Repair and Deliver

by SleeplessScribe

Chapter 8: The First Gift

Repair and Deliver
Story 6
Chapter 8: The First Gift
By: SleeplessScribe

By the time I actually got home I was shaking, sweating, and pretty much chewing on my bottom lip. Trying to sleep became in possible as the events of my date replayed in my head over and over again. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Rarity’s advice of “be yourself” told me nothing about dates themselves. I probably screwed up more times than I could count, and as the possibility that I did beat the rest of my thoughts into the back of my mind, I jumped up and began pacing back and forth.

I had to know. Asking Ditzy straight up would make me both look and feel like an idiot, but I was sure Rarity wouldn’t mind giving me some more advice. Seeing as how sleep was not an option, I decided to try and work on my sound box more, but that proved futile as well. It was highly unlikely, but I decided to try my luck and see if Rarity was still awake.

My tense shaking had not ceased even as I began the trip to the boutique. However, I froze the instant I heard the regal voice call out from above me.

“Dear Torque, stop for a moment!”

It was almost as if she was implying that I could do something other than stop once I saw the princess. Luna lifted my now bowed head, the corners of her mouth turned up into a soft smile. “You look as if you’re literally holding the world on your shoulders. Pray tell, what’s troubling you to the point of keeping you awake at such an hour?”

Out of all the things I could have said or done, shrugging her off was probably the worst course of action. “I’m fine, Princess. Really, it’s nothing important.”

The curves that had formed her smile slowly began to fade, leaving nothing but a straight line across the mare’s dark muzzle. “It’s quite obvious there is something wrong. I am no fool, and it is my personal duty to ensure that my subjects are doing well.”

Once again, my head began to lower, accompanied by a tone of voice that did the same. “It’s not anything you could help with.”

My words brought a scoff from the alicorn as she took to the air and landed in front of me with an audible, but not all that loud, slam. “Just who do you take me for, child? I have been on this earth for more than six thousand years! There is no issue I have not seen, and there is no solution I’ve not witnessed. There are many ponies I could be offering assistance to now, but I chose you out of all of them! Though if you truly don’t want to—”

“What do you know about relationships? How much experience with that concept could you have possibly had as a princess?” I quickly brought my hooves to my mouth, only aware of how rudely I had raised my voice at her after the fact. Once again, I began to shake, only this time it was due to the fact that such disrespect was sure to be met with some form of reprimanding.

Contrary to my expectations, Luna actually seemed to calm down. Her angled brows slowly began to turn up, and the hostile scowl shrunk into a smaller, more sympathetic frown. She lifted a hoof onto my shoulder, her eyes lidded as if she had just been told a sad story.

“That was all you had to say. You never know what somepony can do until you ask, and I know much more about this subject than you realize. I’ve had more than a few suitors in my time, and I’ve also learned quite a bit from Cadence, the princess of love herself. The fact that I am royalty does not exclude me from matters such as this. Now please, tell me what’s on your mind.”

I let a long, heavy sigh out before even thinking of what to say. There was no guarantee I could even say everything I wanted to in one go. Arguing with the princess was not an option, and I really did need the help. What did I have to lose?

“I went out on a date tonight. I’m not sure if my feelings for this mare are at the point of romantic attraction… but I said ‘I love you’. I kissed her. I feel like I did everything I shouldn’t have! Every decision I made was basically the same one she did, and I probably shouldn’t have seemed like such a follower. I kept blocking her when she tried to get a drink or some popcorn at the movie, every word I said made me sound like an awkward idiot, I was shaking like I had just come out of a freezer, and who knows what else I did wrong?”

I found myself shaking again, chewing on my lip as I had been earlier. My list went on and on, and as I looked back at Luna, I saw that that soft smile had returned to her. The change in expression made me back away, shutting my eyes.

“Please don’t laugh at me.”

My eyes were still shut, but from the tone of her voice, it sounded like I had hurt her feelings with my comment. “Why on earth would I laugh at you? I’m sure everypony that’s ever lived has been nervous on their very first date.”

The light pressure on my shoulder told me she had her hoof on it again, and opening my eyes confirmed this. “Remember also that you are your own worst critic. Everything you think you did wrong, she may not have even noticed.” She lifted the hoof from my shoulder to her chin, her eyes rolled up a little and to her left. “I remember a time long ago when arranged marriages were the norm, and back then it was customary to have rules of courtship. That time, however, is long since passed, and there is nothing dictating when you should kiss, hug, or anything else of the sort.”

