> Stories From a Single Mother
>  by emerald_shine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Please Stay
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How about this one mommy?"

I smiled as I bent down to pick the small grey filly off the floor. "No Dinky. You can't have a cereal that's made entirely out of marshmallows. You need to eat healthy so you can grow up big and strong." I place Dinky in the cart as I pick up another box. "How about this one? It has the same marshmallows."

"Yeah but those little oat bits taste like Styrofoam!"

I sigh. "I thought you liked oats."

"Not those ones. They're so gross!"

I put the box back and picked up the first box again. "Alright, I propose a compromise. How about I get you the nice oats that come in a tin and I''ll mix these in every morning. It will be just like the healthy cereal except with good oats!"

Dinky's face widened. "That would be so amazing! Thanks mommy!"

I smiled and continued to push the cart along. I've found that the best strategy to parenting a small filly is compromise. Make them feel like they have some choice in the matter. I stopped the cart right next to the oats. I let out a small hiss as I looked at the prices.

My husband hasn't been back with a payment in almost a month. Besides, even when he did bring home some money, it was always a hassle getting it converted into bits. I swear he finds a new currency every time he goes out in that damned telephone booth.

It's not like I didn't support Time Turner in all of his endeavors. I mean, I was the one who decided to fall in love with a Time Lord. It was just hard sometimes needing to get by without him. My job as a mail mare did what it could on those weeks where we could barely keep our heads above the water. Which is an ironic saying considering we can't afford enough water to be drowning in it.

I knew that Dinky would be upset if I grabbed the cheap off-brand oats because those are "no better than the ones in the cereal" according to her, so I just decided to grab the branded oats and feel the drop in my wallet.

I knew in my heart it didn't have to be like this. My other daughter, Sparkler, who was already sixteen was making quite a lot of money working for Rarity. She had offered so many times to pay for things like groceries and electricity. I refused each and every time. She has so much to live for and I don't want her to feel like she has to take care of the rest of her family alongside everything else. It will only hold her back.

As I walk towards the checkout, I smile as I look down at my other daughter, Dinky, who has occupied herself by levitating the groceries in the cart. "Mommy mommy! Look what I can do!" I watch as she levitates a can of beans and a pack of sausage. "I can do two things at once now!"

I pat her on the head and nuzzle her lovingly. "Great job my little snowflake!"

I wince as I see the numbers on the self checkout go up higher and higher with each item.  I throw about 132 bits into the machine and put the bags back into the cart. Dinky smiles and looks up at me. "You know mommy, they have that doordash thing now! We wouldn't have to go grocery shopping anymore!"

"Doordash costs extra money sweetheart. Money that we don't have right now." I walk my cart over to the place where I had left my wagon. I drop Dinky into the wagon along with the rest of the groceries. I wrap the strap around my waist and begin to walk it back towards my house.

"Mommy, why are we always so short on money?"

I stop short in my tracks. I didn't think that Dinky was old enough to realize how much we were struggling. I forgot how smart she is. I look back at her lovingly. "We're not Sweetheart," I lied. "I just love grocery shopping with you and don't want to lose that by using doordash."

"But you said we don't have the mon-"

I put a hoof over her mouth. She was speaking so loudly that ponies around could definitely hear. It was no secret that I wasn't the richest pony in Ponyville. But I really didn't need them knowing I was the poorest. "How about we go get some ice cream?"

Dinky's eyes went wide and she jumped a little in her seat. "Yay! I love ice cream!"


* * *



My legs are aching by the time I make my way back to our house. Most ponies live closer to the marketplace. They don't know what it's like to walk about five miles towing along a small filly and what feels like a hundred pounds of groceries.

Still, it was something that had to be done.

As my house comes into view, I gasp as I see the telephone booth in the front yard. Dinky sees it too. I can tell as she yells out, "Daddy's home!!! Daddy's home!!!"


* * *



When I walk into the house, I see Time Turner sitting at the kitchen table talking to Sparkler, a purple filly with a darker purple mane. "You didn't tell me you were coming back so soon!"

Time Turner turned around at the sound of my voice and smiled. "Derpy! I wanted it to be a surprise!" He comes over and gives me a kiss on my cheek. "How have you been handling?"

"As best as I can," I say as I smile and blush. "How was work?"

"Long. Me and Rose Luck got trapped in some kind of Hotel of Horrors. We couldn't find the TARDIS for like two weeks! We were just trying to save as many people as possible."

"Daddy!" Dinky yelled. "What does "People" mean?"

Time Turner bent down and picked up the filly. "They're a race of strange tall lanky creatures with hooves that split into five different parts and no tail!"

"They sound scary!"

"Well, they're actually pretty friendly when you get to know them!"

Dinky laughed and Time Turner set her down. He turned to me and laughed. "Better not let Lyra know humans exist. She won't leave us alone until I let her come with me to see some."

I laughed a little halfheartedly. Something about him and Rose spending two weeks together alone in a hotel didn't sit right with me. I would never accuse Time Turner of cheating. But there were definitely some things about his and Rose's relationship that made me wonder sometimes.

I look at him and say, "So how long are you keeping away from you big ball of Wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey stuff?"

He put a hoof on my shoulder. "We'll talk about that later." Translation? I have bad news and I don't want the foals to hear.

I threw a gaze towards Sparkler. "So, answer a question for me. Where the hell were you last night?"

Sparkler flinched at the tone of my voice and Time Turner put a hoof on my shoulder. "Honey. Don't curse at the kids. I'm sure she has a really good explanation."

I hold up a hoof and turn back towards Sparkler. "So?"

Sparkler held her hooves up. "I was sleeping over with Sweetie Belle and Button Mash!"

"There was a boy there?"

"He's Sweetie's coltfriend! Nothing was going to happen to me! I swear!"

"Great! Time for another explanation!"

Sparkler rolled her eyes. "What now?"

I walk over to the corner of the room and pull over a saddlebag with Sparkler's cutie mark on it. I flip it open and pull out a half-empty bottle of alcohol. "Why's this in your saddlebag? This isn't your father's and it sure as hell isn't mine."

Sparkler sighed. "Listen mom, you and I both know that I'm far too old to be lying to you so I'm gonna be completely honest."

I crossed my hooves. "I'm waiting."

"I had a really stressful week and Sweetie Belle came up and said we were going to have the treehouse all to ourselves and when she said there wouldn't be any parent's I thought it would be the perfect time to take the edge of the week off. I stopped by the marketplace and got Rainbow Dash to buy that for me. I brought it over to the clubhouse and we just had a relaxing night."

I stare her down. If looks could kill, she'd be dead on the floor right now. "I'm gonna ask you a question Sparkler and I want you to be honest with me." Sparkler nodded. I could see the guilt in her eyes. "Did anything else happen?" Sparkler said nothing but shook her head. A small tear dripped from her eye.

"I'm sorry mom."

I sigh. "I guess this isn't the worst that somepony your age could do. And since you were honest with me, I suppose I can be a little light on the punishment. You're grounded for the next week."

Sparkler still said nothing and just nodded. I've learned that that's how I can tell she's sorry. She never argues with a  punishment if she's actually sorry for what she did. Not that I have to punish her very often. With her father gone a lot, she's almost become like the second parent in the house and I can almost always count on her to be responsible. She's always willing to drop everything to babysit Dinky too which I always appreciate.

Time Turner stared at me. "Wow! You really know how to handle things!"

"Yeah, it comes from experience." I give a small chuckle and look over to the clock. It's already 9 PM. "Oh Wow! It's gotten late! Come on Dinky! Bed time!"

"But mom! Daddy just got home!"

"I'm aware but you have school tomorrow. You can play with him tomorrow."

Dinky sighed and turned towards her bedroom. I laughed a little and turned around. I looked at Sparkler. "You too, young mare! You're grounded so bed time is 9 now. Sparkler sighed and went to her room.

When I turned back around, Time Turner was standing there with a box in his hooves.

"Favorite game?"

"You're on!"


* * *


"Checkmate!"

I let my face fall into my hooves. "Remind me why I play a strategy game with the smartest pony in Ponyville?"

"Because you love me?"

I nod. "That's right!" I begin scooping up my captured pieces from his side of the board and begin setting them up on my side for another game. "So, what did you want to talk about without the kids around?"

"I never said that!"

"You implied it with the 'We'll talk about it later"

Time Turner clapped his hooves together and gestured for me to go first. "Fair enough." I move a pawn forward two spaces.

As the game continues to progress, Time Turner sighed. "There are so many problems throughout the entirety of the universe. There's really no easy way of saying this but.." He moves his queen and takes my rook.

"Spit it out. You can do it." I move my knight back and take his queen as he lets out a small snort of anger.

"I may need to be gone for a long time."

"What!" I stop playing for a second and my eyes meet his. "How long?"

He nervously pushes another pawn forward. "About a month."

"WHAT!"

"Honey! Keep your voice down. The kids are sleeping."

I pick up my bishop to capture his second rook. I practically slam the piece down on the board. "You can't leave me for that long! Did you even get paid for the most recent problem you solved?"

He nods. "Yes! Very handsomely in fact!" He reaches down to his saddlebag and pulls out six hoof-fulls of giant green crystals. "Each of these converts to around 30 bits."

"And what about the kids? How are you gonna explain to them how long you'll be gone?" I capture both of his knights while he begins sweating. I can't tell if it's from the conversation or from the game.

"Sparkler understands my work. She'll be fine."

I glare at him. "You know who I'm talking about smartass!"

"Listen Derpy." He stops playing for a moment and looks up. "I know my job is a lot of work for little pay. But if I take this job, I could possibly make so much money that we could send Sparkler to college!"

"If you were actually around, you would know that she doesn't need our help. She already has money saved up! She's been trying to give me money to help with this house for months now! I tell her no and every time I do, her college fund gets bigger!" I move my queen three spaces away from his king. "Check."

"Listen. I know I haven't been a very good father since I've had to start taking more responsibility with my job. But you have to understand that there is no avoiding it! After the amount of different time anomalies Starlight Glimmer caused when she opened that portal, I have no time to stay and relax."

"When are you leaving?"

"Two days."

"TWO DAYS?"

Everything stops as we hear the small click of a door opening behind us. "Mommy? Why is there screaming after bed time?"

I look back to Dinky. "It's nothing Angel. Go back to sleep."

As the door closes, the conversation continues at a more level tone. "Listen Derpy, I don't even pretend to know what kinds of things you have to go through around here. But I-"

"No Time Turner! There's no excuses you can make! You seem to be gone on every holiday! You haven't been here on Sparkler's past four birthdays! Four Birthdays Time Turner!!! You weren't the one who had to explain to our, at the time, twelve year old daughter why she was going to be getting less Hearth's Warming Presents than her little sister! You weren't the one who had to sit and hoof-stitch a sunflower costume for Dinky because it was sold out at the store!" My bishop takes his last pawn. "I'm sorry but it feels like I do most of the parenting while you go gallivanting around the multiverse with that Rose pony." I sigh. "Check."

"You're right. I haven't been there. But after this job, I may make enough money where I can pass on my responsibilities and make another version of myself. Sure, I won't be immortal anymore but at least I'll be with you."

I begin moving my pieces to try to box in his king. "Will Rose be there?"

"Of course."

"You know Time Turner, I'm not trying to start trouble. I love you. But I have to know, has anything every happened between you two?"

Time Turner looked down at the board and stayed silent.

"Time Turner?"

No answer.

Tears begin to well up in my eyes as a look of guilt spreads its way across his face.

With nothing else to say, I move my queen one final time. He knocks over his king.

"Checkmate."
> Chapter 2: What have you done?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Time Turner?"

I look down to the ground as he stays silent. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. "It was one time. She came onto me. I know that's no excuse but I hope that makes it better."

I try to speak but instead just end up stammering. "W-what?"

"About two months ago, the TARDIS broke down in the middle of a trip. We had to wait about two days for it to reboot. One of those nights, Rose walked into my room and she was kind of drunk and... well... you know."

"Why?" That was the only question running through my mind. "Am I not good enough for you? Or do you just not love me anymore?"

"No! Derpy! I still love you! I know there's nothing I could ever say or do that would make you believe that but I swear! It wasn't my fault! She came to me and-"

"And what? You couldn't tell her no? You could't tell her you have a wife and two kids that would be devastated if you ever EVER did something like this?"

"I tried! She wouldn't take no for an answer!"

"Then you could have made her! You cannot dismiss responsibility for your actions Time Turner! Do you know how it feels to have a husband that is away from home almost all the time and then finally have him come home after two weeks to hear that he's cheating on you?"

Time Turner sighed. "I know. It's the same way I would feel if I knew you were cheating on me while I was away. But I can promise you it won't ever happen again!"

I sigh. "Please. Just leave me alone right now. I need to think."

He nods. "I'm going to go to bed. You can do whatever you feel is necessary. Even, if you decide to leave me, it's your choice. I know what I did was unforgivable. But I hope you can find it in your heart to stay with me. I love you Derpy." 

He walks over to me and attempts to put a hoof on my shoulder. I smack it away. "Fuck off. Or better yet, go fuck Rose."

He sighs. "I deserve that. Fair enough. Congrats on the win." With that, he walks off towards the bedroom. When the door closes, I get up slowly. My legs are a little shaky as I stand. I slowly and carefully walk over to the couch and fall down on it.
I curl up into a ball and begin sobbing softly.

After about five minutes, I feel a small hoof on my shoulder. "Not now Time Turner." I turn around to see Sparkler standing there with tears in her eyes.

She begins to shake her head slightly. "I h-h-heard everything."

I get up. "Oh no no no Sweetheart. You weren't supposed to hear that." I encase her in a hug as she begins sobbing. I can feel the tears running down my back. "It's all gonna be okay."

"No i-it's not. Y-You're gonna l-leave him and w-we're n-never gonna see him a-again." Her words were all interrupted by the sounds of her gasps for air as she continued crying. I let her softly fall through my hooves as she falls slowly to the floor.

"It's all gonna be okay honey." I walk over to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen and pull out a bottle with a glowing orange liquid. I walk over and uncork the bottle. I pick up Sparkler's head despite her eyes refusing to look up. I put the tip of the bottle to her lips. I tip her head back and watch as the liquid begins flowing into her mouth. "Drink this honey. It will all feel better."

As she finishes the bottle, the potion's effects immediately begin to take effect. Her tears stop quickly and her breathing steadies. She begins to fall slowly back to the ground as she falls asleep. I read the label on the bottle, "Ease Potion" I knew I would need this. Thanks Twilight! I place the bottle in the trash and walked back over to the couch.

