Chapter 16: Day 16
Day 16
As recorded on the 17th day here.
Today began early. At the hoof of a unicorn. I’m not liking this trend.
The sun wasn’t up yet when I heard it first. It was so quiet, I had trouble placing it right away. I sat up, squinting in the darkness, listening intently.
There it was. A whimper.
I made my way hurriedly to the hospital bed, feeling my way as best I could; with only the light from the screens of the various technological devices around, I managed to trip myself up a half dozen times.
I crawled gently onto the side of the bed, placing a hoof lightly on Colgate, who had escalated to a steady sobbing.
“Colgate...”
There was a rapid shuffling of bedsheets as she struggled to sit up in the dark. “Who’s there?” she demanded.
“It’s okay, Colgate. It’s me, Whooves.”
There was silence for a few seconds, before she answered. “I... I don’t understand. Why would you be dead too?”
“Uh... I’m not. You’re not either, if that’s what you were thinking.”
There was more frantic shuffling, and the sound of something falling and shattering. Suddenly a bright (or seemingly so, at the time) light came on, causing me to hold up my hoof to shield my eyes temporarily till my eyes adjusted. I blinked for good measure, finally able to look up again.
Colgate was poised over the edge of the bed, having felt over the surface of the bedstand and turned on the lamp. She remained frozen, staring at me.
Not sure what else to say, I coughed awkwardly and asked, “Feeling alright? Nauseous? Dizzy?”
Her head snapped from position to position as she looked around the room, taking in where she was.
I watched her closely.
Unexpectedly, she suddenly launched herself at me, cords and monitors popping free as she wrapped her forelegs around my waist.
“I take it back! P-please don’t go anywhere! I’m-”
I returned the hug, massaging her back. “Relax. We have all night, or what’s left of it. Actually, scratch that. We have as long as you need.”
She released me. “Thanks, I... I, uh... um...” She scratched the back of her head. “Awkward... sorry. I know you’re with Der- eh, Ditzy, and I should’ve known better.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a hug. Friends hug all the time.”
“Really?”
“Well, yeah. I guess I kinda assumed you knew that... you’ve had a lot of friends, right?”
“Sorta... but I ended up dating most of them.” She sank back into the bed covers.
“Oh.”
Colgate stared at a stray fraying thread on a sheet.
“Whooves?”
“Yes?”
“I didn’t want to do it. When it came down to it, I really didn’t want to.”
“So why did you?”
She sighed. “I couldn’t come up with a reason not to.”
“...and now?”
“Remember a little word you said a second ago? Six letters, started with an ‘F’?”
“Friend?”
“Yeah, that. Sitting here, in the dark and in what I thought was total, eternal solitude, I realized life isn’t just about having... fun. Friends are worth working for. Worth living for.”
“So... friends?”
“Yeah... I’d like that. Maybe you can stop by and visit if you’re ever in the city.”
“Wait, what?” The thought and words formed in my mind and mouth simultaneously.
Colgate looked markedly away. “After pulling a stunt like I did, do you really expect Ponyville to take me back just like that? Sure, they’d let me stay... but come on, I’m not just going to be able to go back to everyday life without... the stares.”
I bit my lip, realizing she was right. “Don’t worry about that right now. It’ll work itself out. Life is funny that way.”
Hoofsteps in the hall approached rapidly. An out-of-breath Redheart thundered in. She looked first at Colgate, then down at a dangling monitor cord, wiping her brow in relief.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
“Um, no. Probably not.” She held up the disconnected sensor. “See, this one sends vitals information to the hub, so we know if one of our patients is in trouble, even if we aren’t in the room.”
“Oh, sorry ‘bout that,” apologized Colgate.
“It’s alright... I’m just glad to see you conscious. Although, if you don’t mind, I’d like to run a few things just to be safe.”
“Uh, sure. Go ahead.”
Redheart nodded and wrapped a velcro strap around one of the unicorn’s forelegs.
“Hey! It’s shrinking!”
“Yes. It needs to contract to get an accurate reading.”
“Oh.”
In a few minutes, the nurse had completed a few basic tests and headed out of the room. “I can’t give you a clean bill of medical health until Flat Line signs it, but I think you’re just fine.”
