Unicorn's Kiss

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1: The new music teacher
Chapter 2: The unforgettable night that was forgotten
Chapter 3: Ditty's first week
Chapter 4: Special Delivery
Chapter 5: Party and Plans
Chapter 6: The Magic Club
Chapter 7: From Spa to Spy
Chapter 8: It only takes a spark
Chapter 10: A family reunited
Epilogue
Chapter 9 : Crawling through Oblivion

Prologue

-Fillydelphia the morning after

Ditty Hooves woke up with a massive throbbing in his head. Celestia's sun was glaring through the curtains of his hotel room. Ditty felt a lurch in his stomach and with a jolt of urgency he bolted from his bed to the bathroom and straight to the toilet.

He knelt before the porcelain and heaved the contents of his stomach. Between the first and second wave of vomit the only thought that went through his mind was 'here I am again.'

Ditty flushed and laid his head on the edge of the tub next to the toilet.

'What happened last night?' His still spinning head railed. 'What time is it? Why does this keep happening to me?'

He reached over to the faucet of the bath tub and turned it on. He then forced down gulps of water cold water from the tap.

He leaned over the toilet again and puked. This time the water made it burn a little less but it still felt awful. He spit a couple of times and went back to the faucet to drank again.

He went back and forth between drinking and vomiting for the next few minutes, a hangover ritual he learned in college. By the fifth round he saw it was more water he was spitting up rather than sick. He slowed down on his gulps, now taking time for his stomach to settle a bit before he swallowed again.

The process mildly calmed the immediate sick feeling in his stomach, but now he now felt terribly weak and his head was still in pain. He reached over and turned the bathtub faucet to hot and laid there on the floor as the room slowly started to fill with steam.

Ditty started taking in deep breaths, gathering his thoughts as he hoped the vapors of the steam would ease the pounding in his head.

'Easy Ditty.' He thought to himself. 'You know where you are, Hotel Fillydelphia. You sing at the lounge and waiter for the kitchen. You've been working here for two years, last night was your last night working here. Hearth's Warming Eve right?'

His thoughts started to collect as his legs still shaky pulled him up to the sink to look at himself in the mirror.

A purple unicorn with dark brown eyes and a dishwater blond mane looked back at him. On his back flank was his cutie mark, a microphone with three stars around it. The expression in his eyes was hauntingly familiar, the look scared Ditty.

"Oh Celestia! I drank straight gin last night again didn't I?" He said out loud to himself.

'Certainly tastes like it. That and red wine.' The voice in his head seem to reply.

He kneeled over the pot again, this time it was just a gag. He sat back on his haunches and started massaging his temples with his hooves.

'Ok. So I was singing at the lounge last night.' He continued to think. 'Hearth's Warming Celebration? Yeah, the set was holiday tunes. There was a group of good looking mares at the bar, remember? Yeah.'

Suddenly Ditty had a flash in his memory of a familiar fuchsia and pink earth pony.

"Arrgggg!" The pain in his head increased as if his mind was protesting any more attempts in anything that required it’s focus.

"This needs to stop. This isn't right. I have a problem!" He said looking back at himself disgusted with the stallion looking back at him in the mirror.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

The sound did not come from his head but the door to the room.

Ditty stumbled out of the bathroom and opened the door. Benny his piano player, a cobalt earth pony, stood in the doorway holding in his arm a bathrobe and a large serving pot of coffee. Next to him on the ground was a clean stack of towels and white box similar to one you would get from a bakery.

"Ditty you party stallion! How's the hangover?" Benny chuckled throwing the bathrobe over his friend's withers.

Ditty let out a groan.

"Not so loud Benny."

Benny not missing a beat reached in to the pocket of the bathrobe with his mouth and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. In one flip of his head he unfolded them and put them on Ditty's face.

"Ok." He said quieter. "Let's get you sobered up. I want to hear the details of last night."

Benny put his free hoof around Ditty and walked him back inside the room.

Chapter 1: The new music teacher

Chapter 1

The new music teacher

Cheerilee sat with the other adult ponies in the school house. It was late afternoon and the sun had already disappeared in the horizon.

"Well the Ponyville counsel was quite impressed with your proposal you made last quarter Miss Cheerilee and have approved the new funds for the school." The Mayor said looking up at the group and Cheerilee. "I must say it must have taken a lot of bravery to not only to ask the council for more money, but to openly admit your limitations as a teacher with the students. They have unanimously agreed that you are right that Ponyville's school system has been falling behind the rest of Equestria. The first problem, being the most apparent, having strictly only one teacher. So without further ado we have found the first of what we hope to be many of new teachers in the future to join what will become our faculty of Ponyville Elementary."

Cheerilee smiled as the Mayor slid a manila folder to her.

Being an alumnus from Ponyville herself she always felt a special place for the school in her heart. She also felt somewhat embarrassed when she did her student teaching studies in Fillydelphia in their larger public schools. The majority of her academic life she experienced only one teacher and one room for all her studies, then to find out other students her age were getting more insight and skills from a whole team of teachers in their own schools across Equestria.

"The new employee is skilled in his area but is relatively new to the teaching profession." The mayor continued. "In fact one of the reasons he decided to apply here was he was born here in Ponyville. Along with being the school's part-time music teacher he has agreed to fill the role of being a teacher aide thus collectively making him a full-time employee."

Cheerilee opened the folder, looked the photo and resume. Her smile grew with intensity.
'Really?' Her mind pondered.

The Mayor and other ponies around her seemed to take Cheerilee's enthusiasm as a good sign.
"His name is-"

"Ditty Hooves!" Cheerilee said with a half laugh. "I knew him when we were foals. We were in the same class together, that was before either of us had our cutie marks. Last I saw him was over five years ago at a Hearth's Warming Eve party in Fillydelphia. He was a lounge singer at the time. Looks like music has turned him to a career in education." Cheerilee said still chuckling.

The mayor smiled back.

"Well it sounds like you know more about this teacher than us." She replied. "It looks like you'll have no problem working together."

Cheerilee looked up with a hoof to her mouth to keep herself from laughing, and nodded her approval.

--~~--

Cheerilee stood at the train station keeping her eyes peeled for a purple unicorn stepping off the train. He wasn't hard to spot, there were only three other ponies getting off the train.

Ditty was wearing a small saddle bag on his back and floated a steamer trunk behind him using his unicorn magic with his horn.

"Ditty!" Cheerilee shouted over to him and she crossed across the platform.

"Huh?" He looked up.

"Over here!" She approached him. "Welcome to Ponyville, or should I say welcome back."

Ditty looked up at her and had an immediate look of surprised and then straightened his expression.

"Why thank you, miss?" He said reaching a hoof out to shake.

"Oh don't tell me you forgot me." Cheerilee looked out at him brushing her mane aside so he could get a better look at her face, and turning slightly so he could see her cutie mark. "Cheerilee. Or your gonna tell me that line you told me seven years ago about the filly across the street was just an excuse to sit down next to me and hit on all my friends."

Ditty's cheeks went red. He coughed and cleared his throat.

"No, no, I do remember you. I first thought it was you, I just second guessed myself. The Mayor told me the school teacher was going to meet me." Ditty seemed to stumble through his words.

Cheerilee laughed.

"I am the teacher." She said. "Did the Mayor not tell you who was going to pick you up in her letter."

"No she didn't. Now that I think of it." He said scratching the back of his head. "The only thing she said in her letter was to expect a pleasant reception. I never knew you were a teacher."

"Oh." Cheerilee responded surprised. "I guess last we saw each other I was still student teaching and haven't gotten my job here yet."

Ditty's color started turning back to normal, he had an honest reason to be surprised at appearance Cheerilee.

"So you gonna give me the tour? I haven't been back in Ponyville since I was a colt. We were only a half way through our first year of school when I left."

"Oh sure." Cheerilee said leading him in to town. "Do you remember many ponies from our class?"

"Well let's see my memory is hazy at best. Ooof!" Ditty said lifting his trunk with his magic on to his back and using more of the purple glow from his horn he wrapped the straps covering the outside of his trunk to tighten around his back so he did not have to carry it with his magic.

"I remember Little Macintosh."

"He's Big Macintosh now." Cheerilee said correcting him.

"Uh Berry something. That pink one you were friends with, I kept confusing the two of you."

"Punch." Cheerilee said continuing their walk. "Berry Punch. I don’t spend much time with her now, she's become a bit of a drinker I’m sorry to say."

"Oh," Ditty said raising his eyebrows. "She getting help?"

Cheerilee sighed sadly, her friendship with Berry Punch had been fading due to their different choice of lifestyles. Cheerilee was no longer the young carefree mare she was. Partying and drinking had become a rare pastime for her given how seriously she took her current profession.

"No she hasn't." She said frowning. "And that's not to say there isn't help here in Ponyville."

"So there’s an Alcoholics Anonymous group here in Ponyville?" He asked oddly without a hint of judgment on his face.

"Why yes." Cheerilee said perplexed. "Do you mind me asking why you're interested in that?"

Ditty this time sighed.

"Well this isn't the best ice breaker topic but I suppose since we are going to be coworkers and friends I should be on the level with you. I am an alcoholic. I have been without a drink for over six years now. I'm interested in knowing there is a group here because its a proven fact that new surroundings and new jobs carry a possibility of relapse."

Cheerilee stopped and looked him with genuine concern Ditty continued with a serious look on his face.

"I know you have a good reason to be worried. I would feel the same way in your position: me being a new teacher, a stranger, working with the students. But I'm not going to hide what I am or let it control me, I can only move on. This is part of the reason I switched from music performance to education. It keeps me away from the bars and the night lifestyle and puts me in a healthy environment where I'm helping others."

Ditty glanced at her with a docile look. Cheerilee saw the honesty in his expression and smiled back at him.

She was touched by his humility and the fact that not more than one hour off the train he was already making connections and finding resources to keep him on the right path. It showed he was genuine.

"Its alright." She said putting a hoof on his shoulder. "In fact it's kind of inspiring. You've changed a lot over the years since I've seen you. I see now you're no longer the lounge singer with the quirky one liners and flattering words, but a good stallion who has decided to make his life better."

"Thanks Cheerilee." Ditty said with a slight blush that started to grow when Cheerilee touched him.

"Actually I'm glad you told me this.” Cheerilee said putting her arm down avoiding making the moment awkward, “There is a certain pony in town who has a reputation of throwing surprise parties for our new residences. I'll pass the word to her to keep the punch and drinks nonalcoholic, just try to look surprised when it happens." She said with a whisper and a wink.

"Oh really was she in our class." Ditty asked as they continued walking.

"No." Cheerilee replied. "She's a quite few years younger but one of her closest friends was in our class, you remember Rarity right?"

"Rarity, hmmm. White unicorn, purple mane."

"Yes that's her."

"She was in our class? I don't remember her from school. I do remember her with you that night in Filly." Ditty said with what sounded like a touch of contempt in his voice.

"Yeah that's right!" Cheerilee said trying to think back to that night wondering why Ditty sounded the way he did. "You remember anypony else from that night?"

"To be honest, no. That year for me was me was the worst of my addiction. I had many mornings I woke up not remembering much of what I did the previous night. I'm not proud of who I was back then. The stallion who you saw back there in Filly died in that lounge when I left that job."

Cheerilee nodded and went back to asking Ditty on school mates from when they were young.

"You remember Colgate?"

"Was she a pegasus?"

"Unicorn, she has a hourglass as a cutie mark."

"I don't remember any of us having a cutie mark back then."

"Oh right, of coarse. How about Twilight Sparkle?" Cheerilee said with a big smile.

"One of the bearers of the elements of harmony? Who hasn't heard of her? She was in our class?"

"Oh no, she went to school in Canterlot. But she's a good friend of mine. She's town librarian in a matter of speaking."

"Really I thought she was Celestia's protege?"

"Yes she's mostly that too, she corresponds with her regularly using dragon's breath letters. All of the bearers of the elements live here in Ponyville. Applejack, the bearer of honesty, is the younger sister of Big Macintosh. You'll be seeing the youngest of the Apple family in school, a little red-tail named Apple Bloom."

"Wow." Ditty said. "This is really is small town. Everyone is in each others business."

Cheerilee looked at him a little insulted.

"I mean... Oh that sounded bad. I mean in comparison to Filly, Ponyville is a town where everyone honestly knows everyone else."

Cheerilee gave a small nod in understanding but remained quiet.

"So... Anymore info about the students." Ditty said trying to be a bit more tactful in his words.

"Well, I think that we can save that for tomorrow. We're here." Cheerilee said walking up to a city hall. "The Mayor said she wanted to speak to you. She also has all the paper work for your new home in her office. Just head on in, she'll be expecting you."

"Well OK, aren't you coming too?"

"No, I've got a dinner date with a pegasus friend."

"Oh, coltfriend?"

"Oh no." Cheerilee laughed. "Ditzy Doo, you’ve met her, she was with my friends and I that night in Fillydelphia."

Ditty leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Uh, nope. Don't remember."

"Grey wings, bubbles for a cutie mark."

"Pegasus with bubbles? I think I would have remembered that." Ditty responded. He threw his hooves up in surrender. "I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just drawing a blank. It was a long time ago, a different time. Let's just put that whole night behind us."

"Of course" Cheerilee said sensibly. "I'll see you at tomorrow at school, we have lesson plans to prepare."

"Yes ma'am." Ditty said with a salute and walked in to the building.

Chapter 2: The unforgettable night that was forgotten

Chapter 2

The unforgettable night that was forgotten

-Fillydelphia the morning after

Ditty was lying on the bed in his hotel room with a pair of sunglasses on, wearing a bathrobe. Benny sat at the table while he poured a large coffee for his hung-over friend, eyeing the bakery box he set on the table.

"So you're a free pony now Ditty. The manager only has to worry about you checking out tomorrow and then you can kiss his sorry flank good bye."

Ditty rolled over on his back and groaned. His bed was a mess, he practically flung the covers off awhile ago when his stomach turned over. The bedspread still laid heaped on the floor.

"Neat! Stella left you muffins!" Benny said having opened the box.

"Stella?" Ditty asked throwing a forearm over his eyes. "That witch of a housemaid, left me muffins?"

"A going away present I guess. She must have left these right outside your door on top of the fresh linens." Benny said throwing a towel at Ditty, it landed completely unfurled on his face.

"Mmmmh, dark." Ditty said muffled by the towel now covering his head. "Bright light bad! Dark good. Hmmmm me like black."

"Well that's the way you're getting your coffee." Benny said pulling up a chair next to the bed. He set the box of muffins on top of the night stand. "Because I don't have any cream or sugar."

Ditty let out another groan.

"No sweets, I think I'll pass on the muffins but the coffee might help."

"Sure thing D." He handed Ditty a cup of coffee in his out stretched hoof.

Ditty sat up letting the towel fall from his face and took a sip of coffee. Benny picked up a muffin and took a bite in to it.

"Eeech." Benny said with surprise. "Stella is torturing you, these are all just bland bran muffins."

"Bland you say?" Ditty said rolling his head over to Benny. "I think I can swallow a bland muffin."

"So what happened?" Benny asked handing him a muffin. "Last I saw you; you were macking on a couple of fillies that were watching you from the bar."

Ditty's thoughts were clearing up. Yes he remembered a group, one of them was a mare he had a crush on when he was just a foal.

"Yeah some girls I knew back when I lived in Ponyville." He remarked before taking a bite in to the muffin.

"Did you?" Benny asked making a suggestive gesture with his hoof. He glanced around the room looking for evidence of last night.

"No." Ditty growled. "Before I could get anywhere playing the nostalgia card, the white unicorn in the group slipped me a tip and fed me a half-assed line on meeting their dates outside." He said hopelessly.

"So after being rejected and left alone at the bar you ordered..." Benny said knowingly

"My first shot." Ditty relentingly finished the line.

The two of them had a similar conversation before concerning another encounter Ditty botched a few months ago.

Benny reached down in to the garbage bin next to the bed and pulled out an empty bottle of gin and an empty bottle of red wine.

"Whew this looks like a volatile combination. So you decided to have a Hearth Warming party of your own? Alone."

"I don't remember the rest.” Said sickly turning away from the bottles. “Don't think I want to" Ditty took a gulp of coffee. "Next I know I wake up here in bed with a sick jolt and made a b-line for the John."

-Present day

Ditzy Doo sat at her table fidgeting. Her eyes were in their typical rolled fashion but her dominate eye remained locked on the entrance to the restaurant.

'It's him, I know it's him.' She thought slightly panicked.

Earlier she had been flying over town, when she saw Cheerilee walking and talking to the last stallion she'd ever thought she'd see in Ponyville.

She was glad she was flying high for two reasons. First, she drifted off course (again) and had she'd been a few feet lower she'd might have crashed in to the windmill. Second, she was so far up that her shadow never crossed over them causing them to look up at her.

'How much does Cheerilee know?' She asked herself. 'She never really asked me about it, she's just has always been supportive us, never said anything judgmental.'

The bell of the cafe door jingled and Cheerilee walked in. Ditzy now looked up at her with both eyes and smiled.

"Hey Ditzy." She said sitting down at the table.

"Hi." Ditzy said sounding the best she can at being nonchalant.

"No Dinky today?" She asked glancing under the table hoping to see Ditzy’s daughter, Dinky Doo, sitting under it.

"Oh no, she's with my father. He came down from Cloudsdale yesterday to visit. He got the day off from the factory."

"Oh that's nice, how is Daddy Doo? I haven't seen much of him since he moved back to Cloudsdale when you got your own place."

"Oh he's doing alright, enjoying the work and is always glad to see his granddaughter."

"How have you been?" Cheerilee said putting a gentle hoof on Ditzy's. "You know, since Doc left."

Doctor Whooves had been Ditzy's on again off again coltfriend. The Doctor was supportive to her, though he was a bit eccentric at times.

Three months ago Ditzy saw a change in his behavior, she fancied the thought it was because he was considering to purpose to her. But her hopes were broken when the Doctor just disappeared one day.

The following day she discovered she was delivering a letter to herself from the Doctor. It said he had very urgent matter to attend to, something cryptic about the water on mars, he was not sure if he could come back. It broke Ditzy's heart but she somehow knew deep down he was never coming back, at least not as the stallion she knew grew to like.

Ditzy sighed at Cheerilee.

"Dinky seems to be taking it well. But she is such an optimist, I'm just not sure if she truly understands it."

Cheerilee put her fore hoove around her old friend.

"Little ponies do take time to understand loss, she'll be OK. She has a good loving mother and grandfather."

Ditzy looked at her with both eyes and weakly smiled. She then looked off to the side.

Cheerilee looked at her carefully. She had known her Ditzy nearly her entire life. Cheerilee was the only pony Ditzy knew that could tell from her expression when she was worried, or something was wrong.

"Ditzy, what is it?" Cheerilee said.

"No.... nothing." Ditzy said eyes still not moving.

"Ditzy Doo, you may have one of the most difficult faces to understand for other ponies in this town but not to me. I know when you make that face some thing is wrong. Tell me."

Ditzy closed her eyes to try to hide her emotions to her friends but, she could feel her resolve crumble.

"How long has he been in town?" She said with her eyes still closed.

"Who?" Cheerilee asked.

"Ditty." She said weakly.

"Oh him?” Cheerilee said happily. “He just arrived on the train this morning. He's going to be the new school music teacher. You remember seeing him? Back when he was that tacky lounge singer in Fillydelphia?"

Ditzy's mind quickly raced processing the new pieces of information.

'He's the new teacher, teaching music, in school. Working with students, interacting with colts and fillies including....'

Ditzy dropped her head, she felt tears cascading through her eyelids.