I curled back up onto the couch and begin to cry myself to sleep.


* * *


"It never seems to be enough does it?"

I swivel around to face the dark alicorn in front of me. I immediately bow down in front of her. "Princess Luna! I'm honored!"

Luna waves a hoof. "Now now, there's no need for all of that. This is your dream! You're the ruler here. If anything, I should be bowing down to you." I laugh as she gives a small bow.

"What brings you around?"

"You've had a rough night haven't you?"

I nod. "How could you tell?"

Luna sighs. "I often enter the dreams of the ponies under the most stress. You seemed to be the most stressed out of anypony in Ponyville. What's going on?"

"It's Time Turner."

"Ah yes!" Luna clapped her hooves. "Your husband! I will say, the work that he and Roseluck do for the universe is mighty impressive." A look of concern goes across her face as she notices my lack of enthusiasm. "Is something wrong?"

"He cheated on me with Rose."

Luna's eyes widened. "Really? He truly doesn't seem like that kind of pony."

"It's worse. Sparkler knows as well. She found out somehow. I had to use a potion to put her to sleep."

Luna sighed. "Yes. Your daughter's been under some stress the past two nights. Almost like there's a secret she's hiding that she cannot let out."

"A secret? Can you tell me what it is?"

"I'm sorry Derpy. There are some things I can't share about other pony's dreams."

I stomp a hoof on the floor. "I'm her mother! If she's keeping secrets from me,I have the right to know!"

Luna shook her head. "Unfortunately, you don't. I'm sorry."

I shake my head slightly. "I'm sorry, your highness. I shouldn't have raised my voice at you. Please forgive me."

Luna smiled and nodded. "So what do you plan to do about this situation?"

"I don't know. He has a big trip he's gonna be taking coming up here. I'm probably gonna think about it while he's away."

Luna nodded. "For now, I would recommend giving attention to Sparkler. Let her know that she's loved and appreciated. Maybe then she'll be willing to open up to you a little more."

I put a hoof to my chin. "I don't understand. She's always been the responsible one in the family. I can't think of a single reason why she would suddenly start keeping secrets from me."

Luna nodded. "There might just be some things she isn't willing to share about things like her mental health or her personal life. Maybe try to focus a little more on her than Dinky?"

"Dinky is a big job. It's hard to take my eyes off of her for two seconds without her breaking something or getting into trouble."

Luna nodded softly. "I'm just suggesting. It could be worth your while. Enjoy the rest of the night."

With that, Luna smiled softly and disappeared in a flash of light, leaving me alone in my own little world. I just let my thoughts run wild as I began walking around the small field I found myself in. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get my mind off of the fact that Time Turner had slept with a pony who wasn't me.

My biggest question to myself was: Am I going to ever be able to forgive him?


* * *



The next two days went by quicker than the clap of a hoof.

I basically ignored Time Turner for the next two days. Despite his numerous attempts to talk to me, I wouldn't give him the time of day. Eventually, it came time for him to leave. He hugged Sparkler and Dinky goodbye. He then turned to me. "I assume I don't get a hug goodbye?"

I shrug. "You shouldn't. But since Dinky is watching, just this once." I reach over and very lightly hug him. I know that it isn't a good thing to hold a grudge, but I couldn't help myself at this moment. As we hug, I hiss into his ear, "have fun with Rose!"

He pulls back and walks over towards the TARDIS. He closes the door and looks through the window as it begins to take off. I see him mouth the words I'm sorry in my direction. I dismiss it as I walk back towards the house. When we enter, Dinky runs off to her room to play with her toys. I sit down at the kitchen table and Sparkler joins me.

"Are you going to take another potion tonight?" I ask her.

Sparkler slightly shakes her head. "It's helped the past couple of nights but I can't keep relying on magic to help me cope with my problems." I nod and we sit in silence for a few more moments.

"I am curious, how did you hear me and your dad talking? We were talking quietly."

Sparkler smiled. "Let me show you! It's really cool!" She hopped up and gestured for me to stand as well. She held out her hoof and I took it. She then said, "Watch that wall over there." I nod.

She lights her horn up in a purple glow and shoots a small ray of magic at the wall. When I look back at the wall, I see a hole that is surrounded by a purple aura. I can see directly into Sparkler's bedroom.

"Why did you put a hole in my wall?" I half-yelled.

Sparkler stopped me quickly. "No! Mom!" She laughs a little. "Let go of my hoof." I do as she said and suddenly,the hole in the wall is gone. I grab her hoof again and it's back. "It's an x-ray spell! Lyra taught me how to do it!"

"Wow! That is seriously cool! Why were you doing it though?"

Sparkler cuts off the spell and the wall returns to normal. I let go of her hoof as she said, "Every night that he's home, you and dad play some sort of board game. I always love watching. Especially when it's chess!"

I smile. That's my girl. "I hope you know, Sparkler, that nothing is decided yet. I'm taking my time to think things over."

She nodded. "Yeah. I know. I don't blame you for anything. He was the one who did it."

I nod. Suddenly, we hear a small voice from Dinky's bedroom. "Sparky! Come play with me!" Sparkler giggles and runs off to Dinky's room. Once I'm sure nopony is watching, I run over to the counter and grab my laptop. I log in and access a new media program I downloaded.

During the two days I was giving Time Turner the silent treatment, he spent quite a lot of time out of the house with the kids. That gave me the perfect opportunity to sneak into the TARDIS and plant some small cameras. I wanted to see exactly what was going on when he thought I wasn't around.

When I flipped on the cameras, I think I caught Rose in the middle of a sentence. "-About us?!" She sounded angry and was partly yelling at Time Turner. He yelled right back.

"She had the right to know Rose! And you know what? I don't care if it was just one night! I fucked up and I don't think I can ever go back!"

Rose walked forward and started moving a hoof around Time Turner's chest. She spoke softly and seductively as she looked at him with soft eyes. "Well then, why not leave her? You and I could run away together. We could 'have fun' without needing to worry about another mare in the picture. What do you say?"

Time Turner pushed her away. "No Rose! Despite what you may wish, I'm in love with Derpy! NOT YOU!" I could tell that he had said those last two words with a little more harshness than he had meant to. He definitely got his point across though. Rose hung her head and walked towards her room.

"Fine. Let me know if you change your mind."

I couldn't help but smile at how he had defended our marriage. Maybe it really was just a mistake. A moment of weakness maybe. Something about me almost wanted to give him another chance. I watched as he sat down at the table in the room they were in. He sighed as he put his hoof on his head. He reached across the table and picked up a framed picture of him, me, Dinky, and Sparkler.

He kissed my image and put the picture back as he said, "I am so sorry Derpy."

I closed the computer and smiled. He really did still love me more than her. I walked towards my bedroom. As I walked past, I looked into Dinky's room. I smiled at how Sparkler played with her sister. They got along so much better than siblings should. Not that I was complaining of course.

There weren't any other siblings in Ponyville I knew who got along with each other better than Dinky and Sparkler. Applejack and Apple Bloom got along really well but they definitely had their share of fights. With Dinky and Sparkler,something was just different.

They never fight. Ever. I watch for a few more minutes before walking into my room.

I had a lot of thinking to do.
> Chapter 3: Conflicts and Secrets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I couldn't decide.

I know he cheated on me. But I couldn't take my mind off of the fact that he had every opportunity there to continue an affair with Roseluck. I was shocked at how he turned her down. I was mean to him, rude, and I made it very clear I didn't want him around at the time.

Yet, he still wants to stay here. The only thing I could ask myself was, Why?

This was the question that plagued my mind for the next week. Even as I did my daily activities, I was still thinking about what I had seen on the camera.

There was only one answer in my mind. I was going to have to put it into action.


* * *


"Hey Sparkler, can you do me a favor?"

Sparkler was busy scribbling on designs and order sheets simultaneously. She screamed and threw half of the papers on the floor and turned to me. "Sorry about that. I'll pick them up. I've just been really frustrated at all of this damn paperwork."

"Language, Sparkler."

She sighed and bent down to pick up her papers. "Sorry Mom. Rarity has me doing the finances and when I told her that our sponsors wouldn't pay for the literal tons of gems she wants to use in these designs. They set her a budget and now she has me figuring out what to cut from the designs without making them look absolutely bland!"

I hiss a little. "Sounds rough."

Sparkler nods. "Yeah." She straightens the papers against the table and set them down in a stack. "What did you need?"

Now that I saw how busy she was, I felt a little bad asking her for extra work. "Would you mind watching Dinky tomorrow? I'm gonna be busy."

She stares at me blankly. "I...guess? What are you doing?"

"I have some online training junk I have to do so I'm gonna be stuck in my room all day."

"Yeah. I guess. I'll have to get a day off from Rarity. She's usually pretty easy going so I should be able to do that."

"If she's so easy going, then why all the frustration?"

"Just because she's easy going on me, doesn't mean I'm very easy going on myself."

I nod. "Fair enough. Thanks!"

Sparkler nodded. She walked over to the front door. I step in front of her. "Hold on! Where are you going?"

"Week's been up for like two days now mom. I need to stop at the marketplace for something. It's really really important to me."

"What do you need? I was already gonna head to the marketplace. I can pick it up for you so you can keep working."

Her face goes beet red. "I-It's n-nothing. I don't really need it that bad anyways." She gives a nervous chuckle and casts her glance to the side.

I cross my hooves. "Sparkler, what are you hiding from me?"

She looks down. "I-It's really nothing."

"Mhmm. Sure. I'm going to the marketplace. I have to pick up a few things for tomorrow. See ya later."

I hear a small sigh of relief from Sparkler as I close the door. What could that filly possibly be up to?


* * *



When I got home that night, I was ready for the next day. I did finally manage to have a word with Rainbow Dash at the marketplace about selling my 16 year old daughter alcohol. Not necessarily a pleasant conversation. But now I was ready. I was going to sit in my room all day and watch the cameras. I was going to make sure that  Time Turner didn't fall.

By the time morning came, I was already up, watching. I heard as Sparkler told Dinky not to bother me today because I was really busy. I could hear them enjoying the blueberry muffins I had set out the day before. I heard as Dinky left for school. Strangely enough, I think Sparkler left with her. That's definitely weird but I had more things to watch out for.

I never really understood exactly how long it took for the TARDIS to travel. Now I understood why he was always gone for so long. I waited all day for something to happen. They just kind of went about their business as normal. I heard their conversation as they sat down at the breakfast table.

"We should be docking today. I hope you're ready."

"Well don't hope too much." Rose rolled her eyes a little. "Hope can easily be crushed."

"Come now, Rose. It's been a week. Get over it. I'm sorry but I'm married and I can't just go around fucking anypony I feel like."

"That wasn't a concern for you a couple months ago."

"That was a mistake and you know it."

Rose looked down. "Whatever." She stood up from the table and went off to her room.

Time Turner huffed after her door was closed. I heard him mutter, "That mare can be so damn foalish sometimes." He rolled his eyes and continued eating.

I smiled again as I realized that Rose wasn't going to get her way. Maybe Time Turner was really truly sorry for what he had done. I jumped as I heard somepony walk through the door. I called out, "Who's there?"

"It's just me mom! I went to the marketplace for a few things!"

I sighed. I knew I would never find out what was in the bag she brought home.


* * *


I continued to watch the cameras all day. No more notable events happened until the night time. Sure, they played chess a little. Now I know how Time Turner practices while I'm away. Rose was actually pretty good. I did notice that Time Turner spent a lot of time just staring at the picture on the table.

He often sighed or just stared at it. I couldn't help but wonder if it was because of recent events or if he did this every time he was away. I suppose it was a good way to cope with missing us. Outside my door, I could hear a lot of differnt tones of voices. But one conversation I heard stood out to me.

"Sparky, why won't you play with me?"

"I'm really busy right now Dinks."

"But you're just watching tv!"

"I have a lot on my mind right now Dinks. Wanna come watch with me?"

"No thanks."

I could hear hooves that I assumed were Dinky's go through the hallway and I heard a door close. What is wrong with her? I couldn't understand why Sparkler was suddenly being so dismissive towards Dinky. She had never turned down an opportunity to play with her little sister.

I saw as a blob of white appeared on my screen and realized that Rose was here. She walked over to Time Turner and said, "I know you've made it explicitly clear that you'd rather be with Derpy. But I just wanted to stop by and see if you're sure?" She flicked her tail at him flashing something he clearly didn't want to see. I know I sure didn't. I could only think That's a dirty trick, Rose!

His face turned red and he said. "Rose! I told you no! Please leave me alone. We're docking in like an hour and I still need some time to think."

She huffed. "You've been staring at that damn picture for like three hours! Are you sure there's nothing you want to do?" I watched as she walked over to Time Turner and she pressed her lips to his. He let out a muffled protest and pushed her away.

"Rose! That is it! You've been hitting on me this whole trip despite my constant attempts to tell you not to! So here it is! I'm putting all of my cards on the table. If you don't stop this, then you're fired!"

She crossed her hooves. "What's your problem? You weren't like this a couple months ago!"

"No Rose! What's your problem? I've made it so clear that I'm not interested! Have you ever heard the saying 'if you play with fire, you'll probably get burned?' Well guess what? I played with fire! I got burned! I'm done! So please leave me the hell alone!"

She crossed her hooves. "Fine."

"Fine?"

"Yeah! Fine. But, how about I tell the entire town that you cheated on your wife? How about I tell them all-"

"That you caused it?"

"What?" Rose stopped short.

"If you tell everypony that I cheated on Derpy, then I'll tell them all that you're a motherfucking HOMEWRECKER!"

Rose stared at him blankly. She had nothing else to say. And both me and Time Turner knew it. "Screw you Time Turner!" She walked back towards her room and slammed the door.

Time Turner called back, "That's kind of how we got into this mess dumbass!" He huffed and went back to looking at the picture on the table.

I laughed. I know I shouldn't have but it was just so damn hilarious watching Rose get shut down like that. I closed the laptop for the first time in almost 24 hours. I think I might be okay with letting him stay. Of course, I'm gonna keep him under constant surveillance, but I think that this could still work out.

I flipped over onto my side and closed my eyes. Before I drifted off to sleep, I whispered, "I forgive you Time Turner."


* * *



"I'm proud of you Derpy."

In my dream,I found myself standing in the middle of the same field I was a few nights ago. Princess Luna was once again standing in front of me. "For what,Princess?"

"For forgiving him. I've actually visited Rose's dream tonight. I can't share too many details but I can tell you that she even feels a little regret for what she did."

