Chapter 41
Nine plates of cheesy fried potatoes later, along with a whole apple custard pie, the empty ache in Copperquick’s belly finally began to subside. His daughter, Esmeralda, watched him with wide, terrified eyes, and her little mouth hung open in horror, as if perhaps she was witnessing the end of all things. It made him feel a little bit guilty, the way she was looking at him while he ate, and he lamented the fact that he had no means to explain to her why he was so hungry.
Across the table, Sodalite was still grazing, a slow, steady process, and she showed no signs of stopping. Together, they sat beneath a bright blue and yellow canopy, which had been cordoned off so they wouldn’t get mobbed. Buttermilk kept a wary eye on the crowd just beyond the rough rope that had been tied from post to post, and so did her father, Mighty Midge.
A few officials from the Derby Commission stood together a short distance away, talking to one another in hushed tones. Copperquick really didn’t care about whatever it was they were saying, though he figured that he should. He was just too tired to work up any feeling of concern, and really, what he wanted more than anything right now was a nap. Yes, a nice nap, with his daughter, and Buttermilk fanning him with her wings, because that would be fantastic, even if it was a lot to ask of his pegasus companion.
An unexpected flashbulb went off and Copperquick was left blinking to clear his vision.
“I think,” Sodalite began, and then she paused for but a moment to chew her food a bit more, “that what you are doing is good. There needs to be more help for single parents.”
Still blinking, Copperquick took in the unexpected compliment.
“I’m relieved to hear you say that. Most mares react with disgust when they find out what Copper is doing. Or anger. Anger is a very popular option.” Buttermilk turned her head just enough to glance at Sodalite while still keeping a wary eye on the crowd beyond the rope.
“Why anger?” the grazing earth pony mare asked. “I don’t get it?”
“Most mares are under the impression that if Copper does get assistance, there will somehow be less assistance for them. And being a stallion, they feel that he should just suck it up and deal with it somehow, and leave what little help there is to be had for them.”
“That’s sexist.” Sodalite wiped her muzzle with her foreleg. “That’s sexist and gross.”
Tossing her head about, Butter Fudge snorted.
“Don’t mind my mother,” Buttermilk remarked, which made her mother snort again, but harder this time, with a great deal more attitude.
“Our society is such that stallions are shamed if they ask for help for anything.” Mighty Midge made a point of absolutely ignoring the open-mouthed stare his wife now gave him and he focused instead on Esmeralda, who was still quite alarmed about her father’s eating habits. “Mares too, if I can be honest. I’m guilty of it too. I raised Buttermilk to look after herself and to only depend on herself. I’ve been thinking about that lately. Been thinking about a lot of things.”
“And this is why you're the best, Daddums.” Buttermilk smiled at her father and then, expression souring, she cast a cool stare in her mother’s direction. “Moomy’s trying at least. Just a bit ago, she made me so proud of her, and now she’s back to being a judgmental ass again—”
“Oi!”
“If you don’t want to be called a judgmental ass, then don’t act like a judgmental ass. It’s the same advice you gave me, Moomy. You told me that if I didn’t want to the world to think I was a whorish slattern, then I shouldn’t give them cause to believe I was. Which is why I became a prim and proper, wholesome-librarian type.”
“Point made, Beezy.” Rolling her eyes, Butter Fudge turned away from her daughter, and her ears pricked so she could listen to the Derby Commission members speaking to one another better.
“My mother won’t even talk to me,” Sodalite muttered whilst her expression turned deadpan. “She told me not to get involved with a flighty pegasus pony. She kept telling me that I’d get my heart broken. After Fleet was gone and I found out I was preggers, she reminded me that she told me so and then she kicked me out of the house. Now she won’t talk to me at all, which is why I want to move. It’s hard seeing her out and about, with her pretending that I don’t exist.”
“Ah yes, the friendly, family-oriented ponies of the Dales Delta. Great ponies. A real model of the finest that Equestria has to offer.” Buttermilk shook her head from side to side, blew a raspberry, and her tail flicked about as if slapping nonexistent flies. “We should all aspire to be just like them. Imagine how fine society would be—”
“Beezy”—Butter Fudge’s voice cracked mid-syllable—“you’ve made your point. Please stop.”
“Beezy, you seem to have a bee in your cardigan.”
“Yes, Daddums, I do.” The annoyed bespectacled pegasus extended her wing to point at Sodalite. “This is why I do what I do. Ponies like you and Moomy made my job a necessity. I’m angry… I’m unbelievably angry. Copper just ran his legs off and so did my new friend and neither one of them are going to get anything to show for it. Sodalite’s situation is everything that is wrong with this place… and the ponies who live here. And I just got a reminder of why I left… and how much I really hate this place sometimes.”
A defeated sigh was heard from Butter Fudge, but nothing was said.
Mighty Midge took on a more submissive pose. “That’s a bit harsh, Beezy—”
“Not as harsh as being unable to provide because some judgmental asses think they know what is best for you!”
