There was a knock on Fluttershy's front door.
"Now, do like I told you, Angel," Fluttershy said, smiling as she stood up from the tiny bed where the bored rabbit lay sulking. A tiny tray with an even tinier bowl of steamy soup was propped up before him. "Drink every last drop. That'll open your nasal cavities right up and allow you to breathe better!"
Angel sighed. He plucked a floating carrot slice from the broth and nibbled on it with a dull expression.
The knocking sound repeated, firmer this time.
"Just a minute!" Fluttershy glided over to the front of the cottage. She fumbled with each lock, one at a time, finally opening the door after much fuss. "Breathe lightly!" she said in a firm yet playful tone, all the while opening the door with a smile. "We have sick bunny rabbits in here! We don't want you to catch a—" Her mouth hung open, and she blinked. "...bug?"
Spike stood on her stoop, his purple scales glinting in the sunset. He avoided Fluttershy's eyes while wringing his tiny dragon's tail.
"Why... Spike!" Fluttershy opened the door wider and leaned through the frame. "You look awful! Is something the matter?"
"Twilight... uhm... sent me to ask if you might be willing to come over."
"Come over?"
"To... erm... Dinky's condominium." Spike gulped. "You seem to have the magic touch when dealing with young foals, sooooo, she'd figured you'd be best suited for lifting Dinky's spirits. At least for a little while. In the meantime, Twilight and I have to try and find this written manuscript in the house and—"
"Dinky... Dinky..." Fluttershy tongued the inside of her mouth. She gasped with a bright smile. "Oh! You mean Miss Hooves' daughter!" She giggled lightly. "Oh, what a wonderfully cute, polite, and well-mannered child. She's a bundle of joy every time... that I... see... her..." Her brow furrowed in concern.
Spike was biting his lip. He wrung his tail harder in two palms.
Fluttershy pursed her lips. "Spike? What... wh-what's wrong?" She gulped. "What happened?"
Upon hearing that, his eyes twitched. He gazed up at her in shock. "You mean... y-you didn't hear?"
She merely gawked at him. As the whelp began to speak, a pale expression wafted over Fluttershy's face. She brought a hoof up to her gasping mouth as tears formed in the corners of her eye.
MONDAY AFTERNOON
"Oh my goodness!" Bon Bon squeaked through a sharp inhale. She bit her lip as a tear ran down her cheek. "That is such horrible... horrible news!"
"I know, right?" Lyra sighed, leaning lethargically against the patio table as ponies trotted back and forth beside the outdoor restaurant. "I found out through word of muzzle while buying new strings at the music store. Apparently, it all happened at Ghastly Gorge."
"But..." Bon Bon sniffled, clasping her forelimbs together as she leaned forward. "She's a single mother! Doesn't she still have a child that needs taking care of?"
"From what I hear, the kid doesn't even have her cutie mark yet," Lyra said in a sad tone. "Can you imagine what it'd be like to lose your mother at such an age?"
"It's..." Bon Bon's voice wavered as she stared down at the table before her. "It's unbearable! And Derpy was such a good, sweet-hearted pony, too!"
Upon hearing that, a pair of ponies shuffled to a stop along the sidewalk and gawked at the two mares. "Wait a s-second! Did you just say that Miss Hooves died?!"
"Ripped to shreds by Quarry Eels," Caramel muttered as he lifted a box of apples onto a wagon while unpacking his produce shop for the evening. "All that was left was blood and feathers."
"Celestia almighty!" Time Turner exclaimed. He fidgeted in his saddlebag full of science reports, all the while staring at his fellow stallions who were milling about in the middle of the street. "Talk about an unfitting end! That mare didn't deserve such a fate! Not even in the least!"
"Eeeenope," Big Macintosh gravely said while assisting Caramel.
"What I want to know is how she found herself in the company of such horrible beasts to begin with!" Time Turner remarked.
"It was the most freakish of accidents, from what I heard," Caramel explained. "Rumor is she fell into a shipping box and was sent like normal parcel to Cloudsdale."
"But what the heck happened along the way to screw things up that badly?!"
"I don't know, but Rainbow Dash tr-tried her best to stop the chariot," Blossomforth murmured. Her eyes watered as she hung her head. "But it was too late."
"You mean our weather captain was there?" Flitter asked.
Cloud Chaser leaned in with a shocked expression. "But Rainbow Dash is always saving ponies in the nick of time! She never leaves any of us hanging!"
"Apparently this was a situation so bad, even Rainbow Dash couldn't make things right," Thunderlane said, gently stroking Blossomforth's shoulder as they sat under the shade of a tree in the park. "As horrible as it sounds, I really don't think anypony could have prevented this."
"Couldn't we have, though?" Blossomforth sniffled. "I-I was there, Thunderlane..." Her voice cracked as a sob came out of her throat. "I was the one wh-who distracted Rainbow Dash with the sheriff situation! If I hadn't kept her eyes off of Miss Hooves, then m-maybe she'd still be alive right now! Maybe sh-she wouldn't be torn to bits at the bottom of a gorge!"
"Hey. Hey!" Thunderlane gripped her shoulders and leaned in. "Listen to me! This is nopony's fault! You hear? This was simply a horrible accident that no one could have predicted!"
"Yeah, Blossomforth!" Flitter spoke with a fragile smile, though her own eyes were suitably misty. "Don't go blaming yourself for something you didn't have anything to do with."
"Besides, we all knew Derpy," Cloud Chaser said, though she fidgeted slightly. "Well, we kinda did. Anyways, she always struck me as a super happy mare, and the last thing she'd want ponies like us to do is beat ourselves over nothing!"
Blossomforth hid her face in her forelimbs. "It's just so awful! She had a little filly and everything! H-how's that kid gonna grow up now, y'know? I've never h-had anything like this happen to a p-pony I knew! It's so horrible... so very, very horrible..."
As she sobbed, Thunderlane leaned in and nuzzled her, casting a sad look at the other mares.
They hung their heads, powerless to say anything. A cold wind blew over the nearby hillside, scattering leaves into the sunset.
Sweeping up his front lawn, Cranky Doodle turned to grumble at a pair of old stallions. "To be perfectly honest, I always found the mare to be a total nuisance!"
"Cranky, you find every mare to be a total nuisance!" one of them grumbled. "Ya cantankerous mule! You even complain about Matilda's cooking from time to time!"
"Will ya let me finish, ya dried up old windbag?" Cranky grumbled as he continued sweeping his rake across the yard. "Ahem. But that said, I did find that Miss Hooves had a certain... charm to her."
"Ah... charming..." The other stallion adjusted his scarf and nodded with a thin-eyed smile. "She was very humble."
"'Sincere' was the word I was tryin' to dig up," Cranky said. "I don't think she ever said a dishonest sentence in her life! I don't think she even had it in her!"
"She was also very punctual too!" the first old pony said. "Always on time!"
"Eh? With what?"
"Delivering the mail, you senile fool!"
"Oh, is that what she did?"
"Yes! What did you think?"
"I always smelled muffins when she was around," Cranky uttered with a shrug. "I figured she was a baker."
"Goes to show how much you pay attention."
The stallion with the scarf said, "Do we ever, ever truly notice a pony these days until they're gone?"
A collective sigh oozed through the trio.
"Right you are."
"Ain't it the truth?"
"Abso-darn-lutely."
