The Derpy I Know And Love 4 or And The Children Shall Lead

CHAPTER EIGHT

It All Comes Out (To The Relief Of All)

Scootaloo flew home after her day at work.  She worked as a supervisor on one of Rainbow’s weather teams.  At first the other ponies thought that she got the position because of being Rainbow’s daughter.  But it turned out that her skill with the weather and not to mention her command of magic, gave her a distinct advantage.  Her team welcomed her leadership, and appreciated her skills.

On entering the cloud house, she could smell Pinkie’s cooking.  That alone had been worth the adoption.  But really she did appreciate the family she now had.  Not one day went by that she did not think how lucky she was to be the daughter of Rainbow and Pinkie Dash.

“I’m home!” called out Scootaloo.

Pinkie came trotting out of the kitchen.  She gave Scoot a hug and a motherly kiss.

“How was my favorite daughter’s day today?” asked the pink pony.

“It was good,” said Scootaloo with a smile. “And I am your only daughter.”

“Then I guess if you want to look at it like that, then you would have to be my least favorite daughter,” giggled Pinkie.

“Oh mom!” laughed Scootaloo.

Pinkie hugged Scoot again.  It was not only Scootaloo who enjoyed the mother/daughter relationship.  Pinkie loved children so much, even the grownup ones.  And it did not matter that Scoot was adopted.  She was her daughter and next to her relationship with her wife (and lovers) it was the most important thing in her life.

After the adoption of Scootaloo, Pinkie decided to become a full time ‘house wife’.  She enjoyed taking care of Rainbow and Scootaloo and wanted nothing more out of life.

“Go clean up,” said Pinkie, “dinner will be ready soon, and we will eat when your mother gets home.”

“Clean up?” said Scoot, in an old joke (by now) with Pinkie, “I work all day with clouds full of water!”

“Just do it silly!” said Pinkie giving her daughter a kiss.

Scootaloo trotted off laughing to her room and then to the bathroom.  Pinkie went back to the kitchen.

It was not long before Rainbow came through the front door.  She was greeted by her wife and daughter.  Rainbow could never believe that at one time she had wanted no relationships to tie her down.  If she could pull a ‘Twilight’ and go back in time to the past Rainbow, she would slap the horse-apples out of herself for being so stupidly closed-minded.

Dinner was fantastic as usual, and the little family sat around after, enjoying one of Pinkie’s cakes and some coffee.  Then Scootaloo suddenly looked uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong, Squirt?” asked Rainbow, noticing her daughter's look.

“Mom, don’t take this wrong,” said Scoot uncomfortably. “I need to ask something, and I know it may be none of my business, and if so tell me.  But Dinky and I were talking and we are concerned.”

“Concerned?” asked Pinkie.

“Concerned about our parents.  No offense, but the four of you have been acting a bit goofy for some time now.  You have been having these overnight ‘meetings’ more and more often.  We are not foals, so we know what is going on.”

Scootaloo paused;

“We want to know what is going on for real.  We love you all so much.  We just want to understand what is going on.”

Rainbow and Pinkie looked at each other.  They knew that someday they would have to come clean about the special relationship that they shared with Twilight and Bubbles.

“Sweetheart,” said Pinkie, “you are right, there is ‘something’.  And you do deserve to know the whole truth.  And it may be more than you realize.  We need to talk to Twilight and Bubbles, and we promise that we will tell you and Dinky everything.”

“That is all I ask, mom.” Said Scootaloo, getting up kissing Rainbow and Pinkie and going back to her room.

That evening, the Dash’s had dropped in on the Sparkles.  They were sitting at the kitchen table, sipping some delicious wine that Twilight was able to get from the palace cellars.  As it turned out, Dinky had the same talk with her mothers that day as well.

“We knew that this would happen, one day.” Said Twilight, “and as I see it we have two choices.  Come clean to our families and end this relationship.”

There were troubled looks all around.  Rainbow was looking in Twilight’s eyes; a sad look crossed her face.

“Or?” asked Bubbles.

