Five Score Divided by Four - A Mother and Daughter's Paths

by Autum Breeze


Chapter 7

Chapter 7

___________________________________________________________

“Now I understand why Rainbow Dash went so nuts in Read It and Weep,” I moaned, slumped in front of window, watching from the bed as we drove past Beverly Shores.

I’d been trying to keep myself occupied during the drive since we left Kalamazoo, but having been inside this tin can since last night, I was feeling really claustrophobic and the knowledge we still had over four hours worth of driving still to go didn’t help.

I had a feeling it was a Pegasus thing, since I’d been on far longer drives back in the past when I was human and had no problem.

But, now that I was a Pegasus, having been stuck inside for so long was starting to get on my nerves. My wings wanted to spread; I needed to feel the wind on my face and through my feathers as I flew through the open sky.

Seeing as we couldn’t watch anything, since this RV didn’t have a TV or anything like that, Kelly had gotten the kids a portable DVD player and, wouldn’t you know it, they’d found a store with all five seasons of MLP, which the kids were sitting and watching.

Honey was laying against me, as she had been since we’d finished lunch and started off again. She seemed clingy, but I had a feeling it was because she felt she could trust me and be at ease around me. She was currently having a light nap, her body rising and falling against mine with each breath.

Despite my anxiety to get out of here and stretch my wings, it was calming to feel her against me like this. It made me wonder if Derpy and Honey had had something back in Equestria, before Discord forced them to be fused with us simple humans.


We left Kalamazoo behind us for the safety of the open road. All of us now had some time to think and work through this. I filled Kelly in on what Party, Honey and I had figured out. Everyone had to agree it made some sort of sense. The fans talked about mind spells in Equestria, and most theorized that there were many different types. Even the slightest error in casing could prove problematic at best, disastrous at worst. The fact that Derpy had taken the spell meant for Dinky might be why my memory haze with different from the other ponies.


“You doing okay?”

I glanced to see Party sit down next to me on my other side.

I shrug. “Pegasi aren’t good with being coped up inside so long.”

“Honey doesn’t seem to mind,” Party nodded to the mare snoozing against me, somewhat sandwiching me between the two of them.

I shake my head. “She’s been through more than we did, Party. She needs the rest.” I sigh. “I just wish I could do more than offer comfort to her.”

He frowned at me. “Derpy, your offering her comfort is the best thing you could. Plus, from the short time I’ve known you, that’s who you are, someone who’s caring for others.”

We remain silent for a while, watching the beach as it stopped being the scenery, Party closing the curtains so no one would see a pair of ponies by the window, listening to the sound of the show coming from the PDVDP.


“Ya think Dinky’s somewhere out there?”

After several long minutes of silence, the sudden question makes me startle, turning to him, not having been expecting it.

I frown, looking down at my hooves. “I want to say I believe she got away...”

“But...?” Party inched me on.

I sighed. “But... at best, Derpy gave her daughter a few moments. I mean, look at you, Party,” I turn my head to him. “Discord got to the ponies in his village; you even said Party thought of Starlight Glimmer having been captured.” I look back down, closing my eyes. “If he got to ponies that far away, it’s more than likely Dinky got caught too.”

“So you think she’s somewhere here, fused to a human on Earth?” Party nudged me face.

I opened my eyes and turn an eye to him, before giving a single nod. “I do... But should we find her?”

He blinked, pulling back. “Why?”

I sigh. “Well, if she is here, some of Dinky’s memories might be causing her to think of me. She’s probably wondering where I am, scared she’s never going to see me again, confused about being scared because she’s a human turned into a pony so much younger...”

I gasp us I feel his hoof move across my face. I turn to see him moving a slightly damp hoof downward.

I lift a hoof to my cheeks. They’re wet. I’d been crying.

I look back down. “What’s happening to me, Party?”

I leans his neck against me in a pony neck hug. “I’m not sure, Derpy.”

"Am I being made to feel this way because its how Derpy feels? I know her mind is trapped in my own by Discord's horrible spell. Does that mean my mind will be fully re-written? Will I stop being me?"

He sighs against me. "I wish I could tell you, Derpy. I really wish I could."

Ever since I’d started being able to remember my dreams clearer, that had been one of the things I’d been trying to ignore. Dinky.

However, being stuck in this RV for so long, with nothing else to really do, and the conversation I’d had with Party and Honey whilst we waited in the RV for the others to get back earlier, my thoughts went to the little filly, making me worry about her and where on the planet she could be.

