What Went Wrong?

by StormbadgerXIII

Returning Home

Derpy felt a hoof shake her gently. She groaned and turned over, facing away from the pony nudging her. She had just gotten into a good sleep, too...

"Miss Hooves?"

"Frrv mrr mnnrts..."

"Miss Hooves, it's me. Sweetie Belle."

Derpy cracked open an eye. "Whu...?"

A rather pretty young mare stood across from her, smiling gently. She had a very light grey coat and a purple-pink mane, beautifully combed. She looked very out of place in the prison. "Miss Hooves, please, I need to talk to you."

Derpy sat up and rubbed her eyes; her glasses had fallen off in her sleep. She fumbled around and found them, then put them back on. "Sorry... I had a terrible sleep."

"I apologise." Sweetie Belle said in a soothing voice. "But this was the only way we could get you here without any suspicion."

"Right..." Derpy yawned.

"I was told by the guards who escorted you that you protected them from Gilda's bandits." She smiled. "That was very brave of you."

"Thanks..." Derpy sighed. "So... what now?"

"Now? You come with me and I'll answer any questions you need to know."

Derpy stood up and stabilised herself with a few wingbeats. The white-coated mare led her out of the cell and led her across the prison block. Most of the cells were empty, and in the few that weren't the prisoners all looked... sad. The sort of sad that she had seen in the 'FPM'; the sadness of loss. Sweetie Belle looked back at her.

"Prisoners of war... we treat them as well as we're allowed to, but I still don't think it's enough."

Derpy's eyes locked onto a young colt, sitting in the corner of his cell. He looked like he was barely old enough for a cutie mark. His eyes were distant and empty.

"Please, Miss Hooves, follow me." Sweetie Belle said softly. Derpy shook her head and reluctantly followed her, her mind still looking into the eyes of the young colt.

The two of them were lead into a rather decently-furnished room. A painting of Celestia hung up on the wall, the Princess standing regally on the edge of a cliff during sunrise. Or was it sunset?

"Please, sit down. Would you like something to drink?" Sweetie Belle asked, trotting up to a bench.

"Just water, please." Derpy sighed, sitting down on a nice, soft chair. Sweetie Belle walked over with a glass of water and a mug of gently steaming liquid in her magic aura. Derpy grabbed the glass in her forehooves and took a sip.

"I'm sorry about Thunderlane..." Sweetie Belle murmured.

"It wasn't your fault." Derpy smiled.

"I'm a Lieutenant in the CSE. I sent my troops into that siege. As far as I know, one of my ponies could have killed him."

Derpy sighed. "I know, but you didn't kill him yourself."

"True... but it does kinda feel like it." Sweetie Belle took a sip from her mug, then exhaled slowly. "But anyway... I'm sure you have some questions for me."

Derpy shook her head. "I don't think so. I just want to see my daughter, then Twilight, then get away from all of this..." she faded off.

"Please, just rest a moment. You've been walking around a lot, and you've been shot recently." Sweetie Belle took another sip of her drink. "Caramel told m-"

A knock on the door. "Excuse me a moment." Sweetie Belle said, placing her mug on the coffee table. She walked up to the door and opened it. "Who is it?"

"Sweetie Belle, darling!" Another mare exclaimed, barging in. "I've been worried sick about you!"

"Thanks, Rarity, but I'm fine." Sweetie Belle hugged her sister. "Why the sudden visit?"

"Oh, you have no idea how much I've been dying to see you... not to mention have another cup of your delicious tea." Rarity smiled, then froze as her eyes found Derpy. She stammered, her pupils becoming pinpricks. "...my stars..."

"Oh, yeah, I also have a guest." Sweetie Belle offered meekly, trotting to the bench and preparing her sister a drink. "It's a long story."

Rarity walked up to Sweetie Belle, still in shock. "Are you... I mean... is this Derpy?"

"Hi." Derpy said, waving a hoof.

Rarity giggled nervously back, then turned to Sweetie Belle and whispered something in here ear. Sweetie Belle retorted sharply in a similar fashion. Rarity gasped quietly, before turning to face the pegasus.

