//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Five Score Divided by Four - A Mother and Daughter's Paths // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Chapter 8 ___________________________________________________________ “Aunt Derpy? Aunt Derpy? Aunt Derpy, wake up!” I snort as I awake, shaking my head and looking around, my vision blurred. The RV wasn’t moving anymore and I could hear the sound of heavy traffic in the not too far off distance. The sky outside the windows should it was very late afternoon, close to evening. I yawned, stretching out like a cat, my movements waking up Honey Rays, who soon followed suit in stretching. Once I’ve gotten all the stiffness out of my joints I give my wings a quick flap. They were itching for some use. I look out the window and see we were in a parking lot. I glance to Kelly, my expression asking the question. “We’re parking in the lot of the Cozy Rest Motel,” she says, chuckling at my raised eyebrow. “I was searching the net for good motels a fair distance away from too highly populated areas so that you and Honey can at least get some flying done at night.” I nod, liking her idea. Going over it in my brain, I remembered that the Cozy Rest Motel was on Hartford Avenue. While not as away from populated areas as I’d have preferred, so fewer were likely to catch Honey and I as we flew around in the sky, it was a pretty good area. Not only that, but Kelly and I had been to the Cozy Rest Motel a few times in the past. It was a nice, quiet place, a good hiding spot while we tried to figure this whole pony thing out. “Well?” Honey smiles, hopping off the bed, with the intent to head towards the door. “Let’s go in—” “No.” Honey turns, looking at me in confusion. “Huh?” I shake my head. “You, Party and I will remain in the RV. Kelly, Jenny and the kids will be staying in the motel.” Honey Rays looks uncertain. “Why?” I gave her a warm smile, hopped off the bed myself and went over to her, giving her a neck-hug. “We’re ponies, Honey. Can you imagine how the staff would react to ponies just waltzing into their motel, especially two pegasi and unicorn, all three of whom can not only talk, but are sapient?” She stiffens against me, no doubt imagining worse than I’d actually meant. I sigh. “I wanted us in this kind of a motel because it meant the girls and the kids could rest comfortably and we could still have a somewhat normal routine, while you and I can stretch our wings in the evenings.” This seems to satisfy her, because she nods and nuzzles against my neck for comfort. I look over to Kelly and the others, all of them looking unsure and gave them a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll get through this. This is only a temporary fix.” Even though I’ve no idea where to go from here, I don’t say. Kelly and the others still look uncertain, but less than before and nod, Kelly, Jenny and the kids heading out the door to book into the motel for what would no doubt be a long stay, while we remained in the RV. “So, what do we do now?” Party asks as we stand in the now very empty feeling RV. I look around for something to occupy us, since it isn’t dark enough out yet for Honey and I to go flying without being seen and my eyes fall on the portable DVD player. I point at it with a hoof. “Why not watch ourselves a bit?” Party rolls his eyes, but Honey shrugs. “Well, I’m only a background pony, but I guess we could.” Then she frowns. “Can we watch the finale?” I glance at her as I lift the DVD player up onto the table so we can watch it from the bed. “Which one, there’s five to choose, you know?” Her frown becomes grim and confused, a very odd combo. “The finale.” It takes a moment for me to understand, mine and Party’s expressions becoming grim too. The season five finale wasn’t that good, both in that it really sucked compared to the other four and the fact that it was a reminder of our current situation. “Why?” I finally ask. She shakes her head. “I think there’s something we missed. Something really important.” She scrunches up her face, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. “I... it’s something big. Something we really should’ve figured out. I just can’t remember what.” I glance at Party. I hadn’t thought we’d missed anything. Discord beat the princesses, including Twilight, then he went after the rest of us (though that part wasn’t in the show itself) and fused as with us. I blink, frowning to myself. Something about what I just thought doesn’t sound right, but I’m not sure what it was. In response to my questioning glance at him, Party shrugs. “Why not? We’d have probably gotten there eventually.” ___________________________________________________________ Party growls as we watch Celestia and Discord as they near the volcano. We were together on the bed, lying on our stomachs, our eyes focused on the screen. So far I hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary from the last several times I’d seen the finale. As the moment came when Discord knocked Celestia off of the edge of the