“Sign what?” asked the brown maned unicorn stallion, stepping into the room. He trotted over to the east-side window, pulling up the blinds to reveal the newly emerged sun.
“Oh! Good morning, doctor! I just gave this patient an examination. She appears to be healthy.
“Excellent!” He picked up the papers Redheart had presented. “However, I can’t approve this yet.”
All eyes in the room went to him. “Why not?”
“There’s still that issue of security! For all we know we could be letting a potential thief walk out the door.”
“My patient. My responsibility. Get out.” I interjected. This was about the worst possible thing he could be saying right now.
Colgate chuckled, much to my surprise. But I was too busy glaring at Flat Line to take notice. “Doc?”
“Yes?” replied both of the said professions in the room at the same time. We returned to glaring at each other.
“Do you really think it was that hard to come up with a spell for knocking myself out, my line of work and everything considered?”
Flat Line blinked a few times. “Uhh... I, uh...”
I hoofed him a pen. Grumbling, he scribbled his signature quickly across it with a flourish of magic. “Get her out of my hospital.”
The unicorn doctor stalked out of the room.
“I’m so sorry... he has a tendency towards being brash. I apologize for his behavior.”
Colgate stepped tentatively out of bed. Satisfied, she began picking up some of my belongings, testing her magic. I leaned over towards Redheart.
“Why do you stay here? Why put up with that?”
She looked back at the door. “It’s my place in life to heal ponies. This is where I should be.”
“How long have you been here?”
“A little over a year now.”
“Anypony ever tell you you don’t stick with things?”
A confused look crossed her face. “Um... no, not really.”
“Good, because they’d be liars if they did.”
“Thanks, Whooves,” she replied, making her exit out the door.
“And Redheart?”
She stopped and looked back.
“If anything like... um...” I looked over my shoulder at Colgate, who was trying to get a stray piece of tape out of her coat. “Anything like this ever happens again, don’t be afraid to get me. I’d rather not have Flat Line dealing with it.”
She nodded and left. Trotting back to the remaining mare in the room, I asked, “Feeling alright?”
She nodded. “So am I free to leave?”
“Um, yeah. Clinically speaking, that is...” I stumbled over the words, trying to come up with a light way to bring up. “But, uh... if you wouldn’t mind-”
“Maybe you’d like to walk me home?”
I smiled gratefully, grabbing my saddlebags and adding the phonograph to them. Colgate led the way, only to yelp and jerk back suddenly.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“I stepped on the bucking glass,” she whimpered, holding the offending hoof off the floor.
“I’ll get Redheart.”
“No, it’s not so bad. Besides, I wouldn’t want to have to check in again. I have bandages at home too, y’know.”
“...if you’re sure,” I replied hesitantly.
She was adamant and practically dragged me to the door and out into the morning air. Ponies were already moving about, back to their daily routines. Colgate closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath before beginning to trot energetically.
“You really can’t sit still, can you?” I chuckled.
“Welllll... there’s a difference between being able to and wanting to. It’d be safe to throw me into the first category.”
“Understatement of the year.”
“Hey! I do mellow out. Usually when I’m thinking more than normal.”
“How... interesting.”
“...which is why it’s a good that I remembered this!”
“Remembered what?”
“To ask you how you found me?”
“Well, after Lucky brought your note...”
“Wait, you saw my note?”
“Yes. Lucky found it and brought it right away.”
“Oh.” She slowed for a moment, putting a hoof to her chin. “I really wasn’t expecting anypony to find that for days or weeks.”
“Lucky you have concerned neighbors. No pun intended.”
We walked in silence for a while.
“You’re an idiot, you know.”
“Beg pardon?”
“For trying to come find me.”
“You’re a bigger idiot if you thought that anything you could put on there would stop me.”
“Well... true. But I was supposed to be dead already.”
She looked over at me. “And for the record, I’m glad I’m not.”
I wanted to believe her, but I wasn’t going to risk being wrong.
By then, we had reached her apartment building. Colgate trotted up to the door, stopping suddenly.
“What’s wrong?”
“Consarn it!” She stomped in annoyance. “I don’t have my key.”
“Hmm...” I mused, studying the buzzer box. “Aha!”