“You’re her mother,” Party said, leaning against me. “It’s natural to be worried.”

“But I’m not her mother,” I state, pulling my head away, then looking firmly at him. “I’m a human trapped in her body. Dinky needs her mother, but, unless we somehow find a way to fix this, she’ll never get her back. I can’t be a mother, not the mother she needs, anyway.”

I blink, then grimace, realizing I was just referring to myself as a mother in general. This was getting really worrying.

Without warning, the RV jerked to a halt. The sudden momentum sent Party pushing into me, causing me to push into Honey, causing the three of us to tumble off the bed and resulting in us being in a pony pile up.

“Jenny!” I shouted, glaring at her from underneath Party. “What the hell? A little warning next time?”

“Sorry, but we’re at a roadblock,” Jenny says, glancing back at me from the driver’s seat as we untangle ourselves.

I frown, but my eyes widen with worry. “What?”

Jenny nods. “Police are checking vehicles, no doubt looking for the ones responsible for that terrorist attack in Seattle.”

“What?” Honey cries, her eyes widening in fear before ducking behind me. I thought she turned into Honey Rays, not Fluttershy. “No. No, they can’t! If they look in here they’ll find us and then they’ll call the CDC and we’ll all be taken away!”

“I know,” Jenny nods, looking back to the front where see could see some officers in the distance checking the cars ahead of us. “Any ideas, Ben?”

I frown. “Why you asking me?”

She smirks. “You’ve been making all the plans up til now and you’ve been good at it. So, any ideas?”

I snort, annoyed she’d just put that choice to me. Now everyone and everypony’s looking to me, counting on me. If I’d turned into Twilight Sparkle or one of the other princesses, I could understand, but I’m Derpy.

I pace back and forth, going over ideas in my mind. We could... No, no. that’s too simple. It would fail in a heartbeat. Oh, we could... No, no, idiot! They’re searching the vehicles, they’d look there too.

On my tenth pacing of the RV I glance at Sally, she’s holding onto a small teddy bear, Kelly or Jenny must’ve gotten it for her back in Kalamazoo, tightly.

I smirk. If only we could be like that. A stuffed animal would be scanned for bombs and such, but otherwise they’d be left... alone?

My eyes widen and my smirk turns to a grin. I whirl around, grinning. “I have a plan that might work, but,” I look to Party and Honey, “you’ll need to keep your emotions in check, at least until the police have finished their search and we’re on our way.”

They all glance at each other, then look to me with raised eyebrows.

I grin eagerly. “Okay, here’s what we need to do...”

___________________________________________________________

“I’ll take this one, Tibs,” I says as I walk towards the next vehicle in line, an RV.

He nods absentmindedly as he writes down more notes from the others cars. “Sure, Office Huegans. Be my guest.”

I roll my eyes. "Just call me Hues, Tibs. It's not that hard."

Ever since that bombing in Seattle, I’ve been stuck out here on each shift, waiting for cars to come by, stop them and search them, each time yielding nothing.

I realize the worry of terrorists after that explosion, but this is so tedious. I’ve lost count of the number of cars I’ve searched today alone. If not for Sergeant Tibs keeping a record of each car and its occupants and destination, I probably wouldn’t have anything to go on by the end of it all.

I knock on the door to the RV and wait for an answer.

Moments later the door opens to show a young woman with ear-length blonde hair wearing a tank-top and jeans.

She smiles hesitantly at me. “Can I help you, officer?”

I nod, holding up the warrant. “Officer Huegans. Sorry, ma’m, but we’re checking all cars for any chances of further bombers. You understand?”

She nods, stepping aside and letting me in.


I glance around. It’s a fairly big RV. It has pretty much the most room you could want in one and everything looks pretty normal.

There’s another woman in the driver’s seat, with brown hair that goes to her shoulders.

I noticed two kids sitting at the table surrounded by three large plushy animals. I recognize them right away thanks to my daughters. One’s a unicorn with a teal coat and poofy blue mane and tail, with a few stripes of a much lighter-blue through it. The other two were pegasi, one being the infamous Derpy Hooves my daughter usually spoke of. The other was one I didn’t know, with a pink coat and blonde mane and tail. I’d ask my daughter about it.

They’re all really well-made. I’d almost swear they were real. I can smell perfume in the air. From this distance, I can tell it’s coming from the toys. Either the kids sprayed them for some reason, or they’d smelled and the adults did so to lessen the smell.