I put a hoof to my chin. "Interesting. How's Sparkler?"

Luna sighed and looked down sadly. "Unfortunately, she seems worse than she was a week ago."

"Yeah. I could hear her a little through my door today. Something's off with her."

"You think something bad happened?"

"Princess, she turned down playing with her sister to watch tv instead! That's something she's never EVER done! Something's wrong. I can feel it."

Luna nodded. "She'll come to you when she's ready. I'm going to leave you now and go visit her dream. I wish you the best of luck my friend."

I don't know why, but I felt a warm sense of happiness when she called me her friend. Not many people did that. It made me feel good. "Have a good night Princess!"

Luna nodded. "You as well, Derpy." With that, she disappeared in a flash of light.

I suddenly felt mostly at ease. I laid down in the field and just watched the clouds go by. Everything was going to be just fine.

Until I woke up....


* * *



When I woke up, I quickly got Dinky up. I opened Sparkler's door to wake her up. I quickly noticed that she wasn't in her bed. "Sparkler!" I called out.

"In here!"

The voice came from the kitchen. I came out of the hallway to see Sparkler sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. "What's got you up so early?"

Sparkler cast a glance to the side. "W-Work."

Instead of crossing my hooves like I normally would, I walked over to her and spoke softly. "What's wrong my little Sparkle?"

"N-Nothing." I could've sworn I saw a small tear come from her eyes.

"Okay then, If there's ever anything you want to talk about, just let me know." I stood up and walked over to the cabinet to pick up a pan. I grabbed the eggs out of the fridge.I put the pan on the oven and began to preheat it. I threw some butter in the pan and began to spread it around as a sleepy-eyed Dinky walked sleepily into the room.

She yawns. "Good morning Mommy!"

"Good morning Snowflake!"

I crack the eggs into a nearby bowl and begin to whisk them. I pour the beaten eggs into the pan and begin to move them around with a spatula. I watched as Dinky tapped Sparkler's still hoof.

"Hey Sparky! Wanna go to the park after school?"

Sparkler stared blankly at the pan and then shook her head as if she were snapping out of a trance. "Uh... Yeah Dinks. Sure."

"Are you okay, Sparky?"

She slowly nods her head. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine."

I finish cooking the eggs and put them onto three separate plates. I bring the plates over to the table and sit down with my daughters. I set a plate down in front of each of them and then sit back down at my own plate. "So girls, I was thinking that maybe later we could go catch a movie? What do you guys think?"

Dinky hops up and jumps up and down. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Well, that's a yes from Dinky. What about you Sparkler?"

Sparkler begins using her fork to push the eggs slowly around on her plate. I receive no words to my question. Just a slow nod.

The next fifteen minutes passed by silently. Sparkler never ate anything. She just continued to push the eggs around on her plate. Eventually, the time came for Dinky to leave for school. I waved goodbye to her as she walked backwards down the driveway. "Dinky! I've told you a hundred times! Don't do that! You're gonna get hurt!"

Dinky laughed and turned around. She ran across the street and towards the schoolhouse. I went back inside and closed the door. "That filly is gonna end up getting herself killed!" I walked back over to the purple young mare who was still blankly staring at her plate and pushing the eggs around on it. "Alright, spill. What's wrong?"

Sparkler's expression turned from blank to frustrated. "I told you! Nothing!" I quickly noticed that her voice was no longer quivering as it was earlier.

I sigh. "Sparkler! You can talk to me! Whatever is wrong, I'll be there for you. I know-"

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

My expression switches to confusion. "What?"

Sparkler claps her hooves over her mouth. "I'm so sorry mom! I just... You don't... You wouldn't..." Her voice is constantly breaking as she tries to switch her sentence. "You just wouldn't understand." We sit in silence for a second. "I'm gonna be late for work."

She gets up and grabs her saddlebag. She walks over to the door and walks outside. Before she closes the door, I call out, "Have a good day at work."

Sparkler looks back at me and then closes the door. I stand in the hallway for a couple minutes. I just couldn't understand what was wrong. As I turned around to head towards the laundry room, I heard the door open behind me. I swiftly swivel around and look back to see Sparkler standing there with tears in her eyes.

"M-Mom!"

She runs forward and collapses into my arms. "Oh no! Sweetheart what's wrong?"

"I-I-I..."

"Come on, you can do it."

"I'm pregnant."
> Chapter 4: You're in Big Trouble
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're what?"

Sparkler looked down to the ground and refused to look up.

"I-I'm Pregnant."

I stared at her blankly as I tried to piece together events in my mind. Suddenly, in a flash, it all came together. The string of events. Sleepover party, a colt, alcohol, the 'emergency' marketplace trip. Sparkler walked forward and gave me a pregnancy test with a big green + on it.

"Um... mom?"

I stare at her. "Y-You know, sometimes these things are inaccurate."

Sparkler rolls her eyes and gives me a second test with another big green + on it.

I stare at the test and then back to her. My eyes continue to dart between the two. Sparkler suddenly spoke up. "I know what you must be thinking but if you give me the chance to-"

"WHAT THE FUCK SPARKLER!"

Sparkler cringed a little and clapped her hooves to her ears. "Well, that was unnecessarily loud."

"Was this at the sleepover?"

She looked down again and nodded. "I-I'm s-sorry."

I turn away from her for a second and walk over to the phone that's hung on the wall. I quickly dial a number. "Hi, Rarity? My daughter can't come into work today." I pause for a second as Rarity asks why. "There's an emergency family issue we need to deal with." Rarity agrees. "Thank you. Have a nice day."

I turn back to Sparkler and hold up a hoof. "So, you lied to me, and now you're pregnant. What's your next plan?"

Sparkler looks at me. "W-Well, I've already informed the father. I'm gonna go live with him now."

"You're what!"

"Mom! It's the best course of action."

"You're 16!"

"I'm also carrying his child!"

"When  do I get to meet this stallion?"

Sparkler scoffed. "Not now."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm ninety percent sure that you're gonna shoot him the second you see him."

I nod. "Good call. You're absolutely right." I sigh and sit down on the couch. Sparkler came over and put a hoof on my shoulder.

"Mom. I know it's not what you planned. But trust me it's not what I planned either. We're gonna get through this. I have so much money saved up from working with Rarity. I can support the foal and we'll all be okay."

I sigh. "I know honey. It's just..." I hesitate for a second. "You had so much to live for. College, a promising career. You've thrown it all away because of a mistake."

"I didn't throw it all away! In fact, even before all of this, I decided not to go to college."

I tilted my head. "Since when?"

"Since Rarity offered me a job as head fashion designer in her Manehatten store. The pay is about 1.2 million bits a year."

My eyes widen and my jaw drops. "Wow!" I pulled her into a hug. "Sweetheart! I'm so proud of you. Don't get me wrong, I'm still pissed beyond imagine. But I'm also proud." I give her a warm smile. "Can I ask you something?"

Sparkler nods and I continue. "Why didn't you come to me about any of this?"

She looks down. "I was scared. Princess Luna entered my dream a couple nights ago telling me about some of the challenges I would have to face if I were... you know... expecting. It scared me. I realized I may not even have a foal so I decided to brush it off. Until I felt nauseous two night ago. I was going to the marketplace to pick up a test."

"And you went yesterday while Dinky was at school?"

Sparkler nods. "I'm sorry Mom! I shouldn't have hidden from you but I was scared. If I told you, I thought you would kick me out or something. Without an extreme reason, I don't think my coltfriend would have let me move in with him. I just... I had nothing I could do."

I sigh. "Sparkler, you've always been the responsible one in the family. Obviously, not this time, but still. I know you would have figured out something. It just worried me that you seemed so stressed." I decided not to tell her about Princess Luna. "I want you to be able to talk to me without fear of being rejected or screamed at."

"You did scream a little at first."

I sigh again. "I know. I shouldn't have done that. I don't know. It's kind of hard to be mad. You kind of remind me of myself."

Sparkler tilts her head and her eyes widen. "What do you mean?"

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. A trick that Applejack had taught me to calm myself down. "Alright. I'm gonna be completely honest with you. But I need you to promise me that you can handle everything I'm about to say."

"Mom! My life was just completely changed! If I can handle that, I can handle anything."

I nod. "Okay." I take another deep breath. "When I was your age, I met your father. Everything was great until one night, we went to a little party. Nothing super special. There was alcohol there and despite several urges from Time Turner not to, I ended up getting myself drunk that night. In my drunken state, I somehow managed to pressure your father into doing so as well. One thing led to another and two weeks later, I was standing in the exact same position you were."

"So I wasn't planned? I was a mistake? But that doesn't make sense! Given our age gaps, I don't think it's possible that you could have had me when you were 16! Not to mention-"

I hold up a hoof to silence her. "Let me finish." I take another deep breath and continue. "Me and your father got married pretty quickly after that. We spent all of our time making sure we could provide for our new child. We got this house and made a very special nursery. After about four months of pregnancy, I got an ultrasound. We wanted to determine what color to paint the nursery walls and what kinds of toys to get the foal." I take one more deep breath. "We saw that it was a boy." A small tear comes out of my eyes.

Sparkler tilted her head. "Wait. I don't have a brother." She tilted it more. "Do I?"

Tears were beginning to pour down my face. I couldn't even speak as I shook my head. I looked down and softly started crying as I tried to find the will to finish the story. I suddenly felt a hoof on my shoulder. I look up to see Sparkler with a comforting hoof on my shoulder. "It's okay. You can do it."

I nod slightly. "I had a miscarriage in my third trimester. The incident tore your father and I to pieces. Somehow, we managed to get through it. In the end, three years later, when we decided we were ready, we had our first child. A beautiful, brilliant, smart, purple filly. I knew the second the second I laid eyes on you, I would cherish you and never let you go. I promised myself there was nothing you could ever do to make me abandon you. Not that that was ever a problem. You never really gave me any reasons to punish you let alone kick you out. I tell you this whole story as a way of saying..." I stop for a second. I can still feel the tears in my eyes and, therefore, the breaking in my throat. "I l-love you. And I know you c-can do this. And I can relate to you. If you ever have any concerns, talk to me."

Sparkler looks at me. She also has tears in her eyes. She smiles. "I love you so much Mom!" I nod. Sparkler jumps up happily. "I'm gonna be a mother!"

I smile. "I'm gonna be a grandmother!"


* * *



I walk back to my room and picked up my laptop. I considered calling Time Turner to tell him the news. It wasn't that I didn't want to, but I didn't want to distract him while he was working. Besides, I can't afford a cell phone so I use a landline and that doesn't have nearly good enough signal to make a decent sounding call to the TARDIS.

I open my computer which was given to me by the mail company for urgent alerts of immediate delivery packages. Ever since I finished working with Rainbow Dash, I had worked up my flying skill. I could even fly super fast! I was only about 100 mph slower than Rainbow. Which, believe it or not, that's a really big feat. So I was the main mailpony for immediate delivery packages.

When I opened it, I saw that I had missed messages. They weren't from the mail station. They were from Time Turner. I opened the first one.

TARDIS3854@Error...: Hi Derpy! I installed an email function on the TARDIS control panel! I just wanted to say I'm sorry and I want to talk to you. Please message me back when you're ready to talk.

I opened each other email. They were all pretty similar to that one. Just saying how much he missed me and how much he wanted to talk to me.

I opened the last one and formed a reply.

Mailmare33@pmail.com: Hi Time Turner. I have to talk to you. I was surprised at how fast he answered after I sent the message.

TARDIS3854@Error...: Derpy! I'm honestly a little surprised you answered.

Mailmare33@pmail.com: Don't worry about it. Listen, long story short, I might have possibly set up cameras in the TARDIS. I saw every interaction between you and Rose. Thank you so much for standing up for our relationship. I forgive you. But don't pull any of this shit again!

TARDIS3854@Error...: Oh my goddess! Thank you so much Derpy. We can talk about it when I get home. Only about three more weeks.

Mailmare33@pmail.com: We actually have a bigger issue at hand. I can't tell if it's a problem or a blessing.

TARDIS3854@Error...: ???

Mailmare33@pmail.com: Sparkler's pregnant.

TARDIS3854@Error...: WHAT! HOW! WHAT HAPPENED?

Mailmare33@pmail.com: Really Time Turner? You still don't know what happened? We have two children dummy! LOL!

TARDIS3854@Error...: That's not what I meant. Is this about the party?

Mailmare33@pmail.com: Yeah. Please don't be mad at her. We had a talk. I told her the whole story of how we got married. She knows I'm there for her.

TARDIS3854...: Hey Derpy, I have to go, there's a bunch of strange statues attacking the TARDIS. They remind me of the damn weeping angels. I'll talk to you again soon :) Thanks for forgiving me. I swear to Celestia, it won't happen again.

With that, the little green dot next to the email address turned to grey.

I couldn't help but think about how suddenly that conversation had ended as soon as I told him the news. I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about.

I walked out of my room to see Sparkler sweeping the floor. I walk over to her. "Sweetie, you don't have to do that."

"Well, I don't have work today anymore so I needed something to do."

"Fair enough." I put a hoof to my chin. "Actually, I have something I think you can do."

"Does it involve working?" I nod and smile. "Then I'm all for it! You know I love working!"

I run to my room and pick up a box. "I meant to give this to you on your birthday! I completely forgot that I had it under my bed!"

"What is it?"

I Ran over to the table and put the box down carefully. I opened it and carefully pulled out small pieces of glass and assorted different pieces of a frame. I also pulled many different decorative paints.

"I don't know how I could've possibly forgotten about this! I had this custom made for you." I begin pointing to different contents of the box. "First, you assemble the frame. Then you take the instructions and paint the different pieces of glass accordingly. Then, you assemble it and use a magic spell to fuse the entire thing together into one big stained glass piece!"

Sparkler's eyes widened and she ran to sit down in front of the task. "I love this idea! Carefully painting the pieces, putting it all together like a puzzle!" She ran up to me and embraced me. "Thank you Mom! I love it!"

I pat her on the head. "You're welcome, angel. Now go have fun." She ran back to the table and began sorting the workspace. I knew she would love it. She loves working. Sometimes I think it's the only thing she thinks about other than maybe her sister.

Her sister.

I had completely forgotten about Dinky. I had to find some way to tell her that she was going to be an aunt. The age gap between her and Sparkler was immense! Sparkler was 16. Dinky was 4. Obviously I couldn't tell her exactly why it had happened.

