Where Did Daddy Go?
WHERE DID DADDY GO?
By UniqueSKD
"Mommy, where did my daddy go?"
Derpy dropped the plate she was holding in her hooves, which smashed into pieces upon hitting the floor. Her face contorted into a look of dread, her eyes wide. Her daughter stared down at the ground at the fragments of the plate, before looking back up at her mother, clearly taken by surprise at her question. Dinky wondered what the reaction was all about. Was it because of the question she had asked?
Derpy blinked a couple of times, before clearing her throat and shifting her attention to the little pink filly. "Um, what, er, what did you say again, my little muffin?", the gray pegasus queried, an obvious tone of unease in her voice, as she pawed her hooves together nervously.
"I...I asked where did my daddy go?", the little filly answered, still in shock over the broken plate, the pieces still laying on the floor. "Everyone at school has a daddy and a mommy. I just wondered why my daddy isn't here. Where is he? Where did he go?"
It was then that Dinky took notice of the look of awkwardness on her mother's face, the way the gray mare bit her lower lip, the way her eyes expressed worry. Cocking her head to one side, Dinky asked, "Mommy? Is there something wrong? Are you upset about the plate, mommy?"
Derpy Hooves turned her head away, her eyes closing as she exhaled a sigh, her ears drooping down as did her wings. "No. No, it isn't about the plate, little muffin. It's...well, it's a complicated matter, but I think you're old enough to know the truth now, Dinky."
"Know the truth about what, mommy?", asked Dinky, a little confused and curious as to what her mother was on about.
Derpy opened her eyes half-way as she turned back to look at her daughter in the eyes. "Go and sit in the living room, Dinky. I'll just clean up this mess up, and then I'll be in there with you soon."
Dinky gave her mother a worried look. "M-mommy? Am I in trouble, mommy?"
Derpy gave Dinky a small, but reassuring smile. "No, not at all, my little muffin," said Derpy, patting her daughter gently on her little head. "No, you're not in trouble. Just wait in the other room for a moment, and I'll explain everything to you. There is something important I have to tell to you, that is all."
Dinky nodded her head, although she was feeling unsure about what was happening. Nevertheless, Dinky got off her chair, and made her way into the living room, seating herself upon the sofa, listening to Derpy cleaning up the plate fragments and disposing of them into the waste bin. A minute later, the gray pegasus walked into the room, her face expressed a serious look that Dinky had not seen before, or so far as the filly could remember. Whatever it was her mother had to talk to her about, maybe it was something really important, or so really important enough that her mother would put on such a serious expression.
Derpy Hooves stopped and stood in front of the sofa, her crossed-eyes staring down at the wooden floor, her head hung low as though ashamed of herself. Dinky felt slightly uncomfortable with the silence that filled the room, the atmosphere somewhat tense for the little child, but she remained quiet, and waited patiently for her mother to start talking. She needed not wait too long - a minute of silence, and Derpy took a deep breath before she began her explanation.
"Dinky," her mother began, "as you know, Mommy didn't always live in Ponyville. Before you were born, I used to live in Canterlot, as hard as it might be to believe, considering it is populated by the unicorn nobility. I wasn't as rich or as luxuriously sheltered as they were, but I managed very well by myself. Do you know what job I had when I lived in Canterlot?"
Dinky looked up at her mother, her face so adorably sweet and so adorably innocent. "No. What did you do, mommy?"
Derpy giggled at the sight of her beautiful daughter. "Well, before I became a mail mare, I used to make muffins at a prestigious bakery shop." At this, the gray pegasus suddenly whipped out a muffin from behind her back, and passed it to Dinky, who took it in her little pink hooves with a smile. "You probably see why mommy loves muffins so much. If I may say so myself, I made really good muffins. A lot of the nobles weren't too fond of the idea of a pegasus pony working in one of their fancy upper-class stores, and even more weren't very...comfortable, with my funny eyes and all. But they all seemed to really like the muffins I made, so they tolerated me being there in their city."
Dinky was half-way through eating her muffin when she spoke up. "Buhb Nommy, whab doob tha hab to do wib dabby?", Dinky asked, her mouth full of the oh-so-tasty pastry. Derpy chuckled as she stretched out a wing, brushing away the crumbs on her filly's face with her gray feathers. "Now, now, my little muffin. Patience. I'm getting there," she assured her daughter.
