. Any minute now, I thought, as I turned my eyes to the sky, and began searching for the flying ponies in the direction of the Everfree Forest. We weren't the only ones to show up to greet the Weather Patrol; a few friends and family, along with a few excited pegasus foals had all gathered to greet the returning flyers.

Dinky was the first to notice them. Her little ears twitched when she heard the distant sound of wings beating, and she began searching the sky, frantically looking for her mama.

Then I saw it. At first, It looked like a thin, black storm cloud, but as it got closer, I could just barely make out the tiny outlines of dozens of ponies, quickly making their way towards us.

Within moments the park was filled with pegasi, either rushing over to meet their loved ones, or patting each other on the backs, congratulating themselves on a job well done.

"Alright, everypony," a rainbow maned pegasus called, as she trotted her way into the middle of the fray, "you all did an awesome job helping out the Trottingham Weather Patrol this weekend. I couldn't have hoped for any better from the greatest weather team in all of Equestria."

This was met by a series of cheers from the Weather Patrol.

"Now go home and rest up; most of you are pulling weather duty tomorrow and we're going to need you all in top shape."

With that the crowd around us began to dissipate. Dinky frantically started running around, her tail wagging excitedly as she searched the familiar faces for her mother's.

Where are you, Derpy, I thought, as I followed the little filly through the throng of ponies, checking each one to see if it was Derpy. But she wasn't there.

“Sam, where’s mom?” Dinky asked, her little face becoming filled with panic.

"I don't know," I said, trying to sound as calm as possible, even though in my mind I was feeling just as worried as she was. I scooped up the little filly in my arms, and held her close to my chest, and began frantically scanning the ponies again, hoping that I had somehow missed her blonde mane, and sweet smile. But Derpy was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Sam!"

I whipped around when I heard my name called, and saw Rainbow Dash walking towards me.

"Rainbow, hey," I said, rushing over to meet her, "Is Derpy here? I can't find her anywhere?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head.

"Before we took off to return home, she told me she wasn't coming back with us, and asked me to give you this note." She reached into her saddlebag, and passed me a sealed envelope.

I opened it and read aloud:

Dear Sam, and Dinky

By now you've probably noticed that I didn't come back to Ponyville with the rest of the Patrol. I had a sudden, urgent matter that I needed to meet with Princess Celestia about, and will be in Canterlot for the next few days. So please don't worry about me. I'll be home as soon as I can.

Derpy

"Thank goodness," Dinky sighed, "For a second there, I'd thought mommy'd gotten lost...again."

I felt all the panic that had built up melt away, as I read the note again. She's meeting with Princess Celestia, I thought, as I finished the letter, and tucked it into my pocket, what would she need to meet with Princess Celestia about? Maybe the Princess had a package that she needed delivered to Ponyville or something; it certainly wasn't unheard of for Derpy to be summoned away to pick up packages. Whatever the case, it didn't look like Derpy would be coming back anytime that day.

"Come on, kiddo," I finally said, scooping the little filly up in my arms, "why don't we go home, have some dinner, read a book, and then get some sleep; I'm sure your mom will be home soon."

Dinky smiled, and nodded her agreement, as she snuggled up close to my chest to keep warm. As we walked, I looked back, imagining the pegasus mare was right behind us, flashing that adorable smile of hers. Hurry home, Derpy, I thought, as I turned back in the direction of the house, hurry home.

Author's Note

So I started going through and made a few edits correcting few things that people have found wrong with the story (i.e. Derpy's unexplained abandonment of her child). I hope that these improvements will satisfy the problems.

Chapter 3

A week had passed since we'd gotten Derpy's letter. A week, and we'd still not seen tail or feather of her. I told myself not to worry, that her business in Canterlot was probably more extensive than I thought, but something, some stupid inkling in the back of my mind had me worrying that something bad might have happened.

I looked up from the book I was trying to occupy myself with over to where Dinky was sitting by the window, her eyes glued to the sky, expecting to see her mother flying home any second. Poor little filly I thought, as I watched her; every day after school for the past week, she'd come home, taken a seat by the window, only leaving it when it was time for dinner, and when it was time for bed.

“Hey Dinky,” I said, as I climbed off the couch to join her by the window, "it's about time for bed, don't you think?"

The little filly didn’t answer; she just kept staring out into the darkening night sky.

“Come on, Dinky. I know you miss your mom; I miss her too, but you can't sit by the window forever.”

"I know," she said, slouching a bit, "I just wish mommy would hurry up and come home already."

"She'll be home as soon as she can; her business with the Princess is probably going longer than they expected."

Dinky nodded, as she let out a loud yawn.

“Alright, come on,” I said, wrapping my arms around Dinky’s torso, and lifting her off the floor, "let's give you a bath, and then get you to bed."

Without any protest from the filly in my arms, I climbed the stairs, and went into the bathroom, where I set Dinky on the floor, while I filled the tub halfway with nice, hot water. Then I put the filly in, grabbed a bar of soap, and began scrubbing her coat.