"So, Derpy... um... how are you?"

Derpy raised a hoof and shook it slightly. "Eh." Rarity tried for a winning smile but probably it wasn't convincing enough. She sighed, turning to her sister.

"Now, Sweetie Belle, I would like you to see some of my latest designs and provide some critiques." She accentuated that last word, before telekinetically grabbing three mannequins from outside of the room. Each was dressed in a fancy type of white and gold uniform, each bearing Celestia's cutie mark on the chest. She beamed happily.

"Oooh, fancy." Sweetie Belle muttered, levitating a cup of tea up to her sister. "They look pretty good."

"I was up all night finishing them off." Rarity said, almost maniacally, taking a sip of her drink. "This one-" she shook one of the mannequins, with a orangey-red beret on its lifeless, featureless head "-is designed for Earth ponies or unicorns. This one-” she shook another, and Derpy noticed it had a couple of holes where wings could poke through "-is for pegasi, and this one-” the third had a hole in the brim of the peaked cap "-is designed for lieutenants and above." She paused for a second. "The hole in the brim is optional, by the way."

"Wow." Sweetie Belle said then walked up to the pegasus-friendly uniform as it was set down. "But... aren't these a bit... conspicuous?"

Rarity looked at the white and gold uniforms, then back at Sweetie Belle. "Well, we can't have ourselves looking as shabby and garish as the Republic, can we?"

"Rarity, their clothing is camouflaged for a reason..."

"It's still garish." Rarity muttered, looking away and flushing in annoyance.

Sweetie Belle sighed. "But it works. Why don't you, I don't know, ask Twilight to provide you with some sort of invisibility or camouflage enchantment thingy for them?"

Rarity groaned. "Twilight's been too busy with some other project to even come out of her laboratory and eat, let alone just say hi."

"What sort of project?" Derpy asked.

"Something really complicated or very important. The only way I've been able to talk with Twilight was through Spike or even the Princess."

"That reminds me, I've got to contact Twilight soon." Sweetie Belle murmured. "She'll want to hear about Derpy."

Rarity nodded, then her as her eyes fell on her dresses they widened. She gasped. "Ideeeaaa~!"

Derpy and Sweetie Belle exchanged glances.

Rarity stepped back and grinned uncontrollably. "These new uniforms are absolutely marvellous!"

Sweetie Belle adjusted the peaked cap, frowning. "I dunno, this hole in the cap is really weird."

Derpy found that the uniform fit perfectly on her, a testament to either the unicorn magic used to create it or Rarity's skills. It was surprisingly comfortable, too, and her wings had fit through the holes easily. She caught her reflection; she looked pretty cool in a deep red beret. Her own body, though, looked messy and dirty. She realised she hadn't had a shower for a very, very long time.

"Well, there is an option to remove it." Rarity replied to her little sister, snapping Derpy's thoughts away. "In case one does not have a horn."

"Um..." Derpy murmured. "While this is really comfortable, can I take it off?" She smiled awkwardly. "I don't want to dirty it up."

"Never fear, my dear, they are stain-resistant and self-cleaning." She smiled. "Keeps you looking nice and clean in battle."

Sweetie Belle groaned. "It doesn't matter how self-cleaning these are if you don't have armour."

Rarity pondered. "Perhaps I should put a light shield spell in these..."

"Or a heavy one." Sweetie Belle suggested. "Or just have the ability to put armour over or under it."

Rarity balked. "Then how will others see one's rank?"

"Put it on the armour? Make a coat that goes over it? I dunno, but uniforms are not armour."

"Can I take this off?" Derpy asked quietly, her words falling on deaf ears.

"Rarity, have you even been on a battlefield?"

"Um..." Rarity faltered. "I... uh..."

"Obviously not. Well, I have, and I'll tell you this much, the last thing you worry about is your uniform."

Rarity sighed. "Alright, I give. You have the battle experience." She looked up and smiled. "These can be for wearing at the HQ!"

"Well, ok." Sweetie Belle said. "Just design a coat or a set of armour for when we are in battle." She smirked. "Besides, coats are pretty cool."

