Chapter 4 - Family Time
Twilight lies on the floor of a hotel room in Canterlot. She waits in front of a fireplace in a beautiful evening gown! Shortly thereafter Arc comes out of the bathroom wearing a formal black suit. He looks over to her and smiles as he finishes fixing his tie.
“Sorry for making you wait, Twilight.”
She beckons him over with a wave of her hoof. “It’s okay. Our dinner reservations for tonight aren’t for over an hour. That and it gave me time to think.”
He sits down next to her. “About what?”
Twilight smiles as she looks into the fire. “How lucky I am to have a special somepony like you in my life, Arc.”
Arc puts a hand on her chin and smiles as he turns her gaze to himself. “You mean how lucky I am, right?”
Twilight smiles, googly-eyed, as she puts her hoof on Arc hand. “I love you so much!”
“I love you too, Twilight.”
They sit there just staring at each other. Slowly, their faces get closer and they close their eyes. Just before their lips touch there is a frantic knocking at the door! Arc straightens up and looks over at the door.
“Terrible timing!”
Twilight stands up and walks toward the door. “I’ll say! Hold that thought!”
She opens the door to see Auriel standing there excitedly.
“Auriel?! What are you doing here?!”
Auriel looks to her friend excitedly! “Twilight! I think I may have perfected an extraction method!”
“What?”
“Come on! Wake up!”
Twilight slowly opens her eyes to Auriel gently shaking her.
“Auriel? What time is it?”
“Almost dawn! But you wanted me to tell you the moment I figured this out, remember?!”
Twilight throws the covers back and jumps out of bed. “And did you?!”
“Yes, I… um… Twilight? Why are you still wearing that dress?”
Twilight looks down to see that she is still wearing the black dress from the funeral yesterday.
“I was really tired when we got home yesterday and just decided to go to bed. But it looks like you did the same.”
Auriel looks down at her own black dress. “Not quite! I haven’t actually gone to bed yet! Come on! Let me show you what I’ve come up with!”
Twilight quickly follows Auriel to the basement lab!
“This is so intriguing! A whole new branch of science awaits!”
The pair walk over to a rather familiar looking setup in a corner of the lab.
“Auriel? Isn’t that Applejack’s cider making still?!”
“Is that what she calls it? I borrowed it as a reference guide to make my own slightly different version!”
Twilight shakes her head. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but when did you get this?”
“About 2 A.M. I think! I would have asked, but the house was dark!”
“Auriel! That’s stealing!”
“Don’t worry! I left a note!”
Twilight facehoofs. “Oh dear! Applejack will not be happy about this! Oh well. What’s done is done. Please continue.”
Auriel walks over to her invention! “I call this prototype the Plant Elemental Essence Liberator, or P.E.E.L. for short!“
She points to a large drum that is suspended over what very well may be every Bunsen burner in the lab! Steam is rising from the drum! Auriel picks up a large bowl of the strange fruit she has harvested and cut up. Dumping it into the drum as she looks to Twilight.
“The steam is from some magically enhance water I whipped up earlier!”
“Is that dangerous?!”
Auriel tosses the empty bowl to the side and puts the top on the drum. “Probably not!”
She attaches a hose to the lid of the large drum which leads down to another smaller drum. Auriel knees down and points to the second drum.
“Here’s where the magic really gets started! The magically enhanced water boils and makes steam! The magical essence from the fruit is the polar opposite of that in the water!”
Twilight nods, wide-eyed! “So, it ATTRACTS the magic of the fruit?!”
“Right! It then rises through this tube in the form of steam to this drum! The extra water condenses here and is collected!“
Auriel points to another tube coming out of the secondary drum that leads to a third drum.
“This third drum is my condenser! It has a coiled copper tube running through it to cool the steam!”
Twilight points a hoof at a small cup catching the liquid as it comes out. “And this is the end result?”
Auriel nods! “Yes! Applejack’s design is rather inefficient though! It’s almost like she WANTS impurities to get through!”
“She does! That’s what gives her hard cider it’s unique flavor, or so she says.”
Auriel picks up the cup and replaces it with an empty one. “I’ll have to design something to separate the essence from the magically enhanced water! Something along the lines of a hydrogen/oxygen collider! Break things up at the molecular level. It’s going to take quite a while to design though!”
“Um, Auriel? Couldn’t we just, oh I don’t know, boil the water away?”
Auriel’s jaw drops!
“Why didn’t I think of that?!”
Twilight looks at the bags under Auriel’s eyes. “You probably just wore yourself out like I did not that long ago! Why don’t you get some sleep and I’ll start running some tests on this extract?”