"Oh, Ditzy! Oh my!" Cheerilee had now both of her fore hooves around Ditzy. "What's this got to do with Ditty? He's seems alright, the stallion has really become a nice guy by the looks of it. Far from that sleazy lounge singer we once saw. I know he was a bit of a creeper back then."

"No, no." Ditzy said. "He was never..... You really don't know, do you? I though you of all ponies would have figured it out."

"What?" Cheerilee handed Ditzy a couple of napkins from the dispenser on the table to dry her tears.

Ditzy just started, she had no restraint, the story seemed to just tumble out of her mouth.

-Fillydelphia the night of

Ditzy walked in to the lounge of the hotel she was staying at, dressed in her best evening dresses. She cut a good deal sharing a room with Rarity in a nice five star place for their Hearth's warming get together with her friends.

Rarity was still going to be awhile in the room till she was perfect for a night of clubbing and dancing. Cheerilee said she'd meet up with the two them at the bar. She and Berry Punch were staying in her dorm since Cheerilee's actual roommate went home for break.

Ditzy sat at the bar and ordered a screwdriver. She looked up at the little stage in the corner and saw a purple unicorn singing a lounge version of "Goddess rest ye merry pegasus" with a cobalt earth stallion playing piano. A brandy glass full of tips was resting on top of the piano.

Ditzy looked up at the little sign that was hanging from the ceiling above the singer's head, it read

Ditty & Benny
The Lounge Bronys

Ditzy grew a smirk as the pieces in her memory started coming together. His name, the colors of the mane and coat, the way how his horn twisted, there was no doubt about it. That tacky lounge singer was that little colt that sat next to her those many years back in Ponyville Elementary.

The bartender placed her drink in front of her and she took a sip. She sat and listened for a while. He wasn't bad, in fact his voice was really good. The setting just gave the feeling that he was not trying hard. The whole thing just felt mediocre.

Cheerilee and Berry Punch came in to the room and sat down on either side of her.

"Hey girl, you look great." Cheerilee said looking at her dress. "Where's Rarity? She still primping?"

"Yeah." Ditzy said taking another sip of her drink. "I thought I'd start a little pregame before we hit the scene."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Berry Punch laughed at Ditzy and called for a vanilla schnapps and coke.

"Cosmopolitan." Cheerilee told the bartender when he looked at her.

Ditzy did not take her eyes off of the lounge singer in the corner.

"Hey Ditzy!" Cheerilee said taking her drink as the bartender slid it up to her. "What's up? You got the hots for that unicorn over there?" She said with a slight giggle and took a sip.

"No... I mean." Ditzy's heart gave a little flip while heat rose on her face both from the alcohol and Cheerilee's comment. "That unicorn used to go to school with us in Ponyville."

"No he didn't." Berry Punch said looking over at him. "I don't remember a colt with a cutie mark like that during graduation."

"No he wasn't at graduation. He left long before any of us got our cutie marks." Ditzy replied.

Cheerilee took a moment and scanned the face of the entertainer trying to picture him as a colt.

"Benny?" Berry Punch asked looking up at the sign.

"No." Ditzy replied. "Ditty. Ditty Hooves."

Cheerilee's eyes flashed as she suddenly started remembering too.

"Hooves! Yeah that's it. He and his mother lived right across the street from me. Ditty, he was always quiet as I remember."

"Well he sure ain't quiet now." Berry Punch said taking a swig.

The song he was singing had now changed to "Santa Clops is coming to town."

By this time Rarity had entered the room wearing a absolutely dazzling evening dress with an unique blend of dark silk and dark gems that would glitter only when the light hit them just right.

The mares at the bar all took a moment to compliment Rarity on her dress.

Rarity slid up to the bar and ordered a Rob Roy with a cherry.

"Well ladies what seems to be the gossip tonight?" Rarity asked waiting for her drink.

"Well Ditzy Doo and Cheerilee have been eyeing the lounge singer." Berry Punch said flashing her eyebrows and downed her drink.

Both Ditzy and Cheerilee shot her dirty glances.

"Not like that!" Cheerilee chirped. "We're interested because that lounge singer happened to be a classmate way back when we were young fillies in Ponyville."

"Oh really!" Rarity looked up amused as she took a sip of her drink the bar tender placed in front of her. "What's his name? You know I'm good with faces, but never names."

"Ditty Hooves." Said Ditzy.

"Hooves." Said Rarity to herself pondering. "Oh I remember. He lived on your street, right Cheerilee?"

"Yeah, with his mother." Cheerilee responded.

"She was a pegasus." Ditzy said softly.

"Oh that's right!" Rarity exclaimed. "She died in a flying accident."

"What!?" Cheerilee whispered at Rarity her face slightly shocked.

"Oh yeah, had an absolutely horrendous crash." Rarity said giving her drink a little stir. "Poor dear." She said sadly shaking her head/

"He left Ponyville to go live with relatives after then." Ditzy added.

"I didn't know that?" Cheerilee said glancing at Ditzy Doo. "I lived across the street from him and never found out why he just disappeared. How did you know that Ditzy?"

"Daddy told me." Ditzy looked up somberly at the stage. "He worked with Ditty's mother, they were both weather ponies."

"Mother was a pegasus? Why don't he have wings?" Asked Berry Punch asked starting on her second drink.

"Oh seriously Berry, I'm surprised you even passed your classes in school. Don't you remember biology? Basic pony genetics?" Rarity said tutting. "Pegasus genes are recessive, while unicorn ones are more dominant."

"The most dominant genes are that of earth ponies." Cheerilee said shifting in to a lecturing teacher like tone. "Why do you think Ponyville does Winter Wrap up the traditional earth pony way? Though many families have born in to them pegasus and unicorns foals, genetics dictates the majority of the populous will be earth ponies."

"That's also why all the pegasus in Cloudsdale who have fouls fly to Canterlot or Ponyville to give birth. In case their young happen to be an earth or unicorn pony who can't walk on clouds." Ditzy interjected.

"Oh come on girls. It's Hearth's Warming Eve! Let's drop the biology lesson and get out there and cut loose." Berry Punch said finishing her second drink and ordering a third.

"Now there's a mare who knows how to celebrate the holidays!" Said a smug, suave male voice.

Ditty had finished with his set while the girls were caught up in their conversation and sat down at the bar beside them.

"I couldn't help but over hear you talking. Are you ladies from Ponyville by any chance?" He said ordering a glass of gin and tonic.

"Yeah." Ditzy said to him with a smile.

"Now forgive me if I mistake you for someone else but one of your names would happen to be Cheerilee would it?" He said pointing a hoof at both Cheerilee and Berry Punch.

Berry Punch looked up at him with her mouth slightly open.

"Oh my gosh! No way!" She gasped. "She's Cheerilee, I'm Berry Punch."

"Berry Punch!" Ditty said raising his hooves in excitement. "That's the name on the tip of my tongue. You may not remember I was the little colt in school back in Ponyville who kept confusing you two."

"Oh no we remember." Said Ditzy.

"Ditty Hooves," said Rarity, who was sitting closest to Ditty, reaching out her hoof in a formal greeting. "It is absolutely wonderful to see you."

Ditty reached out and gave her hoof a polite kiss.

"Believe me the pleasure is all mine." Giving her a debonair glance. "Forgive me, miss?"

"Rarity." She responded with a prim expression. "May I say your singing was just smashing."

Ditzy hid a snort behind her glass. Rarity had not so much glanced at the musicians when she walked in the room. She didn't realize them until the group mentioned them to her. Ditzy doubted Rarity really heard any of the singing, the way she had been yapping with the rest of them.

"That is very high praise coming from a fellow unicorn of such dignified tastes." Ditty said raising his glass to her.

Rarity let out a embellished laugh at the compliment.

"Cheerilee, I have to say it's an absolute pleasure to see you again." Ditty continued turning to Cheerilee. "A colt never forgets the filly across the street. I must say you have become quite the gorgeous mare."

Cheerilee rolled her eyes but still gave a smile at his compliment.

"Oh stop. That silver tongue of yours may get you slapped." She replied.

Ditty looked over at the group as if he didn't hear Cheerilee's comment.

"So what brings you girls to the lounge? You looking for a party? Because I know a little house party the band and I were invited to."

Rarity charismatically interjected.

"Oh no don't worry yourself about us. Our dates should be ready for us outside ladies."

Rarity flashed her horn magic and floated some money on to the bar to pay for the drinks and floated a few extra bits in to Ditty's front coat pocket.

"Gratuity for wonderful entertainment and a start of a perfectly good Hearth’s Warming evening Mr. Hooves. Come on girls let's not keep our stallions waiting."

"Well I won't keep you ladies." Ditty said meekly. "Cheerilee good to see you gain."

The herd of mares put on their scarves and headed out.

As they approached the door Cheerilee whispered in Rarity's ear.

"Good call making up that part about the stallions Rare." She said quietly so Ditty couldn't hear. "He was sweet but definitely not my type."

"Don't take his compliments personally Cheerilee, he's a musician, a starving artist. I've dealt with them before. They talk ponies up in hopes to fish a bigger tip to pay for their heating bill. I have no problem appeasing them. He was a bit too heavy on the compliments though. I know empty glossy words, and that stallion was covered head to hoof with them."

Ditzy looked across the lobby in back in to the lounge. Ditty though a little grandiose didn't seem dishonest in what he said.

Ditty was still the bar now his head was down. He pulled out the money Rarity gave him and bought a shot and downed it in one gulp. He rested his head on his hoof and gave sad sigh.

"Come on Ditzy! The night is young." Berry Punch called back to her halfway out the door.

Ditzy gave a sad frown and followed her friends out.

Ditzy did not enjoy the rest of the evening. The loud boom from the loud bass music in third night club seemed to make her stomach quake in an uneasy way.

Rarity insisted they try one of those Trottingham themed pubs. While they were there a stallion leaned over to Cheerilee and loudly told her they were all very generous for taking their disabled friend out for Hearth's Warming Eve.

Ditzy let out a gasp realizing he was talking about her. Berry Punch ran up to the stallion hit him hard square in the jaw. The bouncer then escorted them out.

"Last time I'm coming back here!" Berry Punch said slurring her words. "Anyone insults my friend like that is gonna get a hard lesson in why they call me Berry PUNCH!"

The four of them made their way back to the hotel. Cheerilee was walking alongside Berry Punch helping her keep her balance. Rarity trotted on the snow cover sidewalks a looking a little weary. Ditzy still felt buzzed from what she had to drink and the adrenaline from the scuff in the pub.

"OK girls we part ways here." Cheerilee said stopping at an intersection that lead to her university campus. "Little slugger and I are heading to bed." She said giving Berry a nudge. "Hey great Hearth’s Eve! Certainly unforgettable, we'll look back on this years from now and laugh."

"Yeah." Rarity said drowsily. "Though let's not talk about it this year though."

They all gave a laugh and parted ways.

Ditzy and Rarity walked in to the hotel lobby as Rarity gave a big yawn.

"I'm going to take a quick shower to get the night club smell out of my mane and go to bed."

"I think they said the pool was going to be open all night for the celebration. You can get the shower, I'm gonna take a quick dip to cool off." Ditzy said.

"Alright dear, I'll most likely will be asleep by the time you get to the room so good night."

"Good night." Ditzy said as Rarity made her way back to the room.

Ditzy spied in to the lounge she had been a few hours earlier. The stage had now been set up with a karaoke machine and the room had now lit to look like a small disco. Sitting at the bar, looking like he had not moved and inch where she last saw him was Ditty.

Ditzy found herself walking in and sitting next to the forlorn unicorn. In front of him was a shot glass and a nearly empty bottle of gin and a large glass of water.

"I thought you said you had a party to go to with your band mates?" Ditzy asked him startling him out of his inebriated torpor.

"Huh?" He looked up at her blinking his eyes. "Do I know you?"

"Ponyville. Cheerilee's friend." She said looking at him.

"Yeah the quiet one. Never got your name."

"Ditzy Doo."

"Pleased to see you again. I'm sorry if I was rude earlier."

"Oh no you weren't. Honestly I thought my friends were being rude. They just stood up and walked out after we all had been talking about you while you were singing."

"Really?" Ditty gave an almost childish smile at her. "And here I thought my ears were burning up there because of those stage lights."

Ditzy laughed and gave a sigh.

There was a moment of silence as Ditty looked at her. She then caught herself.

'Oh shoot, he's looking at me making my derp eyes.' She thought embarrassed.

Ditzy turned her head away.

'Way to perfectly ruin an already terrible Hearth's Warming Eve Ditzy!'

She remembered the hurtful words of ‘disabled’ from the stallion at the pub earlier that night.

"Hey I remember you now. You looked that way first day of school."

'Oh Celestia's mercy! Rarity was right leaving him here. Why did I even come back?'

Ditzy turned her body now ready to walk out.

"They were horrible to you." He said with an empathetic sound in his voice.

She stopped.

"Those boys sitting behind us, back in school, they called you names. I even heard Berry Punch and Cheerilee giggle about you once."

Ditzy remembered that first day, she could never forgot. She forgave Berry and Cheerilee later when they were older and grew to understand her condition. The teasing, laughter from the other kids however never stopped.

Ditzy couldn't help it, it was a medical condition. Her doctor called it exotropia. It cause her eyes to just do that without any control of her own. The problem was only with her eyes. She was just as smart as the other ponies in her class. She only was shy because other ponies would act strangely when they first met her, they didn't understand why she looked different.

The fillies and colts in her class never gave her a chance. On the first day of school they nicknamed her "Derpy" and laughed. She lived with the title her entire school career, and even still today.

"The things they said." Ditty continued. "The boys, I hated them for it. They intentionally whispered loud enough so you could hear when the teacher was on the other side of the room."

Ditzy turned around and looked straight at him with both eyes this time. He looked regretful.

"They did that, and not once did you cry or shout at them."

But she did cry, just never at school. She held it all in till she got home and sobbed in to her father's wing.

"You never said those bad things to me." Ditzy said looking more closely at him, now seeing the facade of the smug lounge singer had melted in to the timid colt from her memory. "That's why I remember you. You were never mean to me. One time you even looked back and scowled at them."

Ditty hit a hoof against the bar.

"I shouldn't had just scowled! I wish I said something, wish I did something. I wish.."

He stopped in the middle of his sentence. Ditzy, touched by his words, had leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

--~~--

"Wait!" Cheerilee cut off Ditzy in the middle of her story. "That night in Fillydelphia?"

"Yes." Ditzy said with a look of humiliation.

"Dinky was born after-"

"Yes!"

"You spent the night with-"

"Yes, yes!" Ditzy confessed to Cheerilee.

Ditzy saw the realization in Cheerilee's eyes, Dinky was Ditty's daughter.

"Does he know?" Cheerilee said with a dismayed look on her face.

"No." Ditzy felt another wave of tears staring to surface and buried her face back in to Cheerilee's chest.

The only person Ditzy told the real identity of Dinky's father was to her own father. He was angry at first pledging to fly to Fillydelphia and force the colt to take responsibility. But Ditzy stopped him, she was afraid the her father's temper would scare Ditty and only make things worse. She told her father that Ditty did not take advantage of her, Ditty had drunk more than her that night and was in no way able to overpower her. She started it, she could have stopped and left at any time but she didn't. The whole thing was honestly her fault.

Her father eventually accepted not contacting Ditty on the fact that a dead beat lounge singer was in no way an acceptable father for his grandchild.

Though ponies in town gossiped about it, no one else found out how and with whom Ditzy had come to bare a foal. Her father took it upon himself to tell everyone in town not to ask, it was a private family issue.

"The foal is Ditzy's. She is safe, healthy and loved. The other details are none of your damned business!" It was the only answer Daddy Doo gave. Most ponies dropped the subject upon hearing that answer, others kept it even more to themselves out of fear of getting Daddy Doo even more mad.

Cheerilee herself did not find out about Dinky till after she moved back to Ponyville a few years later. By that time Dinky was already a curious walking, talking filly. Cheerilee never brought up the topic up to Ditzy out of modesty.

"I never told him. I haven't even seen or heard from him since that night." Ditzy whimpered in to Cheerilee's shoulder. "We were together just the night. We talked for long time, he really seemed understand me. And he sounded like he was making a turn for the better. He didn't hurt me or anything, he was gentile. We were just drunk and not careful. I woke up in his hotel room the next morning sober, embarrassed and scared. Ditty was still passed out, so I just left leaving a box of muffins I got from the bakery across the street outside his door. Rarity and I had a train to catch that morning out of Fillydelphia, so I had no choice but to leave. I thought it best, I left expecting never to see him again. A few weeks later I found out I was pregnant with Dinky."

Cheerilee bit her lip. Thinking back on the conversation she had with Ditty.

'Pegasus with bubbles? I think I would have remembered that.'

Those were his exact words. He had no recollection on Ditzy. Cheerilee's mind went back to another thing he said.

'I had many mornings I woke up not remembering what I did the previous night. I'm not proud of who I was back then. The stallion who you saw back there in Filly died in that lounge when I left that job.'

"He doesn't remember you at all. I asked him." Cheerilee whispered feeling a bit exposed their table in the open. She looked around uneasily making sure no one was eavesdropping.

"He doesn't?" Ditzy looked up an odd combination of disheartened and optimistic.

"He only remembers Berry and Rarity with me that night. He mentioned he was a heavy drinker back then and had blackouts."

Ditzy sat quietly gathering her nerves.

"He was very drunk that night. So as far he knows he just passed out." Ditzy thought out loud.

"Wait Ditzy, that is a dangerous assumption." Cheerilee rebuked. "He told me he can't remember. Seeing you might jog his memory. He could have been lying to me, or a whole bunch of possibilities. The only way we'll know for certain for you to talk to him."

"No!" Ditzy snapped. "Not now. Not when Daddy is here in town. Besides, Dinky is still getting over to the loss of The Doctor.... So am I. It's just too much all at once"

Cheerilee put her hooves over Ditzy again.

"I'm sorry that was very inconsiderate of me, this is happening all too suddenly for you. I wasn't even considering Dinky's feelings or your father's."

"It's been my deepest secret. No one else knows the truth except Daddy. I don't want him to hear Ditty's in town and go hunting him down." Ditzy shuddered. "I will find a way to tell Daddy. I'll tell Dinky when she's old enough to understand, and Ditty... Just promise me you won't say anything to Ditty."

Cheerilee gave a sigh.

"I promise as your friend and as Dinky's teacher. This is strictly a family issue of your own. I won't say or do anything to anyone without your consent."

"Pinky Pie swear?" Ditzy looked up at her.

"On one condition." Cheerilee said. "You promise me to stop bottling up your feelings about this. I can tell this has been brewing inside of you for a while. This is not healthy, you come and find me if you need someone to talk to, even if it's the dead of night. In one way or another I want to help you through this."

Ditzy smiled real smile this time. She felt a new sense of relief to have some to confide in.

"OK." She said.

The two of them sat back and went through the motions together.

Cross my heart

Hope to Fly

Stick a cupcake

In my eye

Chapter 3: Ditty's first week

Chapter 3

Ditty's first week

Ditty walked through the town reflecting on the day's events.

'What a day.' He thought.

On the train his mind had been focusing on what memories he had of Ponyville. He hoped to meet a few old faces from the past but he doubted anyone would remember him after twenty years being away from town. He doubted he'd recognized anyone or if they would recognize him.

His mind kept going back to Cheerilee. He had a terrible crush on her, even as a very young little colt. When he saw her as a full grown mare seven years ago his thoughts just went wild. But his advances were crushed in a casual wave of the horn from that of a stuck up white unicorn Rarity.

