Chapter 17: The Second Gift
Repair and Deliver
Story 6
Chapter 17: The Second Gift
By: SleeplessScribe
The trip home didn’t take long at all. Violet answered the door when Torque knocked, hugging both Torque and I and petting Tucker. It took her a moment to notice Dinky on my back, but she gave the filly a hug as well when she did.
“Mom and Dad were really looking forward to actually getting to talk to you, Ditzy. Please, come in!”
“Thank you, Violet. I already feel so welcome.”
The mare smiled at me and I heard a soft giggle. “I’m glad, but I hope you don’t mind me pulling Torque away to talk? I’m kind of curious about something.”
I shook my head, leaning over to kiss his cheek as he took off Tucker’s leash. “As long as you bring him back.”
That got a nice laugh out of her. “Fair enough. We’ll see you in a bit.”
I made my way into the kitchen, following the heavenly aroma that was coming from it. My daughter was more than pleased with taking a quick cat nap on her yellow lab pillow, so I decided just to let her rest.
“Goodness, what is that smell, Lavender?”
Torque’s mother was standing in front of the stove, holding two pots in her magical grasp. “Oh, hello there, Ditzy! I was just making some mashed potatoes and green beans. They’re only the first step in tonight’s dinner, and I’m going to be making it very special.”
My eyes lit up when she mentioned what she was making. “That’s wonderful! Those are two of Dinky’s favorite foods! Is there anything I can do to help? Your son seems to think I’m a great cook, and it’s something I really enjoy doing.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet of you! Here,” the pretty mare set an open book on the counter behind her, “could you read off this recipe to me? I’ve been looking forward to trying this new recipe for a while.”
I had to gulp back a lump in my throat. It felt so wrong to say no, so against my better judgment, I tried to start reading. All the words were blurred and garbled by the two angles I was looking at them in, but I tried my best anyway. I decided to try reading the whole thing over in my head a few times until I was just barely confident enough to start reading out loud. I read slowly, and by the time I was done, I must have done it all correctly. Lavender didn’t make mention of anything sounding off, at least.
“Alright, now we just wait for it to finish baking! That’s all I needed, Ditzy, thank you.”
I let out a sigh of relief, wiping my forehead quickly. “I’m glad I could help.”
The short silence that preceded her next words was a little awkward, but things returned to normal again once she decided to talk. “So, how did you meet Torque? You were the subject of at least two thirds of his letter.”
I felt my cheeks heat up just a little. “Nothing special. He just came over to fix my oven. Apparently Dinky already met him when he shared his lunch with her, or at least that’s what she told me. You know, I think you raised a wonderful son, if you don’t mind me saying.”
She laughed as she turned back to the food. “Why’s that?”
“Well, he’s been so sweet and generous to me. Not to mention the fact that he’s made it quite clear that he loves Dinky and I to death.”
I heard another giggle as she started sprinkling salt on the potatoes. “That does sound like him. Has he given you any obedience problems? Torque can be a bit of a hardhead sometimes.”
Now I was the one chuckling. “Well… to be honest, he has. See, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my eyes are a bit… crooked. They’ve been like this ever since an accident when I was young, but Torque has apparently sworn on his life that he’s going to find a way to realign them. No matter how much I tell him it’s alright, he keeps telling me that he’s going to. It’s not that bad, but yes, he is being hardheaded in that regard.”
“Well, have some faith in him. He’s done some crazy stuff here at home as well.”
My ears twitched as she said that. “Like what? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”
The mare tapped her chin as she messed around with the pots. “Well, there’s that electronic lock he helped his father build. He made that remote controlled vacuum cleaner. He also built this pair of binoculars with a dial that could zoom in and out, but I think those have already been invented. He just built his own pair. You know, Ditzy, he’s done a lot in the few years he’s lived. Just like his father, he’s got many a chip in his hooves from all his hard work.”
I blinked a few times, scratching my head. “Really? I never noticed. Though, I guess it’s to be expected given his line of work.”
“He’s a lot like his dad, though. They’re both proud of—”
We both jumped after we heard something almost like a balloon popping in the oven. Lavender turned it off immediately, opening it to reveal an absolute mess. The part of the cake that was still in the tray looked more like a pancake, and chunks of batter were splattered all over the oven inside.
My ears fell flat as soon as I saw the mess. “Oh no….”