I reached up to Lucky’s button with my hoof and held it down for a second or two.
“He’s probably home sleeping... his shift started relatively late last night,” I explained.
We waited several moments before a disheveled Lucky descended to open the door. He had barely gotten it open, still rubbing his eyes when he caught sight of Colgate.
“C-colgate?” He looked blankly at me, and then back at her. She looked at the floor. “Uh, welcome back.”
We followed her up to the hall, where her and Lucky’s rooms were located. “Hey, Lucky, can I use the key I gave you? I don’t have mine on me.” She grinned sheepishly.
“Oh, sure. I’ll be right back.” He slipped into his room, keeping the door mostly shut. He returned shortly with Colgate’s key, closing the door behind him.
“Hey Lucky,” I said, as something occurred to me. “Didn’t you say you found her door ajar?”
“Yeah. So?”
“So why’s it closed?”
“I wasn’t going to just leave it open for just anypony to walk into. So I locked it up with that key Colgate gave me.”
I looked at the unicorn mare, who was fiddling with key, trying to get it to fit. “Y’know, in case I ever lost mine or something while I was out. Or, this,” she elaborated. It clicked in the lock.
I took the gray stallion to the side as she entered. “Hey, could you do me a favor?”
“Maybe. What do you need?”
“What are you doing today?”
He shrugged. “Nothing planned. Why?”
“Think you could hang out with Colgate today?”
“Uh, sure. But are you sure I’m the best pony for that? I don’t have the foggiest as to what to do if she... y’know...”
“Don’t worry. She won’t. She just needs something to keep her busy. You can do that, right?”
“Well yeah... but what if-”
“Relax. You’ll be great. And if you need me, I’ll probably make it back around to my house sometime.”
“Ooookay...”
“I’m going to go get something to eat. Remember to keep an eye on her.” I stuck my head into her apartment, where she could be heard within. “I’m taking off! Lucky’s going to keep you company, so have fun and be careful!” I yelled into the other room. Turning, I gave Lucky a pat on the back as I trotted out.
Aaah... there’s nothing like a blueberry crumpet to go with a cup of earl gray and a brisk morning, I thought as I settled in at a cafe with said items. What can I say; I like coffee shops for meals. Don’t judge me.
“...so, um... she’s going to be okay?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of the quiet yellow pegasus behind me. “Fluttershy! You startled me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry-”
“No, no need to apologize. And yes, I’m quite hopeful.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Yes...”
I idly tapped my hooves together. Fluttershy still puzzled me. I was almost starting to doubt whether that... incident... ever really happened.
“Do you know her?” I asked, eager to cut the silence.
“Oh, not personally. But she seemed like a really nice pony.”
“Um... yes. She is, if you get deep enough.”
I turned my attention back to my pastry.
“Whooves?” she asked, taking the chair across delicately.
“Yes?”
“I... I have to tell you, I didn’t think much about you or your ideas at first. I didn’t think we needed anypony to help us with our behavior.”
She batted her dangling mane. “But I’ve seen you do some powerful things since you came here. Perhaps not all as I would have done myself, but you really seem to help a lot of ponies too.”
I sighed. “It’s a cyclic system, actually. Psychologists are taught to think objectively, and the strange part is that they think they actually do. And in our line of work... well, think of it like this. If you’re the only one that can see the ‘truth’ without bias, and you have the skills to ‘fix’’ everypony... it becomes uncomfortably close to playing god. In fact, an irritatingly large number of them back in Canterlot developed god complexes because of it.”
I took a breath. “Er, that’s my guess anyway.”
“Oh... um, yes,” she replied simply.
“Well don’t just take my word for it,” I said. “I thought I was the only shrink in town, and I just got here too.”
“Yes, well... I’m not really sure how to say this...”
Oh, yeah. That should have been obvious. “S’okay. You don’t have to.”
Fluttershy squeaked, dropping her ears. “...sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’d rather know the truth rather than have the masses feed the system.”
Fluttershy perked up a bit. “Really?”
“Of course. I may not be the element of honesty perhaps, but I know enough to realize the truth is usually the safer option, even if it hurts sometimes.”
“I... I don’t think you would have said that two weeks ago, doctor.”