volcano, plummeting towards the molten lava, Honey suddenly screamed, causing Party and I to jump and nearly deafening me in my left ear. I turn to ask her why she screamed, and am shocked to see tears streaming down her face as she sobs, her face in her hooves. “Honey?” I ask, growing worried, wrapping a wing around her. “Honey, what is it?” “Th-the p-princess,” she sobs, turning to me and burying her face into my neck. “H-he killed the princess!” Party and I exchange a glance, not sure how to respond. “Yeah,” he says slowly, speaking with caution. “So... what about it?” She looks up at him with a glare fused with grief, something I honestly hoped I’d never see again after witnessing it. “We’re real! He really banished ponies from Equestria!” Party just frowns. “Yeah, we kinda figured that part out a while ago, Honey,” he waves a forehoof to emphasis. I, on the other hand, stare at the DVD player’s screen as the end credits to part one end and move to part two. If Discord had really banished ponies to Earth after the season five finale... then that meant he really... he actually... “Oh... my god,” I whisper, pulling Honey into a tighter hug, which she accepts. “What?” Party asks, seeming annoyed now. “What’s going on?” I turn my head to look at him whilst I hold Honey’s sobbing, shaking form. “The season five finale really happened Party. Every part of it.” His frown turns to confusion. “What are you getting at?” “Every part! Even what we just watched!” He sits there for a few moments, going over what I said, then glancing at the screen to remember what we just watched. His eyes slowly widen and his mouth opens in shock and horror. “I... Oh, dear god.” I nod. If everything that happened in the season five finale was real, and our being ponies proved it did, that meant Discord really did kick Celestia off the edge of the volcano. She really did fall. Even she couldn’t have survived falling into the lava. Princess Celestia... was dead. We all remained silent, holding each other in a tight embrace, crying over the loss of our princess and having not known about it for twenty-five years. ___________________________________________________________ The wind rushes through my mane as I free-fall, letting gravity retake control over me. As I reach ten feet I spread my wings out, catching the wind and shooting back up for a moment, as if I were using a parachute. After a few seconds, I give my wings a hard couple flaps and rise, before returning to a reasonable altitude, Honey flying over, looking annoyed at me for scaring her like that. I look down, watching the scenery down below. Honey and I took flight at about 8:22pm, after it was finally dark enough to go flying without much chance of anyone spotting us from the air. We couldn’t fly too close to the city, but thankfully a lot of the land beyond it was baron, with only the occasional house or farm here and there. I feel so much better now. After we’d realized Princess Celestia actually died, like literally, the three of us spent a lot of time holding each other, crying over the death of somepony we’d all respected. And no, before you ask, we respected her before we fully became ponies. Once Party and I had started watching the show, we’d felt a deep level of respect for Celestia, especially after we had to watch her as she banished her sister to the moon, and Honey had been a pegasister, so she’d already had respect for the white Alicorn. So, with all that in mind, it wasn’t just the memories of the ponies we are now fused to making us feel this way. Once we’d calmed down enough, Party had told us to go flying. We’d said we shouldn’t leave him alone, not after what we’d all just gone through, but he insisted, telling us pegasi feel a lot better after some flying and that it would help us clear our heads. He was right, of course. With the wind flowing over my face and through my fur and feathers, I was feeling totally calm. I’d never felt so at peace as I was in this moment. And no, my eyesight was not making flying difficult. I’d had enough time now to get used to the slight changes after gaining Derpy’s eyes and flying just felt natural, no doubt my Pegasus blood and instincts helping me. I could feel every change in the air, the slightest shift. If I wanted to change direction, it was merely a matter of adjusting my wings the tiniest fraction to comply with the wind currents. Suddenly the faint sound of frightened whinnying floats up to my ears. I glance down. We’re currently flying over one of the farms; the barn is almost directly beneath us. Thanks to my Pegasus eyesight, I can see what’s happening down below pretty well, despite my height. The barn door is open, probably left open by the farmer or someone working on the farm, it happens from time to time, I’m sure. However, I see something is walking into the barn and the sounds of frantic whinnying are growing in intensity. It takes a moment for me to realize what I’m seeing. It’s a coyote, its fur is dark-brown as it skulks into the barn through the open door. “What do