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The first meeting 3,832 words
Bliss3,468 words
The Final Act2,183 words

The Final Act

6 months later
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Derpy was ecstatic- the foal was expected any day now, and Charity was still tending to her as lovingly as ever. Every morning, she awoke to the smell of fresh muffins, and every night she fell asleep held tenderly by her beloved husband.

Today, however, she felt even happier than usual. Perhaps hanging around Pinkie Pie made some of her Pinkie sense rub off on her, because sure enough, less than 12 hours later, Derpy was being rushed to the hospital with the aid of her friend Rainbow Dash, and Charity running along beside them.

They burst through the doors at the clinic, where a gurney was already waiting for Derpy. She was whisked away to the operating room, with Charity never leaving her side, and before she knew it she was hooked up to various vital monitors. Even in labor, she had her trademarked smile and wall eyed stare.

***

Several tense hours later, the new filly, a light purple unicorn with a blonde mane, was brought to the couple.

“What should we name her?” asked Charity

“Ummm.... I kinda like Dinky..” Derpy replied after a short pause

“The name Pinkie came up with when we told her?”

Derpy squeaked and said (with a hint of embarrassment in her voice) “... Yes...”

Silence reigned, until Charity spoke up;

“To be completely honest, I was considering that as well...”

They both laughed, and agreed that the new filly would be named Dinky Hooves, after her mother and their friend Pinkie.

They signed the birth certificate, put Derpy in a wheelchair and brought her home with Dinky in her arms.
When she was rolled through the door, Derpy let out a sigh quickly followed by a tired yawn.

“I'm really tired... We should go to bed,” she suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds like a- a good idea” his reply punctuated by a deep yawn.

Dinky had already fallen asleep in their arms, and they carried her into the nursery where her crib was. They put her down softly, covered her up, and put her teddy up against her. The sight made both Derpy and Charity smile brightly, before hugging and walking to their bed.

“Goodnight, my little muffin” Derpy whispered to Dinky before following Charity.

***

It was several weeks later, and Derpy was slowly regaining her figure with the help of her job (which she returned to after the baby was born) and the long walks Charity, the baby and her took every day, much to the delight of their several friends and acquaintances around town, who loved seeing the new filly in her stroller. It wouldn't be long now before Derpy was back in full swing in her job and Charity could stay home and take care of Dinky.

The two of them had already enrolled Dinky to go to school under Miss Cheerilee when she turned 4, due to Charity's wanting everything to be in place for Dinky's childhood. Derpy found his concern adorable.

***

3 months later

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Out on their walk, just like any other day, Derpy was crossing the street when she suddenly felt herself getting hit in the side- hard. She fell, and the stroller containing Dinky nearly flew out of her hands. After a few moments of terror, she turned to see a carriage stopped a few feet ahead of the unmoving body of a pony. Charity.

A sudden look of terror ripped across Derpy's face, and she ran over to him, careful to keep the stroller in tow.
As she approached him, she was both relieved to see him still breathing and horrified to see the bones jutting out of his side.

Several ponies were already running in the direction of the clinic, and still others were crowding around, as if they were a living barrier around Charity.

Many tense seconds passed, each one feeling like minutes to Derpy, before a second carriage that contained medical personelle and supplies pulled up near the scene. The wall of ponies dissipated slightly to allow the paramedics through, and they quickly stabilized Charity. His eyes opened groggily, and he looked at the (mostly) uninjured Derpy with a relieved expression. He had done what he needed to.

The ambulance rushed him to the hospital, where they had him hooked to oxygen, painkillers and a heart rate monitor to name a few. His bones were reset, and he had a bandage around his midsection where the majority of the compound fractures occurred. Pinkie Pie was helping to keep track of Dinky while Derpy was at Charity's side- she wouldn't leave, no matter what. He was able to talk, slightly, and every so often he would whisper

“It's okay, it'll be alright, Derpy” to try and quell Derpy's sobs. What his whispering did was make her sadder, knowing that if she had watched and not blindly walked out he would be safe and they would be home. She told him this, to which he replied

“Never blame yourself. I did what I did because I love you. Nothing will change that, especially not this injury. I'll be back in full swing soon- I just need a little time for R&R, that's all.”

That comforted Derpy a bit, knowing he would never give up fighting.

He eventually told her “Go. Get some food for yourself. I don't want you to get hurt just because I am.”
after much protest, she fulfilled his wishes and went to the cafeteria to get some food. As she walked back into the room, she knew something was wrong. There was a crowd of nurses around her husbands bed, and they were talking urgently.

“Stay back, Derpy” said a familiar voice, which belonged to Nurse Redheart. “They need to have all the space they can get.”

Derpy was on the brink of tears, and ran out of the room and home.

She burst in the doors and went to Dinky. She picked her daughter up, crying, and hugged her. She stayed very much the same way until she noticed Pinkie watching her, with tears in her eyes.

“it's bad, isn't it?” Pinkie asked, with a sadness that Derpy didn't know was possible from the party mare.

“Yes” Derpy answered curtly.

After a while, Pinkie walked over and pulled her friend into an embrace- holding her tightly in an attempt to make her feel better.