To twist his emotions even more, of all the ponies in Ponyville who could have come to meet him at the station, who else but Cheerilee was the one who showed up. Not only that, but it turns out she was the other teacher at school he was going to work at!

'And you just let your mouth run off about your drinking history, and you call Ponyville a Podunk town of gossipers. I'm glad I'm going to a meeting, the old me would have gone through a whole case of beer over that.'

He walked in to the municipal building in the center of town and made his way to the meeting rooms in the basement. The set up looked familiar though the faces and room was different.

An burgundy colored stallion walked up to him and greeted him.

"Can I help you sir?" He asked kindly.

"Uh yeah, hi. I'm Ditty. I'm a member of six years who just moved in to town. I'm wondering if I can join in the meeting tonight to help get my bearings."

"Of course. That's what the group is here for. I'm the group chair pony by the way. Call my Charley." The stallion shook his hoof and welcomed him in to the meeting area where ponies were getting settled.

Charley stood up and called the meeting to order with the moment of silence and the prayer of serenity.

"Well it looks like we have a new face tonight with us, if you would like to share name and anything about yourself."

Ditty stood up.

"Hello everyone my name is Ditty and I am an alcoholic."

A few ponies gave a hello.

"The last drink I've had was over six years ago."

A few ponies clopped their hooves for support.

"I have moved to Ponyville from Fillydelphia because of a new job. It's been about two months since my last meeting in Filly. I hope that my attending these meetings here the next few weeks will help with my adjustment to a new area and allow me to continue making good decisions and keep me on the path of sobriety."

More ponies clopped their hooves in support as Ditty sat down.

Charley continued the meeting allowing others to go around the room and give their names.

"Well." Charley said after everyone had gone around the circle. "The topic for tonight is how alcohol has effected our families and what we can do to prevent it."

A few ponies went in to their lives talking about their children, spouses, and regrets. A few chimed in with helpful words and encouragement.

The sharing eventually made its way to Ditty.

"Well I'm not married or have any children. My parents were both alcoholics. So I have a predisposed disadvantage of being a child of them. My mother was a pegasus who used to work here in Ponyville as a weather pony, along with any other jobs she could find to support me and her drinking. One day she woke up early still drunk and went on a delivery job. She was pulling a supply cart over town and missed judged a landing." Ditty gave a sad pause. "The police report said the combination of the sudden impact and the weight of the cart that followed behind her was what took her life,"

A few members gasped, while others just shook their heads.

"I had the opportunity, or should I say the misfortune, to track down the man who you can call my father. My uncle and aunt who raised me in Filly after mom died, gave me his address when I became a legal adult. I found the stallion, a rust colored unicorn, who was a land lord in one of the slums in Filly. When I saw him, he didn't recognize me. Honestly how could he? Doubt he even knew I even existed."

Ditty took a moment to take a sip of coffee.

"At the time he was obviously intoxicated, violently throwing out one of his tenants by beating them; a young mare with a small yearling foal. He looked up at me across the street and shouted a warning of trespassing. I left the area quickly before the authorities showed up. I came back the next day and ask the folks what happened to him. They told me he was arrested with a laundry list of assault charges and faced a long jail sentence."

"That day I promised myself I would never allow myself to become like that. Three years later I was hung-over in a hotel room. I caught a glimpse of myself in a bathroom mirror. I saw in my eyes the same look that reminded me of both my mother and father. That was the first time I admitted I had a problem. The next morning I checked myself in to rehab and I haven't had a drink since."

The ponies next to him gave him assuring pats on the shoulder and others clopped their hooves.

The rest of the meeting continued and ended with a the traditional prayer.

Ditty started making his way towards the door when a yellow earth pony trotted up to him.

"Son, mind if I have a word." The yellow stallion with a striped bow tie asked.

"Sure." Ditty responded.

"Your mother, was she Sandy Hooves by any chance?" He asked

"Yes." Ditty said surprised.

"She was a good friend of my wife's. I remember she used to bring you in my shop to buy you a cookie."

Ditty combed his mind, he certainly remembered on good days his mother liked to do that.

"Yeah when I was only a few years old Mom like to treat me. I don't remember you though."

"Carrot Cake." Said the stallion shaking his hoof. "Even if you don't remember me, it is really good to see you again. Look at you, all grown up, back in Ponyville making a better life for yourself."

"Uh, thank you."

"Hey son be sure to stop by Sugar Cube corner sometime and see the Mrs. I'm sure she'd love to see you and share with you some of her memories of you as a little foal."

Ditty walked out of the meeting with Carrot feeling much better. Despite the length he had been away from Ponyville there were still ponies here who remembered him and cared.

--~~--

Ditty stood in back of the school room watching the young ponies listening to Cheerilee's lesson. He looked through at his seating chart in his hoof and went from desk to desk trying to remember the faces with names.

'Scootaloo.... Silver Spoon.... Apple Bloom..... Snails..... Twist.... Dinky Doo..... Snips....'

"Now my little ponies it is the time for our first music lesson with Mr. Hooves." Cheerilee spoke up looking over at Ditty.

"Ah-hem yes it is." Ditty cleared his throat and moved to the front of the room. "Now fillies and colts if you could move to the sides of your desks, I'm going to move them out of the way to make more room."

Ditty lit up his horn and floated all the desks to the back of the room. A few ponies awed at his magic. The task was a bit grand for most unicorns but it was nothing special for Ditty. He had many years of practice moving instruments, setting up for concerts, and preparing banquets at the hotel.

"All right students please get in to groups of three while I bring out our instruments."

The foals grouped together while Ditty floated a couple of xylophones from the shelves in back of the room. He placed one in front of each group and one in from of himself.

"Now watch me show you the proper way to play your instruments using a mallet in your mouth."

He picked up his mallet and played a simple melody and set it back down.

"OK take the next few minutes to experiment with your own xylophones. Please be sure to take turns in your group."

The room erupted in to the chaotic mishmash of notes as fillies and colts started playing their xylophones.

Ditty walked around the room providing assistance to groups as needed. Cheerilee walked around too letting foals show her their playing abilities. Ditty looked up and smiled at her when she laughed as one of the fillies attempted to play and sing at same time the mallet was still in her mouth.

"Hey let me try!"

"He said to use your mouth, not magic. Your breaking the rules!"

Ditty turned around and saw a group of two unicorns and pegasus arguing.

"I can do it!" A little orchid colored filly exclaimed.

She stuck her horn out, squeezed her eyes together, and started jabbing at the mallet that laid on the xylophone.

The blue colored colt next to her raised his horn smugly. It started to glow with a blue light. The mallet glowed with the same color as his horn and slowly it started to float up.

"I said I can do it!" The little filly protested.

"No you can't. My mom and dad taught me how to use my magic, they're a unicorns. You don't know how because your mom is a stupid pegasus and she doesn't know anything."

The filly looked at him with a hurt expression.

"And what is wrong with someones mother being a pegasus?" Ditty spoke down the colt in a cool, stern voice. "My mother was a pegasus and that didn't make me any less of a pony."

The blue colt lost his magical concentration and the mallet fell on top of the instrument with a musical clunk.

"Hey yeah, what's wrong with pegasuses!" Said the little cyan pegasus sitting in their group.

Ditty placed a hoof on her shoulder to quiet her and looked back at the blue unicorn.

"Starchaser, I think you owe Dinky Doo an apology for saying hurtful things about her mother."

The blue colt looked down at Dinky's hooves.

"Sorry Dinky."

"Good. Also you know the school rules. No magic in the classroom. I'll see you at the end of the day. I think fifty lines of 'I will not use magic during class' written the traditional way will be an acceptable consequence."

"Yes sir." The Starchaser hunched his shoulders.

"Thank you Starchaser. Now would you please pass the mallet to Cyan Skies it is her turn now."

Ditty turned away from the group and saw Cheerilee watching him. She gave him an encouraging smile and walked over to another group. He felt his heart give a little flutter.

Ditty continued with his lesson plan by playing a game of call and response with the class using different rhythms and notes.

The rest of the day went well. Following Cheerilee's instructions, Ditty helped assist students in the classroom on their other subjects.

At the end of the day Starchaser stayed after and with the aid of a footstool he successfully wrote out 'I will not use magic in school' fifty times on the board.

"Am I done Mr. Hooves?" The colt said placing the chalk down and rotating his now stiff jaw.

"Yes you are." Ditty said handing him an envelope. "This is a note to your parents explaining why you had to stay after. Please have them sign it and return it to me. Have a good afternoon Starchaser."

"You too Mr. Hooves." The colt said somberly and trotted out the door.

Cheerilee walked up to Ditty who was sitting desk in the corner and laid a cupcake on it.

"What is this for?" He said looking at the little pink and blue frosting cake in front of him.

"It's a milestone celebration." She said cheerily. "To your first day and first detention."

"May there be many others." Ditty said lifting the cupcake in a gesture like a toast. "Days that is. I can do well without giving more detentions."

The two of them shared a laugh.

"You took care of that problem very well." Cheerilee said proudly.

"That filly he was teasing is your friend's daughter right?" Ditty looked up at her quizzically.

"Yes."

"Does her family give her any basic magic lessons?"

"Uh no." Cheerilee gave a cough. "Ditzy is a single mother. It's just the two of them."

Ditty felt sympathy for the little filly. He knew what it was like, young unicorn no brothers or sisters, single working pegasus mother. Not so different from how he lived before his mother passed away.

Ditty let out a whistle between his teeth.

"Glad I didn't know that this morning. I might have given Starchaser one hundred lines."

"You made Starchaser apologize to Dinky and your punishment was appropriate for the situation with the magic. I think you did just fine." Cheerilee said firmly.

Ditty enjoyed his cupcake, not noticing Cheerilee was staring blankly out the window next to his desk.

"Well I'd love to stay and chat about good punishments for students, but I'm expecting the rest of my things to arrive today."

Ditty picked up his hat and coat and headed for the door.

"You'll lock up right?" He asked Cheerilee

Cheerilee nodded.

"OK then, see you tomorrow."

Ditty walked out the door.

When the door shut behind him he did not see Cheerilee relax the tension she had been holding in her shoulders and give a nervous sigh.

Chapter 4: Special Delivery

Chapter 4

Special Delivery

-Fillydelphia the night of

Ditzy and Ditty had been sitting at the bar for a while talking. The subject jumped from school, to friends, to family, to striving to find a job and earning money for one's independence.

"....So I dropped out of the university." Ditty finished his story of his time at college.

"But your voice, you sound good." Ditzy said taking the shot of gin Ditty had set down in front of him. She downed it followed by a swig from the glass of water to chase it.

She had been casually taking Ditty's shots when he was distracted in an effort to keep him from getting more drunk. So far it had been working.

"But every audition, every try out, I would lose the part to someone better." Ditty said running a hoof through his mane, completely oblivious his shot glass was again empty.

"There's will always someone better." She said giving him a nuzzle. "It doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. Besides is the lead in the Broadway show the only thing you're hoping to do with your music? You could do many other things, write music or teach voice lessons."

Ditty gave a chuckle.

"You know the way you say it, it sounds like I just galloped towards my one goal with blinders on. Like an idiot I was not thinking about the many different ways I could have done it, or taken advantage of the other things around me."

"Oh, I didn't mean-" Ditzy started putting a hoof around him.

"No, you're right!" He said defiantly. "I've been focusing too much on trying to make it to the top that I totally lost track of what I was doing right here and right now."

Ditty lifted the bottle of gin to fill his shot glass but stopped and set it down.

"I wasn't a bad student, I just was not the best. And you know what? There is nothing wrong with that. My problem was at first sign of failure I would just run away. Well not anymore! I'm gonna find a realistic goal and go for it!"

Ditty pushed the shot glass away from him.

"And I know how it's gonna happen. I'm gonna take that money I've been saving up to go to Manehattan to try for Broadway again and put it towards going back to college and get my degree."

He turned to her with a serious smile and looked deep in to her eyes.

Ditzy realized her eyes had rolled out again, but Ditty didn't look at all bothered by it at all. In fact she felt as if he was looking past them and looking directly in to her.

"I wouldn't have believed in myself if you hadn't said it." He continued. "You really helped me realize that just then... I could... I can...."

His words were lost because suddenly their lips were locked in a deep kiss. They passionately held together for a few moments and then quickly pulled back.

Ditzy coughed and quickly took another drink from the glass of water, followed by Ditty who swished it around his mouth before he swallowed.

"Gin is not the best drink for kissing." He said looking at the bottle with a sick look.

"No it is not." Ditzy gave another cough and shook her head. "The kiss was really nice, honestly. But that after taste of the alcohol burned."

Ditty gave a look like he just then had an idea and called the bartender over.

"This last call you know? The bar is closing soon." The bartender said to him.

"Mighty fine good sir, mighty fine." Ditty retorted. "Me and this wonderful lady here would like a bottle of red wine to take up to my room."

Ditty glanced back at Ditzy with a look of affection.

"You can say no and I won't make you stay if you want to leave. But if you don't, I would like continue talking. And possibly get to know you better." He said moving a stray hair from her mane away out of her face.

"And what do you mean exactly when you say get to know?" Ditzy asked feeling only slightly suspicious.

"Well for starters, I want to hear how you got your cutie mark."

Ditzy felt her cheeks flush as she beamed at him. He stepped down from his barstool and held out a hoof to help her off hers.

--~~--

-present day

Ditzy Doo flew alongside the moving truck. Raindrops, a fellow delivery pegasus, flew with her while their boss Big Pete was drove the truck.

"This is our last delivery for today." Raindrops called out to her. "We get this done and we can go home."

"Sounds good to me." She responded. "How many pieces?"

"No more than fifteen total, a few clothing boxes, one or two fragiles, a disassembled bed, and a couple of instruments in cases."

"So we should be in and out quickly." Ditzy nodded as Pete took the truck in to a dive towards their delivery location.

The two landed next to the truck in front of a small single floor town house. Pete got out and walked up to the door with his clipboard. He knocked on the door.

"PDS!" he called out.

A purple unicorn with a microphone and stars on his flank answered the door. Ditzy felt like a trapdoor had just given out below her. She was not expecting to see Ditty so soon.

Upon a closer look at him her heart give a slight jump like it did when sat the bar those many years ago. This was the first time she has seen Ditty up close since that night. He looked slightly different, he was a bit thinner, his mane was cut shorter, and his brown eyes looked an even more deeper brown, it was almost a chocolate, when they were not reddened from liquor.

"Yes? Oh wonderful. Where do I need to sign?" Ditty asked looking down at the clipboard.

Pete pointed and the where on the clipboard he needed to signed.

"Everything in order?" He asked Pete giving a quick pen stroke and handed him back the clipboard.

Pete glanced at the sheet.

"All set. Where would you like your things sir?" Pete said gesturing him around to the back of the truck.

Ditzy took those brief moments as Ditty walked around the other end of the truck away from her to gather her wits.

'OK' She thought briefly. 'Moment of truth, does he recognize me?'

She walked around with Raindrops just as Pete opened the tailgate.

"Let's see." Ditty said looking at the boxes and cases. "I can take care of the instrument cases. The bed frame and mattress can go in to the bedroom to the left, and you can just leave the boxes in the front room."

"You sure you don't want help with the music cases?" Pete asked climbing in to the truck.

"Do your bosses cut your pay if a unicorn volunteers to help unload deliveries with his magic?" Ditty asked.

"Nope." Pete replied.

"Then please take advantage of delivering to a unicorn who is volunteering." Ditty grinned lighting his horn floating all the cases out of the truck.

"A stallion after my own heart." Pete joked. "You heard him ladies! Let's get started."

Ditty turned around face to face with Ditzy having now just realized she and Raindrops were standing behind him.

"Oh, hello! Didn't realize there were more ponies helping. This shouldn't take long then."

Ditty, floating the instrument cases, walked past the two of them without giving them a second glance.

'He doesn't recognize me.'

Ditzy felt a strange feeling wash over her as she climbed in to the truck. She couldn't describe it at first. She was finally able to put her hoof on it by the time she started handing boxes down to Raindrops, she felt betrayed.

The two of them had shared one of the most intimate of moments two ponies could ever have, and here this stallion was glancing over her like she was nothing. Like she some no name pony in the background.

For a brief moment she felt an urge to fly out of the truck and punch him in the face the same way Berry Punch did to that stallion in the pub seven years ago.

'But I don't want him to know. I don't want him to ask questions. Isn't this for the better?' A voice in her head spoke breaking the impulse. 'I can just do my job like nothing is wrong and leave. He won't be none the wiser.'

Ditzy picked up the bundle of frames on one end as Pete picked up the other and the two of them walked in to the house.

The town house was small and somewhat shoddy. Already she could see that Ditty had a tool box open in one corner where it looked like he had been making some repairs to the ceiling.

She and Pete carried the frames in to a small bed room where a dresser with a mirror sat against one wall and a sleeping bag had laid rolled out near the other.

"Just set it down right in the middle of the room. I'll put it together myself." Ditty called out from the other room as he set down all his instruments.

They set down the bundle and Pete immediately trotted out of the room. Ditzy dusted of her hooves and wings as she took a moment to get a better look around the room.

On the dresser sat a steamer trunk half full. Next to it was a framed monochrome photograph. Ditzy's curiosity got the better of her and she walked up to it to take a closer look at it.

In the picture was a young pegasus with a garland of flowers for a cutie mark, she was offering a plate of cookies to a little unicorn colt. The colt was no doubt Ditty when he was younger. Ditzy guessed the pegasus was most likely was his mother. Ditty in the picture looked like he was floating in the air, he must have hopping up and down in excitement the way little fouls do when the picture had been taken.

One part of the picture caught Ditzy's eye and held her attention, it was the look of joy on little Ditty's face, Ditzy had seen it before. She'd seen that look every evening when she came home from work. The colt in the picture had an expression that held an uncanny resemblance to her little girl Dinky.

Ditzy felt her heart ache as she was suddenly speechless at her touching discovery. The moment was interrupted when she heard a thump from the next room.

"I got it. I got it." Ditty called as Ditzy saw the mattress being floated in by a purple glow of magic.

She quickly moved aside to make space as he walked past.

Raindrops called out from the other room.

"That's the last of the boxes."

Ditty set the mattress down on the empty floor next to the frame pieces.

"And that takes care of that." He said jollily turning to Ditzy.

"Do you need me for anything else?" Ditzy asked Ditty plainly, focusing on keeping both her eyes to locked straight at him.

"Nope." He said quite content. "Thanks again. Your timing couldn't been better, my back has been aching from sleeping on just the floor. I'm looking forward to sleeping on a real bed tonight."

"That's good to hear sir." Ditzy said formally and turned and left the room.

Ditzy kept to herself as she flew back to the office. This behavior was nothing new for her colleagues, Ditzy was typically the quiet one at work. Most ponies let her be on the account that her 'derp' expression naturally gave the outward appearance of being content. She clocked out and flew back home.

Ditzy walked in to her cozy home and found Dinky sitting on the floor of the living room with Daddy Doo playing a game.

"Mommy's home!" Dinky said looking up her mother.

"Hey!" Her father called getting up to greet her.

"Hi Dad." Ditzy said with exhaustive sigh. She gave her wings a few casual flaps, stretched them out and then gave him a hug.

"How was work?" He asked as he stepped out of the way so Dinky could greet her mother.

"A bit longer than I had wanted it to be. I'm glad tomorrow I'm scheduled back to letter duty."

Dinky walked up to her mother her eyes as big as sand dollars.

"Special kiss?" She asked.

"Special kiss." Ditzy smiled back at her and lower her head to hers.