The unicorn stared at it for a moment before she turned to me. “Oh no?”
I started circling the flood with my hoof, doing everything I could to avoid looking into her eyes. “Um… can you check the recipe again?”
It was actually rather surprising how calm she was as she approached the book. “Ditzy, what’s wrong? Oh, wait, here it is… why did you tell me two tablespoons of baking powder when it says a teaspoon here?”
All I could do was back away and mumble. Admitting my flaw certainly wasn’t easy, but after seeing her wait patiently for a response, I took a deep breath and prepared myself. “I can’t read that well. I’m sure you’ve noticed that my eyes aren’t aligned like they should be, and that makes reading really difficult. Lavender, I am so sorry! Please let me clean this up.”
“Oh, don’t worry, dear.” After a flash of light, sponges and dishrags were inside of the oven, scrubbing it down all on their own. “Why didn’t you just tell me? I could have managed all of this myself, I just wanted to let you help since you asked.”
I made a move to hide my face behind my wings. “I’m still so sorry. This mess is all my fault.”
“Now stop, Ditzy. Don’t worry, I’ve already taken care of this. Would you like to help me with something else instead?”
“Are you sure I can? I don’t want to make an even bigger mess.”
She rolled her eyes, though the smile on her face told me she wasn’t all that bothered. “You won’t unless you’re terrible at chopping veggies.”
My ears finally perked up again as I lowered my wings. “Okay! That I can do quite skillfully!”
Lavender clapped her hooves together and motioned to a bag next to her. “I have some collard greens in there. It sounds odd, but I like to chop them up and put them in salads. So, do you think you could chop them up while I work on these things here?”
I gave an excited nod, making my way to the bag as the unicorn brought out a knife and cutting board for me. “Not a problem!”
The mare gave me many other tasks, and thankfully none of them included reading. She did check to make sure I got measurements right when they were needed, but other than that, the preparation went well. By the time we were done, we had a delicious carrot soup, a full salad with fruits and veggies, and the main course that consisted of mashed potatoes, green beans, and some of that tofu stuff Dinky and I really liked.
Once everything was ready, Lavender rang a bell that echoed throughout the whole house. “Dinner’s ready, everypony!”
Within moments Ratchet, Dinky, and even Tucker found their ways into the kitchen. However, as Lavender set out all the food, I saw no sign of Torque or his sister. I turned to her to say something about it too, but I guess Ratchet noticed this as well.
“Honey, have you seen the kids?”
She looked around for a moment before shrugging. “I didn’t even see them come in.”
I tapped her shoulder and waited until she actually turned to me. “Well, they went off by themselves, but I’m not exactly sure what—”
“Sorry we’re late!” It was actually a little creepy hearing them talk at the same time. Violet was carrying a small bag with her magic, but she set it on the counter once they came in. “We just went out to pick up a few things. Again, sorry we’re late.”
The unicorn pointed a wooden spoon at her son, shaking it up and down. “You’re lucky we haven’t started yet. I’m sure you were doing something important, but whenever you’re under this roof, my rules are law. Am I clear?”
They both nodded and looked away as they spoke. “Yes ma’am.”
Now that that was settled, we all sat down together. Torque sat on my right and Dinky on my left, with the rest of his family on the other side. We started with the soup, but it didn’t take long before the conversation started.
Ratchet, thankfully without a mouth full of food, turned to his son with a grin. “So Torque, how’d you meet this young filly? I can’t picture you being the kind to visit the post office every day.”
He scratched the back of his neck and mumbled to himself. “Well, I actually met Dinky first, but Ditzy and I met when I went to her place for a job. She was having problems with her oven, but I fixed it up pretty quickly.”
I gave a quick nod to confirm his story. “He’s been fixing things left and right ever since he came to Ponyville. Not only that, but he’s a veteran friend maker as well. Not many ponies really have a problem with him.”
Again, he started rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh, stop. I’m sure there’s someone out there who really dislikes my constantly happy attitude.”
Lavender giggled as she set her empty bowl aside. “I call those folks grumps.”
Ratchet also set his now empty soup bowl aside. “Boy, that attitude of yours is going to get you ahead in life. An enthusiastic worker is much more likely to get promotions, and a happy stallion is half of a happy relationship.”
I couldn’t help but blush at that comment. There was no arguing that Torque and I were a couple now, but it was still a little strange to think of him as my lover, even though I did love him with all my heart. Ratchet began munching on his salad, and thankfully changed the topic.
