Half pony, half human, the perfect daughter

There is nothing quite like the feeling of sitting comfortably in front of a lit fireplace, drinking tea, and reading the newspaper in the serenity and quietness of the night. It was a grueling day at work. Your boss had to fire a few employees and thus, almost doubling your workload. Thankfully, your boss was quite a reasonable mare, and your salary was raised accordingly.

Poor Derpy was exhausted by the time you arrived home. Sure, you are the one who keeps the roof over your heads, but the sudden change in your working hours have forced her to take care of your three daughters for a lot longer.  Sparkler, thankfully, was old enough to help Derpy raising Muffin while simultaneously keeping an eye on Dinky.

Speaking of which…

"Daddy, I had a nightmare…"

You look up from the newspaper you have been reading and glance towards Dinky, who was standing right in front of you. On her back there was a small doll of Princess Luna that you bought to her to keep bad dreams at bay. Obviously, the doll has been slacking off. You observe the clock on the far side of the room. It read eleven PM.

You take another sip from your tea before whispering, "And what about Derpy? You usually go to her when you have nightmares."

"She's asleep, and I don't want to bother her."

You nod at that. Derpy was stretching herself thin lately. A third child is not easy. Especially for a mare who was a single parent for such a long time. You crane your head towards the ceiling, as if by doing that, you can glance at your beautiful mare sleeping soundly in your shared bed.

You crack a smile and get up from the couch. You move towards Dinky and snatch her from the floor before moving towards her room. As you reach her bedroom, you fling Dinky towards her bed, much to her amusement. She bounces once before you catch her mid-air, storing as much as you can into your lungs before delivering a mighty raspberry on Dinky's tummy.

Dinky shrieks and laughs, pounding her hooves uselessly against your head. You respond in kind by letting yet another raspberry to assault her tummy. Once the deed was complete you place Dinky back in her bed, the filly still laughs a bit.

You move your hand to your chin and scratch it. 'I really need to shave,' you think absentmindedly. "So, you can't fall sleep."

Dinky nods.

"And waking up mommy is a no-no."

Again, she nods.

"Well-" you place both of your hands on top of your knees and smile at Dinky. "-Then I think there's only one way to remedy that… Anon's famous bedtime stories!" you proclaim.

Dinky looks at you with wide eyes, a smile slowly spreading across her muzzle. "Really?! But I thought you only tell me your famous bedtime stories once a month, And you already told me one last week."

It was true. You tell Dinky one of your famous bedtime stories once a month, and only if she behaves herself. Your reasoning behind that is that you know how much Dinky enjoys listening to your stories, so you and her made an agreement that once a month, whenever she behaves herself, she gets to hear a story.

Her grades have never been higher since.

You nod. "True, true, but since you scored an A+ on your math test yesterday, and I know how much you struggle with math, I decided that you deserve another bedtime story."

Dinky squeals and jumps from her spot on the bed straight to your chest, hugging you. "Thanks daddy, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

You smile as well and hug Dinky back. Being called 'Daddy' is the greatest gift you could have from her.

You give Dinks a kiss between her eyes and slowly tuck her into bed. "So, what adventures from my world you'd like me to tell you this time, Dinks?" you ask? You may have… spiced things up a little whenever you told somepony how life was back on Earth. It was always playful, and the adults knew you were exaggerating, but the foals were like putty in your hands when you first told about your world. You remember it clearly. It was when Dinky brought you to her schoolhouse for show-and-tell, but that's a story for another chapter. Right now, you have a daughter to put to sleep.

"Something with tons of adventures!" exclaims Dinky, putting her hooves up in emphasis. You rub your chin again, taking a moment to think of a good story. Your eyes lit up as you find the perfect story to tell. You are about to begin when a voice calls from the doorway.

"Are you telling Dinky a bedtime story?"

You turn your head and lock eyes with Sparkler. You nod. "Yes, wanna join?"

"Anon, I'm too old for this."

"Okay, fine, I guess I'll just-"

"Buuuuuut I guess I could stay for a few moments..." Sparkler says. She moves across the room and jumps on Dinky's bed. Dinky laughs as the action causes her to bounce. Once Sparkler was properly tucked in bed, Dinky moves to snuggle into her sister's side. Both fillies look at you, giving you their undivided attention.

You laugh gently yourself before opting a more serious demeanor.

"This story began long ago, on a land far away to the north-"

"What was this land called?"

"Skyrim, Dinky. I was trekking across the border when a terrible fate fell upon me, for you see, I was captured!" the two fillies gasp. "It was an ambush, set by the Imperials to capture the rebels known as Stormcloaks. The Imperials thought I was a Stormcloak as well, and brought with the imperial to face justice. Said justice was a one way ticket to the executioner's axe.

"B-but you weren't a rebel, daddy! This is unfair!"

"I know Dinks, I know. But what can you do. Anyway- there I was. My neck pressed against the block as my eyes wandered towards the gleaming blade of the executioner's axe, which had a few smears of blood from the previous victim. I was shaking with fear, thinking just how unsanitary this is." The fillies laughed. "Then, just as the executioner was about to bring his axe down on my throat… a dragon appeared!"

"….and ever since then, songs of my triumphs were sung to this very day, celebrating my victory against the world-eater, Alduin."

You finish your story by striking a heroic pose.

"That was…*yawn*…interesting," comments Sparkler, her eyes were only half-lidded and slightly droopy. Dinky though, was a different story. She was fast asleep and snoring lightly, snuggling with her Luna doll.

You help Sparkler get up from Dinky's bed and escort her to her own room. You turn on the lights for Sparkler and wait until she tucks herself in her own bed before turning them off. You are about to retire to your own bed when you hear Sparkler call.

"Anon?"

You poke your head into Sparkler's room. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to say… thank you."

"Thank you? Why?"

"Well… I can't really describe it. I was very little when father died, I don't remember a whole lot about him. Poor Dinky didn't even have the chance of meeting him. And despite that, mother still somehow managed to take care of us three. And then you came. At first I was worried, I thought that there's no way mom could support the four of us.

"I could see that you two had something going on. Mom had never been so happy in her life before you came. I admit that at first, I didn't approve this. That there's no way my mom could love something such as you. But then I learnt more about you. About how kind, sweet and caring you are. Believe me when I say that there's no stallion more deserving to have mom as partner for life more than you. I am proud to call you my dad, Anon."

"And I'm proud to call you my daughter, Sparkler, truly. Good night Sparky, I love you." You start walking back to your room when you faintly hear Sparkler say;

"Good night dad, I love you too."