"The last time I saw her, it was not a pleasant exchange," Cheerilee said in a muted tone as she stood on the front patio to her house. Her dull eyes were locked on the horizon beyond the bend in the road. "She had flown for the third consecutive time through the schoolhouse window. Now, I understand that she always dealt with... challenges, to say the least, but it was starting to eat away at the Ponyville educational funds, and... I-I was at my wit's end."
"Who can blame you?" Amethyst Star remarked with an awkward smirk.
"But... I went about it so unprofessionally," Cheerilee murmured. "I took Miss Hooves aside..." The mare gulped. "And I-I told her that with a daughter as bright and respectful as hers, the least she could do was be a responsible example and learn to fly right!"
Amethyst winced slightly. "Yowsers. And what did she say to that?"
"She didn't say anything." Cheerilee sniffed and smiled bitterly. "Instead, she got a second job and worked night shifts four weeks in a row until she earned the bits to pay for the schoolhouse window herself." The teacher's face contorted in pain, and she brought a hoof up to dry her eyes. "She was a single mother. So kind, loving, and full of life. She didn't need any coaching to be a good source of inspiration for her daughter, most especially from a petty, angry mare like myself! And yet, without complaining or without trying to tell me how mean-spirited I was, she simply took the matter into her own hooves and took care of it! I j-just know she had the schoolfoals in mind the entire time too. She wanted to make up for something that she was convinced was her fault."
"Sounds like she cleared things up in the end," Amethyst Star said.
"But don't you see?" Cheerilee looked up, a tear trickling down her face. "That all ended barely a week ago! And... I-I allowed myself to get busy—to get distracted with all my schoolwork and trivial pursuits." She sniffled. "I never... n-never got the opportunity to properly thank her." She clenched her moist eyes shut. "Or apologize to her."
"Awwww, Cheerilee." Amethyst leaned in and nuzzled the mare before sweeping her into a tender hug. "We all make mistakes. How were you to know that something this terrible was going to happen?"
"I-I shouldn't have to bother with kn-knowing!" Cheerilee stammered. "I should know better th-than to be so bitter and cold to a pony that only meant well! I don't think Derpy was ever m-mad at a single pony in her life! And h-how did I repay her?!" She sobbed, burying her face in Amethyst's shoulder. "How am I going to repay her daughter?"
"Shhh..." Amethyst patted her friend's shoulder. "Let it out. It's okay." She smiled softly. "Someway, somehow, we are going to make it through this. Let's let past mistakes be past mistakes, and figure out how to make the future better, safer, and happier for Dinky." She giggled slightly and patted Cheerilee again. "And for all the schoolfoals who love you just like Derpy loved everypony."
"If only I could just turn back the clock... undo the tr-tragedy that has happened... maybe talk to Derpy one last t-time..."
"I'd tell her how sorry I am about the jokes I used to make," Noteworthy said in a mumbling tone as he leaned against the entrance to Sugarcube Corner. "Especially the ones where I... mmmf... compared her eyes to magic 8-balls."
Ace looked up from where he was adjusting his tennis racquet bag. "I'm pretty sure she never heard you, buddy. Her ears were nearly as bad as her eyes, from what I heard."
"Still..." Noteworthy spoke through the corner of his limp lips. "It wasn't very nice of me. I'd take it all back in a heartbeat."
"Well, maybe you'll have a chance to."
"Hmmm?"
"Well, they're bound to have a funeral for the poor thing!" Ace remarked as a stallion trotted tiredly up the front steps to the bakery. "I mean, from all the buzz this town's been having over her death, it seems like a total shoe-in!"
"Wait a m-minute, fellas." Carrot Cake spun about, adjusting his hat with a gaping expression. "Who are you t-talking about?" he stammered. "Who died?!"
"Aaaaaand twelve salt-shakers!" Pinkie Pie chanted in a nasally tone. In the middle of the kitchen, she stood precariously atop one rear hoof, balancing a dozen containers of salt on top of one another, with the bottom one perched upon the tip of her muzzle. "Do I hear thirteen, fillies and gentlecolts?!"
Pumpkin and Pound squealed and clapped their hooves together. The infant siblings watched from where they sat in the corner of the kitchen with many giggles shared between them.
"Annnnnd—Zoop!" Pinkie tossed a salt-shaker up, catching it expertly on the topmost container of the pillar perched on her nose. "Ta-daaaa! Almost a world's record! Whew!" She grinned maniacally as her body wobbled back and forth, causing the column of containers to sway wildly above her. "Good thing I didn't choose pepper or I would have lost the game six bottles ago!"
The babies filled Sugarcube Corner with giggles once more.
"So..." Pinkie Pie licked her lips while reaching blindly towards the kitchen counter behind her. "Should I go for fifteen?" She snatched one bottle up, then another. "Or maybe—gasp!—sixteen? Who wants to wager? Eh? Ehh? Salty bet, anypony?!"
Cup Cake trotted through the swinging doors, carrying a stack of dirty plates to the sink. "Honestly, Pinkie..." She rolled her eyes with a motherly smirk. "If you make another winter wonderland in here, it'll be you staying up all night to clean it. Not me!"
"Wuh oh, kiddies!" Pinkie chirped out the side of her mouth as she juggled the two remaining salt shakers. "Did you hear that?! Should Pinkie put her nose where Momma's mouth is?"
The foals only drooled in confusion.
"Ungh, Pinkie, must you?"
"Here we go, ladies and germs!" Pinkie Prepared to toss the last two bottles up. "Real match! No potatoes!"
At that precise moment, Carrot Cake burst in through the door. As soon as he entered, he slumped to the tile with a deep sigh.
"Good heavens!" Cup Cake spun about with a concerned expression. "Is everything alright, cuddlebumps? You look like you've just seen a ghost!"
"Whoah-whoah-whoah—ackies!" Pinkie fell flat on her chest. Hissing through her teeth, she agilely shot her tail up over her spine like a fluffy umbrella, miraculously catching each of the fourteen containers. "Whew... I think I hear the collective sigh of a thousand thankful pretzels!"
Cup Cake frowned at Pinkie, then turned to gaze at her husband yet again. "Carrot, darling, what is it?"
He gulped and said, "I wish I had seen a ghost, sweetybuns. That would have been a great deal better than what I just found out."
"Would you just tell me already?!"
Carrot Cake opened his mouth. He blinked, glancing nervously over at Pinkie Pie.
The young mare blinked back.
Clearing his throat, the husband leaned in and whispered into Cup Cake's ear. The aged pony listened, suddenly gasping as her body went limp. She pressed a hoof over her mouth as her eyes instantly watered. "Oh no... oh no oh no oh no! You c-can't be serious!"
Carrot's face remained grave.
Cup Cake bit her lip. "I... I-I don't understand! I just saw her th-this morning! I just... j-just..."
She shuddered a few times, then leaned forward into her husband's embrace, sobbing uncontrollably. Carrot wrapped his forelimbs around her, holding her tight while rubbing tiny circles into her shoulders. Two tiny shapes waddled over, brushing at their mother's flank with worried little forelimbs. Soon, both parents scooped Pound and Pumpkin up, sharing a group hug as Mrs. Cake let out an even greater fountain of tears.
Pinkie merely stared from a distance, her lips pursed. She looked at the multiple salt shakers, then blinked confusedly at the melancholic family. "Nope. I sure didn't drop a bunch of onions. What gives?"
Adjusting the bifocals on the end of her muzzle, Rarity concentrated mana through her glowing horn. She continued telekinetically clapping away at the keys to her typewriter as she spoke out loud to the darkening windows of her parlor.
