Derpy breezed through her normal wake-up routine, eager to start the day. A small smile remained on her face through the time it took to get dressed, eat a fast breakfast, and fly out. She greeted her fellow mail mares and stallions once she arrived and listened to her boss’s daily pep talk before starting her route, greeting all the ponies that happened to be up at the time- though most often, her job was done in silence, flying from place to place in the slowly-waking town.

Midway through her route, she veered off and went back to her home, slipping inside and opening the door to her daughter’s room. “Dinky? It’s time to wake up, honey- Mommy’s gotta get you to school now, okay?”

Dinky’s yawn was cute as she woke up. “Awww… mommy, do I have to get up?” She stretched a bit as her eyes peeked open and looked up at Derpy.

She nodded, stepping up to Dinky’s bed and leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead. “Yes, honey. Now come on, Mommy’s gonna make your breakfast while you get dressed, okay? And then you can brush your teeth and eat, and I’ll fly you to school.” Derpy said, flicking the lights on and smiling down at Dinky.

Dinky crawled under the blankets. “I don’t wanna get up!” Dinky whined for a moment, hoping that would work with her mom, even though it never did.

Derpy giggled and reached under them, lifting Dinky up and hugging her tight. “Yes, you do! Unless you wanna leave Sweetie to go to school by herself, hmm?” She teased, nuzzling her foal’s nose.

Dinky perked up and hugged Derpy back, “No! I don’t want her going to school alone!” She got out of Derpy’s arms and started to pick out clothing for the day. “What are ya making for breakfast mommy?” She looked back at Derpy with a huge smile on her face.

She crossed her arms and rubbed her chin, thinking for a few moments. “Hmm… scrambled eggs?” She said. “With some toast and milk. I’ll have it ready when you’re done getting dressed, honey. Don’t forget your backpack this time, okay?” She teased, ruffling Dinky’s mane before heading to the kitchen.

Dinky giggled and nodded before she started to get dressed. After she was done with that she went into the bathroom to go brush her teeth. She was more than happy to get ready if it meant seeing Sweetie again and her mommy making breakfast for her. Once she was all ready, she rushed out into the kitchen to see if her mommy was done making breakfast for her. “I’m all ready, Mommy!” She giggled with a happy smile.

By that time, Derpy was just finishing up her cooking and slid out a nice portion of scrambled eggs for Dinky, putting a couple pieces of toast there as well as a glass of milk next to her plate. “Good job, honey. Eat up now, okay?” She said, sitting next to Dinky with the small amount left of the eggs and some water, eating with Dinky in a small second breakfast.

Dinky nodded and chowed down on her own food, happy to eat her mommy’s home cooking. There was nothing in the world that she like more than her mommy’s cooked food, “Mmmm, This is really good, mommy! Thank you for breakfast!” She smiled up at Derpy as she took a sip of her milk.

Derpy laughed and leaned over, kissing DInky’s cheek. “Thank you, sweetie. Let mommy know when you’re done so I can put your dishes in the washer, okay? And then go put on your shoes.” She said, taking her finished plate and cup over to the dishwasher.

Dinky nodded as she finished up her breakfast, “I’m finished!” She smiled as she handed Derpy her plates and glass.

Derpy took them and placed them in the dishwasher as well, before heading to the sink and washing her hands. After that, she headed into the living room. “All ready, Dinky?” She asked, squatting down in front of her daughter.

“Yep! I’m all ready, Mommy! Let’s go to school!” Dinky squeed with a happy smile as she hugged Derpy. “Today’s gonna be so much fun!”

Derpy laughed again and stood up, holding Dinky tight against her as she went out of the house, locking the door and stepping a few meters away. “Alright! Hold on tight, honey.” She said, before spreading her wings and taking off towards the schoolhouse across Ponyville.

Dinky was holding on tight and she squeed with utter joy as she was flown to the schoolhouse. Once they landed she was quick to give Derpy a kiss on the cheek. “I love you, Mommy!” She waved and gave her mommy one last hug goodbye.

Derpy pulled her in close on that last hug, squeezing Dinky tight and nuzzling her for a few moments, always sad to have to leave her daughter no matter if it was for school or anything else. “Mommy loves you too, Dinky… so much.” She whispered, before pulling back, her eyes a little watery. “Have a good day, okay? I’ll be here to pick you up when school gets out.”