I had to think of some way to explain things to Dinky that wouldn't go into any detail. Which was probably gonna prove to be more difficult than you would think. Dinky was a smart foal. She would definitely ask questions.

I was definitely in trouble.


* * *



"So you see, that's how you're gonna be an aunt."

Dinky tilted her head. "So Sparkler wrote a letter to some magical birds telling them that she really wanted to be a mommy and they're gonna bring her a baby in about eight months?"

I chuckle a little. I know how stupid it sounds but I certainly wasn't gonna hide it from her. "Yeah. Yep. uh-huh! That's how it all went down!"

Dinky nodded her head. "Okay! Cool! I'm gonna go get Sparkler! I wanna play with my toys! It's never the same without her!"

I smile and exit Dinky's room with her. Dinky ran directly over towards the table. I saw Sparkler hold up a hoof to block Dinky from running directly into the table. "Woah there DInks! Watch out! This glass is sharp! It could seriously hurt you!"

Dinky completely ignored what she said and instead started jumping up and down. "Wanna come play with me Sparky?"

Sparkler smiled. "Sure." She put down the piece of glass she was painting and got up. She walked over to Dinky and they walked into her room.

I smiled and decided to go to my room for a little nap.


* * *



I awoke to the sound of crashing glass and a choked up scream of "MOM!"

I jumped out of my bed and ran into the kitchen. I saw Sparkler sitting there sobbing with Dinky lying unconscious in her hooves. I noticed three long, deep, jagged cuts along Dinky's left side. They were pouring blood.

"Sparkler! Can't you cast some sort of healing spell on your sister?"

"I'm not that advanced! I can stop the bleeding temporarily but we need a doctor!"

I nod and ran to the phone and dialed the number for the hospital. I see Sparkler light up her horn and put a purple aura along Dinky cuts.

As the phone was ringing, I was only thinking,

What the fuck happened here?
> Chapter 5: Not Okay
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The nurses scrambled as they hauled the stretcher out of the back of the ambulance.

They burst through the doors of the hospital and reached the front counter. "April! This filly needs medical attention immediately! Which room should we go to?"

The pony at the counter, who I guess was named April, shrugged her shoulders as a look of panic spread across her face. "I don't know! All of the current surgery rooms are filled."

"Is there anywhere we could at least stop the bleeding for now?" He gestured to Sparkler. "This young mare has been holding her sister's wounds for about twenty minutes!"

April nodded. "Take her to room 6B." The nurses began to rush towards the B wing. Sparkler ran after them, holding her spell in place. I tried to run after them but heard the mare at the counter yell after me. "Hey! Only trained personnel can follow them now!"

"But how come Sparkler went? I'm her mother!"

"That young mare is holding a very high level professional spell. Unless you want your daughter to bleed out on the floor, you want her there. At least for now. I'm sure they'll send her out when they get the filly under observation. I'm sorry."

I sit down on the floor with a huff. "No. I understand. I just don't understand how any of this could've happened."

April shrugged and looked back to her computer to continue doing work.Clearly not the most sympathetic pony, I thought.

I walked over to the chairs in the lobby. I sat there for what felt like an eternity. I tuned out every voice around me and sat in the silence of my own thoughts. How could this have happened? Did it have something to do with the stained glass? It almost had to.

I suddenly snap back to reality as I see Sparkler standing in front of me. "Hey mom."

"Why aren't you with Dinky?"

"They sent me here after they got her bandaged up. She's awaiting a place in one of the surgery rooms. They said they suspect that there are multiple pieces of glass scattered throughout the inside of her body. If a room doesn't open up soon, they might need to transfer her to Canterlot Hospital."

"I need to step outside." I walk over to the door and Sparkler follows for a few steps. I then see her leg give out and she falls to the ground. I turn around and run over to her. "Sparkler? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. J-Just tired." Her horn gave a couple of sparks. "It takes a lot out of me to hold a spell like that for too long."

I help her to her hooves and we walk out of the hospital. I walk over to the outside wall and lean against it. Sparkler follows but instead chooses to sit on the ground. I reach into my saddlebag and pull out a pack of cigarettes. I turn to Sparkler and ask, "Don't suppose you know any elemental magic?"

She rolls her eyes and chuckles. She closes her eyes. Her horn sparks for a second but then shoots a tiny beam of flame towards the cigarette in my hoof. "Thanks." She nods.

I take a small breath of the smoke and then turn to her. "What the fuck happened back there?"

She puts her head in her hooves as she begins crying. "It-It-It wasn't my fault!"

I put a hoof on her shoulder. "I never said it was, sweetheart. Just take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

Sparkler sniffed a little and does as I say. She takes a quick breath and begins her story.

"While we were playing in her room, she said she wanted to go and get a drink. I noticed she was taking a long time so I walked out into the kitchen to see her messing around with the glass stuff and standing on her chair. Probably to get a better look at the frame. She asked me what it was and I told her it was a project I was working on. I told her it was dangerous to be up there and told her to come down."

"She slowly started to make her way down. But she slipped and fell towards the table. I tried to cast a levitation spell to save her but it was too late. Her side landed directly on the glass on the table. There was a moment of silence as I tried to process what had just happened. Dinky then bounced off the table and fell onto the ground, pushing the pieces of glass further into her body." Sparkler sighed and took another shaky breath.

"She began sobbing and almost immediately blacked out. That's when I called your name and ran over to get her. That's about it."

I take another breath of the smoke and stand in silence. "Listen Sparkler, I want you to understand right now that this wasn't your fault."

"But it was! If I could've only acted a little faster, we wouldn't be here. I would've saved her."

I smile at her warmly. "But you may have already saved her life Sparkler! She could've bled out if it weren't for your advanced magic skills"

Sparkler sighed. "Thanks for trying to help, Mom. But it doesn't change what happened. If only I could've-"

"Listen Sparkler. If you spend the rest of your life blaming yourself for this incident, you'll tear yourself apart. It. Wasn't. Your. Fault."

Sparkler stared at me for a minute and then slowly nodded. "I just can't help but think, if I couldn't even take care of my little sister, how in Equestria am I ever gonna take care of my own foal?"

I sigh. "Let's not think about it for a little bit okay? You're going to be able to do it. You're going to be a great mother." I hiss as the cigarette burns itself all the way down to my hoof. "Well, that's the universe telling me to go inside. You coming?"

Sparkler sniffs, smiles, and nods. "Yeah. That would be great."

When we get inside, Sparkler walks over to the chairs and sits down. I, instead walk over to the counter and tap on the desk. "Hey April. Any updates on my daughter?"

She looks at her computer and smiles. "It actually looks like she's undergoing surgery right now!"

I clap a hoof to my mouth and gasp a little. She's gonna be okay! I turn back around to Sparkler and run over to the chairs. "Your sister's in surgery! She's gonna be okay!"

Sparkler gasps and smiles. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves yet. They still need to finish the surgery successfully."

Suddenly, the doors to the hospital burst open and a stallion with an orange coat and a red mane runs in. He looks around for a second and then rushes over to us. Or rather, to Sparkler. "Sparky! Is everything okay?" I watch in horror as he walks up to her and connects his lips to hers.

It's a quick kiss but for me, it feels like an eternity. Sparkler turns and stares at me for a second. "Um.. Mom, this is my coltfriend. Sunrise."

I stare at her. Then at him. I go back and forth a couple times.

" What The FUCK?"


* * *



"So, this is the genius who decided it would be a good idea to fuck with my daughter?"

"Mom, don't be mean."

I throw my hoof into the air but then decide to calm my temper. "Sorry. It's..." I choke on the next word. "Nice to meet you Sunrise."

He smiles. He offers his hoof for me to shake. "It's nice to meet you too Miss Hooves."

I cross my hooves. "Mhmm. So, why are you here?"

"Oh! My horn is linked with Sparkler's now! She sent me some sort of telepathic message telling me to meet her at the hospital." He turns away from me and looks at Sparkler's worried expression. "So what's going on?"

"Nothing that concerns you Sunrise! Celestia, what kind of name is 'Sunrise' anyway?"

"Mom! I said not to be mean!"

Sunrise chuckles. "No no darling. It's okay. My parents had a thing for naming their children after times of the day I guess. You might know my sister Sunset?"

"Sunset Shimmer?"

He smiles. "That's the one!"

"Well there's definitely a likeness there. Anyways, we're fine. Goodbye." I start using my wing to push him towards the door. He instead disappears in a flash of purple light as Sparkler glares at me. He reappears next to her.

"Dinky is in surgery. She had an accident with glass."

"Oh no! Will she be okay?"

Sparkler shakes her head. "We don't know. But I feel a lot better with you here." I feel a fire in my stomach as she nuzzles up  to his neck. He encases her in a hug and strokes his hoof through her mane.

He smiles. "And I'm here for you."

Before I get a chance to murder him, we all see a doctor, who I recognize as Nurse Redheart approaching us. I run over to her. "What's the verdict?" I gasp at Nurse Redheart's silence. "Don't tell me..."

Nurse Redheart shakes her head. "Your foal is alive. We don't know how much longer though. We were able to remove the vast majority of the pieces from her body and bloodstream. But there's a bigger problem. A big piece of glass lodged itself in her heart. Somehow, the heart is still beating but if we can't remove it, there's a chance she won't even survive the night."

I gasp. "So then remove it!"

She sighs. "I wish it were that easy. I don't know what's balanced that's allowing her to stay alive but if we attempt to remove that piece of glass, it may permanently damage the heart. Unless we can figure out perfectly what path the piece of glass took to enter her heart, we can't remove it safely."

Sparkler spoke up. "What does the perfect path have anything to do with it?"

Nurse Redheart sighed again. "If the glass entered the heart at a path that didn't damage anything, our hope is that removing it along the exact same path would be able to take it out without damaging anything. But not only would we have to remove it on a perfect,  indeterminable path, we would also have to have someone on standby who's able to perfectly patch a hole like that until our healers can fix it."

I jump. "Sparkler can do that patch spell if you need the help!"

"That's nice, but there's also the matter of the path. Given how jostled the body was getting in and out of the ambulance, it is impossible for us to determine the way that the glass got in there. I suggest that when she wakes up, you start saying your goodbyes."

I felt my legs give out as I fell to the ground sobbing. Suddenly, I hear, "I can do it."

I look up to see Sparkler walking over to Nurse Redheart. "Let me do it.I can get the glass out perfectly."

Nurse Redheart shakes her head. "You don't understand. This thing is lodged in there good. There won't be any getting it out without problems."

Sparkler stamps a hoof. "Let me do it! I feel somehow responsible for this mess. I know I can fix it."

Nurse Redheart hesitates and then slowly nods. "Fine! But if you mess up, you're risking your sister's life. If not giving it up entirely."

I jump to my hooves. "Sparkler! Please no!"

"Mom! Remember what you sad about believing in me?This is where you'll need to place undeniable trust in me."

I look to her and then to Sunrise who nods at me. I slowly nod at her.

Nurse Redheart throws her hooves up. "Okay! If you would, follow me please. April, please prepare a certificate of death inc case this whole thing goes south."

April nods and throws Nurse Redheart a pad of paper.

As we approach the door, Nurse Redheart looks at Sparkler. "Good luck kid. You'll need it."


* * *



I can barely stand to look at my poor foal laying on the table with her stomach cut open. I still watch to see what Sparkler does. "Alright Nurse. I've located the piece of glass." She gestures to Sunrise. "I taught you my patch spell right?" He nods. "The second this glass exits her heart, I need you to cast it over the hole." He nods again.

"Healers on standby?" She looks over to the healers who nod back at her. "Let's do this."

She lights up her horn and begins to cast a spell I've never seen before. She points her horn at the piece of glass and suddenly, the room goes darker until the lighting is a dark grey. The only thing we can see is the piece of glass glowing a strange orange.

Sparkler then  points her horn towards the sky and I watch in awe as the piece of glass begins to remove itself from Dinky's heart. I don't see any noticeable damage as it exits her body and drops into Sparklers hoof. I hear her scream "Sunrise now!"

Sunrise casts an orange glow onto the hole in DInky's heart. "Healers!"

The healers immediately  bend over the filly and begin casting spell after spell into her heart. All while the heart monitor...


...somehow continues beeping. 


* * *



As Dinky lays in her hospital bed, me and Sparkler sit next to her in chairs on the side. Sunrise had gone home about an hour ago after Sparkler convinced him to. "How did you do it?"

Sparkler looks at me. "I just remembered a spell that could help the glass go back the exact way it came."

"Very specific. Thanks."

I lean over and embrace her in a hug. "How can I ever repay you? You saved my daughter!"

"Mom! You don't have to repay me. I didn't just save your daughter mom. I saved my sister! That's payment enough!"

"This is exactly why you'll be a great mom!"

Suddenly, we hear a stirring from DInky's bed. "Mommy? Sparky? Where am I? What's going on?"

I run forward and carefully embrace her in a hug, coating her coat in tears.

"I thought I lost you!"

"Mommy?"

"Dinky!"

"What's going on?"


"I love you Dinky!"
> Chapter 6: Recall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We'll need to take care of your daughter here for a few months. It looks like she's gone into a coma-like state. She probably won't wake up for a while. A few days at least. I recommend you both go home and get some rest. You've had a long night."

I walk forward and hug Nurse Redheart. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me! Thank your daughter." She turned to Sparkler. "You were brilliant back there! Ever consider a career in a medical profession?"

Sparkler shook her head. "No. It was just a case of knowing the right spell for the right time. I'm actually a fashion designer!"

Nurse Redheart smiled. "Interesting! You work with Rarity I assume?" Sparkler nodded happily. "Well, I hope that works out. If you ever need a job though, talk to me. I hope you realize that you just saved your sister's life! You're a miracle worker."

With that, Nurse Redheart walked away. I turn to Sparkler. "So, what do you say? You ready to head home?" Sparkler nodded slowly.

Neither of us said much of anything on the way home. I think something was weighing on Sparkler's mind. When we reach the house, we go inside and I grab a broom and begin sweeping the broken glass up off the floor. Sparkler sits on the couch and watches me.

"So what was that spell, Sparkler?"

"It's a spell Dad told me about from another plane. Some sort of time power. He said the spell is called 'Recall' He learned it from a queen on the plane of 'high-rule' I think he called it."

"So what exactly did it do?"

"It's really interesting actually!" She jumped up and began to walk towards me as I swept the broken glass into the dustpan. She aimed her horn directly at the dustpan and cast the same spell. The room grew a dark grey and the glass in the pan and on the floor began to glow orange.