“Oh, hello, Mr. policeman,” the little girl says, smiling at me. I can see a toy tea cup sitting in front of her, a boy that is clearly her brother and the three stuffed animals. “Would you like some tea?”

“He wouldn’t want tea,” the boy says, with his mouth half closed and shakes the teal pony toy, clearly pretending it’s the one talking. “Police like coffee.”

I chuckle. This kid either really loved his sister enough to really play or he really had fun doing that with the pony. Considering that fandom, I wouldn’t dismiss that idea.

I do my search, checking anywhere I can think of that a bomb or any types of explosives could be hidden. Nothing seems odd, aside from this place needing a bit more of a clean. Other than that, I don’t see anything wrong. I even use a scanner to look for even the smallest traces of something from an explosive near the toys. Nothing.

I inwardly groan. Another waste of time for both myself and another family.

I go over to the adults and ask them to give me all the details I need, their names, license, where they’re going and why, etcetera.

They’re heading for Des Moines. When I ask why they say they just needed a change of scenery, the driver, the children’s mother, had apparently just broken up with her husband and wanted to get away.

I didn’t ask any further about that, my wife having gone through something similar with her last partner. I knew where not to tread here.

I thank them for their time, and head for the door.

“Goodbye, Mr. police officer.” I glance back to see the little girl making the Derpy toy wave at me. “Have a lovely day.”

I smile and nod, before exiting, closing the door behind me. I watch as the RV starts moving and drives off.

Nice family. I turn to head for the next car, before I smack myself on the forehead. I should have asked where they got those toys. My daughter would love a large pony plushy like those.

I sigh. Well, no point crying over spilled milk. Putting that aside, I head for the next car to continue my tedious job.

___________________________________________________________

Jenny is looking in the rear-view mirror. “Okay, you can move now.”

I shut my eyes and rub them with my hooves. “God! That was harder than I thought!” I open them, blinking several times to get some normal feeling back.

“I was worried I’d blink while that officer was looking at me,” Party says, rubbing his eyes too.

“Still, that was a great idea, Derpy,” Honey says, smiling at me with her eyes closed. “Stuffed toys. Brilliant.”

I grin sheepishly, rubbing my neck with a forehoof. “Well, it wasn’t that great. It was just the best I could come up with at such short notice.”

“Still, it got us through.” Jenny grins, glancing at me through the rear-view. “See, told you you’re the plan guy.”

I shake my head, blushing.

I yawn. I suddenly feel pretty tired. I move over to the bed and lay down for a nap. As I settle down, I give a light chuckle as I feel Honey come up beside me and lay down too, gently leaning her body against mine.

I yawn again, then close my eyes, letting sleep take me. At least sleep would help pass the time... Huh. I wonder if that’s why Dash naps so often, to make the time fly.

___________________________________________________________

Jenny glances at her watch. Still an hour and forty-eight minutes until they reach Des Moines and they could all finally relax a little.

“Um, Jenny?” She looks to her left and sees Ash standing there, looking unsure about something. “Would... would it be alright if I sat up here with you?”

Jenny smiles. “Sure, Ash. Just make sure to stay low, so no one sees you.” Not that there was much chance of that right now. The drive was going to be pretty much nothing but road until they reached Des Moines and they hadn’t come across any other traffic in ages.

Ash nods, getting onto the passanger seat and laying down on his stomach, before he blinks, turning to her with a puzzled expression. “You called me Ash.”

She nods, turning her head back to the road. “So?”

He shrugs. “Well, the others have gotten used to calling me Party, even me. So, why are you still calling me Ash?”

Jenny glances at him with a raised eyebrow. “You guys still plan on changing back into people after this is all over, right?”

Ash didn’t answer, frowning at the floor. “To be honest... I’m not sure, at least about myself.”

Jenny whipped her head to him, veering off road for a moment, before correcting her mistake. Her eyes are fixed on him, confused. “You mean... you don’t want to go back to being the woman you were born as.”

Ash just shakes his head. “Haven’t really been sure for a few days now, really?”

“Why?”

He sighs, looking to her. “Party’s memories.”

She blinks. “I thought you couldn’t retain them like Ben can?”

He nods. “I can’t... but some memories stick out. And... after I had them...” he glances back at the two pegasi sleeping on the bed, the sudden jerk not having been enough to wake them, “my thoughts of Derpy are... confusing.”

Jenny sighs. “Wanna talk about it?”

