***Monday, Day 85***
**Morning**
I have had various ways I’ve been woken up over the years. Everything from the sun, to pranks, to an alarm clock has been the culprit. If most ask, I’ll say I tend to hate the alarm clock the most, but there is one wake-up call I have come to hate just because of the feeling it causes.
*BOOM*
The feeling of fear when one of Hydro’s experiments goes wrong in the morning always gets the adrenaline pumping.
*large amounts of rushing water are heard down the hall*
I hear Hydro shout over the noise, "Damn it!"
There is the sound of frantic scrambling, and the door slams open, revealing Pinchy, eyes wide in panic. She rushes onto my bed and buries herself in the covers, her nose is the only part of her still visible.
My adrenaline starts to wear off as the house doesn’t come down around us. The sounds of water can still be heard in the background as I lift up the covers slightly to expose her head. “Are you alright, Pinchy?”
She shakily smiles at me, her ears flat against her head. "...y-yes...now that I'm here with you, Dad..."
I speak in a reassuring tone as I roll out of the bed. “Don’t worry too much about the explosion. It happens occasionally when Hydro is working on something; usually they are a lot smaller than this one.” My ear flicks. “Usually not accompanied by water either...”
She leaps onto my back, clinging tightly to me. "O-okay, Dad." She mutters softly, probably not expecting me to hear her. "...it's not the explosion I'm scared of, though..."
I pretend I didn’t hear that second part and figure she’ll tell me when she’s ready. “Let’s go see what the damage is.” I walk out into the hall and look towards my red friend’s room where a small bit of smoke can be seen coming from the top of the door while a small trickle of water comes from the bottom where his seal wasn’t perfect.
Pinchy taps my cheek, motioning towards the door. "I-is that a good sign? Does Uncle Hydro need our help?" She seems worried, but trying to be brave at the same time. I do see that she's glancing at the trickle a few times.
“One way to find out.” I walk over to the door and knock as I call out, “Hydro, you okay?”
A series of splashes can be heard before he answers. “Yeah, I’m good. Small mishap made the waterbed pop! I’m handling it though. I’m siphoning the water through a hose out the window.”
I turn back to my passenger. “See? All good. Just don’t go opening his door until he tells you that you can, so you don’t flood the house.”
She nods, her grip on my torso tightening slightly. "O-okay..." She rests her head against my neck. "...what are we going to do today, Dad?"
I tilt my head to one side as I check back in my room to see Specter sleeping soundly before heading downstairs. “Don’t you remember? Today’s the first day of the school year.”
There's a moment of silence before she responds. "...but...I've never gone to school, before." She gently nuzzles my neck. "Can't you teach me? Please?"
My eyes soften at the little filly, as they seem to do often these days. “Sorry honey, I can teach you all I know about magic, help you when you need it in other subjects as well, but I don’t feel you would be getting the best if I were to try and teach you everything. I’ve talked to her and Miss Cheerilee is a very nice mare who will be teaching you about all kinds of things.”
She groans softly, apparently seeing no way out of this. "...okay, Dad..." There's another moment of silence. "...what does one do at school, anyways?"
I think for a moment, "Well, in a general sense you're there to learn. You do this by listening to your teacher. On the more fun side though, you can also make friends there. I know for a fact Sweetie Belle is your class." I smirk at the last part.
"Oh, that's great news!" She tilts her head to the side. "To be honest, Dad, I thought that schools were where ponies go through drama and break into spontaneous song and dance." She giggles, shaking her head at that thought.
I chuckle at her. "Now where would you get that idea?"
"From Vinyl's old high school stories." She hops off my back, heading into the kitchen. "Anyways, I need school supplies, right? I can't remember getting any..." She pops open the fridge, reaching for one of the milk jugs.
"Here's a little trick I learned," I say as I float her saddlebags next to the door, "On the first day of school, bring pencils and paper. Your teacher will tell you exactly what you will need, then we just go get it. This way you don't try and guess what you might need and instead know for sure."
She looks at me, the container above her head between her hooves. "Okay..." She totters over to the table, trying her hardest not to drop it. She puts it down, and I can see the gears turning in her head. "...do we have any pencils or paper?"
I nod to her saddlebags. "Already packed. Did you want anything special for lunch?"
She smiles up at me, humming softly as she moves around the kitchen. "Can I have a sandwich? And maybe some of that strawberry applesauce?" She climbs onto the counter, stretching a hoof towards the cupboard with the cereal. "I haven't really tried it, yet..."
I grin and start preparing her lunch while saying teasingly, "Well... only for you. I don't even let Hydro have this normally."