"'Ever vigilant, ever valiant, my companions and I marched up the rest of the mountain, scaling cliff and gorge and ravine, until finally we stood upon the brink of the dragon's lair. Up until that point, our dear companion Futtershy—a darling creature defined by both her meekness and her compassion—had gone through every known stage of panic. We had thought her reticence to approach the dragon to be a failure, but little did we know that fate was to put our Elements of Harmony to the test, and hers was about to shine most gloriously, urged on by the dragon's unbecoming wrath, and imbued with the righteous desire to protect the friends most dear to her...'"
Just then, the front door to the Boutique opened and shut with a slamming thud. Rarity could hear four petite hooves plodding across the tile floor.
"Unngh..." Rarity broke from her paragraph with a rolling of her eyes. "Sweetie Belle, must you make such a racket when you return home?!" She adjusted the typewriter's paper roll while shouting over her shoulder. "Though you've already shattered my concentration, the least you can do is wipe your hooves off at the front door like a lady and then trot to your room with a modicum of silence!"
She was answered with nothing less than a sniffling, panting series of labored breaths.
Rarity raised an eyebrow. She turned to look over her shoulder. "Sweetie Belle? Why the hysterics? Surely you didn't run all the way home? We've talked about this!"
"Just leave me alone," Sweetie Belle muttered. As she finally passed by the doorway to Rarity's parlor, the fashionista could spot a reflective sheen of tears on her little sister's cheek.
Rarity blinked. "Good heavens! You didn't fall and hurt yourself again, did you?"
"Why should you care, h-huh?!" Sweetie Belle spun about, stomping her hooves as her puffy face went puffier. She fought through a hiccuping sob and threw her older sibling a frown. "All that m-matters to you is that dumb b-book you're writing or your... st-stupid dresses!"
"Uh!" Rarity planted a hoof over her chest as if she was dealt a knife wound. "Well, I can definitely see that you're distraught, darling, but that certainly gives you no right to treat me like some sort of vagabond!"
"So what if I do?! It's not like you're ever g-gonna feel anything! It's no loss of diamonds or jewels to you, now is it?" Sweetie Belle wiped her face and frowned. "Face it! I'd drop off the face of the earth, and you wouldn't even sneeze!"
"Oh, please, don't be so dramatic." Rarity sighed and returned to her typewriter. "Forgive a lady for asking a kind-hearted question. When you're done having your little tantrum, feel free to come back and just maybe we can talk rationally."
"It's not going to do any good!" Sweetie Belle shook her face, seething. "Nothing's gonna change!"
"Will you simply tell me what's bothering you, Sweetie Belle? Honestly..."
The filly gulped, her lips quivering as she stared into the tile floor. "Dinky's mom passed away today."
Rarity froze in place. Her lips pursed as she slowly pivoted away from her half-written page. "Miss... Hooves?"
"And now Dinky is all alone and I d-don't know what to s-say to her!" Sweetie whimpered. "I t-told my friends as soon as I heard about it, and... and Apple Bloom didn't even cry! Then Scootaloo just up and left us! I don't understand!" She clenched her eyes shut and shook her head. "I don't understand anything anymore! Aren't they sad?! Why do I feel like I'm the only pony torn up inside about this?!"
"You're not... I-I mean, it..." Rarity fumbled for words. Her breath left her in cold bursts as she glanced nervously into the walls. Her eyes darted back and forth as she tried to process the information. In a sudden sweat, she blurted, "How... wh-when and where did this happen?"
"Look, I-I don't want to talk about it anymore!" Sweetie Belle spun about in a furious breath. Her saddlebags swung, and Rarity's precious antique comb clattered to the floor. The fashionista, for once, said nothing. "And it's obvious to me that you don't want to talk about it either!" Sweetie's voice cracked as she waddled off to her room. "So, j-just go back to your stupid book!" The door slammed shut in the distance.
Rarity was chewing on her bottom lip. She limped off her stool, trotting over towards the doorframe. She pretended to be looking at the fallen comb, but she knew better. Suddenly, her body jolted, and her heart rate picked up. Without a second breath, Rarity galloped towards the front entrance of the Boutique. Along the way, she scooped a coat and scarf off a nearby wrack and donned them before bursting forth into the breezy evening air.
MONDAY NIGHT
In the center of town, before the front steps to Ponyville's Town Hall, dozens of equines gathered by the minute. Soon, an entire crowd of murmuring, long-faced ponies had huddled about, all of them facing a lone wooden podium positioned at the building's entrance.
At last, Mayor Mare trotted before the group, accompanied by a somber-looking Filthy Rich and the elder members of the city council. Once she stood at the podium, the crowd fell into hushed silence, their bright bodies reduced to dull shades beneath the falling curtain of night. She didn't even need to plead for their quiet attention.
"Thank you for assembling so late and with such little notice, my little ponies," the Mayor said. "Ahem..." She fidgeted, clenching her jaw so that the next few sentences could come out with as little stuttering as possible. "As you all may have heard, we have suffered a great loss today. What may have sounded as a gross rumor is, in fact, terribly true. It is my sad responsibility to announce that Miss Derpy Hooves of Ponyville passed away this morning in Ghastly Gorge, the result of a terrible accident involving a rocket-propelled chariot and a collapsed crate of shipping parcel."
Several ponies gasped sharply, drinking in the unthinkable. A few crying breaths echoed over the crowd. Mares leaned into their coltfriends, sobbing quietly while their significant others patted them reassuringly.
The Mayor went on. "Miss Hooves was thirty-two years old, the single mother to Dinky Hooves. Dinky, Miss Hooves' only surviving family member, is a sweet little child of seven winters, and she is currently in the gentle care of some of Ponyville's finest citizens." The pony swallowed a lump down her throat as she shifted her weight against the podium. "Our thoughts go out to her, as well as to all the friends and neighbors who knew Derpy dearly."
Several ponies fidgeted where they stood, trying to contain their confused and pained tears. Many of them failed.
"As you may expect, the city intends to memorialize the life of this precious citizen of ours, a pony who faithfully and happily performed her duties to her fellow equines. On that note, I am proud to announce that our very own beloved regal Ponyvillean, Princess Twilight Sparkle, has volunteered to oversee the funeral arrangements in Derpy’s honor. Plans are currently very tentative, but if everything falls through, we expect to perform the Funeral of Derpy Hooves right here in this very building, Town Hall, on Thursday Evening at 5pm. There will be an impromptu holiday for the town that day, so—please—plan accordingly."
"I... I s-suppose that she had written something down in regards to her passing," Golden Harvest stammered. "But, she never talked about it much. As you can imagine, it wasn't a topic that came up often... if at all..."
The mare leaned anxiously against the lamppost beside the sidewalk in front of Derpy's condominium. Behind her, several ponies had gathered in tight clusters, mingling about as they carried on melancholic conversations, their eyes cast solemnly towards the face of the two-story building under starlight.
"In truth, Derpy and I didn't chat too often." Golden Harvest gulped, her eyes moist. "Isn't that so s-sad? I was the next door neighbor to that mare for over three years. I'd watch her playing with her daughter in the front yard while I tended to my carrot garden. And in all that time..." Her voice squeaked as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I barely even said a single word to her..."
"Hey, it's okay," Twilight Sparkle said with a calm smile. "You couldn't possibly have expected what would happen... t-to happen." After a quiet moment, she asked, "Are you certain she never talked about where she kept her personal effects?"
