//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: What have you done? 
// Story: Stories From a Single Mother 
// by emerald_shine 
//------------------------------//

"Time Turner?"

I look down to the ground as he stays silent. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. "It was one time. She came onto me. I know that's no excuse but I hope that makes it better."

I try to speak but instead just end up stammering. "W-what?"

"About two months ago, the TARDIS broke down in the middle of a trip. We had to wait about two days for it to reboot. One of those nights, Rose walked into my room and she was kind of drunk and... well... you know."

"Why?" That was the only question running through my mind. "Am I not good enough for you? Or do you just not love me anymore?"

"No! Derpy! I still love you! I know there's nothing I could ever say or do that would make you believe that but I swear! It wasn't my fault! She came to me and-"

"And what? You couldn't tell her no? You could't tell her you have a wife and two kids that would be devastated if you ever EVER did something like this?"

"I tried! She wouldn't take no for an answer!"

"Then you could have made her! You cannot dismiss responsibility for your actions Time Turner! Do you know how it feels to have a husband that is away from home almost all the time and then finally have him come home after two weeks to hear that he's cheating on you?"

Time Turner sighed. "I know. It's the same way I would feel if I knew you were cheating on me while I was away. But I can promise you it won't ever happen again!"

I sigh. "Please. Just leave me alone right now. I need to think."

He nods. "I'm going to go to bed. You can do whatever you feel is necessary. Even, if you decide to leave me, it's your choice. I know what I did was unforgivable. But I hope you can find it in your heart to stay with me. I love you Derpy." 

He walks over to me and attempts to put a hoof on my shoulder. I smack it away. "Fuck off. Or better yet, go fuck Rose."

He sighs. "I deserve that. Fair enough. Congrats on the win." With that, he walks off towards the bedroom. When the door closes, I get up slowly. My legs are a little shaky as I stand. I slowly and carefully walk over to the couch and fall down on it.
I curl up into a ball and begin sobbing softly.

After about five minutes, I feel a small hoof on my shoulder. "Not now Time Turner." I turn around to see Sparkler standing there with tears in her eyes.

She begins to shake her head slightly. "I h-h-heard everything."

I get up. "Oh no no no Sweetheart. You weren't supposed to hear that." I encase her in a hug as she begins sobbing. I can feel the tears running down my back. "It's all gonna be okay."

"No i-it's not. Y-You're gonna l-leave him and w-we're n-never gonna see him a-again." Her words were all interrupted by the sounds of her gasps for air as she continued crying. I let her softly fall through my hooves as she falls slowly to the floor.

"It's all gonna be okay honey." I walk over to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen and pull out a bottle with a glowing orange liquid. I walk over and uncork the bottle. I pick up Sparkler's head despite her eyes refusing to look up. I put the tip of the bottle to her lips. I tip her head back and watch as the liquid begins flowing into her mouth. "Drink this honey. It will all feel better."

As she finishes the bottle, the potion's effects immediately begin to take effect. Her tears stop quickly and her breathing steadies. She begins to fall slowly back to the ground as she falls asleep. I read the label on the bottle, "Ease Potion" I knew I would need this. Thanks Twilight! I place the bottle in the trash and walked back over to the couch.

I curled back up onto the couch and begin to cry myself to sleep.


* * *


"It never seems to be enough does it?"

I swivel around to face the dark alicorn in front of me. I immediately bow down in front of her. "Princess Luna! I'm honored!"

Luna waves a hoof. "Now now, there's no need for all of that. This is your dream! You're the ruler here. If anything, I should be bowing down to you." I laugh as she gives a small bow.

"What brings you around?"

"You've had a rough night haven't you?"

I nod. "How could you tell?"

Luna sighs. "I often enter the dreams of the ponies under the most stress. You seemed to be the most stressed out of anypony in Ponyville. What's going on?"

"It's Time Turner."

"Ah yes!" Luna clapped her hooves. "Your husband! I will say, the work that he and Roseluck do for the universe is mighty impressive." A look of concern goes across her face as she notices my lack of enthusiasm. "Is something wrong?"

"He cheated on me with Rose."

Luna's eyes widened. "Really? He truly doesn't seem like that kind of pony."

"It's worse. Sparkler knows as well. She found out somehow. I had to use a potion to put her to sleep."

Luna sighed. "Yes. Your daughter's been under some stress the past two nights. Almost like there's a secret she's hiding that she cannot let out."

"A secret? Can you tell me what it is?"

"I'm sorry Derpy. There are some things I can't share about other pony's dreams."

I stomp a hoof on the floor. "I'm her mother! If she's keeping secrets from me,I have the right to know!"

Luna shook her head. "Unfortunately, you don't. I'm sorry."

I shake my head slightly. "I'm sorry, your highness. I shouldn't have raised my voice at you. Please forgive me."

Luna smiled and nodded. "So what do you plan to do about this situation?"

"I don't know. He has a big trip he's gonna be taking coming up here. I'm probably gonna think about it while he's away."

Luna nodded. "For now, I would recommend giving attention to Sparkler. Let her know that she's loved and appreciated. Maybe then she'll be willing to open up to you a little more."

I put a hoof to my chin. "I don't understand. She's always been the responsible one in the family. I can't think of a single reason why she would suddenly start keeping secrets from me."