When I was finished, I drained the tub, dried her off with a fluffy, white towel, ran a brush through her tail and mane, then carried her off to her room, and tucked her into bed.

“Would you like a story tonight?” I asked.

Dinky just shook her head.

"Oh, ok, well, goodnight Dinky."

"Goodnight," she muttered, her eyes beginning to flutter as she began to drift in and out of consciousness; it wasn't going to take long for her to fall asleep.

I smiled, as I pet the little filly affectionately behind the ears, then got up, blew out the lamp, and made my way to my own room.

...

That night I had that strange dream again:

I was lying in the grass in my backyard, when suddenly I started felt myself falling. My arms flailed helplessly in the air, as I hurtled towards the ground to my death, but I wasn’t worried; I knew that Derpy would show up at any moment to snatch me out of the sky, and bring me to safety, only to set me on a giant muffin, then eat me. But she didn’t come; as the trees, and rocks below came closer into view, I looked back to see where my savior would be coming from, but saw nothing but open sky above. At one point I thought I saw a dark, shadowy figure standing on one of the clouds, but before I could get a better look, a sudden, gentle knocking sound roused me from my sleep.

I sat up in my bed, and listened in the darkness, but heard nothing. Had the sound just been a part of my dream? I was just about to lie down again, when I heard the squeak of my door opening.

“Sam,” came a tiny whisper, “are you awake.”

I squinted, and could just barely make out the shape of a little unicorn making her way towards my bed.

“What’s up, Dinky?” I asked.

“I can’t sleep. Would it be alright if I slept with you in your bed tonight?”

I chuckled, as I scooched over, and lifted the covers to make room for Dinky. The little filly got up on her hind legs, placed her forehooves on the bed, and hoisted herself up. Then she did something that took me by surprise; when she had all four hooves on my bed, Dinky crawled up, and nestled in next me. I felt a warmth in my chest; this little filly, the one who who not that long ago couldn't stand to be in the same room as me, was snuggled up close, almost as if she thought I was her...no, I'm not. I'm just a family friend.

Minutes passed as I lay there with Dinky cuddled right up to me, my hand slowly petting her mane, trying to lull her to sleep.

“Goodnight, Dinky,” I whispered, leaning in, so I could give her a little kiss on the top of her head.

“Goodnight, daddy.”

My hand on Dinky’s head froze. Did she just call me what I think she called me, I thought, as Dinky’s words seemed to echo in my head. For a moment I thought that I had surely been mistaken; after all, I was the strange creature she used to be scared of, her human best friend. There was no way I could be her father. Or could I? I looked back on my past year and a half with Dinky; all the homework assignments I had helped her with, all the games we had played, and all the bedtime stories I had read her. When I thought about it I really did seem to be the closest thing to a father the little filly had ever known, especially since her real father was no longer around. And honestly, when I thought about it, I didn’t even mind that Dinky thought of me as her dad; I’d always wondered what it would be like to have a child of my own when I was living back on Earth, and Dinky certainly did a good job filling that hole in my life, even though we were of two...different... Dammit…

In that moment I felt like the biggest hypocrite in the world; there I was, willing to accept Dinky as my adopted daughter even though we weren't the same species, yet more than a week ago, I had told her mother that there was no way I could be in love with her, just because she was a pony. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that that was actually the only reason. I couldn’t help but admit that I cared for Derpy; she was kind, sweet, fun, a great mother, and as ponies went, she was actually pretty cute. But could I really get into that kind of relationship with a pony? What would everyone else think if they found out that we started dating? Wouldn’t they find it strange?

It isn’t as strange as you would think, Sam.

Wha- Where did that voice come from? I tried to sit up to look around for the speaker, but my body wouldn’t move.

Come to me, Sam. I would like to have a word with you.

I was suddenly beginning to feel very tired. As my eyelids slowly closed, my eyes looked frantically around the room, finally landing on a sliver of moonlight that was shining through my window. And that was it.

The next thing I knew, I was hurtling through the sky, just like I had been in all those dreams that I’d been having. Suddenly I felt something snatch me around the waist, stopping me mid fall.

“Thank you Derpy,” I sighed, thankful to be alive. I looked back, expecting to see Derpy smiling back at me, as she flew me closer to the ground, but it wasn’t her. My jaw dropped; instead of the familiar, cross eyed, pegasus mare, I was looking at a majestic, alicorn, with a deep blue coat, and a ethereal mane that shone with the lights of a thousand tiny stars. I looked back down, and began to feel a sense of panic when I realized that we weren't going to land on the ground.

"You seem to have this dream very often, don't you, Sam?" Princess Luna asked, as she began flying us over to the nearest cloud. Before I could answer her, she let me go, and I was once again falling through the air, only I didn't go anywhere. I looked around and realized that I was actually sitting safely on the cloud.

"You can relax," the Princess said, "this is just a dream, and as long as I am here, I have complete control. See?"