"Well, she once spoke about keeping most of her valuables upstairs," Golden Harvest said, drying her cheek with a yellow forelimb. "I was once part of the neighborhood watch, and she trusted me with the knowledge, I guess for in case robbers ever tried to break in through her second story window or something. That way, I'd be prepared to alert the Ponyville police to the right place."
"I suppose that makes sense."
"Have you bothered asking her family?" Golden Harvest asked with a pained expression. "Shouldn't they be here? If anypony should be looking through her personal effects, it's them."
Twilight Sparkle winced. "That's... just it. From what we've learned, Derpy Hooves didn't even have any surviving family members."
"Good heavens..." Golden Harvest held a hoof over her chest. "That's horrible!"
"Her parents passed away years ago, and she has no known siblings or aunts or uncles." Twilight shuddered as she glanced at the random ponies gathered at a distance to pay their respects. "City records confirm this. I don't even think Derpy has any cousins, for that matter."
"That comes as a surprise to me," Golden Harvest said. "I-I mean, her being a pegasus and all." A flippant giggle escaped her lips. "I mean, everypony knows they breed like winged jackrabbits."
Twilight shared the chuckle with her.
Suddenly, Golden Harvest blushed. "Oh, I-I'm so sorry..." She winced. "That's a really inappropriate joke to say in front of a Princess, and especially after wh-what has happened today..."
"No. No, it's okay..." Twilight placed a reassuring hoof on the mare's shoulder. "Really. We shouldn't consider it a crime to laugh or smile. I'm sure Miss Hooves would have wanted it this way."
Golden Harvest bit on her lip, then glanced meekly up at the Princess. "I just can't believe it, you know? It almost makes me wish I knew her more. She just seemed... so happy, all of the time."
Twilight nodded. "Believe me, I share your feelings. But, the best we can do right now is make sure we celebrate her memory in a way that is both respectable and fitting."
Golden fidgeted as she shot a quick look towards the condominium. "And... and wh-what of her daughter? If she has no aunts or uncles or grandparents...?"
Twilight Sparkle winced. "Trust me. That's the next thing I'll be working on."
"I have no doubt you'll find a way to reach out to her, Your Highness," Golden said with a gentle smile. "You know, we are truly, truly lucky to have you here in Ponyville."
"Yes, well, I made my friends here," Twilight said with a smile. "I wouldn't see myself anywhere else."
"I mean it," Golden Harvest said, curtseying again. "It's an honor to have been able to speak with you. I swear, your name will last forever in the legacy of this place."
Twilight Sparkle's pupils shrank as she nodded shakily. "Yeah... Yeah, maybe so."
The alicorn parted ways with Golden Harvest, trotting lonesomely back towards the entrance to Derpy's condo. She reached the lawn's front gate, but paused there, sighing heavily. As she opened it with a squeak and passed on through, she returned to Spike and Fluttershy who were standing at the front stoop.
"So, what did she say?" Spike asked, gesturing with waving dragon palms. "Did she give us anything to go on?"
Twilight shook her head. "No. Apparently she barely talked to Derpy while she lived here."
"Yeesh!" Spike facepalmed. "You gotta be kidding me! Did anypony know this poor mare?"
Fluttershy whimpered. "Apparently not..."
Twilight tilted her head up towards the second story. "Golden Harvest did mention one thing. If Derpy had anything valuable, she likely would have kept it on the second floor."
"Isn't that—like—where Dinky said her mom's room was?" Spike asked.
"It's something to go on, at least."
"Wait..." Spike's eyes were thin. "You don't mean...?"
"I told the Mayor that the funeral would be a go for Thursday," Twilight said. "There's really no reason to waste time. If there's a will to be found, upstairs in Derpy's condo is the best place to search for it."
"But..." Spike shuddered from a cold chill. "I really don't like the idea of looking through a pony's private stuff! Especially a few hours after she totally bit the dust!"
"Spike!" Twilight hissed, glancing over her shoulders as if to see if the distant ponies heard. "Don't talk about her death like that, okay?" She sighed. "Besides, either you help me, or I somehow have to force Fluttershy to lend me a hoof."
"Uhm..." Fluttershy gulped. "I would very much rather stay close by Dinky's side, if that's alright with you."
"It totally is, Fluttershy." Twilight cast her a calm smile. "That's what I asked you to come over for, after all. I can't thank you enough."
"I'm more than happy to spend time with Dinky," Fluttershy said, smiling back. However, that grin swiftly faded. "Still, I'm a little confused. Has she not been told about her mother's death?"
"No, Fluttershy, she has," Twilight said, albeit in a hushed tone as she glanced through the cracked front door. "But she instantly showed clear signs of denial. I have reason to think she heard about what happened to Derpy before we got to share the news with her formally."
"Oh dear..." Fluttershy's ears folded back. "That's awful!"
"Totally," Spike added in a dull tone.
"As you can see, we can't just force her to bear the news overnight," Twilight said. "It would crush her spirit! We need to wait until Dinky is ready to face the truth, and then break it to her gradually."
"I completely understand, Twilight," Fluttershy said with a nod. "I'll make sure she receives plenty of kindness and attention in the meantime." She brushed a hoof horizontally across her own chest. "I swear on my own Element."
"Ungh! For the love of Celestia!" A voice cracked from overhead. "That is, by far, the dumbest idea possible!"
Twilight frowned, her eyes darting up up. "Rainbow. Come on. We've been over this."
"I know!" Rainbow Dash frowned, folding her forelimbs from where she reclined on a tree branch in the starlight above the group. "And forgive me, Your Highness." She glared down. "But I still think it's a load of horse hockey!"
"Why's that, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked.
"Why?!" Rainbow Dash leapt down with a miniature burst of thunder, landing hard before the gasping mares' hooves. "I'll tell you why!" She leaned forward and sneered in Fluttershy's face. "Because Dinky ain't gonna get her Mommy back, and the last thing we should be doing is letting her live in some stupid world of make-believe!"
"But it's not like that, Rainbow!" Twilight exclaimed.
Rainbow spun. "Isn't it?"
"No!" Twilight frowned. "If you've been paying any attention at all, you'd realize that Dinky was going through classic stages of psychological denial! Her constantly happy demeanor, her willingness to follow all of Derpy's rules, her constructed fantasy of communicating with Derpy all day through these 'sound stones': they're all signs of a young foal who comprehends the news of her mother's death but isn't yet willing to deal with it!"
"Duh!" Rainbow tossed her bangs out of her face. "I get it! It's like a sickness! And we should be curing the source instead of feeding the symptoms! She slapped one hoof against another. "We gotta break it through to her! Short. Simple. Blunt. Truthful! What's the friggin' use in beating around the bush?!"
Twilight sighed. "Rainbow..."
"Look, you're the Princess, not to mention the brains around these parts, but—darn it!" Rainbow folded her forelimbs, glaring into the starlight. "Don't think that I don't care for the little scamp! After all, I totally did not go through Tartarus and back only to lose her mother and then lose the opportunity to take responsibility for her kid all in one day!"
"Nopony said you lost an opportunity to help out Dinky!"
"That's why if I had my way, we'd put this stupid little charade to an end right here and now!" Rainbow Dash growled. "Haven't I ruined things for her enough?!"
"Please, Rainbow," Fluttershy said. "You must stop blaming yourself for all the horrible things that happened today." She smiled. "Really, you need to relax. Just leave Dinky to Twilight and myself. We'll take care of her."
Rainbow blinked at Fluttershy.
Spike was wringing his scaly hands together, glancing nervously from one mare to another.