Rarity nodded, then after a brief but tight hug bid her farewells and trotted out of the room, the mannequins following. Sweetie Belle sighed, her head lowering.

"Can I take this off now?" Derpy asked, smiling awkwardly. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, smiling.

Sweetie Belle suggested leaving the uniforms on. It would allow Derpy to blend in better, she said. Derpy felt weird in the crisp, clean uniform. She really needed that shower.

As the two of them walked to Twilight's laboratory, they passed several young, uniform-clad ponies, each throwing a salute to them. Sweetie Belle saluted back. Derpy didn't, just stood there looking really awkward. Not that anyone seemed to notice her anyway.

Sweetie Belle hesitated suddenly, Derpy slamming into her rump.

"Sergeant Major Rich." She muttered. "Report."

Three ponies walked up; a pink mare with a white/purple mane, dressed in a nice, clean, well-looked after (or just a new) uniform. Another, a grey and silver pony, followed behind her. The third was a light-beige unicorn with a curly orange mane, barely old enough to be in the military.

Rich didn't salute. In fact, she had an air of superiority, as if others should salute to her. "There's, like, nothing to report."

"Nothing to report, ma'am." Sweetie Belle said in a low voice.

"What about the-” the grey one started, before a raised hoof stopped her.

"Shut up, Spoon."

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. "No no, go on."

"But-” Rich started.

"Diamond Tiara, I am the senior officer. She is allowed to speak."

"It's... um... nothing, ma'am." The grey mare said.

"No it wasn't!" The orange-maned one shouted. "It was a dragon!"

"A dragon?" Sweetie Belle asked, shocked more than anything.
"Shut up, you!" Diamond Tiara growled.

"Yeah, a dragon." Spoon continued. "We only just saw it fly overhead, but it was, like, huge!"

"Shut up! I order you to shut up!" Diamond frantically screamed, flailing her hooves at the two ponies. Derpy just snickered.

"And I order them to continue." Sweetie Belle calmly contributed, gesturing for the two ponies to continue.

"I think it was a green dragon." The young beige one continued. Derpy found herself seeing some similarities between her and somepony else... but who...?

"It was still huge and, like, looked nasty." Spoon continued.

"Thanks for the report." Sweetie Belle smiled. "I'll make sure you're rewarded for your diligence." She turned to Diamond Tiara. "As for you, because you attempted to suppress important info..."

Diamond Tiara gulped.

"...I'll make sure you're punished." And with that, she turned away and walked off. Derpy followed, hearing Diamond's pathetic attempt at threats. Sweetie Belle chuckled a little.

Derpy frowned. "That young mare... who is she?"

"Pumpkin Cake."

Derpy froze. The then muttered to herself, "Pound's sister..."

Sweetie Belle's face dropped. "I know... Pumpkin's here while Pound's with the Republic. It was just bad timing that made it that way."

"Bad timing?"

"I don't know exactly what happened, but..." Sweetie Belle hesitated. "She was thrown into the war because she had a skillset no-one could let pass up."

Derpy nodded. Sweetie Belle shook her head. "Anyway, come on. Twilight will want to see you."

Spike stood outside of Twilight's room, leaning on the door looking completely and utterly bored. "Twilight, come on. You've been in there for days."

"It's important!" Twilight growled through the door. The sounds of sparks and electricity sounded, with a yelp following.

"You ok?" Spike asked, as if this was the hundredth time he had. Which, unbeknownst to Derpy, it was.

"Fine!" Twilight replied.

Spike turned to see Sweetie Belle and Derpy trot up. He stood straight and waved.

"Hey Spike." Sweetie Belle chimed. Spike was just a little bit taller than last Derpy remembered, his muzzle slightly longer and his whole form more wicked looking. His legs were longer and thinner than before, and he looked less chubby.

"Hey Sweetie Belle. Hey Derpy." He replied, waving at the pegasus' direction. Derpy waved back with a wing.

"Can I see Twilight? I've got something important to tell her." Sweetie Belle asked. Before Spike could respond, another, more impressive voice called out from the other direction.

