A New Family

by dragonpony111

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Doctor Whooves, Romance, Original Character, Rainbow Dash, Dinky Hooves, Derpy Hooves
Length: 3276

Derpy finds a new very special somepony, and has the time of her life along with her daughter Dinky.

Derpy gets to rediscover what love from another pony feels like, and Dinky has a new sibling on the way and couldn't be happier.

Edit 9/19/2018: I'm back guys after my long hiatus. I plan to be actively writing again for the time being.

Published 2013-03-13 23:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-09-19 06:59:18 UTC

Chapter 1: A New Friend

It had been almost an entire month now since the hearing. Rainbow Dash was long gone only leaving behind her pet tortoise Tank. Dinky stayed in contact with Rainbow Dash through letters that her mother made sure got to Rainbow Dash. The most important change for Derpy though was the right to raise her filly; she finally had earned it permanently and no pony else could take that from her. Even that wasn’t enough for her though; while Derpy was on relatively good terms with a few ponies in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash was her only true friend and her disappearance made Derpy’s home feel even emptier when Dinky was away at school. The bills were still an issue from time to time but the money Dinky got from Rainbow Dash for watching Tank was a big help. The only bad thing that resulted from the hearing was the Dinky really began questioning Derpy about who her father was and what happened to him, a touchy subject Derpy had hope to avoid for as long as possible. One night while trying to find where she had left her Soarin action figure, Dinky stumbled across the destroyed painting in Derpy’s closest. Dinky couldn’t make much out of it except that it was a painting of Derpy. Dinky grabs the piece of the painting that contained Derpy’s face and brings it over to her mother who was in the living room getting the mail sorted for next day’s delivery. Dinky walks over and drops the piece of canvas on top of the mail Derpy was sorting and demanded:

“Mommy why is there a painting of you in your closet? Why is it all messed up?”

“W-Well you see m-muffin, I uh, i-it came fr-from… I guess its t-time I was honest wi-with you Dinky.”

“Honest about what mommy?”

“Your fa-father Dinky, he pa-painted that for m-me.”

“Wow really mommy? So daddy was a painter? But why is it smashed to pieces?”

“You s-see muffin, before y-you were born, your d-daddy had a chance to fo-follow his dream, a dr-dream that didn’t have a-any room for us.”

“So is that why daddy isn’t here with us? What was his dream?”

“Yes mu-muffin, and his dream w-was to paint at ca-canterlot castle for Princess Ce-Celestia.”

“So daddy lives at the royal castle now mommy? Why haven’t we visited him?”

“We-Well Dinky, when you are ol-older you will understand, but he h-had to leave me, and i-it just isn’t po-possible for us to be with him.”

“Then why is the painting he gave you ruined? Wouldn't you want to keep it?”

“You s-see muffin, I tr-tried my best to m-move on so I de-destroyed it to get rid o-of the memories, but I co-couldn’t manage to get r-rid of it co-completely. After a-all Pon… I u-uh mean your fa-father is… or was p-part of our f-family.”

“Why would you want to forget him mommy? Don’t you want our family to be togeth…”

“H-Hush now Dinky! I’ll t-tell you more w-when you are a big pony.”

“I am a big pony mommy! I am! I am! I am!”

Dinky was pretty upset that her mother was hiding things from her, especially something as important as her father, and stomped at the ground furiously in protest but to no avail. Derpy refused to say any more on the matter and told Dinky to go take her bath. The fact of the matter was Dinky was already made fun of enough at school for who her mother was, and Derpy didn’t want Dinky to know her own father didn’t want her as well. Later that night while Derpy was cleaning the house she finds Dinky’s favorite toy shoved under the couch. Derpy brings it to a now sleeping Dinky and sets it down on the bed next to her. Almost like a reflex Dinky reaches out and brings the toy in close, snuggling it against her chest. Before Derpy leaves she whispers to Dinky:

“Y-You’ll know the truth o-one day, sweet dr-dreams my little mu-muffin.”