___________________________________________________________

I walk off of the train, looking around in excitement. Ponyville. Finally, I’d get to see where Princess Twilight and her friends called home.

Ever since they helped us understand friendship properly, our village has been doing a lot better. We’ve even expanded, gaining several new villagers and helped them build their homes.

Of all the things Starlight Glimmer made rules for us to follow, that was one we’d stuck too, even after everything that happened. We all pitched in whenever a new house needed building and there was a roaster for who would host the new villagers until their house was built.

We didn’t just gain new ponies for villagers, either. We had two griffins, a minotaur couple, several zebras, even some deer.

Out little town was growing and we all had those six ponies to thank. My visit was also to see if there were any ideas we could use here to improve our town.

Taking my luggage in my magic, I head out the station and step out into Ponyville proper. It’s wonderful. There’s so many ponies around. Many of them wave to me as I walk by.

“Whoa! Watch out!” I glance around at the voice, but see nopony looking in my direction.

I scratch my head with a hoof. Now that’s weird. Where did that voice come—?

“WATCH OUT!”

I hear the scream a second before I’m hit by something. I tumble with whatever it is for several moments, before I flop, belly-first, on the ground, my legs spread eagle.

“Ow!” I say, trying to get up, only to find a large weight on my back. “What in Equestria just hit me?”

“Oh! I’m so sorry!”

I feel the weight leave my back and push myself up, before somepony’s hooves grab me, whirl me around and starts patting me, puffing dirt off of my coat.

She’s a grey Pegasus mare with a blonde mane and tail and six bubbles for a Cutie Mark. The interesting thing, though, was her eyes. They were an amazing golden colour, almost the same as her mane. However, one eye was facing in one direction while the other was looking at me, though both had concern in them.

“I’m really, really sorry,” she says as she dusts me off. “I should have landed sooner. I’m so clumsy. I’m sorry.”

I take a step back, shaking my head. “Oh, no, miss. Please, it was just an accident. I know several pegasi who had had landing problems from time to time.”

She mumbles something I didn’t quite hear.

“What was that?” I ask, leaning a little forward. “Couldn’t quite hear you.”

“I doubt they have as many as I do,” she mumbled, though just loud enough that I heard it.

I frown. Why was she being so hard on herself?

I use a hoof to lift her chin so she’s looking at me. “Hey. Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure you’re not that bad.”

She looks away, her mismatched eyes becoming downcast. “I am...”

My smile faltered a little. Why is she being so hard on herself?

“Mommy!”

A small excited cheer made me look around, to see a mulberry Earth Pony with three smile flowers for her Cutie Mark leading a small group of foals, one of which, a little unicorn filly, had just broken ranks and was rushing over to us.

I watch as the little filly tackled the grey mare, who held her in a warm embrace as she said, “Hello, muffin. What’re you doing here?”

“Miss Cheerilee is taking us to visit Carousel Boutique to see how Miss Rarity makes her dresses,” the filly who’s name was apparently Muffin said, nuzzling the older mare.

I blinked before I processed it. This mare was the filly’s mother, and, upon closer examination of the two, I’m surprised I didn’t notice it sooner. The filly is practically identical to her mother, aside from the fact that she’s a unicorn while her mother’s a Pegasus.

It was now that the filly took notice of me. “Hi, Mr.” she said, smiling at me with the most innocent smile I’d ever seen in my life. “Are you one of Mommy’s friends?”

I pause for a moment, glancing at the mare, who was looking uncertain. I smile and nod. “Yes, Muffin. I’m Party Favor— What’s wrong?” I asked, seeing her smile fade as she frowned at me.

“Only Mommy can call me muffin,” she pouted, giving me a look I honestly could not name, but it wasn’t pleasant.

I cocked an eyebrow. “But, isn’t that your name? Why’s only your mommy allowed to call you your name?”

The mare chuckled, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. This is my daughter, Dinky Doo. ”

I smile, looking down at the little filly. “My apologies, Dinky.”

The pout vanishes and Dinky just smiles like before. “That’s okay, Mr. Favor.”

I chuckle. “Just Party will do, Miss Doo.”

She looks confused and is clearly about to ask something, when a voice calls from where the other foals and teacher were. “Dinky, I’m happy for you to speak with your mother, but we need to get back to the lesson, dear.”

Dinky sighs, looks up at her mother, kisses her on the cheek and hopes out of her grasp, hurrying back to her class.

I watch, finding it impossible not to smile. I turn back to the mare, who is also smiling. “You’ve a lovely daughter, Miss...”

