Repair and Deliver

by FluttersIsAwesome

Rating: everyone
Tags: Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life
Length: 6300

Diggs Ditzy Doo Dinky Hooves shipping slice of life oc my little pony how does a pegasus give birth to a unicorn

When Diggs gets transferred from a mechanics' shop in Vanhoover to one in Ponyville, he ends up staying with Ditzy Doo. In the time they spend together, they develop a close bond, and little Dinky even treats him like a father. As they continue to live together, Ditzy contemplates dating, and even the possibility of legally giving her daughter the father she needs.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-04-29 02:07:17 UTC

Chapter 1: Transfer

Repair and Deliver

Random Side Story 1

Chapter 1: Transfer

By: FluttersIsAwesome

Waking up early in the morning isn't fun, but I was used to it. With a loud yawn, I shook myself awake and pushed the button on my clock to turn off the alarm. As I oppened the curtains to the window in my room, the sunlight broke through the shadows of the small bedroom, illuminating the grass-green walls and the white ceiling. I had to wipe my eyes as I walked down the hallway to the kitchen in order to wake myself up. I normally didn't have time to eat breakfast at home, so I just grabbed an apple to eat on the way to work. Grabbing the red cooler I always kept on the counter, I set a few bottles of water and an icepack in it to take with me as well.

It was an ordinary, mundane morning. After a shower, I checked the mirror, tidying up my maroon mane and burgandy, orange-striped coat. Before leaving, I grabbed my dark green vest with matching cap; it was like my signature. Nopony other than me ever wore something like this, and sometimes I would tell myself it was out of respect of my individuality. With a final crack of my neck, I left my small house and set off to Ratchet & Hooves, Vanhoover's local mechanic shop.

Thankfully it was only about half a quarter of a block from where I lived. I approached the large, grey building with about thirteen minutes to spare. I tossed the applecore into the trash bin beside the door with a smile. The buzzing, whirring, clanking, and banging of different tools could be heard from inside the three large garages beside the office itself; it was like music to my ears. Working on machines had been my passion ever since I was a foal. My father owned this shop and taught me everything I knew, from something as simple as tightening bolts to something as complex as complete vehicle overhauls. Before I knew it, the socket wrench had appeared on my flank, and I began working for pay under my father.

When I opened the door, I was greeted by a large colt with coloring similar to my own. "Diggs, my boy, early as always!" he explaimed, laughing and patting me on the back.

I shared his enthusiasm; I enjoyed my job. "As always, dad."He led me into his office, which normally meant that he wanted to talk about something. It was a small room, all it really had was a decent-sized desh with a computer and a telephone, and two chairs in front of it. My dad didn't really need much more, anyway. He sat down behind the desk, so I took a seat in front of it.

"Son, I really don't want to do this, but I'm gonna have to transfer you."

My ears perked up. I had never actually been outside of Vanhoover by myself, so although I loved working here, being able to leave the city was welcome news. "Really? That's not so bad. Where am I going?"

If one day my dad lost his ability to laugh, Equestria would have lost a great optimist. "To Ponyville. The shop down there is short a worker, and since you've always been eager to leave this city, I'm sending you down there." He opened one of the desk drawers and handed me a folded up sheet of paper from it. "I've already arranged housing for you. Sadly, it's going to be about a week before the renovations are finished. Luckily I found a kind soul who was willing to let you stay with her until the house is done."

I gave him a perplexed stare, and he cleared his throat. "Do you remember that cute, googly-eyed pegasus that delivered those specialty motorbike parts we ordered last week?"

Nodding, I recalled the blonde filly well. I didn't catch her name, but from what I had experienced, she was very sweet. She was a bit goofy, but that just made her more fun to be around. The more I thought about it, the more eager I became to see her again. I had been feeling a bit down that week after my sister left Vanhoover to go to Manehattan, but meeting that pegasus quickly brightened my mood. "Alright, when do I need to be there?"

Mom always told me that dad's smile was one of the things that made her fall in love with him. "Not to rush you, son, but I think you should get going now. Your mom made you a lunch just in case you got hungry. We both know you don't have much of a house, so she thought it best to take matters into her own hands in terms of feeding you through this trip."