"Anyway, one day my boss came to me while I was preparing a new batch of muffins, and he told me that a special party was being held at Canterlot Castle later that week. Apparently, my muffins had attracted quite a bit of attention with one of the royals, and a special order was made requesting a large batch of my muffins. Naturally, I was excited that my hard work was being noticed, more so by somepony of the royal family. So through the week, I worked even harder to make sure that the muffins for the party would be the best tasting and delicious muffins ever made by my hooves."
"On the night of the party, I personally delivered the muffins myself to the castle. A special ticket was given to me along with the order, so the guards would allow me to go inside. Oh, the party was amazing! There was music, and food, and lots and lots of nicely dressed ponies everywhere. I remember nearly knocking over some of the guests in my awe of the place. You must understand it was mommy's first time ever going inside of the royal palace, of course."
Dinky's mouth fell agape in amazement. "You actually went INSIDE the royal castle, mommy?", the little filly awed. "That is so cool!"
Derpy chuckled. "Yes, my little muffin. And it is true what ponies say - the insides of the castle truly were spectacularly decorated by masters of architecture and artistic craft. From the floors to the ceilings, everything was perfect and flawless and beautiful. I couldn't imagine there being another castle in the whole of Equestria, let alone in any other land or kingdom, that was as rich in color and decor as Canterlot Castle. But returning to the story, I was there, inside the royal palace of the Sisters, or rather 'sister' as it were at the time, as Celestia was the sole ruler back then."
"I brought the muffins that had been ordered, and was approached by Celestia herself, which was a huge honor indeed, more so than baking those muffins for the party. I remember immediately falling to the floor and bowing before her presence, only to be told to stand back up as such a gesture was unnecessary. I was made one of her guests and was allowed to hang around at the party. I don't know how many times I had thanked her over and over again before I actually went away to enjoy my evening."
"The night went along pretty well. Since a lot of the guests at the party consisted of the Canterlot nobility, I felt much out of place, what with being surrounded by some of the wealthiest of the Canterlot elite, some whom I recognized as customers who would buy my muffins. They didn't talk to me much, probably because they were put off by my funny eyes, or because I wasn't a unicorn noble like they were, but the night was young and the party was really nice, even if the music wasn't to my taste."
"So, I was enjoying myself, having a good time. I drank some of the punch, ate some of the best tasting foods I had ever popped into my mouth, and I danced a lot in the enormous palace ballroom. It was approaching midnight when the drinks and the foods and the atmosphere started to get to me, so I decided to wander outside for a while, just to get some fresh air and clear my mind. Without anypony noticing, I sneaked out the back and into the palace gardens."
"The palace gardens were beautiful. So many plants and flowers of all kinds adorned the place, so many of them exotic-looking and ones I had never seen before. I've always assumed that they were brought back from other lands and kingdoms that Celestia visited during diplomatic disputes or something like that. The animals and critters that roamed the garden freely were pretty nice as well, but that's beside the point. I had gone outside to get away from the party for a little while, and I remember looking up at the Mare in the Moon looking down upon the world, surrounded by all her thousands of stars in the night sky. And that was when a stallion appeared by my side."
Dinky's eyes widened at this. "Was it my daddy?", she queried in wonder.
Derpy nodded her head. "Yes. He was a white-coated unicorn. He had long golden hair and very bright blue eyes. He looked quite marvelous in his tuxedo, if I might admit. I recall he had a cutie mark that was something like a compass rose. I don't know where he came from, or how he got next to me so quietly, but he seemed quite nice enough."
"He stared up to the night's sky as the moon's light gave his coat a dreamy shine. His blue eyes showing the same spark as the stars themselves. He probably left the party to unwind and take a breather. I know you've been in many of Pinkie's parties and all but the parties in Canterlot were more formal, sure I had fun but some ponies needed to make an appearance and play their part as sophisticated nobles so that others may look up to them. It's probably a Canterlot thing."
"I decided to try and talk to the stallion. 'It's a beautiful night isn't it?' I said."
"The stallion got startled and jumped up a bit!" Derpy said with a slight chuckle at the end as she threw her hooves up in the air and waved it down to her sides to give emphasis. Dinky giggled, happy to see some joy back on her mother's face.
