Don't Take My Mommy!

by dragonpony111

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Other, Rainbow Dash, Dinky Hooves, Derpy Hooves
Length: 12941

Derpy is forced to make a very tough choice to not lose her little muffin Dinky for good.

This will be a short story, around the 2000-3000 word range (edit: I lied, this will hit the 10k word mark and possibly on up to 15k as I didn't expect to do this much writing for the amount of plot I had planned in my head).

Derpy has been deemed an unfit mother, due to her mental condition, and has a real chance of losing custody of her only foal. Before that day comes though Derpy remembers how Dinky came to be, how her only source of pride and joy is tied to such a painful memory, and all of the time spent raising Dinky.

I'm writing this story in honor of a friend of mine who went through a very similar situation.

Published 2013-02-06 07:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-09-20 06:25:06 UTC

Chapter 1: Ignorance is Bliss

It was a bright sunny morning as rays of sunshine filled the Hooves residence. Derpy was attempting to wash the dishes from breakfast while Dinky was getting her saddlebag ready for school; it was a patched up bag from a thrift store but Dinky didn’t care, her mom had bought it for her and that’s all that mattered. There is a knock at the door and Dinky rushes to answer already knowing who it would be, Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash has been walking Dinky to and from school ever since Dinky started because Derpy had to begin her route for delivering mail and also came home late. Dinky flings the door open and says:

“Hi Rainbow you ready to go, well are you? I can’t wait to see all of my friends and Ms. Cheerilee!”

Dinky is bouncing up and down with excitement, anxious to start the day. Rainbow Dash settles her down and says:

“Hold on there Dinky don’t you wanna say goodbye to your mom first? You know you won’t see her until it is almost dark.”

Dinky then sprints back to Derpy to give her a quick hug and says:

“Bye mommy!”

Derpy returns a goodbye while running one of her fore hooves down Dinky’s mane. This moment always brought a little tear to Derpy’s eye, knowing her daughter was about to go off on another day of growing up normal with other ponies. Only a few seconds pass and Dinky rushes off back to Rainbow Dash to start their walk, slamming the door behind them. As usual Dinky asks Rainbow Dash a barrage of questions about what school will be like today, but they mostly go unanswered as Dinky hardly waits for a reply. Rainbow Dash interrupts her this time to tell her:

“Hey Dinky there is a secret I need to tell you, and you can’t tell your mom, I’ll have to tell her myself.”

“Ooh what is it Dash?! Is it about the other mailpony mommy likes?! Oh I just knew they would be perfect very special someponies for each other!”

“No Dinky it’s actually about me, I wanted to tell you that I finally made it into the Wonderbolt academy, and that this Friday I’ll be leaving.”

“Oh wow that’s so cool Rainbow I’m super happy for you, you’re gonna have tons of fun, but you’re coming back by Monday right? I can’t imagine walking to school without you!”

“That’s the thing Dinky, I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I know it will be much longer than a few days, so you’ll have to manage going to and from school without me for awhile.”

Dinky’s almost overly stretched smile quickly turns into a frown and her eyes sadden when she hears the news, as she has never gone to school without Rainbow Dash before. Dinky remained silent for the rest of the walk regardless of how hard Rainbow Dash tried to cheer her up. When they get to the school house Dinky latches onto one of Rainbow Dash’s legs and refuses to let go while sobbing. Ms. Cheerilee notices and says:

“There There Dinky, you’ll get to see Rainbow Dash again today, now let’s go inside, today we are making cards for Hearts and Hooves day.”

Dinky perks up slightly and follows Ms. Cheerilee inside. Rainbow Dash then flies off back to Derpy’s home but finds that Derpy had already left for her mail route. Rainbow Dash knew Derpy visited different places on her route each day so she took to the sky and began searching for Derpy. After about an hour of searching Rainbow Dash finds her delivering some mail to sweet apple acres and quickly flies over to her to talk to Derpy.

“H-Hiya R-Rainbow Dash, what br-brings ya way out here? Derpy cheerfully asks.

“I have some possibly bad news to tell you. I just got my acceptance letter to the Wonderbolt academy and I’m leaving this weekend to go.

“Oh th-that’s great news Rainbow D-Dash, how c-could that possibly be bad n-news?”

“Well you see Derpy, I consider you as one of my greatest friends, and I think of Dinky as a sister, and you do love your daughter don’t you?”

“Oh of c-course Rainbow Dash, D-Dinky is my greatest p-pride and joy.” Derpy states as a worried look appears on her face.

“Ok then, to make things short my time away affects our arrangement, you know what I mean.”

Derpy’s face instantly goes from having a worried look to full of fear and confusion. She stands there for a minute thinking of what to do next and resorts to asking Rainbow Dash:

“S-So what does this m-mean Rainbow?”

“Well Derpy to be honest with you it means if you want to stay in your daughter’s life, then you need to be at the courthouse this Friday at 9 am for a hearing.”

“Okay Rainbow, I p-promise I’ll b-be there.”

“Thank you so much for understanding, I know this is really hard on you right now, but making the right choice isn’t always fair for everypony. Goodbye, I’ll see you in two days”

Rainbow Dash then flies off without looking back, slightly hating herself as she dislikes being the bearer of bad news. For the rest of her mail route Derpy carries on with an unenergetic pace, while trying to wrap her head around the idea of losing her precious little muffin Dinky.

When school gets out for the day Rainbow Dash is already there waiting to meet Dinky who seems relatively happy now. Dinky brags to Rainbow Dash:

“I made mommy a really great card; I can’t wait to give it to her on Hearts and Hooves day tomorrow. Hey Rainbow Can we stop by Sugar Cube Corner? I wanna get my mom a special muffin.”

“Sure thing kiddo, that sounds great!”

When the two ponies arrive at Sugar Cube Corner, they are greeted by your everyday overly enthusiastic Pinkie Pie.

“Hiya Dinky and Rainbow, want to help me bake some super delicious cupcakes? I use a super awesome secret ingredient.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widen and a nervous look falls across her face, while Dinky replies:

“No time for that Pinkie, I just came to pick up that muffin I wanted you to make for my mommy.”

“Oh of course how silly of me, here you go Dinky, that’ll be two bits, please!”

Dinky scrounges around in her saddlebag for a minute and tosses two bits up onto the counter, and then takes the small muffin sized box from Pinkie.

“Thank you Pinkie, I’m sure mommy will really love this so much.”

Rainbow Dash lets out a sigh of relief as they walk out of the store but is startled when she hears Pinkie yell:

“I’ll see you soon Rainbow, I have a bunch of special cupcakes to make!”

“Come on Dinky let’s get you home!”

Rainbow Dash picks up Dinky and flies her back home. On the way back Dinky is coveting the muffin she bought and can’t wait to give it to Derpy tomorrow. When they get back to the house, Rainbow Dash tells Dinky she will stay until Derpy comes home from work.

Chapter 2: A Mother's Pride and Joy

Due to her slower pace than usual, Derpy eventually makes it back home, she looks exhausted and is crying slightly, but as soon as she sees Dinky and Rainbow Dash she does her best to be strong and put on a happy face. Dinky still notices her eyes are red and watery, and asks Derpy:

“Mommy were you crying? What’s there to be sad about? We are all home now.”

Dinky was entirely ignorant of the whole situation involving Derpy and Rainbow Dash, and had nothing to worry about as far as she knew. Without wanting her daughter to know the truth yet, that last question made Derpy’s heart sink as she musters up an excuse and says to Dinky:

“Its o-okay Dinky, I j-just was worrying about p-paying this month’s b-bills is all.”

“Don’t be sad mommy, Rainbow is gonna pay me to care for her pet tortoise while she is away, I’ll give you that money so you don’t have to worry about the bills anymore.”

Dinky’s kind and selfless gesture almost brought Derpy to her knees in tears, but she managed to hold them back. It was pretty late now and Rainbow Dash had to go home, and as she was leaving she said to them:

“Goodbye Derpy and Dinky, and don’t forget about Friday Derpy.”