“I will! You have a good day too, mommy. I’ll see you after school~” Dinky nuzzled Derpy back before smiling and running off to join Sweetie as they walked into the schoolhouse together. The two looked so cute together, and it was clear they’d be friends forever.

Derpy smiled as she stood up and watched Dinky head inside, wiping her eyes a few times before she shook her head and flew off, resuming her mail route. Everything was the same up until a certain house- a new one for her route, and the last one she had to deliver to.

An alarm clock went off beside a large zebra’s bed. He groggily pushed it off, groaning as he heard it hit the floor. Well, now he was awake for sure. He yawned and stretched out, still not being used to the new bed, nor his new room.

He looked around for several moments before deciding on taking a shower. He had to get ready for his first day of work, and he really didn’t want to set the precedent of being late. His shower lasted for a good twenty minutes so he made sure everything was thoroughly clean. Upon stepping out, wrapped in a towel, into his bedroom he walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out his work uniform.

“I wonder how the kitchen crew’s gonna react to me now that we’re not all partying.” He chuckled softly as he examined his shirt. Embroidered on the left breast was his name, ‘Rush Greymane’. “Ugh… I need to get this toned down to just Rush…” He smiled to himself. He hung it back up for the moment, looking up to the one clock in his room he couldn’t just smash accidentally. It read 8 A.M. He still had at least two hours before work started.

He got out another set of clothes, one he had from home. He only really wore it when he was out tending to his garden, and now he had the time to. He got dressed rather quickly and rushed downstairs, unlocking his front door to start with the small batch of tomatoes he’d started growing.

Whereas even to him, it seemed like most zebras had a knack for more exotic things like making potions or rhyming, he had no such skills. He just had his green thumb, and a talent in the kitchen, both of which served him incredibly well so far. Though he tended to really get lost when he started gardening, today, however, he would watch himself. Or, at least he’d attempt to, but, as they say, no plan survives contact with the enemy.

He got truly lost in his own little world and was humming softly as he dug up weeds, and planted more seeds down. He wanted to grow not just tomatoes, but carrots, lettuce, and any other veggies he’d want to keep for his own home stock. He’d have to check on his herb garden to the left side of his front door before he left, but when he last checked on them everything seemed just fine.

He was so busy gardening that he didn’t notice anypony come close to his home, only being snapped up to the real world when he heard someone call out to him.

“E-Excuse me, sir?” Derpy said, not wanting to startle him or anything like that. “Do you live here?”

“Oh! Yes, I do.” Rush smiled as he slowly stood up. “What can I help you with?” He asked curiously, taking off his gardening gloves in case he needed to shake her hand. Most of his face was hidden under his sunhat, so it only settled in that he was a zebra when one of his striped hands pulled it back to give her a better view of his friendly smile.

Derpy relaxed a tad- a few ponies didn’t like being disturbed, and she was happy this wasn’t one of them that might go off on her. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m your mailmare- my name is Derpy Hooves, and I’ll usually be here around this time to deliver your mail.” She said, before pulling out a small package from her mailbag, along with a few letters- they looked like junk mail and bills. “Here you go!”

“Oh! Thank you, Derpy. I’m Rush, it’s nice to meet you!” He smiled as he took the package and the letters, grumbling a tad as he looked through it. “And thank you for, uuh… rousing me. I sorta get lost when I start gardening.” He chuckled a little as he looked back at his plants. “I can’t wait until they come in…” He sighed with a happy smile.

Now that her deliveries were over, Derpy didn’t need to flit around town- so she took a few moments to admire his handiwork.

He didn’t have much yet, only some spring tomatoes and some heads of lettuce growing. They looked to be coming in nicely though, the lettuce that was visible was a nice green color, and the small tomatoes were a ripe and juicy red. He had several other plots marked out, clearly turning his entire yard very slowly into a large garden. She could make out signs for carrots, onions, kale, leaf lettuce, and even some sunflowers.

“Heh, stop by at the right time and I might get you a sandwich.” He chuckled, “Give it a week or two though, some of the stuff isn’t good to pick just yet.” He walked over and examine the lettuce with one hand, “Yep, definitely a week for this head to even be remotely ready.”