we do?” Honey’s voice says from my right as I remain in place, flapping my wings to stay airborne. “I don’t know,” I frown, watching as the coyote’s tail vanishes into the barn and the sounds of terrified horses grows louder. I glance to the farm house not too far off. No lights are going on. These farmers must be really deep sleepers. “We can’t just fly down and stop it. Sure, as MLP pegasi we could probably beat a coyote, but if the farms wake up and hear the horse, we might get caught and then—” My words are cut off as a new set of frantic whinnies reaches my ears and my mind freezes. Even though there Earth horses, I can still tell these whinnies are higher-pitch, younger. Foals. An Usra is charging through Ponyville, chasing after that bragging pony, Trixie and told younger colts. Dinky is between my legs, our having just returned from a very late night appointment to the doctor’s because Dink had a tummy ache. They’re heading right for us. “Dinky, run!” I cry, turning and bolting to my right, away from the Ursa’s path. I get several metres before I realize Dinky isn’t with me. I whirl around to see her standing where we’d been before, rigid as her eyes stare in terror at the giant constellation bear charging for her. “Dinky!” I scream, running back, putting everything I have into moving my legs faster. I reach her, but don’t stop, pushing her as I grab her in my forelegs and we tumble, the Ursa running passed a split-second later. Dinky is holding onto me tightly, crying into my chest. I wince as I sit up, holding her in a comforting embrace and nuzzle her mane. “Don’t worry, my little muffin,” I whisper quietly. “I promise, as long as I’m around, nothing will hurt you.” The sound of a terrified whinny snaps me out of my thoughts and I pull my wings in, diving, ignoring Honey’s screams of “DERPY!” from behind me. I shot to the ground, and swing into the barn, landing firmly on my hooves in the doorway. The horses are all in stalls lined next to each other, mares on the left, stallions on the right. At the end of the barn, however, is another stall. In this I can’t see anything, but I can hear frantic hooves running around and young whinnies or fright. That’s where the foals are. The coyote as stalking towards that stall, clearly intent on feeding on the younger horses. The very idea makes my blood boil. “Hey! Dog-breath!” I shout. All the horses stop making noises, clearly confused as to the sounds that came from such an unusual looking equine. The coyote as turns around. It’s is clearly a bit confused itself at the small creature that’s standing behind it when it heard what would’ve sounded like human. However, it sudden whirls, charging towards me. Due to my size, it probably thinks I’m a foal and will be an easy meal since I’m out of the stall. It couldn’t be more wrong. I use my wings and shot up into the air, avoiding the coyote’s jaws and claws with ease. Its momentum still pushing it forward, it crashes into the wall. It shakes its head, growls then whirls around to try again, only to pause and looking around as I am no longer on the ground. I whistle by putting a hoof to my mouth (a small part of my brain asking how the hell I did that with a hoof) and it looks up at me, flapping casually in the air. It cocks its head to the sides, clearly not understanding the situation. I can’t blame it. The chances this coyote has ever seen a flying pony is none, so seeing one would no doubt cause confusion. Suddenly there’s a loud thunder clap, startling myself, the coyote and the horses. Lightning strikes the coyote’s tail and it yelps, before running out the door. I blink, not sure what just happened. I fly out of the barn to see the coyote still running off into the distance, clearly having decided dinner from this farm wasn’t worth it tonight. I look around at the sky; try to find where the thunderclap could’ve come from. There’s barely any clouds in the sky and none of them look dark enough to be thunder clouds. “How’d I do?” I turn around to see Honey lying down in front of me. It takes a moment for me to realize that’s what she’s doing and glance down to see she’s resting on a small dark cloud, just big enough for her to comfortably be on, while small enough that she’s a little over the edge on all sides. I blink. “How did you...?” She rolls her eyes. “You’ve been a Pegasus longer than me. Are you tell me you’ve never moved clouds?” I gape, flapping in place. “I... no, well, I have, but... but how did you...? Where did you find a storm cloud on a night like this?!” I wave a hoof at the sky for emphasis. She rolls her eyes again. “Pegasus ponies can control weather, Derpy. If we want, we can make a regular cloud into a storm cloud without a problem. Once I saw you rush in, I had a feeling things could go bad, so I looked around and grabbed the nearest cloud and willed it to become a storm cloud. Still don’t know how I did that, but I did. Then I just flew down and once the coyote was close enough to one of the windows and had its back turned, I gave the cloud a hard