I suddenly began to feel myself sinking slowly through the cloud, and my hands scratched at its surface, hopelessly trying to cling onto something.

"Ok, ok, I get it," I cried, "just don't let me fall."

Before I knew it, I was back on the cloud, its soft surface as sturdy as a pillow underneath me.

"Forgive me," Princess Luna said, flashing me an apologetic smile, "I might have taken that a bit to far."

"It's alright, I just... Wait, so it's true? You can actually enter people's - I mean, ponies' - dreams?"

Luna nodded.

"I can, although I must say it was quite a challenge seeing into yours; perhaps it is because you are a human."

All I could do was nod along stupidly; the idea of real magic (along with a society made up of multicolored, talking ponies) had been hard enough to grasp, and I would be lying if I said that any of it made sense to me. All I did know was that there were hundreds of things in Equestria that the beliefs of my old world just couldn't explain.

While I sat there trying my best to comprehend the situation, Princess Luna conjured up a small throne out of cloud, and sat down. That's when I remembered; I was in the presence of royalty.

"Forgive me, Princess," I said with a low bow, "to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Luna just stared at me for a moment, then broke out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"I am truly sorry," she said when she could finally speak again, "it has been a while since I was addressed so formally. Since my return to my rightful place as princess of the night, I have found that by allowing my subjects to speak to me as they would any other pony, they have ceased to fear me, and have once again accepted me as their princess. So if you would be so kind, please refer to me as Luna. Understood?"

"Yes, your maj - I mean, Luna."

Luna smiled at me.

"Good. I’m glad we have gotten that all cleared up, but I'm afraid I am not here to discuss formalities with you; I have come to deliver a message on behalf of my sister and myself regarding your friend, Derpy Hooves."

My heart started to race.

"What is it? Is she safe? Is she coming home soon?"

Luna held up a hoof.

"Yes, she is safe, and yes, she will be coming home soon."

"Thank goodness," I said, smiling, and breathing a sigh of relief.

Luna didn't look so happy.

"You do understand why she came to visit us, don't you?"

I shook my head; I had absolutely no idea why she would need to stay in Canterlot for over a week.

"Derpy came to the castle a week ago, in tears, with a certain request for us.”

I gave Luna a confused look

“Request? What request?”

Luna stared down at me; I could feel the power in her gaze.

“She asked us to find a way to make you love her the same way she loves you.”

I felt like someone had punched me in the gut.

“She told you about that, huh?”

Luna turned her eyes to the sky.

“Tell me something, Sam: is there something about us ponies that you find...unappealing?”

I was taken aback by her question.

“I… I don’t…” I took a deep, calming breath. “There’s nothing wrong with ponies; in fact, I’ve made more pony friends in the year and a half that I’ve been living here than I ever did while living on Earth.”

“But?”

“But where I’m from, interspecies relationships are considered taboo, and when a human dares to enter into one, they usually end up getting locked in a tiny cell.”

Luna climbed off her throne, and sat down next to me.

“You must remember, Sam, that you are no longer in your old world; here, there is a bit more freedom when it comes to choosing a romantic partner, whether they be pony, griffon, donkey, zebra, or even human.”

“But...but what if-”

“What if you can’t look past the fact that Derpy’s a pony? Well, let me ask you something; do you love her?”

“Yes.” I was surprised by how quickly I had answered.

“Then why should it matter what she looks like on the outside?”

I couldn’t answer her; I just hung my head, feeling ashamed of myself. Luna was right; if I truly loved Derpy, then why should it matter that we’re different? Why couldn’t I have come to this conclusion two weeks ago?

Luna must have sensed my discouragement, because she placed a hoof gently on my shoulder, and gave me a comforting smile.

“You mustn't be down on yourself, Sam,” she said, “from what I have heard, all males are stupid when it comes to love.”

I had to laugh; what Luna had just said had reminded me of those old sitcoms I used to watch back on Earth.

“That we are,” I said, feeling better than I had ever since the night I stupidly rejected the mare I that I now realized I loved more than anything. “Do you think things will work out for me and Derpy?”

“I cannot see the future, Sam, but I believe that if you truly do love her as much as she loves you, then there is always hope that things will turn out for the better.”

Luna smiled, as she got up, and started walking away. Suddenly the the whole world began to fade in and out of focus.

“It is almost morning, and time for me to take my leave.”

She cast a spell at the edge of the cloud, and a portal opened in mid air.

“Farewell, Sam,” Luna said, as she stepped into the portal. “I wish you both good luck. And don’t worry, we will send Derpy back home in a couple of days.” With that, the princess of the night disappeared, and the portal closed behind her.

No sooner had Princess Luna left my dream, then I began to feel myself starting to sink through the cloud. I didn’t try to fight it this time; I just lay back and let myself fall.

Just before I hit the ground, I closed my eyes, and braced for impact. But it never came. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on my back in my bed. As I tried to sit up, but I felt something small and warm brush up against me. I lifted up my covers, looked down, and smiled, as I saw Dinky lying on her side, sound asleep.