After the front door shuts behind Rainbow Dash Dinky’s curiosity causes her to ask Derpy:

“What’s so special about Friday? Tomorrow is Hearts and Hooves day, and Friday is just the day after as far as I know.”

Derpy realizes that Dinky will have to learn the truth eventually, but wants to keep Dinky in the dark about it, as she doesn’t want Dinky’s possible last two days with her to be filled with sadness. Derpy says to Dinky:

“It’s r-really late and t-time for sleep Dinky, get ready f-for bed and t-then I’ll tell y-you.”

Dinky agrees and rushes off to brush her teeth, and hops into bed as soon as she finishes brushing. Dinky then yells down the hallway:

“I’m in bed now mommy and I brushed my teeth!”

Within a few minutes Derpy walks into Dinky’s tiny bedroom to tuck her into bed. Derpy gives her a kiss goodnight and begins to leave when Dinky shouts:

“Hey what about Friday, you said you’d tell me what it’s about after I got into bed!”

Derpy was hoping Dinky had forgotten but after letting out a heavy sigh, she returns to Dinky’s bedside and tells Dinky:

“You w-won’t be going to sc-school on Friday, we w-will be meeting R-Rainbow Dash before she l-leaves. N-Now sleep tight my l-little muffin.”

Derpy then leaves the room. Dinky’s eyes light up as she learns that she gets to spend time with Rainbow Dash during her last day here in Ponyville. Dinky is unable to sleep as she is thinking about all the wonderful things she wants to do with Rainbow Dash before she leaves for the Wonderbolt Academy. Eventually Dinky lets out a yawn and drifts off to sleep. Derpy is now in her room lying in bed, holding a framed picture of the day her precious little muffin was born. The photo is of her in a hospital bed holding Dinky who is tightly wrapped in a blanket, with Rainbow Dash leaning over the bed to be in the photo. Looking at the photo brings tears of joy to Derpy’s eyes and causes her to reminisce about that time and how Dinky came to be.

Although Dinky never knew it and thankfully for Derpy she never asked much about it, Dinky’s father is the famous painter Ponet. Years back on that one cold winter night, Derpy had one last stop; she had some mail to deliver to Ponet. It was a fiercely cold night, made worse by the wind and snow. Ponet was sitting by his window painting the weather he saw outside and noticed Derpy delivering his mail and shivering in the cold. Ponet adored Derpy’s golden wall-eyes and just had to meet her. Ponet opens his front door and shouts at Derpy:

“Hi there, the weather is pretty bad, why don’t you come inside, I have a nice fire going.”

Since it was her last stop and she really didn’t want to walk all the way back home in this weather, Derpy quickly agreed and went inside Ponet’s house. She put down her mailbag and shook off the snow that was on her. Derpy then tells Ponet:

“Th-Thank you sir, it’s awfully ch-chilly outside, I p-promise I’ll leave as s-soon as the weather lets u-up.”

Taken a bit by Derpy’s stutter, Ponet shuts the front door and tells Derpy:

“Nonsense my dear pony, I can’t let a pretty mare such as you wander out into the night. You are spending the night in my home and that’s final. Please excuse my manners though, my name is Ponet, and what might your name be?

“M-My name is Derpy.”

Ponet lifts up one of Derpy’s forelegs and sweetly kisses her hoof, causing Derpy to turn her head and blush.

“Oh what a lovely name that is, it is my pleasure to meet you Derpy. Now why don’t you come and sit by the fire, I’ll bring you some hot chocolate.”

Ponet walks off into his kitchen and Derpy walks over and lays down on the couch next to the fireplace. Ponet quickly returns with two cups of steaming hot chocolate and hands one to Derpy; he then sits down on the couch next to Derpy. The details of that night are lost to time, but in the morning Derpy woke up in Ponet’s bed, and she felt really happy to have finally found a pony that loves her and looks past her Derpiness. Ponet asks Derpy to stay for breakfast but she respectfully declines as she needs to get started on her route. As she is leaving Ponet tells her:

“Do stop by my house again, I can’t wait until we meet next time, I really enjoy your company.”

“O-Okay Ponet, I really en-enjoyed you too.” Derpy replies back as she blushes.

From then on regardless of whether Ponet had any mail, Derpy would always stop by his house after she finished her route to spend time with Ponet. The two would eat dinner and Ponet would show Derpy what paintings he was currently working on. One day he even gave Derpy a painting of her, something she cherished dearly as Derpy is used to giving ponies things but not receiving them. About a month from when they first met Derpy had felt really nauseous for a few days and finally decided to go to see a doctor, with Rainbow Dash going with her. The doctor asks Derpy a few questions, some of which were really private. The doctor says she is pretty sure what is going on but she wants to do one test to be sure, and will return in ten minutes with the results. Derpy is nervously waiting in the room with Rainbow Dash there comforting her saying everything will be okay. When the doctor returns she states her hunch was correct and that Derpy is just fine. The doctor tells the ponies that Derpy is in fact pregnant.

Derpy is overflowing with joy and happiness, and Rainbow Dash hugs her and says that’s awesome while asking who the father is and Derpy tells her that it has to be Ponet. After they leave the hospital Rainbow Dash goes with Derpy back to her house. After making sure Derpy is taking the news well Rainbow Dash says before leaving:

“Well I’m super excited for you Derpy, I’m sure having your own filly will bring a bunch of happiness in your life. Don’t hesitate to come to me if you need any help. Well, goodbye then.”

Derpy just sits on her couch for a few minutes to process what her life will start to be like, and realizes she wants to tell Ponet the news right away, but she is worried how he will react. Derpy was still feeling too nauseous to fly, so she gallops as fast as she can over to Ponet’s house. Clumsy as she is Derpy isn’t able to stop in time and slides into Ponet’s front door. When Ponet opens the door Derpy takes a second to catch her breath and asks:

“Hi P-Ponet how are y-you doing?”

“Quite well Derpy, I’m working on some paintings to present for an art show that’s coming to Ponyville in a few months. What brings you by so soon you never finish your mail delivery this early?”

“O-Oh there is no m-mail today, I have been f-feeling sick so I went to the h-hospital. I have s-some news for you, I-I’m pregnant with your filly.”

Ponet looks shocked for a moment before pulling himself together and says:

“Well you know what this means don’t you?”

Derpy gets a worried look on her face as she fears Ponet might not want to deal with having a child and she asks:

“What d-does this m-mean?”

“Why of course it means we should get married don’t you think? I was going to ask you before but I was waiting for the right moment to ask.”

Derpy is awestruck and almost doesn’t believe what she just heard. After a few moments of awkward silence Derpy finally responds:

“T-That’s wonderful, ever since I f-first met you I thought of y-you as my very special so-somepony.”

Chapter 3: Derpy's Last Hope

The months to come were the best of Derpy’s life before her filly arrived, as Ponet was there for her for every moment. He went with her to every doctor visit, and he even partially moved into to Derpy’s house so he could be with her as often as possible. The engaged ponies had planned the wedding date just after Ponet’s art show and about a month before the filly was due to ensure it was born was born into a proper family. Derpy had told Rainbow Dash that she was getting married but made Rainbow Dash promise to keep it a secret from everypony else, although the large belly that formed on Derpy had all the other ponies gossiping. As the wedding day approached with only one month to go, Rainbow Dash had stopped by to check on Derpy and asks her:

“Hey Derpy I just stopped by to see how everything is, and to see how the wedding planning was going, do you have a dress yet?”

“He-Hello Rainbow Dash, the we-wedding planning is going a-along fine, but n-no I don’t have a d-dress yet, I can’t af-afford one.”

“That’s no problem Derpy, my friend Rarity makes the best dresses in all of Equestria, and I’m sure she will love to make you a wedding dress for free, as she simply is addicted to stuff like this.”