As time went on though Derpy really struggled with being alone; for the longest time she had Rainbow Dash, and then Ponet as well, but now both of them are gone leaving Derpy to raise Dinky all by herself. Derpy slowly fell into depression as she knew that within a matter of months she won’t be able to afford to send Dinky to school anymore. School had become Dinky’s favorite part of her life as she was able to learn and interact with normal ponies; Dinky loved her mother very much and could care less about her Derpiness but Dinky always enjoyed proving to others she was just as capable as every pony else considering her mother. The routine visits from FPS grew farther apart until they were completely satisfied with Dinky’s progress and stopped visiting all together. This was the last of Derpy’s interaction with other ponies as most ponies were not home at the time Derpy delivered the mail. One day though Derpy was to deliver some mail to a house that had been empty for the longest time, and the name on the envelope said Dr. Whooves and this mail had apparently been forwarded from another address. Derpy was excited with the possibility to make a new friend and went out of her way to visit that house first. When Derpy arrived she noticed there were a bunch of boxes stacked in front of the house, it appeared that somepony had just moved it. The house lacks a mailbox so Derpy knocks on the front door to see if somepony was home. Within a few moments Dr. Whooves answers the door and asks:

“Why hello there, what brings you by to my home? I have just moved here to Ponyville.”

Derpy gets a bit nervous as she stares at the handsome earth stallion and finally says:

“H-Hi my name is Derpy, I’m the ma-mailpony for Ponyville and I de-deliver all the mail.”

“Oh well that must be an interesting job. I’m assuming since you are here you must have some mail for me?

Chapter 2: A Leap Of Faith

“Yes s-sir, I have a few letters for you.”

Derpy is shaking a little as she hands the envelopes to Doctor Whooves who thanks her with a warm smile. Derpy tries to take a step back but as she does she trips and falls backwards off the porch landing flat on her wings, injuring the right one. Doctor Whooves says:

“My dear I hope you are quite alright, but can’t you fly since you are a Pegasus with wings and all?”

While blushing from embarrassment Derpy stutters a sentence saying she is used to it. As Derpy gets up and attempts to take off her injured right wing causes her an immense sharp pain and she quickly falls back down to the ground. Derpy was too embarrassed to move again and just sat there silently in pain until Doctor Whooves says:

“Oh my it seems you have injured one of your wings, but sadly I’m not that kind of doctor, it is more of just a title really. My house is a mess currently with moving in and all but the least I can do is invite you in for some tea.”

Derpy is still silent but nods in agreement. Doctor Whooves helps her up and walks Derpy inside to his couch, which was still wrapped in plastic, and then leaves to go make some tea. Meanwhile Derpy’s current situation, in distress and being invited in to the home of a stallion, and offered a drink, reminds Derpy of when she met Ponet and all the pain he eventually caused; causing Derpy to pass out and to begin having a horrible nightmare. This time when she wakes up though Derpy is relieved to still be on the couch. She notices there is a cup of tea sitting on the table next to her and that Doctor Whooves is busy unpacking boxes. As Derpy tries to stretch her wings she notices that her right wing has been bandaged up tightly. Right then and there Derpy promises herself she won’t let somepony hurt her again like Ponet had. She thanks the earth stallion for his kindness and begins leaving the house stating she needed to get caught up with her mail delivery. Doctor Whooves stops Derpy for a moment to say:

“I do hope your wing heals quickly, and I hope the rest of your day ends up much safer for you.”

“Wh-Why thank you sir, b-but I really must be g-going now.”

As Derpy walks off Doctor Whooves watches her through a window, he couldn't tell what it was but he felt a strong connection to Derpy, a feeling he had never felt before. As the days went on Derpy made her best efforts to just quickly slide Doctor Whooves’ mail under the door and take off before he can say a word to her. Eventually Doctor Whooves started waiting outside for Derpy and the two ponies would have these awkward exchanges as Derpy tried to avoid any conversation past hello/goodbye. Eventually though Doctor Whooves made the effort to ask around Ponyville to find out more about Derpy and where she lived. One day Derpy stopped over at Sugar Cube Corner again to get some delicious muffins. When she walks in a hyper Pinkie asks her:

“Hey Derpy! Hey Derpy! Guess what?”

“Wh-What is it P-Pinkie?”

“An earth stallion was asking about you the other day, and he is awful cute.”

“R-Really? Who was h-he?”

“Hmmmmm I can’t remember his name but I think there was a doctor in it somewhere. He says you keep avoiding him Derpy, why would you do that? I would date him if he didn’t seem so interested in you.”