“Hm, this is good. Did you do something different with this salad, honey?”
The mare furrowed her brows. “No, not really. I mean, I added a few more foods, like those collards, but nothing that should have changed the taste too much.”
“Maybe because I helped.” It was silly, but neither of them laughed. Instead, Ratchet let out a hardy laugh and winked at me.
“That very well may be why, Ditzy.” He took a few more bites, but as he did so we started to hear an odd growling from his direction. The stallion leaped out of his chair, and within moments he was gone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone run so fast before in my life.
We all just kind of waited for him to return, but when he didn’t come back after at least ten minutes, Lavender got up to check on him.
“Pee-yew! Honey are you alright in there?”
I turned to Torque and nudge him. “Um… any idea what’s wrong?”
Violet turned around in her chair, listening in on her parents. “Oh boy. Dad’s got the runs. I wonder what he had this time that he wasn’t supposed to.”
A chill ran up my spine when I heard that. “What do you mean ‘not supposed to’?”
“Well… he’s lactose intolerant. So if he eats or drinks anything with milk in it, we end up with some… messy results.”
My daughter started giggling like mad. “He goes doodie!”
I grabbed the sides of my head and shut my eyes tight. “Oh no, it’s my fault again!”
Torque tilted his head at my proclamation. “Wait, what? How is this your fault?”
“I probably put milk or something in the food by accident. Lavender did mention using milk to give the soup a little flavor.”
Violet clapped her hooves together. “I thought mine tasted different. Don’t worry about it, Ditzy, you probably just mixed up mine and his bowls by accident. Besides, it’s not a big deal. Dad’s allergy isn’t that severe, so it’s not like he’ll be running to the bathroom every minute.”
Dinky started patting my foreleg. The good part about all this was that she was at least being a good girl and eating. Her salad was already gone and half of her mashed potatoes were too. “Don’t worry Momma, I do silly stuff all the time too!”
“But it’s not just that! My impaired reading ended up making a mess of your mother’s kitchen. Oh… I’m so, so, so sorry.”
Both siblings patted my back gently, and I was pulled into a hug by my coltfriend as Violet turned back around. “That’s not your fault, Ditzy. Heck, the soup situation probably wasn’t even caused by your eyes. Whenever Mom makes stuff using milk, she normally marks the parts without it so we know which one to give Dad, but I don’t see any markings on this bowl. It was an honest mistake, no need to feel bad.”
Torque nodded as he released me. “Let’s just finish dinner. Our parents don’t think it’s rude when we do that. At least not when they’re gone for a long while.”
Well, Dinky didn’t seem to have a problem with it, as she was already done. “What about their food?”
“If it gets cold, Mom just reheats it. She is a unicorn chef after all, so cooking magic is her specialty.”
I nodded and went back to my food. We finished our meals in silence, and Ratchet and Lavender came back not too long after. A part of me really wanted to tell him about the soup, but instead I opted for a much better choice of words.
“Hey Lavender, may I was the dishes? It’s the least I can do after the oven accident, and I know I can’t mess this up!”
She flashed a bright smile at me. “If you’d really like to, then I guess it’s not fair to stop you. However, we’d like you to come to the living room when you’re done. It’s not a good idea for Ratchet to eat more right now, but we’d really like you to stay for a little while.”
“Are you sure? I mean, there’s no guarantee I’m going to even be able to do this right.”
The mare rolled her eyes again. “Oh stop, it’s just washing dishes. A few honest mistakes are nothing to get upset over we’ve both learned something, and besides, you are dating our son. We’d at least like to get to know you a little better. So please stay for a little bit if you can.”
It was really, really hard to say no. I mean, harder than telling Dinky she couldn’t have something when she did her puppy dog eyes. “I guess I do have time.”
She clapped her front hooves together. “Great!”
Washing the dishes didn’t take long at all, and when I came into their living room, Dinky and Lavender were in the middle of what looked like a very fun session of patty cake. Ratchet was lying in a recliner on his back, and again I started to feel horrible. I mean, dealing with… number two issues like that was just awful.
However, my mind wandered off track one I started looking around. “Hey, where are Torque and Violet?”
Lavender looked up at me, sadly having to end her game with my daughter. “Oh, they said they had to work on something, and they really didn’t want to be interrupted. They also said that you’ll love what they have.”