Auriel yawns. “I think I will. Oh, before I forget, I learned something interesting about this fruit and its extract!”
“What’s that?”
“The extract seems to be fairly potent as-is. If the water were removed it would be quite strong!”
“Anything else?”
Auriel walks over to the bush and picks a piece of fruit. Holding it up, she takes a bite. “It’s also quite tasty!”
Twilight looks concerned! “Are you sure that’s safe?!”
“Yes. I ran a number of tests on the fruit prior to eating it. It’s safe for both ponies and demons to ingest!”
Twilight takes a piece of fruit off a branch and takes a bite. “This is REALLY sweet! Arc would love it! Is it safe for humans as well?”
“Yes! We could eat this endlessly without serious side effects! Other than perhaps some light diarrhea and a stomachache!”
Auriel yawns again.
“Anyways… I’m heading to bed. Feel free to run some more experiments if you want. My notes are on my workbench.”
Twilight waves a hoof after her. “Sleep well, Auriel.”
Auriel goes upstairs for a well-deserved rest. Twilight walks over to the large drum and takes one of the Bunsen burners. She sets it on a lab table and looks around.
“Let’s see here… beaker… beaker… ah, there’s one!”
Twilight sets the beaker on one of the Bunsen burners and fills it with some of the diluted essence. In a short time, the water has evaporated and she is left with a small amount of concentrated essence! It is a pink watery solution! She sucks it up with a blunt syringe before looking it over carefully and giggling!
“You, my resinous friend, are going to help me solve two problems!”
A week or so later, Arc, Derpy and Dinky appear on the sigil outside the New Beginnings Orphanage with full saddlebags and winter clothing. Arc is carrying a large backpack. Dinky looks toward the building and shudders!
“This place gives me the creeps!”
Derpy nods! “Me too!”
“Sorry I didn’t have any other sigils in this town. This place brings back bad memories for all of us!”
The trio heads north through the woods. Derpy looks over to Arc.
“I do wish they would just demolish that place!”
Arc sighs. “I know I told the princesses it should be maintained, but maybe that’s for the best.”
Dinky nods. “The foals at the new orphanage said they wanted to see the building burned down! They suffered there for so long!”
“I’ll talk to the princesses about it when next we meet.”
“Let’s just try to have a good time together on our down time, Arc!”
Dinky grins! “Okay! Camping trip here we come!”
They walk through the woods for several hours.
“Dad? What’s wrong with the trees?”
“What do you mean, sweetheart?”
Dinky gestures with her hoof at the leaves on the ground. “They’re all different colors now!”
Arc laughs! “That’s because winter is coming, sweetheart!”
“Winter?”
Derpy nods. “It’s when Equestria gets really cold and all the plants and most of the animals that live outside go to sleep until spring.”
Arc tousles Dinky’s mane. “If you think the leaves look pretty, wait until you see snow!”
“Snow?!”
Her father nods! “When it gets cold enough, the rain turns to ice and falls as pretty white flakes.”
Derpy puts a hoof to her chin. “Is that how snow works? I always thought it was magic.”
“Nope. Science.”
“That’s the word Twilight and Auriel seem to like so much. So, what exactly is science?”
“That’s a tough question. I mean, I know what it is! It’s just… I’ve always taken that for granted.”
Arc ponders the question. The group is silent for a time as they continue walking.
“Science is how we study, categorize and explain the world and everything around us. For example, do you remember Lyra? “
Derpy looks a bit embarrassed as she nods. “She came to our house a while back to ask Ember and I some questions about humans.”
“That pony you talked to in Dodge Junction at the Cherry Festival, dad? She seemed really interested in you for some reason.”
Arc nods. “She’s what you would call an ‘anthropologist’.”
“She mentioned that when we met. Although I didn’t understand what she was talking about.”
“An anthropologist is a kind of scientist that studies humans.”
Dinky looks confused. “Studies?”
“Learns and catalogues all there is to know about my species. It’s one of many branches of science! For example, a doctor could be considered an expert in the science of medicine.”
Derpy looks impressed! “How many kinds of scientists are there?!”
Arc shrugs. “I’m not sure I can count that high.”
Dinky nods. “Can somepony study more than one type of thing?”
“Of course! Although some prefer to specialize in just one field! Do you want to be a scientist someday, Dinky?”
“I want to be a hero when I grow up!”
Derpy smiles at her daughter. “That’s a very admirable goal Dinky! Do you want to fight alongside your father one day?”
“Yeah! And it will make dad proud of me if I do the right thing!”
Arc stops and kneels down to Dinky’s level.
“Listen sweetheart. I’m happy that you want to follow in my footsteps and all. But please understand that the life of a hero is very dangerous, stressful and at times, lonely."