“Better luck than I would have had,” Derpy said, a smile on her face. “I can’t even seem to grow a few houseplants without killing them. Guess I must have a black thumb.”

“Ooh, I don’t believe that.” He laughed a little more. “Just probably forgot to water em, or something.” He turned and smiled at her, “Hey… what time is it?” He asked curiously hoping she had a watch or something on her.

Luckily, she did. Pulling back a sleeve, Derpy looked at her watch, before saying, “Says it’s about… 7:35. About time for me to head back to the mailroom office.” She looked back up and gave Rush a small wave. “See you tomorrow, Rush. Er, assuming you’re out here, and… y’know.” Derpy finished, blushing a little and rubbing the back of her head.

“Actually… I have to be at work at around 5 tomorrow… so maybe some other day? It was nice talking to you though, Derpy. And I look forward to seeing you again.” He smiled and waved at her. “Have a great day!”

“You too, Rush!” She said, before stepping out of his yard and flying off.

Rush watched her for a moment before he got back to gardening, though now he was more careful with his time.

Once the time for him to get dressed rolled around he ran inside to change, now putting on his full work uniform in place of his gardening outfit. He was surprised at just how good the white fabric felt, a much softer and far airier uniform than his previous one. “I’ll need to visit Miss Rarity to get some more clothes made…” He mumbled to himself as he smiled and began to walk toward the restaurant he’d been hired at. He entered through the back and began his long, but fun, work day.

It was about halfway through the day that he took his hour break, and with it, he decided to not only grab a quick bite to eat but to visit Ponyville’s seamstress extraordinaire (her words, not his), Rarity. He knocked on the door to her Boutique and hoped she was open now. “Miss Rarity? Are you in there?” He called out.

“Just a minute, darling! Do feel free to come in, I’ll be with you in mere moments.” She called back.

Rush smiled and opened the door and walked up to the counter to wait for Rarity. He did look around the store and took in all the fancy clothes the mare worked on constantly. He was pretty sure she had her own series of fashion lines.

As she said, Rarity was out in a few seconds, stepping out from the door behind the counter and perking up as she noticed who was in her store. “Mr. Greymane! What brings you back to my abode, hmm? I do hope you’ve not torn or stained any of my apparel quite that fast, now have you?” She asked, stepping up to the other side of the counter, a slight smile on her face.

“No, no… not yet.” Rush’s smile was bright and wide, “I’ve actually come asking if you’d be able to make some more clothes for me… these are incredibly nice and I’ve been looking to replace most of my old wardrobe.” He explained. “It’d be nice to have something that fits, is comfortable, and looks nice… and well, your work fits the bill perfectly.”

“An entire wardrobe replacement, you say?” Rarity repeated, her smile growing. She put a hand to her chin as she thought, closing her eyes as she continued, “To have everything be tailor-made would be quite the cost, though I’m sure that as the head chef of The Golden Horseshoe you would most definitely be able to afford it. More than that, though, would be the work hours… hmm, but with your entire wardrobe being made by moi, it would be quite the statement…” A few more moments passed as she thought, before asking, “Tell me, dear, just how large is your wardrobe? The more accurately you can describe, the better.”

Rush took in a deep breath, “I’ll need casual wear, of course, that’s… always a necessity. Something that’ll allow me to better work my garden, a passion project of mine really. I’ll need fancier clothes too, suits and ties, I have the dress shoes for it all.” He explained in excruciating detail everything he would need to replace just so she’d be able to get it all down. “I don’t need it all at once. So, if you wanted to take your time and work on other more important projects you can.” He smiled a bit.

As he spoke, Rarity lifted a pen and notepad in her magic, jotting down everything Rush said so as to not forget. Once he’d finished, she looked over the list, humming lightly before looking back at him. “A project this large would take a few weeks to a month and a half, depending on how much work put into it each day.” She said, all traces of teasing gone. “It would require constant visits so as to get more accurate measurements with different clothing, as well as more input on just exactly how tight, loose, breathable and etcetera you’d need those clothes to be, darling.”

