Wingless ~ Part One

Closing the door behind her, Derpy's shoulders slumped while she entered her living room. She pushed the back of her mane to the side as she reached to loosen the strap on her saddlebag. Another day, another buck-load of mail to deliver... Oh well, at least I got it done. The mail-mare managed to slip off the bag and placed it on a chair. She then flopped on the couch and sighed as she felt her muscles begin to relax. After a few minutes, Derpy could feel herself drift off to sleep until she heard the sound of hoof-steps approach her. She looked up drowsily to see Amethyst Star approaching her.

"You're home late." Amethyst said while Derpy sat up and rubbed her eyes. "You're usually home around three."

The pegasus yawned, "Yeah, sorry, I had to cover for another employee for a bit. I hope that didn't affect your schedule."

"Don't worry about it, I didn't have much planned except for taking care of Dinky today anyways." The unicorn used her magic to give Derpy a cup of tea.

The pegasus thanked her and took a sip. "How is she?"

Amethyst gestured to the hallway, "She's still working on the assignment I gave her."

"What's she working on?"

"Magic."

"Ah, okay."

"I must say," Amethyst sat down next to Derpy, levitating a cup of tea for herself. "Dinky's really good at practicing magic when she sets her mind to it. But lately she's been a little... Out of it I guess."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah." the unicorn leaned closer to Derpy and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Every time she messes up on a spell she gets upset. I don't know what's troubling her, but it's really affecting the way she's performing... Do you think Dinky's upset because she's-" Amethyst was about to finish her question when the sound of an explosion and a thud echoed down the hallway.

"Oh pony feathers! Amethyst! The broomstick's broken!" A small, purple unicorn trudged into the living room, carrying half of a broomstick in her mouth. The filly spat it out and frowned as she glared at the piece. "The stupid thing wouldn't budge! I tried and I tried but the broom just wouldn't move!"

Derpy's eyes widened, she pegasus glanced at the broken broomstick. She's normally not so mad... What could possibly upset her to break a broomstick? She looked at her daughter and noticed that the filly had her forelocks covering one of her eyes. Derpy squinted slightly, Why is she covering one of her eyes?

Dinky kicked the broomstick piece away from her, she noticed her mother looking at her. Dinky bit her lip, She's giving me that look again... "Oh, hey Mom... You're home late." The unicorn smiled weakly. "How was your day?"

"It was busy, as usual. How was your day Dinky?"

The filly ducked her head and pointed to the broomstick halfheartedly. "What do you think?"

The pegasus tipped her head; that wasn't the reply she was expecting. "Hm... I could imagine it was pretty busy. How's your math going?"

"Pretty good I guess," Dinky flipped her mane, only for her bangs to cover one of her eyes again. She turned to look at Amethyst, "Are there any more broomsticks? Or are we done for today?"

Done for the day? What's going on? She loves to learn new things! Derpy took another sip of her tea, trying to hide her surprise.

Amethyst took a sip of hers, stood up, and placed her tea on the coffee table in front of her. "I think we're done for the day. But before you go and do anything, let's go and see if there's a mess in the hallway we have to clean up."

"Oh, okay." Dinky grabbed the piece and followed Amethyst down the hallway, glancing at her mother as she passed. Derpy caught her daughter's eye and looked at her warmly, trying to reassure her. Dinky quickly looked away, Why's she looking at me like that? I just broke a broomstick! Wouldn't she be mad at me?

Derpy sat back and glanced at a small mirror, hanging with a collection of pictures on a wall across from her. She focused on the reflection and stared at it, then looked at the pictures. The pegasus froze and focused on one picture; Dinky sat on a picnic blanket, smiling at the camera. Derpy smiled as she noticed the glimmer in Dinky's eyes in the picture. I remember that day, Dinky was so happy to enjoy that day with me... She was so carefree and energetic! She sighed, She believed nothing was wrong with her...

"Hey Amethyst, What do I do with the broom?"

"Hm... I don't know, ask your mother about that."

"Okay..."

The mail-mare's ears perked as the filly approached her from the hallway. Watching Dinky place the pieces on the floor, Derpy thought how much it would cost to buy a new broom, including all the other things she had to buy. The pegasus placed the cup of tea on the coffee table and slid herself off the couch.

"Uh, Mom? What do I do with this?" Dinky looked at her, slightly worried. "Do you think we could fix it with duct tape or something?"

Derpy picked up a piece of the broom and examined the splintered end. "I don't think we have duct tape sweetie... And I don't think duct tape could keep these parts together anyways." When the mail-mare noticed her daughter lower her head, she ruffled Dinky's mane. "Don't worry about it! We can always get a new one!"

"Do you want me to add it to the list?"