“Good morning, Dinky,” I whispered, giving the little filly a gentle shake.

Dinky stirred, and yawned, as she looked up at me with sleepy eyes.

“Good morn- why are you crying, daddy?”

I reached up, and touched my cheek; sure enough, I felt warm, wet streaks where tears had dripped down from my eyes.

“Because, kiddo, your mom's coming home.”

Chapter 4

The mood around the house had improved immensely since Princess Luna had visited me in my dream. Over the last two days, Dinky had returned to her usual, happy self, laughing, smiling, no longer sitting gloomily by the window. And who could blame her for being so happy; her mother, who had been away for over a week, was going to be coming home soon. Even I found that I couldn’t stop smiling. And why should I have? For the first time since before I signed my divorce papers, I was in love, and I couldn't wait for Derpy to get home so I could tell her.

Since Luna hadn't given me a specific day when Derpy would be home, Dinky and I decided to just go to the park each day to wait for her for a bit. Neither of us were discouraged when we didn't see her flying over the Everfree Forest; we knew she was safe, and we were going to see her again.

It wasn't until Wednesday night that Derpy finally came home. It was late. I had let Dinky stay up for a bit to wait for her mother, but the poor little filly's head had begun to nod, heavy with sleep, around nine o'clock, so I carried her upstairs, tucked her into bed, and read her her favorite book. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, I closed the book, kissed her on the forehead, and wished her goodnight, to which she replied with a mumbled "goodnight, daddy." Hearing Dinky call me daddy no longer surprised me like it had the first time; ever since that morning, it had been nothing but "thanks daddy," or "read me a bedtime story, daddy," or "could you help me with my homework, Daddy?" I guess it's official now, I would think, a big smile crossing my face.

Once I was sure that Dinky was sound asleep, I snuck out of her room back to my own, changed into my pajamas, and hunkered into my bed for a good night's rest.

I had just begun to drift off to sleep, when I heard the faint squeak of the staircase. I lay there, listening, wondering if what I had heard had been real, and not a trick of the mind. It wasn't; I could definitely hear someone slowly, and clumsily climbing the stairs. That’s strange, I thought, as whoever it was drew nearer, I didn’t even hear the front door open. That wasn’t even the strangest thing; I was in a world inhabited by ponies, whose hooves made a distinct clip-clopping sound, especially on hardwood floors. So how come the house was almost silent, except for the soft creaking of wood, which suddenly disappeared when whoever it was came to a stop outside my door?

Slowly, my door opened.

“Sam,” came a whisper, “are you awake?”

My heart began to race; I recognized that voice.

“Derpy,” I said, rising out of my bed. “Derpy, I-”

“No, stay there Sam.” There was a strange sense of excitement in her voice. “Just lie back down, and close your eyes; I have a surprise for you.”

“But Derpy, I-”

“Please do this for me, Sam. I don’t want you to spoil the surprise.”

All I wanted to do right then was to jump out of my bed, give Derpy a hug, and tell her that I loved her, and that I was sorry for being a jerk. But I did what I was told, and shut my eyes as I lay back down.

“Ok, my eyes are closed.”

I heard the door open a little more, and then close behind Derpy as she made her way towards my bed. With my eyes closed, I couldn’t see Derpy as she crossed the room, but I could hear that there was definitely something different with the way she walked. It almost sounded like she was walking (or at least trying to walk) on only two legs.

When Derpy finally reached my bed, I felt the mattress sink ever so slightly as she climbed up, and sat down in the space that I had made for her. Then she brought a hoof to my face and gently caressed my che - Wait a minute, that’s not a hoof.

My eyes shot open, and in the silvery light of the full, winter moon that shone through my window, I saw a woman about my age, wearing a simple white, sleeveless dress, sitting on the edge of my bed. Not a mare, but an actual, human woman.

“Surprise,” she said, giving me a shy smile.

“Sur...prise? Wha… who…” My eyes darted from the hand resting on her lap, up to her ample breasts, then to her face, which was half hidden behind a mess of long, blonde hair. I reached up, and brushed her bangs away; I needed to be sure of something. Sure enough, staring right back at me, still crossed, and still adorable, were those golden eyes. “Derpy?”

The woman’s smile grew, as she leaned down, and wrapped her arms around me.

“Yes, it’s me, Sam.”

“How did you-”

Derpy reached a hand down the front of her dress, and pulled out a small, silver, sapphire encrusted amulet that was attached to a long, silver chain that I hadn’t noticed until now.

“I don’t remember what Princess Celestia called it, but she told me that this necklace grants the wearer a wish. Just one wish. Since you said that you wouldn’t be able to love me if I was a pony, I decided to wish to become human just like you. So as long as I wear it I will be a human, and we can be together.”

So that's what she was doing in Canterlot, I thought. I was torn between feeling heart broken, and touched. On the one hand, I was sad that I had hurt Derpy enough that she thought that she had to change herself for me. On the other hand, Derpy cared about me so much that she was willing to go to extreme lengths just so we could be together. Needless to say, I knew that if I had been in the same position (and if I had known that such a thing existed) then I would have done the same.