"It seemed that he was too deep in thought that he didn't pay attention to anything else. He stammered at first so I tried to calm him down with some small talk. It started out with some questions and answers here and there about what we were doing there in the first place but soon the conversation became just about anything we thought of at that time. We talked about nothing and at the same time we talked about everything."
"After a while I've noticed the time. It was getting late. I had to go home and say good bye to the unicorn."
"He offered to join me as an escort and told me that a mare as beautiful as myself shouldn't be left alone at an hour like this. He had a way with words as the simple act of escorting someone back home turned to a date."
"We went to a fancy restaurant, the fanciest one I've ever been in. The food was weird but they served wine as if it's water. After about five or six glasses everything started to blur. I remember some of our talk and what we did after we left the restaurant."
Derpy paused. "You're too young to know what we did so you'll have to wait until you're older to know." she said to Dinky. "Okay?"
Dinky nodded.
"I woke up the next morning on a bed not my own. I wondered around observing my new surroundings. I was at a hotel. I checked the room I was in and found myself alone. I asked one of the staff about the unicorn I was with and he told me what happened."
"He paid for my stay and left without a word."
"A few months later I've noticed some changes in my body. I got dizzy each morning after waking up and I also started craving sour foods like raspberry or lemon muffins. Something was going on so I went to the doctor to find out."
"As it turned out, I was not sick at all. On the contrary something amazing happened." Derpy said. She reached out a hoof and stroked her daughter's mane, staring at Dinky's eyes with a warm smile and her eyes full of love. "I had you."
"I moved out of Canterlot and bought a home here in Ponyville. My old home was too cramped for two ponies, especially one who's going to grow up even more. I left my job as a baker and used what I've earned at the castle to pay for the bills while you were still in my tummy."
"After you were born I took up a job as a mail mare. The job of being the baker as you know already belongs to the Cakes and Pinkie Pie so that's a no go but I still have experience in delivery. Life has been full of ups and downs but I will never give it up for anything."
Derpy hugged her daughter tightly, her cheeck rubbing Dink's as her hooves caress her daughter's mane.
"As for your father, I just don't know. I've been too caught up with everything that I completely forgot to ask his name. That night was the last time I've seen of him, I've never seen him again ever since." she told Dinky, her eyes moist from the tears held back.
Warm trickles of water fell down on Dinky's back as she felt her mother's grip loosen. Dinky hugged back as tight as she can muster.
" Don't worry mommy, I'm still here and I'm sure daddy is looking for us too." Dinky said.
Derpy wiped her tears away with a wing as she continues her hug, taking comfort in her daughter's words and her affection.
"I know my little muffin. I know."
____________________________________________________________________
Blue Blood stared wistfully at the moon from his balcony. His thoughts focused on a night quite unlike any other.
It has been years since that moment happened. He had met the mare of his dreams by chance on a bright moon just like this after a long and boring celebration just like the one that ended an hour ago.
He did not know her name nor where she's from, but she was unlike any other he had ever seen. Time seemed to slow down when he was with her, when she was around he felt that there was no need to rush things or rather there was no point in rushing when the point is to make the moment last as long as it can.
They have hit it off splendidly that same night and they've even shown their love for one another.
He carried her tired body to a suite at a hotel after exhaustion and alcohol took it's toll on her delicate frame and slept with her on a bed fit for two. When morning came he woke up to a life turning decision. He prepped himself up as silent as possible to give her some much needed rest and trotted to get a very important symbol for him and for her.
When he came back however, she was nowhere to be found. Neither a trace of her nor a note left from her was ever found.
Blue Blood broke away from his thoughts as he stepped back in to the castle. Another failed attempt at looking for the mare at the party and another suitor looking for a prince. Time and time again he'd participate at the festivities only for a chance to see her again. He failed each time he did.
He entered his room, removed his tuxedo and sat on his bed, looking at the small chest that lies on the top of his table beside his mirror
With his magic he picked up the chest decorated with bright gems and sparkling gold with a complex locking mechanism at it's front. He hummed a tune making the markings on the lock glow blue. The locked turned and the chest opened revealing a golden necklace with a blue diamond heart at its center. It was meant for her, but here it stayed. Alone without her, just like him.
With a sigh he closed the chest up and gently laid it down at his side. He will find her. It might take him years and years again but he will find her.
"I'll never stop loving you."