Her words were doing little to calm me, though I did feel myself starting to shake a little less. The alicorn put one foreleg around me, forcing me to walk with her through the streets. “I was actually watching you the entire time. To be quite honest, I’d say you did rather well for this being your first true date.”

I turned to the mare with my cheek slightly puffed. “Um, no offense, Princess, but why exactly were you watching me? That’s… just a little strange.”

She curled her lips inward as her gaze shifted from side to side. “Oh, um, no reason. I simply find it entertaining… like watching a play. If that offends you, then I will stop.”

I was too lost in my thoughts to even give her a response to that. Luna somehow managed to make me feel a little bit better about the date, but there was still one thing that plagued my mind. My cheeks slowly began to turn read as I looked up at her, rather hesitant to even ask.

“Princess Luna… how do you know if you’re in love? I kind of just went along with the kiss and stuff because I didn’t want to upset her… I’m not sure if I truly feel that way yet.”

Luna gently patted me on the back. “You won’t know if you give up. Just give yourself some time to think. Why do you do these kind things for her? What keeps you from being satisfied with helping her just once? These are things you must ask yourself. Torque, you cannot get these answers from somepony else. You must solve them yourself. However, I will caution you; while these are important things to think about, do not dwell on them. You know as well as I do that, should you allow these thoughts to occupy your mind every hour of the day, your work will suffer, you won’t be able to sleep, and you will miss out on things that were right in front of you.”

She had a point. In fact, she had many points. Dwelling on this would get me nowhere, but asking someone else to give me answers was about as pointless as putting a band aid on a broken leg. I looked up at her again, taken aback by how it seemed like the moon was in the perfect position right behind her head. As we walked, it seemed as if it remained in that same spot, though my eyes were probably just playing tricks on me.

“Well, even if I’m the only one who can figure this out… do you know of anything I can do to at least calm myself down?”

Our progress towards… wherever we were going was halted as she took her leg off of me. Slowly, she raised her hoof to her chest and took a deep breath, extending her leg out as she exhaled. She repeated this three times before addressing me.

“It’s a little trick I picked up from both Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadence. Believe me, if it works for our newly crowned alicorn, it should definitely work for you.”

The gesture really didn’t seem like it would do much, but again, I had nothing to lose. However, as I followed the Princess’s example, I soon found my shakiness ebbing away again, and somehow the cloud of clutter all of my conflicting thoughts had created seemed to fade into nothing. I don’t know how, but just a few deep breaths and pretending my right foreleg was some kind of fan was actually helping me calm down and think clearly.

“You have got to tell me how this works, Princess.”

She let out a small giggle as we resumed our walk. “I know not how it works, only that it does.”

I don’t know why, but I really didn’t feel like that was the truth. Regardless, I didn’t try to argue, though pelting her with my curiosities was a much easier feat. “Princess Luna, why are you going out of you way to speak to me? I’m sure there are plenty of other ponies out there with bigger troubles.”

The only response I got, at least the only nonverbal one, was a shrug. “You’d be surprised. As often as problems arise at night, none of them are truly severe enough to merit my intervention. Though your issue isn’t all that severe either, I enjoy helping love blossom just as much as my adopted niece. However, I must be going now. It is time for me to return to the castle, but I wish you the best.”

The mare looked even more elegant and regal as she spread out her wings, ascending into the air and floating away in the direction of Canterlot Castle. “Farewell, dear Torque! Remember my words!”

I waved at her until she was out of sight before making my way back home. Luna’s talk and that little trick she taught me had calmed me down to the point that getting a few hours of sleep might actually be possible. I had to wonder how she even knew where I was, but it was still nighttime. It wouldn’t have surprised me if she could still see me even as I entered the garage. I really needed a new name for this place, too.

As I reached my room, I felt myself shaking a bit again. If it wasn’t obvious, my somewhat sheltered life led to almost no experience with dating. Those two mares that asked me out? I had to turn them down because of how busy I was in those years. However, the few minutes that I spent talking to Princess Luna probably calmed me down and put me more at ease than an hour with Rarity would have.

I repeated that breathing trick that Luna taught me. It managed to ease my shaking again, and I tried to find something else to think about. Eventually I shifted my thoughts to a name for the “garage”, though all of the ideas I thought of as I hung my hat up involved Ditzy somehow. Seeing as how a name for my place was out of the question, I began to ponder the questions Luna brought to me.