“It is?
“Yes. Think of all the time I’ve had to be apart from you and your mother. And not just when I was the Lord Regent.”
Dinky thinks for a moment. “I guess so. But you had to do what was best for everypony!”
“I did! Now if that’s what you want to do with your life, I’ll be very proud of you. But I also want you to know that if you choose to do something else that makes you happy, I’ll be just as proud!”
She smiles at her father. “Thanks dad! I guess I have lots of time to think about it!”
“Indeed. There’s no rush though. Let’s just enjoy our little family outing!”
Derpy nods! “So where are we headed?”
“I’ve been looking at some of the more off the path things to see in Equestria. Applejack said Winsome Falls is supposed to be lovely this time of year!“
“I can’t wait to get there, dad!
“It’s actually the journey that I’m looking forward to. Spending time with you two is the whole reason for this trip after all!”
“Me too! I’ve missed having you around, Arc!”
“Me three!”
The three continue onward. Both Dinky and Derpy marvel at the sights and sounds of the forest! Dinky walks to a small river and looks upstream.
“Hmmm…”
“Looking for something, sweetheart?”
Dinky nods. “Yeah! The spigot.”
Arc looks confused. “Spigot?”
“Where the water’s coming from! “
He laughs! “In nature there is no spigot, hose or plumbing. The stream probably comes from an underground spring.”
Derpy looks upstream as well. “It does?”
Arc nods. “We can follow it and try to find its source if you want to.”
“That sounds like fun!”
“Lead the way, Dinky!”
They follow the stream for over an hour before they come to a large hole in the side of a hill. Arc points a finger.
“There’s your spigot, sweetheart!”
“Awesome! So, water comes from rocks?!”
Arc shakes his head. “Not exactly. The river just goes underground there. Sadly, this is as far as we can follow it.”
“Awww…”
Derpy looks over the rocks. “This is all new to me as well dear. I… didn’t have any schooling to speak of, so I have to learn as I go.”
“I think your plenty smart, mom!”
“Thank you Dinky. But I’m not nearly as well-read like your father is.”
“You never really stop learning Derpy. I’m not that much different from anyone else. Just keep your ears and eyes open and you’ll pick things up in no time!”
The little family keeps walking until dusk. Arc puts his pack down in a clearing near a stream.
“We can camp here for the night.”
Derpy nods. “What do we need to do?”
“First we need to get a fire going. Dinky, you and your mother gather some sticks. I’ll look for some larger logs to keep it going through the night.”
The three split up. In a short while they return with some branches. Dinky is carrying some kindling while Derpy has some larger branches. Arc has half a dead tree trunk over his shoulder.
“That’s a lot of wood dad!”
Derpy nods! “How can we burn something so big?!”
“I’ll show you.”
Arc sets down the trunk and calls forth his gauntlets. In a few moments he has cut the log into manageable pieces with his Magic Blades.
“There we go!”
Derpy nods. “Impressive!”
Arc sweeps away the nearby leaves before picking up some rocks to make a firepit.
“Come here you two and I’ll show you how to build a fire.”
The pair join Arc who gets to work. He sets up the branches into a tepee formation on top of a kindling of twigs and leaves.
“The smallest and thinnest wood will start burning the easiest. That’s why it goes in the middle.”
“That doesn’t look like it will burn very long, dad.”
Arc nods as he puts a few of the larger logs he gathered earlier on the outside of the kindling and smaller branches.
“True, but it doesn’t have to. Just long enough to ignite the larger sticks. Watch!”
Arc removes a pack of matches from his backpack. He lights one and tosses it onto the kindling. It begins to burn slowly. In a few moments the sticks start to burn. Lastly the logs begin to smoke and eventually ignite.
Derpy watches, amazed! “Wow, that was impressive!”
“I’ll say! Did you go camping often when you were little, dad?”
Arc stands up. “Let’s get the tent up before the sun goes down. Then we can talk about it.”
He shows the pair how to erect the tent. Arc pulls on the rope while holding the tent stake.
“Okay Dinky. Pound the stake into the ground.”
Dinky picks up the wood mallet with her magic and carefully does so.
“There! Good job you two! And thank you for not hitting my fingers with the mallet, sweetheart.”
Dinky smiles. “You’re welcome dad!”
Derpy walks over. “How about I get something cooking?”
“Sounds good, Derpy. Dinky and I will see if we can find some berries in the woods for a bit of dessert.”
Derpy pulls a small pot out of Arc’s pack. “Stay with your father, Dinky! It’s getting dark and I don’t want you getting lost now!”
“I will mom!”