“Why th-thank you Rainbow D-Dash, I don’t kn-know what to say.”

“Don’t mention it Derpy. Now come on, let’s get you to Rarity’s store so she can start on it as soon as possible.”

The two ponies then head off to the Carousel Boutique. As they enter the store Rarity is there at her sewing machine diligently working on a dress, but she hears the two ponies entering and stops to look up noticing who they are.

“Why hello there Rainbow Dash and Derpy, what brings you into my store today?”

“First off Rarity I have some great news; Derpy is getting married and the wedding is only a…”

Before Rainbow Dash can complete her sentence Rarity runs up to Derpy knocking Rainbow Dash aside and nearly goes crazy with the barrage of questions she begins asking her:

“Oh how marvelous Derpy! When is it happening? Where is it happening? Are other well know ponies attending? What’s the theme? Who’s the groom? Are you mmmph…”

Rainbow Dash grabs Rarity by her snout to shut her up so she can finally finish her sentence.

“Pay attention Rarity, the wedding is only a month away and Derpy doesn’t have a dress yet as she can’t afford one, which is why I brought her here to you, hoping you would be generous enough to make her one, as for all the details you’ll have to let Derpy tell you as I promised her I wouldn't say.”

Rainbow Dash lets go of Rarity’s snout and leaves the store telling Derpy she will see her later. Derpy is now finally able to get a word in and begins talking to Rarity:

“Hey th-there Rarity, and yes I’m ge-getting married, to Ponet as a m-matter of fact. I’m em-embarrassed to say this b-but like Rainbow Dash s-said I can’t afford a we-wedding dress.”

“Why that’s just horrible my poor Derpy, no friend of mine will go to her wedding without a proper gorgeous dress made by yours truly, and I’ll be glad to do it for free, consider it my wedding gift to you.”

“R-Really? Thanks a whole b-bunch Rarity”

“Don’t mention it; now let’s take your measurements.”

Using her magic Rairty floats measuring tape over to Derpy and takes all the measurements she needs to make a dress.

“I’m going to need extra fabric since I’m making a dress for two, no offense Derpy, and was there a certain look you had in mind darling?”

“N-No offense taken at all R-Rarity, and as for the dr-dress, I really like mu-muffins!”

“Muffins you say? Sounds unusual but I’ll see what I can do, now if you would be so kind as to let me get to work; as I’ll need all the time possible to make this dress just absolutely perrrrfect for your wedding.”

Derpy obliges and leaves the store; she begins walking home but makes a stop at Sugar Cube Corner. Derpy loves the muffins that Pinkie Pie bakes and never misses a chance to get some. After buying a bag of freshly baked muffins from Pinkie Pie, Derpy begins her walk home again, excited that she is going to have a real wedding dress for her wedding. Three weeks later Rarity makes a special visit to Derpy’s house to drop off her wedding dress she had just finished. When Derpy answers the door Rarity says:

“Why hello there my darling Derpy, I have wonderful news, I finished your wedding dress and I brought it with me to give to you; why don’t we go inside and try it on.”

Derpy and Rarity walk inside and with her magic Rarity floats the dress over to Derpy and puts it on her. The dress itself is the same color as Derpy with the accents the same color as Derpy’s mane, and the entire dress is covered in muffin designs. Rarity then floats a mirror in front of Derpy and exclaims:

“Oh you look just astonishing in your dress Derpy, I think I have really outdone myself this time, I never cease to amaze me.”

Derpy takes a good look at herself in the mirror and tears of joy begin to form up in her eyes. Wearing this dress made her feel like the most beautiful pony in Equestria right now and that the wedding was a sure thing. Derpy begins turning around to get a better look at her dress, but with the dress being slightly too long combined with Derpy’s clumsiness, she trips and falls to the floor. Rarity helps her up and says:

“Here Derpy I can’t have you falling all over the place at your wedding, let me adjust the hem for you.”

With her magic and skill in dress making, Rarity is able to quickly adjust the hem of the dress a few inches higher.

“There that’s much better my darling. Now I have other dresses I need to get back to working on so I’ll see you later Derpy, at your wedding I hope.”

“Yeah R-Rarity, I’ll see you at m-my wedding, and thanks a-again for the pretty dress.”

Almost four weeks later and Derpy is at Ponet’s house ready to go with him to his art show. This show was very important for Ponet as it could make or break his career as an artist and there was even news that Princess Celestia would be in attendance, to hire a new royal artist for Canterlot Castle. Derpy and Ponet head out and walk over to Ponyville’s town square where the show was being held. When they get there Ponet sets up the four paintings he brought with him to show off. One painting was of the sun setting behind Canterlot Castle, another one was of Ponyville on a snowy day, and the other two paintings were portraits of the two princesses. The area was filled with high class ponies from Canterlot which made Derpy nervous as she even felt out of place in Ponyville, which is a big step down from the royal town of Canterlot. As the other ponies walk by Ponet’s work they notice Derpy and most of them either quietly laugh to themselves or make comments about her eyes, which makes Derpy feel like an even bigger disappointment than usual. Eventually Princess Celestia herself makes her way over to Ponet’s paintings. After studying them for a few minutes she asks Ponet:

“What is the name of the artist who painted these lovely images?”

“My name is Ponet, and thank you for your kind words Princess.”

Celestia notices Derpy who had been standing next to Ponet and asks:

“Who might you be my fair lady?”

Ponet takes the liberty of introducing Derpy:

“She is my fiancée and we are getting married tomorrow.”

And then Derpy begins to speak:

“My n-name is Derpy, pleased to meet you p-princess.”

Surprised by Derpy’s stutter, Princess Celestia asks her:

“Are you okay, are you feeling sick? I just happened to notice your stutter and your, uh, unique eyes.”

“I’m j-just fine Princess, I was b-born this way, but I can ma-manage my life just fine, I de-deliver all the mail here in Ponyville.”

“Oh what a shame, I’m very sorry Ponet, I would have been honored to invite you to live and work at Canterlot Castle as our royal artist, but for reasons I am not proud of I can’t have a pony like Derpy living in Canterlot, and it would be unfair of me to separate a married couple. I do however wish you the best of luck in selling your paintings; you are still a very talented artist.”

As Princess Celestia moves on Derpy can see the look of utter disappointment on Ponet’s face and asks him:

“It’ll be ok-okay Ponet, I’m sure th-there are plenty of other p-ponies that would l-love your work as m-much as I…”

Ponet cuts her off and yells:

“Oh would you just silence yourself for once Derpy, I don’t see how you can screw up not speaking!”

Ponet then runs off, leaving Derpy in tears. No one had ever yelled at her like that before, and she certainly didn’t expect it to come from her very special somepony. Derpy didn’t even feel like walking all the way back home, so she found a bench and laid down on it. Derpy buried her head into her forelegs and cried heavily until she ran out of tears. She then kept on sobbing until she fell asleep. When Derpy was woken up by the sunrise, the art show and everypony else were long gone. Not knowing what else to do Derpy decides just to head home to sort things out. When Derpy makes it home she instantly notices all of Ponet’s stuff is gone, except for the key to her house she had given him and a rolled up parchment were sitting on the table. Derpy unrolls the Parchment and reads it:

Dear Derpy:

If maybe just for once in your life you could act normal you wouldn’t screw up the lives of your friends. Also I’m afraid that if I am to fulfill my lifelong dream of being Canterlot’s royal artist I can’t be associated with you anymore. I already packed up all of my things from your house and I am returning the key you gave me. You can keep the painting I gave you as it would look out of place next to all of my other wonderful works of art. Lastly I would appreciate it if you never try to contact me again or tell others that I am your filly’s father. Whether or not you understand why we must part forever, just know that I will always have a place for you in my heart, but never again in my life. Goodbye Derpy.

