Chapter 1
"Yes, I will have another muffin, Your Majesty." whispered tossing and turning in bed Derpy - pegasus with yellow-straw color of mane and gray color of and with oblique eyes yellows color of and mark on the rump in the form of several soap bubbles, which now saw dream. "Thank you."
"Uaaa." suddenly she heard a child crying
"Aah." whispered Derpy and here-same one turn has fallen with bed.
The crying continued to grow.
"What is it?" Derpy murmured. "Dinky? My little one."
And with these words grapple razlepiv their eyes from sleep and peered in darkness, to get used to it Derpy groped hoof nightlife luminaire which lit the contestant room in which she together with baby-daughter lived. A small house on the banks of the river, which Derpy was able to afford, as the house was unattended and for a very symbolic fee bought it from the mayor of Ponyville. The room itself was in green tones (although Derpy wanted to replace the wallpaper, but the salary of the postman she spent on her and her daughter and at the front door hung a portrait of the Empress) consisted of a small bed on which she slept Derpy, mounted on the wall near the street entrance was a hanger for a saddlebag, a postman's bag and a postman's cap, a chest beside the bed where Derpy kept all her small belongings and a fireplace. There was also a kitchen and a bathroom with a walk-in near dinky's crib. Beside the crib was a box containing all the necessary care and toys for the baby pony, and a changing table-a gift from Pinkie Pie, which she persuaded her parents to give to Derpy in view of her situation, and before that, the table was just gathering dust in the attic. And the crib was in front of the bed Derpy. And there was a nightlight and an alarm clock on the nightstand beside Derpy's bed.
Derpy quickly ran to the crib where, bursting into tears crying dinky-her daughter. A unicorn-baby which only was 4 month from destiny. She was resembles on its mother only color eye (which not mowed in different hand) and already a bit growing mane straw color of with small gold tint and a small horn sticking out among growing manes. But color of she has was pale-violet. Like her father. A unicorn-blond violet color of with which Derpy reached long ago met and has carried with him time in Canterlot and whose name of she not been mulling recall. The one who betrayed her. He said that he loved her, that he was rich and would settle her in the capital, but in fact he lied. A local gambler who was caught in one Scam and rejected Derpy in a confrontation, trying to accuse her of facilitating the Scam, but the gendarmes quickly figured him out and released Pegasus. When Derpy came take from their things its fierce any the kind the old unicorn (as it turned out hostess a rich apartment) and the kind demanded immediately get out from its homes or she will call police for non-payment, and things covered this non-payment housing. Derpy only had 11 bits in the bag. Almost without bits in pocket and in a large city of where loop were unfamiliar a pony and even hostile to it as to hindrance for Derpy tried to find work, but all lump. Usually after three days she broke something and spoiled and even once had to run away from the gendarmes, as traded without a license. From rental housing which she acquired for 25 years and maintaining a half-starved existence was not enough to live in the Capital, although she had somehow grown fat. Then for a month and a half she lived in the cheapest flophouses of the Capital and ate their lousy taverns for 3-5 bits per night and day and survived by collecting bottles on the street.One bottle-1 bit. On the day she collected 5-15 bottles (and that's not counting that most of it is smashed in view of the awkwardness and clumsiness). And then one day the other local bottle pickers didn't like it and they explained it to Derpy…
***
Derpy was digging through the garbage cans near a house in the affluent district of Canterlot. Collecting bottles. Already about 3 bottles. Enough for the night. Half a month in the Capital have done their job. Eternal malnutrition, especially lack of sleep and stuff. Derpy was thin and looked like a dirty skeleton with a big belly, although she had not eaten properly for several months and dressed in an old knitted hat she found in a flophouse and purchased for 2 bits.
And then, when she climbed into another dumpster, found nothing.
"There's a chasm. What's that?" she said, getting out of the forecastle, and not quite moving her hooves, she hit the ground hard, and several bottles fell out of her saddlebag and shattered.