Gradually, a renewed frown formed on Rainbow's muzzle. "Fine. Whatever." She hovered up in a huff. "You two hold hooves and have your little tea party of smoke and mirrors. I'll be up in the clouds, flying around so I can get some fresh air... which the two of you really need."
"Please, Rainbow," Twilight sighed again. "Don't do this."
"What? Keep it real?" She leaned down with a bitter scowl. "You know, I may be a bit rough around the edges, at least compared to you two. But I got here on my own... and without having to make any silly little fantasies about how my folks died."
With a gust of air, Rainbow Dash was gone, becoming a dull blue speck against the heavens.
Twilight and Fluttershy fidgeted in silence.
"You think she's got a point there?" Spike asked. "I mean, it does feel kind of... weird not leveling with Dinky, ya think?"
"Everypony is different, Spike," Twilight said.
"Not everyone can be as strong as Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy added, her face gazing off somewhere distant.
Spike noticed it. He opened his mouth to speak—
"Come on, Spike." Twilight nudged him as she opened the door to the condominium. "We've got a will and testament to find. Fluttershy?"
"Don't worry." She floated right behind them. "I'll make sure that Dinky is happy, healthy, and—most importantly—not dwelling on the fact that her mother is now silent forever."
"Oooooooooh..." Derpy cooed loudly, coming to a stop at the top of a hill. A forest of crystal-dangling trees twinkled around her as she slung the bag of void rocks over her shoulder and gazed upon an immense valley, in the center of which stood a tall pyramid city with a glowing summit piercing the gray soupy heavens above with effluent tendrils of light. "Pretttttty!"
"Crkkk! What are you seeing now, Mommy?"
"It's hard to explain, Muffin!" Derpy raised her necklace to her lips, smiling towards the opposite ends of the forest. "Crystal trees! Soupy skies full of glowy things! Uhhh... and a big pointy building. You ever looked through that scrapbook I made of my vacation in Cairoats?"
"Ooh! Ooh! Are they worshipping cats there?"
"Well, no." Derpy blinked aside in time to see the thudding foot of a four-story crystal spider impacting the ground. The giant arachnid crawled off towards a field of bones, laced with spectral figures of otherworldly effluence. "But I wouldn't doubt if this is where cat litter is made."
"Heehee. So I'm guessing you're gonna be super, super late after all."
Derpy sighed, her face pouting defeatedly. "I'm so... so very sorry, dear muffin. But each time I take a turn, there are three more twists ahead of me and I can't seem to figure out up from down."
"You aren't delivering to the minotaurs again, are you?"
"Heehee! I wish! Ahem..." Derpy dug at the floor while a glowing serpent flew randomly overhead. "Muffin, precious, you might wanna consider making yourself some dinner."
"Oh, don't worry! Fluttershy already made me some tomato soup!"
"Oh?" Derpy's eyebrows waggle above rotating pupils. "You mean we still have company?"
"Yeah..."
Dinky sat halfway up the stairs, her legs dangling as she clutched the glowing blue shard before her smiling muzzle. "She and Princess Twilight have been super kind to me!" Her tiny face scrunched up. "Only..."
"Crkk! Only what, Muffin?"
"Well, they seem awfully confused about stuff," Dinky said as she playfully flicked her stubby little tail. "Like, they keep talking to Miss Harvest and a bunch of other ponies outside the house. Oh, and according to them, you died… or something."
"Did I, now?"
"I guess..."
"Heh, well, that's news to me! Was it a bunch of rabid chipmunks?"
"Mommmmyyyyy..."
"Heehee. I kid, Muffin. I kid. Whoops!"
Dinky's gray brow furrowed. "What is it, Mommy?"
"I think—Crkk!—I may be—Crkkk!—fading out here—Crkk!—try to get back to you—Crkk!"
"Well, you just take care of yourself, Mommy!" Dinky said with a bright grin. "And don't forget to get some rest! You've been wandering around an awful lot!"
"I was about to say the—Crkkk!—the same to you! Crkkk!—It must be getting close to bed time—Crkkk!"
"Uhhh... what's that, Mommy?" Dinky rolled her eyes with a mischievous smirk. "You're breaking up! Too bad I couldn't hear that last part!"
"Ohhhh you silly—Crkk!—muffin you—Crkkk!—snkkt!" The signal cut off.
"Heeheehee..." Dinky clutched herself as her cheeks went rosy. The light of her shard dimmed right as Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy entered the condo, looking up to see Dinky on the stares. "Oh! Fluttershy! Spike! Your Majesty!" Dinky trotted excitedly down the stairs and waved the dull stone about. "I just got done talking to Mommy!"
Spike winced. Twilight twitched. Fluttershy, however, leaned in and spoke in a soft voice, "But of c-course you did, little angel."
"She was in this special place that looked like Cairoats, only they weren't worshipping cats there, and she was happy to hear that you had made me tomato soup and—"
"Dinky, honey, why don't we talk all about it in the living room, huh?" Fluttershy asked, gently nudging the foal in that direction. "Let's let Twilight and Spike... uhm... do some special housework upstairs."
"Huh? What for?" Dinky blinked as Fluttershy ushered her into the next room. "I tidied up around the house earlier! Just like Mommy asked me to!"
"Oh, and what a nice, respectable young lady you are for following your mother's wishes!" Fluttershy said. "Why, when I was your age, I would have done anything to make my mother proud of me. Only, well, I-I had several older brothers and sisters in the way. But, uhm, at least my h-heart was in the right place, and I can see your heart is in the right place too!"
"Awwww. That's so sweet of you, Miss Fluttershy. Hey! M-maybe we could pretend that we're sisters, that way we can make Mommy happy together without much competition!"
"I... I..." Fluttershy sucked in her breath to keep from randomly sobbing. "I would absolutely adore that, Dinky."
Twilight winced, rubbing one hoof against another as she muttered to the stairs. "I wonder if I'm doing the right thing."
"Do you ever not wonder?" Spike asked. He poked her royal flank and pointed up the stairs. "Come on. If we're gonna do this, let's get it over with quickly, huh?"
Twilight shuddered as she trotted up the stairs. "You're right, Spike. Let's go. I don't want to spend any more time doing this than you do."
"Then, if you don't mind me asking," Spike said as he waddled up the steps after the alicorn. "Why did you volunteer so quickly for this?"
"What do you mean 'this?'" Twilight opened the door to Derpy's room.
"Y'know, this!" Spike shrugged as he followed her, flipping on a light to the curiously well-organized place. "The whole thing with the Mayor. Volunteering to oversee the funeral. Personally making sure we find and follow through with Derpy's will and testament."
"I'm no longer just some random librarian writing a report on friendship every week, Spike," Twilight muttered as she hesitantly opened the drawers to a dresser and began looking through each shelf, one at a time. "I'm an Equestrian Princess, and it's my responsibility to contribute to the community as much as I can."
"Right, I'll buy that," Spike said. "Heck, I won't even challenge it. But, if you ask me, aren't you kind of rushing this funeral thing a bit?"
Twilight sighed, turning to glance lethargically at him. "Now what is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, it's obvious that Dinky needs time to cope. I'm pretty sure most of the ponies around town are super bummed." Spike opened a wardrobe, squinting at the many hanging coats. "Maybe we should, I dunno, space it out some more?"
"There's no time like the present, Spike," Twilight said in a quiet voice. She abandoned the dresser and approached a vanity with a looking glass. "I'd rather not waste an opportunity to pay respects to Derpy's legacy while memories of her are fresh in our minds."