"I would like to see her as well." Princess Celestia said, walking out from a turn in the corridor. Following beside her was a tall white pony with a short blue mane and rather... impressive... horn. Derpy blushed a little but if anyone noticed they didn't say anything. Sweetie Belle saluted the two newcomers, whereas Derpy bowed to Celestia.

"At ease, lieutenant." Celestia smiled. Derpy looked up and stood up. "So, I suppose you're here to talk to Twilight about Derpy's little time problem?"

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Twilight said something about getting her back, apparently."

"So that's what this is about." The stallion muttered. "I just came here to see my sister again, but ah well." Sister? Derpy's eyes widened. So that's who he was.

Celestia smiled. "I've wanted to tell her to take a break once in a blue moon." She slowed down slightly on the mention of moon. Derpy could imagine why. "She's been working dreadfully hard recently."

Spike turned and knocked on the door again.

"No, Spike, I am not coming out!"

"You have visitors!"

"Who?"

"Sweetie Belle..." He counted on his fingers, a trait Derpy felt a certain mint-green mare would be jealous of. "Celestia, Shining Armour and Derpy Hooves."

"Derpy Hooves?!" Twilight yelled. Immediately they heard papers flying, likely due to Twilight zipping up to the door. She flung it right open, grinning maniacally.

"There you are." Celestia smiled calmly, hoping to soothe Twilight. It didn't work. Twilight's eyelid twitched spasmodically, as she located Derpy. Derpy gave a weak smile back, waving with her wing again.

"Derpy! You're here! Just as predicted, and only a few moments too soon!" She giggled, dancing on the spot. Shining and Sweetie Belle shared confused glances. Celestia raised an eyebrow. Derpy gulped.

"May we come in?" Celestia asked, calmly.

"No!" Twilight instinctively replied, then froze, blushed and then coughed awkwardly. "I-I mean, sure. Just don't touch anything, ok?"

Derpy found herself sitting on a chair while Sweetie Belle handed everyone drinks. Derpy had opted for water again, Shining took a strong coffee and Celestia some tea. Twilight had said no to a drink, and was still working on... whatever it was. Derpy noticed it was very similar to the device which had sent her over here in the first place. Seeing it filled her with a smidge of dread.

"So, Derpy, I don't mean to sound rude but have you... been busy... during your time here?" Celestia asked, smiling. Derpy felt calmer around her, but I guess if she wasn't a calming presence Equestria would be vastly different to what it was... fifteen years ago? Today? Stupid time travel.

"Oh. Um... yeah, kinda. Mostly a lot of travelling here and there. Getting shot at wasn't fun, then hearing Thunderlane had died was pretty awful." She looked away as she trailed off.

"A lot of ponies have lost something or someone thanks to my stupidity." Celestia said, looking up to the ceiling; it displayed a mural of her and Luna happily helping Equestria in its early days. "I lost my sister, and now she hates me..."

Derpy thought, her face scrunching up. Did Luna actually hate Celestia? Or did she just not like fighting her?

"Something troubling you, Miss Hooves?" Celestia asked.

"I'm not sure Luna actually hates you..."

The monarch of the morning's eyes widened with a little bit of hope. "You spoke with Luna?"

Derpy nodded. "Not for long, though. But she never actually said you were bad or anything." She put a hoof to her chin. "Not that I remember anyway."

"I see." Celestia sighed. "I try to do well for my subjects, but most ponies here are devoted to me and... well... treat me like a goddess." She chuckled sadly. "That, or Canterlot is the only place where viable trading is still taking place, and they want or need more money." She shut her eyes. "But... what the shattered remains of Equestria's governments have done to one another..."

Derpy looked up and thought she saw a tear coming from Celestia's eyes. Sweetie Belle walked over and put a hoof on the Princess' back. Shining just smiled.

"Well, I'm only really here because I'm a captain." Shining added. "I would have preferred to stay out of this, but my duties said otherwise." He sighed. "I'm going to be a father soon... I don't want my son or daughter growing up in this world..."

"Cadence is pregnant?" Celestia asked.