I still didn’t want to label it as “love” just yet, but there was indeed something about that pegasus that made me feel like going out of my way to help her was just right. Seeing her happy just made me happy, and given what she had told me, she had a lot of strength to try and smile through what life was giving her.

On the bright side, I could feel my eyelids getting heavy. My clock said one o’ seven, later than I had ever stayed up when not working on something. Finally, I allowed myself to doze off. Normally I don’t remember my dreams, but this one was too vivid and strange not to remember or talk about.

It was obviously a wedding, but all the mares were pink and all the stallions were blue. None of them had any eyes either, which kind of freaked me out. That’s not to say there were just empty eye sockets, but it was like a puzzle cube with the stickers pulled off, just pink or blue where the eyes should have been. As the bride made her way towards the groom on the altar, I saw that a dog was presiding over the ceremony, but was speaking our language rather fluently.

Unfortunately, just as the bride and groom were reciting their vows, a huge fissure opened in the earth, causing them all to fall in and me to wake up. Well, it was more like I forced myself to wake up, nearly blinded by the sunlight coming through the window into my eyes.

The experience near forced me to roll out of bed, holding my hooves to my eyes until all the spots went away. “Oh geeze… who turned on the sun?” My clock now said eight, so it was almost eight hours of sleep. I still felt a little groggy, but a shower helped fix that.

There wasn’t much in the kitchen I was in the mood for, so I decided it was finally time for me to actually explore Ponyville on my own and without needing to go somewhere specific. My mind settled on this quaint little outdoor place that was already serving customers. In fact, I caught sight of a certain friendly unicorn as I scanned the tables for a seat.

I opened my mouth to greet her, but a small little voice shouted out before I got the chance.

“Mister Torque!” The tiny unicorn nearly flew at me, hugging my leg with a bright smile. “Good morning!”

With a smile of my own, I ruffled up Dinky’s mane. “Good morning to you Dinky, and a good morning to you as well, Rarity.”

Everypony was flashing smiles this morning. Good morning, dear. Wonderful to see you, Torque. How did the date go?”

I took the seat across the table from her, with Dinky sitting on the left side between us. “I’m a little shaken. I feel like everything I did was wrong, but Princess Luna told me that I did very well.”

I wasn’t exactly finished, but the mare didn’t give me time to continue before slamming her hooves on the table. “You spoke to Princess Luna?”

“Uh, ma’am?”

Her white coat did nothing to hide the growing red in her cheeks. She stared at the waiter for at least a minute before lowering herself back into her chair, brushing the invisible dust off of her. “Oh, I apologize, I’m afraid I was so caught up in our conversation that I didn’t see you there.”

The colt didn’t seem that offended. In fact, he too started smiling. “Well I can’t say I blame you. I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help but overhear that your friend got to speak with royalty. One of our royal sisters, in fact. It’s not every day somepony can say they’ve done that. Anyway, are you ready to get your drinks?”

Rarity’s blush began to fade as her ears perked up again. “Oh yes, I’ll have my usual. Medium vanilla cream coffee with two sugars, please.”

He looked at me as he scribbled down the order. “And you, sir?”

I tapped my chin for a moment as I thought. “Do you have hot chocolate?”

“An odd request, but yes we do.”

“Great! I’ll have a medium hot chocolate please.”

As he scribbled down my order, the little filly looked up at him and tugged on his uniform. “May I have some milk, please?”

Just as I’m sure anyone else would have, the waiter started to grin as he looked down. “Why, of course you can, sweetie.”

She then clapped her hooves together, though the loud growling from all three of us kind of interrupted it.

I looked from Dinky to Rarity for a moment before looking down at my own stomach. “Neither of you have eaten yet?”

The seamstress began wagging her hoof as she spoke. Honestly, I feel like you’d take away a mare’s ability to speak if you cut off her hooves, almost all the ones I knew did some kind of sign language when talking.

“Well, I took the girls outside for a little bit, and I guess I just lost track of time. Applejack came and got Sprint and Apple Bloom, and Sweetie went with Scootaloo, spouting something about an ‘investigation’. Now that I think about it, I guess food was the last thing on my mind!”

Now my ears perked up as she mentioned the fillies getting picked up. “What about Ditzy? She hasn’t come for Dinky yet?”