I enjoyed my dad's humerous nature; he always succeeded in making me laugh. "She didn't need to do that. I have my own money, I could've bought lun-"

In the twenty-one years I had lived with him, I learned that when my father held his hoof out when you were talking, you no longer held the floor. "You know how your mother is, Diggs. She'd put every restaurant out of buisness if it would keep her little baby from eating 'cheaply'." He reached behind him and grabbed my lunch: a toasted grass-daffodil-steak-and-cheese sub wrapped with brown paper and tied closed with string.

I closed my eyes and took in the aroma. The smell of each individual ingredient was still noticeable despite the fact that it was probably made a decent while ago.

I left the shop eagerly and began the trek to Ponyville. The town was only about three hours away, and I actually preffered walking to driving anyway. Not having a vehicle of my own yet was probably an advantage; I had nothing material keeping me tied to Vanhoover, which made leaving the city much easier for me. The road marked on my map from here to Ponyville was beautiful this time of year. As I walked, I looked around at the gorgeous, lively trees lining the road. Various greens and flowers were scattered about the open fields, and everything felt like home to me.

It was then that I realized that relocating to Ponyville would most likely be a greatly beneficial change. I realized that I preferred the quiet, country lifestyle as opposed to the bustling city.My only hope was that Ponyville had as much work as Vanhoover did when it came to machines.

About an hour or so into the trip, I began to see the lucious pines of Whitetail Woods. On the map, the forest was about the halfway point, so I began to quicken my pace. However, I was stopped by the sound of distant crying. It was faint, but I could tell it was coming from inside the forest. Running, I followed the noise into the forest and continued until I found the source: a small, light-grey unicorn filly with a blonde mane and tail.

Crying children was one of my least favorite sounds in all of Equestria, especially when they tried to speak whilst bawling.

"M-mommy! I sc-sc-scaaared!"

Upon closer exammination, I noticed that her leg was caught in a mess of throny briers, so I walked up to her and took out the box cutter I normally kept in my vest pocket. After cutting her free, I lifted her on my back. "Are you alright, buddy?"

She sniffled before responding. "I'm lost... I can't find my mommy..."

Common sense as well as my friendly instinct told me to help the poor filly, so I started towards Ponyville again. "Don't worry, little one, I'll help you find your mom."

At this, I began to hear clapping. "Yay! Yay! Dinky's not lost! Yay!"

So her name's Dinky? Heh, that's cute. was the first thing that popped into my head. The forest was large, so it took about an hour to and hour and fifteen minutes to finally get out, but when we did, Ponyville was in sight just ahead.

"Home! Home!" Dinky began squealing. As we approached the town, I heard a shout from above me.

"Dinky! Thank Celestia you're ok!"

Having a pegasus crash into you is not a very pleasant experience at all. I hit the ground with a thud, and the pegasus that had landed on me wrapped her arms around me in a firm hug.

"Thank you SO much for finding my daughter for me, I've been searching for her all morning!"

I couldn't help but grin. "Don't thank me, I'm sure any other pony would've done the same-" Frozen in mid-speech, I stared into the eyes gazing back at me. Well, the one that was facing me at least. When I saw the other eye facing upward slightly, I realized that I had just rescued the daughter of the cheery, goofy pegasus I had met the week before.

She smiled happily. "I'm Ditzy, it's very nice to meet you."

Smiling back, I returned her warm welcome. "I'm Diggs, and I believe we've met before."

Chapter 2: I Got A Friend

Repair and Deliver

Random Side Story 1

Chapter 2: I Got A Friend

By: FluttersIsAwesome

She stared at me blankly. "We did?"

Smiling, I nodded. "Yeah, you delivered a package to our shop in Vanhoover a week

ago." I gave her the benefit of the doubt and said that she wasn't thinking as she jumped up and down on top of me.

"I remember you! I remember you! You're that sweet colt that gave me a flower! I still have it, too!"

My eyes widened. Even I had forgotten about that. Ditzy seemed slightly down the day she came, so I thought I'd try and cheer her up by giving her one of the flowers from mom's flourist shop. It was a blue azelia, and she really liked it. However, my thoughts were interrupted by the fact that I still had a place to go. Standing up, I hugged Ditzy before turning to leave.

"Diggs? Are you going somewhere?"

I nodded as I walked. "Yeah, I've gotten transferred from Vanhoover to the Ratchet & Hooves here in Ponyville."

Immediately, little Dinky began clapping again. "Yay! Mr. Diggs lives here now, mommy!"

The googly-eyed mare smiled softly at me. "Oh, I see. Well, I have the day off today. Have a good day, Diggs." She picked up Dinky and flew off.