“So tell me, Sam,” she said, rising from my bed, and doing a little twirl so I could get a better look at her, “am I pretty now?”

I had to admit, she was definitely attractive; Derpy’s new body was covered in smooth, porcelain skin, she had gorgeous curves, and her face was soft, and innocent. But still.

I sat up, took Derpy’s hand in mine, pulled her back towards me until she fell back onto the bed, and pressed my lips firmly against hers. Then I pulled away, and held her face tenderly in my hands.

“You were always pretty,” I said. “I was just too stupid to realize it before.”

Derpy's face went from confused, to shocked, to excited.

"Wait, you mean..."

"I love you, Derpy, no matter what you look like."

I could see Derpy's pale white skin turn pink behind my open fingers.

I brought her in for another kiss, this time allowing myself to be a little adventurous, and snaked my tongue between both our lips, and into Derpy's mouth. Derpy gave a happy sigh of approval, as our tongues danced together, then slowly climbed on top of the bed, brought her right leg over my waist, and straddled me.

“So do you wanna...you know?” She asked, giving me a sheepish, yet eager smile, which I happily returned, as I pulled her in close so we could continue our passionate kissing.

My hands began to slowly slide down her cheeks to her shoulders where they stopped when I felt the chain around her neck. I considered for a moment whether or not I should remove the amulet, return Derpy to her normal form, but something big, and soft pressed against my chest, making me stop. Suddenly my male instincts kicked in, and I instead hooked my thumbs around the straps of Derpy’s dress, and pulled them down her arms. Then my hands jumped to Derpy’s chest, and peeled away the thin, white fabric, releasing her large tits.

Derpy let out a soft, surprised moan, when I took a breast in each hand, and gave them a gentle squeeze. Damn these are soft, I thought, as I continued to massage her mammaries, eliciting more cries from Derpy.

It wasn’t long before Derpy had had enough of my playing; she pulled back, and I could see lust in her lopsided gaze. Her hands shot towards the bottom of my shirt, but just when her fingers were about to grip the fabric, they froze.

“Dumb fingers,” Derpy growled, as she struggled to get them to bend. “Sorry, I still have trouble with grabbing things sometimes.”

“Here, I can get it,” I said with a chuckle. But Derpy didn’t need my help; just as I had finished talking, her fingers wrapped themselves around the bottom of my shirt, and began tugging at it until it was finally lifted over my head and arms. She took a moment to study my body, carefully running her palms from my stomach to my chest.

“Feeling things with hands is so different than feeling with hooves; it’s kinda exciting, and...Whoa, what’s that poking me?” Derpy sat up a bit, and tore the blankets away so she could see what was going on down there. “Oh, that’s little Sam poking my rump, isn’t it?” Her curiosity peaked, Derpy turned around, and pulled my pajama pants and boxers down to get a good look at my erect manhood, leaving me with a perfect view of her rump, which from all her moving had begun to sneak out from under the hem of her dress.

“So this is what a human’s thingy looks like,” Derpy said, giving my member a gentle prod. “It looks so different from a stallion’s.”

“I hope that’s a good different,” I said, unable to take my eyes off of her beautifully round butt, which swayed hypnotically back and forth in front of me. Derpy’s response came in the form of a warm, wet lick from the base to the head of my dick. Good different it is then, I thought, as she proceeded to give my manhood a very thorough tongue bath. The more Derpy licked, the more her butt wiggled in my face.

I slipped my hands underneath her dress, and lifted it the rest of the way up her butt, revealing her beautiful pussy, already glistening with excitement. Deciding that Derpy shouldn’t be the only one to have all the fun, I extended my middle and index fingers, and drew them along her entrance, eliciting a series of giggles, and more booty shaking from the woman on top of me.

A sudden jolt shot up my body, as Derpy popped the tip of my penis into her mouth, and began lowering her head ever so slightly until she couldn’t go any further. Unfortunately she wasn’t angled correctly for her tongue to hit the sensitive spot on the underside of my dick, but she made up for it by allowing her teeth to very gently brush up against it as she began to bob her head up and down at a slow, even pace.

Damn, she’s good at that, I thought, as Derpy began to pick up speed. Not wanting to be outdone, I decided to introduce Derpy to something I was sure she’d never felt before. Carefully, I pushed my middle finger passed her lower lips, into her moist passage all the way up to my knuckle, and using the tip of my finger, stroked her warm insides.

My dick slid from Derpy’s mouth as she gasped in surprise.

“Wh-what the - Ahhh - hay are you - oooohh - doing back there?” Derpy cried, looking back at me, her face red, and her golden eyes looking a little glazed over.

I just placed the index finger of my free hand across my lips.