The mare shook her head as the waiter came back with our drinks. For the sake of time and ease, we all just ordered a large stack of pancakes to share and resumed our conversation when he was gone.

“She hasn’t. Though, I’m not surprised. You two did go all the way to Vanhoover and came back rather late. Oh! Speaking of, I apologize for interrupting you. What were you going to say about how your date went?”

I honestly forgot about that, and as a result, forgot about what I had said. “Even eight hours after the date ended I’m still nervous. I feel like I did a lot of stuff wrong, but Princess Luna herself came to me and encouraged me to keep trying until I knew for certain how I felt about Ditzy.”

With a smile, she tapped my hoof and nodded. “You should. Believe me, if you’re on the fence, asking yourself what she is to you, persevering is much better than stopping. Even if you decide she’s just a friend, at least you’ll know. However, I think I can help you as well.”

If she didn’t have my attention before, she had it now. “Well, Luna said I’m the only one who can really do this, but I’d be glad to hear what you have to say.”

She nodded again before continuing. “To be honest with you, dear, I feel like I’ve only been in love once. And I mean real love, not just infatuation. I don’t think the feeling really differs between ponies, so ask yourself this: are you happy just being with her? Do you find yourself wondering how she is or what she’s up to when you’re not around her? Does making her happy make you happy? That’s how I felt with this colt; I was happy just being around him, he was always on my mind, and I found myself smiling whenever he did.”

I slowly tilted my head, tapping my chin as I thought. The questions Luna had presented me with and the ones I had just been asked went together like puzzle pieces, and one of them was even the same. Last night, during my little soul search, I did determine one thing, and it answered that question that both mares had asked.

“I don’t have a definite answer for all these questions, but I do know one thing: I find joy in seeing Ditzy happy. She told me her story a few days ago, and it broke my heart to see her cry. As odd as it is, it reminded me of the day my dog ran away. It was like I had tunnel vision, all I could focus on was trying to find him, and this time, all I could focus on was getting her to smile.”

Once again, she started to nod, this time with her eyes closed. “I think you may. Of course, I’m not you, so I can’t tell you what to and what not to do, but were I in your position, I’d give it a chance.”

“She talks about you a lot too, Mister Torque.”

The both of us fell silent as we looked at the small unicorn, her twinkling eyes looking back at us with an innocent shine. “Momma goes on and on about how nice you are. I think so, too! You’re super nice, Mister Torque!”

Both Rarity and I patted Dinky’s head, causing her to let out a small giggle. “That’s sweet of you, Dinky. I try my best.”

I could feel my mouth watering as the aroma of our meal began to fill the air. It was a momentary derailment for my train of thought, but it didn’t last long after Rarity politely cut them up and divided the stack evenly among us.

“At the end of the day, it’s really not my say, nor is it any of my business, but I say go for it! I’ve been to enough weddings to know how beautiful a thing love can be, and as far as I’m concerned, the more of it we have, the better. Besides, you’re so kind and friendly to everyone, you deserve to be happy, Torque.”

Her mention of happiness brought another thing to my mind, though Dinky’s presence kept me from saying very much. My hunger kept me from saying anything until I had down a big chunk of pancakes, as well.

“Everypony deserves to be happy, not just me. Speaking of, do you mind if I ask you a favor?”

She also had to take a few bites before speaking, though the unicorn was taking much smaller pieces than me or Dinky. “That may be true, but you’re not everypony. You and Ditzy are the topic of this discussion. Personally, I think you two are adorable together based on what I saw yesterday. And of course, name it.”

The pancakes were almost too good to take a break from. I had to swallow at least two more bites before I could speak again. “Do you think you could patch something up for me? It’s got some age on it, but I think it’s still salvageable.”

Rarity gave me an assuring nod. “There hasn’t been a fabric yet that I’ve been unable to mend. Just bring it to me and I’ll have it done before you even leave!”

That was great news. I let out a sigh of relief, turning to a chubby-cheeked Dinky for a moment before addressing the seamstress again. “I don’t exactly have it right now. I’ll have to get it when we’re done here.”

I felt a little poke on my shoulder, turning my attention to the source. Her cheeks were still stuffed, but she somehow managed to swallow what she had. “Mister Torque, did you really have a dog?”