buck, and released a lightning bolt.” She closed her eyes. “You know the rest.” I nod slowly. So, we could actually change the clouds at will. Jeez. Hope the government doesn’t learn about that. Controlling the weather? That’s one weapon they should ever get their hands on. Honey frowns at me. “Why’d you just dive down here, anyway. At first you were all. I’m not sure if we should do anything that might get us caught, then you hear some higher whinnies and shot down without a second thought,” I blink, before remembering the barn fly back into it, hovering over the foals’ stall. They all still seemed spooked, but they’re also a lot calmer. None of them seem hurt either, meaning they didn’t injure themselves in their panic. I sigh with relief. “Why were you so worried about the foals?” I glance back as Honey flies in, obviously having dissipated the cloud outside before following me. I look back at the foals, many of whom are looking up at me with confusion. A warm smile comes to my face as I lower myself a little and hold out a hoof. One of the foals, a filly I think, trots over and leans her muzzle up to my hoof, sniffing it. I explain how, when I heard them whinnying in fear of the coyote, I remembered when Trixie’s bragging convinced Snips and Snails to bring an Ursa Minor into Ponyville, how, I’d been taking Dinky back home at the time, that I ran as the Ursa came towards us, but Dinky was frozen in place and I charged back and knocked her away, just as the Ursa passed where she’d been. Honey remains quiet for a moment, before she sighs. “You’re instincts to protect a foal, like back then, kicked in. That’s why you came down.” I nod, leaning my neck down and nuzzles against the filly’s muzzle. “Wait. You just said you were taking Dinky back home, right?” I pulled back, looking to her with a raised eyebrow. “So?” She looks at me with uncertainty. “As in, you you, not Derpy. You didn’t separate yourself and Derpy from that. You said you were with Dinky, not Derpy.” It takes me a few moments to understand what she meant and I feel my pulse quicken. She... she was right. I’d thought I had been with Dinky in that memory, not Derpy. I’d seen myself as Derpy, not as the two of us being different. I shudder. What was happening to me? Honey watches me for a moment, then looks away, uncertainty growing on her face. “Now that these horses are safe, can we leave? I’m getting a really bad feeling about this place.” I’m pulled from my worried thoughts and look around, before I feel I need to agree. With everything that happened with the coyote, I hadn’t noticed it, but, now that things had calmed down, something about this barn didn’t feel right, causing me to shiver. The way the stallions were looking at us only made it feel weirder. We turn to leave, myself giving the filly one final nuzzle, before we fly out. The moment we’ve passed through the open doors of the barn, that feeling of unease vanishes. We close the doors to the barn, just to make sure, if that coyote does come back, it won’t be able to get in again, then head back towards the Cozy Rest Motel. ___________________________________________________________ The closer we get to town, the more we notice something has changed since before we went flying. Police cars are all along the streets, blocking people from driving. I glance at Honey and she shrugs. We take a bit longer to get back than we’d thought, having to duck around buildings and other things to avoid being seen. By the time we manage to get back to the RV, it’s almost 10pm. The moment we open the door and step inside, we’re bowled over by Party. He’s... crying. “Where were your two?!” he shouts, holding us both tightly. “I’ve been worried sick!” I glance at Honey, who looks back with the same raised eyebrow. “Why were you worried?” I ask, looking to him. “If you mean about the police, we got passed them all. Still don’t know why they’re all here though...” He pulled away from us and looked towards the front of the RV, his horn glowing, the glow encompassing the volume dial on the radio. “... return to this breaking news bulletin,” a male’s voice said, sounding anxious. “We are urging citizens not to panic, but the government is still yet to determine the identity of the unknown object that passed the US/Canadian border and is soaring over the continent at a rapid speed. Unfortunately, we have been unable to identify the rapidly moving object as it heads towards the Seattle area and all emergency services are all on red alert.” I blink, before looking to Party, my expression shocked. “They’re making it sound like...” “A missile,” he nods, his expression both fearful and grim. Great. Just great. First we start turning into ponies, then there’s a terrorist bombing in Seattle and now as missle flies over the US/Canadian border? What the hell is going on? Why’s the world gone topsy turvy since this month started? ___________________________________________________________ “You know, I’m really getting bored with being in here all day,” Party says from his place upside