The pieces in the pan jumped out of the pan back onto the floor. "Hey! Why would you do that Sparkler?" She held up her hoof as the spell she had cast continued. The glass regathered itself into a pile looking exactly like it had before I swept it into the pan. It then scattered itself across the floor to where it was before I had ever touched it. The glass then began to clatter around the floor and it gathered itself into little groups.

What happened next was what had surprised me the most. The glass began to rearrange itself and in front of my very eyes, it fused itself back together flawlessly and floated up to the table to return to the separated piles that Sparkler had set out on the table.

The dark grey around us faded as the orange glow dissipated. I stared in awe as Sparkler began breathing heavily. I run over  to the table and pick up one of the pieces of glass. It was perfectly intact with no signs of ever having been shattered. And even the tiniest pieces were off of the floor.

I turn to Sparkler who's still breathing heavily. "You okay?"

She takes another deep breath and lets it out. "Yeah. Spells like that at that capacity take it out of me. I just need a second."

"That's crazy! You can reverse time!"

"It's not really reversing time. The trick is to think of it like reaching into the object's memory. You ask the object where it was, how it arrived where it is now, and then you coax it back to that original moment in time"

"Wow! That's spectacular!"

"It's not as hard as it sounds."

I nod. "So, what's on your mind?"

She huffs. "Everything. I have an incoming foal, I'm gonna have a new job, and now I have a little sister who's gonna be in the hospital for months!"

I sigh. "I know it's a lot right now. But I trust that you can figure it all out. Are you gonna be moving to Manehattan any time soon?"

"Not yet. I asked Rarity to keep that spot open for me and she agreed."

"So she knows the situation?"

"Yeah and she understands that I'm gonna have to get used to a new life first and then take a new job."

"And about this Sunrise character..."

"Mom! I don't care if you don't like him! It's my choice!"

I hold up a hoof to silence her. "No. I was going to say, he seems like a nice stallion and I'm happy he will be the father of your foal." I smile at her and feel a sense of happiness as I see her smile back at me. "I'm happy for you Sparkler."

Sparkler said nothing but instead walked forward and hugged me.

"You know, I've been to Hyrule with your father before."

"Wait, Really?"

"Oh it was a long time ago. Before the kingdom was even established. It was a beautiful kingdom with three beautiful goddesses."

Sparkler's eyes widened. If there was one thing she loved more than work, it was history. Especially ancient history. "Really! You met goddesses?"

"Mhmm. Dinraal, Naydra, and Farore."

"Wow! Did you meet Queen Sonia? The one who told dad the spell?"

I smiled. "Actually, yes. But she wasn't a queen yet. She was just a little Hylian girl."

"I need to visit this plane!!!"

"Maybe ask your father next time he's going."

Sparkler nodded and looked back at the stained glass piece. "I got the other pieces from the hospital. I suppose I can still finish that glass."

"That's something for tomorrow, sweetheart. You should head to bed. Rarity will have a cow if you miss another day of work this week."

Sparkler nodded. She began to walk towards the hallway but then turned back around. "Thanks Mom. For everything. You've been so supportive of me the last few days. You've really helped me."

"Of course my little angel."

Sparkler walked towards the hallway and I flopped down on the couch. After a short while, I went to my bedroom. When I entered, I went underneath my bed. I collected a book and found an old dusty album and a small ring box. I began to look through the album.

It was an album with pictures of everywhere me and Time Turner had gone before we had Sparkler. I flipped through page after page. I never realized how many different planes and universes and worlds we had gone to. I laughed as I looked at a picture of a man wearing a familiar striped suit.

Well, man was stretching it. I remembered he was a hilarious demon with short hair. What was his name again? It clicked into my head. "Right. Beetlejuice." I could've sworn I almost heard a small demonic laugh come from somewhere. I laughed a little and continued flipping through the book.

So many different realms. A haunted pizza place with haunted animatronics, a blocky realm full of zombies and weird walking sticks of TNT. But the weirdest of all, was a strange planet filled with humans called "Earth."

I laughed as I remembered the old times. Me and Time Turner would always have so much fun in each place with whoever we met. Somehow, the idea of talking ponies was something they had never conceived. Time Turner even told me he used to be a human himself. That he's like the sixteenth incarnation of himself.

I stopped flipping pages of the album when I came to the one that I was looking for. A picture of a lush green field with wildlife everywhere. Me and TIme Turner stood in this picture next to a small girl with tan skin and pointy ears. A Hylian
I remembered.

I opened the other box and looked inside. There were five pearls there. Each one was blue with a swirling mist inside it. I picked up three of them and walked over to Sparkler's room. I knew she was probably sitting up reading. She always did when she was stressed. I knocked a hoof on the door. Sure enough, without any silent space, she answered, "Come in!"

"Hey Sparky! I'm heading out for a little bit."

"At this time of night? Why?" She jumped up. "Did the doctor call? Is Dinky awake?"

"Unfortunately no. I'm just going somewhere."

"Mhmm. Explanation."

"Fine. I'm going to a different plane."

Sparkler tilted her head. "Why? And how? The TARDIS isn't here! It's with dad!"

"I know. I have my ways!"

"Fine. Whatever you want. Just don't stay gone too long. Dinky could wake up."

I nodded and walked out of her room. I walked back into my room and began preparing a saddlebag. I put two pearls into a safe pocket on the side. They were very fragile and I didn't want them getting broken. At least, not yet. I also packed some apples and a blueberry muffin. I flipped the bag closed and held the other pearl I had taken from the box in my hoof.

I silenced all thoughts in my brain as I put the pearl down on the floor. I began to envision the bright green fields of Hyrule. Just as I remembered them from my trip there. I stepped on the pearl, quietly crunching it under my hoof. I was suddenly encased in a whirlwind that was emitted from the pearl.

My mind goes blank for a second as I get a little dizzy.

When they spinning of the whirlwind stopped, I couldn't believe what I saw in front of me.

A castle. It was giant! Had to be at least 30 stories tall! I also noticed that I wasn't in the middle of a field where I thought I would be. I was in the middle of a town. There were horses pulling carts full of goods. Compared to these horses, it was immediately clear that I was out of place.

I looked towards the castle. Sparkler had said something about "Queen Sonia."

I began to walk towards the castle. I saw nothing out of the ordinary as I went. That was, until I reached the castle gates.

The guards held out their spears. "Halt! Name and allegiance!"

"Derpy. And what?"

"What do you mean what?"

"Allegiance? I'm just here to talk to Queen Sonia."

"You seem rather cartoonish to be from around here."

"It's a long story. Just let me through."

He turned to his partner. "You. Go with the talking horse. Take her straight to Queen Sonia and don't let her out of your sight."

The guard nodded and began to walk towards the castle. I cautiously walked past the guard who was still on guard and ran to catch up with him.

"What's with all of the security?"

"We can't trust anybody. Too many people are secretly aligning themselves with Ganondorf."

"Ganondorf?"

"You really aren't from around here are you?"

I shook my head as we walked up to what I assumed was the throne room door. The guard knocked on the door. "Queen Sonia, there's some kind of talking horse here to see you. Don't ask."

I hear the most amazing, beautiful voice on the other side saying. "Send it in please?"

The guard opened the door and the queen turned around to face me. I couldn't believe that this was the same girl I saw as a kid. She wore a beautiful flowing dress and she was so tall. She had strange markings all over her skin and she wore a bright shining stone around her neck. Her face lit up as bright as it could. "Oh my Goddess! It's you!"

The queen let out a squeal of excitement and ran over to embrace me in a hug. "I haven't seen you in like eighteen years!" Where have you been?"

"Equestria."

"Ah yes, the fabled land you wouldn't take me to when I was a kid." The queen chuckled a little. "Please come in." She gestured to the guard to leave.

"So, who's Ganondorf?"

The queen jumped a little at the sound of the name. "How do you know about him?"

"I only know his name."

"Long story. He supposedly pledged his allegiance to the kingdom of Hyrule but I can tell he has ulterior motives."

I nod. "Politics. Never my strong suit. Seems you've done pretty well for yourself."

Sonia smiled and sat down on a stool. "When I was about twenty years old, I met my husband Rauru. We proceeded to found a kingdom! I must say, it's a good thing you didn't take me away from here like I asked when I was younger."

I smiled. "So what's with the stone?"

Sonia shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you. The powers held in this stone are not supposed to be shared with anyone. You know, when your husband was here a few weeks ago, he told me that you were done with traveling."

I shake my head. "I had to come and see you. In fact, I have a request to make of you."

Sonia smiled. "Whatever it is, I can guarantee-"

Sonia was cut off by the entrance of a girl. She was younger for certain but she almost looked related to her. She burst into the room holding a strange pad in her hand. "Queen Sonia!!! Mineru and I have figured out exactly how to get the travel function working on the Purah Pad! I can't believe-"

The girl stopped as she laid eyes on me. "What's that?"

"Zelda, I would like you to meet Derpy Hooves. She is a very old friend of mine."

The girl who I assumed was named Zelda took my hoof in her hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry to interrupt."

Sonia smiled warmly towards Zelda. "It's okay princess. Now, continue Derpy."

"I need you to come visit Equestria with me!"

"Wow! That's quite the request. Any particular reason?"

"Well..."

I took a deep breath and began my story. "It's a long story. My daughter-"

"You have a daughter!" Sonia exclaimed interrupting me.

"Two actually." Sonia put her hand to her mouth in an apologetic way for interrupting me. "Anyways, she accidentally got pregnant and has had a lot on her mind lately. Then, she left a bunch of glass she was staining on the table and her sister ended up getting hurt by it. The younger sister is in the hospital now. Sparkler saved her sister by using your recall spell on a piece of glass that was stuck in her sister's heart. She told me that Time Turner had told her about it like you had told him. She said how much she would love to meet you and I think it could be a great way to show my appreciation for her saving my daughter."

"Seems reasonable. I think I can get away for a couple days."

"Queen Sonia?" Zelda raised her hand. "What about Ganondorf?"

"I think you, Mineru, and Rauru can manage for a few days."

Zelda smiled and nodded.

Queen Sonia turned to me. "Let's do this! How are we getting there?"
> Chapter 7: Presents and Evil Plots
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright Sonia, here's a picture of my house in Equestria. All you have to do is completely clear your mind and picture this image in your head. Then step on the pearl and break it."

Sonia nodded. "Where might I ask did you get these? These are definitely not from this realm."

"It's a really long story," I said remembering my journey getting these from places like Medusa's garden and a strange casino.
"Ready?"

Sonia nods. She turns to Zelda. "I'll only be gone for a little while. When I come back, we can enact your little plan? See how it turns out." Zelda nodded and Sonia stepped forwards onto her pearl. I waved goodbye to Zelda and did the same. 


* * *



"Oh my goddess! I apologize for my non-regal behavior, but I can't believe that after all this time, I've finally stepped foot in Equestria!"

Sonia looked around like a foal in a candy store. I knew it must be good when she gasped at the "Beauty" of my house. Her words not mine. I gestured for her to enter and put a hoof up to tell her to keep silent.

As we walked inside, I was glad to see Sparkler wasn't in the living room. "Alright Sonia. It's late. I'm sure Sparkler is still awake after the night we just had so I'm gonna go get her. Here's the plan." I whispered a good surprise setup in her ear and she quietly clapped her hands.

With that, I walked my way over to the hallway containing the bedrooms in the house. I knocked on Sparkler's door. "Come in!"

I walk inside and, to no surprise, Sparkler is sitting there with a spell book in her hand. Honestly, I'm surprised that unicorn didn't have a magic cutie mark of some sort. She smiled as she saw me. "Back already?"

"I told you it wasn't gonna be a long trip! Come out here! There's something I want to show you!"

Sparkler sighed and got up out of her bed. She walked over to me and we went into the living room. She sighed again. "What did you want to show me so badly that I had to get out of bed?"

I smiled. "This!" I went over to the cabinet full of china and set a bunch of plates and bowls on the counter top. "Watch your hooves, Sweetheart."

Sparkler tilted her head. "Mom? What are you-" Her sentence was cut off by the sound of crashing china on the floor. The pieces scattered everywhere. "Mom! What the hell! What are you doing? That was Aunt Millie's!"

I hold up a hoof to silence her and suddenly, the lighting of the room drops to a dark grey as the pieces began to glow orange. Sparkler watched in awe as the pieces began to put themselves back together. She stared at me. "How are you doing that?"

"Not me," I say in a singsong tone. Sparkler begins to look around the room for another pony who could possibly be doing it. Her eyes widen as Queen Sonia steps out through the doorway and walks into the kitchen. There's a slight orange glow coming from her hand.

The pieces finish rearranging themselves as the china sets itself back on the counter. Sonia stops the spell and smiles at Sparkler. "You must be Sparkler, yes?" I noticed her more regal speech patterns returning as she approached Sparkler.

"Y-Yeah?" I could tell Sparkler was trying to figure out who the strange creature in her kitchen was. And how she knew her name. "W-Who are you? How do you know that spell?"

Queen Sonia knelt down beside Sparkler and placed a gentle hand on her head. Sparkler flinched but then settled as she realized Sonia had no intention of harming her. "Allow me to explain. My name is Queen Sonia. Your mother visited my world and asked me to come meet you. She said you've been under a lot of stress lately and you mentioned really wanting to talk to me or meet me." Sonia smiled as Sparkler's eyes widened.

Sparkler looked from Sonia, to me, and back to Sonia. "Y-You're?" Sonia nodded. Sparkler squealed as she jumped up and down. "I can't believe this!" She reached a hoof out and touched Sonia's face. "You're really real! You're here! In person! Oh my goddess! Your spell saved my sister's life! I can't thank you enough!"

Sonia smiled. "Thank you Sparkler. I must admit, after your mother told me the story of your sister's surgery, I kind of wanted to meet you myself. Your father could only have taught you that spell about a week and a half ago! To master it like that in such a time frame is spectacular! Even now, I've been working with my pupil, Zelda for about three months now. She's only just finished mastering it!"

"Wow! That's fantastic! I want to know everything! What's the source of magic in Hyrule? Are there other kinds of creatures in your realm? What's that stone around your neck? I want to know everything!"

Sonia held up a hand and sat down at the kitchen table with Sparkler quickly joining her. "One question at a time. To answer the first, the first traces of magic were brought to us from the goddesses. Dinraal, Naydra, and Farore. They blessed the land and created all that inhabit it. They were the ones that created our magic. Although, not everyone can harness it."

"I see. What separates people who can use it and people who can't? What's different?"