I couldn’t help but smile as I spoke, holding my forelegs out beside me to give some kind of indicator as to how big he was. “I certainly did. He was a big old dog, and I named him Tucker. He was about this big when I picked him up from an animal shelter. We had a lot of fun together… but he got out through a hole in the fence I hadn’t noticed. I searched for him everywhere I could think of, even after dark, but could find any sign of him. I hope he’s alright… and at the very least, I hope he caught that squirrel he was chasing.”

“Aw, I’m sorry. I bet he was really nice, like you! I wish I had a doggy like that!”

Her words got small laughs out of both of us as she nibbled on her food some more. “He was a good dog, just rambunctious. I shouldn’t be surprised that he eventually got out.”

Rarity’s face really made me question how interested she was in this new topic. She hadn’t said anything since the dog was brought up, and her plate was almost clean now, despite her barely eating anything when we were talking about my possible love life. In fact, I was the only one who still had anything on their plate. Luckily I managed to finish before the waiter came over.

I volunteered to pay for it since I did just kind of throw myself in here, but Rarity refused not to pay for her and Dinky’s meal. Once the food was paid for and the table was clean, we all stood up and said our goodbyes.

With a smile, I lowered myself and let the little filly hop on my back. “I’ll take Dinky back home and drop that thing off at the boutique. Is that alright with you?”

She patted the bottom curl in her mane before responding. “That’s not a problem at all. I don’t plan on leaving for anything.”

“Alright, I’ll see you later, Rarity!”

“Goodbye, Torque!”

We went our separate ways, Dinky bouncing a little on my back. “I had lots of fun, Mister Torque! We had a pillow fight, and we ate yummy food, and we played games, and we ran around, and I got made a Cutie Mark Crusader!”

Seriously, is it legal to be that cute?

“That sounds great, Dinky! Are you going to see them at school tomorrow?”

She started nodding quickly. “Uh-huh! Tomorrow’s show and tell day, too! I’m gonna take Mr. Wags and show him to everypony!”

Oh boy, that hit me in the gut. I mean, I was sure I could finish things up before tomorrow, but it would take a lot of work today. “I’m sure they’ll love him.”

Dinky just couldn’t stop going on and on about how much fun she had, and I assumed her mother could hear her without me needing to knock, considering she opened the door before I could.

“Sounds like someone had a good time!”

The unicorn hopped off of me, wrapping herself around her mother’s legs. “I did! It was so much fun, Momma! I can’t wait to tell you all about it!”

My friend started to giggle, ushering bother her daughter and me inside. “I can’t wait to hear all about it. Go to the kitchen, sweetie. I made some muffins for you, and I’ll be there in a moment.”

Immediately, Dinky clapped and zoomed off towards the kitchen, leaving the pegasus and I by ourselves. She looked into my eyes as best she could with that same, soft smile I had seen last night that I loved so much.

“She’s not the only one. I had a wonderful time last night, Torque.” Up until today, I had no idea ponies could purr. Nor did I know that having a mare lean her head on my shoulder could feel so… normal. “I really enjoyed myself, you know that? Torque, I really want to get to know you better, and spending time with you is… I… as corny as it sounds, the only think I can think of to say is spending time with you is magic. I feel at ease when you’re around.”

As she spoke, I lifted my foreleg around her shoulder. It was as if she were reading my mind, and her words cemented my decision. “Well, if you’d like, I’d love to take you to that park Sunday. You know, it might be even pretty if we went during the day. Dinky can come along too, if she wants.”

Again, there was that purr sound. It wasn’t really a purr, but it was the closest thing I could think of. “That sounds wonderful.”

I hated to do it, but the warm moment had to end eventually, and I was now on a somewhat tight schedule. “Speaking of Dinky… where is Mr. Wags? Don’t tell her, but I’m going to have Rarity fix her up like new.”

The mare’s eyes lit up at my words, causing her wings to flutter a little. “Really? Oh, that’s so sweet of you—”

“Momma! Come have some muffins with me!”

She turned her head back to me, leaning towards the hall. “Second door on the left. Last I saw, Mr. Wags was on her bed.”

I gave her a quick nod as she went to see her daughter. A quick peek into what I assumed to be Dinky’s room validated my friend’s words. The plushy was pretty ragged; it looked like one of its legs was even coming off. Its brown, black, and white coloring made me assume it was supposed to be a Beagle, but it’s obviously a lot harder to tell with stuffed animals as opposed to the real thing.