I laughed. “Oh, yes I would have. I just looked at it a little differently. Practiced it a little differently too.”
“Oh... yes, I suppose that’s true.”
I finished up the last of my pseudo-breakfast (although, compared to my recent schedule, it was relatively substantial), looking around as the place began to fill up. “What brings you in town today?” I asked. It was something usually asked at the beginning of a conversation, but Fluttershy doesn’t seem like the type that goes and hangs out at coffee shops.
“Me? I was just... um, swapping out some books at the library.”
Hmm... didn’t take her for a bookworm. “Oh, of course.”
I regrettably tipped my emptied cup upside down, failing to produce any liquid. “Well, I’m gonna hit the road. Take care.”
“Thank you... I will. You too!”
I nodded, trotting out into the street, dodging ponies as I tried to orient myself and decide on a course of action. Eventually, I found a bench and sat, rubbing my temples with my hooves. The last... how many days? Two? Three? They’d been nerve and emotionally wracking, not to mention exhausting. It’d been so fast... I hadn’t had time to rationalize anything like I did habitually. And look what happened.
No, I argued, fighting my own initial reaction. Look what happened. You made a big step with your marefriend. You saved somepony’s life... and found another friend because of it.
Suddenly, my sleep deprived condition seemed worth it. A rude thump on the head interrupted my thought train.
“Ow...” I picked up two bagged newspapers that had made the assault.
“Your Equestria Daily’s have been piling up. Did you know?”
I reached up, grabbing the gray mailmare and pulling her out of the sky into a squeeze. She dropped the package she was currently holding in her forelegs, wrapping them around me instead. “I’ll take it...” she murmured into my mane.
I stopped, picking up the brown paper parcel. “Oops, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you drop it.”
“Uh, Whooves... are you okay? You seem... huggierer. Huggy. Um... hug needing?”
“Yeah. I’m good. I just realized that my background–and most of Canterlot’s mental consultants–are about as righteous as this newspaper is printed in color, that’s all.”
For those of you who don’t have subscriptions, it’s not.
Ditzy blinked. Then she donned a large, toothy smile. I lifted an eyebrow. “What? What’s good about that?”
“For one thing, you’re saying it. For two things, you’re saying it like you’re not one of them.”
“Well, that’s because I’m... not...”
I looked down. “Thanks, Ditzy. Sometimes I forget that my title is just that–a title.”
Ditzy gave a light flap of her wings, lifting her off the ground for a second or two. “Exactly! I like muffins.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, I like muffins, but my cutie mark is bubbles, and yet I’m a mailmare.”
“...meaning?”
“Not your job, not your name... not even your cutie mark are who you are.”
“Then what is?”
Ditzy shrugged. “I don’t know. Does one of your fancy textbooks have a definition?”
I thought for a second. “No... no, not really.” The revelation disturbed me. The closest thing I had seen was something along the lines of ‘An aggregate of the past collected actions and experiences of the individual.’
“Ditzy, what if... what if ponies aren’t so much as what they’ve achieved, so much as what they are to others?”
Ditzy tilted her head, waiting for more.
“This close call with Colgate... it made me wonder. When we’re dead-” Ditzy’s hoof wrapped around mine. “-all that’s left–that matters–is the times we shared with others.” It felt cliche, but near-death experiences give new perspectives I guess.
I looked down at the paper. “‘Cherry Stocks Down 0.2%.’ And this, ‘Fashion star Fleur de Lis: Sensual or Static?’”
Dropping it in disgust, I continued. “In two centuries, nopony is gonna give half a horseapple.”
I sighed. “What are we going to leave behind?”
For a moment, Ditzy regarded me with wide eyes. Leaning in, she kissed me on the cheek, grabbing my attention.
“A story.”
I nodded slowly. “Can I see you tonight?”
“You don’t have to ask, silly.” She snapped up her package, taking flight again. Waving after her, my insides twirled in a balance of euphoria, excitement, and serenity.
Ah... at last, I have life’s problems answered, I joked to myself. Now to live it.
Well, after I return my bags and phonograph back at the house. That stuff was too heavy and bulky to haul around everywhere.
Back at my place, I dumped the load unceremoniously in a pile on the floor. I grunted, not entirely satisfied, but willing to accept the graceless heap as necessary in favor of more pressing conditions.
