Last Stop on the Mail Route

Home looks as untouched, almost exactly from how I left it. Even after I take a careful patrol around both the outside, and inside, looking for any slight disturbances, doesn't look like anything has changed. The most i find are the markings of little hooves coming to and from my door, so I'm not too worried. Inside, I rummage under the bed for my little case of valuables without moving for a light. It's dark and quiet in here, and looks exactly the same from how I left it. The little markers I left on the doors and windows are untouched and unbroken, meaning nobody tried to make their way in, physically, while I was gone. Magically? Don't really have a way to test for that, but I'm sure it's in some of these ponies wheelhouse to poof themselves through a door, which is why I give the place a careful once-over for any obvious pickings. There's a good wave of relief when I pluck the floorboard from under my table and see my hidden stash is untouched, giving me the peace of mind to focus back on what I was doing. I'm going through a lot more of the gems I've got stored than I expected, but it's fine. Don't have any other big excursions planned, so I should be able to work things off and get that repayment plan I wanted to do up and running.

Beyond grabbing what I need, I don't stay long. Still feels a little odd being so protective like this, but I remind myself it's just as much for them as it is for me. With the fillies coming over how many times, and Twilight and her friends aware of my gun, I want to ensure nobody is doing anything stupid like trying to get their hooves on it. Part of me feels like it's going to happen sometime, and I can only prevent it for so long.

By the time I get back from the bank with a few more bits in my pouch and my gem chest looking a good chunk lighter, my stomach is pretty empty and looking forward to a good, deep-fried lunch. Passing by one of the little windows of the barn-like, reddish-pink building on my way to the front doors, I hear a loud hiss catch my attention. Miss Cheerilee is half leant out of the window, waving me over like I'm somewhere I'm not supposed to be.

"Cheerilee?" I question, not quite sure how to react.

"Meet me behind the school. They're engrossed in lunchtime right now, I'll sneak Dinky back to you." She whispers, continuously sneaking glances behind herself into the room.

"Oh, alright." I glance back, looking at the edge of the schoolhouse. "Which part is the... back?"

My question meets open air, Cheerilee already gone, the window shut and curtains drawn. Feels like I'm picking up something in a baggy for twenty bucks rather than a filly, but I guess it's easier to slip a kid off rather than rile up the entire class by making it obvious.

By the time I vaugely wander around the perimeter of the building, I'm pleasantly surprised to find that Miss Cheerilee is already waiting for me, glancing around for me. She's got Dinky standing beside her while Cheerilee herself is cautiously watching her surroundings, up against the corner of the building.

Dinky comes bounding over towards me, waving to Miss Cheerilee. "Hey, Mister Muss!" The excitable filly greets me, trotting over to my side and sliding right up to my leg, staring up at me with a wide smile.

"She's barely contained herself from talking about it all morning, but she managed. Looking forward to this little pickup would be a heavy understatement." Miss Cheerilee informs me, Dinky nodding repeatedly. Cheerilee already looks tired, with bags under eyes. Dealing with a pack of magical and flight capable kids probably takes a toll, and I can only imagine how she feels at the end of the day.

"Well, thanks for bringing her out here. We'll have her back soon." I poke one of Dinky's ears, watching it flick about. "All good if I bring her back in half an hour to an hour or so?"

"Should be recess by the time you drop her off again, so you can just let her rejoin the others. Even if you run late, as long as you don't bring anything... noticeable back, to keep the reaction down, it should be fine. If you don't see anypony outside, just drop her off at the front." Cheerilee explains. "And say hello to Miss Hooves for me, will you?"

"Will do." I mock-salute, nodding for Dinky to follow me. She's right on my heels, a wide smile never leaving her face, while Cheerilee heads back inside the school.

"Is my mom there already?!" Dinky squeaks, trying to bore a hole through me with how intently she's staring, wide dinner-plate eyes

"Should be. You think of what you want from Hayburger?"

"Oh! I've been thinking about it all morning! I want... uh..." Dinky looks like she's about to proudly proclaim the food of which she desires, but the moment she does, it sends her spiraling into a self-questioning forward stare as she re-weighs what she wants. The longer I wait, the more I wonder if she ever had what she wanted figured out in the first place.