* * *

It took about six minutes to find the shop, but when I did I opened the door earnestly. "Hello? Is anypony he-"

I was greeted by a completely pink filly with balloons on her flank. "HI THERE! Are you new here? Ohmygosh, you are!" She held her hoof out to me excitedly. "I'm Pinkie Pie, and I know everypony in Ponyville! I haven't seen you before, so that must mean you're new!"

Still in a daze after being tackled by her, I shook Pinkie's hoof kindly. "H-hi there..."

"PINKIE! Your snowcone machine is fixed!" The gruff voice came from behind the office door to the garage. A large, grey colt came out holding what I assumed was Pinkie's snowcone maker.

She took it happily and walked out, leaving me with who I assumed was my new boss.

He had a smile on his face that reminded me of my father as he held out a greasy hoof to me. "So you're Torque's boy, eh?"

"Yes sir, name's Diggs."

He grinned at me. "Mighty nice to meet ya, Diggs. My name's Pete Lucy Jr., but obviously ya can just call me Pete." He patted my back and looked back at the garage. "I know it seems... counterproductive, but we're kinda swamped right now, and since you're new to Ponyville, I want ya to get settled in before ya get started working here. Now, Torque said ya had a place to stay until your own house is finished, right?"

I grabbed the sheet of paper out of my vest pocket. "Yep, it tells me the address right here."

Pete nodded and sent me off. "I'll introduce ya to the crew tomorrow, alright?"

Waving, I walked out of the shop. "I look forward to it." As I looked at the address, I realized it wasn't too far away from where I was tackled by Ditzy. I hope I get to see her again... Lost in my thoughts, I didn't realize I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking until my face met door. "Ouch." After I had regathered my surroundings, I noticed that the door I had bumped into was none other than the address of the kind soul that was letting me stay with them. After knocking on the door, I heard a voice somewhat muffled through the door.

"Come in."

Pushing the door open gently, I caught a very sweet, pleasant scent. "Mmm, somepony's making muffins." I walked around for a bit, following the scent, until I was frozen solid by seeing the one responsible: Ditzy Doo herself. "Ditzy?"

She turned from her now-closed oven, and a large grin spread across her face.

"Wait, so you're the pony I'm letting stay here?"

I didn't have time to finish my nod before I was on the ground being snuggled.

"Yay! Yay! Yay! Dinky will be so happy!"

With a joyous smile, I looked around. "Say, where is little Dinky?"

She got off of me and sat up. "Oh, I took her back to her preschool. She got lost when she wandered away during recess. Thank you again for bringing her back."

Patting her back, I stood up. "Don't thank me, Ditzy, it's the least I could do."

She turned back to the kitchen. "Would you like to have some muffins? They just came out of the oven. We can talk over them."

My stomach began rumbling at just the right moment, and my new friend began  giggling. "Yeah... muffins sound pretty good right about now."

* * *

As I bit into the sweet, chocolate-chip sprinkled bread, I let out a loud "MMMMMM". This brought a giggle out of Ditzy.

"So, what exactly did you do? Dinky seems to have taken quite a liking to you in such a short time."

I had to crack my neck a bit; it was feeling stiff. "Sorry about that." After she nodded, I continued. "Well, she was awfully scared, so I tried to cheer her up by bouncing her up and down on my back. One time I bounced her up too hard, and she ended up on my head."

We both began laughing at that. "So you two had fun?"

Shrugging was my only option. "I'd like to think she did. I know I enjoyed playing with her."

Ditzy closed her eyes and smiled cheerily. "Believe it or not, my little Dinky is a great judge of character. She'll shy away from... less than kind ponies, but she has no problem treating a kind heart like family."

Looking around, I noticed that, aside from us two, the house was completely empty. "So... is her dad at work?"

I wish I had never said that. The minute I saw the tear hit the table, I wanted nothing more than to make her forget I had ever said anything. However, when I went to say something she stopped me.

"It's ok... I can talk about it. I was... forced upon a couple years ago. I didn't have the money, nor the heart for an abortion, so Dinky has been growing up without a father."

I couldn't stand watching her cry, so I got up, walked over to her, and put my arms around her as tightly as I could without hurting her. "I don't think I'll be moving out any time soon. I'll help you take care of Dinky, Ditzy."

She mirrored my action and I felt her warm embrace as she pressed her face against my shoulder. "You have no idea how much that means to me, Diggs. Thank you."