"Really?" She turns to me, her eyes wide in surprise. "Thanks, Dad!" She closes the cabinet door, the cereal hugged to her chest. She stops, staring down at the floor. "...how to do this..." She carefully crouches down, a hoof tenatively searching for a surface two feet beyond its reach.
It finally registers to me what situation she has gotten herself into. I levitate her back down and set a bowl in front of her. "Careful Pinchy, I don't want you to get hurt."
Her ears flatten against her head, and a sheepish expression crosses her face. "Sorry, Dad...I'll try to stay safe..." She tips the box over, spilling cereal all over the table. She sits there, staring at this in silence for a few moments.
I pat her head as I take her bowl and sweep a portion into it as the rest goes back in the box. "Still wanting your magic back huh? Don't worry, we'll start working on that."
She smiles softly at me, leaning up to gently nuzzle my cheek. "...thanks, Dad...I just...feel so strange, not being able to use my magic..." She takes a spoon in her teeth, scooping up some cereal. She pauses, looking from the far end to the part in her mouth.
I notice her conundrum. "Why don't you try lifting up the bowl and drinking the cereal?"
She blushes, putting the spoon down. "R-right."
***
"And here we are, the schoolhouse." I say as we approach the bell-topped building with young ponies filtering inside as a plum-colored mare stands by the door.
"...I see." She tightens her grip on me, looking around nervously. "It seems nice...so far..."
I nod towards the mare ushering the little ponies. "That's Miss Cheerilee, pay attention to what she says, okay?" As the last of the foals go inside, the teacher notices us and starts heading our way with a smile on her face.
Pinchy nods, even as she attempts to make herself as small as possible. "...o-okay, Dad..."
Cheerilee hails us as she gets close, "Good morning, Dr. Rhino! Is this little Ruby Pinch that I've heard so much about?"
I smile at the cheery teacher. "Yes she is," I turn slightly to give her a clear view of the filly on my back. "Say hello, Pinchy."
She raises a hoof and waves, shyly smiling. "...hello, Pinchy..."
Cheerilee giggles. "Well, it's good to meet you Ruby. Are you excited about your first day of school?"
"Yes, but..." Pinchy glances at me before turning back to Cheerilee. "...I kinda wish Dad could stay here with me..."
The teacher's eyes and tone soften. "Oh, I know what you mean, but I'm sure your dad will be right here waiting for you when school is over. Plus, you can make some friends while you're here!"
"...I..." Her grip on me loosens a little. "...I guess you're right..." She hops off my back, pausing to tap my leg, gesturing for me to lean close.
I do so.
Pinchy gently kisses my cheek, giggling a bit. "See you later, Dad."
I smile and wave as Pinchy and Cheerilee head into the building, a single thought going through my head.
I miss her already...
***
My shift at the clinic runs its course smoothly, if not a bit more quietly than it has been lately due to the absence of a certain filly who had been at my side almost constantly for the past three weeks. Still, time moves ever forward and soon I find myself eating lunch with Fluttershy on the comfortable chairs in the lobby.
I decide to tackle current events. “So, Fluttershy, what do you think about this whole ‘star hunting’ business?”
Her wings rustle lightly as she thinks before answering. “W-well, I’m happy that everypony is getting the chance to help out Princess Luna... b-but I really wish it didn’t involve having to go into the Everfree Forest, e-especially repeatedly. I just hope nothing bad happens.”
I follow up with another question. “Do you think you’ll ever go on one of the star hunting trips into the forest?”
She looks down as she answers. “Well, I don’t know how much help I’ll be. If they have any animal problems then I guess I would, but I don’t want to be a burden...”
The self-conscious answer doesn’t surprise me, so I retaliate with my usual response. “You’re not a burden, Fluttershy. But, I think I’m with you on this issue. Personally, I don’t see myself going with them unless something happens. I’m not sure how many of the others see it that way, but the way Orion described it, this does sound like a voluntary quest.”
“Speaking of voluntary,” she transitions, “I noticed Ruby isn’t here today.”
I nod, “Yes, she’s starting school today. She was clinging to me a bit this morning, though that’s nothing new, but I think she’ll grow to like school. It’ll be good for her to make some friends here too.”
“Oh, well that’s nice.” The pegasus mare is quiet as she sips her tea she normally has with her lunch. “Actually Rhino, I’ve been wanting to talk with you about her.”
“Hmm?”
“W-well, it’s just that...” she fiddles with her hooves a moment before continuing, “I-I know that Ruby is important to you, and that you’ve been spending most of your time with her lately... But, umm... I-I just feel like we haven’t seen each other that much outside of work lately and-” She suddenly covers her eyes with her hooves. “Oh, I’m a terrible pony!”