"Uh..."

It's hard not to laugh, but she just keeps going.

"Uhmm..."

Her little bout of brain deep-thinking that nearly sends steam out of her ears helps keep her distracted, well after we've arrived at the Hayburger. Place has always looked like an amalgamation of several Earth fast food places, styled from the earlier years before the whole modernization shift. Big, colorful chairs with half of them looking like some kind of a sentient burger-alicorn, presumably it's mascot. Same with the rest of the decorations, that or they're some member of the hayburger cast. The works.

No sign of Derpy outside, and no sign of her inside when I take a quick peek through the window. Just an underpaid, teenage pony looking bored by the grill, and a few customers enjoying their own lunches. I know she wouldn't have forgotten, so something must have come up. No biggie, we've got time.

While Dinky continues to stew about what food she wants, we head inside take one of the booths, waiting. Part of me debates on going to her work to check on her, but right as I'm considering actually making the trip, the front doors to the Hayburger jingle open, revealing the awaited mare of the hour.

She quickly glances around, trying to spot us until she sees Dinky's arm waving from the seat, the filly snapped from her ponderous stupor by the exciting event of her mother's arrival.

"Sorry, sorry!" Derpy flutters over, softly panting from absolutely hauling it across Ponyville. "Things have got a lot busier than usual since I got back and I lost track of time. I'm not too late, am I?"

"Mm... no, we've got plenty of time. Not like I wouldn't just make up an excuse and keep waiting, anyway." I mock-check my wrist like I'm wearing a watch, smiling at her. "Looking good, by the way. Your mane's doing the thing again." It looks like it did back when she ran the Wonderbolt track in Canterlot, all blown back out of her face. She must've been hauling from her work to get here quickly, none the wiser by the way she reacts. Dinky is in agreement, hooves in her own mane as she tries to mimic it.

Ah, shit. Dinky's hair. It's still a mess.

"The thing? Oh, is it really?" Derpy questions as she slips in beside Dinky, both sat across the table from me. She starts patting her own mane with her hooves with concern, offering a visual reminder of just how alike they are in their mannerisms, both messing with their manes. Lucky for me she's a little more concerned with her own mane to notice Dinky's still looks like a mess --

"Oh, Dinky! Your mane!" Dinky tsks, immediately fussing over her daughters hair, licking a hoof and schmoozing Dinky's hair back out of her face. That salival assauly finally breaks Dinky's concentration as the filly makes a loud yuck sound, recoiling under the motherly assailing.

"MooOooOm! My mane's fine, I almost had it like yours!" Dinky tries to protest, but it falls on deaf, motherly ears.

"You look like you fell out of a tree, young lady. You need to stop roughhousing so much at recess! Oh, I bet you had it so nice today, too." Derpy scolds, managing to get Dinky's mane down to some degree of calm.

Dinky blows a raspberry, and I quietly sigh in relief, my crimes of forgetting to brush the kids hair forgotten, expertly excused by sheer coincidence.

Phew.

"You, uh... know what you want to eat?" I ask in an attempt to try and casually float the conversation forward, away from manes and such.

"Oh!" Derpy perks up, hooves still on her wriggly daughter. "Uh..."

Turns out, like daughter like mother. It takes Derpy a long few seconds to think of what she wants, still holding Dinky's head as Dinky stares at Derpy with a potent side-eye. They even 'um' the same way.

"So, I finally met Dinky's teacher while dropping her off." I manage between bites of an alright, overall fairly mediocre burger made from some kind of vege-patty. I miss that little Canterlot Italian place already. About what you'd expect from the price, but honestly, I could see us doing this again. It's hard to beat the convenience of fast food, even when I have to navigate the menu into vegan-fake-patty burger territory, since half the other options are mixed with hay and whatnot. Not a problem for the filly sitting across from me, currently massacring a foals meal with the avaricious intent of a warlord upon fertile, unclaimed lands.

"You haven't until now?" Derpy pipes up, wiping her surprised face with one of the few surviving napkins. We've both long given up trying to maintain some level of cleanliness for Dinky, and have elected to just handle the matter afterwards.