Dinky reached her little horn out and touched it to her mother's forehead. There was a tiny flash where it touched and for the smallest of a milliseconds Ditzy felt the presence if her daughter's love and affection appear in her thoughts.

"And a normal one for special reasons." She said placing kiss on her cheek. "I was thinking about spaghetti and okra for dinner. How about you?"

"With garlic bread?" Dinky asked trotting towards the kitchen.

"Go check the pantry to see if we have any more of that yummy baguette bread left over from last night?" Ditzy called to her as she looked over to father who was putting on his hard hat and coat.

"You're not gonna stay for dinner?" Ditzy asked him sadly.

"I'm sorry my little weepy wings. I need to head out. I'm working third shift at the weather factory tonight." Her father gave her a nuzzle.

"Sweet heart." Ditzy called in to the kitchen. "Come give Grandpa a hug and kiss before he leaves."

"Awww!" Dinky cried as she came back in to the room. "Grandpa don't go."

"I'm sorry my little pony. Grandpa needs to go make the rainbows." He said reaching down and giving the little filly a squeeze.

"I wish I could give you a special kiss with my horn before you go." She said sadly to her grandfather.

"Well that's what makes it special. It can only be done between you and your Mommy. It just means grandpa needs to give twice as many of his own to make up for it." He said then covered the side of her face with an assortment of playful kisses.

Dinky squealed with delight from her grandfather and gave him a kiss back on his nose.

"Grandpa will come see you again. Promise!" He said opening the door.

"Have a safe flight back to Cloudsdale. Careful of the northern gale, it's been picking up lately." Ditzy called out to her father.

Daddy Doo stepped out in to the street, stretched out his wings and with four massive flaps shot off towards the skies.

Ditzy closed the door and followed Dinky in to the kitchen. She felt her mind wondering back to the photo she saw in Ditty's room. She imagined the little colt having the same kinds of good byes with his mother before she flew off to the factory. Cloudsdale was not that far way from Ponyville, only about an hour flight, forty five minutes on a calm day. It still would have meant Dinky's mother would have to get up early if she worked days, or leave her little son in the afternoon to work nights.

She wondered if Ditty unicorn kissed his mother when she got home.

'Of course he did.' A voice in her head responded. 'It's instinct, Dinky first kissed you with her horn when you were still nursing her.'

She remembered that day well. It happened when she finished a feeding her and was putting her down to sleep. She placed the little newborn in her crib and pulled a blanket over her when Dinky's horn just lightly glanced her head and spark.

Ditzy looked down at her in surprise while the same time the nurse who had been her midwife was watching across the room started laughing joyously.

"A unicorn kiss!" The nurse said. "It is a basic reaction in all young unicorns. It's a combination of instinct and magic that connects them with their parents. How does she feel? What did you sense in your thoughts when she touched you?"

"She feels....full." Ditzy said already realizing the entire sensation had already passed away.

Ditzy turned on the stove and placed the pot of water on top of it. She ran a hoof through her Dinky's mane while she washed the okra in the sink.

"We had a new teacher in school today Mama." She said looking up at her.

"Oh really." Ditzy said not surprised but interested in what her daughter had to say.

"He's really nice! He's a unicorn and he told us his mother had wings just like you. He also gave Starchaser a detention for using magic in class."

Ditzy felt emotional last when the subject of Ditty came up in front of Cheerilee, but hearing her daughter talk about him now as just another teacher seemed not bother her.

'This is OK.' She thought very calmly to herself. 'I can live with this. He seemed to have become a better pony, like he said he would. Maybe in time we can get to know each other again and work things out.'

"He sounds like a good teacher." She responded.

"I heard Apple Bloom say he's in love with Miss Cheerilee."

Ditzy blinked a couple of times.

"And what do you think would make Apple Bloom say that?" She asked calmly.

"She says she saw Mr. Hooves staring at Cheerilee the same way her older brother stares at other mares." Dinky said turning around to get silverware out of one of the drawers.

Ditzy gave a silent gasp turned away from her daughter who was still occupied with setting up dinner.

"Watch the pot sweetheart. Mommy needs to use the bathroom."

Ditzy stepped in to the bathroom across the hall, shut and locked the door behind her. She turned on the faucet on full and finally let out a sob in to the sink.

Chapter 5: Party and Plans

Chapter 5

Party and plans

Cheerilee was slowly leading Ditty towards the school house.

"So last night you left the building with your purse still in your desk?" He asked her skeptically.

"For the fourth time yes. You're still new at teacher the game. Believe it or not teachers feel the same urge the students do to gallop out of the classroom as soon as they can Friday afternoon when the bell rings."

She'd been milking the line as best she can to get Ditty to come with her.

"I said I'd pay for lunch." He said stubbornly.

"No." She said back defiantly. "That would be rude of me. Besides..... My keys... they are in my purse. And I uh, can't even get in to the building without them."

Ditty floated his keys out of his saddle bag. He turned the lock halfway in the door and stopped.

"Didn't I see you use your keys to lock up your house when I came by this morning?" He asked her turning around.

Cheerilee facehooved.

'Way to go Cheerilee, his teacher's attention to detail was making this surprise party plan go up in smoke.'

"Oh would you just open the door already!" She sighed giving up anymore attempts of being subtle.

Ditty gave her a suspicious glace and opened the door.

"SURPRISE!" A whole room of foals and ponies shouted back at them.

All of the students, their parents, and anyone in town who Pinkie Pie could invite were in the school room.

The desks were all moved out of the way to make room for everyone. A few round tables were set up with food, drinks and desserts. Hanging above the chalkboard in the front of the room hung a banner that said:

WELCOME TO PONYVILLE MR. HOOVES!

The letters were written in different color crayons in the untidy manner that matched a foal's writing.

Cheerilee saw Ditty give a pleasant smile at the display. She then saw a pink pony in one swift motion reach out and pull him in to the center of the room and start talking to him over a mile a minute.

"Hi you must be Ditty Hooves! It is just so awesome to finally meet you! I'm Pinkie Pie! I can't believe you moved in to town over a week ago. I didn't know it and I know practically everypony in town. I was really surprised when Mr. Cake first mentioned you two days ago and then found out that Rarity had already known about you, and even Applejack. And then Cheerilee came in to Sugarcube Corner and told me she needed help planning a surprise party for you and I was like 'well duh' Pinkie Pie is practically proven that she's the perfect party planning pony Ponyville population particularly pleas for! So we had the fillies and colts make you a sign, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake make some snicker-doodle cookies which they told me you liked as a little colt. You used to live here when you were little weren't you? I also got Applejack to bring her signature Sweet Apple Acre apple juice! So what do you think?"

Ditty looked a bit overwhelmed by the sudden surge of energy and the constant stream of words that came out of Pinkie Pie. He seemed to only get out.

"Please to meet you Pinkie Pie."

Mrs. Cake walked up to Ditty and gave him a hug, offered him a cookie, and started reminiscing about him and his mother.

Pinkie Pie bounced up to Cheerilee.

"I heard you outside. He almost didn't come in. He looked suspicious when he opened the door, he must be hard pony to surprise."

Cheerilee smiled at Pinkie Pie.

"He was skeptical the entire way here. He's gonna be a tough one to prank Pinkie." She commented to her.

At that moment on the other side of the room, Ditty picked up a glass of juice only to have a hole at the bottom pop open and spill juice all over the front of him.

A few of the fillies started to giggle.

"I hope a student didn't place this cup." Ditty said with a good natured smile glancing around the room.

"Nope." Said a rainbow colored mane pegasus next to him. "You've been Pinkie Pie'd. Don't take it personally, it's all in good fun. I'm Rainbow Dash by the way. Pleased to meet cha."

Pinkie still standing next to Cheerilee, gave her a huge grin then fell backwards on the ground on her back laughing.

Most of the parents took time to formally introduce themselves to Ditty.

Cheerilee, when she saw her, made a b-line to Ditzy who was standing in the back corner talking with a few other ponies.

"I'm glad you've chosen not hide from him." She said quietly to her.

"I've already saw him earlier this week." Ditzy said looking around cautiously. "He saw me too and hadn't the faintest idea who I was."

Cheerilee didn't know what to say, it didn't feel right to hear her friend sounding so comfortable with it.

"No, this will be alright. I've fine this. I wish you luck." Ditzy said quickly. "For the both of you."

Cheerilee didn't have time to ask what she exactly meant because Dinky came up dragging Ditty by the hoof.

"Mr. Hooves now it's my turn to show you my Mommy!" She called out.

Cheerilee saw Ditzy slightly brace herself.

"Hey I remember you." Ditty said looking at Ditzy.

Both she and Cheerilee took a quick gasp.

"You're the mailmare who delivered my things earlier this week. I wish you told me you were Cheerilee's friend I would have been more social."

Ditzy did a double take and gave a sigh of relief.

"Did I say something wrong?" He said looking confused at Cheerilee and Ditzy.

"Oh no." Ditzy said. "You just surprised me there. I just... I mean, I didn't realized the connection then also. I should have known you might have been my daughter's new teacher when we moved you in. You know music cases, new home and all."

"Well yeah." Ditty said taking Ditzy' hoof and shaking it. "But no harm done. May I say your daughter is a fine musician and an ambitious student."

Ditzy looked down at her hoof in his with a small blush in her cheeks.

"You think a parent would be proud of her." She said in a quiet voice glancing up at him.

"Most certainly! She's the kind of filly any parent would be proud to have as a daughter."

"Thank you." Ditzy said even quieter leaning over and giving her daughter a hug.

"My pleasure." Ditty said. He gave Ditzy and Cheerilee a smile as he turned back to the rest of the other party goers. Apple Bloom had trotted up to him with her family following behind her.

"Mr. Hooves this is ma big brother Big Macintosh! He says you and him were in the same class a long time ago." Apple Bloom introduced.

"Eeyup!" Big Macintosh said with a smile.

Cheerilee looked back to Ditzy who was lost in her thoughts watching Dinky heading towards the snack table.

"Any parent would be proud..." Ditzy muttered quietly.

"Hey." Cheerilee whispered to Ditzy, as Ditty was occupied being further introduced to the rest of Apple Bloom's relatives. "What did you mean earlier by saying good luck to both of you?"

Ditzy looked back at Cheerilee with eyes rolled in to her 'derp' expression.

"Oh nothing." She said back and trotted off to get something to drink. Cheerilee gave frown in her direction and went to mingle with the other party guests.

Cheerilee walked around the room talking to parents and enjoying the festivities. Pinkie Pie seemed to be enjoying playing games with all the younger fouls. Her energy, jokes, and carefree spirit had earned her many cool points with many of the colts and fillies.

She saw Ditty speaking to Big Macintosh. There were not many Stallions of their age in Ponyville she hope that maybe since the two of them were never friends in their youth they might become ones as adults.

Ditty continued going around getting to know people until Sweetie Belle sat him down at a table with her mother, father, and her sister Rarity. Ditty said his hello to Sweetie Belle's folks shared a few nice comments about Sweetie Belle in class.

Rarity and Ditty exchanged an awkward hello and Rarity mentioned that it was nice to see had made taken an admirable occupation since she last saw him in Fillydelphia. Ditty gave a puzzled thanks, not sure if Rarity gave him a compliment or was talking down to him.

A strange silence hung between the two of them. It eventually broke when Pinkie Pie jumped out of nowhere in between the two of them. She proclaimed they were getting too serious. She then shoved a cupcake in both of their mouths, shouted "Come on lets have fun!" and sped off.

The two started coughing on their cupcakes. The random moment caused both of them drop their guard and it ended with the two of them laughing at the ridiculousness that was Pinkie Pie. With the tension having been broken, the Ditty and the family started to talk more casually about life in Ponyville and Sweetie Belle as a student.

During this time Cheerilee had sat down next to Twilight and started talking to her about the recent books they had read. They have been quite involved in their conversation when Rarity called out to the two of them.

"Twilight! Cheerilee! Ditty here has the most splendid idea. Oooh Ditzy you should hear this too."

Cheerilee and Twilight approached the table and saw Rarity who now seemed to be completely enthralled in talking to Ditty.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked.

"Oh have you met Ditty yet?" Rarity asked looking at Twilight.

"Not formally." Twilight said reaching out a hoof to Ditty. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, I live in the library with my assistant Spike."

"Ditty Hooves." Ditty replied. "Spike, that's that baby dragon over there, eating half the snicker-doodles off the table?"

Twilight let out a laugh.

"That's him. So what's this idea Rarity is talking about."

By this time Ditzy had walked over looking very puzzled.

"Rarity's folks gave me the an idea." Ditty spoke to the group. "I've been noticing around the classroom that a few of our unicorn students have a good sense of the basics of fundamental horn magic, specifically speaking telekinesis."

"I mentioned to Ditty that my little girl hasn't been able to move objects with her horn yet. We all know most foals her age start working at it if they want to use that talent." Rarity's Father shared with the others. "We're regretful to admit it, but we've lived out whole lives in Ponyville and we have gotten quite used to the earth pony lifestyle so much that we have not much know how in using magic. None the less the ability to teach Sweetie Belle how to use hers."

"During the times I'm not occupied with work I've been trying to help my sister on basics of object movement. But I haven't made much progress." Rarity gave a submissive sigh.

"I've also noticed that there are other little unicorns here in class who are yet to unlock that magic ability or may need a little more practice." Ditty said casting a glance at Ditzy. "Not to say their isn't a problem if a family chooses not to learn those things. But I've asked Rarity and her folks what they thought of me holding an after school group once a week with any young unicorns who may want to learn or need a little help to hone their telekinetic spells."

"I told him it was an absolutely smashing idea. Not only does it give Sweetie Belle an opportunity to improve on what little she knows but she can learn with other little ponies her age." Rarity continued, smiling at her parents and sister who smiled back.

"A little club would just be the bee's knees, don't cha think so there Ditzy?" Rarity's mother ask Ditzy who had a look of interest on her face.

"A program like that would be very helpful. I'm a pegasus, I can't teach Dinky anything about unicorn magic. But if she got proper instruction here, she could not only discover her own magic potential, but her new skills could help out around the house and with her school work." Ditzy spoke realizing the idea.

Cheerilee smiled at the positive collaboration going on between the parents and the new teacher. In particular Ditty and Ditzy. Though Ditzy was deliberately hiding Ditty's connection to Dinky, the sight of the two of them discussing her well being made Cheerilee feel a sense of hope between the two of them.

'It's a start.' She thought to herself. 'At the minimum they were talking to each other.' She really hated that Ditzy was keeping something like this from the people who should really know. Also Cheerilee had made a promise to keep it to herself which made conversations between her and Ditty difficult whenever the subject of Ditzy or Dinky came up.

"Ooh! I like this idea." Twilight Sparkle added. "An after school club with skill building games and simple lessons. It's kinda like magic Kindergarten, but less emotionally scarring."

"Besides." Cheerilee joined the conversation a bit perplexed by Twilight's statement. "Ponyville does not have the number of unicorns to justify putting magic in to the curriculum during the day, and we don't have a separate magic school like in Canterlot where they can learn. An after school program might be the right approach for the unicorn students at Ponyville Elementary."

"I'd love to help out anyway I can. " Said Twilight Sparkle. "My magic skills can be useful working with the students who want to experiment with finding their magic specialties. I could work with them while Ditty helps the younger ones get the basics down"

"Why that sounds great Twilight, thank you." Ditty said graciously. "OK, it looks like the idea is catching on. I'll write up some lesson plans and send out some permission forms to other parents in the next school news letter."

Chapter 6: The Magic Club

Chapter 6

The Magic Club

Ditty sat across the desk from the powder blue filly named Tootsie Flute. She was staring at the little red checker piece that sat in the middle of the table.

"Now picture the piece in your head, imagine that your reaching out and simply touching it. Just like a hoof would."

Tootsie closed her eyes.

"Your horn and it's magic is an extension of you. You don't need to think to hard when you want to nudge something with your hoof, you just reach out and do it. Same with your magic, just put that idea at the front of your mind, right where your horn is-"

Tootsie's horn gave a glow and the checker piece gave a little jerk forward. Tootsie's eye's shot open and her glow in her horn immediately went out.

"I did it! I did it!" She said gleefully.

"Good Tootsie!" Ditty walked over and patted her on the shoulder. "Noticed it stopped moving when you lost concentration. So remember relax and start by picturing the object first, then push it to the front of your mind. Keep practicing."

Ditty walked around to the small number of fillies and colts in the classroom. Twilight was sitting with Sweetie Belle working on levitating a pencil.

Cheerilee was sitting at her desk grading papers, trying to not to be distracted by the others in the room.

Ditty had noticed Cheerilee's behavior had been changing since the idea for The Magic Club, the official name it was given by the students, first came up at his welcome party. Over the course of the last three weeks Ditty noticed that Cheerilee had strangely stopped being, well, cheerful. She seemed to be less open to having causal conversations outside of work.

Ditty pondered if had to do with him, or was it more of the job. He pushed it to the back of his mind as he came up to Dinky Doo.

"Look look! Mr. Hooves I'm building a tower!" She looked up at his as her little horn sparkled.

She was stacking checker pieces in a little pyramid structure slowly lifting the pieces higher and higher with every level.

Dinky had come in to the club for the first time an hour ago being barely able to light her horn, and now she was picking up and moving small objects at an accelerated speed.

Ditty summoned a checkerboard from a table across the room and placed it next to Dinky's tower.

"OK you're good at building. How about playing checkers, using only magic?" Ditty challenged the filly.

"Whenever I play regular checkers, my grandpa calls me a hustler, whatever that means." Dinky commented.

Ditty floated the stack of pieces from the tower and separated them quickly to two colors.

"Its a term they use for players who pretend they don't know much about the game but instead they are really good at it, and they trick others to getting beat by them."

"Oh!" Dinky said as Ditty placed a pile of same color checkers in front of her.

"OK Dinky. Hooves stay on the ground, all magic from setup to put away. Show me you what you got." Ditty stated.

In a single motion Ditty floated all his pieces in air in to formation and placed them on their beginning spots. Dinky on the other hand, with a firm look of concentration on her face, slid one piece at a time in to their respective spots.

When Dinky had finished laying their pieces they began.

"I'm quite impressed with how quickly you're picking this up Dinky." Ditty commented as he moved one of his pieces. "Is your grandpa a unicorn?"

"No he's a pegasus like Mommy." Dinky responded and moved her piece.

"Oh so is your daddy a unicorn?" He asked.

Ditty heard Cheerilee shut one of the draws of her desk a bit loudly. He glanced up at her, she looked up at him with an apologetic look and went back to focusing at her work.

"I think so." Dinky said placing a hoof to her chin. "I've never met my dad. Mommy doesn't like talking about it, she says it's because it makes Grandpa upset. He says my dad is a bad pony. One time I asked him about my daddy and all he did was turn and spit on the ground."

"Its quite OK Dinky, I never knew my dad when I was your age. I only got to see him once when I was full grown stallion." He gave a sigh. "He was not a nice pony either, I realized then why my Mom never wanted to see him."

Ditty moved his piece forward only to have it immediately hopped by Dinky. Ditty clicked his tongue at his poor move.

"Mommy told me once when I was little, she met Daddy at a faraway city. When she left he was put under a spell to make him forget about Mommy and make him runaway any time she got near him. So she stayed here to take care of me and make other friends like the Doctor."

"The Doctor?" Ditty asked. "I don't think I met him. Does he work at the clinic?"

"No, he's a special Doctor, not like the ones that give you medicine, he does a lot of other cool things. But a month ago he had to get back in his blue box and go back to space."

Ditty raised his eyebrows.