Derpy's sobbing eventually turned to a short sniffling, and she finally said

“let's take Dinky to the hospital, I'm sure Charity would love to see her. It might cheer both of us up.”

Pinkie nodded, and went to get Dinky's stroller.

***

At the clinic, things had calmed down slightly due to the fact that Charity's condition had normalized. As Derpy walked into the room, she pulled Dinky out of the stroller and carried her on her back, in the baby holder.
She walked up to Charity's bed, and nuzzled him awake.

He smiled, and looked up at the mare with his daughter on her back. He tried to lean forward, only to be stopped by Derpy, who then leaned down and kissed him.

“Don't strain yourself, you need all your energy to get fixed,” she said.

He smiled.

Just then, Pinkie walked in, carrying a box. She said “The Cakes made some get well soon muffins. They're poppy seed.”

Sure enough, when they opened the box, there were 6, perfect, poppy seed muffins inside. Their favorite. Both of them took 3, and began to eat them, handing Dinky pieces every so often. Dinky fell asleep still in her mother's arms, pressed against her. Both parents smiled.

“I think I'll be fine, you should find a place to rest for the night,” Charity said, breaking the silence.
She did, after much protest, and fell asleep cuddling Dinky like a teddy bear.

***

She woke with a start, as the Nurse tapped on her shoulder, tears in her eyes and a sad expression on her face.
“I'm so sorry,” she said, “but he's gone.”

Derpy was shocked, and looked over at the body of her husband. He still had a smile on his face. He looked so content that she knew it just couldn't be true. She walked over, letting Dinky stay asleep, and looked at his face. She nuzzled against him. Nothing. She kissed him. Still nothing. Tears welling up, she closed her eyes, looking away.
After a short while, she looked back, and hugged him tightly. She was careful not to aggravate his injury, even though it didn't matter anymore.

She stayed there, crying, hugging, hoping that he would come back. She heard footsteps behind her, and turned to see Rainbow Dash standing next to her. Derpy burst out into deep sobs and tears, clinging tightly to her friend.

'Why did you have to leave her?' Rainbow thought, directing it towards Charity with all her will. 'Why did you have to go and hurt her like this?!? You promised...'

Rainbow really wanted to cry. She knew him just as well as anypony- aside from Derpy, of course. She needed to stay strong.

***

Dinky heard the deep sobs coming from her mother's room, and walked in. She went to her mother's bedside and hugged her, waking her from her deep slumber.

Derpy's eyes fluttered open, and she saw her daughter standing in front of her. She smiled through her tears, and hugged her as tightly as she felt safe. “My little muffin....” she said, barely more than a whisper. More tears.

Finally, Dinky asked what needed to be asked; “what were you dreaming about, momma?”

Derpy moved away, saying “your daddy. I was dreaming about your daddy.”

It was Dinky's turn to cry. She didn't know much about her father, just that he was a kind stallion who lived up to his name- Charity.

Seeing her daughter in tears, Derpy leaned forward and hugged her, kissing her on the forehead softly.
After what seemed like a millenium in each others arms, Dinky asked another question

“Was it a good dream?”

Pondering this for a moment, Derpy responded “Yes. It was a very good dream.” Her smile returned to her face, and tears of joy rolled down her face at the memories of the many happy times she had with her husband.

They were hardly married for a year.

Looking again at her beloved daughter, she said “Let's go get some breakfast”

Dinky brightened at this statement, saying “Oooh! I made you breakfast! All your favorites- poppy seed muffins, pancakes, orange juice and oh I just know you'll love it!”

Dinky sped out of the room to prepare the table for the two of them. Derpy glanced at the picture on her... their bedside table. She still slept on her side of the bed, leaving half of it empty, as if waiting for her dearly beloved to come back and to wake up in his arms again. She looked at the picture for a long time- it was a picture of her and Charity holding Dinky when she was first born. They were so happy. Smiling again, she said “Muuuuffins!” excitedly and flew out her bedroom door. One more tear fell as she remembered Charity's last act.

It was an act of love, a love stronger than his own survival instinct. In the end, he DID live up to his name. Charity. In his will, which he had made when they got married (always prepared), he left everything to her- even some secret funds to be used in emergency. He left no debts, all of them payed off with what he had at the time of the accident. She learned that his last few hours were spent negotiating his affairs while Derpy slept. He gave everything for her and Dinky, and she loved him for that. She wished she could hold him, so he could tell her it'd be alright. She sat down at the breakfast table, before getting up again to grab a third plate. Dinky knew why- it was her mother and father's would be 10th wedding anniversary. Dinky smiled at her mother, a tear coming from her eye. Derpy walked over and hugged her, tears streaming from both of their eyes. They were good tears.

A knock at the door broke their reverie, and Derpy went to answer the door. It was Rainbow. She was carrying a small present and told Derpy “Happy anniversary.”

Derpy broke down into her arms, and Dinky walked over and embraced her mother as well. Derpy felt safe in the arms of her (second) best friend Rainbow and her daughter Dinky, who she loved with all her heart.

'I'll never forget' she thought, sending her silent promise up to her husband- wherever he was. She knew that wherever he was, he was looking at her, happy that she was okay, happy that she was with friends. She would never forget.

The end.

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