Squeezed into one of the Hayburger's booths, the three of us are enjoying a lunch of processed fast-food, catching up and enjoying the others company. I like these moments.

"Seen her from my house a few times since I'm right by the school, but no, haven't actually spoken to her until now." I add a little context, grabbing another fry. At least those still tasted like they did back home. I could probably shove down another three or four packs of these things.

"Huh. I thought for sure you would have met her already. How did that go?" Derpy asks, setting her food down for the moment.

"Pretty good, actually. Turns out she already vetted me." I shrug, poking at one of my fries.

"Right, I remember her sending Dinky home with a note about you, a little bit after we first met. But why do you -- Sweet Celestia, Dinky, chew before you swallow -- bring it up?" Derpy tries to contain some of the Dinky-borne carnage, but the deadpan expression of the worker that's watching us from behind the counter can't lose any more of their will to live than they already have. They know they're going to have to deep-clean the table afterwards.

"Thought it mightve gone a lot differently, you know. The weird creature watching the kids from his hilltop house like a creep finally shows up." I wiggle my fingers, playing up my voice before snorting.

"You're not a creep, Anon." Derpy states firmly, not finding the joke. Her offense to my self-deprecation has her finally release Dinky from her hooved grasp, much to Dinky's delight, reaching across the table for one of my hands. "Dont talk about yourself like that."

"But she didn't know that." I try to counter, to keep the humor of the moment. Derpy isn't having it.

"You worry about that kind of thing too much. You're fine." Derpy affirms again, harshly, reaching across the table to put her hoof on my hand. It's a sweet gesture, but I was about to eat the fries that hand is holding.

"Hope so. Oh, also. She knows we're dating now, by the way." I add, patting the top of her hoof with my other, free hand, before chomping down another handful of fries with said spare limb.

"Ah. Okay." Derpy nods, taking a longer moment before she bites into her burger, staring at the table as she chews, like she's lost in thought.

"Is that... bad? Should I not have said anything?" I chew, leaning forward.

Derpy quickly chews down her food, making a variety of dismissive noises until she's able to speak again.
"No! No. Just... still remembering that whole side of things. Being perceived. Cheerilee knows that Ponet isn't in Dinky's life anymore, it's just... being in an official relationship. Again. That kind of stuff."

"I didn't overstep anything, did I?" I'm not worried that I did, but it still feels right to field the question.

"Not at all, Anon. I'm very happy you're so blunt in stating it, honestly. It makes me happy. I'm just," Derpy pauses, staring at the table in thought. "Still trying to get used to it."

"How so?" I press, curious.

Derpy takes a second, trying to find the right words. "Honestly? I never thought I'd date again until I met you, Anon. And I'm glad I did, I want to be very clear on that. It's just that being public with this kind of stuff makes me overthink about things a little too much. It makes me wonder, makes me worry. Not about us, but... I'm sorry, I'm having trouble putting my thoughts out into words. But I'm not afraid of other ponies knowing about us or anything. Just... well, you know Ponet and I aren't officially divorced, so it's all still a little strange. I don't know. Sorry, I'm probably not helping very much with my explanation."

That helps make things make a little more sense. We've talked about not having a traditional relationship nor it's expectations, so remembering that other ponies are going to perceive us as a couple hasn't really been on her mind. I'll admit I've probably thought about it more than she has, but my own perception has been something I think about fairly frequently, as one of the local species outliers. You know, that and because I look like I tripped into a garbage chute. "No, don't worry about it, I get it. I appreciate you clearing it up. If you want me to hold back on telling ponies--"

"No." She's quick to cut me off, shaking her head.

"No?" I parrot, raising a brow.

"No, I... I like it. It's okay. Just weird feelings I have to work through. I do like that you told Cheerilee, it made me happy. But it also made me feel... I don't know. Is that okay?" She asks, stifling a small sigh.