'This kid's a bit weird.' He first thought to himself. 'Wait! No, that's not fair. Find and promote positives in your students Ditty. She's absolutely adorable hands down and she's very smart. She's just got a uniqueness streak in her.'

"Has anyone told you Dinky that you have a fascinating imagination." He said capturing one of her pieces.

"Oh yes!" She said. "But the stuff about the Doctor is true. He told me no other pony would understand it, not for a million years. But I figured it out his secret and he said he can trust me to keep it."

"And what secret is that?"

Dinky with a little smirk, squinted up at him and lit up her horn. One of her pieces jumped over two of his.

"It wouldn't be a secret if telled." She said not taking his eyes off him. "King me."

Ditty looked down gawked game board and back at the little filly still gazing up at him.

'Ok I take back that weird statement. I like this kid! She's got spunk and wits to match. I hope in the future she'll take up an instrument or voice lessons!'

"Mommy!" Dinky called out over Ditty's head.

Ditty turned around and saw Ditzy's face smiling back and waving at her daughter through the window. Ditzy's expression looked a little comical, one of her eyes looked at them, while the other was rolled up and to the left.

'Well looks like I found where she get's the uniqueness from.' Ditty first thought turning back around, suddenly an odd feeling stuck in his head. In his short glance something about that walleyed expression seemed familiar. He looked back again to get a better look but the blonde mane mare had already ducked out of the window.

Ditty looked up at the clock and realized that it was time to wrap up their first meeting.

"We're out of time Miss Doo but don't think I'm giving up, I demand a rematch next week."

"Ok, I'll beat you then." She said giving him a crafty glare.

Ditty smiled back at her and turned to face the group.

"Ok everyone looks like we are out of time for today. So please put your things away quickly and safely, that means using your hooves and mouths instead of magic. Lets not leave any messes."

The front door opened as a few parents who were waiting outside walked in to the room.

Ditty saw Ditzy and Rarity trot in talking with to other.

"We had so much fun back in school. We have grown a bit apart since then. We need to get together and catch up."

Ditty walked over to his desk and started putting away his things. He kept a suspicious eye out on Ditzy's face. Her expression was normal like any other ponies, he almost doubted that he saw her correctly earlier with her walleyed expression.

"Good bye Mr. Hooves!" Dinky ran up to Ditty and gave his leg a small hug.

Ditty gave Dinky a small pat of appreciation on her head making sure to keep an appropriate level professionalism in showing his affection of his student. He really was growing fond of the little filly.

Dinky cantered over to her mother talking to Rarity. Ditty saw Rarity look suspiciously at Dinky and then back to Ditty. When she realized he was looking at her she went back to talking to Ditzy.

'What was that about?' Ditty thought to himself. 'Is she frowning at me in showing favoritism to a student who is not her sister? Man there is just pleasing that girl is there?'

"Hey Rarity." Twilight waved as she walked up to her friend with Sweetie Belle.

"Oh hey Twilight! How was working with Sweetie Belle?"

"Well she's a bit insistent on learning to write with her magic." Twilight responded. "We've been working on carrying and moving the pencil across the paper."

"Sweetie Belle you have beautiful penmanship when you write with your mouth. Why are you so determined to write using magic?"

"What if writing is my special talent that leads me to getting my cutie mark?" Sweetie Belle looked up with a slight whine to her voice. Rarity let out a long sigh.

Ditty, eavesdropping on the conversation, gave a small smirk to himself as he continued to organized his desk. He had been teaching for over a month now and he quickly found out about Sweetie Belle and her friends calling themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They had borderline fanatic obsession of discovering their special talent that would earn them their cutie marks.

"Ditzy what is your schedule like tomorrow? I'm having my weekly spa date in the afternoon with my friend Fluttershy, would you like to join us?" Rarity asked changing the subject.

"I don't know, I would need to get a sitter for Dinky."

"Oh not a problem, Ditzy dear. My parents would love watch over her, she can play with Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle looked at Dinky a little hesitant of Rarity's proposal.

"I don't know sis." Sweetie Belle said cautiously. "I was thinking of doing something with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom tomorrow."

"You can all play together can't you?" Rarity asked eyeing her sternly.

"If I bring some baked goods to share, do you think Dinky could join you and your friends for the afternoon?" Ditzy asked nicely to Sweetie Belle.

"We could show your friends what we learned in magic club today." Dinky added shyly though she looked very interested in the idea. Sweetie Belle was two years older than her, and Dinky did admire Sweetie Belle and friends.

"Yeah! Hey maybe you can use our magic to help us get our cutie marks." Sweetie Belle said to Dinky with a new realization dawning on her. "Oooh maybe it will help you get yours."

"Really!?" Dinky looked at her in amazement. "I never thought of getting a magic cutie mark. That sounds fun!"

"YAY!!!" The two cheered as they sprinted out the door together.

"Oh boy." Twilight groaned. "I think Sweetie Belle may have recruited a new Crusader."

"It certainly looks like it." Rarity replied with the same tone.

"Recruited what?" Ditzy asked looking at the two of them.

Rarity and Twilight glanced at her with worn out looks and then looked at each other.

"Twilight would you like to join us tomorrow? I think it would be appropriate to fill my old friend Ditzy in on the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

Twilight gave a grin.

"Why that sounds very generous of you Rarity. I would love to take you up on your offer."

The three of them walked out leaving both Ditty and Cheerilee alone in the classroom.

Ditty looked up at Cheerilee still working at her desk.

"Hey Cheerilee can I talk to you about something?" Ditty asked approaching her.

"Yes what is it?"

"Are you feeling OK?" Ditty ask.

"Just fine, why do ask?"

"Well, I've been noticing you've been acting a bit well...."

"Acting what?" Cheerilee looked at him defensively.

"You've kind of seemed to be looking a bit troubled or tired lately. Has something been bothering you?"

"Ditty." She gave and long pause then let out a difficult sigh. "Yes, there is something that has been bothering me. But it is a personal matter I can not discuss with you. I know you're intentions are good, but please don't ask."

"Oh." Ditty stepped back feeling embarrassed and rubbed the side of his shoulder. "I didn't mean to pry. I won't ask if it's private. I'm sorry."

Cheerilee bit her lip.

"No, no don't be. Its my fault, I've been letting it get to me. That and stress from work." Cheerilee massaged her temples with her hooves.

"Well concerning work, I'm wondering if there might be friction going on between us as teachers. Have I've done anything wrong?"

"No!" Cheerilee said quickly. "You're doing great, your performance as a teacher has only gotten better. Your help around the classroom has only made my job easier."

"OK." Ditty looked up at her. He wasn't sure if Cheerilee was being completely honest with him but he didn't want to push it. "It sounds like your friend Ditzy is getting a day at the spa tomorrow, maybe you should ask them if you can join?"

Cheerilee scoffed.

"No, that is hardly my thing." Cheerilee turned away from Ditty. "Seriously I'm fine."

"Well." Ditty said meekly. "If you are not doing anything tomorrow, would you like to have dinner with me?"

Cheerilee gave an annoyed huff still with her back to him.

"OK, scratch dinner, bad idea. I just want to make up for upsetting you. Tell you what, I'm planning on having a late lunch at Sugar Cube Corner tomorrow. If you want to stop by and order something I will gladly pay as a gesture of an apology." He quickly spoke out in an attempt to get back on the right hoof with Cheerilee.

Cheerilee shifted her weight, she still kept her back was to him.

"OK." She finally said.

"Alright I'll be from three to four."

"Fine." Cheerilee said still not moving. "Thank you."

Ditty took this as a sign she still need a little time get over being upset with his prying.

"OK then. I'm leaving, see you tomorrow, that is if you feel like showing up. Have a good night."

"Good night." Cheerilee said stoically as he left.

Ditty put on his hat and coat and walked out the door.

'That was awkward.' He thought to himself. 'Way to go Ditty, you muscle the courage to finally ask the filly of your dreams for dinner and she gets annoyed. Now I'm frantically back peddling in to damage control.'

Ditty took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

'It will be OK. I gave an invitation. If she does not take me up on it, we can put it behind us come Monday morning like professional adult ponies.'

Ditty continued down the road towards his home lost in his thoughts.

Chapter 7: From Spa to Spy

Chapter 7

From spa to spy

Ditzy relaxed in the sauna of the spa enjoying the steam. She laid stretched out on her stomach on the warm wood of the bench. Her wings were half unfurled in a relaxed position at her sides. She had never had a professional full body message before. Her masseuse within the first five minutes guess she worked a job that required her to fly do heavy lifting.

She walked in to the sauna forty-five minutes later very sore but after ten minutes in the steam Ditzy felt much better, her wings had become as so free moving and nimble.

She let out a relaxed sigh.

"You sounds like you are enjoying yourself." Rarity, who was sitting across from her in a plush robe, chimed in response.

"Most certainly." Ditzy smiled back at her. She was glad it was just her and Rarity for the moment, she knew she was wearing her 'derp' expression the entire time.

Rarity took a quick glance around and dropped her voice.

"Ditzy can I ask you a personal question? There's something that has been nagging at the back of my mind."

"What is it?"

"That night we were in Fillydelphia, I remember you didn't come back to your room until that next morning."

Ditzy looked up at her with a look shock on her face.

Rarity reached out a affectionate hoof to hers.

"Its OK, never told anyone sweetheart. I would never embarrass my friends with such scandalous gossip behind their backs." She gave Ditzy's hoof a pat. "I'm one who would like to put our past mistakes behind us, but I just need know. You spent that night with Ditty, didn't you?"

Ditzy gave a silent nod. Normally she would have broken down at such an accusation but within the last month she had grown to accept Ditty merely as a teacher and, just as Rarity put it, leave her mistakes in the past.

"I had my suspicions that you may had well ahem.... found other company that night. It was confirmed later that year when you were pregnant. I figure you found somepony at the hotel pool or something. But when I saw Ditty and Dinky side by side yesterday at school I started putting the clues together and I just had to hear it directly from you."

Ditzy let out a worried sigh.

"Is the resemblance between the two that apparent?" She asked.

Rarity pursed her lips.

"Well, it is to me, but I'm gifted with that as a fashionista. I'm good with faces and I've got a trained eye for image and subtle habits of ponies. For instance, both Ditty and Dinky share the same slight wave in their mane, they hold their posture in their back legs slightly to the left the same way. Also I've notice that the angle, smoothness, and shape of swirl in their horns are alike."

Ditzy blinked, she never realized that horn shape was obviously a hereditary trait in unicorns.

"Ditty has no clue about this does he?" Rarity asked.

Ditzy shook her head.

"Your secret is safe with me dear." Rarity said quietly. "Pinkie Pie swear!"

Ditzy looked up a Rarity with a smile as she saw her go through the motions. Just then Fluttershy and Twilight walked in.

"Oh hey girls." Twilight asked cheerfully. "What are you talking about."

"Oh, nothing. Just reminiscing on the good old days." Rarity said with out missing a beat. "Have any of you been to Sweet Apple Acres since the first harvest? Applejack told me this week marks the first day of Autumn."

The conversation between the four of them drifted from "The Running Of The Leaves" to their fondest memories of the seasons.

Anytime Ditzy got a little too quiet or the conversation drifted away from her, Rarity made it a point to ask her opinion or fill her in on any details she might not know. Ditzy found the who group very nice and entertaining. Twilight was very smart and caring, and Fluttershy was nice and just as quiet as her if not more.

The conversation eventually drifted to the topic of Ditzy and her experiences raising Dinky. The other mares loved hearing about Dinky when she was a yearling.

Both Rarity and Twilight squeed in delight when Ditzy shared them her story of her first unicorn kiss from Dinky.

Later after a relaxing pedicure both Ditzy and Rarity walked out of the spa feeling refreshed.

"Hey ya girls!" Applejack called out to them standing across the street managing her apple stand.

"Oh hey Applejack!" Rarity called back in a sing-song voice before the two of them crossed the street to talk to her.

"You have a good time being pampered and all?" Applejack asked giving a sniff, the two of them smelt like lilacs and herbal salt from their baths.

"Loved it." Rarity said happily. "What did you think of your first visit Ditzy?"

"Very enjoyable." Ditzy said. "I wish Dinky was old enough to appreciate something like that. But I'm afraid it's gonna be while before I can share it with her."

Applejack gave a chuckle.

"You got that right hon! Speaking of your little one, ah just saw her with the rest of ma sister's friends head'n out to the clubhouse on our property. The whole pack of them looked like they have been play'n around in the old sandlot again."

Ditzy gave a sigh.

"Well I'm glad Saturday night is Dinky's bath night." Ditzy said shrugging at the two of them.

"A little dirt never hurt anyone. Ah find a dirt covered filly a healthy sign of her be'n happy and adventurous."

Rarity gave a curt look at Applejack, obviously not agreeing with her.

"Well I should go find my little dust muffin before she gets anymore dirty." Ditzy smiled and flapped her wings to get off the ground.

"Ciao Darling!" Rarity called up to her. "We should have lunch together sometime. Stop by in Boutique anytime you're by there on your rounds."

"OK, sounds good."

"Bye!" Applejack call up to her.

Ditzy waved at the two of them as she flew off. She took a moment to feel the motion her wings. The massage had completely loosened her wings in places she did not know were stiff. She felt like a young filly in flight school again. Her wings were so limber and she had felt a new sense of invigoration with the energy to match.

She let her gaze drift down on Ponyville below, watching the street below her. She noticed Cheerilee was walking out of Sugar Cube corner with a look of indignation in her walk.

Ditzy took a quiet circle to get a second glace of the intersection. This time she saw Ditty walking out of the sweet shop with a look of rejection on his face. Ditzy landed silently on a rooftop behind Ditty to get a better look at him.

Her thoughts about picking up her daughter had completely vanish from her mind. Something deep inside her knew that both Cheerilee's and Ditty's were in there together and now were leaving apart.

She looked down the road and could barely make out Cheerilee's mane in the crowd of ponies. She looked back at Ditty who glance up the road in Cheerilee's direction and then flattened his ears and hung his head. Ditty then started heading in the opposite direction of Cheerilee.

Ditzy had to make a split second decision on who to follow, Cheerilee or Ditty? Before the decision completely solidified in her head Ditzy felt her wings give a couple quick flaps pushing her in Ditty's direction.

She followed him very stealthy through the air. Ditzy was now even more thankful with her trip to the spa. The added flexibility not only made her flying easier, but quieter as well.

Ditty still hung his head, his eyes did not once look up higher to see beyond where he was walking. The weather was overcast that day so Ditzy could fly a bit closer above him with out risk of him seeing her shadow.

Ditzy followed him first expecting he was returning to his home, but he took a turn in opposite direction when he reached a intersection. This only sparked Ditzy's curiously even more.

She followed him a bit further, darting between building tops. Ditty did not look up one bit, he just kept walking. He eventually stepped off the road and walked through the gates of the Ponyville cemetery.

Ditzy followed him in to the grounds very perplexed wondering if Ditty was so depressed he in fact had gotten himself lost. She flew down only a few feet of the ground, making sure not pass directly over any of the gravestones out of a respect for the dead.

Ditty walked down a few rows stopped in front of a tiny gravestone that had moss grown over it. Ditzy was fortunate to find a large stone mausoleum close by to land quietly behind it. Ditzy peeked around the corner of the stone structure and saw Ditty scraping off the moss of the gravestone with his hoof.

"Hi Mom." Ditty said somberly out loud when he sufficiently cleaned it off.

Ditzy felt her heart catch in her throat. She mentally slapped herself on the head, 'Ditty wasn't lost, he was going to see his mother's grave.' She thought.

She suddenly realized that she was listening in on a private conversation. She felt humiliated, she started wishing she followed Cheerilee instead. At least with her Ditzy could have innocently landed by her and asked her what was going on. If Ditty found out she was there, there would be nothing but awkward questions and accusations of her sticking her nose in other pony's business.

It was that fear that froze Ditzy to the spot and made her wings snap shut. She huddled closer to the wall hoping her grey coat would act as a camouflage against the granite.

"I know it's been a while, nearly twenty years." Ditty continued. Ditzy couldn't help but listen. "I've moved back to Ponyville. I've got a job as a music teacher at the school. Yeah music, I guess you've never seen my cutie mark have you?" He turned his body so his flank faced the gravestone.

"Yeah a microphone, whoever thought your little colt would turn out to be a singer?" Ditty gave out a small non-convincing nicker.

"I got it when I was living with Aunt Stelly and Uncle Timber in Fillydelphia. I.... I saw Dad once in Fillydelphia too." Ditty hung his head again. He did not sound at all happy to say it.

"You were right he was no good. I doubt he even knew who I was or that I was ever born. He was cruel Mom! I saw him hit a mare no older than I was, she was caring for a yearling. And Dad hit her in a drunken rage!" Ditty gave a sniff. Ditzy was horrified at the story she was hearing. "I know it was the drink was took you away from me, and it was the drink that cause Dad to get thrown in jail. I have a weakness for it too Ma. I've been going to meetings for seven years now, something you said you would never do. At times I ask myself what if you did, would you still be here? Would we have stayed in Ponyville for a few more years? I would have made some real friends here in town? Would I be the same pony today?" Ditty took a labored breath.

"It takes things away Mom, the drink. It took you from me, it took Dad from you, and it took my memories. I can't remember things Mom, my addiction gave me blackouts. I also don't remember much as a colt in Filly, I think I intentionally drank to forget it."

Ditzy heard Ditty give a small sob.

"I've forgotten Mom! I've forgotten that feeling of touching my horn to your head every night when you got home from work."

Ditty lowered his head further so that his horn laid on the gravestone as if in a sad attempt to feel it again. Ditty's back was to Ditzy but she could see in the shudders in his body that he was crying.

"I forgotten the unicorn's kiss Mom. I remember it was the special way that kept us together. It told me that though you had bad moments and yelled at me, you still deep down loved me, even if you hid it. Mom I feel like I'm loosing you all over again. I'm losing the good memories, and all that's left are the bad. I'm scared. If I lose the part of me that loved you, all that would be left would be the part of me that was afraid of you, that hated dad, and that wants to drink. I thought if I could clean up and come back to Ponyville I could start making some good memories, make a better life for myself. But today I found out that I was wrong, I love someone but she doesn't love me back. I've only made her angry. She told me I was thick, and she right. I'm still a faker Ma, I'm still playing make-believe. I smile on the outside but deep down I feel like an empty pony who is losing all the good things."

Ditty finally let out a full weep.

Ditzy was still frozen to the spot, her heart aching for him. He was a good stallion, Ditzy knew it. Dinky loved talking about him when she got home. He wasn't a drunk, he was not violent like his father. He shouldn't blame himself. Ditzy felt somewhat responsible for his lost memory. No she didn't cause it, but she was intentionally keeping one memory in particular from him.

Ditzy leaned back behind the stone, she buried her head in her hooves. She realized she had been caught up worrying about what other ponies thought when they found out who exactly she had a one night stand with, and that she secretly treasured it. But now she discovered that it didn't matter.

What did matter was the stallion of whom she had shared it with not only had no recollection of it, but was facing even more pain and felt even more alone than her. She silently cursed Cheerilee for hurting him, and at the same time she thought herself no more terrible than her.

She sat there with her head buried, completely hidden from Ditty for a while she tried to wrestle her thoughts.

Ditzy suddenly realized Ditty was no longer crying anymore. She looked back over the corner and saw he had disappeared. Ditzy quickly shot straight up in the air her efforts of being stealthy entirely abandoned.

She looked around and saw in the distance Ditty was already crossing the street outside of the graveyard. She saw he was heading towards the bar that sat across the street from the graveyard. She gave a gasp and made a dash straight for him. She was about to call out to stop him when another voice called out.