“Oh y-you see Pinkie, af-after what happened w-with Ponet I can’t risk g-getting hurt like that ag-again.”

“Oh come on now Derpy that was years ago and it wasn’t your fault! You need to stop living your lonely life and smile more! By the way I told that Doctor where you lived because he said he just had to see you, he also bought a bunch of muffins from me.”

“I d-don’t know Pinkie, m-maybe.”

Derpy pays for some muffins and walks out of the bakery, an emotional battle raging inside her head as she is trying to decide whether or not she should trust another pony like that again. Derpy’s main concern was Dinky; at least when Ponet left Derpy and said those hurtful words Dinky wasn’t born yet to experience it, but now she is and Derpy just couldn’t live with herself if Dinky felt that kind of pain. On her way home Derpy stopped by the schoolhouse to pick up Dinky. When Derpy gets there Dinky attempts to climb into her mailbag and says:

“Please mommy can I ride in your mailbag? It’s so much fun.”

“N-no muffin remember y-you are too b-big for it n-now.”

Dinky finally gives up and a sad look falls upon her face as she realizes that is one experience with her mother she will never get to have again. Derpy sees the disappointed look and says:

“Cheer up D-Dinky! Look I br-brought you a m-muffin.”

Dinky instantly perks up as she is addicted to muffins as Derpy is and instantly takes the muffin from her. A good part of the muffins ends up on the ground as crumbs as Dinky takes bites that are too big for her to chew properly. When the two make it home Dinky rushes off to her room as usual to go play and Derpy gets dinner started. So far everything was going like normal until Derpy hears a knock at the door. Derpy attempts to answer but Dinky ran over and beat her to the door. When dinky opens the door it is Doctor Whooves who is standing there and he asks Dinky:

“Why hello there little pony, I’m looking for Derpy she does live here right?”

“Little? I’m not little I’m a big pony! Yes Derpy lives here she is my mommy, oh and you brought... HEY?”

Derpy shoves Dinky aside and approaches Doctor Whooves. Doctor Whooves is carrying a bouquet of muffins and offers it to Derpy while saying:

“Hello again Derpy, I brought you some muffins as Pinkie Pie said they are your favorite thing in all of Equestria. I was hoping I could be lucky enough...”

Derpy slams the door shut and leans her back against it. This was exactly what she was trying to avoid, but it seems that he just won’t give up, so Derpy finally decides to give him a chance and she opens the door.

Chapter 3: From One Doctor To The Next

Re-opening the door Derpy just stood there awkwardly for a few moments, with Doctor Whooves doing the same, though eventually she gathers her mind together to say:

"I'm so-sorry, you seem l-like a very nice st-stallion, but I can't r-risk getting hurt ag-again. Even more so t-that I have my li-little Dinky to look af-after."

Derpy then allowed the stallion inside, and Dinky bounced up and down with joy as she hoped to have some of those muffins the new pony brought. Doctor Whooves noticed and took a muffin from the bouquet, giving it to the excited filly, who then sped off back to her room. Derpy and the Doctor sat down on the comfy couch and Derpy explained her whole past with Ponet and what he did to her, and why she is hesitant about trusting other stallions in that way again. Doctor Whooves was more than understanding and assured Derpy he would never do that to her, stating her eyes or stutter meant in no way affected how he felt for her.

"W-Well, okay then, b-but we only just met a co-couple of weeks ago, l-let's take things sl-slowly."

"That's fine by me Derpy. Then I shall see you tomorrow morning as I wait for my mail. I bid you farewell."

After taking a bow the Doctor graciously leaves the pegasus' home and closes the door behind him. A few moments later Derpy was shocked by the sound of her daughter crying "Mommy" as it pierced the air. She ran into Dinky's room to  see a half eaten muffin on the floor and Dinky rolling around in her bed, intensely crying in pain as she held both of her eyes closed with her hooves. Derpy instantly thought to herself:

"Oh no! Please Celestia don't let my little Dinky have my eyes, Please!"

She then ran over to her bawling filly and gave her a comforting hug.

"There th-there Dinky. Mommy is h-here now."

"But Mommy!! WUAAAHHH!! My eye it!! WUAAAHHH!! Hurts!!"