------   Ponet

Reading this hurtful letter brings Derpy to her knees as she manages to cry out even more tears. Derpy just remains there for hours on the floor, not wanting to believe what just happened. Later on that Day Rainbow Dash is at the door and is calling for Derpy:

“Hey Derpy are you in there? Come on Derpy you’re supposed to be at your wedding remember? Seriously Derpy all of our friends are waiting at the chapel!”

Rainbow Dash decides to bust in after not hearing anything, only to find Derpy lying on the floor, motionless and depressed, almost lifeless. Rainbow Dash tries to talk to her to see what’s wrong, but all Derpy manages to do is point at the table with the parchment. Rainbow Dash quickly darts over to the table and reads the letter. After reading it she rips it up in anger and promises to Derpy that she will crush Ponet like the little bug that he is. Realizing that what Derpy needs the most right now is a comforting friend Rainbow Dash helps her up and walks Derpy over to her bed. She crawls into bed with her and holds her tightly for almost an hour. Eventually Derpy speaks with a very saddened tone and says:

“Thank y-you Rainbow, you are the on-only good thing in my l-life right now”

“That’s nonsense Derpy, sure you lost your fiancée but you are much better off without that jerk, and besides you have a filly on the way to look forward to.”

When Derpy suddenly realizes she has a baby on the way without a father, she freaks out intensely, and suddenly she starts feeling severe stomach pains which cause her to scream. Rainbow Dash tries to ask Derpy what is wrong but she is in too much pain to think clearly or speak. Rainbow Dash doesn’t know what else to do so she puts all of her effort into carrying Derpy and flies off to the hospital as fast as she can. Rainbow Dash nearly crash lands into the emergency room and hands Derpy over to the hospital staff. After explaining the situation to the receptionist Rainbow Dash heads back to the chapel to tell all of her friends what happened. When she gets back to the chapel the first pony to ask why Rainbow Dash looks worried and out of breath is Rarity:

“What’s the problem Rainbow, and where is Derpy or Ponet? The ceremony should have started an hour ago.”

“No time for a full explanation, just follow me back to the hospital.”

Rainbow Dash takes off back into the sky with Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie following her as best as they can. When the rest of the ponies make it to the hospital, they find Rainbow Dash who was already there waiting and she yells:

“What took you guys so long?”

Rarity responds:

“Well Rainbow we all can’t fly like you can, now would you please tell us what is going on?”

Rainbow Dash explains what happened when she went to find Derpy at her house, and also tells the group about what Ponet had done and the letter he had left. All the other ponies were shocked and they all wanted to know if Derpy is okay. Rainbow Dash tells them:

“I talked to the nurse and she said that Derpy should be fine, but the filly might not be, as the massive amount of stress that Derpy experienced sent her into early labor and that the Filly wasn’t due for a whole month. Now all we can do is wait and hope for the best.”

The ponies sat in the waiting room for only an hour but it seemed like an eternity. Eventually a doctor walks in with a pale look on his face and asks:

“Is there a Rainbow Dash here?”

“Yes yes I’m right here, how’s Derpy?”

“She is still alive for now but her life isn’t guaranteed at the moment, we had to operate to save the filly and unfortunately it may have been too much stress for Derpy’s body to handle. Her daughter is being examined but we won’t know the filly’s condition until later tonight. You and your friends can visit Derpy now; she is recovering in the Maternity ward in room thirty two.”

Rainbow Dash calls for her friends to follow her and races off to go see Derpy. When the ponies enter the room they can see Derpy resting on the hospital bed. Derpy looks almost lifeless and her breathing is weak and labored, with her heart only beating once every eight seconds or so. This sight is sad enough to flatten Pinkie Pie’s hair, as even she can’t manage a smile right now. Rainbow Dash walks over to Derpy and places her hoof on Derpy’s head. Derpy can feel the presence of her closest friend and manages to look up at Rainbow Dash who is at her side crying. Rainbow Dash tells her:

“Everything will be all right now, all of your friends are here to see you, and we just want you to know that we care for you, and that you need to get better. Also the doctor told me they managed to save your filly.”

Derpy looks back down at her stomach and notices that it is flat again, but there is a large scar on it now. A terrified Derpy pulls the last of her strength to ask Rainbow Dash:

“Wh-Where is *gasp* my filly? I want t-to see *gasp* her.”

“The staff is examining her right now to make sure she is ok, which I’m sure she will be, but honestly no one knows yet.”

Hearing these words brings Derpy some comfort, but she has run out of strength and passes out while murmuring I love you Dinky. Rainbow Dash begins crying uncontrollably and all of her friends walk over to comfort her. Rarity is able to reason with Rainbow Dash that there is nothing they can do for Derpy now except to be patient and hope for the best. The other ponies sit down on the chairs in the room but Rainbow Dash refuses to leave Derpy’s side. What feels like another eternity passes by and eventually a nurse walks in carrying a small crying bundle. Rainbow Dash asks:

“Is that, is that Derpy’s filly? How is she?”

“Luckily her filly came out just fine and is a healthy female unicorn, she was born smaller than we would have liked but that’s to be expected with a pre mature birth. Here why don’t you hold her.”

The nurse carefully hands the still crying bundled up filly to Rainbow Dash who cradles it in her arms and says:

“Hey there little Dinky I’m your Aunt Rainbow Dash, you gave us all quite a scare. Now I know you all want to see the filly right now but can you give me and Derpy some time alone?”

The other ponies grudgingly agree and leave the room, but have to drag out Pinkie Pie who desperately wanted to see the baby pony. Rainbow Dash then lowers the filly to Derpy, hoping something would happen, and sure enough something did. The filly went from crying to being silent for a moment, and then started laughing. Derpy could hear the laughs of her newborn filly and this gave her enough energy to wake her from her almost coma like state. She rubs her eyes as she opens them and becomes perfectly still as she gets her first look at her daughter. Derpy has a decent amount of strength now and is able to speak better, she asks Rainbow Dash:

“So th-this is my filly? She’s al-alright?”

“Yup she sure is Derpy! Now here take your daughter, you deserve her after everything you have been through.”

Derpy carefully takes the little bundle from Rainbow Dash and cradles it as gently as she possibly can. Tears of joy run down her face as she sees her precious little filly looking back at her, and smiling and laughing. What really makes Derpy happy is even though her daughter has the same colors as Derpy, her eyes are not weird, they are a bright shiny golden color, but they are normal.

Chapter 4: My Little Dinky: Memories Are Magic (part 1)

Finally giving birth to a healthy filly makes Derpy forget about all of her other pains in life, such as what Ponet had done to her. The sight of her daughter’s smiling face was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Derpy was just so happy, and the only other time in her life that brought her this much joy was the day she found out she was pregnant. Derpy knows she can always count on Rainbow Dash as a friend, but now Derpy has her own family which means she would never have to worry about being alone again. After letting Derpy hold her filly for a few minutes, Rainbow Dash asks her:

“So Derpy, you named your daughter Dinky? I think it’s an awesome name”

“Why y-yes Rainbow that’s wh-what I named her, Dinky, b-but how did you kn-know?”

“Well Derpy, when I came back with our friends to see you, you passed out while murmuring I love you Dinky, after I had told you they were making sure your filly was going to be all right. So I just kind of assumed her name. ”

Derpy then focuses her attention back to Dinky and Rainbow Dash signals the rest of her friends to reenter the room. As soon as she does Pinkie Pie bursts through the door, and her first glimpse of the newborn filly causes her hair to regain its curls. Pinkie Pie makes Rainbow Dash lean over the bed so she can take a photo of her, Derpy, and Dinky. All the other ponies file in as well, and for a few moments the room is filled with the expected aww’s of the other ponies. Rarity states this reminds her of when she was there for Sweetie Belle’s birth not even a year ago. Fluttershy softly tells Derpy just how overly happy she is for her and lastly Applejack congratulates Derpy for pulling through in spite of everything. All the ponies spend the next few minutes huddled around Derpy’s bed trying to get as much time with the filly as possible, but this is interrupted when a unicorn nurse walks in floating a pen and clipboard.