Speaking of... I turned and proceeded back to the front door, significantly more spring in my step, courtesy of not carrying a phonograph.
“There you are!”
Darn it, can’t I make it three steps without getting stopped?
The street was empty, with the sole exception of a flustered yellow and orange mare.
“Ah, Carrot Top. Here for business or pleasure?” I knew it was a bad time to joke, but she doesn’t exactly put me in a good mood.
“I... I don’t even know where to start with you! First, you go and-”
“Let me stop you right there. The first pony you should be talking to is Ditzy... and actually listen to her for a change.”
She gasped, about ready to launch another tirade, but I cut her off. “Secondly, what in Equestria have you been telling her?! That I was dead? That I was the one committing suicide?”
“For all I knew and heard, it was the truth!” she spat defensively. “Besides, I thought it would clear her head.”
“Yeah, ‘cause when we think our soul mate just ended their own life, our thinking improves drastically,” I said sarcastically.
“Heh. Soul mate, eh? Sorry, I didn’t quite pick that up from the way she comes back crying one time and happy as chocolate in a chip the next. I can tell you’re a real solid foundation in this relationship.”
A third voice penetrated the conversation. A conversation which was rapidly approaching yelling-match levels.
“And you’d know a solid relationship when you saw one, Carrot Top?” asked Lyra, who must have emerged from the house sometime during our exchange. She took up a position near me.
“This coming from Ponyville’s resident fillyfooler-” began Carrot Top.
“-who just celebrated her fifth happy anniversary, despite fighting open disapproval from most of ponykind, including choosing love over family approval in the process,” finished the harpist. “Yes, coming from that fillyfooler.”
The earth pony mare ground her teeth. “I’m doing my best to protect that poor mare. Why can’t you see that?”
“The feeling is mutual,” I replied, Lyra having restoring my cool somewhat.
Carrot Top merely looked at me over her snout, before turning and trotting away. When she was out of sight, I lowered my head. “I should be better at this. I’m a psychologist for Celestia’s sake.”
“Yeah, well, I was always of the opinion that shrinks don’t do anything real, just blur the picture; keep the peace with compromises.”
“I’m just glad somepony was here to keep me from blowing my top. I haven’t felt like that in a while.”
“Whooves, I’m not that pony. Shouldn’t have to be. Full time, anyway.”
“Huh?”
“A certain gray pegasus comes to mind...”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“What was that all about anyway? What happened after we left?”
“Kind of a long story. And I gotta grab some lunch.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Come on in.”
With no better offers, I followed Lyra back into the house she shared with her mate. Tantalizing aromas wafted in from the kitchen, alerting Lyra and myself as to Bonbon’s location. She met us in the kitchen with a smile and her signature delectable edibles.
Her smile caught slightly when she saw me. “We heard... is she...?”
“She’s doing fine.”
Bonbon smiled, with a hint of relief. But that wasn’t about to be enough to suffice for retelling it. Over the course of the (more than adequate) meal, I retold the chronological series of events that transpired after our separation during the frenzied search.
That took up most, and a bit more than, the meal time.
“...so, now she’s...?” inquired Bonbon, as I came to an end of my narration.
“I left her with Lucky.”
“This is the same Lucky that left the Cakes’ foals?”
“Uh... yeah...” My brow furrowed. “Thanks for lunch!”
The trip back to the apartment complex was a short one. Umm... I hesitated for a moment, on the doorstep of the building. Unsure whether to buzz Lucky or Colgate, I quickly gave up and triggered both.
No response. What the...? I started sweating as my mind began frantically processing possible explanations. I began to circle the building for the fire escape.
The metal skeleton of a staircase was mounted on the port side of the multi-story place. It certainly wasn’t in the best of conditions, flaking paint and rust streaking down the sides, but seemed structurally sound for all that.
For me, a mere earth pony, it’s most noticeable feature was the fact that it didn’t touch the ground.
I looked up. It passed by Colgate’s window. I could get a clear view through–and if necessary, force open–the window.
“Aha!” I exclaimed, as I caught sight of the the lowest rung of scaffold. I bent low, readying my legs, and lastly springing with all the force my hindquarters could muster. Favorable providence landed me the jarring cold metal between my teeth as my reward.