"Ditty! Stop!"

Ditzy panicked and in a single move swooped down and hid behind a tree next to the graveyard entrance. She looked over and saw the voice that called out belonged to Mr. Cake, the stallion who owned Sugar Cube Corner.

Ditty stopped and looked up at Mr. Cake slightly shocked.

"What are you doing?" Mr. Cake had ran right up to him.

"I....I....." Ditty stammered holding his head down in shame. Mr. Cake put a hoof up to his shoulder.

"It's alright, you don't need to say anything. I saw what that -pardon my language- bitch said to you at the store today! My wife and I thought is was just awful. She sent me out to find you. I noticed you were not at home, so I thought I'd play it safe and check around the bars."

Ditty didn't look up at him.

"Sounds like you need a sponsor, at least for the night. We all hit rough patches from time to time, remember step three son. Don't blame yourself for feeling the need to do it, but we can choose not to act on it. Come on I'll take you back to the shop, its closed now and Pinkie is out having a party with her friends. It can be just you me and the Mrs. We can have some tea and talk about it."

Ditty finally looked up at him his face a complete mess.

"OK." He said.

"Sweet Celestia, looks like you been through worse then I thought. I'm glad I found you."

"I just came from Mom's grave." Ditty said followed by what sounded like the onset of another sob.

Mr. Cake didn't say anything but gave him a full hug and slowly walked him down the street away from the bar.

Ditzy watched them behind the tree with a tremendous sense of relief. She was able to figure out quickly that Mr. Cake was obviously a member of his AA group. She knew Ditty was in good hooves if not the best hooves for tonight.

She sat watching the two walking away and pondered her situation. This time she gave her mind the much needed time to think clearly. She weighed her options had and decided she first she needed information before she did anything more harmful.

Ditzy took off in to the sky towards the Ponyville library. When she got there she knocked on the door of the building magically built in a tree. Spike the purple dragon answered the door.

"Uh can I help you." He asked a little confused at Ditzy expression.

"Is Twilight Sparkle here?" Ditzy ask quite sternly, she didn't have time to be shy and worried about her eyes.

"Uh no she's over at Sweet Apple Acres. Pinkie Pie is having a party there. Twilight left me here and said I couldn't go until I reorganize the K's through the W's."

"Oh, OK thanks." Ditzy said.

"Your welcome." Spike replied not looking happy to be returning to work.

'Good.' Ditzy thought to herself. 'I can talk to Twilight and then take Dinky home.'

--~~--

Dinky perked her ears up and slowly opened her eyes. She had only been asleep in her bed for a short time. The sound of the front door closing woke her from her slumber. Dinky focused her ears to the soft noises coming from downstairs. She was able to identify her mother's voice but could not make out what she was saying.

Dinky quietly slipped out of her bed and tip-hoofed out of her room to the landing at the top of the stairs. She crouched down and crawled up to the edge of the top step. She could see the kitchen lights were on and heard her mother talking to somepony in the kitchen.

"He was kind of arrogant at first, his singing and the charming talk. But after he had a few drinks, and I mean a lot, I got to see the honest side of him. He's caring, sympathetic and afraid, so much afraid. My heart went out to him. We... we... spent the night together. That's how Dinky came to be."

Dinky heard the sound of a coffee mug being quickly placed down on the table.

"Ditty Hooves is Dinky's father!" The other pony's voice gasped, it belong to Twilight Sparkle.

"Yes." Ditzy said back in a slightly indifferent tone. "Rarity was able to see the family resemblance. That's what we were talking about in the sauna this morning before you and Fluttershy walked in. Up until then only Cheerilee and my father knew were the only other ponies who knew."

Dinky gave a quiet gasp and covered her mouth with her fore hooves.

"We were both drunk, Ditty much more than me. He does not remember me at all from that night. He only remembers being rejected by Cheerilee and Rarity."

"The magic spell." Ditzy quietly whispered to herself, trying to put together the facts as best her young mind it could.

"Cheerilee told me he had many blackouts from his drinking back then. He's since cleaned up, I thought things were alright but I've found out he's forgotten even more than that, and he's afraid the he may be losing even more. That's why I wanted to talk to you. You're able to do memory spells right? Can we find a way to help him get back his lost memories back?"

A moment of silence hung between the two of them. Dinky heard one of the chairs in the kitchen give a creak as one of the ponies shifted their weight in it.

"How do I start? Memory spells are a bit complicated." Twilight started.

"Aren't they similar to unicorn kisses?" Ditzy asked.

"Well, yes and no." Twilight sounded taken aback by Ditzy's comment. "Unicorn kisses are formed from an emotional connection between unicorns with their parents and offspring."

"And their mates." Ditzy added.

Twilight sputtered for a second.

"How do you know that?" Twilight asked Ditzy.

"I read a book on it years ago, out of caution for raising Dinky. Also in Fillydelphia...... Ditty shared it with me. I first though in his drunkenness he did some sort of failed magic, it felt good so I didn't say anything at the time. I didn't fully understand what he did till I read about it in the book."

"Ooooh." Twilight said in concern. "He must have fallen completely head over hooves for you that night. I've never heard of couples being able to do kiss within their first night meeting. Well, granted unicorns don't go around sharing stories of their first time they had their first mate's kiss. The mate's kiss only happens when, well..... you know...... it's.... kinda personal."

"Today I found out Ditty has forgotten what a kiss feels like. Also that more of his memories are slipping away." Ditzy continued. "I remember the book saying that when unicorns bond with their mate through the kiss it is a permanent thing that forms a special link between the two that grows stronger the more the two interact with each other."

Dinky heard one of them tap a hoof on the kitchen table.

"I got to admit Ditzy I would have never guessed you knew this much on unicorn magic and it's connection to emotions and memories. I can see where your going with this, you think that very link could bring back Ditty's memories. But I'm already seeing a few complications. First, when I used my memory spell on my friends when Discord made then forget their loss was purely an act of magic that I was easily able to reverse it's affects. Ditty's memory loss sounds psychological, possibly physical from brain damage from his drinking. Second, studies have shown that the kiss between mates is indeed much more powerful and different than the kiss is between child and parent. You're right, if you and Ditty were to form the link again there would be no doubt that emotionally it would bring back those feelings to his memory. But that would be only an emotional recall, he would only remember what he felt but not what happened, factual information is not shared in that kind of link. And that leads to the third problem. If Ditty has completely forgotten his connection to you then the only way the two of you could form the link again is if you initiated the kiss. But that is impossible because you're a pegasus and do not have a horn."

The room went quiet for a long time, Dinky though for a moment that the two of them might gotten suspicious that she was awake and was listening to them until she heard her mother give a sniff.

"It's OK Ditzy. It may seem bleak, but if Ditty is hurting we can find him help. We'll get the right kind of ponies to work on it. I'm glad you asked me to bring these books maybe we can find an earlier case of something like this happening before."

Dinky slowly crept back to her room. She hated seeing her mother sad, the sound of hearing her cry bothered her even more. Her mother did not like to show it in front of her. Dinky knew her mother would lock herself in the bathroom and run the faucet to hide her crying. But Dinky was smart enough to know what she was doing in there. After her mother stopped and came out Dinky would pretend she didn't hear it and try to make her happy again.

Dinky now understood why her mother was crying that first day when Mr. Hooves started teaching at her school. Mommy was crying because Mr. Hooves loved Miss Cheerilee, and Mommy actually loved him, but Mr. Hooves couldn't remember.

"Mr. Hooves is my daddy." Dinky said quietly in to the darkness of her room. She gave a little smile to herself. She liked Mr. Hooves he was nice, funny and he taught her how to use her horn magic. "But the magic spell is keeping him from remembering and making Mommy cry."

Dinky walked up to her bed post and picked a crimson cape that she draped over it before she went to bed.

Earlier that day Sweetie Belle brought Dinky to the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. Sweetie Bell, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo all unanimously agreed to let Dinky join them in their quest to earn their cutie marks. Her initiation was complete with her presentation an official Cutie Mark Crusader crimson cape.

Using her magic Dinky picked up her cape and skillfully placed it over her shoulders and tied it around her neck. She turned around to face the hallway, bravely posing with it on, and quietly said.

"I promise you wont cry anymore Mommy! You may not have a horn to share the special kiss with Daddy but I do. I'm gonna break the spell using my magic and help him remember you."

Chapter 8: It only takes a spark

Chapter 8

It only takes a spark

Cheerilee had an unsettling week, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. She didn't know at the time, but her promise to Ditzy two months ago had put her in a difficult spot. In the beginning it wasn't all that bad, Ditty was a colleague, and Ditzy was her friend and mother of one of her students. But as time went on, the realization that Ditzy’s intention of not telling him started to break every moral value of honesty Cheerilee believed in.

She wasn't an ignorant pony, Cheerilee prided herself as a progressive mare. She understood relationships were complicated things, and at times they just did not work.

If Ditzy had broken the news to Ditty and they decided to stay apart Cheerilee would understand. Granted it would make being a friend to both of them awkward, but at the least Dinky would know who was her father. Instead the poor girl was being told a half truth which was pretty much a lie.

Cheerilee noticed Ditty and Dinky were naturally growing closer together as teacher and student: Ditty finding a common bond with Dinky having also grown up as a unicorn to a single parent pegasus, had naturally grown fond of the little filly. Dinky, having a lack of fatherly figures and adult unicorns who could teacher her magic, had effortlessly latched on to Ditty.

Ditzy was not making any moves or plans on talking to Ditty. Cheerilee was certain that Ditzy was content on avoiding the whole thing. All the while Cheerilee had to keep it quiet because she made a promise to her not to tell anyone.

Cheerilee could see the impeding train wreck coming. Dinky, believing that her father was a mysterious stallion from a far away city, grows up to find out she was born because of a drunken one night stand between her mother and the school teacher whom she had idolized when she was a filly. The poor girl would develop emotional complex that would haunt the family for the rest of their lives.

To make the situation even worse for Cheerilee, Ditty had been making romantic advances at her for the last few weeks. The whole thing just made her...

Cheerilee dropped her fork very loudly on to her plate. The other ponies in Sugar Cube Corner didn't take notice. Ditty, who was complimenting her recent teaching strategies, stopped in mid sentence.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"Just stop!" Cheerilee said now feeling her emotions running over with anger. "You go about and do these kind things, but you don't realize that you are so wrong! I've made it clear! I'm not interested in you but you keep on pushing it! And when I think you've gotten the message you turn around a do something like this!"

"I what?" Ditty looked shocked and a little hurt.

Cheerilee couldn't control herself, the weeks of holding her frustrations back had finally reached their toll.

"You convince me that we can just be colleagues and friends, but you're still playing the suitor the entire way. You pull out my chair for me, give me these flowers and pay me nice compliments, and it makes me feel guilty when I want to say no to you. Well that’s it NO! I've had enough! Haven't you noticed there are other mares out there besides me!? Or are you just that thick!? I would guess so by the way you’ve been completely unmindful of the signals of disinterest I’ve been sending you!"

Cheerilee in particular wanted him to leave her alone and take notice a certain grey pegasus, who secretly happened to be the mother his unknown child. But even in her anger Cheerilee still could not bring herself to say anything to break the promise she made to her.

Cheerilee looked around the room and saw half of the store was now looking at her. She didn't realized that she had raised her voice at Ditty. She tossed her mane back in a dignified way that would have rivaled Rarity's style and lowered her voice to a harsh whisper at Ditty.

"For a teacher who does an amazing job anticipating student's behavior and putting their feelings first, you are completely oblivious to the feelings and needs of other adult ponies, especially me. Its best we not see each other till work on Monday. Good afternoon Mr. Hooves."

She tossed a some bits on the table to pay him back for the meal he had just bought her and stormed out of the store.

Cheerilee got home quickly, slammed the door behind her and locked the deadbolt. She placed her hoof to her forehead and gave a deep sigh.

She thought she would be crying by now but she felt no sadness inside of her to let out. The only thing that she felt remotely close to it was a regret for Dinky; who's only fault was being a child of two of the most easygoing, kindest, and incredibly foolish ponies Cheerilee had ever met.

She honesty felt that way about them. In her time working with Ditty she began to understand why Ditzy fell for him. The quirks and strengths between the two of them would have made them a wonderful couple. She had imagined to herself if she had not known about Ditzy's secret she would have easily tried to match the two of them together.

Knowing they were both Dinky's parents only gave Cheerilee a sense of urgency to trying to get them back together. But the dim-witted decisions between the the two of them had only prevented them from finding each other again, and they were both suffering from it. Watching this happen made Cheerilee feel miserable.

Cheerilee slowly cantered in to her bedroom. She walked up to her dresser mirror and started taking out her earrings.

She looked down at one of the photographs she taped on the frame of the mirror. It was a photo of her, Ditzy, Rarity, and Berry Punch in their cap and gowns at their school graduation.

"I'm sorry I had to do that to you Ditty." She said sternly out loud to herself. "I have no choice with Ditzy, I made a promise. But I do have a choice with you, and this will be for the better. I can keep secrets from my work colleagues, but not from my lovers. And you will only be a colleague to me, it may be seven years later, and your lifestyle may have changed for the better, but I'm still not in to you."

--~~--

Ditty seem to have finally come to terms with Cheerilee's wishes when she saw him work on Monday. He was far from his typical talkative self, he only shared a curt "morning" with her when he walked in. He sat down as his desk and worked silently until he had to teach.

Ditty took his lunch outside by himself rather than at his desk where he and Cheerilee where he and Cheerilee would chat. That afternoon he left without saying good bye.

This felt awkward for Cheerilee but she accepted it. She knew Ditty would need a while to accept it himself.

The rest of the week continued as such. The two of them did not neglect their responsibilities as teachers, they just kept communication and interaction to a professional minimum. Ditty maintained the same routine; ate his lunch outside, and left in the afternoon without saying a word.

Cheerilee was relived when Friday arrived and the weekend was around the corner. The students did not see any hostility between the two of them but they certainly must have noticed that something was off by now. The only thing Cheerilee had left to do for the day was observe students while Ditty and Twilight tutored The Magic Club after school.

The rain outside started to sprinkle the windows. The weather pegasus had scheduled a thunderstorm for the late afternoon, luckily everyone had planned ahead and all the students had their raincoats and galoshes waiting for them in the coat room.

Twilight had dimmed the lights of the room and was practicing with a few students in using their horn magic as a source of light.

Ditty and Dinky were in the back of the room near the door using Ditty's desk lamp to light their game of magic checkers. Dinky sat proudly wearing her Cutie Mark Crusader's cape, telling him about the adventures she and her friend have had this last week.

Cheerilee worked under the light of her own desk lamp. She was finding that her new armistice of silence with Ditty made her paper work go by faster. Unlike last week, when she was hanging off of every word in Dinky's conversation with Ditty. When she occasionally looked up it was only at Twilight and the students with her. She ignored Ditty and Dinky completely.

She had made up in her mind that if Ditzy had decided to leave Ditty and Dinky in the dark, then she'll be completely ignorant of what the two of them said to each other .

The combination of the dim lights and the low voices with constant patter of the rain on the room gave the room a tranquilness.

Cheerilee worked quietly for a few long minutes until she heard the low voices of Ditty and Dinky had changed its tone. Cheerilee forced herself not look up, but her ears had already inadvertently focused in on two.

"Dinky, I think your imagination is getting away from you."

"No it's true! I heard Mommy and Twilight talking about it!" Dinky had the sound of betrayal in her voice.

"It can't be true. I never met your mother till I moved here to Ponyville. I understand why it would be fun to make up a story about me like that. I kind of did it too when I was your age, I would pretend who I though my father was. But that is just pretend dear, it's not real. It's just not true, not true at all."

"But I told you! You don't remember because of the magic spell."

Cheerilee finally looked up at the two, a worried look on her face.

Dinky sat with her posture huddled staring down at the board with her chin in her chest. Ditty was leaning in closer trying to look her in the eye.

"There is no magic spell." Ditty said a bit flatly to her trying to be nice.

"No! It is true and I'll prove it!" Dinky looked up at him with a tears forming in her eyes. She reached her head up and touched horns with Ditty.

Ditty was caught completely by surprise. At the moment of contact there was a small spark between the two horns. Ditty's expression turned in to that of pure shock. Almost immediately the spark caused both of their horns to explode with light, till it crescendoed to a loud snap and went out.

A few of the fillies in the room gave a shout.

Everyone in the room blinked the spots out of their eyes. The flash of light was amazingly bright and the fact that everyone had been spending the last forty-five minutes in a dark room caught everyone by surprise.

Cheerilee blinked quickly making out the blurry silhouettes of the two. Dinky had taken a few steps back and was holding her hooves up over her horn like she was in pain. Ditty teetered briefly then crumpled down on his side in to the checker board.

Cheerilee heard Dinky give a loud scream as she started crying. Before anyone could act Dinky ran to the door, flung it open and dashed out in to the rain.

Twilight lit the lights with her magic and ran over to Ditty. Cheerilee went over and calmed the startled fillies and colts.

"Ditty? Are you OK? Ditty?" Twilight asked shaking him with a hoof. Ditty didn't move. She leaned closer over his face. "He's out cold but still breathing."

Twilight ran up to the open door and looked outside.

"I can't see Dinky. I'm not sure which way she ran."

"Miss Cheerilee is Mr. Hooves gonna be OK?" Starchaser asked up at her.

"We need to get him to a doctor." Cheerilee said, more to Twilight than to the fillies and colts who have all started asking her the same questions.

Twilight turned around to the group with a calculating look on her face..

"Stay exactly where you are everypony, it will make this easier. I'll be right back with help." Twilight said loudly.

Her horn then lit up as a white sphere surrounded her and she vanished.

"Where did she go?" Tootsie Flute asked.

"She did a teleportation spell." Sweetie Belle chimed in. "My sister Rarity said she has been able to do it since she moved to Ponyville."

A couple of students oooh'd at the magic they had just witnessed while the others looked over at Ditty very scared.

There was another flash and Twilight appeared again in the classroom with Nurse Redheart by her side.

"Take a few breaths and steady yourself." Twilight said putting a hoof on her shoulder.

"Believe it or not Miss Sparkle I've traveled this way once before." Nurse Redheart said spreading her stance to settle her balance. "Though I must say, it is nothing like what they say it feels like in the books."

Nurse Redheart pulled out her doctor's bag and went to work.

"Alright my little ponies." Cheerilee said to her students. "Let's give Nurse Redheart some space to help Mr. Hooves. In the mean time lets get our things put away and get out raincoats on while we wait for your parents to get here."

The students started to head over to their cubbies and put on their jackets. Cheerilee walked over to Twilight and Nurse Redheart.

Twilight was speaking to her in a quiet whisper.

"She made contact with him directly on the horn. This is the first time she had ever made contact with her father as far as I know."

"Twilight." Cheerilee whispered. "You know about Ditty and Ditzy?"

"Yes." She said back looking over her shoulder making sure none of the students weren't eavesdropping. "Ditzy told me last week. We've been talking to Redheart here on finding a way to approach Ditty in getting some treatment for his memory loss."

"I'm glad they did, Twilight and I have been researching his condition and possible treatments since Monday." Nurse Redheart said putting her stethoscope on. "I'm a little prepared in what to expect, but I never anticipated Dinky to knowingly try to give him a unicorn kiss. She's the only pony alive who could have done it."

"Unicorn kiss?" Cheerilee asked.

"Long story." Twilight said. "Lets just say that Dinky had just proven to Ditty and all of Equestria that she is very much indeed his daughter. But she may have given Ditty severe brain trauma in the process."