"Everyone is born with something inside them. A little magic spark. Some people who are chosen by the goddess are able to ignite that spark and they are given special powers."

Sparkler squeed happily. "Interesting! I love history!"

"To answer your second question, There are many kinds of creatures in our realm but the human-like ones are split into six tribes. There are Hylians, the ones who live in Castle Town. I myself am a Hylian. There are the Rito, who are mixes between bird and human. They live to the northwest in the town of Rito Village."

"Bird-people? Dad never mentioned anything about them!"

"We never really saw any of the other tribes while he was here. Continuing, there are the Gorons who are like living rocks who live northeast on the peaks of Death Mountain. There are the Zora, who are like fish-people living to the east and live in the Zora's Domain. There are the Gerudo who live in the southwest corner of Hyrule in Gerudo town. Finally, there's the Zonai. My own husband and his friend Mineru are Zonai. They've created incredible technological advances in our time!"

Sparkler could say nothing as she was being introduced to this new world. She just stood there wide eyed and mouth opened.

"Finally, Derpy, if you'd like to learn about this stone, I suppose I could tell you both." I nod and come sit down with them. "This is called a Zonai secret stone. Those of us who have goddess given powers use these to enhance our powers. We will soon use them to fight Ganondorf I fear."

"Ganondorf?"

"An evil being. He comes from the tribe of the Gerudo. There is only one male born there every 100 years! That man is to be crowned king. He has rallied the Gerudo up against us. I'm staying here tonight but tomorrow night, me and Zelda will bait Ganondorf in an attempt to reveal his true intentions."

"Interesting."

"Anyways, we can talk more tomorrow. It is late. One must always get their rest."

Sparkler nodded and hugged Sonia. She walked over and hugged me as well. "Thank you Mom" She whispered into my ear. She ran off to her bed yelling, "Goodnight!"

As the door closed, Sonia chuckled. "She's so cute! Anyways, do you happen to have any spare pillows I can use on this couch?"

"Ridiculous. You're sleeping in my bed tonight. I'm taking the couch."

"No Derpy, I certainly couldn't take you bed away from you," Sonia protested.

I shake my head and point towards my room. "I'll be fine." I smile as Sonia begins to walk towards my room.

She smiles back at me and says, "Thank you for bringing me here tonight Derpy." I nod and she closes the door.

I walk over to the couch and lay my head down on the arm. I've never actually slept on the couch except for that one night when I was too sad to care. I had never noticed how uncomfortable the arm of our couch was. I tossed and turned for about five minutes until I flipped over and realized that someone was watching me.

Sonia held out a pillow to me. "Figured you may want this." I smiled and took the pillow.

"Thank you Sonia. I'm so glad you're here."

She smiled. "Me too, little one."

I sat up. "I'm older than you!"

"Yes but you are littler." She patted me on the head and gave a small chuckle as I scowled. "I'm just messing with you Derpy." She hugged me and went back to her room.

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.


* * *



The next day went by quickly. Sparkler spent as much time talking to Sonia as she could. She never stopped honestly. She seemed really interested in the history of Zonai technology. "Well, maybe I could bring you some devices to research yourself sometime." Sonia had told her.

When it finally came time for Sonia to leave, I practically had to pry her out of Sparkler's hooves.

I handed Sonia a pearl and she said, "Please Derpy. I want you to come back. You can get an answer to that question you had about Ganondorf."

"Which one?"

"What he's trying to do to our society. Besides, if things go south with me and Zelda, we could use your help."

I hesitate for a second and nod. I turned around, not surprised that Sparkler was standing right there. "Hey Sparkler, I'm gonna be gone for a little bit. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"It shouldn't be too long. We hope to stop Ganondorf tonight. But if not, she should be back tomorrow." Sonia said smiling.

I nod. "Okay. I'll be right back in just a second." I ran into my room and grabbed the pearl box. There was only one left. I slipped my way under my bed and picked up the last box. Another box with another five pearls in it. I picked up an extra one so I could get home. I walked back out into the hallway.

"Alright! I'm ready. Let's go." Sonia nodded and we both stepped on our pearls. The whirlwind emerged from the inside and began spinning as we were suddenly taken off to the land of Hyrule.


* * *


As we landed, Zelda was sitting in Queen Sonia's room poking a screwdriver into a strange device she was holding in her hand. As she saw us land, she ran over to Sonia. "Queen Sonia! I've finished the beam emitter! This will shoot ancient beams just like the ones the sheikah are going to make in a few thousand years!"

I walk over to Zelda. "How do you know what will be made in the future?"

"Zelda is from the future my friend," Sonia interjected. "She is actually from thousands and thousands of years in the future.  She wound up here because of an accident in her own time. We are working to find a way to get her back to her own time."

Zelda jumped. "There is that one way you were talking about..."

"No Zelda! I told you! It's forbidden!"

Zelda sighed. "I'll do anything at this point to get back to my own time."

I walk over to Sonia. "So what's this plan you have?"

"This past week, I've been seeing something. A copy. A puppet almost. Of Zelda."

"How do you know?"

"She says things that are very much out of character. She says things that Zelda here has confirmed she's never said. She's asked me to meet her alone on the balcony tonight. We are going to bait her into a trap. While she thinks she's doing the same to us."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Fly overhead. Keep watch. Make sure nothing happens."

I nod and walk over to Zelda. "What's this?"

She smiles. "This is that beam emitter! Take a look." She walked over to the window and carefully aimed the device towards some preset targets she had set up. She clicked a button on the side. The device emitted a strong beam and destroyed the target.

Zelda chuckled as she heard a yell of, "Mineru! For the last time! No shooting things around the castle grounds!" from downstairs followed by cries of outrage from another room claiming innocence."

"Sorry King Rauru!" Zelda yelled.

I laughed with her as the device whirred to a power down. Sonia spoke up from behind us. "She's helped us develop a lot of technology from the future. Honestly, I wonder if the Sheikahs will ever have improved our technology if Zelda hadn't created it."

"But she's from the future! She only knows about it because the Sheikah invented it. Without that, she wouldn't be creating it!" My head began to hurt as the paradoxes set in. "Let's talk about something else."

Sonia nodded. "Is everything in place for tonight?"

Zelda nodded. "We're ready."

"I'm scheduled to meet her right after dinner. Make sure to be excused from dinner a little early. I'm sure she will sneak into the castle somehow to meet with me. That's when we'll spring our trap." Zelda nodded just as we heard Rauru call Sonia and Zelda for dinner.

Zelda looked strong. But for a quick second, I saw something. A shred of panic or something.

Something like that.


* * *


Rauru's face showed confusion. "Is this that other pony you were telling me about when Time Turner came to visit us Sonia? His wife?" Sonia nodded and smiled. "We have enough food for her as well correct?"

Rauru smiled. "Always." He gestured to his staff to bring me a chair. When they had, I sat down at the table as the chefs came out with the food.

The dinner was spectacular. Definitely some of the best food I've ever had. About five minutes into desert, Zelda asked, "May I please be excused? I'd like to finish working on the Zonai cart with Mineru." Rauru nodded and Zelda exited the dining hall.

After the dinner was over, Sonia looked outside to see the moon was already rising. Sonia silently stood up and gestured for me to follow her. She walked over and kissed her husband goodnight. "I'm sorry Rauru. I'm jsut feeling a little tired after traveling through dimensions." She laughed and walked me towards the door.

"It was nice to meet you Derpy!" I heard Rauru call from behind me.

I turn back and say, "You too." I smile and walk with Sonia. 

As we are approaching her room, she points out a window in the hallway. "Alright Derpy. Fly out this window and all the way around this room. There's a balcony on the other side. You can't miss it. Hover there and make sure nothing goes wrong."

I nod and jump out the window, letting my wings catch me on the way down. I flapped my way around the tower-like room and towards the balcony. I see Zelda hiding behind a pillar and soon, I watch Sonia walk out onto the balcony.

After about five minutes, I couldn't believe my eyes. A perfect copy of Zelda walked out onto the balcony. I flew a little higher into the sky and pulled myself close to the wall so she couldn't see or hear me. I watch as the scene plays out before me. 

"All right, Zelda. We are alone as you requested. What was it you wanted to discuss with me in private?"

I see Zelda chuckle and pull something out of her back pocket. I can't see exactly what it is but I see that it is silver and gold. She stops her slight chuckle and says, "You are far too trusting." She hurls the object at Sonia which is when I see that it is a curved knife of some sort.

Just as I'm about to yell out for Sonia, I see a familiar shade of grey encase the area. The knife begins to glow orange and stops in its place. Sonia turned around with a smile on her face to face "Zelda"

"Oh my. I'm surprised to hear you say such a thing." The fake Zelda stands up out of the stance she used to throw the knife and straightens herself up. "That is quite out of character for the Zelda I know. But then you..." She pauses for a second. "Are a puppet of Ganondorf."

Zelda walks out from behind the pillar with one glowing hand pointing at the knife. I noticed that her secret stone was glowing. Amplifying her powers, I thought. "Did you really think we hadn't realized your deceit?" Zelda closed her hand, sending the knife flying back towards the fake Zelda. She stopped it just as it reached her face and stopped the spell to drop it in front of her.

The fake Zelda did nothing but laugh as she disappeared into a cloud of red and black smoke. Zelda stepped in front of Sonia to protect her from whatever the creature was preparing. But instead, the creature just disappeared into the night sky.

I flew down to them. "You guys did it!"

Zelda nodded and walked over to where the puppet had been. I looked over to her.

We suddenly heard an outcry from behind us and a loud snap. Zelda and I turned back to see Sonia fall to the ground as a large man stood behind her. As she fell, the man grabbed her secret stone and ripped it off of her neck. "Your majesty!" Zelda screamed as she ran over to the queen lying on the ground.

I run down to her and kneel by her side. "Sonia? Can you hear me? Are you all right?"

Zelda begins shaking her. "Oh no! Queen Sonia! Queen Sonia."


The man standing behind Sonia's dead body clutched her secret stone and began laughing.
> Chapter 8: Trapped!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I stood motionless as Ganondorf stood there laughing.

Zelda continued to shake Queen Sonia's body in a desperate attempt to wake her up. Ganondorf turned around and stopped laughing. "Finally," He said. "Finally it is mine." He walked over to the end of the balcony and raised the shining yellow stone to the sky. The stone then stopped shining. The yellow color began to fade to a dark black.

The stone grew in his hand and began floating into the sky. It then began to glow a dark red and it fastened itself into a crown. It attached itself to his head. The same black and red smoke that came from the Zelda copy began rising up from the ground.

"Haaah... I can feel my strength surging." He said. Zelda picked up the top half of Sonia's body off of the ground and began hugging it tightly as Ganondorf began growing to twice his original size. Smoke began swirling around him and he disappeared into a tornado of black smoke.

He raised his fist as the moon turned a deep, blood red. He turned around to face Zelda and I. He laughed again and shot a beam of dark magic into the sky as Zelda hugged Sonia's body closer to hers.

I couldn't believe it. Meteors of smoke began raining down from the moon. From the height of the balcony, I could look down upon Castle Town. Monsters began to emerge from the smoke and began attacking the civilians.

I attempted to take flight. I was going to go down there and help them. Ganondorf, however shot a beam of magic towards me, knocking me to the ground.

When the meteors had stopped, Ganondorf stood still in front of us. His clothes had changed from the Gerudo clothing he had worn to a regal black and red robe. His hair was glowing a bright red and flowing in the wind.

It was at this moment, that Rauru walked out onto the balcony. Upon seeing Sonia laying in Zelda's arms, he rushed forwards. "Sonia!" He yelled.

Ganondorf smiled from where he was standing. "You are too late, Rauru. You took for granted the godlike power you held in your hands." As Rauru laid Sonia's body down on the ground, Ganondorf continued. "Do you now see the potential you squandered?" He pointed at Sonia. "As for her, she's merely the first victim of your arrogance. You tried to control me Rauru. And you will die knowing that you failed."

Rauru rushed forward yelling, "Ganondorf!"

Zelda called out to him from behind him. "King Rauru!" He turned back to face her pleading face. "Queen Sonia needs you!"

Ganondorf raised his hand as a small ball of red and black smoke began to charge in his hand. He shot a beam of magic at Rauru in an attempt to kill him and Zelda. Rauru held his ground and raised a magic shield made of the light he controlled. 

As Rauru's shield began to falter, Zelda pulled the Purah Pad out of her back pocket. She whispered, "Mineru, I hope this worked." She taps on the pad and she, Rauru, and Sonia began to glow a bright blue. I realized too late that they are attempting an escape. I leapt up and ran towards them.

Zelda reached out her hand, trying to grab hold of my hoof, but I reach them too late as they disappear into the blue light.I collapse to the ground.

Ganondorf turns to face me. "Small thing! Where have they gone."

I begin to shake as he starts to walk towards me. I start backing up. "I-I don't know."

"LIAR!" He shouts.

I pull out the pearl I had in my saddlebag. I quickly throw it on the ground and step on it. Before the whirlwind can emerge from the pearl to take me back to Equestria, Ganondorf shoots me with dark magic, knocking me back against the wall. I watch as the whirlwind escapes the pearl and disappears as it doesn't have something to transport.

"NO!" I scream. But I had bigger problems. Ganondorf sent another beam of magic my way. I quickly took flight and began darting around the room so he couldn't hit me.

"Enough of this!" He shouted. "You're not worth it. I must begin preparing." He smiled and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. 

I run over to the shattered remains of the pearl. I begin crying as I realize I now have no way back home.

I was trapped.


* * *



I wander around the castle grounds searching for Zelda and Rauru.  Eventually. I wander into a room filled to the brim with advanced machinery and tools and papers all over the floor. An alarm begins blaring as I walk in and a device lowers from the ceiling that I recognize as the beam emitter. I quickly duck as it shoots a beam directly at me.

Another Zonai emerges from a hidden trapdoor in the floor. She gasps and quickly clicked a button on the wall to turn off the sirens and beam emitter. "Sorry little one. Those were precautions against Ganondorf. Are you the small horse that Zelda spoke of?"

I nod and she claps her hands. "Your friend is here!" She called down into the trapdoor. Zelda emerges from the trapdoor and runs over to me, embracing me in a hug.

"Derpy! I'm so sorry! I forgot you were there before I started the travel function! When I realized, I tried to grab your hoof but it was too late!"

"It's alright Zelda. I'm just glad you're okay. Where's Rauru?"

"He's still downstairs. Obviously, he's taking this pretty hard. I don't think you should talk to him right now."