“Excuse me ladies but I need to speak with our new mother; you can stay in the room but you all need to step aside. Now Ms. Hooves I have a few simple questions I need answered. Firstly have you named your filly yet?”

“Yes ma’am I h-have, I have n-named her Dinky.”

“Thank you, now my next question is, will the father be arriving here today?”

This question makes Derpy extremely uncomfortable, she had just forgotten about all the pain Ponet had caused and now it was all coming back to her; even her filly sensed her mother’s pain and stopped smiling. Derpy takes a moment to calm down and answers:

“W-Well no, he isn’t go-going to be in my filly’s l-life.”

“Oh I’m so sorry to hear that, now just one last question, do you plan on going home tonight or would you like to stay here for a few days?”

“I would l-like to go home pl-please, this place is t-too much for me.”

The nurse does some writing on her clipboard, flips through some pages, does some more writing and finally says:

“Okay then and thank you for your answers Ms. Hooves. Now I will have to take Dinky from you for a while to take a few more tests. Then she will be ready to leave the hospital.”

With a zap of her horn the nurse levitates Dinky away from Derpy and takes her out of the room. As she does so Dinky starts crying again and squirms around in her blanket. This makes Derpy extremely unhappy and she starts hopelessly calling out to Dinky, begging the nurse to bring her back. Rainbow Dash attempts to get Derpy to settle down by saying they need to do that for all newborns, and that it is done with Dinky’s safety in mind; but her efforts are futile. Derpy can still hear her filly crying from down the hallway and it hurts her deeply to not be able to be there for her daughter. Right after the nurse leaves the room, two large stallions, one earth pony and one unicorn, wearing black ties and dark sunglasses enter the room. They state:

“We are here on behalf of Foal Protective Services, is there a Miss Rainbow Dash present?”

“Yeah that’s me, what do you need?” Replied Rainbow Dash.

“We have some business to discuss in private, please follow us into the next room over.”

“Oh okay then I’ll be right with you. I’ll be right back as soon as I can Derpy, don’t worry.”

Rainbow Dash follows the two stallions out of the room and the rest of the ponies gather around Derpy to comfort her. As Rainbow Dash enters the other room one of the stallions shuts the door and says:

“Miss Dash, the hospital informed us you were the one that brought Derpy in correct?”

“Yes sir, it was me and then I came back with my friends.”

“Thank you for that information but your friends are not of importance. On being admitted Derpy had told the staff you were to be her foal’s guardian should anything happen, in absence of any immediate family.”

“I guess that’s nice to know but why are you telling me? It seems like Derpy is pulling through.”

“You see Miss Dash, Derpy has been listed in the hospital records as mentally impaired, and as such deemed unfit to be a mother with the absence of the father, meaning she won’t be allowed primary care of her foal.”

Rainbow Dash gets right up in the stallion’s face with a mean look in her eyes and shouts:

“So what? Derpy may not be normal, but she is the most kind hearted pony I know, and would be a great mother; and if I have anything to do about it you won’t be taking her filly away. She needs her after everything she has been through, her fiancée and filly’s father abandoned her for Celestia’s sake.”

“We are sorry Miss Dash but the laws are what they are, which is why we wanted to speak with you. Since you have been listed as the foal’s guardian, you are being given the chance to assume the responsibility of being the foal’s primary caretaker, rejection of this offer sends the foal to the custody of the state. It is then your decision if the foal lives with you or Derpy, but you will be held legally responsible for the foal. Do you accept our offer?”

“What are you guys a couple of eggheads? Of course I accept! I will do anything to let Derpy keep her filly!”

“Very well then Miss Dash, all of you have to do is sign these papers and everything will be taken care of. We must also get Derpy’s consent of the whole situation before she leaves the hospital. After signing our business is done and you can return to your friends.”

The unicorn then floats a clipboard and pen to Rainbow Dash who quickly signs the papers without a second thought. The stallions then leave the room and go off down the hallway. Rainbow Dash then quickly returns to Derpy’s room. Upon entering all the other ponies wanted to know what it was about since normally ponies from FPS don’t show up after a foal is born. To not alarm anypony Rainbow Dash lies and says”

“Oh nothing serious, since the filly’s father is absent and I was the one who brought Derpy in, they just wanted my information to contact me in case of an emergency.”

Derpy had been worried when FPS showed up to question Rainbow Dash, but let out a huge sigh of relief after Rainbow Dash explained. There wasn’t much left to do except to wait for the hospital to return Dinky and tell Derpy she can leave. So everypony leaves except Rainbow Dash, who tells Derpy she will be with her for the next few days to help her out with Dinky. Derpy and Rainbow Dash spend the rest of the time talking about how Derpy’s life will change having a filly to take care of now, and they do this for about two hours. Eventually though the cries of Dinky become louder and louder, until the nurse reappears with her and gives her back to Derpy, saying that Dinky was as healthy as can be, and that they could leave the hospital now, and then leaves the room. As soon as Dinky is returned to the arms of her mother she stops crying and begins smiling again, wiping away any of the worries Derpy had at the moment. The only thing different about Dinky that Derpy noticed was that Dinky had a wrist band now. The wristband listed some basic things such as her gender, blood type, size, and weight. Most importantly it said that her name was Dinky Hooves and that her mother’s name was Derpy Hooves. Derpy began to cry tears of joy as she now had proof that this was her filly and no one else could say otherwise. A few minutes after the nurse had left; the two stallions from Foal Protective Services enter the room and shut the door. Rainbow Dash quickly tells Derpy:

“Hey Derpy, I lied earlier about them and these stallions from FPS have something very important to ask you.”

“Wh-What can I help you w-with?”

Derpy knows who these stallions are and what they can take away from her, so she holds Dinky even closer in fear of what might happen next, which causes Dinky to squirm around in her blanket.

“Hello Miss Hooves, our goal at Foal Protective Services is to ensure the safety of foals in Equestria and we are here to follow through on that. The hospital has informed us that you will be a single mother without the help of the father or immediate family, and the hospital records show you are mentally impaired, and as such the law states you are an unfit parent for the foal. So the decision has been made to…”

Derpy interrupts them and yells:

“NO YOU CAN’T HAVE MY LITTLE DINKY, SHE IS MINE AND NO ONE IS TAKING HER AWAY FROM ME!”

“Ma’am please calm down, that’s why we are here to offer you the ability to stay with your foal. We have these papers here that if you sign will grant primary care to Rainbow Dash, after which the two of you can work out where the foal lives, with Miss Dash having already signed.”

“You w-would do that f-for me Rainbow?”

“Oh course Derpy, You are like a sister to me, I just couldn’t stand the thought of you losing your precious Dinky, especially after everything you have been through.”

“Why th-thank you so much Rainbow, this m-means the world to me. Y-Yes I’ll sign, give me t-the papers.”

The unicorn floats the pen and papers over to Derpy and she quickly signs them. The other stallion then says:

“Thank you Miss Hooves, and that is all we need from you now. You will be meeting the FPS periodically so we can monitor Dinky’s safety.”

The two stallions then leave the room taking the signed papers with them. Derpy returns her focus back to Dinky and tells her:

“Its ok-okay now my little Dinky, mo-mommy is here and no p-pony can separate us now.”

This seems to calm Dinky and she stops squirming; Dinky then lets out a large yawn and falls asleep, Derpy herself begins to feel tired and hands Dinky over to Rainbow Dash before falling asleep herself. Dinky can sense she is no longer being held by her mother which makes her squirm around a bit as she lets out a small moan which saddens Rainbow Dash. After a few moments of holding her, Rainbow Dash’s heart melts when Dinky lets out a cute little sneeze while sleeping. She can’t wait to start spending time with her outside of the hospital. Eventually Rainbow Dash finally feels the weight of this long stressful day and dozes off to sleep.