“Along with that, I would require payments made over the working time so as to maintain a healthy balance of trust- It's not that I don’t trust you, of course, but more like when one works in this business long enough they don’t trust anyone to a certain degree, I’m sure you’d understand. Are these all agreeable terms, Mr. Greymane?” She finished, taking her eyes off of her list to look up into Rush’s.

“Of course.” Rush nodded, “Perfectly reasonable, depending on the cost I have quite a bit saved up for… emergencies like this. So I could drop off most of the cost now if you have an estimate. Otherwise, paying it all over the time it takes for you to finish is just fine.”

Rarity smiled at Rush’s agreement, her demeanor relaxing. “Wonderful! Well, considering that you’ve been a faithful customer since you arrived in Ponyville…” Her pen made an adjustment to the number on her notepad. “...and this is your first large order made with me…” Another adjustment, “... and that such a fashion statement will help me in the future…” A final mark, before she turned the notepad to him, revealing the price- an expensive, but much lower than would be normal 5,000 bits, “...I feel that this would be an adequate price.”

Rush bit his lip, he knew how far down she was marking it. “I-I agree with that.” He nodded, “And here I thought the ‘it’s for exposure!’ excuse wasn’t something anypony took.” He joked with a playful grin. “You have no idea how many ponies have tried to convince me to cook for a hundred ponies and told me ‘I’ll give you exposure! Ponies will find out about your talents!’ Though, that’s not to say I haven’t used my personal kitchen to cook for small groups… just, I’m against using work assets for something like that if I can’t pay my employees.” He sighed and shook his head, “Thank you, so, so much Rarity.”

“Something happening for the exposure normally isn’t a reason to mark down, I’ll admit. But since ponies will see you come in quite often, and I assume you’ll let anyone that asks know where you got your new clothes from-” She winked at him, a grin on her face, “Exposure is actually a fair point to make, here.”

“Well, for this I suppose I should give you an advance reservation?” He laughed, “Just let me know if you ever want to go out to the Golden Horseshoe and I’ll make sure you and whoever else you bring along have a table, alright?”

Rarity blushed, taken aback a little. “Now, er, there’s no need for that, darling. Just knowing that you’re happy with my work is good enough.” She said, waving a hand.

“Alright! Well, I’ll come with the first payment tomorrow on my break!” He smiled as he looked at the clock. “I really should be getting back, they might start falling apart without me.” He joked as he turned to leave, “Thank you so, so much Rarity!”

“Of course, darling. I’ll get started on planning out your wardrobe tonight, and more details can be discussed when you come back.” She replied, opening the door with her magic. “See you soon, Mr. Greymane!”

“Yep! I’ll be seeing you tomorrow!” Rush waved as he walked outside, going right back to work.

Rarity watched him leave, still smiling before she closed the door. “What a pleasant stallion.” She murmured, looking over the list of clothes he wanted to be made.

Getting right to work, Rarity began pulling out papers and pencils, drawing out some basic designs and patterns to make present in his clothing. She compared certain fabrics and materials, thinking about which would best fit and look on Rush and writing out a few more questions to ask him regarding his choices in apparel. The time went on as the fashionista was absorbed into her work, before she heard a particular chime ring out from her clock, looking up at the time.

“Oh, goodness! That the heavens for that clock.” She said, setting everything neatly down onto the desk before heading outside. It was a brisk walk- ladies do not run, after all- down to the schoolhouse, where Rarity waited for school to get out in a few moments before hearing the tell-tale sound of pegasus wings. Looking up, she saw Derpy land gently a few feet away and smiled over at her.

Derpy perked up as she noticed her friend. “Oh, hey there, Rarity! Here to pick up Sweetie, I guess?” She asked, stepping over towards her.

“Yes, I am!” Rarity gave a happy smile towards the pegasus, “How are you doing today, Derpy?” She asked, moving closer to Derpy to give her a small but friendly hug.

“Good! I got my whole route done faster than usual today, and the boss said he’s thinking about giving me a raise for being consistently done faster than most other mailponies, even with the break I have to take to get Dinky to school.” Derpy told her, smiling widely. Her eyes looked up at the sky for a moment, before she added, “Oh, and there was even a new addition to my route today- a zebra, said his name was Rush. He seems nice!”