"Sure, go ahead. I'll take care of this." Derpy picked up the other piece of the broom and headed to the back-door. Once outside, she dumped the pieces in the trashcan next to her and went back inside and walked to the hallway. The pegasus gaped in surprise to see black residue on the wall opposite of Dinky's room. She watched Amethyst easily wipe off the residue with her magic and looked inside her daughter's room. The room was almost perfectly clean, except for small splinters scattered around the front of the room. Derpy swept up the splinters into a pile with her tail and caught sight of more residue surrounding the doorway when Amethyst entered the room.

"She's lucky she didn't get hurt." She muttered grimly, "I thought I could leave for a few minutes, you know, let her try something by herself... I didn't think she was able to do this." The unicorn sighed and levitated the pile of splinters into a small trash can near Dinky's desk. "I'm sorry Derpy."

"For what?" Derpy asked, flying up to sweep the residue off. "Dinky didn't get hurt did she?"

"Well... no..."

"Then you shouldn't be sorry." The pegasus landed and began to walk out the room.

"Derpy."

Derpy glanced over to her shoulder, "Yeah?"

"I meant her new attitude... I feel like I may be responsible for this." Amethyst sighed, "If I just didn't mention her lazy eye as a serious thing maybe she'd-"

"Amethyst." Derpy placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "It's okay, she had to know sooner or later right? Don't beat yourself up because of one small thing. Heck! Remember when we were in our teenage years? I didn't leave my house at one point because I realized I was the only pony who didn't have normal eyes."

The unicorn frowned a bit. "I do remember that... but you had me to help you. Dinky's home-schooled, she doesn't have many friends who hang out with her."

Derpy bit the bottom of her lip, thinking. "Well... Let me talk to her tonight. For now," She turned and exited the room, "Let's see what we can make for dinner tonight. You can stay for dinner if you'd like to Amethyst."

The unicorn followed her towards the kitchen, "That's okay. I'm planning on just helping you for a while and then head home."

"Alright, I'll get the list and give you some bits for the market. We need to catch up on groceries." Derpy entered the kitchen, noticing Dinky writing on the list hanging on the fridge.

The filly spat out a pencil from her mouth after a few seconds and took down the list. She turned and gave her mother the list, "I added duct tape to the list, including carrots, oats, apples, milk, and some other things."

The pegasus nodded thanks to her daughter and handed the list to Amethyst, who was strapping on her saddlebag. The mail-mare then headed to one of the cabinets and took out a pouch full of bits from behind a stack of bowls. She gave Amethyst the pouch, "Don't buy what we don't need okay?"

"Okay, I'll be back soon." Amethyst smiled to Dinky and left the house. Once the front door shut, Derpy faced Dinky and smiled. "Did I mention that a pony moved into Ponyville today?"

"No." Dinky picked up the pencil with her mouth and placed it in a cup full of writing utensils.

"Well, did I at least mention that I met a pony from the Crystal Empire?"

"The Crystal Empire?" Dinky turned to her mother and cocked her head. "Was the pony crystally?"

"Actually no. The pony told me she was half-unicorn, half-crystal."

"Huh, that's something you don't see everyday." Dinky began walking out of the kitchen, but froze after a few moments. The small unicorn spun around and faced her mother with a surprised expression. "This pony is the one who just moved in right? And she's 'half-unicorn?!"

"Mhm!"

"But... how is that possible? She's full-grown right?"

"Yeah?"

"The Crystal Empire didn't return until, like, two or three years ago! How would that pony even be alive?"

"Huh." Derpy tapped her chin, "I never thought about that."

Dinky's eyes widened, "Maybe she was in the empire when it disappeared... Woah..." The little filly thought for a while. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. She smiled widely, "Do you think I could meet this unicorn sometime?"

Derpy chuckled, Now that's my Dinky! She rubbed her daughter's head again, "Of course we can! But you'll have to wait for a while okay? She just moved here and I think she should settle in before being ambushed by an excited filly."

"Oh I don't mind, as long as I can at least ask her a few questions." Dinky bounced, "A unicorn from the Crystal Empire, that is so interesting! This could help me learn more about the history of the empire!"

The pegasus watched the filly proudly. Talking to her about her attitude can wait. I think it's died down for now. She wrapped her wing around her daughter and nuzzled her. "How about we read until Amethyst gets back?"

"Okay." Dinky smiled and followed her mother towards the living room. A pony that's different! Just like me! A unicorn from the Crystal Empire, who's grown-up and possibly knows about the magic the crystal ponies used! I could learn so much from the unicorn instead of learning from boring old books and lectures. But... Dinky slacked her pace, What is this pony judges me for my eyesight? Then again, Derpy didn't seem too troubled to talk about them...