The day was over, and the blanket of night now covered the skies above the town of Canterlot. Throughout the whole place, there could be seen the signs of people ready to head on out and enjoy their evening, either with their friends or their loved ones. In one such home, a young lady too was preparing herself for a pleasant night. Derpy Hooves, student of Canterlot High, was now looking herself over in a large mirror that hung in the entrance hall of her home. The girl was, at this time, clad not in her usual attire, but rather a far more formal gown, light blue in shade, complete with a pair of high heels. As she looked at her reflection, she couldn't help but smile at herself.
"Yeah...this'll do."
But her alone time was soon ended, as she now turned to the sound of knocking upon her nearby door. A smile crept upon her lips, and she walked over, clearing her throat slightly before finally turning the knob. On the other side were two happy-looking faces, whom Derpy was more than eager to greet.
"Thank you so much for coming tonight, girls."
Pinkie Pie and Sonata Dusk both beamed in unison to her greeting, taking a stride inside when the blonde girl stood to one side to allow them entry. After closing the door behind them both, Derpy took a few calming breaths, before giving them her full attention once more.
"I can't thank you enough for making it on such short notice."
Pinkie scoffed at this.
"Pfft! No problem, Derpy! We're always happy to help!"
In a like-minded manner, Sonata looked to her host and nodded.
"Yep! Besides, it's about time you got a day to just, you know, go out on the town."
Derpy considered this for a moment.
"It's been pretty busy, it's true. Dinky has been such a handful. And with Mom and Dad needing to go out to Grandma's on such short notice...well..."
She seemed somewhat down over the apparent circumstance, prompting Pinkie to step closer to her, placing her hand upon the girl's shoulder with a reassuring look on her face.
"Don't you worry, Derpy. Me and Nata will look after your little girl no problem!"
Derpy perked up after hearing that, giving an appreciative nod to her friend. Soon afterwards, it was the turn of the youngest Siren to chime in.
"Don't worry about a thing. You just go out and have a nice time with Turny."
"Turner," Derpy corrected.
"Right, him."
Pinkie giggled over the remarks, before then taking a moment to finally take in Derpy's current attire, giving an approving thumb's up as she did so.
"Pretty sure he'll be glad to go out with you tonight. I mean seriously, lookin good, Derpy."
Derpy blushed slightly.
"Th...thank you."
She turned to face her in earnest again, opening her mouth to speak, only to be halted when all three of them heard the sounds of a car horn outside. Depry turned to the door first, a smile creeping onto her lips, before glancing back to her two guests.
"That'll be him. Okay, I left a few instructions on the side in the kitchen and..."
But once more, Pinkie placed her hand upon her shoulder.
"Derpy, I know the drill. This isn't my first babysitting gig, remember?"
After a few moments of considering that, Derpy let out a sigh, taking in Pinkie's reassuring tone before giving her a shot nod.
"You're...you're right. I'm sorry. You know what you're doing."
In the silence that followed, the young Mother looked from Pinkie to Sonata and then back again, before taking a deep breath and spinning in place, looking right at her door. A second or two later, she opened it, giving the babysitters one last nervous smile before finally closing it. Now that their friend had left, Pinkie and Sonata looked to one another, wide smiles plastering both of their faces. Then, in a manner far more quiet and careful than most would have expected of them, they began to make their way to the door of a nearby room, slowly turning the knob before entering it fully. And once inside, they both smiled when they gazed upon what lay within.
"There she is," Sonata remarked.
There she was indeed. Dinky Hooves, sleeping soundly in her crib. The two girls approached as quietly as possible, leaning over the side of the thing to get a closer look at the slumbering youth within. Naturally, both of them had to fight back every urge to "awww" that they had coursing through them right now. It took a while, but Sonata finally pried her eyes away from the baby, looking to her party-loving friend with a look of slight concern.
"So...you've done this before, right? What do we need to do?"
A look of confidence crossed Pinkie's face, and she spoke as quietly as she could to her colleague.
"First rule...always be ready to tend to the baby at a moment's notice."
Sonata nodded, and was no doubt about to say something else, only to stop when the baby nearby began to stir. Both girls looked to her, and while they were at first happy to see her looking at them, those smiles soon vanished when they saw, to their dismay, that the infant was now beginning to cry. Sonata, of course, was rather panicked about the matter, looking to Pinkie with dismay over what to do. But before she could say anything, she soon sniffed the air, a look of disgust now crossing her face.
"Now?! She has to do that now?!"
Pinkie chuckled, unconcerned about the situation, before reaching into one of the pockets on her blue skirt, pulling out a pair of items and holding them before Sonata.
"Second rule...never forget to bring powder and a nose-plug."
