The Bubbly Mare

3, 8
"Silence"

It was quiet. A light was on down the hall and the door was wide open. Derpy didn't like to sleep with the lights on anymore, but tonight it didn't matter. It barely lit up the door frame, so it was okay.

She clutched her teddy bear. It had been a long time since she had done this, especially so tight... staring off at the yellow glow just outside her room. It was so quiet.

Tomorrow Mommy would be coming home. Derpy thought that was great, especially since she'd have a new colt with her, but... for some reason she wasn't thinking about anything. There was excitement , sure, but also a blankness. Maybe it was not being with Applejack anymore. She didn't know, but she was happy for the quiet, even if it would only last just the rest of the night.

Derpy lay there, spacing. She yawned, drifting further, and further... into a place where none of this would matter anymore. It was always nice there.

* * *

Derpy didn't know how she did it, but she always managed to wake just as the sun was coming up. Even though her eyes were closed, she knew she was awake. The blankets were heavy, twisted, but she still managed to stretch out. As she opened up her eyes she saw her teddy bear was nowhere to be found. She twisted again, hauling herself to her rump, and immediately knew she needed to change out of what she was wearing.

The filly got out of bed, stepping on her stuffed bear. She looked down at it, picking it up, setting it on the bed gently. She then unvelcroed the sturdy sides of her All-in-Ones. They slipped off like a wet towel, fortunately always landing on their front side. Derpy picked them up, folded them, and put them in her personal hamper by her closet. She then exited the room.

She noticed, again, it was very quiet. All the lights were off, she could hear her own hoofsteps on the carpet... the silence was kind of pleasant. She went down the hall, to the bathroom, and stepped inside, turning on the shower. This was one of the first things Derpy could do for herself, and she was always glad to do it after waking up the way she did. It didn't take long, under ten minutes, for her to be completely clean and out, drying herself off. She made sure she was dry enough, it was just starting to get colder outside as time went on.

The filly then exited the bathroom and walked into the hall. Still... not a sound, not even a single light was on.

"Hello?" she finally said, exiting the hall into the living room. Her voice seemed to echo.

"HEY, GOOD MORNING, KID!" a voice echoed back.

Derpy knew the voice and where it was coming from. She followed it into the kitchen, where she saw Amethyst was feeding Dinky.

"Hi," she said, quietly, rubbing her eyes.

"Sleep well?" the young mare replied, glancing back.

"Uh-huh." Derpy nodded.

"Good." Amethyst looked back again. "You've got breakfast already in the fridge. Made it last night, in case I had to go early. Lunch and a snack, too. I'm gunna pick your mom up in just a few. Shouldn't be more than a couple hours, okay?"

"Okee..." Derpy turned to the fridge, opening it up, noticing the three plastic containers with snap lids in the upper-right corner. Upon closer inspection she noticed the bottom container had a sandwich and orange inside. She grabbed the top one, closing the door. "Can I come see Mommy with you?"

Amethyst pushed the chair out from the table with her hind leg as Derpy walked up.

"'fraid not," she replied, watching Derpy sit down. "Your mom said the new colt's gunna be enough... she'd rather you stay here, finish getting the house ready. Besides, I'm going to show you something cool after breakfast."

Derpy opened her meal, noticing there was even a spoon inside, along with cold eggs and oatmeal. She looked up.

"Um, what's that?"

Amethyst smiled.

"How to do laundry."

Derpy took in a spoonful of the cold breakfast, wincing a bit at the diminished temperature and flavor.

"Neat."

"Yup, yup." Amethyst turned to the sink, getting all the dishes ready to wash. "It's what you'll be doing while I'm gone. We trust you, and besides... I want you feeling like you're doing something really special while I'm out." She smiled, stopping for a moment, biting her lip. "Um, uh... you do know what to do if the dryer or washer suddenly bursts into flames, right?"

Derpy was mid-shoveling in a spoonful as that question was asked, but still answered through the food.

"Um... go outside and get a grown-up?"

Amethyst laughed.

"That's exactly what you wanna do, kiddo. Your mom and I had a bet you might not know what to do. Though we were both pretty sure you wouldn't try to put a fire out yourself."

"Oh, um... no." Derpy looked up, taking the spoon out. "That's... really bad."

"I think yer mom's going to be pretty happy. In her place I know I would."

* * *

The pair stepped inside the tiny laundry room. Dinky was right outside in her playpen, with Derpy barely out of her view. The filly periodically looked back to make sure her tail wouldn't be suddenly pulled by magic... Dinky still liked to do that.

"You and I are going to start the load," Amethyst said. "I'm putting it in the washer before I leave... I just want you to watch and learn, okay?"

Derpy nodded.

There was a giant hamper from the living room in front of the two machines. Amethyst unloaded it... Derpy saw the living room curtains in there, as well as the bed sheets from before she left for Applejack's, and their couch cover. The young mare pulled the washer open and placed everything inside. She turned the dial, pulling a big container of what looked like dish washing soap from behind the hamper. She took off the cap and filled it.