"Of course, you don't even need to ask." I pat her hoof, giving us a moment to dig back into our own food. By this point, Dinky would probably have chimed in, but what's of her foals meal has her gripped in a battle of wills with the last fry that she just can't reach at the bottom of the container. I'm not sure why she isn't using her magic, but I'm leaving her to it, even as she sticks her tongue out the side of her mouth in effort.

Derpy looks like she could use some distracting from our previous conversation topic, and we've still got some time before she needs to go back. "By the way, oh Miss Derpy Hooves, the esteemed and gorgeous mare of which I am courting, that I may proudly call my mare-friend; how's your day going so far? Busy morning, you said?" I pick the conversation back up with a smidge of smarm, remembering and pulling the conversation back to what she said when she first arrived.

Her ears flicker in muted embarrassment, trying to ignore my egregiously lame attempt at flirting, if you can even call it that. "It's..." She trails off, before her eyes flash wide open, hooves tapping carefully against the table.. "I almost forgot! Anon!" She leans forward, switching to a hushed whisper a little too late, urging me closer with a hoof.

I oblige, setting my burger aside to lean closer, offering my undivided attention. It's not often that Derpy wants to gossip.

She glances back and forth, covering part of her mouth with a hoof. "Something weird is going on at the Postal Office."

"Oh?"

"My boss suddenly started cracking down on all the rules that he's grown complacent with over the years, half of them we haven't even used in years. Some of the other post-ponies are whispering that he's nervous about something, tugging at his mane, fidgeting, muttering to himself in his office."

"Seriously? What's got him on edge?" I sip quietly from my drink, stealing a glance at Dinky to check on her. Mauling a potato-hay-whatever nugget.

"Apparently, some big-name pony from Canterlot's Postal Service is due to visit to inspect Ponyville for a branch expansion, which could mean new positions, a budget increase -- all kinds of stuff, so he's in a panic to make sure it goes well. Supposedly. I didn't hear that from him, but that's the going idea." Derpy explains, keeping her voice low as if she were imparting state secrets. Which, considering her job, she might actually be.

"Huh. But what does that mean for you and your coworkers? Think you might get a raise?"

"None of us are sure yet. I mean, most of us are working overtime and covering empty positions that could be considered for multiple ponies, so he might hire more Ponies to make the place look better staffed. Or he might need to hire more if the Ponyville branch is actually expanding, though I'm not sure where to." Derpy shakes her head, not looking particularly stoked about either option. "He's being really tight-lipped about things right now. It's kind of unusual for him."

"Ah, like a... storm approaching that you don't know the category of." I nod, opting to make a weatherly comparison for the fun of it. This proves to be a popular choice with the Pegasus, who nods vehemently.

"Exactly!" Derpy exclaims, throwing her hooves in the air, finally revealing some degree of frustration. Seems that even if they don't work in weather, most Pegasus probably appreciate weather parallels. Or maybe that's a Derpy thing, and I'm just over-assuming. "It's more like he can't decide what to do! Each of us tries to ask him about why he's being so weird with our schedules, or why he's hiring now and if it's going to affect our pay, and he's got no answers. He just deflects, bites at his hoof and excuses himself! It's weird!"

"Oh, fun." I scoff, leaning against the table as I listen to Derpy, for what I firmly believe is the first time, rant about her workplace to me. She's usually been pretty tight-lipped about it, but whatever's going on has her wound up. I'm just glad she's comfortable enough to speak about it with me. Dinky listens in on the hot scoop, both ears angled towards her mother's fervent revelations, all while the rest of our lunch goes by.

At some point, she redirects the conversation towards me and what I got up to at Rarity's, but it's hard to find a polite way to say 'got grilled for every drop of information about what happened while I was gone'. That white-furred mare is devious at interrogation.

Derpy later tries to apologize for taking up so much of our scant minutes together with her venting, but I assure her I enjoyed every moment of it. And I really did. With a quick kiss goodbye, Dinky and I watch as her mother flaps off back to her route, leaving us to return one foal to one schoolhouse.

I just wish handing off Dinky went smoothly. She got a toy with her foals meal and it got clocked by one of the other kids, earning me a disapproving stare from Cheerilee as her classroom suffered a barrage of Hayburger-based questions, mostly around if they could also get some. Oops.