“You’ve met Mr. Greymane as well?” Rarity’s smile grew. “He’s such a sweetheart… I just had him come in today with a huge order! He wants his entire wardrobe completely redone, by me~!” She giggled a little. “Oh… I can’t honestly believe that he loved my work that much, and the only things I made for him were a few uniforms!”

Derpy blinked. “Wow… that sounds wonderful! And… like a lot of work. Do you think you’ll need me to babysit Sweetie Belle anytime soon, to lighten your workload?” She offered.

“Oh… no, no I’ll be fine! Don’t worry about me.” Rarity assured with a smile. “Thank you for the offer though. Sweetie’s actually quite the help while I’m working, she’s much better than Opal.” She joked with a small laugh.

That made Derpy snort, giggling with Rarity. “I’ll never understand how you can love that evil little furball.” She teased.

“She has a wonderful fashion sense! If it wasn’t for her, my friends and I would’ve gone to our first gala in some horrid dresses!” Rarity shivered as she thought about the first rendition of all the dresses.

“If you say so, Rarity. Personally, I’ve always been a fan of rabbits.” Derpy said, grinning. “All fluffy and soft and cute… I bet Dinky would love one!”

As if on cue, the school bell rang, and moments later the foals came running out to meet their waiting parents and siblings. Dinky and Sweetie came out like rockets, jumping into Derpy and Rarity’s arms respectively.

“Hi, Mommy!”

“Hey, Sis!”

Rarity and Derpy responded much the same- both mares lifted the smaller fillies and hugged them tightly, Rarity giving Sweetie a small peck on the cheek while Derpy spun around with Dinky in her arms- about an equally emotional response, all things considered.

Looking over at Rarity, Derpy said, “Hey, you wanna meet up at the park for a playdate tomorrow? It’s been a while since we last spent some time together, and I know Dinky wants to hang out with Sweetie again.”

“Yeah! C’mon, Ms. Rarity, it’ll be so much fun!” Said foal agreed, leaning back in Derpy’s arms to look over at Rarity upside down, her arms spread wide.

“Of course! I’d love to go to the park with you, and why wouldn’t I bring Sweetie along?” Rarity giggled.

“Yay!” Sweetie laughed happily, nearly bouncing as she hugged her sister tightly.

“At about what time would you like to go to the park?” Rarity asked, looking to Derpy with a smile.

“Ah… how about 3 o’clock? It’s a little after school gets out and it gives us some time to prepare in case they wanna swim or anything like that.” Derpy offered.

“That sounds like a great time! We could spend plenty of it talking and catching up, then, while Sweetie and Dinky play about.” Rarity nodded at her offer, “It’s a playdate then?”

“It’s a date!” Derpy agreed. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Rarity! Ready to fly, sweetie?” She asked, turning to Dinky.

“Yeah! I’m ready to fly! Let’s go home!” Dinky gave Derpy a wide smile as she giggled.

She took off from the ground, soaring high as she hugged Dinky close. “You have any homework, honey?”

“Only a worksheet, but I can do it, mommy!” Dinky smiled at her mom, nuzzling her as she hugged the pegasus tightly.

“Wellll…” Derpy chuckled, “I do still have one of those potions that let you stay on the clouds for a while. You wanna sit up there and watch the sunset?”

“Yes! I’d love to Mommy!” Dinky nodded furiously as her smile grew twice as large. “Eee, thank youuuu! Thank you so much! I love you!” She squeed as she hugged Derpy tighter.

Derpy laughed, leaning her head down to nuzzle Dinky as she angled herself up, flying high into the sky. “I love you too, honey… now reach into Mommy’s bag and get it, okay? It’s right on the outside pocket.”

Dinky reached in and grabbed the potion, gripping it tightly so it wouldn’t slip and fall. “I got it, mommy!”

“Now go ahead and drink it, then. Every drop! That way we can stay up here for as long as possible.” Derpy said, starting to approach the clouds.

Dinky nodded and drank down the entire potion, closing her eyes for a few moments as she finished off the very last drop. She put it back in her mommy’s bag so they could throw the bottle away later.

