The Bubbly Mare Updated! · 4:34am Jun 26th, 2019
Added Chapter 3, 10 -- "Mirror"
In our last chapter Derpy was comfortably laying in the Apple family's guest bedroom, her thoughts revolving around what to do with her present mistakes. This chapter, however, like many of the ones before, delves into the past. As a filly Derpy watched her mommy and others make a lot of decisions she didn't really know what they meant. That's part of childhood, though, trying to understand the grown-up world. Not everyone asks themselves as an adult, however, if those decisions made were good ones, as a lot of them are just things we've always known, but for the most part we can say we hope they were made in our best interest.
Whew, for those enjoying this story, hope it's been fun and thank you for your patience! It is nearing the end, and I gotta say, this is one of the most challenging things I've ever written because of how the narrative is structured. I normally don't like more rigid structures, but there's something seductive about this pattern and so far I haven't written myself into a corner, knock on wood.
Also, sorry it's taken so long. I've somewhat of a case of real life stuff all at once, plus convention plans and long term plans down the road. It's for the most part been good, though I am a bit bummed this will be the last season of MLP. Good news is after it's over I still plan to write fanfiction for G4 as long as there's a platform for it.
Hope everyone's well!
Peace 
The good news is that, at least in my opinion, sites like Deviant Art and Fur Affinity will always be platforms for G4. It's those sites, along with even Fan Fiction.Net?, that allow us to keep what some may feel done from never truly going away.
However, to the point of the chapter, I had fun thinking on it more as I went into work today. Your notes here on how children really don't have much say in adult / parent decisions really hits home. Especially as my son has, on a number of occasions, told me that he "Doesn't want to be tossed around like a football." as a result of the divorce.
I also think of him as we go into the final BC. Will I be able to ensure he is happy? He really wants to go and has wanted to go for quite awhile. However will I be able to keep him feeling comfortable? I do hope we can all have a great and very memorable time. :)
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Thanks for the kind words, Yosh
I probably had the most mechanical trouble with this chapter that I've had in a while, but it seems to have worked out okay. I didn't want the whole idea of keeping Derpy out of the loop to feel contrived, while also hinting here and throughout the past few that maybe Diamond didn't want to be looked at too closely by a doctor, seeing as she already knew what she might be getting from having had Derpy. That's something that gave me reason to be a bit hesitant.
Coming from a family that's had a few divorces I've seen it can be tough, on the kids and the parents. The most important thing I've observed in all the time I've spent talking with my different siblings that've got divorced is to be as stable as you can. Part of what I see that's in there, not wanting to be tossed around like a football, looks to me like he might want no drama, and stability... which are two fundamental things we all want in our relationships. There's nothing you can do to control what other people do, however... and that's another icky part of reality.
As always, I wish you luck with your endeavors and thanks again for your thoughts on The Bubbly Mare. If Fimfiction ever appears ready to shut down I'll head to one of those sites you mentioned.
Peace