I suddenly realize I don’t know her name.

She chuckles, turning away from watching her daughter rejoin her class and looks to me with a smile. “Derpy. Derpy Hooves.”

I nod, bowing my head a little. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Hooves.” As I return my posture to normal, I ask a question then suddenly flitters across my mind. “Who’s the father?”

She giggles. “That's a little personal, Party. So, what brings you to Ponyville?”

I grin sheepishly, then explain to her how Princess Twilight and her friends saved my town a while ago, and how I wanted to visit their town to see what it was like in comparison.

Derpy offered to help with my luggage to make up for crashing into me, but I told her it was unnecessary and levitated them alongside us as we walked.

Since I hadn’t eaten on the train, and because she insisted I had to let her do something for me to make up for the crash, we sat down at a small cafe and I ordered some food, a daffodil sandwich, a small hay fries and a soda, while she ordered a blueberry muffin and a water.

As we sat waiting for our meals to arrive, she told me about herself. She had lived in Ponyville since she was a filly, moved for a few years to Manehatten and then moved back as a teenager with her father.

She had several jobs, both as a mailmare and a moving mare, which always left her feeling very tired most of the time, even after a good night's sleep. When I asked why she had two jobs if it was so exhausting, she mentioned that she not only had her daughter Dinky, but a second daughter, a teenager named Amethyst Star, who went by the nickname Sparkler, to look after.

Unlike Dinky, Sparkler had been adopted while Dinky was still a few months old. Derpy had found her in the Ponyville orphanage (Sparkler had been outside comforting one of the younger orphans at the time) and just couldn’t bring herself to leave the filly there, so she brought her into their small family.


Sparkler had her own job as a foalsitter, but it was Derpy who brought in the most income to provide for the family. She seemed both happy and sad as she said that.

Once our orders came, I told her more about myself, how I’d gotten to my village and how we’d improved since we’d all gotten our Cutie Marks back.

She became a little uneasy when I told her we’d had them tricked away from us by Starlight Glimmer, but she agreed that we all made the right decision in the end, and it was Starlight who was in the wrong.



After checking into the motel I was staying in for the few days I’d be in Ponyville and put my luggage in my room, I spent the rest of the day with Derpy.

She was nice to be around. I wasn’t sure why, but I kept being drawn to her eyes, and not because they looked odd. No, I found them beautiful.

By the time day was over and Derpy had to go pick Dinky up from school and head home to start dinner, I was a little sad our time together had ended.

She then offered me an invitation to stay for dinner, and, since I didn't have any other plans for the evening and didn't want to seem rude, I humbly accepted.

___________________________________________________________

As Derpy and I worked together on the vegetable stew and salads that would be dinner (I insisted on helping cook, even if I wasn’t the best) and Dinky was up in her room doing her homework, the sound of a door opening made me glance behind me.

A pink unicorn mare with a purple mane and tail with a light purple streak in both stood in the doorway, looking at me. She blinks in confusion, an eyebrow raised.

“Oh, Sparkler, you’re home!” Derpy said enthusiastically when she notices I’m not slicing potatoes with my magic anymore and turns to see what has my attention. “How was your day at work?”

The unicorn looks uncertain for a moment as her eyes look up. “Well, I had to foalsit Tootsiflute today, since her parents needed some time to work. She was pretty well behaved,” she sighs, loudly, “but Pinkie Pie dragged the two of us to this strange performance... I’ve still no idea what I saw and I think it’s better I never do.”

I can’t help chuckling. I might have only known Pinkie Pie for a few days, back when she and her friends came to our village, but I knew how hard it could be to be around her.

It is now, of course, that Sparkler points to me. “Who’s this?”

Derpy gets a slight frown on her face, but I can’t help thinking it looks cute. “Sparkler, that’s rude. And I invited Party Favor for dinner.”

Sparkler blinks, glancing between her mother and myself, then closes her eyes and nods. “I’m gonna go see if Dinky wants any help with her homework.”

She walked out, though, while Derpy had her back turned so she didn’t see it, Sparkler gave me a look, one that I think said “Don’t you hurt her, got it?”, puzzling me.


Half an hour later, the four of us were sat around the small dinner table in Derpy’s kitchen, each with a bowl of stew, a plate of salad. Dinky, after finishing small portions of food each time, told us about her day visiting Rarity’s store and watching how she made her dresses.