After a few hours of sleep, the ponies except for Dinky are awakened by both the doctor and the nurse entering the room. The doctor says:

“Why hello there Miss Hooves, after looking over all of Dinky’s test results I am happy to say she couldn’t be healthier for a pre mature born foal. You can leave as soon as you want now and my nurse has brought you a bag of things to get you through the first week with your foal. It seems the operation did a real number on you so I’m having you sent home in an ambulance carriage which is waiting for you outside. Have a nice day and good luck with Dinky.”

The nurse floats a saddlebag over to Derpy and then leaves the room with the doctor. Derpy looks inside it to find some diapers, jars of foal food, some bottles of filly formula, and a small brochure on caring for newborn foals. Rainbow Dash Helps Derpy out of her bed and carries the bag while helping Derpy walk to the ambulance. Derpy is still feeling weak and struggles to walk while also carrying Dinky, but manages with Rainbow Dash’s help. The ponies make it to the carriage and set off to go back to Derpy’s home.

Chapter 5: Broken Hearts and Hooves Day

Dinky is slightly disappointed and walks out of the room. Derpy looks down again at the gifts; it gives her a heavy heart knowing these gifts might be the last memories of her precious Dinky. She sets them on her bedside table and walks to the kitchen to make Dinky her favorite breakfast, a toasted muffin with zap apple jam and chocolate milk. As usual Derpy burns the first muffin, tossing it outside while some birds fight over it. By the time Derpy finally has breakfast ready Dinky enters the kitchen sniffing the air and licking her lips. Dinky then says:

“Wow the food sure smells good mommy, I think you made my favorite muffin didn’t you?”

“I s-sure did Dinky, n-now sit down and e-eat your br-breakfast.”

“Ok mommy, it looks really yummy.”

Dinky dips the muffin in the zap apple jam and takes a big bite out of it, happily chewing as Derpy sits down with her food. Derpy wanted to make this day for Dinky the best she ever had, in case Dinky gets taken away from her, so that she would have the best memory possible of her mother. Derpy’s favorite moments in life were times like this, spent with Dinky. Derpy giggled slightly when Dinky smiled at her with chubby cheeks full of food. Too bad for Derpy this might be one of the last of Dinky’s smiles she will get to see. When Dinky finishes her muffin she then quickly chugs down the glass of chocolate milk, and tells Derpy:

“I’m all done with my breakfast mommy; can I go play until Rainbow Dash gets here?”

“Sure th-thing muffin, but o-only if you st-stay inside.”

Dinky nods in agreement and runs off to the living room to go play with her Soarin action figure. The toy itself had seen much better times; it was covered in Dinky’s bite marks from her teething days, and the paint had started to wear off after the countless hours Dinky spent playing with it. It was her only toy but it was very special to her, as Rainbow Dash eventually told Dinky how she got it and what it meant to her, and she hoped it would mean the same for Dinky, which it did. Rainbow Dash was the only other pony that Dinky loved as much as Derpy, and considered Rainbow Dash as her sister. Around twenty minutes later there is a knock at the door but Dinky is too pre occupied to notice, so Derpy answers it, and its Rainbow Dash again. She has a shameful look on her face that she is trying her best to hold back and says:

“Huh… Oh… Hi Derpy, I thought Dinky would answer the door like she always does, where is the kiddo anyways?”

“Oh sh-she’s in the living r-room playing with that ac-action figure again. Wh-What took you so l-long Rainbow?”

“Well I’m glad she is having as much fun with it as I did and uh… I… I had to bring Tank with me since Dinky will be watching him for me when I’m away.”

Hearing Rainbow Dash’s voice at the door finally gets Dinky’s attention. She drops her toy and runs up to hug Rainbow Dash while shouting:

“Hiya Dash! Happy Hearts and Hooves day! You got any special someponies?” Dinky says with a wink.

Rainbow Dash blushes a little but the awkward moment ends when Derpy interrupts and says:

“I n-need to get an early h-head start on my m-mail route, so I w-will see you p-ponies later then.”

“Bye mommy!” Dinky shouts as Derpy leaves with her mailbag while Rainbow Dash lets out a sigh of relief. Dinky attempts to go get her saddlebag but Rainbow Dash stops her saying she won’t need it today. As Dinky follows Rainbow Dash outside she sees a pet carrier and asks:

“Is that Tank Rainbow Dash? Can we let him out I want to see him?”

“Sure thing Dinky.” Rainbow Dash responds as she unlocks and opens the door.

“Hey I don’t see Tank it’s too dark in there and why isn’t he coming out?”

“Oh he is probably just shy of you Dinky; maybe you should go inside and bring him out.”

Rainbow Dash was both extremely nervous and ashamed of what she was about to do. As Dinky enters the pet carrier she says:

“Hey what gives? It’s empty in here!”

Rainbow Dash closes the door and locks it behind Dinky, who instantly gets scared and turns around while shouting:

“What’s going on Rainbow? Why did you lock me in here?”

“Calm down Dinky it’s going to be okay, you’ll understand everything soon enough.”

Dinky gets really upset and tries bucking the door open a few times, but after failing she starts crying loudly and pleads with Rainbow:

“Please! Please! Please! Let me out Rainbow, I’m scared inside here, why are you doing this to me?”

Rainbow Dash is too ashamed to respond but soon the sound of the two ponies walking closer are followed by a stallion’s voice:

“Thank you for your cooperation Miss Dash, hand Dinky over to us now and our business is done here; just remember to show up at the hearing tomorrow at nine am.”

Dinky calmed down some when she recognized the voice. It was one of the stallions from FPS that had visited Derpy’s home multiple times to make sure Dinky was being taken care of. Dinky tries to maintain her balance as she feels the pet carrier being lifted up, and the most hurtful look falls on her face as she becomes eye level with Rainbow Dash. Dinky doesn’t say anything to her, and just stares at her with a look that says “Why?” As Dinky can sense she is being carried away she calls out to Rainbow Dash one last time:

“Please Rainbow let me out! I’ll be a good pony I promise!” PLEEEEEAAASSEEE!!!! RAINBOWWWW!!!!! MOMMYYYY!!!!”

Rainbow Dash can’t bear to watch anymore and takes off into the sky with a broken heart for what she had just done. Rainbow Dash only agreed to do this for the FPS to help Derpy’s chances at the hearing, as FPS had Derpy listed as a flight risk who might run off with Dinky to avoid losing her. After Rainbow Dash leaves her sight Dinky starts calling out to her mother in vain until she just resorts to quietly crying. Soon after Dinky hears the sound of a door shutting and realizes she is in a moving carriage now. She pleads with the two ponies:

“Where are you taking me? I just want to see my mommy? Let me out of here I’m so scared.”

“There there little one, everything will be alright. We are just making sure nothing happens to you until tomorrow, as you and your mom have a very important day tomorrow.”

The comforting voice had come from the other pony, a unicorn mare who also worked with the FPS. The mare then says:

“I’m letting you out now Dinky, so that you can see we are not so scary after all.”

After opening the door Dinky quickly jumps out and lands on her lap. The mare then rubs the tears from Dinky’s face and tries to hold her but Dinky refuses and yells:

“Where’s my mommy! I want my mommy now!”

“Calm down now Dinky, you will get to see her again tomorrow, and then your life will be better.”

Dinky isn’t pleased with that answer and turns away. Dinky then notices that the window on the other side of the carriage is open and makes a break for it. As Dinky jumps into the air she is stopped by the unicorn’s magic who then floats Dinky back into the pet carrier and closes the door. The mare then says:

“Oh I wish you hadn’t tried that Dinky, now you’ll have to stay in there until we get to where we need to be.”

Later that day when Derpy finally finishes delivering all of the mail she returns home to find Rainbow Dash already there waiting for her. Derpy greets Rainbow Dash and says:

“Hello there R-Rainbow Dash, wh-where’s my little muffin D-Dinky at, isn’t sc-school finished?”