“All done? Good!” Derpy said, patting Dinky’s back. She flew up through a cloud, slowing down as she reached the top. “Alright, you know the drill, honey- Mommy’s gonna hold you until you’re standing on it, just to make sure it worked.” She continued, standing on it herself and leaning down, bringing Dinky closer to the cloud.

“Alright!” Dinky smiled up at Derpy as her feet slowly touched the clouds. She wiggled her foot a bit just to check it, and she didn’t break it! The potion had worked and Dinky giggled happily. “It worked mommy!”

“Yay! That means we get to lay up here on the fluffy, soft clouds for a while!” Derpy cheered, falling intentionally back and rolling along the soft surface, nuzzling and smooching DInky’s face.

Dinky squealed and started to giggle as she tried breaking free of her mommy’s grasp. “No! Please! I don’t wanna be smooched to death!” She giggled with a happy smile “Please mommy don’t!”

“Noooo, I’m gonna kiss ya and make you all smoochified!” Derpy fake-growled, before blowing a raspberry on Dinky’s neck.

“Nooooo!” Dinky squealed in a much louder way as she tried to break away, giggles coming out of her mouth in such a cute way it nearly hurt. “Please! N-no mommy! I wanna watch the sunset!”

Soon enough, Derpy did stop, cuddling Dinky close to her. “Alright, alright… you know Mommy just loves to tease you, honey.” She giggled, sticking her tongue out at her foal.

“I knooow mommy!” Dinky stuck her tongue out at Derpy. “Mmmn… but does Mommy wanna read bedtime stories tonight?”

“Aren’t you a little old for bedtime stories, Dinky?” Derpy laughed, ruffling her mane. “Of course I will. That is if Grandma isn’t there already to read you one.”

“Mmmf… I’m never too old for a bedtime story!” Dinky huffed, looking away from Derpy for a moment before giggling. “Why not two though?” She asked hopefully, as that meant staying up longer.

Derpy shook her head. “Only one, honey. You gotta get up early in the morning, remember?” She said, sitting up with Dinky still in her lap.

Dinky whined a little bit, “Fiiiinnnneeee! Only one.” She huffed, snuggling back against Derpy. “When’s the sun gonna set mommy?” She asked with a hint of curiosity.

“Mmm… I think in about half an hour.” Derpy said. “Why don’t you tell me how your day went until then, hmm? I bet you had a lotta fun!”

“Oooh, I had lottsa fun!” Dinky began to tell her mommy everything that they’d learned that day.

The two talked and played all the way to and through the sunset, taking a small while to admire the beauty of both it and the rise of the moon.

Derpy gently closed the door behind her, sighing happily now that Dinky was asleep. She walked out into the living room and sat down on the couch, gratefully taking a cup of hot chocolate from the other pegasus in the room. “Thanks, Mom.” She whispered.

“You’re welcome, honey.” Ditzy Hooves smiled a little as her daughter sat down, sitting and wrapping a wing lightly around her. “I’m always happy to help.” She hugged Derpy for a few moments. “So, how are things going?”

“Things are going well!”Derpy said, smiling back. “I’ve gotten faster at my mail route while still being, y’know, always right about who I deliver to. And the boss says he’s probably gonna give me a raise for it. That’ll make things a little easier.” She leaned against Ditzy, giving a little sigh. “It’s… it’s been a lot better since Dinky started going to school. Where she can see Sweetie every day and learn, and…” Her eyes grew a little watery, “And she makes me so proud when she comes home and shows me how well she’s doing… did you know she can levitate small things, now? Like her pencils and papers?”

“That’s amazing!” Ditzy’s smile grew as she hugged Derpy again. “She’s learning so fast! I know she’ll do amazing things in the future!” She pulled back and sipped her hot chocolate. “Ooh… I can’t wait until she starts to teleport… perhaps she’ll get into the School for Gifted Unicorns? Wouldn’t that be something…”

Derpy blushed, chuckling a little. “M-Mom, it took Twilight Sparkle years to teleport… and that’s when she’d graduated already, for all intents and purposes… but… yeah, I think it’d be wonderful if she grew up to be that talented. It… it might be tough, though, with her all the way in Canterlot.” She said, taking a long draw of the tasty drink. “I don’t think I could afford to move there… so she might have to board there if the opportunity comes.”