I kick my hoof. "Well now I have a worse problem."

"What's wrong Derpy?"

"Ganondorf knocked me away from my pearl and it caused it to disappear without taking me back!"

"Do you have anymore?"

I sadly shake my head. "There's no way for me to get back right now. Unless you have something?"

Zelda shakes her head. "Mineru, do you have anything?"

Mineru shakes her head as well. "Unfortunately, we haven't begun experimenting with inter-dimensional travel yet. We can run a couple tests if you want?"

"Yes! Anything! Please! I have to get home." I can tell Mineru is a little uncomfortable so I quiet my voice a little. "I'll test any experiments you can think of."

Mineru nods. "We'll get to work on it immediately. Princess Zelda," She turns to Zelda. "I understand that there has been a great loss today. But we have no time to slow in preparations for Ganondorf's attack. Gather the other four sages. We need to begin fortifying the castle immediately."

Mineru gets up and collects a bunch of different pieces of random devices from the floor. "Derpy, I have actually had a few ideas for inter-dimensional travel that I've been wanting to try but me and Zelda had to complete some of our defensive Zonai devices first. I'll begin working on some kind of gateway. I hope it works."

"Yeah," I say looking down. "I do too."


* * *



Over the next few days, I helped Zelda fortify the castle. We put up a team of remotely activated homing carts with all different kinds of weapons. Spike plates, beam emitters, flame emitters, frost emitters, and even shock emitters. We also added wings to some of them to make them fly.

When the sages arrived, they began training every day for the fight against Ganondorf. They had all begun calling him "The Demon King." A fitting title, I thought.

Every day, I would go back to Mineru but she never had the gateway ready.

One day before the big fight, I watched something very interesting. I walked into the chamber that Zelda, Rauru, and the sages were using as a meeting place. This was where they had buried Sonia. Rauru was standing in front of the grave and he laid a Sundelion on it.

Zelda stood behind him. Watching him. "King Rauru?"

Rauru turned around. "Oh! Zelda!" He smiled weakly but Zelda's face was un-moving.

"King Rauru. Before you face the Demon King tomorrow, there is something I must tell you. I came..." She paused and looked down at the grave. "I came to this era after finding a man underground."

Rauru nodded. "Hm. Go on."

"When I witnessed what the secret stone did to Ganondorf..." Another pause. "At that moment, I knew for sure! What we found underground. That was him! He was still alive! Still powerful! He continues to live on..." A tear began to fall from her eyes. "All the way until my time! In tomorrow's battle, we won't be able to defeat him. No matter how strong we think we are, he'll survive."

Zelda looked down at Rauru's hand. Her eyes widen and something flashes in her memory. "And you..." I can tell her brain is processing the information. "And you will..." She looks down and begins crying, not able to finish the sentence.

Rauru walks over and places his hand on her shoulder. "Maybe so..." Zelda opens her eyes. "But it is my duty to try." Zelda looks up to meet his eyes. "It was my hubris that set us on this path. I must atone for my error in judgement. And above all else..." He pauses. "I remain the king of Hyrule. As with any leader, it is my duty to safeguard and protect my people. Even if I must risk my life."

Zelda stares into his eyes. Another tear rolls its way down her cheek. "Rauru..."

"And if it proves impossible for us to defeat Ganondorf, We rely on your knight. And that legendary sword he carries. Our last line of defense will be Link."

My brain turns. Knight? Legendary sword? Link? I would have to ask Zelda about all of that.

"But remember, that was a future where you never appeared in this world. And here you are now. Zelda..." He wipes a tear from her cheek. "I believe there is a reason you were sent to us. It has to mean something." Rauru then notices me standing there. He nods to me and walks out of the room. 

Zelda turns and notices me as well. "Oh! Hello Derpy."

"What was that about? Link? Legendary sword? What are those?"

Zelda smiles. "Right. You weren't told my story were you?" I shake my head. "Link is a swordsman from my time. He carries a legendary sword called the master sword. The sword was shattered in an encounter with the Demon King in my time. I think it can be fixed but it will take  along time. I believe that Link can destroy the Demon King."

At that moment, Mineru rushed into the room. She clapped her hands as she looked at me. "Fantastic! Rauru said I would find you here. It's ready!!"


* * *



When I entered Mineru's lab, I saw an assortment of different emitters connected together in a small frame. There seemed to be a magic border compacting the space together pretty tightly.

"What is this Mineru?"

"Okay! I know it doesn't look like much, but these emitters aren't normal elemental emitters. I concentrated the elemental ones with spirit and light power and I think that can punch a hole in the space time continuum allowing for inter-dimensional travel. As for what plane of existence you go to, That all depends on the amount of fire, frost, and thunder." She held up the Purah Pad. "I'm gonna use this to moderate the amounts of different elements like a color value."

I nod. Years of being with Time Turner had made me actually understand what she was telling me. "How do we know it works?"

"I'm gonna have you test it for me! You said you'd be willing right?"

I nod and Mineru begins tapping on the Purah Pad. "Alright. Here goes nothing. Step back in case it explodes... Again."

"Again?" Zelda asked.

I watched as the frame filled with the red, yellow, and white of the different elements. I also saw two more emitters pouring a purple magic into the frame and a bright white light. After a couple seconds of the five things mixing together, a red mist filled the door which became more and more solid until it looked like a fluid jell-O.

"Oh my goddess! It worked." Mineru clapped her hands. She picked up a small remote and handed it to me. "This will call back the portal. If you aren't in the dimension, which there is a high likelihood that you won't be, Just call the portal and leave."

I nod and take the remote. "Okay. Here goes." I take a deep breath and walk through the portal.


* * *



I wake up in a room on a couch. The walls are painted tan. In front of me, I see words painted in green. "Welcome, Everything is Fine.

I throw my hooves up. "Nope." I say softly. Out of curiosity, I get up and walk around the room a little. A door opens on the right wall and an older man stepped out.

"Hello Derpy Hooves. This way please."

I can't help but wonder how he knows my name. I get up and follow him, clinging onto the knowledge that I can leave this dimension at any time.

He sits down at his desk and I sit across from him. "Okay. First things First. You, Derpy Hooves, are dead."

My eyes widen in shock. "Mineru!" I yelled to nobody. "You forking killed me!" I tilt my head. "Fork? Fork! Fork! Why the fork can't I say fork?"

The man at the desk smiled. "If you're trying to curse, you can't here. You're in the Good Place."

I stand up. "Am I really dead?"

He smiles. "Yes. My name is Michael. It's nice to meet you." He sticks out his hand.

Wait a second, he's a human. Why would there be a human in the pony afterlife? "Yeah. I'm not buying it. Sorry Michael." I reach into my saddlebag and realize I still have the remote. I click a button on it and walk through the red gateway that appeared.


* * *



"No?"Mineru looked at me.

"Nope. Some weird death plane."

She smiles. Well, that's okay. Now we know that it works so I can adjust the values of the elements to pull you to your plane. Do you know what it's called?"

"Time Turner told me it was called Ungula."

Mineru nodded. "Okay. There are about seventeen different planes with that name. Try this one." She clicks a few buttons and I see the flame emitter turn down and the frost emitter turns up along with the shadow emitter. I take another breath and walk through the portal.


* * *



I walk out of the portal into an attic. The first thing I hear when I step out of the portal is a crooked male voice singing.

"All you gotta do is say my name!"

A female voice responds. "But I don't know your name."

"Well I can't say it!"

"How about a game a charades."

My mind clicks as I whisper, "Yes let's play it" Along with the male voice. I knew exactly what plane we were on.
I look around and spot where the voices are coming from. They're coming from right above me. I jump out the window and fly to the roof. "Beetlejuice!"

Beetlejuice looks at me. "I remember you! You're that talking pony!"

"I didn't know out planes had the same name! I'm sorry for ruining your game of charades but I can't stay long."I press a button on the remote. "Okay! See ya!"

Beetlejuice enthusiastically waves and the girl on the roof seems confused beyond explanation. I step back through the portal.


* * *



"Okay. This one has strong magic coming off of it. I think this is your plane."

I nod. "I'll keep the remote in case I ever want to come back here." Mineru nods and I step through the portal.


* * *



When I emerge, I'm standing in my living room. Sparkler is sitting at the kitchen table and her eyes widen when she sees me step out. "When the fuck have you been?"

"I'm sorry what?" The portal disappears behind me.

"Mom! You've been gone for three days!"
> Chapter 9: Awake
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, I know I was gone for a while but-"

"No but! What excuse could you possibly have for not coming back? For your information, Dinky woke up while you were gone and I had to explain to her fragile mind that you weren't going to be there!" Sparkler stomped her hoof against the ground with a sharp clop sound.

My eyes widen as I hear the news that Dinky was awake. "Any chance we can postpone this conversation until after I go see Dinky."

Sparkler throws her hooves in the air in exasperation. "Fine. But at least give me a reason why you were gone so long?"

"Okay, I know you aren't going to believe me but there was a huge accident and I got trapped there by the Demon King and I had to hop dimensions with a finicky portal device!"

Sparkler's eyes were wide. "Wow! That's actually a pretty good reason. What do you mean there was a huge accident?"

"Not important. We're going to see Dinky." My mind flashed to Sonia. I didn't see any reason in upsetting Sparkler any further by telling her that the person she had just met had died to an evil man trying to steal her secret stone. There was one thing that caught in my mind though. Something that Zelda had said.

"When I witnessed what the secret stone did to Ganondorf... At that moment, I knew for sure. What we found underground. That was him. He was still alive. Still powerful. He continues to live on... All the way until my time. In tomorrow's battle, we won't be able to defeat him. No matter how strong we think we are, he'll survive."

I couldn't think fully straight as Sparkler and I walked out the door in the direction of the hospital. How was I gonna be able to live with leaving a world that was destined to be doomed? The new friends I had made. Zelda, Rauru, and Mineru were all going to be defeated in the battle against the Demon King and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Zelda. She was the one who stuck in my head the most. Such a sweet young girl. She almost reminded me of Sonia at her age. She had so much to live for and she was going to throw it all away to die trying to defeat the Demon King.

"Hey mom? We still have a long walk until we reach the hospital. Can you tell me exactly what happened back there?"

I look down at Sparkler. I was still just a little bit taller than her. "I suppose." I took a deep breath and continued walking as I spoke. "When I got there, I met a young girl named Zelda. She was from a time in the distant future and she had been sent back for some unknown reason. She and Sonia had bonded closely and an evil man named Ganondorf was planning to use that relationship to steal Sonia's secret stone."

Sparkler nodded and I could see the look in her eye that said the gears in her head were processing.

"Ganondorf created a fake Zelda who told Sonia to meet her on a balcony. Sonia and Zelda were aware that this wasn't the real Zelda and they used the balcony meeting to bait her into a trap. They destroyed the puppet but when we thought everything was going to be okay, Ganondorf snuck up behind Sonia and killed her."

Sparkler gasped. A tear began forming in her eye. I understood why. She had only just met this person and now she was never going to see her again. "And then he stopped me when I attempted to return using Persephone's pearl. My friend Mineru had to construct a Zonai portal to get me home."

Unexpectedly, Sparkler pushed up against my side and hugged me. "I'm sorry mom. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I didn't know what you had been through. I just thought you were prancing around with Queen Sonia and that you had completely left our plane behind."

"Come now, sweetheart. Does that really sound like something I would do?" Sparkler shook her head. "I would never leave you and Dinky behind." I ran my hoof through her mane as she pressed against me.

We reached the hospital and I ran towards the door. I barged in and ran over to the counter. April was there again giving me her usual "I don't give a shit" look as she asked, "Who are you trying to see?"

"Dinky! Dinky Hooves!"

"Room C8."

"Thanks!" I yelled back towards her as I began running down the hallway. Sparkler ran after me but she couldn't quite keep up and ran out of breath quickly. I turned back to her for a second. "Are you alright, angel?"

"Fine. I'm just out of breath."

"Just meet me in the room okay?" Sparkler nodded and I continued. I ran until the hallway connected to the C wing of the hospital. I ran through the first hallway until I saw a room that had the number 8 on it. I burst into the room and yelled, "Dinky!"

Dinky jumps a little as she is startled. She looks over and smiles widely. "Mommy! You're here!"

I run over and hug her as best I can without accidentally hitting the machinery she's hooked up to. I tilt my head as I watch her face fall. "Where were you? I woke up and you weren't there! Just Sparky and some stallion I don't know! You weren't there!"

She starts to cry a little and I put a hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I was trapped somewhere where I couldn't reach you. That being said, when you're older, I have a hell of a story to tell you."

"Why can't I hear it now?"

"It's a little scary. Someone tried to kill me."

Dinky clapped her hooves over her ears. "You're right mommy! I don't want to know. What I do want to know though is who that stallion was!"

"That's your sister's coltfriend, Sunrise."

"Is he nice?"

I nod. "He's a really nice stallion." I definitely felt myself get a little angry saying that but I couldn't lie to the filly. "So, how have your past few days been?"

"Well," She puts a hoof to her chin. "I don't remember much about why I'm here. I don't even remember too much about yesterday. All I know is that I was looking at Sparky's pretty art and all of a sudden, I'm here."

I put a hoof to her forehead. "Honestly, Dinky. I'm glad you don't remember most of it." I look down. "I wish I didn't."

I hear the door open as Sparkler walks into the room, out of breath. "Mom! I can't run that fast!"

I smile a little. "Sorry sweetheart. I just wanted to get here as fast as I could.

Sparkler nodded. "I understand. I feel as though I should tell you, there might be somepony coming over for dinner." She holds up her hoof. "Don't worry, it's not Sunrise. I know you're still not super happy about that whole situation."

"Who is it?"

"You'll have to come home and see."

"Can I stay with Dinky just a little longer?"

Sparkler nodded. "Just don't be too super long. This somepony really wants to talk to you."

I nod and turn back to Dinky as Sparkler leaves the room. "I guess I should leave soon. Are you gonna be alright here?"

Dinky tapped her head a few times. I didn't know why she did that but I found it cute. "Yeah! I think so! The nurses bring me food and I have a tv!"

I smile. "That's great. I just feel bad leaving you here alone."

"It's alright! It's just like a sleepover!" She smiles and then frowns again. "Mommy? Are you gonna be okay with me staying here?"

I nod and smile softly. "I'll be fine. I'm just so happy you're okay. While I was in Hyrule, you were one of the only things I was thinking about."

"Hyrule?"

"Long story. When you're older. Remember?"

Dinky nodded. "You should probably get going huh?"