Well, almost success.
I couldn’t possibly pull myself up; my forelegs couldn’t reach the bar, even if they would bend at that angle. I was suspended halfway between heaven and earth. I hung for second. “hgh.”
“Um, Whooves?”
“Lckuh?” I managed, recognising the gray stallion’s voice. While trying to say his name, my teeth lost their grip, dropping me back to the hard-packed earth below with an unsympathetic thud. “Ow...”
“Wow, dude, you okay?” he asked, picking up the pace to reach me. He proffered his hoof, which I accepted.
“What were you doing?” asked a different voice. One I was happy to here, though. I staggered up to see Colgate standing behind Lucky, eating her way through a caramel apple.
Celestia darned paranoia. “Wha- Where did you two run off to?”
“Well... lunch, among other stuff. You?”
“Umm...” I shrugged. “‘Bout the same, I guess.”
Silence reigned for a good four seconds. I coughed.
Colgate’s eyes suddenly snapped open as she remembered something. She jabbed Lucky in the ribs, earning an annoyed look from him. She jerked her head towards me, till he got the message. “Oh, right.”
He scratched the back of his head. “So... what are you doing tonight? I mean, with...” He inclined his head towards the mare, who rolled her eyes.
A pang of guilt washed over me as I realized I should have foreseen this before committing to the night with Ditzy. It was short lived, however.
“...’cause I have a late shift anyway... I could just take her with me to work. Wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Oh. Great!” I paused. “Where did you say you worked again?”
He blinked. “Um... entertainment. Yeah.”
“Cool. That oughta be fun!” I smiled at Colgate. “If that’s okay with you...”
Colgate readily gave her consent. “See ya tomorrow?”
“Sure. Yeah.”
I trotted away with as much dignity as I could. I’m going home and taking a shower.
And I did just that.
I think I also fell asleep, or passed out. Not sure exactly which one. I just remember waking up with a towel, leaning against the wall.
I shook my mane into place, hoping the motion would clear my head. I was still a bit fuzzy, but I managed to collect myself.
“Okay... what fire do I need to extinguish next?” For the past few days that’s all I felt like I had been doing, going from one to the next, like a firepony. I was almost surprised when I could find nothing that needed my immediate attention.
The clock startled me out of my internal self-diagnostic. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
Okay, I had one thing on my plate for tonight. This was a fire I was going to keep close to for warmth, though.
There was one thing I needed take care of first. Returning to the living room, I dug through the disorder that had accumulated there till I found the object of interest. I trotted to the door, holding it in my mouth as I peaked out into the road, looking each way. The coast clear, I tip-hoofed quickly to Lyra and Bonbon’s house, where I pounded nervously on the door.
“Coming, coming...” replied Bonbon in a rather sing-song voice, before she reached the door and opened it.
“Whooves! What can I...” She trailed off as she caught sight of the riding crop I was holding in my muzzle. Her eyebrows shot up, one slowly sinking as she scrutinized it further. “Uh... is that a...”
“As I’m sure you figured out, the bubble bath was meant for someone else, and this was meant for you.”
“Bubble bath? What are you talking about?” she asked, gaze and attention still locked on the crop.
“Wha... but I- How...”
They had obviously opened the present, Lyra’s comment the one night as proof, and yet Bonbon seemed to have no idea. She wouldn’t have let Lyra open it alone or not show its contents...
“But, you opened the present, right?”
“Yes,” she replied, sparing me a glance. “Although Lyra wanted to wait till the next day for some reason.”
“So... it was unopened all night?”
“Yes.”
Unopened my flank. I couldn’t help but wonder what Lyra had exchanged it with.
Wait, if... then... My eyes widened as I realized how this looked from Bonbon’s point of view. I dropped the switch.
“Uh, yeah, well... I just came by to drop this off. And borrow some bubble bath.”
The cream-coated mare blinked a few times. “O-o-okay. I’ll go see what we have then. Come inside.”
She left me in the entryway while she went to the bathroom to retrieve my request. I tried to ignore the instrument on the floor and not let my mind wander. Fortunately, Bonbon returned quickly with just the bottle I expected.