down on the bed, his head hanging off it. I groan, massaging my temples. It’s not even half past nine, Party. Don’t start before even ten, please. It’s been eleven days since we arrived in Des Moines and the fact that we always had to stay in the RV was starting to get to us ponies. Even then, Honey and I have to be careful when going out, more so than before, anyway. After that missile incident, the authorities were out in force a lot more at night, meaning we had to be sure not to be spotted, either in the sky or on the ground. In truth, we've only been able to go flying during the last five or so days and even then, we've had too many close calls. “We could always go for another couple rounds,” Honey suggests from her place in the kitchen as she prepares our lunch. I wince at that, my hooves going down to my stomach. After three days of being coped up in the RV, with Honey and I being the only ones to get out and only at night, things had gotten tense. It wasn’t helped when Honey and I finally figured out why we kept thinking about Party every time we let our guards down. We were in heat, and a really bad one, the smell filling the RV constantly. Kelly had even bought us toys (telling her I was in heat had been one of the most embarrassing things in my life) but they’d only weakened the fires in our loins. The last straw, or at least the beginning of it, had been on the fifth day, when Honey had dropped something under the bed and bent down to get it. This had left her pushing her plot into the air and I couldn’t help staring at it anymore than Party had, who’d been just a few feet behind her. When he’d asked her if she was okay, she’d glanced back and winked. I don’t know how, but that seemed to set Party off and the next thing I knew, he was having it big time with Honey, right there in front of me. Her screams had at first made me think she was in pain, moving to pull him off her, but then I’d realized she was loving it. It got so intense that the whole RV felt like a furnace... which eventually set me off too. Once Party had finished with Honey, which took two hours, he and I went at it like animals. I’m still ashamed we all ended up having a massive orgy, right here in the RV, even more so because Party had made me so horny during it that I screamed like a bitch. I'd never even gotten Kelly to scream like I did when Party did me. Talk about a blow to the ego. When Kelly found out, I begged for her forgiveness. I felt like I’d betrayed her, being not only with another, but a male. However, she had held me in her arms and stroked my mane as I wailed into her chest, soaking it in tears as my body convulsed, all the while she was telling me it was alright and that she understood I’d had no control. When she was little, she’d visited her grandparents’ farm. They’d had horses and she’d seen them during heat season. Of course, it wasn’t just my feeling like I’d betrayed her that had left me so broken when she found out. As much as I enjoyed Party during our... romp is way too small of a word to describe what happened, it had awakened more of Derpy’s memories. Memories I was embarrassed to remember. ___________________________________________________________ I can barely see, my vision fading in and out as the rain powers down around me. The stallion in front of me laughs as he looks down at me. His magic levitates my purse and Written's wallet. He tips a few bits out of each, before scowling. “This is all you've got? Talk about pathetic. All that effort for a few measly bits." He tosses the purse and wallet back, hitting me in the head and starts walking away into the fog as my vision fails me again as I try to focus on him as he walks out towards the Manehatten streets, but I’m falling away. In my last moments, I turn my neck to look at Written a few meters away. He's laying against the wall, bruised and bloodied from trying to defend me from the pony who'd attacked us. I fade away, Script's unconscious expression the last thing I see. ___________________________________________________________ Everything becomes a haze. I thought I heard somepony cry out in alarm and shout something at somepony else, before she started saying things to me, but I couldn’t understand her, but, as I try to figure out what she’s saying, everything falls away again and I’m in darkness. As I float in this darkness I can faintly hear things happening around me, but they’re muffled. I can feel my body being moved and hear frantic voices around me, but as to what they’re saying, I don’t know. I hear the sound of wheels squeaking and voices talking about medical things, but I can’t understand beyond that. And there’s another voice that joins them. It’s male, I think. It keeps telling me everything’s going to be alright, that I’m going to be okay. Finally everything just stops and I float away. ___________________________________________________________ “You’re telling me it's been ten days, but that we can’t find the bastard that did this to my daughter and her friend?!” an angry voice says, sounding