“Don’t be so noisy,” I teased, “you wouldn’t want to wake up Dinky, would you?” When I said ‘you’ I took my middle and ring fingers, and drove them hard, and deep into Derpy’s pussy. The poor, unsuspecting woman bit her bottom lip hard to keep herself from screaming. It wasn’t long before I felt Derpy’s lips around my cock again, as she used the rod to muffle her cries as I continued to pump my fingers, trading off between hard, fast pounding, and slowly dragging my fingertips along the walls of her pussy.

I began to feel a twinge at the base of my manhood; it had been more than two years since another person had touched me down there, and Derpy’s mouth felt soooo amazing, so I knew the first round was going to be over quickly. Not wanting to be the only one to get off, I slid my fingers out of Derpy’s vagina, and began licking away the juices that my teasing had produced. I was surprised by how good she tasted. Whenever I ate out my ex-wife, I always just put up with the taste, but with Derpy it was different; her juices had a hint of sweetness to them, almost like blueberries, that I was more than happy to lap away.

Another pleasant jolt told me that I was nearing my breaking point, so I turned my attention to Derpy’s clit, and began trading off between suckling it, and lightly flicking at it with my tongue. Suddenly Derpy’s body went rigid, and she cried out, as she came. Hard. I was met with a new rush of juices, which flooded out faster than I could lick them away. Then I felt her lips tighten around my dick.

“Derpy,” I moaned, “Derpy I’m almost there.” I expected her to pull away just my ex used to, but she didn’t. Instead, she used the adrenaline of her orgam to pick up speed.

Sure enough, seconds later, semen erupted from my dick, coating the inside of my lover’s mouth. With each shot, Derpy swallowed, making room for the next load until nothing more came out (which, because I’d been pent up for over a year, seemed to take forever). When she was sure that I was finally finished, she pulled up until I popped out of her mouth, leaned back, and gulped down what was left.

“Mmmm,” she hummed, as she crawled back around to the head of the bed, and cuddled up next to me. “You’re pretty tasty.”

“Speak for yourself,” I teased, my own mouth still filled with the lingering taste of blueberries. “Not gonna lie, but that. Was. Incredible.”

“I’ll say.” Derpy smiled, and took my hand in hers. “Who knew that something so small could feel soooooo good.”

“Well, uh, if you’re up for it, I could probably go another round; give you something a little bigger to try out.”

Derpy giggled, and playfully slapped at my chest.

“You’re pretty frisky.” Her smile began to fade a little. “Think you'll still be up for it when I'm a pony?”

I pulled Derpy in for a big hug.

“Derpy, I told you, I don’t care about that anymore. I love you, Derpy, and no rules from my old world are going to keep me from wanting to make love with my girl - no, my marefriend.”

For a second I thought Derpy was going to burst into tears of joy, but she didn’t; instead, she gave me the biggest smile I had ever seen, and planted a big, wet kiss on my lips. While she was close, I made to remove the amulet, figuring that if I was going to have sex with Derpy, I should have sex with the real Derpy, but just as I reached for it, my marefriend placed her hand back on mine, and moved it away.

“Take it off later,” she said. She sounded nervous, almost as if she believed that despite my words, I might change my mind about how I felt if I were to see her in her true form. I went to touch it again, but she slipped away, and gave me a playful wink, as she got back on her hands and knees, and turned around.

“Ready, when you are,” she teased, wiggling her glorious butt in my face again.

Despite the fact I thought that it was wrong, I wasn’t going to deny my marefriend what she wanted. Besides, it would be good to have one last romp with a human girl before I swore them off forever. I got up, slid Derpy’s dress the rest of the way off, and tossed it into the darkness of my room, before placing a hand on each cheek, and massaging them playfully; I didn’t usually like to start off with doggy style (it’s not that I didn’t mind it, but it just wasn’t all that intimate), but it was the position that Derpy was most accustomed to, so I was fine with it. Before I could even aline myself with Derpy’s slit properly, the mare backed up, sandwiching my cock between her two, soft buttocks; she was too excited to wait. Pulling back slightly, I grabbed hold of my dick, and rubbed it against her entrance, coating it in a nice layer of Derpy’s fluids. Then I lined up, and pushed forward so that the first couple of inches were inside.

“Ready?” I whispered, giving her left cheek a playful, yet firm slap, which caused Derpy to cry out.

Derpy looked back, and gave me a pleading look that told me that she couldn’t wait anymore. I smiled back at her, then grabbed hold of her hips, and thrust forward as hard as I could.

Damn, she’s tight, I thought, as the overwhelming heat, and vice like grip around my dick sent a powerful jolt of pure ecstasy coursing throughout my body. I had to take a moment to let my body relax before continuing, or I was going to blow my load right then and there. Derpy didn’t seem to mind; the minute I slammed into her, she buried her face in the pile of blankets at the foot of the bed, and let out a moan.

When the waves of pleasure finally died down, I drew back slowly, then plunged back in with so much force, that a ripple shot through her butt. This time the pleasant sensations were a little more dulled, and I felt safe enough to pick up a steady pace of slow, yet strong thrusts, each one eliciting increasingly louder (even through her mouthful of sheets) cries from Derpy. Soon she grew bolder, and began to meet each of my forward thrusts, with a backwards thrust of her own, filling the room, with the sounds of our combined moans, and loud, wet slaps, as sweat drenched flesh met sweat drenched flesh.