Cheerilee gave a gasp. She felt horrified. If she had not been intentionally ignoring Ditty in the back of the classroom she might have been able to intervene.

Nurse Redheart look back up at then and removed her stethoscope.

"He doesn't look like he's suffered any physical damage from the fall. His pulse is certainly high. I guess its to be expected given that the daughter he didn't know he had just come up linked her emotions with his. Twilight hand me my blood pressure gauge."

Nurse Redheart took a closer look at his face while she took his blood pressure.

"Interesting, rapid eye movement. If I were to give an initial analysis I would say he's in a state of magical shock, and he's dreaming."

"Dreaming?" Twilight and Cheerilee both said together.

"I hope it's the kind of dreams a pony can wake up from." Twilight said.

"Right now his brain is now processing this new information at a subconscious level. Moving or teleporting him at the moment is too risky, his body and mind needs to settle. All we can do is give him time so his pulse is steady and his mind can piece it's self together. He may be able to pull himself out of this state naturally. That or he may slip in to a deeper coma."

Chapter 10: A family reunited

Chapter 10

A family reunited

Ditzy had to struggle against the wind. At times it blew against her, other times an up draft would push her dangerously closer towards the clouds. She remembered her instructor in flight school telling everyone that lighting from fully form clouds could severely injure anypony who happened to be flying between them.

That afternoon Ditzy had originally planned on walking home with Dinky after school. To her horror she arrived to find her gone and Ditty passed out on the floor. Cheerilee regretfully broke her the news that Dinky somehow found out that Ditty was her father. In a juvenile attempt to bring back his memories Dinky touched horns with him, which resulted him to pass out.

Ditzy fell down beside the unconscious Ditty distraught. She was in fact entertaining the notion of inviting Ditty over to her house for a meal that evening as a first step to what she hoped to addressing a treatment to him. She, Twilight and Nurse Redheart were already discussing ways to help him with his memories.

She also somewhat hoped she could get on Ditty’s good side, with him being on the rebound with Cheerilee. But her whole plan had come crashing down before her eyes.

In her grief, she draped her wing over him and touched his cheek. Ditty gave a small stir at her touch. Ditzy didn't not get up, she wasn't going to runaway or hide from him anymore. She started quietly talking to him. She apologized for hiding the truth from him, and spying on him. She started talking to him about when they met at school, and when they met again in Fillydelphia. She asked him if he could remember what they talked about the night they were together. What they drank, the pet name he had given her.

With the exception of the moment she touched his cheek, Ditty’s face and his body the entire time remained perfectly still. Ditzy grew even more scared. She kissed him on the cheek.

She started begging, pleading to him to come back. Her honest feelings final surfacing in her mind. She wanted to see those chocolate brown eyes of his again. She wanted to tell him the truth and show him pictures of Dinky as a baby and compare them with his own. She wanted take him out to dinner and make Cheerilee realized that she was thick one for passing up such a kind and wonderful stallion like him.

Ditzy just laid there for what felt like a lifetime asking over and over for him to open his eyes. When Ditty finally opened his eyes she didn't know what to say. He just looked at her and said.

"My first fan."

She immediately knew Ditty, her Ditty, was back.

Before she could even enjoy the moment of Ditty coming back to her. Ditty reminded everypony of the new emergency. Dinky her- no their- daughter was still lost.

Ditzy beat her wings harder when a light from a thunderbolt lit up the barn of Sweet Apple Acres ahead of her. She saw the little wood nestled beyond the Apple orchard and went in to a dive.

Ditzy landed beside the wood and ran in to it glancing up in to the trees.

She saw the tree-house nestled in the little clearing. She saw a small flickering light through the windows of the tree-house.

Ditzy flew up to the entrance and rushed through the door.

Inside she saw the house was relatively dry, with the exception of the bit of rain that was blowing in through the glassless windows. In the middle of the room, huddled in her cape sitting close to a small lit candle, shivering, alone was Dinky. Her back was to the entrance and Ditzy could hear her sniffling.

"Sweetheart?" Ditzy called to her.

"Mommy?"

Dinky looked up at her. Her face and hooves were slathered with mud. Her eyes were bloodshot red from crying, and she had a scratch her cheek that was bleeding a little.

"Oh baby!" Ditzy called out to Dinky and rushed up to her and pulled her up in to her fore hooves. "It's OK. I was so worried about you."

Dinky buried her face in to her mother's chest.

"I'm sorry!" She wailed. "I didn't mean to hurt anypony. I spied on you and Twilight when you were talking about Mr. Hooves being my Daddy. I thought I could use my magic to break the spell! I didn't know it was gonna hurt us Mommy. My horn burned after it happened and Mr. Hooves fell down. I was so scared!"

Ditzy held her closer and placed the side of her face on top of her head.

"Its OK baby. I'm here." She said soothingly.

"I thought everypony was mad at me so I ran here. I cut myself on a branch outside on the way here, and then it started to thunder and lightning."

Ditzy look down at her daughter's cut cheek. She wanted to wash the mud away from it but she realized she had nothing to wipe it with. In her haste at the school house she had ran out the door leaving her coat behind. All she could do at the moment is hold her closer as a cold wind blew through the tree-house causing the candle to flicker violently.

"I hurt him really bad Mommy. I'm so sorry! He will hate me when he wakes up, I just know it."

Ditzy felt herself shiver as the dampness of Dinky's cape started chilling her already soaked fur.

"No, no sweetheart." She said to her daughter. "He's OK, it just took a little while for him to get back up. He's looking for us right now."

"He's not mad?" He daughter ask looking up at her.

"Oh no, just worried. Like I was."

"I'm sorry." Dinky said as a new wave of tears overcame her.

"Its OK baby, it'll be OK."

Ditzy held her daughter as she whimpered in to her. The two of them held each other close sharing each other's body heat as the room around them started growing more and more colder. The minutes ticked away as the thunder rumbled outside. Ditzy hoped that Ditty would arrive soon.

"Ditzy!? Dinky!?" Ditzy heard Ditty's voice calling from outside.

Before Ditzy could respond a set of hooves galloped up the ramp outside, and Ditty burst through the door. He took one look at the two of them sitting together in each other's hooves and a look of relief crossed his face.

"Oh thank Celestia!" He said as he closed the door.

Ditty took off his overcoat and threw it over the two of them. He rubbed it down making the friction give Ditzy and Dinky more much needed warmth.

"Dinky?" Ditty ask looking down at the filly in her mother's fore hooves.

Dinky still held her face buried in her mother's chest. She did not look up when Ditty entered the tree-house.

"Sweetheart." Ditzy said quietly. "Someone important would like to speak with you."

Dinky teary eyed peeked up at Ditty with a scared look on her face.

"Hey Dinky." Ditty said with a soft look on his.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." She said in almost a whisper.

"We know you didn't sweetheart." Ditty said pulling out a semi-wet hoofkerchief from one of the pockets of his jacket.

He reached down and gently cleaned of some of the mud on her cheek near her cut.

"You just gave us all a scare back there." He said kneeling down so he could talk to her at face level. "I should be the one who's sorry. You were telling me the truth, you were right. You believed in me, even when I didn't believe in it myself."

A warm smile grew across Ditty's face. He leaned in closer to Dinky and dropped his voice to a whisper.

"You were right my baby girl! You were right!"

Ditzy felt Dinky's grip loosen around her as she turned to face Ditty directly.

"The magic spell?" Dinky asked him in a still shaky tone.

"You broke it." Ditty said affectionately nuzzling his nose against Dinky's. "Your magic put me in a deep sleep where my memories came back to me. When Mommy found me at school she held me and talked to me and helped me wake up."

"You mean Mommy help break the spell too?" Dinky asked a look of happiness finally starting cross the little filly's face.

"I could not have done it without the both of you." Ditty said giving her nose another nuzzle. This time Dinky gave a tiny nicker and nuzzled back.

Ditzy bit her lip at loving scene she was witnessing before her. She always wondered since Dinky was born how the two of them would meet as father and daughter. Her imagination never fathomed this and how emotionally powerful the moment was. Ditzy felt tears of joy streak down her cheeks.

"Your not gonna run away from Mommy?" Dinky asked.

Ditty looked up at Ditzy. He noticed she had started crying. He stood up and using the hoofkerchief still in his hoof he wiped her tears from her face. He then held her in his fore hooves and kissed her.

Ditzy felt his lips on hers, she held him closer and fervently kissed back.

"No sweetheart." Ditzy said back to Dinky when they finally pulled apart. "Daddy's not gonna run away."

"Daddy." Dinky said. Hearing herself say it as she held her hooves up at Ditty for a hug.

Ditty reached over and picked up Dinky in to a full embrace.

"That's right, my little pony. You have a Daddy." He said holding her tightly.

Ditzy put her hooves around the two of them and joined in their embrace.

--~~--

Twilight, Cheerilee, and Nurse Redheart eventually arrived at the tree-house, and all of them successfully got Dinky back home safe and sound.

Ditzy noticed Ditty’s breathing had gotten a bit labored when they got back in to town. Before anyone could say anything, Nurse Redheart immediately forced Ditty to lay down on the sofa in the living room so she could run a full physical of him. She threatened to sedate him if he dared to show one hint of protest.

Sure enough Ditty had over exerted himself. He found when he laid down on the sofa the adrenaline in his system had finally worn out, his limbs felt massively heavy. Nurse Redheart confirmed it was from a magic induced concussion he was suffering from.

"You’re on medical watch for the next twelve hours." Nurse Redheart scolded. "That means tonight somepony will have to watch you and wake you every hour to make sure you haven't fallen back in to a coma."

Ditzy volunteered to do it immediately without giving it a second thought.

"Yay! Daddy's gonna have a sleep over with Mommy tonight." Dinky gave a cheer.

Ditzy saw Cheerilee raise her eyebrows at Twilight and the two of them started stifling a giggle.

Nurse Redheart picked up on their unspoken innuendo, rolled her eyes and looked over at Ditzy.

"He needs to rest, real rest. No physical activity of any kind!" She turned back to Ditty. "Same goes for use of magic; telepathy and unicorn kisses. If if makes horn glow, you are forbidden from using it for at least a week."

Ditty gave a frown at her but didn't say anything.

"Now it's time for your check up." Redheart said walking over to Dinky eyeing the scratch on her cheek.

Dinky gazed up and gave a similar frown like her father's.

"You've may not have fallen down from it, but you too experienced the same trauma as your father. We need to make sure you haven't hurt the same way as well."

Ditzy gave a worried a look at Nurse Redheart. Dinky saw the seriousness in her mother's face and allowed Nurse Redheart to continue.

As Nurse Redheart gave her physical to Dinky, Ditzy walked in to the kitchen across the hallway and put the tea kettle on the stove.

As Ditzy watched the kettle, she saw in the other part of her vision Ditty was watching her from where he lay on the sofa. She felt a little wave of warmth spread across her face when she saw his expression. He held his chin up with his hoof, his dark brown eyes were locked on her, as if they were drinking in the whole image of her.

Ditzy still facing the stove, nonchalantly flapped her wings the same way she usually did at the end of a long day, and then finally look over to Ditty. His eyes were even more focused on her and a subtle little smirk grew on his face.

Ditzy smirked back at him and gave him a look as if to say 'I know what your thinking, but you need to wait.' Ditty gave a nod as if to understand her and gave her a wink before he looked over at Dinky with Redheart.

"Well there’s good news and little bad news Dinky." Nurse Redheart said finishing up her exam.

Ditzy stepped in to the living room to listen to the news.

"The good news is the only damage from your little magic show this afternoon is your horn is little warm and it will probably be that way for the next few days."

"It still feels sore." Dinky said glancing up at it.

"My feels the same way too sweetheart." Ditty said sympathetically to her as he gestured at his.

"To be expected." Nurse Redheart commented. "Just let it be and you both should be fine."

"The bad news?" Ditzy asked the nurse.

"The bad news dear, is your daughter has the early signs of a fever. She should known better than run outside in the rain without a coat."

Dinky upon hearing the news sheepishly walked over to the sofa Ditty was on. Ditty made some space for her as she hopped up and snuggled next to him. The other adults in the room gave a sigh of relief, the flu was bad but not serious.

"Well that's a relief." Ditzy said. "You had me...ah...ah...AH CHOO!" Ditzy gave a sneeze.

Nurse Redheart gave a sigh and placed a hoof up to Ditzy's forehead and shook her head disapprovingly.

"Looks like mom doesn't know better either." Nurse Redheart reprimanded reaching in her bag and pulling out a bottle of pills. "You and Dinky take two these every six hours. Drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest. Doctors orders. Oh and one more thing, Dinky is forbidden to use magic as well, no unicorns kisses or telekinesis for a week."

Nurse Redheart put on her raincoat and turned to the group in the living room.

"Ditty I expect to see you in the office tomorrow at ten for a follow up."

Ditty gave a salute at Nurse Redheart then reached over and tousled Dinky's mane.

"Have a good evening." Nurse Redheart said to everyone. "Remember Ditzy, tonight check him every hour on the hour. Best you set a timer. And....." She leaned closer and spoke softy so only she could hear. "No physical activity. Make him sleep on the couch, at least for tonight."

Ditzy felt a combination of embarrassment and irritation. She was angered by everyone’s raunchy conclusions when she'd volunteer to watch Ditty for the night. She felt embarrassed that Nurse Redheart might have picked up earlier on the glances she and Ditty had shared across the room at each other, confirming the thought may have crossed Ditzy’s mind.

Nurse Redheart waved good bye and trotted out the front door.

"Well," Cheerilee said in a light hearted accusing tone. "Looks like all of you as a family in a single day have successfully gotten each other sick. What have you got to say for yourselves?"

Twilight gave a nicker.

"I remembered to wear my coat outside." Ditty said in a mockingly dignified matter looking between Dinky and Ditty.

Dinky sat up and stuck her tongue out at him. Ditzy walked up him and gave him a little glare.

"For your information Mr. Hooves, I wasn't the one who ran through half of Ponyville immediately after he had suffered from a magical concussion that put him in a coma." She leaned down at him inches from his face looking him straight in the eyes.

"I love you." He said defensively and gave her a small peck on the forehead.

"Me too!" Dinky said blinking her big innocent eyes up at her.

Ditzy grinned at the adorableness of the two of them looking up at her.

"You two!" She said. "What am I going to do with you?"

--~~--

Ditzy awoke with a little jolt, she had lazily fallen asleep on Ditty's shoulder while to two of them laid on the sofa flipping through photo albums.

"What time is it?" Said blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

"Quarter to three. Go back to sleep honey, you don't need to wake me for another fifteen minutes." Ditty said obviously still awake enjoying the pictures of Dinky and Ditzy.

Ditty nickered at his own dumb joke, Ditzy gave him a playful swat with her tail. She stretched her wing over the side of him like she had done before in the schoolhouse and cuddled up closer to him getting more comfortable.

"Sounds like the rain has stopped." Ditty said glancing up at the window.

"Mmmhhhuh." Ditzy sleepily agreed, having decided to take Ditty's suggestion on going back to sleep.

"I guess the weather ponies would be heading home by now with a job well done." Ditty said out loud thoughtfully.

The word weather ponies reminded Ditzy of something.

"Uhhhh Ditty?" She said opening her eyes up at him.

"Yes?"

"I just realized we might have an issue breaking the news to my father about us."

"Oh?" Ditty asked, and then a realization with a touch of dread crossed his face. "Oh. Dinky mentioned him to me last week. I believe it was something along the lines of Grandpa thinks Daddy is a bad pony..... I guess that means me....."

Ditty ran his tongue nervously across the inside of his lower lip.

"Yeah, he’s not even aware you are new teacher in town. And well ‘we’ only just happened tonight" Ditzy said heavily.

"How are we gonna do this?" Ditty glanced at her.

"Well if I have learned anything from all of this, is it's better not hide anything. I need to tell to tell him straight out."

Ditty affectionatly rubbed the side of his face with hers.

"We will, together." He said calmly.

"Yeah, together." Ditzy replied still a little worried but encouraged by Ditty.

"Awww! Look at that, a little firefighter!" Ditty exclaimed.

His gaze had fallen to a picture of Dinky dressed up as a firefighter for last years Nightmare Night.

"And what are you?" Ditty quizzed looking at Ditzy standing in the background of the picture wearing paper bags on her hooves and head.

Ditzy gave an embarrassed gasp and snapped the album shut before Ditty could take a harder look.

Epilogue

Epilogue

The following Spring

Dinky sat at a table during the reception with her closest friends, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Dinky wore a beautiful flower filly's dress with a polished bronze tiara. Her other friends were wearing their best formal dresses, even Scootaloo who was never one for the frilly clothing.

A cobalt earth pony played soft jazz piano in the corner of the room. At the main table in the center of the room Dinky's mother sat wearing an outstanding custom made wedding dress from Carousel Boutique. Sitting next to her in a tuxedo and tails was her Daddy, Ditty. Daddy Doo, her grandpa, sat close by with a look of satisfaction on his face, having finally seen the wedding his daughter was long entitled to.

Dinky was glad that Grandpa had started liking her Daddy. Grandpa at first didn't say much when he found out Daddy had gotten his memories back. He pretty much shot him suspicious glaces and asked him a lot of questions. Grandpa was a little better when Daddy asked him if he could marry Mommy.

Grandpa started liking him even more around some time around Winter Wrap Up. Mommy told her it was because Daddy had put a lot of money in to something the house had called a mortgage.

After Daddy paid the mortgage (whatever that was) he moved in with her and Mommy. Grandpa said that Daddy had earned it by putting his money where his mouth was, Dinky still didn't get it. Adults could be so weird sometimes.

Dinky did like that Daddy was living with them now. For the longest time Daddy used to walk home from school with her and then after dinner he had to leave to go back to his house. On the weekends he would stay over even later. And sometimes when the weather got really bad he'd stay in Mommy's room with her.

Dinky knew Mommy really loved him. She liked to drape her wing over Daddy and hold him closer to her with it. Sometimes when Mommy did that, Daddy would reach over and give her a unicorn kiss and then whisper something in her ear to make her nicker.

"Hey Dinky Doo I was wonderin'?" Apple Bloom asked as the four of them ate wedding h'orderves from their plates.

"What?"

"I heard Twilight say that whole magic thing ya did to your Pa last fall wasn't a normal unicorn kiss."

"Uh huh." Dinky said quite proud of herself. She had heard the news only a week ago. "Twilight said I might have not done a special kiss, but actually did a real magic spell."

Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle gave a oooh!

"Yep, I might have done real advanced magic."

"Well that's what I was wonderin." Apple Bloom continued. "If you had done some fancy very rare magic, would that have given you ya cutie mark?"

"Oh yeah, like Twilight did when she told us the story she had gotten her cutie mark." Scootaloo added.

"Or my sister Rarity when her magic horn lead her to her destiny, and finally her cutie mark." Sweetie Belle squeaked.

"Oh girls you've forgotten that I got something better that a cutie mark from that." Dinky said with a happy smile.

“Something better than getting your cutie mark?” Sweetie Belle asked perplexed.

"What's that?" Scootaloo asked.

Dinky looked over at her parents. Ditzy had reached over bushed off some lint on Ditty's jacket and adjusted his tie before they smiled for a picture.

"A Daddy....."

Chapter 9 : Crawling through Oblivion

Chapter 9

Crawling through Oblivion

It was dark. Very dark.

Ditty could not see or hear anything. He wasn't even sure if he was really there. The nothingness was a part of him and he was a part of it.

From in the bleakness Ditty saw a faint glow. The kind of glow that could blend itself with darkness but if you willed your eyes to not strain too hard you faintly could make it out.