“Alright then. Thanks,” I said.
“Yeah... thanks.” replied Bonbon, poking her new possession tentatively. “I’m sure Lyra will love it.”
Something crossed her face. “Ohh.... I’m sure Lyra will love it!” She picked it up firmly this time.
“On the receiving end usually, eh?”
“Whooves!”
“Sorry! ‘Kay, leaving now.”
I did. The trip to Ditzy’s was boring and uneventful, so I won’t go into detail there. Suffice to say I arrived quickly enough.
“Knock knock,” I said, announcing myself as I entered through the unlatched door. A purple unicorn filly bounced her way out of the kitchen.
“Whooves! Whooves! Hi Whooves!” Dinky bounded straight towards me, forcing me to catch her mid-bounce in an impromptu hug.
“Hey, kiddo.” I gave her a soft noogie before letting her go on the carpet. I followed as she returned to the kitchen in much the same manner she had exited.
“Mom! Mom! Whooves is here!”
Ditzy looked up from a cookbook, blinking her eyes into focus as she did so. With a soft flap of her wings, she floated over to me, landing without a sound mere inches from my muzzle. I could feel her breath.
I gave a quick jerk of my eyes, indicating the presence of our singular audience (who was watching with big eyes and a smile to match).
Quick as a hummingbird, Ditzy snuck in a kiss on my cheek, immediately turning back to her steaming pot on the stovetop.
“Aww, but Mooom...” whined Dinky, disappointed.
Ditzy giggled slightly. “Finish your homework, dear. Dinner will be soon.”
“Okay, okay...” The purple filly climbed into her chair, opening a book on top of an already chaotic compilation of papers. I took the seat next to her, my gaze happening on her homework as she scribbled out the work with a muzzle-held pencil.
Dinky stopped on one problem, flipping the pencil and erasing her answer. She started again, but didn’t get far before she repeated the process.
“Trouble?”
Dinky looked up. “Um, kinda. I know what I need to do, but I don’t know how.”
“Let’s have a look then,” I said, shifting the book between us. “Which problem?”
“Five.”
Oh, fractions. Been a while. Everything’s digital and decimals now. Dinky’s specific case was addition of fractions.
“Okay. What part don’t you know?”
“Well, when Cheerilee worked it out on the board, it made sense and everything. The top numbers added and the bottom ones stayed the same. But these have different numbers on the bottom.”
“Well, it’s not so much that the denominators can’t-”
“The what now?”
“The denominators. Those are the numbers on the bottom. As opposed to numerators.”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, it’s not that denominators can’t change, it’s that you can’t add the fractions till they’re the same. Then you do what the teacher showed.”
“Oh, okay. But how do you get them the same?”
“First, you find the least common mu- er, the number they both fit into easiest. Like for two and three, it’s six. Then you change them to fit those numbers, but also doing what you did to them to the numerators... I mean, the top numbers.” I picked up a pencil and did an example. “See?”
Her eyes lit up in understanding as I worked through the problem. I think I use too many big words, I realized.
I watched Dinky apply the method to her problems, cutting them down like a caretaker mows down weeds.
A warm kind of weight placed itself on my shoulder. I looked at Ditzy, who turned her own gaze from her daughter to me. She lifted her head off my shoulder, staring back for a moment before pressing forward. We kept it somewhat short, for reasons I hope I don’t need to explain.
“Eww. I thought that was going to be all romantic ‘n’ stuff, but it was actually kind of gross.”
“It’s about the emotional touch, not just the physical one,” I returned.
“Oh. I’ll take your word for it then.”
“Okay, okay. Dinner’s ready,” intervened Ditzy, placing the iron vessel on the table with some well-worn hotpads.
“It looks delicious!”
“And smells amazing!”
Ditzy blushed. “Well, Celestia willing, it’ll taste something along those lines.”
It did.
The meal over, Dinky finished up her homework quickly while Ditzy and I did the dishes. As I slid the last ceramic plate onto its stack, I heard Dinky shut her books.
“All d- do... awn.” A yawn interrupted her proclamation. I shared a knowing glance with Ditzy.
“Somepony getting a little tired?”
“No!”
“Of course not. How about some Daring Do then?”
“But, isn’t that hard for you, Mom?”