Chapter 3: Well, I Like You

Repair and Deliver

Random Side Story 1

Chapter 3: Well, I Like You

By: FluttersIsAwesome

"How could I not do anything? Ditzy, you're too sweet, and Dinky's too cute."

I had never been kissed on my cheek by anypony other than my mother, so a shiver went up my spine, in a good way. "Diggs, that really means a lot to me." She looked away, the sadness fading away from her face. "Thank you for caring so much..."

Looking at her clock, I realized that we had a good seven hours until Dinky would be out of preschool for the day. "Hey Ditzy, I know this is sudden, but-"

"Would you like to go out to lunch?" Our speech matched up perfectly, both our sentences beggining and ending at the exact same time. We both began laughing, but I finished first and took a moment to gaze at the filly before me: she was sweet, kind, pretty, and much smarter than her appearance would make one believe. She was a bit clumsy, but I found that to be a cute quirk rather than a major problem.

Her face went a bit red. "I'd love too."

* * *

Ditzy led me to a large building that, to me, resembled a giant gingerbread house. "Sugarcube Corner," I read to myself. "Do you like this place, Ditzy?"

"I come here with Dinky all the time, she loves it here." With a grin, she approached the display counter.

I looked at all the delecacies that had been placed on the shelves: various flavors of decorated cakes, a melting pot of different pies, a ton of different fudge flavors, and many different kinds of brownies.

Ditzy rang the bell that was sitting on the counter, and we were greeting by a familiar face.

"Hi there! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, what can I- HEY, you're that one colt that I didn't know from before! Hi!"

I stared into Pinkie Pie's face for a moment before Dizty spoke.

"Wait, you two have already met?"

The hyperactive filly turned to her with a fast-moving tail. "You bet! I saw him when he was in the repair place and I was in the repair place to pick up my snowcone machine and when I saw him I was like 'Hey, I don't recognize you and I recognize everypony from Ponyville so that must mean you're new!' and he was like 'Uuh... yeah...' so I was like 'Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and-'"

"Pinkie, take a breather! You're gonna hyperventilate if you keep that up." When I removed my hoof from her mouth, she took a deep breath.

"Anyways, what can I do for you?"

Ditzy turned to me, that cute smile stretching across her face. "Do you want anything?"

"I'll share with you if it's alright." I repplied with a shrug and closed eyes.I opened my eyes to see a rather large two-layered chocolate cake with chocolate icing and rainbow colored sprinkles.

Ditzy reached into the leather bag she was carrying, but I beat her to the punch.

"I got this one, Ditzy."

She stared at the six bits sitting on the counter in front of Pinkie. "You didn't have to do that..."

"Yeah he did, it's only polite for the colt to pay for his filly, riiiiiight Diggs?" After she said this, she began giggling hysterically. "Diggs! Your face is so red!"

Ditzy began to giggle at my blushing as well. "Hehe, that's kind of cute, Diggs. Come on, let's eat."

With a grin I took the cake and we chose a table by the wall.

"You two enjoy! Applebloom helped me make it, and this time with 100% less charcoal!"

I stared at her for a moment. "Charcoal?"

"Yeah, Applebloom helped me make cupcakes this one time but she ended up burning them and it was CRRRAZY but they tasted funny in a good way and then we had this party with a griffin and she threatened me but now she's nice because of Nova and-"

"Hush, brah. Yo' gonna suffocate if ya keep doin' this."

I stared at the light grey colt with a baseball cap that had just stuffed a cupcake in Pinkie's mouth. He turned to use with a grin.

"Yo. Yo' the new guy, right? Name's Jet Rush. I help Applejack run the local farm, Sweet Apple Acres. An' you are?"

"Diggs Vice. I'm a mechanic from Vanhoover." I shook Jet's outstretched hoof. "Your accent sounds... familiar. Are you from Manehattan by any chance?"

"Yeah, I am. How'da ya know?"

I told her about my sister. "I have a sister, Violet Stardust. She goes to Equen Univer-"

"Stop right there. I know all too well about yo' sister. I met 'er once a few days after Lower Manehattan finally gained freedom. I can't stand thinkin' about 'er."

Hearing this felt like a knife to the heart. "Why? Did she do something?"

"No. I remember how all the 'cool' ponies pushed 'er around an' made 'er their emotional punchin' bag. It got so bad just on my visit that I ended up punchin' somepony's lights out."

"Je~t! Didja git that cake yet?"