The pair walk a short distance from the camp.
“Dad? Are those strawberries?”
Arc walks over to Dinky and picks up the fruit. “They are indeed sweetheart! Good eye!”
Dinky picks the fruit with her little hooves. “Mom loves these!”
Arc helps Dinky by holding what she picks. “Does she now?”
“Yeah! She especially likes them in her morning muffins!”
“I’ll have to remember that.”
“They’re her second favorite!”
Arc laughs! “Oh? What’s her first?”
“Cherries!”
Dinky suddenly stops picking berries and looks back at her father.
“I’m sorry, dad.
Arc sighs. “It’s okay sweetheart. You didn’t mean any harm.”
“I guess your talk with Miss Emerald Dream helped then?”
“It did! While nothing can ever truly take Cherry’s place in my heart, I’m slowly but surely coming to terms with… what happened.”
Dinky smiles. “I’m here for you if you want to talk about anything dad.”
“Thanks, maybe later. Let’s get these strawberries back to camp before the sun finishes setting.”
“Okay!”
The pair retrace their steps back to the camp. Even before they get there, they can smell the soup cooking! As he and Dinky enter the clearing, they see Derpy sitting on her haunches stirring a pot with a stick.
“That does smell tasty, Derpy!”
“Yeah mom! Your cooking is a lot better than it used to be!”
Arc frowns! “Dinky! That’s rude!”
Derpy sighs. “It’s okay Arc. Dinky’s right. Back then… I would make us sick at least once a week!”
“What?! Why didn’t you say something?! You two could have taken you meals with me at Light’s Hope!”
“You were so busy with your duties as the Hero of Light that I didn’t want to give you yet another job to do! That and I really needed to be an adult and learn for myself.”
Arc sits down in front of the fire and next to Derpy. “That’s very commendable Derpy. Who taught you then?”
“I brought her a book from Miss Twilight’s Library! But… I forgot that neither mom or I could read!”
Derpy looks away, embarrassed. “I… sent her back to get some simple books that we could practice on.”
“We were trying to read together! Miss Ember came back unexpectedly and found us staring at the ‘Easy Reader ABC’, completely dumbfounded!“
“We… had it upside down. “
“Miss Ember taught us our ABCs so we could read the first book together! Between the two of us, we figured it out!”
“Good! I’m glad it all worked out you two.”
“Mom was really driven to learn! I saw her lying in front of the fireplace more than once at night practicing!”
Derpy looks over, surprised! “You saw that, Dinky?!”
“Yes. I… also covered you up a time or two when you fell asleep reading. Now I know that reading is important, but you tried so hard mom! Why?”
Derpy looks into the soup. “For your father.”
“For… dad?”
“Me?”
“Yes! I didn’t want anypony in town to know that… that you were friends with a stupid mare who couldn’t even read! You would have been so embarrassed!”
Arc shakes his head! “No, I wouldn’t be, Derpy! And please don’t call yourself stupid either! You’re a smart, hardworking young mother who always does her best to provide for her family!”
He puts his hand on Derpy’s shoulder.
“I’m very proud of both of you. Never forget that!”
“Thank you Arc. But I’m going to keep studying and learning! I have a lot of catching up to do!”
Arc nods. “Let me know if I can help either of you with your studies in any way.”
“I will!”
“Me too dad!”
Derpy pulls the stick out of the pot and licks it. “I think the soup is done now.”
Dinky rummages around her father’s pack for some bowls. “Sure smells like it!”
She brings the bowls and a ladle to her mother and holds them as she spoons the food into bowls. Dinky dutifully brings a bowl to her father.
“Here you go, dad!“
Arc accepts the bowl. “Thank you, sweetheart. It does smell good!”
The three sit around the fire to keep warm as they eat. Arc shivers as he finishes his food.
“Brrr! The sun setting really took the warmth out of the air!”
Derpy puts her hooves around Dinky. “I’ll say!”
Dinky edges closer to the fire with her mother. “Why is it so cold anyways?”
“Because winter is coming. Remember that snow I told you about? It has to be pretty cold for it to happen.”
Derpy nods. “You’ll love it Dinky! It’s pretty!”
Dinky looks to her father, a bit worried. “Will it ever get warm again?”
“Sure. In the spring. That’s when the temperature rises, the plants start to grow again and the animals all wake up.”
Dinky nods. “I remember spring! That’s where my memories start anyways.”
“We’ll make plenty more together, sweetheart. But at the moment we should probably get some sleep. It’s too dark and cold to do anything more tonight.”
Dinky jumps up and trots over to the tent. She jumps inside and pokes her little head out, laughing! “You don’t have to tell me twice!”