“We come clean about all this to ALL our family and friends, and we all face the consequences.” Said Twilight, there was trepidation in her voice. “For the record, I am for the second one.  But the ponies that need to really make this decision are you, Bubbles and Pinkie.  Rainbow and I are a position that would make us unable to make an unbiased decision.”

“I am all for the letting everypony know.” Said Pinkie, “but I am just as involved with this as the two of you.  However, Bubbles, you did not go through the underworld, you did not experience the feeling of the displacement of time.  And I know how much you have enjoyed the four of us together; you are probably the only one who can make a decision without any influence from the experience.”

Bubbles sat quiet for a moment, all eye were on her.

“I know if I said that I wanted to put an end to this, that all of you would honor that request, I have no doubt of that.  But I have no doubt that none of you would be happy, at least fully happy until the situation changed, that is that Pinkie and I are gone.  And I hope that will not be for years to come.  I don’t think that Pinkie and I could put up with you two sulking around for years.”

“Darling,” said Twilight, “don’t let that be the deciding factor.  Rainbow and I have already told each other that we would always abide with whatever you and Pinkie wanted.”

“Is that true?” asked Bubbles to Rainbow.

“It is, we love each other but we also love you two more than anything.  And if that was your decision.  We will do what you say.  No sneaking around, no moping, no anything.”  Said Rainbow.

Bubbles thought, there was an odd look on her face.

“Pinkie, can I ask you something?” asked Bubbles.  She motioned for Pinkie to come over.

“Yes, Bubbles?” answered the pink pony.

Bubbles motioned for Pinkie to come closer.  Pinkie leaned in.  It looked as if Bubbles was whispering in Pinkie’s ear.  Then the way Pinkie started to tremble and moan, it was apparent that Bubbles was kissing Pinkie’s ear with her tongue deep in it.

Pinkie grabbed Bubbles and proceeded to kiss her quite passionately.

“Do you two actually think that Pinkie and I want to give all this up?” said Bubbles breaking the kiss. “We love our wives dearly.  But according to Luna, you are all our wives!”

“Then I take it that you are for breaking it to all our friends?” asked Rainbow.

“I do,” then Bubbles turned to Twilight, “I think it might be a good idea to send a message to Luna to ask her advice on this.”

A week later, there was a dinner at Sugarcube Corner.  Pinkie had the chance to decorate the place.  It was not as ‘over the top’ as some of her parties, but it was lively enough.

There were in attendance; Rainbow, Pinkie and Scootaloo Dash.  Big Mac, Cheerilee, Applejack, Rarity and Apple Bloom Apple along with Zecora.  Twilight, Bubbles, Dinky, Dawn Sparkle along with Sparkler Star.  Lyra and Bon-Bon Heartstrings.  Magnum and Pearl.  Octavia Pie and Vinyl Scratch (Pinkie made a note [no pun intended] to herself to ask about why her sister was with the white unicorn so much).  Filthy, Nouveau, Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle Rich.  There were also Silver Spoon and her new husband Shady Daze.

Rainbow, Twilight, Pinkie and Bubbles were at a table, talking low.  Several of the ponies gathered could tell that they were looking nervous.  Rarity and Applejack walked over to check on their friends.

“Okay you four,” said A.J., “you all look ‘more nervous than a worm in an apple on cider makin’ day’.  You goin’ to tell us what is up or is this all to try to distract our attention?”

“I think what my darling wife is trying to say;” said Rarity, “is that you four have been acting odd for some time.  We thought that we were all PFF’s.  If there is trouble, we want to know.  We have always been there for each other.”

The four looked at each other; they all nodded in consent to Twilight.

“You are right,” said Twilight, “I think it is time to tell everypony.”

With that all four ponies at the table took a large drink of wine.  Twilight stood up and called out.

“Everypony, I would like to tell you all something.” Said Twilight, then taking another slug of wine.

“You all know about the thing that happened about eight years ago when, who we thought was Bubbles late ex-husband returned from the past.  At the same time, Pinkie was in that dreadful accident which nearly killed her.

Shooting Star had put a restraining order on me to keep me from my family, which depressed me as it was.  Then I found out that Pinkie was not going to make it, I had overheard Rainbow telling Pinkie that when Pinkie did pass away, she was going to kill herself rather than go on without her.