"But we're not talking about some book report or a project for Princess Celestia, Twilight!" Spike said. "What's it benefit anypony to hurry through this?"
"And for the last time, I'm not hurrying anything," Twilight said. She paused in fidgeting with the vanity to glance at her jaded reflection in the mirror. "That's the absolute last thing I'd want to do. Everypony is... so quick to go about their lives, as if they're in a big hurry over nothing. And before they know it, all that matters... all that truly matters is faded and gone, and they find that they don't have memories fresh enough to cherish or treasure."
"You don't say?"
"It's just... just so sad..." Twilight sighed, hanging her head. "Such a waste."
Spike turned around from the wardrobe, squinting at her. "Does... this have anything to do with the funk you were in this morning when you came back from Canterlot?"
Twilight snapped out of it, her eyes blinking wide. "H-huh?"
"I'm just saying—"
"Spike, please!" She spun to frown at him. "Could we not talk about that? I was perfectly fine! I mean, I will be perfectly fine! I mean—"
"Yeesh, Twilight. What gives? I didn't mean to fluster you."
"Ungh. Just... can we be quiet for a little bit while we look for Derpy's will?!" Twilight fumed as she marched across the bedroom to Derpy's writing desk. "Seriously, we're getting nowhere at this rate."
"Hmmph..." Spike brooded as he wandered off to the opposite side of the room. "Maybe you can find your marbles while you're at it."
"I'm proud of Mommy for being a mailpony and all, and though I wouldn't mind doing the kind of really cool things she does someday, I really wanna be a firefighter when I grow up!" Dinky smiled brightly from where she leaned over a table, drawing a gray equine shape across a sheet of paper, floating upside down in a sea of colored pencil muffins. "Firefighters are so cool! They do the same thing Mommy does—they go door to door and bring smiles to ponies. Only, they do it by saving lives instead of just delivering the mail! Heehee. Mommy says she would have been a firefighter herself, only her vision was never too good. But I don't think she ever had a problem with her eyes. I mean, whenever she comes home, she has no problem finding me and giving me a hug! Or, y'know, it could be just that she hears me really well. Mommy says that she can hear me in my sleep and wake up at a moment's notice to take care of any of my problems. And you know what? She's right! This one winter, I was really, really sick, and she stayed by my side all week. I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for her. I really like it when she laughs." Dinky looked up from her drawing. "Don't you?"
Fluttershy was biting her lip, nearly producing blood. "Mmmmm..." She stifled an intense whimpering noise. "Yes." She sniffled, producing the most painful of smiles. "I most certainly do adore her laughter, D-Dinky."
"I'm glad to hear that." Dinky smiled brighter. She returned to her drawing. "You're a really nice pony, Fluttershy. You should hang out with my Mom someday. I bet you could teach her a thing or two about making tomato soup. Not that my Mom's a bad cook, but she could use some coaching from somepony who isn't her daughter. Heehee... she loves me so very much, but sometimes I think she'd take a compliment better if it came from somepony else. You understand, right?"
"I..." Fluttershy bit her lip briefly. "I think I do. I, uhm..."
"What, did your mother have an easier time listening to you say nice things to her?"
Fluttershy cleared her throat and instead said, "I happen to be the Element of Kindness, Dinky, and I can sense a great deal of genuine, sincere kindness in you." She smiled as she reached over to caress the foal's blonde bangs. "Your mother raised you with gentleness and adoration. It shows in every single word you have to say."
Dinky giggled. "Awwwww, Miss Fluttershy!" Her cheeks were red. "I'm burning up."
"Oh no!" Fluttershy gasped, standing up straight in the parlor with twitching wings. "Are you coming down with something?! There's a horrible flu going around! Why, even my bunny Angel is—"
"Nah, I'm feeling great this evening," Dinky said, grinning up at her. "It must be the soup you made for me."
"Oh. Uhm. Right..." Fluttershy sat back down, coiling her wings tight at her side. "I do my best to put love and kindness into everything I make."
"So does Mommy," Dinky said. "Though she doesn't give herself enough credit. I tell her everyday that I love her, and that I'm really thankful for all she does to protect me and keep me safe, but sometimes I think she could use more convincing somehow." Suddenly, Dinky sighed, her face turning dull. "I almost wish she was here right now. I'd tell her everything I feel about her all over again. It's just... difficult, with her away from home and all."
Fluttershy's face flexed painfully. She stared at Dinky with sad eyes, gulped a lump down her throat, and swiftly came to the rescue with: "I will take care of you, Dinky."
"Huh?" Dinky glanced over at Fluttershy.
"You... you can come over to my cottage," Fluttershy said in a squeaky voice, nevertheless delivered with a fragile smile. "I'll introduce you to Angel and to the rest of my cuddly little animals. You can even help me take care of them, if you like."
"Awwwww, Miss Fluttershy..." Dinky giggled. "That's too kind of you. But I can't."
Fluttershy pouted. "Why not?"
"Well, I promised Mommy I'd look after the place while she was gone," Dinky said. "I don't want to be a bad daughter."
"You're nothing of the sort!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "And, uhm, as for this place—I'm pretty sure Princess Twilight is going to look after it for a while."
"Oh really?"
"Uh huh."
"Why?"
"Because..." Fluttershy fidgeted. "Because... because..." She blinked. "We're... th-throwing a celebration!"
"A celebration?" Dinky asked.
"In your mother's honor."
"Oh! Cool!" Dinky sat up straight with a bright smile. "You mean like a party?! She'd love that!"
"Well, no, not quite... l-like that..." Fluttershy rubbed one hoof over the other as she avoided Dinky's expression. "It's a bit more formal, I g-guess."
"Ohhhhh..." Dinky winked. "Well, if the Princess is involved, that would make some sense, huh?"
"Oh! Sure! You b-bet!"
"Well, then I guess I'd better not get in her way at all."
"That's why I'm extending an invitation," Fluttershy said, daring to stare Dinky in the face again. "I mean it, dear. Please... stay at my place. I will take care of you."
"Until Mommy comes back?"
Fluttershy took a deep breath and nodded. "Until you are ready to be with her again, yes, Dinky. It would be an honor."
Dinky giggled and launched across the table, giving Fluttershy a dear hug.
The pegasus gasped, finding herself suddenly embracing the petite little foal in her forelimbs.
"You're so thoughtful and generous, Miss Fluttershy." Dinky nuzzled the mare. "I'll tell Mommy all about it the next time she calls me through the sound stone."
Fluttershy sniffled, nevertheless patting Dinky's shoulders lovingly. "Remember to tell her that I think she raised an absolute angel."
"I will. I will..."
At that moment, the front door opened, causing a fresh breeze to blow through place. Fluttershy put Dinky down, turning towards the entrance with a shocked expression. "Now who on earth could that be?" She trotted nervously around the edge the edge of the parlor. "Twilight? Spike? Did we invite the Mayor or somepony?"
What Fluttershy found instead was a frazzled pale unicorn in a cloak. Rarity's eyes darted about the place. She bit onto one of her hooves until she spun and saw her friend. "Fluttershy!"
"Rarity...?"
"Oh, darling! I looked everywhere!" Rarity rushed forward with a ripple of her scarf. "I should have known to come here first! I swear, it's like I couldn't find you or any of the other girls anywhere! A part of me almost feared that something terrible had also happened... to..." She stopped suddenly, biting her lip.
"What is it, Rarity?"