The surprised colt jumped. "Yeah! I'm on my way, AJ! See ya later, bro." He picked up the cake he supposedly came to get and took off.

Sitting down, I realized that I had completely ignored Ditzy throughout the entire conversation. As I looked to her, she was staring down at her hooves. "Ditzy? I'm so sorry. I just get a little... distracted when ponies talk about my sister."

"Oh no, it's alright. I'm... used to it..."

My curiosity got the best of me. "Ditzy... how did your eyes get the way they are?"

The slice of chocolate cake met her lips as she spoke. "Well... back when I was a little filly before I could even fly, I fell off a flight of stairs and hit my head. The resulting concussion is the cause for my eyes looking like this... as well as everypony's assumption that I'm dumber than a sack of diapers."

"Really? That doesn't make any sense, friend. You don't act or sound dumb in the least."

She grinned shyly at me. "Do you really mean that, Diggs?"

I smiled back at her. "Of course, Ditzy. I like you, and I honestly don't see why anypony else wouldn't."

The somber smile that appeared on her face somewhat put me at ease, but I still felt like there was something hiding behind it.

I need to know more about Ditzy... she seems like she really needs a friend. "Well, they're not mean to you, are they?"

Now she began to grin again. "Oh, no. The only pony that's ever actually been mean to me or made fun of me was my boss. He calls me Derpy, but he's a jerk, so I just ignore him. Everypony else is nice, they just... treat me like I'm stupid."

Patting her shoulder, I grabbed a slice of cake and bit into it. "Well, Ditzy, I know what my first personal priority in Ponyville will be."

"Oh?"

"Proving everypony wrong."

Chapter 4: Creeper

Repair and Deliver

Random Side Story 1

Chapter 4: Creeper

By: FluttersIsAwesome

Ditzy took another bite of the cake with a large smile. "Thanks again, Diggs. You really are the sweetest colt I've ever met."

"Sweeter than that cake?"

That got a giggle out of her. "Much sweeter."

"REALLY?! WE CAN! YAY YAY YAY YAY!"

I recognized the squealing immediately as Pinkie. Rushing into the room and halway between hugging me and tackling me, I got a face-full of Pinkie Pie as we fell to the floor.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cake said we could have a party to welcome you, Diggs! It's gonna be so much fun!"

The feeling of her muzzle rubbing against my chest made me... uncomfortable, to say the least. It felt like she was trying to cuddle me, and she wouldn't let go of her hug. "Pinkie... I can't... breathe!"

"Oh, silly me! Hehehehe, sorry Diggs." As she released me, I felt the pressure of her hoof slide down me rather than push straight off. "You can be here, right?"

Ditzy chimed in too, obviously wanting to go. "What time?"

As her hoof collided with her head, she began giggling. "It's at 5:00. That should give me plenty of time to decorate!" Speeding off, she left Ditzy and I alone again to finish our cake.

That was one of the most awkward moments in my life.

As I took another bite out of the cake, I felt somthing pressed against my muzzle. Staring back into my eyes when I opened them were two googly yellow eyes with red blush underneath them.

Ditzy drew back quickly as she giggled nervously. "Um... sorry Diggs." Her cheeks were almost as red as my coat as I got up and sat down beside her.

"Don't worry about it, Ditzy. Accidents happen, right?"

"Hehe... yeah... accidents." A somewhat disappointed expression found its way onto her face. However, a quick hug brought back her adorable smile.

* * *

After our lunch, Ditzy and I still had a little bit of time left before Dinky would be let out of daycare. She decided to show me around the post office where she worked.

"This is my favorite room, here. In the actual postage distribution center, there's always something happening."

The room even looked fun: various shelves lined the left wall, each with the name of a Ponyville resident labeled on the front of it. Mail ponies were casually tossing letters and packages into shelves on the other wall that were labeled with pictures; I assumed they were for sorting. In the back I saw ponies running back and forth through the door as they left packages and picked up new ones. Ditzy was right, there was always something going on here.

"Derpy! What have I told you about coming in here when you have off?"

We both turned to see the large gray colt sporting a baseball cap staring rather angrily at Ditzy. In return, Ditzy's ears had fallen flat and she began to back away. "Don't do it..."

"Then why are you in here, Derpy? You know the penalty for defiance, right?!"

I heard a loud gulp proceed Ditzy's response. "Y-yes sir..."