"Yep." Shining smiled. "Has been for two months now. Between my duties and trying to look after her, I have no time left to do anything."

"I could grant you some leave." Celestia muttered. "That will help, I'm sure."

"You would?" Shining beamed. "For how long?"

"As long as you need." Celestia smiled, closing her eyes happily. "If luck has it's way, I'm sure there'll be a brighter future in store for all of us."

"Thank you, Princess!" Shining said, then rushed over to her and hugged her tightly. After the initial shock of the suddenness of his affection, the Princess hugged him back.

"Aha!" Twilight cackled. "Done! It's finally done! Three months non-stop work - with toilet and food breaks and occasional naps - and I have finally finished!"

"Twilight?" Celestia asked, only getting mad laughter in reply.

Shining Armour walked up to his sister, and then poked her on the shoulder. Twilight stopped, then grinned sheepishly at her brother. "Sorry, I got a bit... ok, a lot... carried away."

Derpy slid of the couch and onto her hooves, walking up to the massive sciency-looking thing. "So... I have to be teleported again?"

Twilight nodded. "I calculated that something in the teleporting matrix design had been slightly misaligned, and caused it to explode catastrophically. Plus, I have removed most of the element of the other requiring thinking of where they wanted to go, as that may have been a extraneous variable..."

"So, in other words, I just stand in it and you zap me back?"

"In theory, yes." Twilight grinned.

"In practice?" Celestia asked, a look of concern on her face. Twilight froze.

"Well... I haven't had a chance to test it out."

Derpy sighed. This could be potentially dooming.

"But I've run simulations of it, and I'm 98.555782%, rounded, it'll work." Twilight offered.

"So you're 1.444218%, rounded, it won't?" Celestia frowned, shocking Derpy with her sudden ability to even calculate that within a second.

"Um... well... yes, but I'm sure 1.444218% is very unlikely."

Derpy frowned, looking down to the ground. She had to get back... and 1. 444something percent really wasn't very likely. "Alright, I'll do it."

Silence.

"You will?" Sweetie Belle asked, completely stunned.

"I will." Derpy looked up, posing confidently. "But I have one request."

Twilight looked around. "Uh... we really should get this done as soon as possible."

"Allow her her request, my most faithful student." Celestia said, and then turned to Derpy. "So, what do you request?"

"I want... I want to see my daughter."

Celestia led Derpy through the corridors, heading to Dinky's office - apparently she was an assistant to Twilight but had the day off, most likely due to current events. Derpy felt her chest grow heavier with every step, her heartbeat increasing.

"I'm sure Dinky would like to see you." Celestia offered. Derpy nodded, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she might not want to.

They reached what looked like a small room. Derpy could here the scratching of a writing tool on paper, the faint twinkling of magic. Celestia knocked on the door.

"Yes?" A rather young sounding mare called out from behind it; Derpy recognised it as Dinky, but only barely.

"It's me, Celestia." Celestia replied. "You have a visitor."

"S-sorry, Princess!" Dinky answered, and after a series of noises and irregular hoofbeats, the door was opened.

"Hello Dinky." Derpy said, quietly. Dinky's eyes tracked the noise and widened, her eyes becoming pinpricks. "S-sorry I haven't been around."

"Sorry...?" Dinky quivered. "Sorry?!"

Celestia took a step back.

"You disappeared for fifteen years and all you can say is sorry?!" Dinky growled, scowling at her mother.

Derpy tried to speak, but her voice caught in her throat. What could she say?

"You missed my birthday party, you missed my graduation, you missed me getting cutie mark!" Dinky was now less growling and more shouting. "You abandoned me when I needed you!"

"I..."

"Mum, I'm older than you now!" Dinky screamed, her eyes becoming moist. "I waited for you for ten years!"

Derpy sighed. "I... I didn't mean to be gone so long..."

Dinky balked, growling. "That doesn't change anything... I guess it’s lucky Thunderlane looked after me for that time..."

Derpy looked down, closing her eyes. "I guess... I'm still sorry... but... Twilight says she has a way to fix it."

Dinky sighed, looking away. "I hope she can..."