Rainbow Dash lets out a heavy sigh as she knows Derpy won’t like what she is about to hear and says:

“Listen Derpy, I have some upsetting news so pay attention. The ponies at FPS thought you would try to avoid your hearing tomorrow and run off with Dinky. So after you left today they had me hand Dinky over to them just for tonight, you’ll get to see her again tomorrow.”

Derpy is completely appalled by what Rainbow had done and for the first time yells at her best friend:

“G-Get out of my h-house Rainbow! N-Now! I don’t w-want to t-talk with you r-right now!”

Rainbow Dash slowly flies out of Derpy’s house but as she turns around to apologize Derpy slams the door in her face. Rainbow Dash thought about trying to say something else but decided it would be best to just wait until tomorrow and flies home. Derpy then starts frantically searching her house calling out to Dinky, hoping that Rainbow Dash was just pulling some kind of terrible prank. The closest thing she finds is Dinky’s Soarin toy that Dinky must have accidentally left behind. She makes a mess of the house in the process and comes across the painting Ponet had made of her. Derpy stomps it to ruin while cursing him for what he has done to her. Derpy then ends her fit of anger by crying herself to sleep on the floor while tightly clutching the toy, whispering mommy loves her little muffin.

Chapter 6: Together Forever!

Derpy woke up the next day, all alone and sad. For the past few years, Derpy was used to waking up to having to take care of Dinky. It had became such an integral part in her morning routine, which made waking up in an empty house quite difficult for Derpy. As she is getting up Derpy hurts her hoof by stepping on something, and looks down to see it is Dinky’s favorite toy. This makes Derpy suddenly remember where she needed to be this morning and she looks up at the clock to see there are only ten minutes until nine. Derpy was hungry and her mane was a mess but she didn’t care. Derpy rushes off to the courthouse clumsily flying as fast as she can. Derpy crashes through the front door with only seconds to spare and shouts:

“I’m h-here! Now wh-where is my Dinky?”

The judge who was an elderly earth stallion looks up from the papers on the desk he was reading and states:

“You are Miss Hooves I assume? In important matters such as this I would assume that anypony would avoid being late, which you almost were. Now don’t worry, we have Dinky in the next room and you will get to see her soon enough.”

“N-No! I wan’t my D-Dinky now! Give h-her to me!”

“Making demands won’t speed things up here Miss Hooves. Now please calm yourself as we start the hearing on whether Dinky can remain in your custody.

The judge then flips through the papers on his desk while Derpy notices that Rainbow Dash was already here sitting at one side of the room. At this point Derpy was still mad at Rainbow Dash but really didn’t have anyone else at the moment to talk to. Derpy walks over to sit down next to her and asks:

“Why Ra-Rainbow, why wo-would you do th-this to me, why d-did you give aw-away Dinky?”

“Derpy I need for you to understand it was only to help you and Dinky. I felt terrible for what I did but I know and I hope you know too that it had to be done. The FPS had good reasoning for what they had me do as even I wasn’t sure you wouldn’t run off with Dinky.”

“B-But Rainbow, if you j-just would have t-told me I would have un-understood. As m-much as I hate be-being away from D-Dinky for even an h-hour I would do anything to k-keep…”

"That’s enough chatter now Miss Hooves and Miss Dash. Please pay attention as I go over what will be happening before we bring Dinky in. Our goal here is to ensure Dinky’s wellbeing first and foremost, and then to not split up your family if at all possible. Since your agreement is now void as Miss Dash is going off to the Wonderbolt Academy, the court needs to make sure Dinky is raised in a safe and healthy environment. First the agents from the FPS will report their findings from their visits to your home; I’ll ask you some questions Miss Hooves, and then Dinky will be brought in for questioning as well before I give my verdict.”

Derpy more or less understood what was going to happen and was comforted when Rainbow Dash had held her hoof tightly. The stallion from FPS walks up to the stand and begins speaking:

“Your honor, from our numerous visits to the residence of Derpy Hooves we have witnessed a mentally impaired Pegasus make her best efforts into raising her filly on her own with assistance from Rainbow Dash. Dinky is healthy and so far is doing well enough in school. From what we have observed the filly and her mother have a strong bond between them, but Derpy still struggles with everyday tasks such as preparing a meal or cleaning the house. In summary due to Derpy’s mental impairment FPS recommends that main custody of the filly is transferred to the state allowing for visitation rights for Miss Hooves if she cooperates, but if she becomes a problem we would strip her of those rights.”

“Thank you sir. Now Miss Hooves would you please approach the stand as I have questions for you.”

“Y-Yes your honor.”

Derpy dreaded the seemingly long walk up to the stand and looked back at Rainbow Dash who had a hopeful look on her face which brought a tiny amount of hope to Derpy as well. Derpy stumbles a bit up the steps but eventually makes it to the stand.

“Now Miss Hooves, even though I probably know the answer but as a matter of formality do you love Dinky?”

“Yes I d-do with all of my h-heart, Dinky is my pr-pride and joy.”

“A simple yes or no will do for these questions Miss Hooves. Next question, do you provide the best care to your filly to the best of your ability?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Thank you. Moving on, are there times you feel like caring for Dinky has become too much for you?”

“No, never!”

“My last question is are you willing to do anything to ensure your filly grows up happy and healthy?”

Derpy goes silent as every fear she has ever had about losing Dinky hits her all at once like a train wreck; eventually though she musters up the courage to say:

“Y-Yes.”

“I thank you for your answers Miss Hooves, you may step down now as we bring in Dinky.”

Derpy returns to sitting next to Rainbow Dash and waits anxiously to see her Dinky again, even if it might be for the last time. The two ponies from FPS disappear into the back room and quickly return with Dinky right behind them. Upon seeing each other again both Dinky and Derpy rush together and hug tightly as Dinky says:

“I’m so glad to see you again mommy! I was so scared when Rainbow let those mean ponies take me away. I thought Rainbow was our friend why would she do that?”

“There th-there my little mu-muffin, mommy is here n-now. Rainbow did i-it to help u-us, you will un-understand someday.”

“You can catch up later but for now we must continue the hearing. Hi there my name is Justice. Would you be a good little filly and come sit up here with me so I can ask you some questions? Don’t worry they won’t be hard.”

As much as they both don’t want to separate again Derpy and Dinky let go of their hug and Dinky slowly walks up to the stand, taking extra time to climb the large steps.

“Now do you mind telling me your name?”

“My name is Dinky, Dinky Hooves I’m pretty sure.”

“Nice to meet you Dinky. Now in all of Equestria which pony are you the closest with?”

“Well it’s not fair to decide between my mommy and Rainbow, but my mommy for sure!”

“Very well then. Does your mother take good care of you Dinky?”

“Yes she does. Every day she makes sure I eat, go to school, brush my teeth, and that I take a bath.”

“Thank you Dinky, now for my last question do you think your mother and you will be fine without Rainbow Dash around?”

“It will be sad and more boring with Rainbow gone, but I’m sure my mommy and I will get along okay.”

“Thank you Dinky, you can go sit with your mother now, we are almost done here.”

Dinky runs back down and sits closely to Derpy while Derpy strokes her mane. The judge spends a few minutes writing and shuffling through papers and eventually says:

“Does FPS maintain its recommendation on what to do here?”

“Yes we do your honor.”

“Very well then, my only problem here Miss Hooves from returning Dinky to you are these hospital records showing your status as mentally impaired.”

Rainbow Dash, Derpy, and Dinky are all thinking of what the judge will say next and Derpy begins to silently cry a few tears. Intentionally dropping the hospital records on a burning candle on his desk the Judge says:

“Oh how clumsy of me, and those were the only copies too. You’re in luck Miss Hooves, as since I have no other evidence that points to you being an unfit mother, I hereby declare that you keep primary custody of your filly Dinky.”