Eventually I had had enough of “Pony style,” so I decided to change things up; I slipped out of Derpy with an audible pop, then took a hold of her hand to lead her, as I lay back down on the bed, and indicated that I wanted her to mount me like she had earlier.

Derpy gave me a sly smile, as she looked down at me, and placed a hand firmly on my chest, while she used her other hand to line my cock up with her pussy.

“Oh wooooooooow,” she sighed, as she slowly sank down onto my dick, “I’ve - haah - never done it in this position before.” She said that, but she didn’t seem to need any instruction; Derpy planted both hands on my headboard for support, and slowly rose until just the head was still being held by her tight pussy. Then she sank down, and bit her lip to hold back the moan that wanted to escape. While she rode me with the vigor of a mare in heat, my hands shot back up to her breasts, which were bouncing around freely (and mesmerizingly) right in front of my face. One I kept in my hand and began to massage, the other I brought to my mouth, and playfully pinched her nipple between my teeth. Derpy didn’t even try to cover it up any more, and let out a low moan of pleasure. Soon, the hand that I had left on her breast, had found it’s way down the side of her slender body, and onto her plush rump. I had to admit, it felt absolutely amazing to have Derpy riding me with such earnest, trying her hardest to make me cum, but I had ulterior motives for getting Derpy in this position.

Without warning, I sat up, and wrapped my arms around Derpy, holding her in place.

“Sam, what’s-”

“I love you, Derpy,” I said, “I love you so much that I just have to do this.” I took one last look at Derpy’s human body, drenched in sweat, her beautiful breasts, squeezed between us, heaving up and down as she gasped for breath, then I grabbed hold of the amulet, and before Derpy could protest, I pulled the chain over her head, and threw it in the corner with her dress.

In the blink of an eye, the woman who had shown up in the middle of the night was gone, and in her place was the pony that I had fallen in love with.

“Why did you do that Sam?” Derpy asked, her lust filled face looking a little sad.

“Because,” I said, giving her an encouraging smile, “that human body you had was great, but this is the real you. This is the you that I love.” I couldn’t help but laugh sheepishly. “And if we’re gonna make love, then I want to make love with you like this.”

For a moment, Derpy just stared at me, stunned, but then she smiled, and wrapped her forelegs around me tightly. When her body moved, we both let out a sharp gasp as my dick shifted in her pussy.

“Should we keep going?” I asked.

Derpy’s only response was a long kiss, before she pushed me back on the mattress with such force, that I bounced off it with a loud “oof.”

“Oops, sorry,” Derpy said. But I didn’t care, I just wrapped my arms around Derpy’s long neck, and brought her mouth to mine, and kissed her.

Kissing Derpy as a pony wasn’t all that different than it was than when she was a human. Sure, her face was more elongated, but her lips were just as soft as they had been, and her tongue still matched mine perfectly, as the tangled together going from my mouth to her's.

Suddenly, I heard a loud unfurling sound, and opened my eyes to see Derpy’s wings begin flapping, lifting the mare on top of me off my dick, leaving just a few inches inside her. Then she stopped flapping, allowing herself to crash down on my pelvis. Both of us let out a simultaneous moan, as Derpy filled herself up with my manhood.

The first thing I noticed when I was once again buried in Derpy’s pussy, was that it wasn’t as tight as she had been when she was a human, nor was she as loose around me as I thought she would be, rather, her pussy hugged my cock snug enough to send just the right amount of pleasure to course up from the base of my penis, and throughout my entire body. Over and over again she lifted herself off of me, and sent herself crashing back down, hitting me with wave, after wave of pure ecstasy; I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer if she kept doing this. When she landed back on me one more time, I wrapped my arms tightly around her, and rolled her over so she was on her back.

I didn’t hold anything back; the minute we were in position, I began thrusting into her with all the strength I could muster, and with every thrust, I could feel the soft hairs of Derpy's belly tickling my stomach. Derpy’s passage began to grow slicker, hotter, and tighter with every passing second, and she wrapped all four legs around me tightly.

“Sam,” she cried, “I - uhnnn - I feel that funny - mmmmm - feeling in my tummy again.”

I just brought an arm behind Derpy’s head, and kissed her, somehow picking up speed with my thrusts. That did it; Derpy tightened around my rod, and I felt a flood of juices fill her, before leaking out onto her tail. I watched in amazement as her orgasm peaked, and her eyes suddenly straightened out for the first time since I had met her. So that’s her sex face, I thought with a bit of an internal chuckle. Surprisingly enough, I still had a little left in me, so I continued to plow into Derpy, as she rode out her orgasm, and into another one slightly weaker than the first.

“Derpy I’m...I’m-”

“Do it,” she panted, “fill my muffin.”