"Erhm..." Rarity fidgeted. "Where is she? The poor little darling, I mean? After all, I heard what happened—a little too late after every other pony, granted—and I wanted to... that is, I only desired... unngh..." She ran a hoof over her brow, sighing. "I'm terribly sorry. This was most uncouth of me, barging in as if I somehow wasn't a total stranger in this place."
"No no, Rarity." Fluttershy smiled gently as she caressed the unicorn's shoulder. "It's okay. Twilight and Spike are here."
"Oh? Are they truly?"
Fluttershy nodded. "They're upstairs, attempting... uhm..."
"Let me guess," Rarity spoke with a raspy breath. "Attempting to sort through Miss Hooves' personal effects in hope of finding a personally written ledger that would bear her will and testament?"
"Something to that extent, yes."
"Well, that's fine." Rarity gulped, staring up the nearby stairs. "That's quite fine. Though I do not envy the task set before them, I am deeply proud of Twilight for stepping up to the occasion—" She froze upon hearing a cute, yawning noise. Her face bore a pale expression as it swiveled to meet Fluttershy's sight again. "Is... Oh d-dear, is that...?"
Fluttershy quietly nodded, then motioned her head towards the parlor.
Rarity took a deep breath. With a great deal of poise, she turned about and trotted firmly into the living room. There, she spotted Dinky curling up into a little gray ball on the edge of the couch.
"Dinky, precious," Fluttershy said in a motherly tone. "We have a visitor. This is Rarity, my very dear friend."
"Hmmm?" Dinky looked up, then smiled from where she lay on the couch. "Oh, hello, Lady Rarity."
The unicorn's lips pursed. "'Lady Rarity?'" She produced an airy laugh. "Why, what a marvelously charming title! How might you have learned such a thing, darling?"
"Mommy calls you that all the time," Dinky said with a tired giggle. "She comes home once a week saying 'I just delivered a bunch of jewels to Lady Rarity's place, and it smelled like flowers and rich ponies!'" Dinky winked. "I think Mommy likes how fancy you are. She'd love to dress and talk like an elegant pony herself someday."
Rarity's face contorted with grief. "You poor little thing. It... it pains me very deeply to hear about what happened today, and I just wanted to see you personally and say—"
Fluttershy jerked. With a swish of her feathers, she dashed to Rarity's side and spoke hushedly into the mare's ear.
Rarity listened. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She turned and squeaked at her friend. "Is Twilight serious?"
Fluttershy bit her lip and nodded.
Rarity was at a loss for words. As a matter of fact, she looked almost ready to vomit.
"Were you..." Dinky yawned, flexed her mouth, and murmured, "Were you about to s-say something, Lady Rarity?"
"I... ehrm..."
"Miss Fluttershy invited me to stay at her cottage for a little while," Dinky said with a warm expression. "Isn't that nice of her?"
"Oh. Yes..." Rarity sniffled and nodded with a soft smile. "It is extraordinarily kind of the mare."
"It's only until Mommy comes back, though." Dinky closed her eyes, smiling. "I don't think she'd want anypony stealing me, no matter how kind."
"It's... quite the tempting thought." Rarity chuckled through her throat and reached a hoof to caress the child's bangs. "I mean that in jest, darling. We will make your mother proud. That, I promise you."
"Mmmmhmmm..." Dinky curled tighter against the couch.
"I take it that you're exhausted, dear."
"Oh. No..." Dinky slowly shook her head against the cushions. "I'm not even remotely tired."
"Oh? But you look ready to sleep."
"I'm only 'napping,'" Dinky cooed. "I promised Mommy that I would. She's such a nice pony, I'd hate to let her down."
Rarity's eyes watered. She shuddered, clearing her throat before mewling, "I do not believe that you will have anything to fear in that regard, precious."
"I'm sorry, Lady Rarity," Dinky murmured as her breaths grew more and more even. "Maybe we can talk about Mommy another time?"
"I... I would very much love that, Dinky," Rarity said. Fumbling, she stood up. "Rest assured. You will be in my thoughts, just as you will be in the hearts of every pony in this town."
"Hmmm... that's nice..." And Dinky drifted off.
Fluttershy trotted over, grasping an afghan in her muzzle. She draped it over the slumbering foal, taking time to gaze lovingly at her in the starlight. After a few breaths, she turned about—only to freeze.
Rarity was gone. Beyond the edge of the parlor, a shadow shifted near the entrance to the condo.
Fluttershy quietly trotted away from Dinky's still figure. When she entered the next room, she found Rarity slumped up against a wall, her body heaving. "Rarity...?" With a concerned expression, Fluttershy approached the unicorn from behind and laid a hoof on her cloaked shoulder. "Rarity, speak to me. Are you okay?"
"How... h-how could she be so at peace?" Rarity's voice wavered between sniffing sounds. She rubbed her cheek with a forelimb and glanced towards a wall full of photographs, each showing the foal in a close embrace with her mother. "She's lost so much, and it's like she doesn't even know it..."
"That's because she's not willing to believe it, Rarity," Fluttershy said in a defeated tone. "That's why we have to be extra careful not to do or say anything insensitive about her until she's willing to come to her—"
"No, it's not that." Rarity shook her head, stifling a sob. "It's s-something else. Something stronger."
"How do you mean?"
"I... I can't explain it, darling," Rarity shuddered, staring into the dimly-lit corner. "It's something I haven't felt in a long time, and I only have myself to blame."
"Huh...?"
Rarity gulped, her tearful eyes sparkling. "I... I think I must speak with Twilight. Not now, but before whatever funeral we happen to arrange for Miss Hooves. She deserves a proper sendoff. A respectable ceremony. A..." She suddenly winced, a flash of anger flowing through her otherwise melting expression. "Why? Why of all flowers, did he have to adore lilies? I can't stand the smell of them! How will I be of any use now?"
"Rarity?" Fluttershy trotted around until the two were facing again. "You're not m-making any sense!"
Rarity sniffled, frowning in Fluttershy's direction. "I did absolutely nothing today, Fluttershy. I sat down on my dainty posterior for hours on end, throwing words around like mere spittle, and what did I even accomplish? What love and sincerity did I contribute to this world? Surely not the same thing that resonates such warmth like that little cherub sleeping in the next room."
"None of us could have expected what happened today, Rarity. We were all living our own lives, after all."
"For me to believe that, I have to put the emphasis on 'living,'" Rarity muttered as she trotted to the door. "And suddenly, even that is up to debate."
"Where are you going?"
"Somewhere. Nowhere. I just..." Rarity seethed. "I just need to think."
"Please, Rarity. Stay a little while longer. Talk to me." Fluttershy leaned in. "Share with me what's on your mind."
Rarity gulped tightly. "It's not my mind that I'm concerned about."
Fluttershy blinked confusedly.
"You're doing a noble thing with the child, Fluttershy." Rarity wiped away a final tear and trotted off. "All of you are..."
"Rarity..."
But, with a flurry of hooves, the unicorn was gone.
Shuddering, Rarity stood outside the front stoop to Derpy's condo. She took several seconds to collect her breaths, tightening the scarf around her neck with a tug of magic. Then, after adjusting the folds of her cloak, she made to trot her brisk way home.
"Rarity! Hey there! Ho there!" Pinkie Pie jumped into view suddenly.
"Waaaaaie!" Rarity shrieked far too loudly for her own good. She flung a panicked look towards the parlor windows, as if horrified at the prospect of seeing a little foal startled awake beyond the dark glass. After a relieve sigh, she turned to glare at the fluffy mare in the starlight. "Pinkie Pie, there are ponies with a good sense of timing, and then there is you, darling."