close, but far away at the same time. “Hue Jelly, please, let me explain?” another voice says, sounding like it’s trying hard to be patient with the first. “We found very little evidence to go on, thanks to the rain. We're trying everthing we can, but the lack of evidence is making him impossible to identify.” “Da...Daddy?” I murmur. My vision and senses finally return. I’m laying in a hospital bed. There’s an IV drip attached to my right foreleg. I feel bruised and sore all over. My dad, a grey Earth Pony with a blonde mane and tail, much like my own and three strawberries for a Cutie Mark is standing there, looking shocked as I look at him weakly. He rushes forward and pulls me into a hug. “Derpy,” he says, a sob coming out with his voice. “Oh, thank Celestia. I thought I’d lost you.” I don’t understand what’s going on. Why am I in a hospital? Why was dad worried about me? Why do I feel sore? I gasp, fragments of what happened flooding to my mind. I’d been walking through an alley, having just finished a delivery for the post office I’d started working part time for. Script was waiting for me, when a unicorn had come out of the shadows and jumped us. Before I could get a good look at him, he’d grabbed me in his magic and thrown me through the alley, slamming me into the wall. Script had tried to fight him, before he was given similar treatment to me. Script? "Script!" I cry, pushing away and looking around frantically. I relax a little when I see him lying in the bed next to me, before I grimace. His body is covered in bruises and bandages all over. “Daddy!” I wail, clinging onto him the Earth Pony, my body shuddering with every sob. “It’s alright, Derpy,” he says, stroking my mane as I cry into his fur. “I’m here, honey. I’m here. And Script is going to be fine, too. The doctors have been taking good care of both of you.” I don’t know how long I cried, but, at one point, a throat clears and Dad pulls away enough to still hold me, but so I can see the doctor. He’s a grey unicorn stallion, with a white mane and tail, grey eyes and a surgery mask for a Cutie Mark. Next to him is a brown Earth Pony stallion with a green mane, wearing a police uniform, with a pair of hoofcuffs as his Cutie Mark. The police pony steps forward, looking away. “Miss Hooves, I’m afraid we won’t be able to find the pony who—” “I know,” I sob. I heard them talking. I knew they’d never find him. He the doctor coughs, looking uncomfortable. “Yes, well. You see... the thing is... we were so focused on helping the police trying to identify the pony who did this to you with what little evidence there was when you were both found that we didn’t... um...” “Spit it out, doc!” Dad says, sounding annoyed. The doctor sighs, meeting my eyes. “You’re pregnant, miss Hooves.” Everything freezes as I absorb what he’s said. “I’m... pregnant...?” He nods solemnly. Dad scowls, glaring at the doctor, then at the floor, before he lets go of me and walks out the door, slamming it behind me. Even in my shock I know that look. He’s so mad, he’s going to go find the biggest, strongest tree he can and then back it with everything he has, I fear for the tree, to at least vent some of his anger. It happened a lot when I was a filly and he’d gotten angry at those who’d teased me, back when we leaved in Ponyville. The doctor and I don’t say anything for a while, the room remaining silent. Eventually, he speaks up. “Miss Hooves, considering the circumstances, if you wish to abort the foal, we’d understand—” “NO!” I scream, pulling my sheets towards me. Abortion? That was horrible. That’s like murder! Even if I didn’t want the foal now growing inside me to be inside me. Besides... he never did that to me. I look over to the unconsious unicorn in the bed next to me. "He's the father, not the pony who attacked us." The doctor looks shocked, then closes his eyes and nods. “So, you’d like to put it up for adoption then?” I blink, before looking down at my stomach. I stay silent for several moments, thinking about what he’d just said. Could I put the foal up for adoption? It would make more sense. I’m barely a mare. The only reason I was pregnant is Script and I had gotten drunk a few nights before we were attacked, since we were having a small vacation here in Manehatten and it had led to... well... I look down at my stomach. I couldn’t raise a foal... could I? After some time, I shake my head slowly. “Can you ask another time? I... I don’t know yet.” He nods, giving an understanding smile, silence falls again. “May I please be alone?” He gives a sad smile and nods, before walking out, closing the door behind him. Once the door closes, I turn around in my bed, my hoof moving towards my stomach, looking at Script lying in the next bed. ___________________________________________________________ As the memory stops I shake my head. Of all the memories I could’ve regained... It broke my heart in so many ways, now having witnessed so many of Derpy memories. Derpy learning she was pregnant should've been after a happy occasion, yet