That plus the perceived loss of my family caused me to consider a rather extreme measure.  I was going to use a spell to give my life-force to save Pinkie.  I did not want to go on without my family or friends.”

There were some murmurs from the gathered ponies, some had heard this before and for some, it was the first time hearing the details.  Twilight continued;

“Before I could do this, Shooting Star knocked me out and did the spell and gave his life-force to Pinkie in a selfless act for a pony that he did not know.

Or so we thought.  It turned out that he was only incomplete copy of Shooting Star, some evil and uncaring copy.  His actions were a deeper plot to get control of my power by holding part of pinkie’s spirit hostage in the underworld.  It was to get me to come to him in a situation that I would have been at a disadvantage.  He was going to use his knowledge and my power to take over Equestria, and then the world.

Through the skills of our friends Zecora and Apple Bloom, Rainbow and I went to the underworld to save Pinkie.  We defeated Shooting Star with the help of Pinkie who learned magic while sharing minds with Shooting Star.

This most or all of you have all heard.  And for the most part it is all the important points.”

Twilight paused, she looked at her companions, who gave her a look of ‘go ahead’;

“What you don’t know is how we were able to defeat Shooting Star when he had the advantage of the situation that things work different in the underworld.

His intent was to distract us enough that we could not learn how to cope with the differences in time, physics and magic to properly defend ourselves and save Pinkie.

This is the part you are going to have to take on faith or go talk to the princesses to get verification.

Time in the underworld does not work the same as here.  Past, present and future are all accessible at the same time.  Shooting Star had learned that in the distant future, that after Bubbles and Pinkie were gone, that Rainbow and I would look to each other for comfort and fall in love.”

More murmurs from the ponies.  Twilight went on;

“He took advantage of the situation and made Rainbow and I not only realize this fact, but by using the odd time flow, made us feel the feelings of that future time, and perhaps some feelings that were there to begin with.  He had hoped to confuse us.  By distracting us and having to deal with these feelings he would be able to overcome us and take over my body and return to the real world and conquer.

Being he was what he was, he forgot the power that real love can have on a pony.  I was willing to let Shooting Star take over my body, counting on the fact that Rainbow would kill me when we got back.  I was willing to die for the ponies I love.  That is Bubbles, my children, Rainbow, Pinkie and all of you.  However, Rainbow was willing to sacrifice herself by taking Shooting Star to limbo herself, to save the ponies she loves.  Not just Pinkie but myself, Bubbles and all of you ponies as well.”

Twilight paused.  She was not sure if she was getting the points across that she was trying to.  The ponies in the crowd were talking among themselves.

“What are you trying to say, Darling?” asked Rarity.

Twilight took a deep breath.

“The feelings that we were made aware of were not some illusion.  They were real feelings that we would have felt in the future.  But because of the situation, they became a part of us now.  Rainbow, Pinkie, Bubbles and I have become in love with each other equally.

It is nothing that we intended, but now that it happened, it is nothing that we can overlook.  We have been afraid to let you, our friends and family, know for fear of what you might think.  We have tried to be discreet but it has become harder as time goes by.  As all of you know, love, that is good love, grows.

Princess Luna explained it to us that it was as if we four are now truly married to each other.”

The four ponies hung their heads, as if they were ready to receive ridicule from ponies that they respected greatly.  The other ponies around talked among themselves.  Not sure what to think or what it is that they were hearing.

Then Filthy Rich stepped forward as if to talk to Twilight but he turned to talk to the ponies gathered.

“I know that you ponies know what I went through when Diamond and Sweetie were dating.  I had my head so far up my flanks it looked like I needed to have a window installed in my stomach so I could see where I was going.”  Several ponies chuckled.  “I learned that love is not always what I judge it to be.  My thoughts are not the rule, only the heart is.

Had I not learned to be open to what love really is, I would have lost my wife, my son, my daughter and the pony that turned out to be the best business partner ever, my new daughter, Sweetie Belle.  And the result of my changing my mind was a more satisfying and fulfilling relationship with my family and friends.