Luna nodded. "There might just be some things she isn't willing to share about things like her mental health or her personal life. Maybe try to focus a little more on her than Dinky?"

"Dinky is a big job. It's hard to take my eyes off of her for two seconds without her breaking something or getting into trouble."

Luna nodded softly. "I'm just suggesting. It could be worth your while. Enjoy the rest of the night."

With that, Luna smiled softly and disappeared in a flash of light, leaving me alone in my own little world. I just let my thoughts run wild as I began walking around the small field I found myself in. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get my mind off of the fact that Time Turner had slept with a pony who wasn't me.

My biggest question to myself was: Am I going to ever be able to forgive him?


* * *



The next two days went by quicker than the clap of a hoof.

I basically ignored Time Turner for the next two days. Despite his numerous attempts to talk to me, I wouldn't give him the time of day. Eventually, it came time for him to leave. He hugged Sparkler and Dinky goodbye. He then turned to me. "I assume I don't get a hug goodbye?"

I shrug. "You shouldn't. But since Dinky is watching, just this once." I reach over and very lightly hug him. I know that it isn't a good thing to hold a grudge, but I couldn't help myself at this moment. As we hug, I hiss into his ear, "have fun with Rose!"

He pulls back and walks over towards the TARDIS. He closes the door and looks through the window as it begins to take off. I see him mouth the words I'm sorry in my direction. I dismiss it as I walk back towards the house. When we enter, Dinky runs off to her room to play with her toys. I sit down at the kitchen table and Sparkler joins me.

"Are you going to take another potion tonight?" I ask her.

Sparkler slightly shakes her head. "It's helped the past couple of nights but I can't keep relying on magic to help me cope with my problems." I nod and we sit in silence for a few more moments.

"I am curious, how did you hear me and your dad talking? We were talking quietly."

Sparkler smiled. "Let me show you! It's really cool!" She hopped up and gestured for me to stand as well. She held out her hoof and I took it. She then said, "Watch that wall over there." I nod.

She lights her horn up in a purple glow and shoots a small ray of magic at the wall. When I look back at the wall, I see a hole that is surrounded by a purple aura. I can see directly into Sparkler's bedroom.

"Why did you put a hole in my wall?" I half-yelled.

Sparkler stopped me quickly. "No! Mom!" She laughs a little. "Let go of my hoof." I do as she said and suddenly,the hole in the wall is gone. I grab her hoof again and it's back. "It's an x-ray spell! Lyra taught me how to do it!"

"Wow! That is seriously cool! Why were you doing it though?"

Sparkler cuts off the spell and the wall returns to normal. I let go of her hoof as she said, "Every night that he's home, you and dad play some sort of board game. I always love watching. Especially when it's chess!"

I smile. That's my girl. "I hope you know, Sparkler, that nothing is decided yet. I'm taking my time to think things over."

She nodded. "Yeah. I know. I don't blame you for anything. He was the one who did it."

I nod. Suddenly, we hear a small voice from Dinky's bedroom. "Sparky! Come play with me!" Sparkler giggles and runs off to Dinky's room. Once I'm sure nopony is watching, I run over to the counter and grab my laptop. I log in and access a new media program I downloaded.

During the two days I was giving Time Turner the silent treatment, he spent quite a lot of time out of the house with the kids. That gave me the perfect opportunity to sneak into the TARDIS and plant some small cameras. I wanted to see exactly what was going on when he thought I wasn't around.

When I flipped on the cameras, I think I caught Rose in the middle of a sentence. "-About us?!" She sounded angry and was partly yelling at Time Turner. He yelled right back.

"She had the right to know Rose! And you know what? I don't care if it was just one night! I fucked up and I don't think I can ever go back!"

Rose walked forward and started moving a hoof around Time Turner's chest. She spoke softly and seductively as she looked at him with soft eyes. "Well then, why not leave her? You and I could run away together. We could 'have fun' without needing to worry about another mare in the picture. What do you say?"

Time Turner pushed her away. "No Rose! Despite what you may wish, I'm in love with Derpy! NOT YOU!" I could tell that he had said those last two words with a little more harshness than he had meant to. He definitely got his point across though. Rose hung her head and walked towards her room.

"Fine. Let me know if you change your mind."

I couldn't help but smile at how he had defended our marriage. Maybe it really was just a mistake. A moment of weakness maybe. Something about me almost wanted to give him another chance. I watched as he sat down at the table in the room they were in. He sighed as he put his hoof on his head. He reached across the table and picked up a framed picture of him, me, Dinky, and Sparkler.

He kissed my image and put the picture back as he said, "I am so sorry Derpy."

I closed the computer and smiled. He really did still love me more than her. I walked towards my bedroom. As I walked past, I looked into Dinky's room. I smiled at how Sparkler played with her sister. They got along so much better than siblings should. Not that I was complaining of course.

There weren't any other siblings in Ponyville I knew who got along with each other better than Dinky and Sparkler. Applejack and Apple Bloom got along really well but they definitely had their share of fights. With Dinky and Sparkler,something was just different.

They never fight. Ever. I watch for a few more minutes before walking into my room.

I had a lot of thinking to do.