it had been tainted by that bastard of a unicorn who'd jumped her and Script. Despite that, everyone had always seen her as a clumsy airhead, some even saying she should’ve left Sparkler to be adopted by a more abled mare and that Dinky should’ve gone up for adoption as soon as she was born or placed just with her father. It was reasons like that that Derpy had become part of a premature herd with Carrot and Script. From what I could remember of it, Carrot hadn't been too angry when she learned Script had gotten Derpy pregnant. Turned out she had a crush on Derpy for a long time, despite falling in love with Script. Derpy's father, however, had not been too pleased somepony had gotten his little girl knocked up. I grimaced as I remembered the tense times he and Script had been together. It wasn't until Carrot had suggested the three become a herd that Derpy's dad had backed off. I’m pulled out of my inner thoughts by a pair of forelegs wrapping around my neck. I lift my head and find it’s Honey. She’s holding me tightly. “I’m sorry, Derpy,” she whispers, gently nuzzling my neck. “I keep forgetting... I’m sorry.” I sigh, returning the embrace. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known about that bastard that attacked us. No one save a few ponies did.” “... Actually... I think I did.” I look up at her, wide-eyed. She looks away, ashamed. “When I got my Cutie Mark... I remembered a birthday party from Honey’s past. You were there... several months pregnant. I... I couldn’t understand it at the time, but I remembered feeling angry at someone for how sad you looked. You were uncertain if you could be a good mother....” She goes quiet and tears start falling from her eyes. “I’m sorry, Derpy. I’m so, so sorry. I...” She trails off before wailing and starts sobbing into my shoulder. I just hold her close, keeping my eyes closed. I didn’t blame her. The only reason my memories were so clear all the time was the random chance that the spell Discord hit me with was meant for Dinky. She had no reason to beat herself up over something she could not control. Party got up from the bed, came over and joined in the group hug. The calm, pleasant mood our group huddle has created suddenly shatters when alarms start blaring all across the city. We all jump, Honey and I banging our heads on the ceiling, having flapped our wings to fly away on instinct. I glance at the other two, their staring at me in utter confusion and panic. What the hell’s going on? Party activates his magic to turn on the radio, when a sound reaches my ear, causing them to flick back to hear it better. It sounds like something falling, really fast. My eyes widen in panic as I remember the missile. What if this was another, or even a bomb drop? I run out the door and look up, using my new Pegasus eyesight to see higher up. My eyes may not be as good as everypony else, but they still have the skills pegasi are naturally born with. I can’t quite make it out, but I can definitely see whatever it is coming down towards the city. I frown. Since when did someone paint a bomb cyan-blue and make them trail rainbow colours as they fall? It’s not like anyone would care what colour the bombs that destroys them is. Before I can think more than that though, a huge explosion comes from above, followed by an utterly deafening blast, that sends me flying backward, slamming my back against the RV. My eyes are wide as I look up at the sky. It... It can’t be. I’ve only seen this three separate times before, all of them when watching the show. I just stare up at them spectacular display as a full spectrum rainbow filled sky, expanding outward like a ripple in water, just above the city. It was just unbelievable. A Sonic Rainboom. I didn’t even know that could be done unless you were... My eyes somehow widen further as I spot a small something, a rainbow trailing following behind it. I only saw it for a second, before it shot of in what I think is the direction of the Mississippi River. It was hard to tell, with my ears still ringing from the boom and the pain in my back from being slammed into the RV. As I get up, shaking my head a little, I only now start noticing the sounds of car alarms going off along with the other ones, not to mention a lot of windows are completely shattered. I grimace. That couldn’t be ignored. Suddenly I realize what I’d just seen. A Sonic Rainboom and I knew only one pony who had every pulled it off. But, for it to be here, on Earth, that would mean... I hurry; stumble really due to my centre of balance still not working again quite yet, into the RV, my eyes sparkling, the biggest grin on my face. We weren’t the only ponies on Earth. Honey and Party are just staring out the window at the multi-coloured spectacle still billowing across the sky. “That’s... that’s...” Honey just has her jaw hanging open, her amber eyes fixed on the sky. Party slowly turns to me, slight confusion crosses his face as he sees my expression. “Why’re you grinning?” I giggle. “We’re not the only ponies! That was Rainbow Dash!”