"I-I know Dinky."

Dinky looked up at her mom uncovering and opening her left eye, still leaving her right eye covered by her hoof. It nearly tore Derpy to pieces having to hold her daughter as she cried intensely in pain, unable to help her. Dinky's expression was both helpless, and hopeful her mother could do something. This reminded Derpy of when she was DInky's age, and how she dealt with it. One of her eyes would be extremely painful when her condition acted up as she was settling into it, and the eye would go Derp for about an hour afterwards. She also remembered her parents gave her an eye patch to wear, which helped keep her eyes from acting up, also making it less painful even when they did. Though when Derpy hit her teenage mare years the fits of pain stopped altogether and her eyes were permanently Derped. Derpy just cradled Dinky tightly for the remainder of the fit, and when it ended she told her daughter:

"Its o-okay Dinky, it's over f-for now. Hold yo-your eye closed still a-as I go get you so-something for it."

Derpy then quickly trotted off to her room and rummaged through her closet until she found her old eye patch. When she returned to Dinky's room she affixed it on to Dinky's head and said:

"Th-There you go, Muffin. Just k-keep that on for n-now."

The old cotton eye patch instantly causes Dinky to fidget and attempt to mess with it, as it is somewhat itchy. She is almost about to take it off when Derpy stops her.

"N-No Dinky! You m-must leave it on!"

"But Mommy! It itches, I want it off!"

"But muffin, i-it will help k-keep the pain away. Y-you want that r-right?"

"Yes Mommy, thank you."

"N-Now get ready for bed D-Dinky. No school f-for you tomorrow, y-you are going to the d-doctor. "

"Oh... Okay mommy."

Dinky then walked off to go take her bath as her mother cleaned the muffin and crumbs off the floor. After that Derpy went to her bed to read the latest issue of Muffin Monthly, and after some time Dinky walked in sniffling almost crying and interrupted her.

"Mommy?"

"Y-Yes Dinky?"

"I looked at in the mirror, I have your eyes, if they stay like that will you still love me?"

"Why o-of course Dinky, you a-are my littlest muffin, a-and I will always l-love and be there f-for you."

Dinky perks up some and walks over to Derpy to give her a hug. She looks up at her and says:

"Mommy, can I sleep with you tonight? Just in case my eyes hurt again?"

Derpy wipes the tears off of Dinky's face and strokes her mane:

"S-Sure Dinky, I'll b-be right here t-to help you."

Dinky jumped up onto the bed with joy and quickly ran underneath the blanket, to resurface snuggled up next to Derpy.

:"Goodnight Mommy. I love you." *drawn out yawn*

Dinky then drifted off to sleep.

"I love y-you too Muffin."

Derpy gave Dinky a goodnight kiss and set the magazine on the nightstand, and turned off the lamp. She better settled into bed and wrapped her legs around Dinky. She had to readjust several times as Dinky would turn in her sleep and her horn would poke Derpy, the main reason she didn't let Dinky sleep with her anymore.

Dinky woke up with the sensation of being gently pushed around, and couldn't see anything. She could feel canvas walls which told her she must be in her mother's saddlebag. Dinky quickly shuffled around to poke her head out of the bag, and had to squint as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. Derpy noticed her daughter waking up and said:

"Good mo-morning Dinky."

"Where are we going mommy?"

"T-To the Doctor's o-office. We need to g-get there early."

"Okay mommy, but I'm hungry. Can we stop to eat?"

"Yes Muffin."

After about half an hour of walking Derpy stopped at a snack cart on the side of the road and bought Dinky a foal's meal that contained a sippy cup of cider, a small bunch of hayfries, and a daffodil sandwich.

"That'll be six bits ma'am."

"H-Here you go."

Derpy reached into her other saddlebag and picked up a small bag of bits with her mouth, and shook out six bits onto the cart. Dinky had already readjusted herself so that she sat up with her front legs hanging over the bag. Derpy handed the bag to Dinky who quickly snatched. The filly began eating the hayfries first as they were her favorite. After finishing the last bite of her sandwich Dinky lets out a satisfying burp and falls back asleep in the saddlebag, suckling her now empty sippy cup.

Chapter 4: Double Vision

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