"This is the setting for most cloths, bed sheets and stuff." The young mare smiled brightly, dropping the cap of detergent inside and closing the lid, setting the container on top. "You'll use it the most, and I'll cover more about it next time. Your job will be to dry everything as I'm out getting your mom. The goal is I come back, your lunch is set, the sheets and curtains are clean, and your mom'll be able to rest up without a care in all of Equestria knowing you helped by yourself. Ya hearin' me, kid? Doesn't that sound like something she might think is pretty cool?"

Derpy nodded. "Yeah." She looked over at the washer. Though she wasn't super good at telling time yet (she still had to count if the minute hand was far away), the setting reminded her of three o'clock, when she'd normally get out of school. "Three o'clock," she whispered to herself.

Amethyst turned to the dryer.

"I'm going to leave it on the right setting for you." She turned a knob to 8 o'clock. "If this gets done before I'm back, take it out and put it back in the hamper. When I get back I'll show ya how to clean the lint filter. Right now, we're just focusing on pushing the right buttons, okay?" She motioned to the gray button on the dryer. "There's no way you can mess this up, plus I've got faith in you."

Derpy found herself giggling.

"Okee," she replied.

Alright, then..." Amethyst turned to the washer and pushed the blue button nearest the wall. The machine made a loud clicking noise, followed by a shorter whirling one. "I'll show you more later."

"Okee," Derpy found herself saying yet again.

She knew what buttons to push to get the laundry started. It was easier than she thought.

Amethyst smiled at Derpy, before opening the door to trot back into the living room and pick up Dinky.

"Good! I'm going to be leaving soon... you go play, do what you like. Just try to relax... okay?"

Derpy nodded. "Uh-huh."

With that Amethyst left her standing there, to her own devices. A while ago she'd have wanted to follow her right away... but with time it was different. That felt nice.

* * *

Derpy lay on the sofa, staring out the window. Amethyst, Dinky... both gone to get Mommy. She really, really liked the quiet. Everything looked the same, but without any ponies around it felt different. The filly didn't realize it, but this was her first time in the house completely alone.

Derpy could see the kitchen clock from where she lay. It was around eight ten in the morning. She knew Amethyst didn't know when she was going to be back, Amethyst didn't have to tell her, but that didn't really matter. Things would happen, and whenever they did that was okay. Derpy wasn't usually one to get bored... it could happen, sure, but she had things to play with, and being all alone felt really familiar to her despite not having felt quite like this in a long time.

She heard a low whooshing sound followed by a pitter-patter above. Looking outside it made sense to her... it was dark, even for morning, even for a cloudy day. Outside it began raining gently. That was fine.

She stretched, continuing to look out at the pretty grey skies. The only sounds she could hear were those of the washer and that of the rain. Two sounds, making the same noise all the time, over and over, again and again. It was relaxing.

* * *

When Derpy opened her eyes she found almost true silence. Nothing could be heard, save some far off ticking. Stretching her neck, she found she had lowered her head and was now facing the kitchen clock. It had become almost ten in the morning. Shifting some more, she realized her left thigh was a tiny bit damp. She bit her lip, stretching further, feeling that she was indeed wet. She looked down at it.

Fortunately the couch was rubber-coated and only a little bit had come out, but she had indeed wet the bed... in this case the couch, and it had been smeared on her flank. At least it was still warm. There was also the silence -- no rain, no washer anymore, and that felt a little... like it had been a long time that happened too fast.

The filly got up, again looking at the couch. There was only a small smear of wetness, which she could take care of easily. She ran to the bathroom, grabbed a white towel from above the toilet, and ran back, rubbing out the spot. There wasn't even a smell left over when she was done, she made sure of that. Afterwards she looked at the towel... it didn't look stained, but it smelled.

With that taken care of, Derpy knew the first thing she had to do, since the washer wasn't making noise anymore. Amethyst had told her she had faith it would all get done, after all, and Derpy liked that.

She went into the laundry room, remembering Amethyst's instructions despite still being a bit groggy. She pulled the detergent off the top of the machine, using both hooves to do so. She spilled a bit, as it had no cover, but it was nothing the towel couldn't clean up. She set the container down and cleaned it up, and then opened up the washer, reaching inside, pulling everything she could out.

It came all together in a big, wet clump. It also felt really hot, but not quite enough to burn. She kept it tight, turning to the dryer, realizing... she probably should have opened it first. She set the mass down with a slop, and opened it up. With everything soon inside, she closed the front and, thinking carefully, and remembered Amethyst pointing at a gray button all the way to the left... she pushed it.

Soon enough the dryer was going, with it's rhythmic... thunk, thunk, thunk... leaving Derpy looking at it for a moment.

"I did it," she whispered to herself. "I did it."

Indeed she had.

She turned around and immediately saw the gross, soapy, smelly towel waiting for her.

"I should do something," she thought aloud, picking it up.

She trotted off with it in hoof, out of the room and into the living room, then down the hall and into her bedroom. As she was walking the filly felt that her side was still damp. She rubbed it with the towel, realizing right away that had been a mistake.