My ears twitched a little. I really wish I knew what caused that. “Really? Okay then… so, what would you two like to talk to me about?”
“I’m curious about the father.” Even though he was probably very uncomfortable, Ratchet still managed to sit up and look at us. “Guy’s gotta be crazy to leave such a sweet mare, especially when she has a daughter this cute.”
I let out a sigh, leaning back to the point of almost falling over before I realized it and pushed myself back up. “He just took what he wanted and left. To be quite honest, I don’t care if I ever see him again. Besides, your son has done a tremendous job at taking his place. I really feel like Dinky knows what it feels like to have a father around.”
Lavender interrupted her game again to try and stop him, but Ratchet stood up and made his way over to me anyway. “Ditzy, let me tell you something.” He set his hoof on my shoulder with a smile. “Ain’t nobody gonna take her father’s place, because a father is just the stallion you come from. However, I’m very confident when I say that Torque has more than what it takes to be a great dad.”
I nodded and returned the smile. “I think so, too.”
All three of us talked for a while longer, and Dinky had to jump at some points as well. After a while, Torque and Violet came in from the door behind us, and the colt held up a wide, rectangular box.
“We have done it!”
All of us jumped back when he shouted, and Tucker let out a loud bark. “Yay! Yay! Papa Torque did it! Papa Torque did it! Um… what did Papa Torque do?”
Violet smiled and brought the box over to me. “This.” She opened it to reveal what looked like a pair of glasses, though there were four lenses. Oddly, though, it didn’t look like the second set was attached to anything. However, when Violet lifted them up, both sets of lenses rose.
“I helped just a tiny bit, Torque really wanted to be the one to do all of this. Gotta love that little stubborn mule.”
Torque smiled and took the glasses, holding them in front of me. “Ditzy, would you mind closing one eye and centering the other?”
“Sure… I guess.” I did as asked, and as Torque slipped the glasses on, I soon realized what those other lenses were. They were contacts, and comfortable ones at that. I didn’t really feel them much after a few moments.
“Okay, now close that eye and try to center the other.”
As I did, I didn’t feel my other eye moving at all. A chill ran up my spine as he set the other side on, and I nearly screamed when I had both eyes open. However, he put a hoof to my mouth and started again.
“Alright, look around. Let’s see if these actually work.”
Everyone gathered around in front of me to watch. I have to be honest, it was actually really nerve racking having all of them staring at me, but my nerves were soon forgotten as I moved my eyes. My left eye was the “dominant” one, and the accident left me with very numb control over my right. However, as I moved my left eye, the right moved perfectly with it. I rolled my eyes, looked from side to side and then up and down, and even did figured eights with my eyes, and they stayed aligned the entire time. I felt tears forming in them as I jumped up, wrapping the colt in the tightest hug I could. Had I not been choked up, I would have screamed, but all I could manage was a quiet hiccup of a “thank you”.
He gently patted my back. “Seeing you smile is all the thanks I need.”
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Wait, it worked?
3622933 Read the author's note. You'll learn how it works when I post the next chapter, which could possibly be the second or third to last.
Interesting idea. Nice work, Torque!
Brilliant, magimechanical eyetracking servos using contact lenses, or I suspect more of the two lenses on each side are like a gate, outer surface of the outer is linked to teh inner surface of the inner?
I wouldnt have though of this at all, because I dont have any experience at all of contact lenses. Im very short sighted and they refuse to make cheap DVD green, BD blue class hologram film lenses because plastic blocks are so much more profitable. Well, that, and having massive slabs of material over my eyes means I dont have to wear safety goggles all the time, cutting down on the number of interefereing layers giving me diffraction paterns of my surroundings.
Waiting for the actual description now. Thank you.
Yup, wat out for those dairy intolerances, theyll really give you a cow.
He finally did it!
Wow... He did it... HE DID IT!!!!!
You mean *though?
Is she stuttering? Or is that a mistake?
That awkward moment when you realize that this is one sentence. You can leave it as is if you change the marked comma into a semi-colon.
He did it!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
I await the next chapter...
3625696 Yeah, I've actually requested a proofreader from the Proofreader's Group. I know you volunteered, but the guy I asked made quite the personal sales pitch.
3626281
*Sniff* I see how it is...
I guess I'm just not good enough.
He did it!
Late to the comment game, but I thought her name was Rosemary not Lavender.