Smacking away the hoof that was in Ditzy's face, I returned the colt's mad glare. "She was showing me around, sir. I don't know what your problem is, but you'd better lay off before I get mean. Ditzy has done nothing wrong, so leave her alone and we'll be on our way. Am I understood?"

Despite the considerable size difference between he and I, the colt backed off. "Tch! Whatever, just get out."

Ditzy waited until we were well away from the post office before speaking again. "Diggs... thank you again."

"Don't thank me, Ditzy. I didn't know you weren't aloud to enter the office during a day off, and that's no reason for your boss to fire you." I paused for a moment after I remembered something I wanted to ask her. "Hey... why did he call you Derpy?"

That look of sadness crossed her face yet again as she sighed. "It's because of my eyes. Since they're facing the opposite way, it's hard for me to carry objects with any sort of grace, let alone carry them at all. My clumsiness has earned me the nickname 'Derpy', as well as a boss who's just itching for a reason to fire me."

"Well... that's just wro-"

"Is there something wrong, Diggs?"

I turned to the bush behind me suspiciously. "...I thought I heard something. Guess I'm imagining things." As the soft giggle entered my ears, I began to quicken my pace. "Uh... come on, let's go."

"I forgot to tell you how cute I think you are."

I stopped. "Hey Ditzy, would you mind going on ahead? I just forgot something and I need to go back for it."

"Um, okay.  See you at home?"

Nodding back at her, I smiled. "No prob."

After Ditzy was out of sight, the voice spoke again, and I knew who it was. "Phew! I thought she'd never leave!"

As the impact of the hot-pink filly's tackle knocked me down, I shot her a somewhat irritated look. "Pinkie, what are you-"

"Hush, Diggsy Wiggsy, we're alone now. I have you all to myself..."

I shuddered as her tongue met my chest and slid up to my mouth before keeping me from protesting with a kiss. "PNNKIE! WMT VA BCK?!"

"D-Diggs?!"

From my position, I could still move my eyes enough to see Ditzy standing before me, eyes consumed with tears.

Chapter 5: Helper

Repair and Deliver

Side Story 1

Chapter 5: Helper

by FluttersIsAwesome

"Ditzy!" I shook Pinkie off of me and ran to the teary-eyed pegasus. "This isn't what it looks like, I-"

The pink stalker's voice broke through mine as her forelegs snaked themselves around me. "Diggs here was just telling me how nice he thought I was. He was too shy to say anything in front of anypony else, so he waited for some alone time with me. Isn't that right, Diggsy Wiggsy?"

I hated the idea of hitting a female, but it certainly took her hoof away from my flank. "Pinkie... you should go. I don't like having my crotch touched by a filly I don't know." I shot her a glare that certainly produced my desired effect. I was left alone with my friend as a set my hoof on her shoulder. "Ditzy, why are you so upset?"

She took a moment to wipe her eyes and sat. "I thought you  liked me, Diggs. I thought we were friends. We ae friends, aren't we?"

I honestly had  no idea how much of Pinkie's near rape she saw, so I spoke carefully as if she had only seen the kiss. "Of course we're friends, Ditzy. Why would you think we weren't?"

Only after a few sniffles was she able to respond coherently. "Well, you kissed Pinkie Pie, so I thought maybe you didn't like me anymore and wanted to find a more fun friend."

Hearing her sound so distraught over the possibility of losing a friend made my stomach churn. I started to wonder how many friends she actually had. As I began to realize the startling possibility that I was indeed her only friend, I pulled her to me in a tight hug. "Of course not , Ditzy, you're plenty of fun." I had to choose my words carefully to avoid hurting her feelings, which was something I wasn't used to. Normally I just spoke my mind, but over the years I had realized that some situations actually called for at least a little bit of tact. In the end, the only thing I could manage was getting her mind off of what just happened. "Let's go pick up Dinky."

Once we had been alone again for a decent bit, Ditzy began walking at her normal pace, humming along the way. After a short pause, she stopped walking and called out to me. "Diggs... answer something for me please?"

"What is it?" Her tone began to worry me, and I started to fear what her question would be and how I would answer.

"Why were you with Pinkie... if you don't like her?"

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as my worries began to dissipate. "Well, I wasn’t necessarily with her, I think she followed us. She seemed nice, but she's starting to scare me now. I'd much rather be with you, to be honest."

At this, I heard a loud "SQUEE" before she turned to me with the biggest grin I had ever seen. "Do you mean that? Honestly and truly?"