I couldn’t help noticing Sparkler’s eyes flick to me for a few moments when Dinky mentioned how she’d seen me with their mother before getting to Rarity’s.

I told the girls about myself and asked Sparkler to tell me a little about herself as well. Along with her job as a foalsitter, she also has a short shift at the Hay Burger once a week.

The three of them were part of a herd with an Earth Pony named Carrot Top and a unicorn named Written Script, who is Dinky's birth father.

“Are you gonna be our new daddy?”

The sudden question yanks me out of my thoughts and causes Sparkler to choke on a bit of salad, thumping her chest to get it down, while Derpy did a spit-take that went just over my head.

“N-now, now, Dinky,” Derpy said, her voice quivering a little. “That’s not a question you just ask somepony.”

“But, you two were together when I saw you as my class was going to Rarity’s place,” the filly said, looking confused. “And you said you spent the day with him and now he’s having tea with us.”

I would correct the child, but then saw how she’d come to that conclusion from those examples. Oh, jeez. Did everypony in town think that?

I inwardly frown. For some reason, I'm offended I’d just thought that.

After several minutes of Derpy explaining things more clearly to the confused unicorn, we finished dinner, I had a few conversations with Derpy and Sparkler, then bid the three of them goodnight, heading off towards my motel.

All the way there, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Dinky had said.

Me, a father? I’d never thought about it before, living the way Starlight Glimmer had made us and then the rebuilding of our town had kind of put such thoughts out of my mind.

Now, however, I couldn’t help humoring the idea. Have foals of my own? Maybe I would like that.

My thoughts drifted to Derpy and her children and I felt my face go bright red, suddenly imaging the four of us posed for a family photo.

I shook the images as best I could from my mind, went to my room, bathed and went to bed.

___________________________________________________________

Jenny looks across at me, curiosity in her eyes. “So, you think Party Favor was in love with Derpy back in Equestria?”

I shrug, shaking my head. “Dunno. Didn’t have many other dreams I could really remember. That one stuck though. As for if he loved her or not, from that dream, I’d say it was more of a crush.” I shrug again. “Who knows? Maybe they did fall in love later on, I’m not sure.”

“Well, considering when and how Party Favor got sent to Equestria, they hadn’t gotten close enough to move in together,” Jenny replies, slowing down as a snake slithers across the road, before moving one it’s on the other side. “Derpy and Dinky were in Canterlot and Sparkler was in Ponyville, according to Ben’s dreams.”

I nod, sighing as I lay my head on my folded forelegs. “Doesn’t stop me thinking about where the memory could’ve led though, ya know?”

I glance at her to see her nod. “You’re wondering if those emotions are slipping through, right?”

She’s good.

“I’m unsure, Jenny. Are these my feelings, now developing for Derpy after the time we’ve spent together (small as I realize it is), or are they just Party’s feelings for her from before, mixing into my mind?”

She just shrugs. “I’d tell you if I could, Ash, but I can’t. I’m not a pony, nor do I understand what exactly Discord’s fusing you and Ben with Party and Derpy is doing to you. The ponies could be taking control, or you could both be fusing minds with your respective ponies. We can’t really know unless we find others, maybe even Princess Twilight.”

“So you really think she’s here in this world too?” I ask, cocking my head. I’m still skeptical that Discord would’ve sent any of the Mane Six into the same world as those he’d fused ponies to humans. It would give them a chance to regroup and stop him.

Again, she just shrugs. “We’ll be reaching Des Moines in half an hour. You wanna get some rest before then?”

I shake my head. “I’m not tired.” I smirk cheekily. “I’m not a Pegasus.”

She gives me a wry smile. “Yeah, well I’m pretty sure pegasi have different metabolisms, so they burn through energy faster than other ponies.” She blinks, then giggles. “I can’t believe I’m saying this with a straight face and talking about real creatures.”

I shrug. “Heh. You get used to it. It’s a lot harder coming to term that you are one, than it is seeing or talking about them.”

She nods, before glancing at me. "By the way, I could swear we had more alfalfa before."

I glance at her, an eyebrow raised.

She shrugs. "I just noticed we've been going through more than I thought we should. Either one of you three are eating twice as much or one of us humans is eating some too."

I continue to give her the same look. "What? You think one of you might be eating the alphalfa? Who? Why? It tastes terrible for humans."

She shrugs. "Just making an observation."

With that we go quiet for the rest of the drive, listening to MLP playing from the DVD player and the sounds of Derpy and Honey Rays sleeping in the background.