Derpy looked up at her daughter and smiled sadly, then enveloped her in a hug. After a second, Derpy felt Dinky's hooves wrap around her. "I promise I won't ever abandon you again."

"You'd better not." Dinky said, but without hostility.

Derpy and Dinky had hugged for about fifteen minutes, making up for all the hugs they had missed out on. Celestia had politely let them bond, stepping away for a while to grab some cake for them. After the sugary treat and yet another walk, they stood in front of Twilight's teleother device.

"What took you so long?" Twilight asked.

"I had fifteen years of hugs to catch up on." Derpy said. Twilight nodded and gestured towards the centre of the device. Derpy took a step forward into the device, looking around with a bit of concern.

"Uh, Twilight?"

"Yes?" The lavender mare replied, using her magic to flip a few switches.

"Will this hurt?"

"No more than last time." Twilight frowned. "Did it hurt last time?"

Derpy frowned, trying to remember. "Only when I hit the floor of my room."

"So, that's where you ended up..." Twilight muttered, throwing one more switch. The device started humming again. "What were you thinking last time?"

"Huh?"

"There was an error in thought last time. What were you thinking about?"

Derpy put a hoof to her chin, tapping it. "Uh... I can't remember exactly. I think something about going home plus the thought of Dinky being grown up and stuff." She blushed a little in embarrassment. "I guess I was just panicky and excited about Dinky's birthday."

Twilight slammed one hoof on the other. "So that's what went wrong!" As she walked around, mouthing off stuff about brainwaves affecting the teleportation coordinates, combined with the misaligned component, and all sorts of science Derpy only half understood. Twilight then cast a beam of magic into an open compartment of the device, letting purple-pink bolts of electricity course around the device. The thing made a loud, deep hum, interspersed with the crackling of the lightning. Derpy took a few cautionary steps away from the sparks.

"Twilight!" She cried over the cacophony. "Are you sure this will work?!"

Twilight looked at the device, slipping on a set of tinted goggled. "I have no idea!"

Celestia, Sweetie Belle and Shining donned their own set of goggles. Celestia's voice was quite audible over the noise. "I thought you said you knew this would work!"

"I know, but I'm not sure the device will hold! Quick, help me stabilise the columns!" Twilight rushed to the column she was standing on and held it in place with her hooves. The other three grabbed the other columns, trying to hold them in place.

"Seventy-three percent power gained!" Twilight called out, looking at a monitor connected to the device only by the power cable. "Seventy-seven! Seventy-nine!"

Derpy frowned. "Anything I can do to help?!"

Twilight looked around, then smiled. "The limiter switch! Turn it to seventy-five!"

"Is that a good idea?!" Shining called out, eyes closed.

"Well... no! But if we want this to go any faster, we have to get more power in!" She glanced at the monitor again. “Eighty-two, and stable!"

"How much do we need?!" Sweetie screamed, her voice almost unhearable.

"One hundred!"

"Can't one of you use your magic?!" Derpy asked loudly.

"If we add more magic directly it could unbalance something! Just do it!"

Derpy nodded, then using her wings zipped out of the centre of the device and rushed to the switch. It was currently resting at fifty. Steeling herself up, she grabbed the handle with her mouth and pulled it down. Unfortunately, she overestimated how tough it was, and dragged it all the way to one hundred. "Uh oh..."

"Eighty-nine! Ninety one!" Twilight kept calling out. "Get back into the device! Now! Ninety five!"

Derpy zipped back in. "It's at one hundred! I went too far with it!"

"Oh no!" Twilight shrieked.

"What?!" Sweetie Belle asked.

"The rig might overload!"

"Whoops, my bad." Derpy chuckled nervously.

Twilight glanced back at the monitor "Ninety-nine! One hundred and one!"

The teleother device started shaking violently, the electricity sparking more frequently and more powerfully. Derpy opened her mouth to speak, but the magical energy zapped her and tore her body apart.

This time, the teleporting actually hurt. It felt like all of her nerves were on fire, and she felt herself scream even though she couldn't hear it. And while it only lasted an instant, it certainly wasn't unforgettable.