"Of course!" I did my best to try and look happy, but I never did have a good poker face. She didn't even have to say anything for me to tell that she knew something was bugging me. "Ditzy... I just... it...." Words were becoming a rare commodity, so I just decided to tell her plainly. "Ditzy, am I the only friend you have?"

She looked away for a moment before a slow nod. "Well... now you are. I used to have a bunch of friends before my accident, but ever since my eyes messed up, ponies have been avoiding me."

I wish there were words that could express how angry I was. Ditzy was just like my sister, shunned for being different. It burnt me up inside, and I think she knew.

"B-but everything's OK now! I have you, so now I feel better."

I wanted to say something, but before I could, I heard what sounded like a stampede as a horde of young fillies and colts rushed past us. As I looked toward the school, I saw Dinky walk out, alone and looking like somepony had stolen her teddy bear. However, her face lit up when she saw me.

"MR. DIGGS!!!" For such a small filly, she sure was heavy; her hug nearly knocked the wind out of me as I hit the ground.

"Did you say Diggs?" I looked up just in time to see the dark purple, pink-haired mare help pulled Dinky off me. "Diggs! It's been ages! How are you?"

A rush of memories flew through my head as she spoke to me, and I quickly remembered who she was. "Cheerilee? Is that really you?"

She nodded, but Ditzy spoke before she could. "Wait, you two know each other?"

Cheerilee nodded once again. "Well, in a sense. I met his sister during my last year in college when I went to get my teaching degree. It was her first year, so I showed her around the campus." She then turned to me with a concerned look. "Speaking of, how is Violet?"

I swallowed hard. Cheerilee knew about my sister's issues with bullying, but that didn't make telling her any easier. "She's still having... issues. Luckily, she's graduating this year, so she'll only have to put up with those idiots for a few more months."

A sigh of relief preceded her next words. "That's good to hear." She looked down at Dinky, who was still nuzzling my leg, then up to her mother. "On a similar note, I need to speak with you, Mrs. Doo; it's about...." Rather than continue speaking, she motioned to Dinky to avoid getting her attention and led Ditzy around to the back of the school.

Using Dinky's distractedness to my advantage, I lifted her onto my back as she squealed. "What's wrong, munchkin?"

She tilted her head, tapping mine curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Why were you looking so sad earlier?"

At this, her ears fell flat and she turned away from me. "Oh... I fell and got hurt, but I'm okay now! I can't even feel it anymore!" She let out a small, soft giggle as she turned back to me.

We turned in the direction of increasingly loud chatter as Cheerilee and Ditzy slowly made their way toward us. It didn't seem like much of a conversation, with Ditzy simply nodding her head ever now and again. "I hope you can understand, sweetie. It's not her fault, I just fear for her safety."

Now I know that, at this point, I honestly didn't know Ditzy as well as I do now. However, I was good enough at reading faces to know that the subject of their "meeting" had greatly upset her. Waiting a moment for the two to go their separate ways, I nuzzle her cheek to let her know I was curious.

Her eyes, well, her left one, never left the ground, even as she spoke. "Cheerilee thinks I should find a private tutor...." She looked up at me and began tapping the ground nervously. "Some of the children have been bullying her. She's become the 'Coock's Kid' because of me and my... issue. However, one child in particular, she didn't want to name names, was caught trying to cut her tail in Arts and Crafts. He's been suspended, but Cheerilee is only one pony; there's only so much she can do."

I turned back to the little one on my back, and once again displayed the expression she was wearing when we came to get her. "...Let me talk to her. I start work tomorrow, but if I'm lucky then there's a way I can be at the school, too."

She brightened up a little bit. "You have an idea?"

I nodded slowly. "I've noticed that, whenever I went to visit my sister in college, bullies didn't mess with her. They always like to single out those who are different. Violet is an example: the only unicorn in a family of Earth Ponies. Dinky is the same: a fatherless unicorn with a Pegasus mother. Not to be rude, but your eyes probably don't help. Most of the kids probably just feel better about themselves when they pick on her because they think they're better. She's alone now, but if I'm there, she should be alright. You two go on home, I’ll be there in a few minutes."

Ditzy nodded and picked up her daughter, turning to leave. “Thank you, Diggs... you’ve done so much for me and Dinky... I’ll never be able to repay you.” There was a short spell of silence before her lips met mine in a quick peck. “I really appreciate it.”

It took a moment to regain my composure, but I shook myself back to earth with a smile. “Don’t mention it, I’m happy to help.”