“My, you’re right.” Ditzy sighed. “Perhaps I’m getting too far ahead of myself…” She shook her head.

“It’s okay, Mom. Sometimes I get a little dizzy thinking about her future, too… I know she’s gonna have a lot more opportunities than I ever did.” Derpy said, her smile dropping a little.

“Derpy…” Ditzy sighed, hugging her daughter tightly. “You did the best with what you had… you know your father and I are always going to be here for you. Nothing will ever change that.”

“I know, Mom. I’m just… I’m happy she’s all… good. You know? Not.. not wrong.” Derpy replied. “Not like me.”

“You aren’t wrong! Derpy, you’re an amazing mare…” Ditzy squeezed her even tighter. “Don’t you go saying those silly things…”

Derpy nuzzled against her mother’s neck, sniffling a little. “I know! I know, I’m sorry… I just… sometimes I can’t help but think that. I try so hard to be the best I can, and still… still, some ponies out there look at me like I’m… Like I’m stupid.”

“They’re the stupid ones… you need to find a pony who makes you happy and is great with Dinky. Then what the others think and look at you like won’t matter.” Ditzy sighed. “I know you’ll find that special pony…”

“I want to too, Mom… I’m just scared that they’ll turn out like… like him.” Derpy whispered.

Ditzy squeezed Derpy even tighter. “Don’t you dare mention that… that bastard again! He was nothing but trouble and he ruined your heart! He never deserved you!” She growled as she kept squeezing Derpy. “Hmph… if one of them does turn out like him… I’ll be sure to give him what he deserves- A nice helping of-” She cut herself off and started to calm down a bit. “Then you make sure, you don’t rush into it, make sure he knows you have a daughter already. Then if he stays, you try dating. Don’t go headlong into sex, make it something special between the two of you, and… please, use birth control. Dinky’s a sweetheart… but you can’t take care of two.”

Derpy giggled a little at the last comment, pulling her head away and wiping her eyes. After a few moments, she looked back at Ditzy, saying, “Th-thanks, Mom… you always know how to make me feel better. And… and I’ll be careful, don’t worry. I know what happened was both his fault and me… rushing. I won’t let anything happen like that again.”

“I love you, sweetie.” Ditzy kissed Derpy on the cheek.

The two hugged for a good long time, taking sips of hot chocolate until the cups were cold and mostly empty. Eventually, though, Derpy had to sleep, and Ditzy had to leave, the former looking to the latter and slowly standing.

“Tell Dad I love him, okay? We’ll come by and spend some time with you guys soon… I know Ditzy really wants to show her Grandpa how good with her magic she is.” Derpy giggled. “She says she’s gonna be better than him at it all in no time.”

“Of course I’ll tell your dad you love him. And we’re always happy to have you over! Just stop in whenever you want to, honey.” Ditzy smiled widely as she stood up. “Have a good night, Derpy!” She waved as she finished up her hot cocoa. Before she left she did rinse it out and put it into the dishwasher, then with one final wave she was out the front door, closing it behind herself as she went home.

Derpy watched her go from the window, wiping away one last tear as she thought about Ditzy’s words again, trying her best to take them to heart as she always did. Heading back into the kitchen, she set it to run through the night and went back to Dinky’s room, slowly opening the door to make sure her daughter was still asleep- she was- and sneaking over to give a soft kiss to Dinky’s forehead.

“Mommy loves you, honey…” She whispered, before pulling away and heading back out, softly closing the door behind her. She went about and finished her nightly routine- preening a little, cleaning up a few small things, and then heading to bed in her PJs, staring up at the ceiling and thinking for a while before finally closing her eyes and falling asleep, her head full of dreams of the future.

Torchwood started at the readout on the console, frowning a little bit before starting to grin. “Hmm… so it seems in this dimension, everything’s just a little different, but mostly the same as last time. A little… happier, too.” He said, the smile growing on his face. “That’s wonderful, wonderful!”

Author's Note

So, then, there's the first new chapter of From Their Hearts! Please, please lemme know if I did anything bad or wrong. I'm always looking to improve as a writer.

Many thanks as always are to be given to Patric, my co-writer.

More story is to be coming soon- I don't ever want to go on such a huge hiatus ever again.

Toodles!
~TOOWC