Some of the gathered crowd departed, their faces angry, their ears pinned back, and they cast dark looks at Buttermilk as they retreated. Copperquick wasn’t sure what to feel exactly, he was too tired to feel much of anything but exhaustion, and the tension in the air proved quite unpleasant.
“Copper deserves better!” Buttermilk blurted out while every hair along her spine stood on end. “Sodalite does too! The fact that they might get nothing has me steamed! Ponies keep calling this a miracle, but it seems to me that a miracle isn’t worth much these days! They’re raising money for charity, but also ignoring two ponies with a great and pressing need! And I am ANGRY!” A terrible transformation overcame the slight pegasus, and she almost doubled in size as every single hair and feather on her body now stood on end. Trembling with rage, Buttermilk stood with her teeth bared and there was an awful sound as she ground them together.
“Mama mad-mad.” Esmeralda whipped her head around to have a better look, and then, after watching the irate pegasus for a time, she turned to look up at her father. “Nap?”
“Yes, Esme, your mother needs a nap, I think.” When Buttermilk turned her attention on him, Copperquick cringed, but offered no apology. He instead looked at Sodalite, smiled, and pointed in Buttermilk’s direction with his hoof. “I fell in love with a pegasus too. They’re not like us at all. I think that’s the attraction. It’s great how they double in size.”
Sodalite burst out laughing and then covered her muzzle with one hoof.
Buttermilk wouldn’t stop sniffing him and Copperquick—worried about how he might smell after all that running—felt self-aware and unassured. Even worse, she kept rubbing the side of her head and her ears against him, almost as if she was a small winged cat of some kind. Sodalite was playing with Esmeralda, cooing at her during a rousing game of peekaboo. Butter Fudge appeared to be fuming, but also thoughtful. As for Mighty Midge, he stood discussing something with the Derby Commission ponies, and had an occasional loud outburst.
Yet another pony snapped a picture and then hurried off, as there were other interesting things to see.
Chilly tingles danced up and down Copperquick’s neck as Buttermilk’s nose snuffled against his mane and unable to cope with her weirdness any longer, he said to her, “You keep sniffing me. It’s quite strange.”
“I like the way you smell right now,” was her reply, speaking as if this was perfectly normal. “Sweaty. Kinda earthy.” As she spoke, she rubbed her ear against the bottom of his jaw while groping his neck with her delicate little front hooves. Then, pressing up against him, she added with a low, throaty whisper that only he could hear, “It makes me think naughty thoughts when I sniff you. I think I want to get you sweaty later, if I can.”
“You are a peculiar pegasus.”
“Would you like to see my wingspan? I’d love to show you. For my size, it’s quite impressive.”
This put a little starch in Copperquick’s spine and he sat up straight, even though it was quite painful to do so. Something about how he smelled had put Buttermilk in quite a mood. Or perhaps it was the spring. It was certainly something. When she rubbed up against him, he could hear contented, rather brutish grunts from deep within her throat. The last time she had grunted like that…
“If I could have your attention for a moment…” A large dun earth pony broke away from the group so he could approach Copperquick and Sodalite. “After much discussion, we’ve decided to give each of you the winner’s pot. Charity does, indeed, begin here at home. The two of you put on quite a show. The show of a lifetime. You will receive a full payout before the day has ended. If you will excuse me, I must hurry off to speak with a bank agent.”
“Thank you!” Sodalite’s voice cracked and her eyes glazed over, glassy with tears.
“Yes…” Copperquick’s spine sagged once more and he shuddered with relief. “Thank you, thank you so very much for your decision.”
Mid-step, the earth pony paused. A somewhat older stallion, he stood still for a moment before he lifted his right front hoof and pointed at Buttermilk, who clung to Copperquick’s neck. “What you said touched me. In talking to your father, I called into question quite a number of decisions I’ve made, young miss. I suppose I realised how much my choices can hurt others. It’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought about before. And your father helped me to see that this is one of those decisions where what I do will have a tremendous impact on not one, but many lives, including two foals. For me, and my fellow commission members, this became a matter of conscience. Thank you.”
Buttermilk made a noise, but no words came forth. The dun earth pony bowed his head, smiled, and then with a slow, plodding pace, he departed. Copperquick watched him go, and the other commission members all bowed their heads as well, then followed. Stunned, Copperquick wanted to say something, anything, preferably something meaningful, but no words lept to his tongue.
“Somepony will be along shortly to speak to you about what happened,” a mare said as she stepped out of the cordoned-off confines of the canopy. “Please wait, if you can. It is of the utmost importance. Best of luck to both of you, and I hope that life gives you a break.”
Copperquick watched them go. On the outside, he was the same as ever, almost stodgy even, but on the inside—on the inside he was practically coming undone. A thousand bits was not a lot of money, but right now, it felt like a lot of money. Money might not buy happiness, but it could buy peace of mind, which was the next best thing. Beside him, Buttermilk’s wings buzzed to life as if she had just drank a gallon of syrup.