"Soap..." She rubbed the slick, cold soap on her flank with a hoof. That didn't do any good. "Gross. Um..." She took a few steps towards her room, then a few steps back. "Um..." She trotted forth a few, stopped, a step back, then a few more towards her room. She knew what she was doing. "Okee!"

First thing she did when she was in the room was trot up to her hamper. Inside the towel went. There were four other things in there with it -- her All-in-Ones, wet and folded up. With the towel already covered in soap, Derpy knew what she had to do. She grabbed the handle with a hoof and started pulling the hamper out of the room and down the hall. She then tugged it into the living room and into the laundry room. The towel was already soapy, plus it needed cleaning along with the All-in-Ones.

She opened up the washer and threw it all inside. Getting the All-in-Ones in there was a bit like playing ball, and she did it easily enough along with the towel. She then closed the lid and pushed the button. The same noises she had heard when Amethyst started the washer she heard again... she knew she had done it right.

Derpy walked toward the exit. She had a pretty good idea of what she was going to do next: she had to shower again first to get the icky cold stuff off, then maybe she would have a snack. After that she might go on her swing again, so she could see Mommy coming, or maybe she would play with her blocks. She wasn't entirely sure, what the weather team high above would do would affect her plans the most, but that was okay.

* * *

Tha-thunk! Tha-thunk! Tha-thunk!!!

When Derpy stepped out of her second shower the laundry machines still made noise. Maybe it was only because it was a quick shower, but they continued even after her snack. When she put everything in the sink to clean off, the washing machine started making its loud whirling sound, before it went quiet again. They were both working just like they were supposed to, and Derpy smiled as she cleaned out her container... just like she was supposed to.

Afterwards she looked out the window. There were some puddles outside, the sky was full of clouds, dark and gray, but that didn't mean rain. With everything away and the house nice, she looked at the clock to see it was almost eleven. If Mommy came home before lunchtime that would be great... Derpy knew she wouldn't know what time it was if she went outside, but she always did have a way of knowing when it was time to wake up and time to eat. She'd get hungry, she knew it, and for a little while.... she'd just be swinging higher and higher, waiting for Mommy to come home. There was a good chance she'd see her first.

* * *

When Derpy came back inside she shook away moisture from her coat. It was raining, heavier than before. This was a new record, her third time getting showered on in just a couple of hours. She was out long enough to start having fun, but not long enough to get going really high in the air... almost, though. It was still too early to start eating lunch, but that didn't matter.

The washing machine was still going strong along with the dryer. She approached the laundry room door and looked inside... everything looked as it should, so she closed the door.

She wasn't too wet, she'd trotted in quickly and dried herself off with yet another towel from the bathroom. It didn't take long.

She went to her room, looking at her blocks, toys, and teddy. When they first came to Ponyville she played with them a lot, even during the day, but over the past while, even with Applejack gone... she mostly played with them at night and during bad weather. It was more fun to explore... and she could be anywhere in town she wanted, away from Dinky's crying.

Picking up her blocks from the shelf and pulling them all out on the floor, it didn't take long to get lost in simple structures and color combinations like she always did. Doing this, and when picking things up... time always seemed to kind of stand still. It was just her and what she was doing... the noise of rain, the two far off machines, and the little tiny clicks of wooden blocks. Eventually she did get hungry, but first she had fun.

When she finally did get hungry enough to eat the rain had stopped again. She put everything away and trotted in to the kitchen, glancing over at the clock. It was, in fact, just a bit after twelve. Months ago it wouldn't have mattered to her what time it was but it was neat to realize she did know, even without a clock nearby, exactly when lunch was supposed to be. She pulled it from the refrigerator, sat down, and ate.

While she was eating, one of the two machines in the laundry room had stopped. She listened closely and could still hear the thunk, thunk, thunk! of the dryer. Soon that would stop, too... but not yet. Derpy first had to finish lunch, which she did... putting everything away and leaving the kitchen as spotless as when she had come in. She glanced at the clock... it was past twelve thirty, almost twelve forty-five.

After she went into the living room she looked out the window and saw larger puddles, gray skies, and felt heaviness in the air that usually meant more rain was on its way. There was something else that excited her... far off she saw Amethyst Star with the stroller, and behind her mommy with an umbrella. They were coming, just like Amethyst had said, and everything was done, just like Amethyst had asked. They were walking very, very slowly, and Mommy's side was wrapped, but that was okay. She was home.

Derpy turned towards the door, taking a couple of steps then stopping right in front of it. She couldn't help smiling, and found herself gently rocking. She almost wanted to wiggle, hitting the floor with her hooves as fast as she could, but not quite... she couldn't hear if she did that.

The filly stood there, waiting, listening for any sound that meant Mommy was getting close in the silence. It took a moment, but soon she heard hoof-steps, a stroller, and Mommy's voice... everything sounded slower and quieter than usual, but that was okay. She wanted to be the first thing Mommy's saw when she came in.