Ditty moved towards it. It got a little brighter. He increased his speed, the brightness increased as well.

Ditty pushed himself hard and ran as fast he could. He was even closer to the light, but now it was too bright. He was blinded by it, he lost his balanced and tripped.

The moment he fell the light went out. He was in darkness again.

"Wait!" He called out. But the voice he heard echo back in the darkness wasn't his own. It was small, it sounded like a little colt's. He had heard it before along time ago. It took him a moment but he realized it was his own voice when he was a child.

He heard a noise, it sounded like the flapping of wings. He looked up in the direction it came from, the darkness was gone.

Ditty was now standing on the playground of Ponyville Elementary. The school building looked massive. Ditty looked down at the grass and saw two little colt hooves where his normal hooves should be.

He heard the flapping wing sound again followed by the sound of hooves landing next to him.

"Chin up sweetheart, we want to make a good impression for the teacher."

Ditty looked up and saw the living face of his mother. He had not seen her in over twenty years, but here she was alive looking back at him.

Sandy Hooves stood over him with her rosewood color fur and wings, her auburn windswept hair and her dark brown eyes the same as Ditty’s.

Ditty felt an urge to throw his fore legs around her but he realized that he was not in control of his little colt body. He was only a passenger watching these old events unfold.

"I'm scared of you leaving me here Mommy." He felt his little colt voice say.

"Sweetheart we talked about this. You’re a big pony now. Big ponies go to school."

Ditty slumped his head down sadly.

"Look over there. There's your Cheerilee friend from across the street."

Ditty looked up and saw the filly Cheerilee with braids in her mane standing next to the door to the school just thrilled to be starting classes. She look up at Ditty and his mother and waved.

"Hi Ditty! Hi Ms. Hooves!" Cheerilee called out.

"See you know somepony here. She looks happy to be here, you'll like it. You'll see."

"OK." Ditty said uneasily.

"Wait, give mommy a Ditty kiss?" Sandy said down to her young foal.

Ditty reached his horn up and touched it to his mother's forehead. A tiny spark lit up between them and Ditty felt a little braver sensing his mother's feelings of how proud of him she was starting his first day of school appear briefly appear in his thoughts.

The playground faded to back.

Ditty was once again standing within the darkness. His thoughts raced remembering the sensation of the spark he shared with his mother.

"Mom?" He cried out, still in his colt voice.

He heard a couple of fillies nickering to the left of him. He turned to face the noise. He was back on the playground, but it was now later in the school day. The nickering belonged to two fillies, both who looked like Cheerilee.

"What's so funny Cheerilee?" He asked one of them.

"I'm not Cheerilee, she is." The filly said briskly. "I’m Berry Punch and mind your own business." The two fillies walked off still laughing. Ditty turned around in the direction the two of them were facing and saw a little grey pegasus walking across the field.

The pegasus was cantering across the grass with a stupid look on her face. One of her eyes were looking up while the other was looking down. She walked up to a flower, looked at it with both eyes and gave it sniff.

The playground went dark again.

"Wait who was that? Show me it again." Ditty shouted to the darkness. "Ditzy was that you? Ditzy?"

"Derpy!" A young colt's voice called behind him. "Yeah Derpy!"

Ditty turned around and saw two colts with cruel grins on their faces.

"Not you horn head! Turn around!" One said rudely to Ditty.

Ditty turned back around and saw he was still a colt sitting in his student desk in his elementary classroom. Ditzy was sitting in the desk next to his. She had a pencil in her mouth and was coping the instructions on the black board in the front.

"Pssst! Derpy, what's wrong with your face? You eat some spoiled apples as a baby?"

One of the boys nickered.

"Yeah your mom drop you out of Cloudsdale face first?"

The two of them nickered together.

Ditzy stopped briefly as if she heard them but then went back to writing.

"You deaf also Derpy? Didn’t you hear me?"

Ditty turned around and glared at them.

"Ditty have you copied the entire writing exercise?" The teacher called out from the opposite side of the room.

"No Mrs. Sharpener."

"Then face forward and leave the other students alone."

"Yes Ma'am." He said embarrassed.

Ditty went back to his work. The boys behind him relished in their nickering of getting him in trouble. Ditty glanced over at Ditzy, the little filly met his glace both eyes were looking at him. Ditty saw the edges of her mouth slightly twitch. Ditzy’s eyes rolled back in to her walleyed expression and she went back to her work.

The classroom faded to blackness.

"I remember that now! But I’ve forgotten it. Was that important?" Ditty said out loud realizing that his voice had returned to its normal adult sound.

"They had no right saying those things. It was just cruel." He heard his own voice shout back somewhere in the darkness.

"That's me." Ditty shouted back to the darkness. "Did I say that? When did I say that? I can't remember."

"I shouldn't had just scowled! I wish I said something, wish I did something. I wish.." The darkness shouted back.

"When did I say that? I know it's important! It... It just feels that way. Please for the love of Celestia, Show me!"

The darkness erupted with light. Ditty knew it was the same light he was chasing before. This time the light had become even more brighter. Ditty panicked, he turned around and galloped away from it.

"No sweetheart, don't give up now!"

His mother landed in front of him. Ditty stopped. The light went out again.

Ditty lit his horn, his mother still stood in front of him.

"The longer you stay here the harder it will become for you to leave."

Ditty felt helpless and confused.

"Mom." He wept. "I'm so lost, I think I get the picture and something happens and I get lost again."

"You need to put it together yourself."

"I don't understand, help me." He pleaded.

"I can give you a hint, but you need to stay focused. No distractions, time is running out. Find out what you need to know and move on."

"OK." Ditty said gathering his composure a little more focused with a goal in mind.

"When was the last time you sang Let it Snow?"

"That song?" Ditty almost gave a chuckle. "I haven't sang any holiday songs since my time as a lounge singer."

His mother and the darkness faded away as he saw the lounge of Hotel Fillydelphia form around him.

Ditty felt himself standing on the stage singing Let it Snow to a room full of ponies who looked the least bit interested in him.

Ditty was a passenger again in his old body again, this time it was a much older Ditty.

He started feeling embarrassed as he heard himself singing.

‘I can't believe I did this and thought people appreciated me for it.’ He thought to himself.

Ditty felt himself transition in to a lounge version of Goddess Rest Ye Merry Pegasus, and turned to face another end of the room.

Ditty noticed a mare in nice evening dress had walked in to the room and sat down at the bar. Before he could good look at her his lounge singer self turned to Benny his pianist.

‘Who walked in?’ Ditty asked himself. ‘Come on. turn back!’

After another verse lounge singer Ditty turned to face to the back putting the bar completely within range of sight.

If Ditty was able to give a cheer he would have. Looking up at him from the bar was Ditzy Doo sipping a drink with a cute little smirk on her face.

Ditty continued watching through the eyes of himself as he sang melancholy songs. He didn't remember the songs being so bad when he sang them but now that he was forced to hear them again, he felt like he was enduring some kind of ironic torture.

He passed the time by trying to catch glimpses of Ditzy at the bar. He didn’t know why by something inside felt that she was the purpose of this vision. With the exception of his first vision of his mother, Ditzy had been present in all the other visions. Also this was not how he remembered it, Ditzy sitting at the bar was new to him.

Soon Ditzy was joined by Cheerilee, Berry Punch and eventually Rarity. The four of them all seemed to be talking though Ditty could only hear himself singing the lyrics of Santa Clops. Ditty also noticed his lounge singer self had started paying closer attention to the fillies at the bar, Cheerilee in particular.

Finally Ditty had finished his set and took a bow. Very few ponies gave applause.

He and Benny quickly divvied up the tip jar and Ditty made a b-line for the bar. He heard one of mares mention Ponyville and Winter Wrap Up.

"Oh come on girls. It's Hearth's Warming Eve! Let's drop the biology lesson and get out there and cut loose." The flushed faced mare at the end of the bar shouted.

"Now there's a mare who knows how to celebrate the holidays!" Ditty the lounge singer said joyously breaking in to their conversation.

"I couldn't help but over hear, are you ladies from Ponyville by any chance?" He felt himself say. He then ordered a gin and tonic.

The voice in the back of Ditty's head screamed in panic. He was going to relive himself drinking alcohol, the very thing that had taken his family and his memories. Here he was back at the last night he had touched the stuff about to witness himself fall down that spiral again.

'I don't want to see that!' He felt himself say.

The ponies at the bar froze in place, the ground started to shake and the walls of the room started to crack. Ditty could feel the darkness starting to seep back inside of him. It felt cold and empty.

"No!" He shouted.

The shaking stopped and rest of the room froze in place. Ditty now found himself standing next to his lounge singer self in the bar, the drink just about to touch his lips, the memory still frozen.

"I won't be a prisoner to alcohol! Not even in my memories." He said out loud to the room around him.

"These are your memories Ditty." His lounge singer self said turning his head to him with hoof still not moving. "You leave now and you'll never get a chance to learn the rest."

"I'm not leaving!" He shouted. "But I know the alcohol only makes me forget, I wont let it."

"You have to experience the whole thing or fail." His doppelganger said back to him with a impious smile. His voice now sounded harsh, wicked, and distinctly like his drunken father’s.

"Why?" Another voice asked.

Ditzy Doo at the bar had become unfrozen and was glaring back at the lounge singer Ditty.

"What!?" The doppelganger said back at her. "How are you-"

"Answer the question." Ditzy cut him off still glaring at him. "You said these are his memories, right? Why can't choose what he wants to see and how?"

Ditty suddenly felt even more clear headed from Ditzy's words. He could feel her presence, it felt like she was right beside him cheering him on. It made him feel braver.

"Yeah!" Ditty said with even more strength in his voice. "I do remember this, Rarity blows me off and I stay here and drink. I don't need experience that first hand all over again! It would be just a waist of time. I know it already."

Almost like he had said a magic word, doppelganger Ditty and the others at the bar vanished leaving Ditty and Ditzy standing facing each other.

"You’re a part of this, you’re the key to this." Ditty said taking a step towards her. "I don't know how or why but I can just feel it. It feels right."

Ditzy gave a smile back at him.

"I'm right here." She said gently to him. Her words came out of her mouth and also they echoed as if she was calling to him from far away. "Fight! You can pull through this. I know you can."

She reached up and touched him on the cheek. Ditty felt a wave of recollection surface in his mind.

"All of you did leave me at the bar. But later you came back. Just you, by yourself."

Ditzy smiled and nodded as their surroundings changed back in the bar. The two of the stood side by side as they watch the memory play out.

It was much later that evening, Ditty saw his lounge singer self stooped over the bar obviously drunk. While another Ditzy trotted in to the bar. She looked a bit frazzled, like she had a bad night out. She sat down next to him.

"I thought you said you had a party to go to with your band mates?" Ditzy asked the drunken Ditty startling him out of his inebriated torpor.

"Huh?" He looked up at her blinking. "Do I know you?"

"Ponyville. Cheerilee's friend." She said looking at him.

"Yeah the quiet one. Never got your name."

"Ditzy Doo."

"Pleased to see you again. I'm sorry if I was rude earlier.”

"Oh no you weren't. Honestly I thought my friends were being rude. They just stood up and walked out after we all had been talking about you while you were singing."

"Really?" Ditty gave a smile at her. "And here I thought my ears were burning up there because of those stage lights."

Ditzy laughed and gave a sigh, her eyes rolled up in her typical fashion. Ditzy turned her head away embarrassed.

"Hey I remember you now. You looked that way first day of school." The drunk Ditty said to her.

Ditzy turned around ready to walk out.

"They were horrible to you."

She stopped.

"Those boys sitting behind us, back in school, they called you names. I even heard Berry Punch and Cheerilee giggle about you once. The things they said, the boys, I hated them for it. They intentionally whispered loud enough so you could hear when the teacher was on the other side of the room."

The frazzled Ditzy turned around and looked straight at him with both eyes this time. The drunk Ditty was looking down at the bar regretful.

"They did that, and not once did you cry or shout at them." He said.

"You never said those bad things to me." Ditzy said back to him. "That's why I remember you. You were never mean to me. One time you even looked back and scowled at them."

Drunk Ditty hit a hoof against the bar.

"They had no right saying those things. It was just cruel." He said in a rush of empathy. "I shouldn't had just scowled! I wish I said something, wish I did something. I wish.."

He stopped in the middle of his sentence. Ditzy, touched by his words, had leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

The Ditty who was watching the memory was so focused on watching other two ponies that it took him a moment to realize that the Ditzy beside him was also kissing him on the cheek in the same fashion.

"Please come back." She said sadly to him, her voice still coming from her and echoing. "Do you remember what we drank that night? The name you called me when it was just the two of us in the hotel room?"

The room changed instantaneously around them. They were both in his hotel room now.

Ditty found himself laying in bed with Ditzy next to him. She took a drink of the bottle of red wine in her hoof.

Ditty felt another wave of recollection cross his mind.

Ditzy beamed at him, reached and brushed his mane away from of his face.

"We made love.” Ditty said shocked and at the same time enraptured by Ditzy’s smile.”How could I forgotten this!" He said to Ditzy who just laid next to him with her golden eyes looking back at him. "You had just finished telling me how you admired me in school, I called you my first fan. And then I did this.”

Ditty reached over and placed his horn on Ditzy's forehead.

There was a snap as the room surrounding them shattered in to pieces like a broken mirror. Ditzy had vanished and in her place was a glowing light that was being siphoned up by Ditty's horn. The sensation felt painful and strangely familiar, but he knew that he had -no he needed to endure it.

Ditty saw the bright light from earlier again, but this time the light on his horn seemed to out shine it.

Ditty no longer felt any pain or was afraid this time. His horn felt drawn to the light, Ditty walked up to the it and placed his horn over it. The two sources of light joined as one, it started morphing and changing shape. It eventually grew in to the size and shape of a little unicorn.

The brightness dimmed, at first he thought he was looking at himself when he was a colt, but then the little unicorn gave a familiar high pitch squeal of laughter. The unicorn was Dinky.

The whole picture became perfectly clear now. Ditty had reawakened a forgotten deep love he held for Ditzy and he knew, beyond any reason of doubt, Dinky was their child.

"See Daddy I told you!" Dinky laughed at him. But her laughter started to fade.

Suddenly Ditty felt a sense of alarm. The light surrounding Dinky was fading and she was slowly starting to vanish.

Sandy Hooves stepped out of the shadows and stood next her granddaughter.

"What's happening?" Ditty asked his mother as he saw his daughter slipping away.

"She's not really here. She's out there, alone, and in need of her parents."

Ditty reached out to touch Dinky's face but she completely vanished.

"Ditty time is up, you need to leave now!" His mother said to him. "Wake up!"

Ditty looked up at his mother. She towered above him. She was no longer the kind mare from his memory of the first day at school. She was now angry and had the look on her face that she had been drinking heavily. It was another memory of her, one he had forgotten for good reason.

Ditty felt a sense of absolute terror

"Wake up!" His mother shouted again. She looked like she was going to hit him.

Ditty fell down and covered his eyes with his hooves, just as he did when he was a child. Everything was dark.

"Open your eyes!" His mother shouted again.

Ditty couldn’t he was too scared.

"Open your eyes!"

"Open your eyes." The voice had changed it wasn’t his mother’s. This one was softer, almost a whimper. It was pleading to him.

Ditty felt like he was crawling up a long tunnel towards the soft voice calling to him.

"Open your eyes please."

Ditty finally opened his eyes and saw two familiar golden eyes with tears in them looking back at him.

"Please come back." The voice of Ditzy said to him.

Ditty blinked twice and saw the golden eyes belonged to her. He quietly whispered the first thing that came to his mind.

"My first fan."

Ditzy gave him a look of disbelief then erupted with joyous sob.

"YES!"

Ditzy threw her fore hooves over his neck and buried her face in his mane and sobbed.

"YES! YES! Oh Ditty! I’m sorry I hid from you. I was so foalish. I tried to pretend nothing happened, that I could just move on. But I could never forget you, even it you forgot me I just couldn't let go." She sobbed in to him.

Ditty realized he was laying partially on his side on the floor in the school house. Somepony had put a pillow under his face, and he had a blood pressure cuff around his forearm.

Ditzy was laying beside him, with their noses almost touching. She had her wing stretched out covering him like a blanket.

Ditty reached around and hugged her back feeling a sense of fullness he has realized he had only felt once briefly in his life.

"It was someplace dark and I was scared. But somehow you showed up and helped me remember." Ditty said feeling his own eyes tearing up.

"I thought I was too late. I felt so helpless." Ditzy sobbed back in to him. "I couldn't do anything by be beside you and call to you."

She must have been the echoing voice he heard in his dreams calling to him while he laid unconscious.

"I could hear you. I had just about given up, but then I felt you were close, I just couldn't give up."

The two laid in an embrace until Ditty felt something prod his forearm.

Ditty looked up and saw a Nurse was taking his pulse.

"You are a very lucky stallion Mr. Hooves," the Nurse said. "Pulling yourself this quickly out of a magical shock like this something short of a miracle. It sounds like Miss Doo's presence played an important part in it."

Ditzy had let go of his neck and gave the side of his face and affectionate nuzzle. Ditty took a moment to remember the whole ordeal. His thoughts focused on what the last few things the image of his mother said.

BOOM!!

A loud crack of thunder echoed in the large school room.

"Dinky!" He said urgently.

Ditzy pulled back to face him, her expression and panic matched his.

"Where is she? Is she OK?"

Ditzy folded her wing up and she looked up at the ponies who where standing around them.

Ditty looked up too. The room was mostly empty with the exception of the nurse who was shuffling around in her medical bag, Twilight was standing beside her, and Cheerilee had just walked in to the room wearing a rain coat.

"We’re looking for her. She didn't run home, I just checked there myself." Cheerilee told Ditzy pulling her soggy hood back and shaking out her mane.

Ditty planted his hooves in the floor and gradually stood up.

"How long has she been missing?" Ditty asked feeling adrenaline coarse through his muscles. He took off the blood pressure cuff with his magic. His horn felt a little sore when he did it, but he ignored it.

"You've been out cold for just over a half an hour." Twilight said to him. "All the rest of the students have gone home, every parent agreed to keep an eye out for Dinky on their way home."

The nurse looked up at Ditty on his hooves and using his magic in a slight panic.

"No, lay back down, you should not strain yourself till I run some tests."

Ditzy stood up bracing herself against him to act as a support.

"I'm all right." Ditty said to both of them. "The tests can wait. My daughter is out there alone and scared."

Cheerilee's eyebrows shot up when Ditty said the word daughter. She held a look of excitement when she realized that Ditty and Ditzy was were standing close together side by side.

Ditzy did a double take as well realizing that Ditty referred to Dinky as his daughter and his concern for her was not as a teacher, but as a parent.

Ditty felt this was not the time to hear apologies and questions on how he figured it out. Dinky was no where to be found, and possibly in danger. She was more important.

"Does anypony know if Sweetie Bell and her Crusader friends have a special meeting place or a home they like to play?" Ditty asked focusing the group back to the more urgent matter.

"They have a club house on the Apple farm. On the south side their property, in the wood adjacent to the creek." Ditzy said quickly realizing what he was thinking.

"I haven't gotten word out to the Apple family on Dinky's disappearance yet." Cheerilee said. “An none of the parents live out that far of town to even think of checking there.”

"She has to be there. If she's too afraid to go home, where else would she go in the rain?" Ditzy said looking at Ditty with a serious look on her face.

"Fly." He said to her. "I'll follow behind on hoof."

Before the nurse could give a second protest, Ditzy had already flown out the door at full speed. Ditty, magic-ing on his overcoat and hat in one quick gesture, followed after her.