The judge swings his gavel to make the order official but the earth stallion from FPS speaks up:

“Objection! Your honor, that’s a massive break in policy, how can you just…”

“Silence! I remember just a few weeks ago myself approving your transfer to field agent, I can just as easily send you back to working in the hospital with all of the crying foals if you prefer?”

“No! No! That’s fine your honor, objection withdrawn.”

“The hearing is over now, you are all free to go, and the best of luck to you Derpy and Dinky.”

After congratulating Derpy Rainbow Dash leaves the courthouse with her with Dinky jumping around for joy. Derpy is overcome with happiness and relief as she steps out into the morning sunlight knowing that her nightmare is finally over.

Epilogue: What A Wonderfoal World

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A New Family

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Chapter 4: My Little Dinky: Memories Are Magic (part 2)

When they finally arrive at Derpy’s house the sun had started setting. Rainbow Dash helps Derpy out of the carriage and into her home, inside there was a pile of gifts with a card explaining they were all from Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. Applejack had built Derpy a crib for Dinky, Rarity had made some lovely little filly dresses, Pinkie Pie had left a giant bag of freshly baked muffins, and Fluttershy left Derpy a pass for a free day at the spa. Derpy really appreciated the thoughtfulness of her friends and couldn’t wait to thank them all personally, but what she wanted the most right now was to get settled in with Dinky, who was still asleep. After opening the presents and enjoying a few of Pinkie’s muffins, Rainbow Dash gets Derpy settled into her bed. Having slept at the hospital Derpy isn’t tired so she passes the time reading this month’s issue of her favorite magazine, Muffin Monthly. At some point in time though Dinky wakes up and begins crying, Derpy cradles her in her arms and rocks Dinky back and forth, but the crying doesn’t stop. Rainbow Dash quickly enters the room and asks:

“What’s going on with Dinky?”

“I d-don’t know, she w-won’t stop cr-crying.”

“Well then maybe she needs to finally have her first meal, being born probably makes a filly hungry."

Rainbow Dash searches through the saddlebag and pulls out a bottle of filly formula; giving it to Derpy. Derpy then tilts the bottle and brings it close to Dinky’s mouth who instantly begins suckling the bottle. Dinky finishes the bottle fast enough to even impress Rainbow Dash, but then starts having hiccups. Rainbow Dash then tells Derpy:

“Now just put Dinky over your shoulder and pat her back a few times.”

Derpy does so and after a few moments Dinky lets out a little burp and her hiccups stops. Rainbow Dash then wanted to see if Dinky could crawl yet so she took her from Derpy, and then unwrapped Dinky from her blanket, placing her at the end of Derpy’s bed. Dinky looks around confused and lost for a moment before crawling back to Derpy. Dinky then raises her arms up to reach for Derpy and wanting to be picked up by her mother, with Derpy quickly doing so. Rainbow Dash then says:

“Well Derpy it seems you are all set for now, I’m going to my home to grab some things so I can spend a few nights here with you, I’ll be back shortly.”

Rainbow Dash then sets off to go home leaving Derpy alone with her Dinky. Derpy had been worried about providing for her filly, but it seemed for now all Dinky wanted was to just be with her, something Derpy wanted as well and had no problem doing. Derpy didn’t have any toys yet for Dinky to play with, so she shows Dinky pictures from the pages of Muffin Monthly. Dinky eyes light up as she sees all the photos of colorful muffins and seems to have a liking for them just like her mom. Rainbow Dash had kept her word and soon returned with a saddlebag full of items. Rainbow Dash then says:

“Hey Derpy it is probably best if we all go to sleep now, foal’s need their rest much more than we do. Let me go bring Dinky’s new crib in here so you two can sleep near each other.”

Rainbow Dash leaves and drags the crib into the room, placing it close to Derpy’s bed. Derpy hands Dinky to Rainbow Dash who wraps her back up in the blanket, and then gently sets her in the crib. Dinky doesn’t like this at all, and begins squirming and crying fiercely while kicking off the blanket. With a frightened look on her face Derpy asks Rainbow Dash:

“Wh-What’s wrong with D-Dinky now Rainbow?”

“Here Derpy let me give Dinky back to you; I think she just doesn't want to leave your side.”

“Oh th-there there my l-little Dinky, mommy is r-right here, you h-have nothing to worry ab-about.”

After being returned to Derpy’s arms Dinky settles down and Rainbow Dash ended up being right. Rainbow Dash starts feeling sleepy and says:

“Well Derpy I’m going to sleep now, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow with Dinky, goodnight.”

Rainbow Dash leaves to go sleep on Derpy’s couch and Derpy also drifts off to sleep still cradling Dinky in her arms. The next day was a busy one for Rainbow Dash and Derpy, Dinky constantly cried any time Derpy wasn’t right there with her making it hard for Derpy to get any alone time. Derpy set Dinky down so she could go take a bubble bath and Dinky starts crying as she crawls to follow her. Dinky bumps into Rainbow Dash’s saddlebag knocking it over, and one of the things that spill out is Rainbow Dash’s Soarin action figure. Dinky is instantly taken by it and she picks it up with her mouth and begins to bite it with her gums; this stops her crying. Rainbow Dash notices that her favorite action figure given to her by her dad is getting ruined by Dinky so she tries to pry it out of her mouth, but Dinky holds on strong. Rainbow Dash waits for Dinky to get distracted by something and quickly snatches it away, which really sends Dinky into a fit. As much as it brings fond memories of the times spent with her dad as a filly, Rainbow Dash realizes that maybe it is time to pass it on, to create new memories. Rainbow Dash gives the toy back to dinky who starts contently biting it with her gums again. Rainbow Dash is glad that she at least found a way to keep Dinky relatively calm and happy while Derpy is away.

A few months later and Dinky is now able to walk some but still prefers crawling or being carried by Derpy, and especially loves going on Derpy’s mail route by riding in her mailbag. Rarity came over today and brought Sweetie Belle for a play date with Dinky. The two fillies seem to get along and play with the toys that Rarity brought. Rarity and Derpy enjoy some nice tea that Fluttershy had made them while their fillies play. Rarity tells Derpy:

“Oh Derpy your little Dinky is absolutely adorable, even cuter than Sweetie Belle, I can’t wait to have a foal of my own someday.”

“Why th-thank you Rarity, she r-really means the w-world to me.”

After an hour or so the fillies have tired themselves out and both fall asleep on the floor, huddled next to each other. Rarity then begins to leave and says:

“It was wonderful coming over Derpy, but I better get Sweetie Belle back home and in bed now, or else she gets cranky without a proper nap. Bye Derpy.”

Rarity scoops up Sweetie Belle and her toys into her saddlebag and leaves Derpy’s house. Derpy walks over to pick up Dinky who is tightly holding on to her Soarin action figure while sleeping and takes her back to her crib. When placing her in the crib Dinky wakes up for a moment to mutter her first words I love you mommy, before going back to sleep. This sends Derpy into a state of utter joy as she heard her little filly’s first words, and replies back saying:

“I l-love you too m-my little muffin, now sl-sleep tight.”

Derpy comes back to reality when she hears a timberwolf howling at the moon. Derpy wipes the tears off of the photo and places it back on her bedside table. She knows that tomorrow could be one of her last days with Dinky and wishes that it was a nightmare she could wake up from, and that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be leaving. Derpy doesn’t want to think about it anymore so she goes to bed, hoping tomorrow might bring good news.

The next morning Derpy is woken up slightly earlier than normal by her daughter Dinky, who is bouncing up and down with joy as it is Hearts and Hooves day. Dinky says:

“Good morning mommy! Happy Hearts and Hooves day! I got you a present and made you a card, please open them now!”

Derpy looks down to see an envelope and a small box sitting on her bed and is heartbroken to see how happy Dinky is with possibly only one more day to see her. Derpy tells Dinky:

“Muffin pl-please go get ready f-for school, I’ll o-open them w-when you get h-home today.”