The sudden whiplash of emotions from her stuns me for a moment, though I figure it out once I snap out of it. “Fluttershy,” I begin cautiously, “are you... jealous of all the time I’ve been spending with Pinchy?”
She shakes her head back and forth quickly. “N-no, yes? I don’t know... I just miss you, and then I see you with her and I’m happy for the two of you. Then she goes and calls me ‘Mom’ sometimes, and I just don’t know how to respond to that when she’s being serious. Even with her doing that I’m not exactly sure what she thinks of me because she doesn’t really spend time with anypony but you and... and...” Her little release of emotions comes to a stuttering end as she runs out of breath and has to stop talking a she gets it back.
I take the opportunity to do as much damage control as possible. “Fluttershy... it’s not good to hold these kinds of things in, hypocritical of me as it is to say that. Yes, I’ve been spending a lot of time with her lately and I’m sorry that you’ve been feeling lonely again, I didn’t realize. Please understand that right now, I’m all she has, thus she takes up a lot of my time. You’re not a bad pony, this is just not exactly a normal situation. If it helps at all though, I think she is being both serious and hopeful when she calls you ‘Mom’.”
“B-but... I don’t know if I’m ready to be a mom...”
“Then don’t worry about it.” I say honestly. “She is my daughter, thus I am the one responsible for her. If you don’t feel like you can be it yet, then it’s okay. Nopony will think any less of you. Do you want some advice though, to help you through it?”
She nods silently.
“Just act on what you feel. Don’t think about it too much. When Pinchy came here with the others on their little vacation, I just acted on instinct with her most of the time. In the end, everypony turned out happy. So, if she calls you that, just let your heart tell you what to do. You don’t have to think of her as your daughter, nopony is saying that. Though I think it may grow to that someday, just let your feelings sort themselves out. Even if you don’t think of her as yours, she is mine, and thus you will probably spend time around her. Let’s just see what happens from that, alright?”
I let out a sigh of relief as Fluttershy comes out from behind her mane and nods as she mutters, “Just let my feelings decide...”
I try to lighten up the mood after that rather heavy discussion. “Hey, it worked out for us didn’t it?” I give her a light peck on the lips.
She lets out a few giggles. “Yes, yes it did.”
I smile. “Good, now that you are calmer, I can go back to my own internal worrying about her at school.” The sound of hooves approaching the doors causes my ears to rotate towards them.
The front door opens, and a pink form stumbles through. She looks around, the brown bag in her mouth swaying as she does so. Her gaze falls on us and a smile crosses her face. She rushes over and puts the bag down before speaking. "Hi, Dad! Hi, Mom!"
Fluttershy and I blink in surprise as I say, "Pinchy? What are you doing here so early?"
"It's lunchtime!" She opens her bag, looking inside. "I wanted to spend it with my family!" She pulls out the sandwich, turning to us. "...did I do something wrong?"
Fluttershy asks the important question. "Ruby, does Miss Cheerilee know that you came here for lunch before you go back to school?"
Pinchy flinches at her words, lowering her head. "...um...I left her a note...I figured she wouldn't mind if I was back in time for class..." She takes a bite of her sandwich before continuing. "...and...I wanted to ask you something..."
I look over to my marefriend, who motions for me to do all the talking while she goes over to Manila. I look back to my daughter. "What did you want to talk about honey?"
She takes another bite, nodding satisfactorily. "This is good. What's in it?" She holds up a hoof. "Sorry, that wasn't the question I meant to ask. Can I ask another one?"
I motion with a hoof for her to proceed. "Ask away Pinchy."
She puts her sandwich down on the table, looking up at me. "...can...can I not go back to school?"
Alarm bells start going off in my head. "Why? Did something happen?"
"Y-yes..." She sighs, trying to gather her courage. "...Dad...you mentioned all those good things..." She sniffs softly, rubbing her nose with a hoof. "...why didn't you mention bullies?"
I sigh as my unspoken fears are realized. I bring her over to me and hug her softly as I say quietly, "Because I hoped you wouldn't have to deal with any. It seems I was being too optimistic."
She nuzzles my side, and I can feel her trembling. "...I could handle it if it was just me being bullied...but I saw them harass Sweetie and her friends...I couldn't stand seeing that, but I felt so helpless..."
I continue comforting her. "What exactly happened?"