And then she saw coming towards her earth pony with a scar on his face, entirely black in color with the brand in the form of bits and skulls. Then she felt uneasy.
"Hey you!" he snapped. "Come here. Talk there is! Go, go."
"Don't hit me." Pegasus stammered.
"Not now." he said, and with a jerk he was beside Derpy. "The number of homeless people and bottle pickers is regulated in this town, and you're out of place. So, to you tomorrow in this city was not. Or there will be consequences."
He said this in all seriousness, so that the most Derpy became terminally poorly and its covered the episode vomiting and its threw up.
"Me shouldn't have eaten those muffins." Derpy said.
Now she had to leave the capital, or it would be bad. So it could cost her her life.
***
The ticket for the cheapest seat in the train was not enough of them 5 bits which remained at Derpy. There was an urgent need to move from this city to a safer place. And then she decided to take off. Wings barely opened up from long hibernation, but she managed barely to fly through the pain. Fat belly an extra burden pulled down, but Pegasus was able to fly over the station and then noticed a freight train standing on a freight platform.
"The Canterlot-Ponyville freight train leaves from the freight platform." a voice spoke from a megaphone.
And Derpy understood. Here was her chance to leave town. Feeling the wind in her wings, she flew to the train and then it started. Derpy had to push and she flew into one of the open freight car with hay.
It was already the beginning of December. In carriage was extremely chilly and so Pegasus burrowed in hay, to not freeze.
At some stops it was necessary to hide entirely in the hay from the station keepers.
That night, for the first time in a year, it snowed and got colder, and Derpy was very sick. She stomach ached and wanted to vomit.
And after a day of riding in a freight car Derpy already in a daze heard the cherished words:
"The freight train has arrived at Ponyville station."
And barely touching hooves Derpy crawled out of the car and transgressing the threshold there also fell on the snow-covered station platform.
"I can do it." she whispered, and struggled to her feet.
"Hey you, and ah stand!" the stationmaster could be heard shouting. "You got into the car and you're going to get away with it?"
But Derpy didn't pay attention to it and barely touching hooves in the snow.
She barely managed to leave the station and go into the city. She trailed not knowing where, just to help.
Then she noticed a commotion in the main square.
Clearly there was some celebration. The whole city was festively decorated. A pink pony with a balloon stamp squealed from the stage:
"Happy first day of winter! With you Pinkie Pie and now we have a party!"
According to all the ponies laughed at the comment.
Derpy herself did not know where to go. She felt sick. Everything was a blur.
"Aaay." Derpy mumbled from the pain and start another step, not moving hooves slipped and fell wings on the frozen ground.
The body was struck by a terrifying pain and the crunch of breaking bone. His wing was broken, and his stomach ached more and more.
Derpy sank slowly into darkness.
"Help me, please." what's the last thing she whispered. "I'm dying."
"There Pegasus bad..." he heard a voice.
Derpy finally lost consciousness. In delirium she imagined that she was dead, saw the dead parents, whom she lost at the age of only one year and then once in the shelter Manehattan. All the hard childhood, attacks for clumsiness and squint and other subsequent events of her small life.
***
She woke up in Ponyville hospital in a hospital gown with a bandaged wing and under a drip lying on a soft hospital bed, with fresh bandages on her stomach. At first she thought she was in heaven, but the unicorn nurse who came into the room denied it.
"Where am I? In Paradise?" Derpy asked sleepily.
"You're in the hospital. Already woke up, as I see. What were you thinking when you started on the last month of pregnancy in such a long journey? More and exhaustion of the body. It was bad for the fetus! We almost lost you both. I had to pull your foal out by caesarean section." the nurse said irritably. "Treat them like that!"
"What kind of foal?" Derpy asked blankly. "Where did I get it?"
"Unicorn, filly, fifteen pounds, healthy. I'll get it." the nurse said, and left the room.
"Receives." Derpy whispered. "I'm a mother now... and I thought foals were born of true love and always after marriage. And this is how it all came out... from false love and necessarily after all my suffering."