The instant her body appeared in the material realm again, she fell down, smacking into something solid and flat. It took her a moment for her mind to right itself, and she peered up, her eyes rolling around.

"Derpy?" She heard a younger version of a mare she had just been talking to. She blinked and shook her head, seeing Twilight Sparkle looking down at her. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I'm ok..." Derpy stood up, then realised her glasses were missing. And her bags. And everything except herself. Weird.

"Oh good. I had readings that something went wrong and I might have messed up something and-” Twilight inhaled, and then sighed. "You were gone for seven minutes."

"Seven minutes?" Derpy asked, a little confused. "Wasn't I gone for..." Her voice trailed off as she realised something; future Twilight's spell had worked. "Never mind."

"Well, anyway." Twilight interjected, telekinetically bringing up a piece of parchment and a quill. "How was it?"

Derpy had, after a short interrogation by Twilight, decided to visit Rainbow Dash. She looked all over, and even had to ask Pinkie. Pinkie pointed up and she spotted Dash resting on a cloud.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Derpy called out, flying up to meet her.

"Oh, hey Derpy." Dash said without seeming to actually give a toss, not even looking in her direction. "What's up?"

"Just came back from Twilight's experiment."

"Oh?" Dash impassively muttered.

"Yeah, it was weird. But everything's right now."

Dash just nodded.

"Dash?"

"What?"

"Why did you ask Twilight to test it out on me?"

Dash's eyes opened, and Derpy flew over, staring right at her. Her mane was not only singed from the return, but tangled and messy. Her eyes were slightly reddened from her previous emotional busts, and she did not look happy.

"Well... I... um..."

Derpy raised an eyebrow.

"I was a little annoyed at you for dropping a thundercloud on top of me last week, so... y'know..."

Derpy sighed. "And you didn't think I might have been killed, or sent fifteen years into the future where Equestria was in a civil war or something?"

"Well... I did, but... it was too late." Dash looked down, then back up sadly. "Sorry..."

Derpy smiled, then hugged Dash. "It's ok; at least I wasn't gone for long."

"So... what happened?"

"I'll... I'll tell you later, ok?" Derpy grinned then flew off to her home for a shower.

It was weird returning home after seeing it fifteen years in the future. Everything was so clean, so unmarred by war or time. The water was nice and refreshing, the unicorn magic-enchanted showerhead giving the water just the right temperature. Normally she never had a shower longer than five minutes, but she had been, almost quite literally, Tartarus and back, so she deserved a nice half-hour clean-off.

She emerged from the shower room looking much cleaner, smelling a lot nicer, and smiling happily. She was about to exit the house when a tiny light-pink unicorn trotted in.

"Hi Mummy!" She chimed.

Derpy blinked, then picked herself up from the floor. "Hello, my little pony!"

Dinky froze and blinked. She wasn't used to her mum being so... happy about seeing her. Not that she minded: a happy mummy is better than a sad mummy. She bounded towards Derpy and hugged her. Derpy responded with a tight, but not crushing, hug.

"How was school?" Derpy asked. Dinky couldn't know about what happened. She was too young to even understand it.

"Awesome! We made papier mache today; I made a little you!" She giggled, then heard her mother sniffing and she frowned. "Mummy?"

"Y-yes, Dinky?" Derpy brokenly said.

"Why are you crying?" As soon as she asked, the hug became tighter.

"Mummy's had a hard day...” was all Derpy could reply. "I-I'll tell you when you're old enough..."

Dinky nodded. "Ok. D'ya wanna see my work?"

"Of course."

It was eight thirty. Dinky had gone to bed for the night, and Derpy was sitting in the lounge room all alone, looking at the lone, crude, hoof-made statue of herself. She couldn't say it was accurate, but she didn't care, it was made with love. She smiled sadly.

Everyone else thinks I've been gone for only seven minutes... She sighed. I can't really speak about my adventures with anyone. Not now.

She looked up at the clock, its cartoon muffin character grinning cheerfully. The minute hand moved a section; now it was 8:31.