"I...I saw them at recess...these two rich fillies were tormenting Sweetie and her friends...I tried to step in, to stop them...but they turned to me..." She grits her teeth, gripping one of my forelegs tightly. "...said I was unimportant...a freak that shouldn't even be here..." Her voice trails off. "...t-thankfully, the bell for lunch rang before they could say any more...and I came straight here..."
I try to be positive, "Well, quite the bundles of misinformation weren't they?"
She looks up at me, hopeful, if slightly confused. "...Dad?"
I smile at her. "Well, everything they said was wrong, you don't go getting all sad when somepony goes around shouting that the sky is green, right? Same thing. They don't know how wrong they are, so to those of us who do know, they just look silly."
Pinchy sits quietly for a moment, processing what she just heard. Soon, a smile slowly grows on her face. "...thanks, Dad...I guess I wasn't thinking clearly..."
I wipe her eyes. “There we go. So how was the rest of school?”
She tilts her head to one side, a hoof on her chin. "This dimension certainly is different...even down to the history. I learned quite a bit today!"
“Did you make any friends?”
She shakes her head, frowning slightly. "...I was a little too focused on listening to Miss Cheerilee...sorry, Dad..." She picks her sandwich back up, resuming eating it.
I rustle her mane. “Hey, that’s what you’re supposed to do during class. Normally you would make friends during recess or lunch.”
She winces slightly at the word 'recess'. She opens her mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. As a matter of fact, it appears like she isn't moving. Her eyes glaze over and she collapses onto the table.
I immediately jump up in alarm and turn Pinchy onto her back. Her breathing sounds labored and forced. I notice slight swelling around her throat as I try to get a response from her. When she still doesn’t move, it confirms what I thought. I turn to Manila and Fluttershy over at the reception desk and shout, “Fluttershy! Adrenaline shot! Now!”
Both mares jump at my tone, but as soon as they see Pinchy, Fluttershy springs into action and zooms out of the room. She flies back in a moment later with a syringe in her teeth, which she gives to me. I uncap the sterile needle and quickly plunge it into one of the filly’s veins to deliver its payload. I take out the needle and everypony watches her small form with anxious eyes. My heart is hammering in my chest with worry.
After thirty tense seconds, her eyes crack open. "...Dad?"
I let out an explosive sigh of relief as I gently brush her mane to one side. “Thank goodness...” I shoot Fluttershy a beaming smile of gratitude before turning back to my slowly awaking filly. “Lie down for a moment Pinchy, you gave us quite the scare.”
Her eyes move between us, slightly unfocused. "...what...what happened?"
I levitate the needle over to Manila for proper disposal as I answer. “You went into anaphylactic shock. You collapsed and passed out. It looks like your throat swelled up, likely from something you ate.”
"...but...the only things I've eaten are cereal this morning...and..." She glances to her side, where the sandwich fell after she dropped it. "...that..."
I float the sandwich over to me as I muse. “Well, I know you’ve had the cereal before so it wasn’t that... This is just a normal daisy sandwich I made for you this morning. You’ve had bread before... Huh, guess you’re allergic to daisies. That wasn’t in your medical file...”
She looks up at me. "...I've...never eaten daisies before...not even in my old dimension..."
“Probably a good thing considering how you reacted.” I give Fluttershy a one-armed hug as I continue. “I don’t even want to think about what might have happened if you ate daisies when you weren’t near a facility that could have treated you. Thanks again, Shy.”
Pinchy blinks, turning her attention to Fluttershy. "...you helped save me, Mom?"
The shy mare hides partially behind her mane at all the attention. “W-well, I mean, I didn’t do much... I just went and got the shot...”
The filly slowly gets up, walking over to Fluttershy. She nuzzles her cheek, smiling softly. "...thank you..."
Fluttershy doesn’t seem to know how to react at first so she looks at me. I gesture at her to take the advice I gave earlier, and she smiles and looks down to Pinchy. “You're welcome.”
I gather my things as I prepare to leave. “Well, now that that minor heart attack situation is done, do you feel up to traveling, Pinchy?”
She nods, carefully climbing up onto my back. "Are we going back to the school, Dad?"
I let out a huff. “Not a chance. You,” I boop her nose with a hoof, causing her to giggle, “my little filly, are coming home with me so I can make sure you’re okay after that little incident.”
"Okay, Dad." She turns and waves to Manila and Fluttershy. "Have a nice day!"
***The following morning***
**Within the Everfree**
“The equipment’s reacting, another fragment is awakening!”
“Good, get ready and we shall go retrieve it.”
“The Forgemaster should be quite pleased with our efforts thus far.”
“Then we’ll just have to make sure we continue collecting them won’t we?”