Arc and Derpy laugh as they head toward the tent together. As Arc enters, he notices Derpy hesitate.
“Derpy? Is something wrong?”
“Um… no. It’s nothing!”
He holds the tent flap open as Derpy steps inside. They each get into their respective sleeping bags and make themselves comfortable. Arc leans over and gives Dinky a goodnight hug before lying down.
“Good night you two.”
Derpy and Dinky reply in unison. “Good night!”
For a time, there isn’t a sound to be heard other than the rustling of wind through the trees.
“Dad?”
“Hm?”
“Do you think Miss Ruby will be alright?”
“Yes sweetheart. I brought her back to Ponyville with me for a reason you know.”
Derpy nods. “Was Emerald Dream able to help her?”
“Yes indeed. She’s quite good at what she does!”
“Is what Miss Emerald Dream does a science?”
“I suppose it is to a degree. She helps others come to terms with their past so they can have a happier future.”
Derpy turns to him. “Even you Arc?”
“Y-yeah.”
“I admit I was quite surprised when you told me you were going to see her yourself! Forgive me Arc, but you never struck me as the kind who would need therapy!”
“Neither did I. But I needed to get some things off my chest. I’ve gone through a lot this past year you know.”
Derpy chuckles. “Haven’t we all!”
“She’s quite good at what she does, Derpy. Perhaps you should go see her yourself.”
“Maybe I will. Although I’m really not much for talking to strangers about my past.”
“Would you like me to go with you?”
“Thank you Arc. I would!”
“No problem. Just let me know when you want to go and I’ll accompany you.”
“I’ll come too if you want, mom.”
Derpy smiles in the darkness. “Thank you dear, but you’ll probably be in school.”
“Okay.”
They are silent again for a time. Suddenly Arc sits up quickly and casts a Light Spell! He turns to Derpy who is lying on her back staring up absentmindedly!
“Derpy! Something just occurred to me! Are you okay with this?!”
She looks to him with a confused look on her face. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Forgive me, but I forgot what happened to you the last time you were in a tent! If you want, I could teleport back to Ponyville for a second one!
Derpy sits up and smiles. “Thank you Arc, but I’m fine. If it were anypony else in here with me and Dinky I would probably feel very uncomfortable though!”
“So… you’re okay with this?”
Derpy nods! “I am! Not just because of all you’ve done. But because I know you wouldn’t try to take advantage of me, now or ever!”
Dinky sits up and looks at her mother. “I only met my… Moonlit Dusk once, but he struck me as the kind of pony who only cares about himself!”
Arc sighs. “There are others like that in this world, Dinky. Most ponies are kind and compassionate. But just like anywhere you go, there are always a few bad apples out there! Just like we talked about a while ago, if anyone EVER tries to do anything… inappropriate to you, come tell me right away and I’ll teach them a lesson!”
“I will, dad!”
Arc lies back down and extinguishes his Light Spell. "Good. I have no patience for creatures like Moonlit Dusk.”
The tent is quiet for a time. Dinky’s teeth chatters.
“Dad? I’m kinda cold.”
Derpy shivers slightly. “Me too! It’s a bit colder than I thought it would be this time of year! I have an idea though.”
“What is it, Derpy?”
“We could all sleep together and keep each other warm. That is if you don’t mind, Arc.”
“It’s okay with me.”
Arc stands up and again casts a Light spell.
“I know what would help! Would the two of you please unzip my sleeping bag and lay it flat on the ground? That will make things a bit softer and keep the cold from the ground at bay! Then do the same with your own sleeping bags.
“Okay!”
The pair do so at once. In a few minutes all the sleeping bags are open and lying flat on top of each other. Arc lies down in the middle of the tent.
“Okay. Come here you two.”
Derpy and Dinky lie down on either side of Arc as he extinguishes his Light Spell once again and pulls both of their sleeping bags over the three of them. He then puts his arms around them and pulls them into a loving embrace.
“Warmer?”
Dinky snuggles up to her father, smiling contentedly! “Yeah dad!”
Derpy rests her head on Arc’s shoulder. “Very much so!”
“Good night you two. Pleasant dreams.”
“Uh, dad?”
“Yes dear?”
Dinky leans over to her father’s ear. “I have to go to the bathroom. Where is it?”
Arc chuckles. “Of course!”
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Dinky!?
10582925
It took me a moment to understand what you meant by that! Well played!
Twilight you better not be thinking of using that stuff on Arc...
10819146
Not to worry. Twilight's learned her lesson in that regard.
11349013
Fixed.
Is that an All Dogs Go To Heaven reference?
11690682
Yes! You're the first person to notice!
Even the wife missed that one.