Ditzy and Dinky were giggling and talking as I made my way out. Now I had to rush to Rarity’s boutique to drop off the toy. I really didn’t want to just drop it off and leave, but I couldn’t stay for very long, either. In the end, I decided to tell her just that, hoping she’d understand. She answered the door rather quickly after my knocking, looking down at the gruff little toy in my grasp.

“Oh, this? That won’t take but a few minutes! However, Torque, I have something I really must speak to you about, do you have some time?”

Of course she needed to speak to me when I was in a rush. Since the thing was in my mouth—darn unicorns and their really handy magic—I had to give it to her before I could speak. The seamstress wiped off the spot I had been holding with a rag, looking back to me.

I, however, was already jogging in place. “I’m sorry, Rarity! Dinky wants to take Mr. Wags for show and tell at school tomorrow, so I have to get this done today.”

My words merited a blink from her. “Very well. However, we’re going to speak when I bring this back to you, understand?”

“Fair enough. I’ll keep the door unlocked for you.”

She began waving her front hooves at me, a bright smile on her face. “Yes, yes, now shoo! You have work to do, shoo!”

Her playful shooing only exacerbated my good mood. With hers, Luna’s, and Ditzy’s conversations all putting me at ease with what happened during the date, and Dinky’s excitement about her sleepover motivating me more, finishing the recorder took almost no time at all. Beat came over so I could record his sound clip, and I immediately began working on the playback device.

Figuring out how to wire it up so that the device read and played what was on the recorder was pretty easy, but making it large enough to be practical proved slightly challenging. The fact that Dinky wanted her toy by tomorrow also meant that this prototype had to work and had to be what we used. I was about halfway done wiring up everything when Rarity finally came in.

“Good afternoon, dear! How’s the box coming along?”

You wouldn’t think sitting at a desk putting together a small piece of electronics could work up a sweat, but I found myself wiping my forehead as she spoke. “It’s alright. I think I’ve done pretty well for how much time I’ve had to work on it.”

She sat down next to me, setting a Mr. Wags on the table so new I could barely tell it was the same one. Both of the buttons that made up his eyes had been replaced, there were absolutely no dirty spots anywhere to be found, every single rip and tear had been mended, and there weren’t even any seams or stitches in them!

“Hey… you used some magic to fix this up, didn’t you?”

Rarity’s mouth turned up in a please smile as she messed with her hair. “A lady never reveals her secrets. Now then, tell me you have a moment to talk now?”

“I really would like to get this done soon, but I’m curious as to what you have to say.”

She only started speaking after she was done toying with… whatever was wrong with her hair. “Well, I was just reminded of something when you brought this little toy to me. Long story short, a friend of mine, who shall remain nameless unless you meet her, has a stuffed animal she’s had since foalhood, and I’ve been pushing her to allow me to renew it. You bringing in Dinky’s dog reminded me of her, and what she’s currently going through.”

My ears perked up, my curiosity more than piqued now. “And?”

The unicorn lifted a hoof to her chest for whatever reason. I noticed that she had a habit of doing that when she began sentences. “Well, she’s kind of in a situation similar to yours. She has some feelings she’s unsure about, though she wouldn’t tell me who they were for. She talked to Princess Cadence herself, which didn’t surprise me, since the two are so close. Now, I’m not saying you should go all the way to the Crystal Empire just for some advice, but it couldn’t hurt to ask should she visit Canterlot or somewhere closer.”

I shrugged, returning to the task before me. “I thought you agreed that I was the only one who could actually solve this. It’s just going to take time, I guess. Really, it’s like Beat said: whatever happens, happens. I guess what I’m afraid of is Ditzy really being my special somepony, but I do something wrong and scare her away.”

Working with a leg on my shoulder wasn’t as hard as I thought. “Well, if that’s the way you think, then consider this: If she really is ‘the one’, then would it really matter how many mistakes you make? If you two are meant to be together, don’t you think things will work themselves out no matter what happens?”

I froze as I processed her words. She had a point, and it was a really good one at that. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that what she had said pretty much irrationalized any kind of worry I’d been feeling.

“Wow… I guess you’re right. It really wouldn’t make a difference if it’s really meant to be. Thanks for saying that, Rarity.”

“I do pride myself on having a way with words. With that, I must be going, I don’t want to leave Sweetie Belle alone for too long. Take care, dear.”