“It’s on me tonight,” I volunteered. “So... do you have a favorite?”
We reconvened in the little unicorn’s room shortly afterward. She had insisted on bringing the whole series up to the room, in case I finished one and wanted to keep going. I looked for help from Ditzy, who just shook her head with a smile on her face.
As it turned out, she fell asleep before the end of the first chapter. The two of us adults slipped into the hall, killing the light as we left and creeping out quietly, shutting the door behind us.
“She’s read them all before. They’ve become a comfort thing,” explained Ditzy as we moved further down the hall and out of earshot.
“I think I can relate. I’ve got a few records I used to use to go to sleep.”
“Used to?”
“I haven’t really listened to them since I got here.”
We stopped, the sudden realization that we were in front of Ditzy’s room washing over me.
“Had other things on your mind?”
I wasn’t sure exactly how to take that comment. “Um, yeah.”
She extended a wing over me. It was unexpected, but a good touch nonetheless. By mutual unspoken agreement, we proceeded into the dark room, where she, knowing the place by memory, left off to do a mini-cannonball into bed.
“Uh, Ditzy...?” I started, tentatively feeling my way around with an outstretched hoof. Quite suddenly, a pair of hooves grabbed my probing foreleg and hauled me onto the blanketed mattress.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, reorienting myself with the headboard and sliding under the sheets.
She giggled, wrapping her forelegs and wings around me. Returning the gesture (minus the wings), I added a nuzzle for good measure.
We tied the competition by sharing a kiss. A long, peaceful, serene contact that offered a glimpse at the effect she always has on me. Utter, complete, tranquility.
I never really noticed when it stopped, but eventually we found ourselves touching brows. An imperceptible beam of moonlight snuck past the closed curtains, giving me enough of a reflection to see in her eyes.
“Goodnight, my little stallion.”
“Goodnight Ditzy.”
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i was just thinking about this story and then i checked my hotmail. good move sir. good move.
Awesome story as always :D But sudo-breakfast should be pseudo-breakfast
Dawwwww
curse you, sudo-breakfast...
I wonder if the story's ever gonna get to why Whooves is in ponyville to begin with - namely to check out the mane 6 mentally and report back. Or did that happen already? I must have been too interested in all the characters you've created.
1. I'm not a fan of shipping.
Especially that now.
2. I freaking love this fic.
You broke my head with awesome. Everypony is so...real. Love every bit of it, and perpetually waiting for more. Yes, even the shipping
One of the stories i follow that I always look forward to reading
Boring. This is what should have happened: "Colgate was poised over the edge of the bed, having felt over the surface of the bedstand and turned on the lamp. She remained frozen, staring at me." Suddenly, a Panzer IV smashed through the hospital wall, and shredded Colgate and Whooves to bloody ribbons with it's hull-mounted machine gun. The end.
google.co.uk/url?source=imglanding&ct=img&q=http://www.militaryhistory.co.uk/shows/soviet-storm--world-war-ii-in-the-east/firepower/mainContent/09/image/PANZER-IV-BUNDESARCHIV620.jpg&sa=X&ei=Nk-lT8HaLcjO8QP_oYmNBQ&ved=0CAkQ8wc4Iw&usg=AFQjCNEYzb5nZa1edhMD0tW8vzSV_J_eDQ
547736 HEY THATS MY GREAT GANDFATHER!
HOLY SHIT!
548167 Your great grandfather drove a Panzer IV? I doubt it, but If that's actualy true, that's pretty damn cool.
548636it is true!
but he died about 2 years ago from cancer
*sigh* at least he lived a good life
This was very cute :3 This fic never fails to bring me the fuzziez
D'awwww. I normally don't like shipping, but everything just works here.
Um... what?
peeked
544687
What if he's speaking in Linux?
Dammit what does Lucky do?
Your headcanon doctor drinks Earl Grey. THAT'S MY FAVORITE TEA!
Secondly, I failed to understand that Lyra bit... Either way, cute chapter.
So Beautiful.
Oh crap. I'm going back to this line of commenting...
682681 I net he's a stripper!
547736
Pfft, nah. It should have gone more like this:
"Colgate was poise-"
Pfft. I have to work with fraction exponents.