I can't say I enjoyed my trip, but I did learn a lot. About Dash and Fluttershy... about my other friend... about Thunderlane.

Her eyes widened. She remembered what future Thunderlane had said to her right after they had kissed.

"Sorry, but I've been wanting to do that for eighteen years."

Thunderlane must have had a crush on her for three years now. And, Derpy had to admit, he was a pretty cute guy. Especially how he (usually) got a bit shy around her.

She stood up, smiling. She had one more pony to talk to for the day.

The sun was almost completely gone from the sky, it's last sliver of light reflecting off Derpy's glasses. She had once again asked where Thunderlane was; apparently he was just bucking away some last clouds. She found him, silhouetted by the sun, kicking his legs into some clouds, each dissipating into mist as he did so. After the last one, he alighted onto the ground and wiped his brow.

"Hey Thunderlane!" Derpy called out, startling the ebony pegasus.

"Geez, Derpy, don't scare me like that."

Derpy giggled. "Sorry."

"I-it's fine." Thunderlane turned to face her, and his eyes widened. "Woah."

"What?"

"I've never seen you wear glasses before." Thunderlane commented, pointing a hoof lazily at the spectacles on her nose.

"Not even during high school?" Derpy asked in reply. Thunderlane shook his head.

"Guess I was too busy studying."

Derpy trotted up to him, smiling happily. "So, how's your day been?"

"Oh, my day?" Thunderlane blinked, surprised she would even have asked. "It's been... busy. Mostly running around for Dash trying to get all the pegasi ready for next week."

"What's next week?" Derpy asked, cocking her head.

"Massive thunderstorm to make up for this weekend's sunny days. I'm surprised you haven't heard about it."

"I've been... busy." Derpy sighed.

"Work?"

"Nah, I had the day off. Just... had to do an experiment over at the Library."

Thunderlane nodded. "Twilight?"

"Yeah."

Thunderlane turned to her, a look of concern on his features. "If you want to talk about it, I'm right here."

Derpy blinked, then nodded, gesturing with a wing for him to follow.

"I did what?!" Thunderlane gasped, before Derpy shushed him, pointing to Dinky's room.

"Yeah..." Derpy whispered.

"Geez, what would have possessed hi- I mean, me, to do something like that?"

"Apparently you had had a crush on me for eighteen years."

"That long, huh?" Thunderlane frowned. "Yeah, I can see how that would have made things interesting."

Derpy nodded, leaning back and looking up at the roof. "Though that raises another question."

"Oh?"

"I was sent fifteen years into the future."

Thunderlane's eyes widened as his face turned a scarlet mixed with his normal dark grey. Derpy didn't need to finish speaking for him to realise what she was going to say. "Oh, um..."

Derpy looked back at him, even if he was looking away. "Do you really like me?"

"Well, yeah, you're a nice pony and a great friend..."

Derpy leaned forward, looking at him. His gaze drifted to her, prompting him to look even further away. "What?"

"I mean, do you really like me?"

"Um..."

Derpy stood up, trotted over, and sat next to him. "I'm sorry, I'm just..."

Thunderlane sighed. "I know, you're curious. I'll be honest..." He stopped, breathing in a few times, then back out again. "I do."

Derpy smiled softly, wrapping a wing around him. Thunderlane turned to face her, still blushing. "Derpy..."

"Well... I've got a bit of a crush too." She softly replied. "I never noticed it before, even if everypony else did... I remember Carrot Top telling me."

"You... you have a crush on me too?" Thunderlane blinked.

Derpy didn't respond. Not in the conventional way. Instead, she lightly pecked the stallion's lips, her own face becoming scarlet, much like how Thunderlane's blush grew more. She pulled back, grinning sheepishly. Thunderlane smiled, then leaned forward and, grabbing her neck lightly with his forehooves, brought them into a much more passionate kiss.

"Ewww." Dinky murmured to herself, hearing the wet, sloppy noises of her mum and Thunderlane kissing. It was only to be expected she was not a fan of these things. She retreated back under her blanket, and grabbing the toy ponies in her hooves, resumed her secret playing.

What mummy didn't know wouldn't hurt her.