Five more thrusts, and I reached my limit; I let out a roar of satisfaction, buried myself as deep as I could inside of Derpy as I could go, and let loose shot after shot of semen into the mare’s waiting depths. Again, it didn’t seem like I was going to stop cumming; even though I’d reached orgasm just minutes before, it had still been more than a year since I’d allowed myself any form of relief, and I couldn’t lie, but it was the greatest feeling in the world to finally have that sort of release. Especially since it was Derpy who granted me such relief.

When I just couldn’t ejaculate anymore, my body went limp, and I plopped lifelessly on top of Derpy, and used what little strength I had left to roll off her and onto my side.

“Wow,” I gasped. That’s all I could say, my brain, along with the rest of my body was filled with a pleasant tingling sensation, as the last waves of my orgasm ebbed away.

Derpy rolled over to face me; she was smiling, and there were tears in her eyes.

“Thank you,” she said, wrapping her forelegs around me, and kissing me on the nose.

All I could do was hug her, and gently, rub her back, and yawn, as I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

“I love you, Derpy,” I muttered.

“I love you, too,” she whispered.

Soon we were sound asleep, both held tightly in each other’s arms (and forelegs), and I couldn’t have been happier.

...

I woke up the next morning, around the same time I did almost every morning, and found myself face to face with a sleeping mare. There’s something I’ve never seen before, I thought, she looks so cute when she’s sleeping. I went to brush a strand of mane out of Derpy’s face, when the pony suddenly stirred.

“Good morning,” I said, stroking her cheek affectionately.

Derpy smiled, as she pulled me in closer, and planted a good morning kiss on my lips.

The two of us lay there for a moment just gazing into each other’s eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning, when suddenly Derpy’s wings snapped open.

“Sorry about that,” she said, as she struggled to close her appendages again, “I guess I have to get used to my wings again.”

I just laughed.

“Hey Derpy, why were you in Canterlot for so long?”

Derpy just rolled her eyes playfully.

“Because that dumb human body was impossible to get used to. First I had to get used to not having wings anymore - that was strange - then I had to learn to walk on two legs - which was hard because I had those gigantic teats on my chest that made me fall forward every time I tried to take a step - then I had to teach myself how to use my fingers. I thought it would have taken a month just to get used to walking, but Princess Celestia must have cast a spell on me or something, because it only took a week and a half.”

“Well I’m glad I got you back sooner than later, but I’m sorry you wasted your time in Canterlot.”

“I’m not,” Derpy laughed, “I got to come back to find that you love me. I think that was worth going away for.” She gave me another kiss.

Derpy rose on her hind legs, and stretched.

"This calls for muffins," she said, as she stepped off the bed. The moment her forehooves hit the floor, her legs buckled, and she fell flat on her face.

“Are you alright?” I asked, jumping out of bed to help my marefriend.

“I guess I need to get used to walking on four legs too.” Derpy sighed, as she struggled to support herself on her wobbly front legs. It took a few minutes, and a few laps around the room before she was sure enough that she could make it downstairs.

I accompanied Derpy to the kitchen (holding onto her the entire way to make sure she didn't fall), where the two of us set about making a special batch of muffins.

“By the way, Derpy,” I said, while we washed the dishes, and waited for the muffins to bake, “how did you even get in here last night? I didn’t hear the door open, and you must have been cold walking from the train station to the house in that dress you were wearing.”

Derpy giggled.

“Oh, that,” she said, “Princess Luna dropped me off. She just had me hold onto her neck, and poof, we were standing in the middle of the living room.”

I guess that makes sense, I thought, I mean, if she can enter dreams, then why shouldn’t she be able to teleport.

No sooner had we taken the muffins out of the oven, then we heard a door open on the second floor, and the sound of tiny hooves headed towards the stairs.

“Muffins smell good, dad- MOMMY!” Dinky’s eyes went wide, and she dashed across the kitchen into her mother’s open forelegs. “Mommy, you’re back.”

“Yup, I’m back, little muffin,” Derpy said, nuzzling the little filly against her neck.

I stood there, and smiled, as I watched Derpy and Dinky sharing a special mother and daughter moment.

“Come on, Sam,” Derpy said, extending a hoof to me, “you’re part of this family too now.”

I chuckled as I joined in the family hug. I didn’t even need to think about it anymore; sure we weren’t the same species, but we were a family nonetheless. Derpy and I shared an affectionate nuzzle as we sat there, so thankful for the other. Princess Luna had been right; it was impossible to see what the future had in store for me and Derpy (and Dinky), but as long our love stayed strong, then we were going to be a happy family for a long, long time.

Author's Note

I'm pretty sure this works out a lot better than the old "Derpy abandons her daughter, and doesn't tell her why, and makes her think that she's dead, before showing up a week later." It doesn't really change the feel of the story (in fact, it makes it a little happier), nor does it affect the major plot points, so I hope everyone's ok with it. If readers don't like it, I apologize; just let me know, and I can go and change it back.