I waved at her as she made her way to the door, but I didn’t keep it up for long. “I will, you do the same!”

Once I heard the door close, my attention immediately shifted back to my work. Skipping lunch to work may not have been the best idea, but it gave me a boost that would allow me to eat a big dinner to make up for it. By the time I was done, it was about seven, and my stomach was growling. However, I needed to run a few tests before I could feel finished. Thankfully, each test was a success, meriting a wide grin and a big sub sandwich.

Now that I was full, and everything was ready, it was time to see the look on her face. Normally, I didn’t think running was really appropriate for most situations, but man, as I hauling flank. I didn’t even know I could move that fast. I could hear raised voices from behind Ditzy’s door, but they fell silent the minute I knocked on the door.

Slowly, the door began to open, and my friend poked her head through. Her smile was almost as wide as mine when she saw me. She didn’t say anything, but circled her hoof in front of her as she held the door open for me.

“She’s scared to death. Maybe we should have told her that you at least wanted to see Mr. Wags. Poor thing’s been looking everywhere for him.”

I gave her a wink and walked up to her door, poking my head in. She wasn’t kidding; Dinky’s bed was a mess, all of her drawers were open, every single light she had was on, and now she was wiggling around beneath her bed.

“Hey Dinky!”

The filly’s head popped up the minute she heard me, though she didn’t make any attempt to actually get up. “Oh, hi Mister Torque… have you seen Mr. Wags? He just went poof! I don’t know where to find him!”

Being innocent came naturally to me, but I still felt the need to smile and roll my eyes. “Oh, I’m not sure… do you mean, this Mr. Wags?”

Her eyes lit up as she saw me hold the spruced up plushy before her. The unicorn’s jaw slowly began to drop, and as I watched, I honestly thought it might hit the floor. Dinky just lay there, staring at it for who knows how long before letting out a loud scream. Before I knew what had happened, I was on the ground with the small, purple forelegs wrapped around my neck.

“He’s as good as new! Mister Torque, did you do this? Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

She was heavier than I thought, but I still managed to pick her up off of me as she grabbed a hold of her dog. “No, I didn’t, I just asked Rarity to fix him up for you. I had absolutely nothing to do with this—”

Of course, I couldn’t keep the façade up for very long. As soon as she hugged Mr. Wags hard enough, the whole room was filled with a loud, deep, and silly sounding “I love you!” Dinky’s face dawned the same wide-eyed, open-mouthed expression it had just displayed as she turned to look at me.

“Except that.”

Again, she let out a loud… sound. If I had to give it a name, it would be “squee”, because that’s basically what it was. “He can even talk now! Mister Torque, you’re the best ever! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Dinky kept on squeezing Mr. Wags, giggling every time that sound clip played. I felt a weight on my shoulders as her mother brought my into a tight hug, and my face heated up as her lips met my cheek in a quick peck.

“You really are the best, Torque. I… I think—”

“Mister Torque!” The little filly wrapped herself around my leg, tugging on it softly. “Can you stay for supper, Mister Torque? Please?”

Her little puppy dog eyes made me bite my lip. Dinky alone made the offer hard not to accept, but Ditzy herself had on her own pair of pleading eyes. I didn’t have the heart to tell them I had already eaten, and they both let out a loud “Yay!” when I accepted.

She had made some kind of casserole, but refused to tell me what was in it. Regardless, it was delicious, and my time there was only made better by Dinky’s constant, adorable expressions of gratitude. Once the dinner was over, I helped my friend take care of the dishes and helped her put Dinky to bed. It took us at least five minutes to say our goodbyes, and we ended things with a very long hug.

Ditzy stared at me for a moment before breaking the silence with a quiet, quick word.

“Bye.”

“Bye Ditzy.”

With that, I made my way back home. I already had the basic plan for my next device in my head, and even though it took me until ten at night, I managed to draw up the basic sketches. Attempting to get the blueprints done was a little too much, as I was pretty certain I wouldn’t be able to finish at a decent hour, but the images of Dinky and Ditzy’s faces helped me relax immensely.

Despite what it had done to me this morning, I turned over and looked out the window. The full moon hung in the sky, and I couldn’t help but feel like Princess Luna was watching over me as well as I slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

Comments

[Mother3Forever]

I Repeat, DINKY IS TOO DAMN ADORABLE!!!

[Quiznak]

That amount of cuteness will give you cancer and a stroke...