I nod. "I don't know why your sister is being so secretive but I'm definitely curious." I smile and ruffle Dinky's mane a little.

"I love you Mommy."

"I love you too, my angel."


* * *



When I reach the house, I don't see anything out of the ordinary. I put my key into the door and turn it sideways. "Sparkler! I'm home!" I yell as I enter the house. 

I hear a voice from behind me as somepony throws their hooves around me and hugs me. "So am I!" It yells.

I turn around to see Time Turner standing there with a smile on his face. "Time Turner! You're back! Wait! I thought you were supposed to be gone for a few more days!"

He smiles. "We finished the job a little early! I even brought you something from one of the places we visited!" He walked into the kitchen where his saddlebag was laying on the table. He reached inside and pulled out an assortment of mushrooms. Red, green, blue, and an orange one with red spots. "I stopped by the mushroom kingdom and the Princess said I could take some home!"

I smile. Around twenty years ago when we had visited the kingdom, I almost wanted to stay there. It was so beautiful and peaceful. I especially loved the mushroom there. They were so colorful and you could get bigger just from eating one! Or, you could have fun cliff-jumping as long as you ate a green one first! I had never seen the other two before though.

"Wow! Time Turner! I love these! I haven't been to the mushroom kingdom in years!" I picked up the blue mushroom which was small enough that a cat could eat it in one bite. And I picked up the orange one in my free hoof which I realized was about as big as my head. "What are these? I never saw these ones!"

"In the new era of their kingdom, they began breeding different types of mushrooms. There were some other things I wanted to get but they told me they were still under testing. They're working on one that can turn you into a ghost and one that can make you a bee! Also, Princess Peach told me to say hi!"

I smile and hug him. "Thank you so much! I might just keep these! No real need for them in Equestria!"

"With all the monsters Twilight and her friends lead into this town, there might be some day."

I laugh and nod. "True. Well, I'll put them in the box with all of the other treasures."

"About that, I actually saw the box open on the bed! I also noticed a bunch of Persephone's Pearls were gone!"

I smile a little. "A lot happened while you were gone."

"I know! Remember, you told me Sparkler had gotten herself pregnant! There's no way it could get crazier than that!"

"Well, It definitely could. Do you know where I was before I got here?"

"No. Sparkler only just got home like five minutes ago and she immediately went to the shower. When I messaged her this morning, she just told me there was a lot going on and didn't tell me anything else. I thought she was just stressed about her recent development so I didn't continue that conversation any further. Why? Did something else happen?"

"Sit down Time Turner."


* * *



"Let me get this straight, Our daughter nearly got herself killed, you got trapped in another realm, and one of our best friends from Hyrule is dead?"

I nod and a small tear falls from my eye as I remember the awful scene playing out in front of me. The sickening crack from her spine, the scream Zelda gave, and that laughter. That damned laughter. It rang throughout my head. Something that I knew I would never forget throughout my entire life.

Time Turner put a hoof on my shoulder. "Derpy. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. But I have something that might make it a little better for you." I look up and he continues. "Rose is going to take over working for a little bit. I'm gonna be sticking around for a while."

"Really?"

"Even better, I created a travel medallion that can allow me to travel between realms whenever! We can go anywhere you want!" I lean forward and hug him. "I know I haven't been around much. But that's going to change now."

"Any other artifacts you stole from other realms?" I ask laughing.

"Actually, yes. I want to make a proposition to you."

"Time Turner, I know we had a recent bump in the road but we're still married. You can't propose again."

He holds up a hoof as I continue laughing. "I visited the Azorius archives after stopping for a little bit on the plane of Ravnica."

"Ugh. You know I hate it when you go to Ravnica. That place is way too dangerous. If you had run into one of the Gruul clans or Celestia forbid the cult of Rakdos then you would have been done for."

"I know! But that's the only place to get the book I needed!" I heard clattering and clicking in his bag as he pulled out a dusty old book and dropped it onto the table. The books cover read, "Spells and elixirs."

"We already have spells and elixirs in Equestria! Why did you have to risk your life for that?"

"Because! We have Equestrian spells but this one has something very special I want to show you." He flipped through the book before landing on one page. He turned the book around to reveal a page who's header read, "Elixir of Immortality"

"This potion makes it impossible for somepony to die of old age. I think we should make it!"

"Are you sure you would want to live forever? Forever is a long time."

Time Turner nodded enthusiastically. "Think about it! We could give it to all of our family members and we could never run out of time!"

I look down at the book. "Time Turner. This potion is really complicated!  We don't have access to these materials in Equestria!"

"I brought them! I had to go all over Ravnica for them!" He dumped out the rest of the contents of his bag. Talons, wings, magic stones littered the table. 

"So... What do you think?"
> Chapter 10: Intermission (The Past Two Days...)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Everpony!

My name's Dinky Hooves! The doctors came in today with some weird medicine that kind of numbed my mouth. Mommy gave me her book and told me to write down everything that happened in the past couple days so that she could know.

Anyways, it started when I woke up. I guess I've been sleeping for a few days now. That's gotta be the longest I've ever slept! Which is funny because Mommy says I'm always tired. That's alright though. When I woke up, Sparkler and a weird stallion were standing next to my bed. Then I realized that I wasn't in my own bed.

"Are you feeling okay?" Sparky asked.

I rubbed my head. "Yeah. What happened?"

"You got hurt pretty badly. We had to bring you here."

I look down. "Oh. Well, I'm ready to go home now! Let's go!" I attempted to get up but Sparky held me back.

"I'm sorry Dinky. You're gonna have to stay here longer. They need to make sure that you'll be okay and you won't have any problems if you come home."

"But I feel fine!" I whine. "Please! This place gives me the creeps."

Sparky sat down and held my hoof. "Okay. Listen Dinky. There was a piece of glass removed from your heart. They need to make absolute sure that your heart is in stable condition before they send you home. But don't worry! I'll come by as often as possible. I think Rarity will flip if I take any more days off of work but... I'll make time. I promise."

I was hesitant for a moment. "Where's Mommy?"

Sparky glared down at the ground. "Not here. She's busy."

My heart stopped. Don't worry, figuratively. Part of me didn't want to believe that Mommy wasn't here. I wondered what could possibly keep her away. "When will she be here?"

Sparky threw her hooves up. "I don't know." Sparky's voice almost started breaking down. "I honestly don't know how long she'll be gone. Because apparently, what she's doing is so damn important and..." Her voice trails off as a small tear begins to go down her cheek. The stallion standing next to her takes her head in his hoof and pats her.

"It's okay Sparkler." He said. My mind was doing front flips. Who was this stallion?

"What's wrong Sparky?" I asked.

Sparky looked up and wiped her eyes. "I-It's nothing. I just can't help but wonder why she isn't coming back."

"Where is she."

"She left the whole damn realm!" Sparky seemed to be more angry at the situation than at me. She held up a hoof at me. "Sorry. Don't repeat that."

I nod. "Do you think she left us?"

Sparky shook her head. "I don't know Dinky. But I don't want you worrying about it okay? Everything's gonna be okay." I nodded again. Sparky cast a spell at the wall and a holographic purple clock appeared in the air. "I gotta go get back to work. If anything goes wrong, I want you to give me a call."

Sparky pointed to the phone on my bedside table. Not just any phone though, a cell phone! A purple cell phone with a red bow tied around it. "Where did that come from?"

"Early birthday present!" Sparky said while smiling.

"My birthday isn't for another three months!"

"That's why it's early."

I smiled and waved my hoof to tell her to come over. When she did, I hugged her as best I could while staying in the bed. Which, turned into me wrapping my forelegs around her neck. "Thanks Sparky."

She pats my head. "No problem Dinks. Now, I gotta run. See ya!"

I waved and she led the orange stallion out of the room with her.


* * *



Nothing interesting happened until around noon that day. The door to my room was opened and they rolled a bed into the room. "What's that?" I asked.

"We have to put another pony in this room for about a day. You're gonna have a roommate!"

I smiled. It would be nice to have some company. It definitely was already getting lonely here. I really hoped that I could get out of here as soon as possible. I decided to take a nap to pass the time. It was really	the only thing that was easy to do, as I was still feeling kind of tired.

When I woke up, I looked over to the bed to see a green pegasus with a blonde mane laying in it. He was fiddling around with a yoyo that he was throwing off the side of his bed and returning to himself. He looks over to me. "Oh! You're awake!" He says quietly.

I nod and rub the sleep out of my eyes. "Hi! I'm Dinky! Nice to meet you!"

He nods. "My name's Hanzal. The Cloudsdale hospital is overflowing so they transferred me down here. I think Princess Twilight is trying to expand that hospital but thanks to the size of the weather factory, it will take tons and tons of clouds to expand the space." I notice that he's talking quietly. Almost like he's unsure about what he's saying.

I nod. "Interesting." It felt so good to talk to someone about something fun who wasn't my mom or my sister. I didn't have many friends at school. "Why are you here?"

He wiggled his left wing and winced in pain. "When I was born, I had a stiff wing. I can't fly right and it usually hurts to try at all. Anyways, I'm having surgery to try and have it fixed."

"That's awful! But I really hope it works out for you." I understood now. This colt was shy. I made it my mental mission to make him open up a little. "I like your yoyo! You're really good at it!"

He smiled. "Thanks. It's just something I do in my free time. Later, my family said they're going to bring in my old Nintendo. We can play a little if you want to. I really only have Tetris but it's still fun."

"Sounds fun!" I say enthusiastically.

"So, I noticed the cuts on your side. What happened?"

"I don't remember all of it but I was told that I  fell onto a bunch of glass on my table and got a piece stuck in my heart which is why I'm in here."

"Wow! Your thing is so much cooler than mine."

"That's alright buddy! It hurts like hell. Trust me you don't want it."

Hanzal gasped. "You said a bad word!"

"Yeah. My mom uses it all the time. I don't think she'll care." I turned my head back and looked up towards the ceiling. This colt was nice. I strangely found myself wanting to learn more about him. "When do you go in for surgery?"

"Tonight."

I nod. "Are you nervous?"

"Of course! But I'm even more excited that there might be a chance for them to fix my wing. Could you imagine? Flying up in the sky without a care in the world?" He looked up wistfully. They're putting me here to rest my wing and relax it for surgery."

I nod. "Interesting." We didn't say much else. His parents walked into the room around three o clock. They had a box with them that I assumed contained the Nintendo Hanzal had talked about.

"Hi sweetie! How are you doing?" They talked with Hanzal while I discretely watched from the side. His mother had a dark purple coat with a white mane and green eyes. His father had a dark green coat with a brown mane and yellow eyes. 

Once they had finished talking, they walked over to the tv on his side of the room and plugged in the nintendo. They ran an extension cord from the console to the controller and gave it to him. "Have fun sweetheart." They said as they began to walk out of the room. They also waved at me with nice smiles as the walked out.

I watched him play Tetris for a while. I wasn't too interested in playing as I've never played before and I felt like I would make a fool out of myself. As he played though, I began to pick it up. All you have to do is complete the lines and make them disappear. By the time I had gotten mesmerized by the blocks moving left and right, and the blocks disappearing with satisfying beeps, I heard him ask, "You want a turn?"

I tilted my head a little and said, "Yeah sure!"

He carefully took aim and tossed the controller gently towards my bed. I still couldn't move my right side very well so I had to make a very awkward left hoof catch. I looked at the controller and tilted my head. Mommy had never been able to afford one of these so I've never even played one before. "What do I do with this?" I asked.

He laughed a little. "The different buttons control the blocks. Press the arrows to move it left and right and press down to drop it faster. Press A to tilt it right and press B to tilt it left."

I nod and click the middle button to begin the game. I lasted for all of 45 seconds. The first block went down fine but once the second one came down, I had already started to fumble a little. When it said "Game Over," I tossed the controller back to him. "Thanks. But I'm not really any good at it."

He tossed it back. "Give it another try! I can help guide you through it. You just need a little practice!" I nod and begin playing again.

As time went on, he seemed completely uninterested in playing at all. He seemed more interested in helping me get better. After about two hours, I had finally gotten 30 points away from his high score (The game scored in 10s) He laughed and said. "Come on Dinky! I know you can do better! You got this!"

Around six o clock, Another pony walked into the room. A pony who looked incredibly similar to Hanzal. He had a green coat with a blonde mane. Honestly, the only real difference I had seen was that he was a unicorn instead of a pegasus. He hung around for a little bit. He even talked to me for a bit. "Hi there! What's your name?" He asked me.

"Dinky. Dinky Hooves. What about you?"

"Fletcher. I'm Hanzal's brother!"

"It's nice to meet you!"

"You as well."

After a little while, and a few games of tetris, Fletcher left as well. "Wow Hanzal! You have a lot of family!"

"Yeah. I guess. Where is your family?"

"My sister visited before you got here. Mommy is somewhere I don't know. Do you have any more family or friends coming in?"

Hanzal sighed. "I wish."

"What do you mean? You've had three visitors already and I've only had one! Well, two if you count the weird stallion she was with. But he never even talked."

"Well, recently, My fillyfriend left me because of my wing. It's why I was so shy at first. I just wish she would come and visit me and maybe take me back. I don't know." He sighed. "She was my only friend at all. Her name was Moonlight. She was such a bright blue that it looked like she could glow. She had a faint yellow mane and the most beautiful maroon eyes." He sighed again. "I just miss her. But I really like you, Dinky."

I smiled and felt my cheeks get a little red. I hadn't felt this way before. It was strange.

Eventually, the time came for Hanzal to be rolled out of the room for surgery. I said goodbye and realized I might never see him again. That made me sad. They took all of his stuff out of the room. It was like he was never even there. As the sun went down, the room grew dark.

And then it was quiet. Almost too quiet.

I fell asleep pretty soon and when I woke up, Mommy was there for me! I looked at the clock and realized it was like the middle of the day already. I didn't realize exactly how long I had stayed up that night. 

She left pretty quickly to go meet somepony who was waiting for her at home. Now she's back again and, like I said, she's having me write in her book. They never brought Hanzal back but I hope I get to see him again. I'm gonna give Mommy her book back now so she can read the story I wrote for her.


* * *



As I read what my daughter had written, I felt my heart swerving a little. There were a lot of different emotions I was feeling while reading it. I could tell from the way she had written her feelings, that she had fallen for this Hanzal pony. I didn't mind that much but what hurt me most was seeing how she felt about my absence upon her awakening.

I swore to myself right then that I would never, ever, leave this plane until I could be sure that she wouldn't ever have to wake up like that again.