She herself not have observed as started to cry from just experienced for these insane and heavy year and a half in the Capital.
The nurse returned minutes later, carrying a bundle in her mouth from which peeked a pale purple foal's head with a straw-colored mane already sprouting. And in the middle of the head was a small horn.
"Here it is." honey said. the worker handed the baby to Derpy.
"Thanks for saving us." Pegasus said, weeping a little, and took the bundle in her hooves.
"That's our job." the nurse said, and left the room.
The baby's yellow button eyes stared at her.
"Dinky." Derpy said. "My little girl."
"Hahaaha." Dinky said.
She liked the name.
Derpy understood. Dinky is the most expensive pony for her. Forever. Now the meaning of her life. They are alone in this variable and sometimes cruel world, and held her to him. The little girl smiled and quickly fell asleep in the arms of her mother.
Derpy began to cry again, but this time with happiness. Happiness that she found her meaning of life and existence, and dinky soon quietly snoring with a smile of bliss.
For the first time, Derpy smiled with happiness. Then the pony from the party came to her. Pinkie Pie-the main ringleader of the town and offered to help with housing and employment, to which Derpy agreed. Derpy was able to get a job at the local post office, which was previously empty for a very normal salary, 100 bits a week. The first time she lived with her daughter in the mail. We slept together on the same mattress in the pantry, kept things in the same trunk. Ponyville was a very friendly and quiet town. Derpy liked it there. Everyone tried to help such a single mother. Pinkie helped with a cot and old toys and a book on caring for young foals, and when the mayor's office remembered a small house on the banks of the river for sale, the first thing offered to buy it for only 1000 bits. On that the kind spent all their savings for those three months work on mails and obtain from cash benefits for mothers-singles in size 30 bits in week And so gradually life has improved. A simple quiet measured life is all that was needed for Derpy and baby dinky. No more.
***
"So what have we got?" asked Derpy its baby girl by taking over its for diapers itself in her teeth and neatly putting on a changing table where as usually stood fresh diapers, sponge, bottle with warm milk and powder. "We need to change diapers. Yes? And these smell."
In a few movements, Derpy was able to successfully remove, sponge, sprinkle and replace the dirty diaper with a clean one, and throw the dirty one into the dirty diaper tank.
"Now we're clean." said Pegasi kissing my daughter in the tummy, gave her a bottle and baby has started to suck milk through the nipple in the bottle, and Derpy began to watch it.
"Well, we've had enough." Derpy said, and yawned when the bottle was half empty.
Clearly dinky was well-fed and no longer wanted to eat.
"Well, now sleep." said a satisfied mother and put her daughter back in bed on a soft feather bed of sky-blue color with the same pillow and covering the baby with a blanket.
And turning off the light was about to plunge back into the world of dreams and muffins.
"Whaa-whaa!" Dinky cried again in her crib.
"What's the matter, honey?" asked Derpy again by taking over daughter for a diaper. "That's right. I forgot. Sing my little Dinky's cradle."
And with that she kissed her crying daughter on the forehead. Putting her on her bed and sitting down beside her, Derpy began to remember a lullaby. And sang:
"Sleep quietly ponies, vultures and deer.
Even the changelings and Thestrals were asleep
And no one thinks at night something naughty
Go to sleep and you're my baby
The sun rises
And alicorn will come
And cast out the moon in the name of the sacred Sun
And replace mild good Sun
Sleep sleep in the name of sweet Sun»
Gradually the slow singing of the mother Dinky finally fell asleep and when Derpy had already began to sing the lullaby she was fast asleep. The alarm clock said 2.35 am. And tomorrow she had to work late at the post office, and Pinkie had promised to look after the baby, so she could rest easy. As long as she lived, nothing bad would happen to her daughter and she would give her a decent life.
Now, sleep.
And Derpy covering them both with a blanket and hugging her daughter quietly fell asleep to her measured quiet sniffling.