Now the little pegasus mare effortlessly flitted around his head, almost as if she was a bee, or a hummingbird. She darted to, then fro, then to again, and then just buzzed aimlessly with no real direction in mind. Copperquick watched her and he enjoyed his profound sense of relief. After the fear, worry, and doubt of getting no payout at all, this was a welcome bit of fortune, made all the better by the not-knowing.
Even Esmeralda seemed happy, perhaps because everypony else was happy, but then her expression changed, as foal’s expressions tended to do. For a moment, she was thoughtful, as if she was engaged in a bit of cogitation, and then alarm could be seen upon her face. She bit her bottom lip, reached upwards for her mother, and kicked her stubby hind legs against the table.
“Foosh,” she said, trying to get Buttermilk’s attention.
Pausing in mid-air, Buttermilk turned her bespectacled gaze upon the little earth pony filly. “Foosh? Do you need to go foosh?”
After thinking about it for perhaps a whole of a second, Esmeralda nodded. “Foosh… now?”
“Say, that’s a pretty good attempt at a sentence. Prepare to go foosh!” Swooping down, Buttermilk snatched up the foal, and then she went zooming off in search of a restroom.
Confused—and rightfully so—Sodalite turned to Copperquick and said, “Foosh?”
“What sound does the toilet make when it is flushed?” he asked of her in return.
“Oh!” The light of recognition flashed in Sodalite’s eyes. “Say, that’s pretty smart. Mine’s not old enough for potty training. Not yet. He’s a chatterbox though. Said his first word a week after birth. After that, there was just no shutting him up. He doesn’t know what most of the words mean, but he loves to repeat everything.”
“Esme is just now figuring out this whole talking thing. There’s been some complications.”
“Aren’t there always?” Sodalite replied.
Copperquick’s unsinkable good mood remained buoyant and he changed the subject: “I’m still thirsty. I think I might venture out in search of something to drink.”
“I’m on it!”
Before Copperquick could protest, Mighty Midge was gone.
- All the shippers are out in force today. It's hilarious. Even with zero definable points of connection, people be shipping. With no attraction factors in play, people be shipping. Quick, call Fedex, we have a shipping emergency.
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I ship it. All of it.
I shall ship Copper with the pit of ashen and dusty earth he made.
After all, they made quite a connection!
i.imgur.com/WNNOtil.jpg
crazy people, trying to sail a ship they don't know is full of holes, Copperquick and Sodalite are much better as friends then love birds
I may not work for FedUps, but I do drive a big rig. I am thus an expert on shipping! As for "zero points of connection", I disagree. The share a situation (single parent), a societal experience (looked down on for being a single parent), and the synchronicity they showed in this situation (commonality of drive and purpose) are all points of connection. That said, while I do still get the shipping feeling from this, one must note I have only said 'potential'. No matter the points of connection, it doesn't always work.
The only ship here is freindship!
Shipping emergency? Better call:
derpicdn.net/img/2015/10/13/1001108/medium.png
I dunno, I think there was a honest and heartfelt reaction between the cheesy potatoes and the apple custard pie.
Also:
Bad Beezy! You have a young impressionable mind watching you now.
It is pretty great.
Nice! And surprising.
Heck of a speech, Buttermilk.
Shipping is easy, being shipped is harder.
I ship Derby Commission stallion and Utmost Importance mare.
I wanna know who's about to show up to question them about the earth pony magic display. I figure someone's going to do some soil samples to see just how they ripped out of the earth in exchange for the speed burst.
While I admit my.. rather excitable shipping tendencies want to put Sodalite, Copper and Buttermilk in one big cuddle-pile, I admit it would be a better dynamic for them all to be just friends.
Doesn't mean I have to like to though.
East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'
We gonna do what they say can't be done.
Let the shipping convoy commence.
It strikes me as one of those friendships that everyone erroneously assumes is more, to the consternation of the two. A boat, if you will.
I boat it!
They share a situation, at times that's enough for a relationship to get started. Or at least have the opportunity to. I wouldn't laugh at people enjoying fun possibilities. Unless I didn't agree with them and thought their faces, like their opinions, were dumb and ugly.
Then I would.
It's great to see the change that happened here. It's not often that ponies, or people for that matter, will admit and correct the damage that they have done to others. To admit "Hey I was wrong", but to also DO something about it!
it's great to know that Sodalite will be taken care of. I am hoping that we get to see more of her in the future! She seems like a great character! <3
Yay glittering prizes!
Personally, I ship UPS, cause FedEx can't seem to understand that there exists a town small enough for three and even two digit house numbers. Although, even UPS won't ship me anything that's got a battery in it.
Anywho, great chapter! I was pleasantly surprised at the commissioners' decision.
I ship. The Herd must grow.