Plus, I don’t think that there is a pony here that would go face to face with Princess Luna and tell her what she thinks about love is wrong.”

Most ponies that had known Filthy before were in shock to hear him talk thus.

“If four ponies are in love with each other, I say fantastic!  If there are any problems with such a relationship, then it is something that they have to work through among themselves.  I for one will be here to support them, just as they supported my daughters when they were going through their time of discovery.”

Cheers broke out among the ponies gathered.  There were hugs and well wished to the four ponies.

Most went back to snacking and talking among themselves.  That is all but A.J. and Rarity.  They just stood by until all the other ponies had finished talking to the four.

“What’s wrong?” asked Bubbles.

“Did you not trust us to tell us up front?” asked Rarity, sounding hurt.

“No!  Celestia no!” said Twilight, “every time we have talked this through.  We have always acknowledged that the two of you were the last ponies we had to worry with.  It is only recently that we have even decided to come clean about this.

We have kept it from even our closest family.  It was not our intention to hurt you or A.J.’s feelings.  We have been emotional wrecks for the last eight years.  Having to hide our feelings.  Trying to hide our relationships.  While being deeply in love with each other, not just lust, not just some sick game.  But the real, life changing love that strengthens and completes a pony’s life.”

Twilight started to have tears roll down her cheeks.

“Twilight!  Darling!”  Said Rarity, “I did not mean anything bad by asking.  We can tell that what you are saying is the truth.  It is just that it might have been easier to approach us first.  We might not love you four like you now love each other.  But we love you more than just casual friends.”

Rarity hugged Twilight; A.J. joined her as did Rainbow, Pinkie and Bubbles.

Rarity then giggled;

“You could have at least bragged to us about it!  So tell me, is it just loving each other?  Or is it LOVING each other?”

“Rarity!” Bubbles smiled and said in the best imitation of Rarity’s ‘proper’ voice, “A lady does not talk about such things!”

“Sounds like fun to me!” said A.J.

“You have no idea!” said Pinkie.

All laughed.

It was noticed that Dinky, Scootaloo and Dawn were standing close by.

“So we want to know, what this means to us?” said Dinky.  “Are we going to have to fight for attention from our parents?’

“Or do we have four mothers now?” asked Scootaloo.

The four just looked at each other.

“If you want to have four mothers, that would be fine with all of us!” said Rainbow.

“Goody!” said Dawn. “I know that my new mom Pinkie will give me all the candy I want, just like before.  But now I don’t have to worry about it now because she is my mom too!”

“Pinkie!” exclaimed Rainbow, Twilight and Bubbles together.

All laughed.

Later that evening, the four were sitting in the living area of the library.  The entire extended family was there; Dinky, Dawn, Sparkler and Scootaloo.

They had had dinner together, the talk had been light.  Scootaloo and Dinky told them that they had figured as much about their relationship.  Dawn was still slightly naive to some of the workings, but she was willing to accept Rainbow and Pinkie as part of a now extended family.

“So I suppose that now that everything is out in the open,” said Scootaloo, “you will be upgrading your living arrangements.”

“To tell the truth, Squirt,” said Rainbow, “we have not gotten that far with this yet.”

“Yes,” said Twilight, “that is what we were hoping to talk about this evening.  The library is too small to accommodate three more adult ponies.”

“And the cloud house is a little too small to add four more ponies and make room for Sparkler’s visits.  Plus accommodating to unicorns is a little tricky.  Twilight can make it where you can walk on clouds.  But the logistics of getting from the ground to the house and back could be a problem.”

“Dinky is starting to manage some teleportation, but I have never been able to manage it,” said Sparkler, “not that mom has not tried to work with me on it.  I have started looking for my own place, but it is nice to visit my parents.”

“It is okay Darling,” said Bubbles, “I have learned from Twilight that not all unicorns are able to do that.”

“And I really don’t think that there any homes in Ponyville that might be big enough to hole a family of seven with guest room.” Said Pinkie, thinking out loud.

“I guess that this is something we have to look into.” Said Twilight, “perhaps one of the princesses would have a suggestion.  They have access to more info that anypony here.”