"I've been looking for my friends all day!" Pinkie chirped, wobbling back and forth on her bright hooves. "All I've seen are sad ponies, but none of my bestest of best buds! Until now!"
"Hmmph. In case you haven't lifted your face for a full minute from out of a bowl of flour, you'll have noticed that there's a distinct reason for that this day."
"Yeah. Everypony seems down in the dumps..." Pinkie pouted, then grinned. "But how about we fix that?! You and me?"
"I don't think I quite read you..."
"I've been itching for hours to cheer somepony up!" Pinkie swooped Rarity into a vicious hug. "Squeeee! And this is your lucky day! Cuz that pony is you!"
"Mmmffnnghh... Pinkie..."
"Let's go hit the soda fountain or the milk bar or go skipping stones atop the crystal pond—"
"Pinkie...!"
"Oooh! Or we could go watch old slides of my vacation with the Cakes to Bitaly last year!" Pinkie Pie gasped wide and ecstatically barked, "Did you know that they have over thirty statues of that one stallion who wrote The Equine Comedy?"
"Pinkie!" Rarity shoved the pony off of her and frowned. "Do you possess a single ounce of dignity?!"
"Uhhh..." Pinkie fidgeted nervously. "Is that anything like two teaspoons of sobriety?"
"A very, very terrible thing happened today!" Rarity snarled, a fresh tear running down her cheek. "An innocent pony died in a calamitous accident and her poor, darling daughter is having to live without a mother! There is nothing about any of this that is even remotely worth celebrating! Most especially at this present moment in time!"
"But..." Pinkie's lips quivered. "You and I are both alive, r-right? Isn't that something worth celebrating?"
"Hmmmph!" Rarity tossed her mane and brushed swiftly past Pinkie Pie. "Sometimes I wonder just to what extent your parents ever bothered to teach you manners. I'm sorry, Pinkie, but the last thing I want to do right now is party. And until you understand just how serious this situation is, I would very much desire you to give me and the rest of our friends some much-needed space!"
Pinkie gawked at Rarity as the fashionista trotted off. "But... but..." She sighed, plopping down to her haunches as she sat like a lone statue in Derpy's front lawn. "...I just want everypony to be happy. Why do we have to have boring, stuffy space instead?"
Silence.
Pinkie's face scrunched up. "And... they never t-taught me anything." Her voice was lost to the wind. "I think they liked it even less than having parties."
She exhaled heavily, her mane dangling like a lead weight off the side of her head. She pivoted in the starlight, gazing dully towards the dark face of the condominium.
"Uhhhh... hey!" Spike brightened, lifting a manila envelope into the lamplight. "I think I found something!"
Twilight gasped. Turning around, she galloped across the upstairs bedroom and telekinetically plucked the object from Spike's grasp. "Spike, you're a life-saver!"
"Eww..." The whelp winced. "Wrong choice of words today, ya think?"
Twilight bit her lip, but ultimately shrugged it off. With delicate magic, she untied the package and slid several sheets of hoof-written paper out. Her violet eyes squinted as she ran her gaze across the ornate sheets. "Mmmmm... mmmmhmmmm..." She flipped from one page to another. "Mmmmmmm-hmmmmm..."
"Well?" Spike jumped and jumped on the scaled heels of his feet. "Is it what we thought it was?"
"Oh, yes, Spike. Yes, it's what we were looking for. It's just... uh..."
"What?" Spike leaned forward. "What is it?"
Twilight grimaced slightly. Her eyes shrank as she dropped the sheets back into the envelope, glanced at Spike, and gulped. "Apparently, we're gonna need a lot—and I do mean a lot of muffin mix..."
"Buh?"
The crickets had formed a dense chorus against the fabric of night by the time Applejack unloaded the last barrel of apples into the barn of Sweet Apple Acres.
"Whew-wee!" She slumped back against an empty wagon, wiping the copious drops of sweat from her brow as she lazed briefly in the light of a moth-fluttering lamp. "That's the biggest load of apples I've ever lugged around in a single day! Wouldn't you agree, Big Mac?"
"Eeeyup..." Big Mac trotted out of the barn, similarly sweaty as he dragged an empty crate out and slapped it onto a pile of wooden containers lining the edge of the building.
"For a moment there, I thought I was takin' on too heavy of a load!" Applejack grinned her brother's way. "Thank ya kindly for lendin' a hoof, Macky. If it weren't for y'all, I'd be havin' to explain to Filthy Rich why we were behind in the latest apple supply tomorrow mornin'!"
"Hnnngh!" Big Mac wheezed as he shoved the heavy doors to the barn shut all on his lonesome. He gestured towards Applejack, and the mare rushed forward in time to latch the large entrance shut.
"Come to think of it, I thought it was yer turn to sell apples at the town market today!" Applejack flung a curious glance aside as she fanned herself with her hat. "What brought you home so early? Was it a bad day for sales or somethin'?"
"Eenope."
"Reckon I don't get it." Applejack blinked. "What got you home so early?"
"Didn't ya hear?" Apple Bloom trotted up from the farm house, carrying a lamp atop her spine. "The market and shops closed early today! The whole town's all hushed and quiet-like!"
"Oh?" Applejack raised her hat back up to her head. "What for?"
"Beats me. Could have somethin' to do with some mailpony passin' away."
Applejack let go of her hat and it completely missed her head. She stood frozen still, gawking. "I beg yer pardon...?"
"Yeah..." Apple Bloom nodded, tapping her chin in thought. "Whatshername? Dopey? Droopy?"
Applejack's breath left her. "Derpy Hooves?! D-Derpy Hooves—the mailpony—is a g-goner?!"
"Yeah!" Apple Bloom smiled. "That's her name!"
"But... but..." Applejack's green eyes bore confused little circles in the rich earth of Sweet Apple Acres. "When did this happen?! How did it h-happen?!"
"I dunno. I heard somepony sayin' somethin' about a chariot crashin' north of town early this mornin'. Also hungry Quarry Eels... or somethin' like that." Apple Bloom shrugged before turning to face Big Mac. "Granny sent me to say that supper's ready! Hope you like potato soup! Again! Heehee!" She giggled, drawing a chuckle or two from her big brother as well.
Applejack gawked at him. "Big Macintosh, didja know anythang about this?"
"Eeyup." Without looking at Applejack, he patted Apple Bloom on the head and headed towards the lit house with a leisurely trot.
"Race ya to the house, big brother!" Apple Bloom sang out.
"Wait just a gul-durn minute!" Applejack stammered, stretching a hoof out towards her distant siblings. "How come y'all didn't say a single word about this earlier?!"
Apple Bloom and Big Mac paused to blink back at her. "Didn't ya have a whole heapin' lot of apples to buck today?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Well, yes! I reckon I did, but—"
"We couldn't let Filthy Rich down, could we?" Apple Bloom smiled. "I know how much you hate bein' late with a harvest for the ol' stallion."
Applejack bit her lip.
"Come on, AJ!" Apple Bloom gestured as she waddled towards the house after her big brother. "You'll want to eat up and bed down so you can get up bright and early tomorrow! Still lots of work to be done, right?"
"Sure, but... but..."
"Hey! Big Mac! No fair!" Apple Bloom's voice giggled. "You've got a big stride! How the hay am I supposed to keep up?!"
He chuckled over the sound of his own thudding hoofsteps.
Applejack remained alone, her sad eyes reflecting the pale starlight. After a minute or two, she slumped back against the barn, sitting limply beside her hat in the dark dust.