> A New Family > by dragonpony111 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: A New Friend > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had been almost an entire season now since the hearing. Rainbow Dash was long gone only leaving behind her pet tortoise Tank. Dinky stayed in contact with Rainbow Dash through letters that her mother made sure got to Rainbow Dash. The most important change for Derpy though was the right to raise her filly; she finally had earned it permanently and no pony else could take that from her. Even that wasn’t enough for her though; while Derpy was on relatively good terms with a few ponies in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash was her only true friend and her disappearance made Derpy’s home feel even emptier when Dinky was away at school. The bills were still an issue from time to time but the bits Dinky got from Rainbow Dash for watching Tank was a big help. The only bad thing that resulted from the hearing was that Dinky really began questioning Derpy about who her father was and what happened to him, a touchy subject Derpy had hoped to avoid for as long as possible. One night while trying to find where she had left her Soarin action figure; Dinky stumbled across the destroyed painting in Derpy’s closest. Dinky couldn’t make much out of it except that it was a painting of Derpy. Dinky grabbed the piece of the painting that contained Derpy’s face, and brought it over to her mother who was in the living room getting the mail sorted for next day’s delivery. Dinky trotted over to her unaware mother and dropped the piece of canvas on top of the mail Derpy was sorting and demanded: “Mommy why is there a painting of you in your closet? Why is it all messed up?” “W-Well you see m-muffin, I uh, i-it came fr-from… I guess its t-time I was honest wi-with you Dinky.” “Honest about what mommy?” “Your fa-father Dinky, he pa-painted that for m-me.” “Wow really mommy? So daddy was a painter? But why is it smashed to pieces?” “You s-see muffin, before y-you were born, your d-daddy had a chance to fo-follow his dream, a dr-dream that didn’t have a-any room for us.” “So is that why daddy isn’t here with us? What was his dream?” “Yes mu-muffin, and his dream w-was to paint at ca-canterlot castle for Princess Ce-Celestia.” “So daddy lives at the royal castle now mommy? Why haven’t we visited him?” “We-Well Dinky, when you are ol-older you will understand, but he h-had to leave me, and i-it just isn’t po-possible for us to be with him.” “Then why is the painting he gave you ruined? Wouldn't you want to keep it?” “You s-see muffin, I tr-tried my best to m-move on so I de-destroyed it to get rid o-of the memories, but I co-couldn’t manage to get r-rid of it co-completely. After a-all Pon… I u-uh mean your fa-father is… or was p-part of our f-family.” “Why would you want to forget him mommy? Don’t you want our family to be togeth…” “H-Hush now Dinky! I’ll t-tell you more w-when you are a big pony.” “I am a big pony mommy! I am! I am! I am!” Dinky was pretty upset that her mother was hiding things from her; especially something as important as her father, and stomped at the ground furiously in protest but to no avail. Derpy refused to say any more on the matter and told Dinky to go take her bath. The fact of the matter was that Dinky already felt made fun of enough at school for who her mother was, and Derpy didn’t want Dinky to know her own father didn’t want her as well. Later that night while Derpy was cleaning the house she stumbled across Dinky’s favorite toy shoved under the couch. Derpy brought it to a now sleeping Dinky and sat it down on the bed next to her. Almost like a reflex Dinky reached out and dragged the toy in close, snuggling it against her chest. Before Derpy left the room she whispered to Dinky: “Y-You’ll know the truth o-one day, sweet dr-dreams my little mu-muffin.” As time went on though Derpy really struggled with being alone; for the longest time she had Rainbow Dash, and then Ponet as well, but now both of them are gone which left Derpy to raise Dinky all by herself. Derpy slowly fell into depression from the looming situation that within a matter of months she won’t be able to afford to send Dinky to school. School had became Dinky’s favorite part of her day as she was able to learn and interact with with all the other fillies and colts. Dinky loved her mother very much and couldn't care any less about her Derpiness, but Dinky always enjoyed proving to others she was just as capable as everypony else even though her mother was different. The routine visits from FPS grew farther apart until they were completely satisfied with Dinky’s progress and stopped visiting all together. This was one of the last of Derpy’s interaction with other ponies as most of them were not home when she delivered their mail. One day though Derpy was to deliver a thick envelope to a house that had been empty for the longest time, and the envelope was addressed to a Dr. Whooves while the mail had apparently been forwarded from another address. Derpy was excited with the possibility to make a new friend and went out of her way to visit that house first. When Derpy arrived she noticed there were a bunch of boxes stacked in front of the house which confirmed to her that somepony had just moved in. The house lacked a mailbox so Derpy knocked on the front door to see if somepony was home. Within a few moments Dr. Whooves answered the door and asked: “Why hello there, what brings you by to my home? I have just moved here to Ponyville.” Derpy became a bit nervous as she stared at the handsome earth stallion, and after an awkward pause finally said: “H-Hi my name is Derpy, I’m the ma-mailpony for Ponyville and I de-deliver all the mail.” “Oh well that must be an interesting job. I’m assuming since you are here you must have some mail for me? > Chapter 2: A Leap Of Faith > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Yes s-sir, I have a few letters for you.” Derpy trembled a little as she hoofed the envelope to Dr. Whooves; who thanked her with a warm smile. Derpy tried to take a step back, but as she did the mare stumbled which made her fall backwards off the porch. Derpy landed flat on her wings causing an injury to her right one. Doctor Whooves exclaimed: “My dear I hope you are quite alright, but can’t you fly since you are a Pegasus with wings and all?” While blushing from embarrassment Derpy stuttered a sentence saying she was used to it. After Derpy picked herself up she attempted to take off, but an immense sharp pain shot up her injured wing and she quickly plummeted back down to the ground. Derpy was too embarrassed to move again and just sat there silently in pain until Dr. Whooves rushed over to help: “Oh my it seems you have injured one of your wings, but sadly I’m not that kind of doctor, it is more of just a title really. My house is a mess currently with moving in and all but the least I can do is invite you in for some tea and first aid.” Derpy was still silent but nodded in agreement. Dr. Whooves helped her up and guided Derpy inside to his couch which was still wrapped in plastic, and then left to go make some tea. Meanwhile Derpy’s current situation of being in distress, invited in to the home of a stallion, and offered a drink brought on a flashback of when she met Ponet and all the pain he eventually caused. That onset of that extremely painful memory made Derpy pass out and kicked off a horrible nightmare. This time when she woke up though Derpy was relieved to still be on the couch. She noticed there was a cup of tea sitting on the table next to her and that Doctor Whooves was busy unpacking boxes. As Derpy tried to stretch her wings she noticed that her right wing couldn't move as it had been bandaged up tightly. Right then and there Derpy promised herself she won’t let somepony hurt her again like Ponet had so she thanked the friendly earth stallion for his kindness and began leaving the house; stating that she needed to get caught up with her mail delivery. Dr. Whooves stopped Derpy for a moment to say: “I do hope your wing heals quickly, and I hope the rest of your day ends up much safer for you.” “Wh-Why thank you sir, b-but I really must be g-going now.” As Derpy walked away Dr. Whooves observed her through a window. He couldn't tell what it was but he felt a strong connection to Derpy; a feeling he had never felt before. As the days went on Derpy made her best efforts to just quickly slide Dr. Whooves’ mail under the door and take off before he can say a word to her. At some point Dr. Whooves started waiting outside for Derpy and the two ponies would have these awkward exchanges as Derpy tried to avoid any conversation beyond pleasant greetings. Eventually though Dr. Whooves made the effort to ask around Ponyville to find out more about Derpy and where she lived. One day Derpy stopped over at Sugar Cube Corner again to get some delicious muffins. When she walked in a hyper Pinkie asks her: “Hey Derpy! Hey Derpy! Guess what what what?” “Wh-What is it P-Pinkie?” “An earth stallion was asking about you the other day, and he is awful cute.” “R-Really? Who was h-he?” “Hmmmmm I can’t remember his name but I think there was a doctor in it somewhere. He says you keep avoiding him Derpy, why would you do that? I would date him if he didn’t seem so interested in you.” “Oh y-you see Pinkie, af-after what happened w-with Ponet I can’t risk g-getting hurt like that ag-again.” “Oh come on now Derpy that was years ago and it wasn’t your fault! You need to stop living your lonely life and smile more! By the way I told that Doctor where you lived because he said he just had to see you, he also bought a bunch of muffins from me.” “I d-don’t know Pinkie, m-maybe.” Derpy paid for the muffins and sulked out of the bakery with an emotional battle raging inside her mind. Derpy was trying to decide whether or not she trust another pony like that again. Her main concern was Dinky because at least when Ponet left and said those hurtful words Dinky wasn’t born yet to experience it. However now her daughter is a part of the picture and Derpy just couldn’t live with herself if Dinky had to go through an ordeal like that. On her way home Derpy stopped by the schoolhouse to pick up Dinky. When Derpy arrived Dinky made an attempt to climb into her mailbag like she used to and pleaded: “Please mommy can I ride in your mailbag? It’s so much fun.” “N-no muffin remember y-you are too b-big for it n-now.” Dinky gave up and a sad look fell upon her face as she realized that is one experience with her mother she will never get to have again. Derpy noticed the disappointed look and told her: “Cheer up D-Dinky! Look I br-brought you a m-muffin.” Dinky instantly perked up as she was addicted to muffins as her mother, and snatched the muffin from Derpy. A good part of the muffin ended up on the ground as crumbs from bites Dinky took that were too big for her to chew properly. When the pair make it home Dinky scampered off to her room as usual to go play, and Derpy proceeded to get dinner started. So far everything was going like a normal afternoon until Derpy heard a knock at the door. Derpy attempted to answer but Dinky blitzed by in a blur and beat her to the door. When Dinky opened the door she finds Dr. Whooves standing there, and he kneels down to ask Dinky: “Why hello there little pony. I’m looking for a miss Derpy she does live here right?” “What? Little? I’m not little I’m a big pony! Yeah my mommy lives here and... oh you brought... HEY!!!!” Derpy bumped Dinky aside and approached Dr. Whooves. The stallion was presenting a bouquet of muffins and offered it to Derpy: “Hello again Derpy, I brought you some muffins as Pinkie Pie said they are your favorite thing in all of Equestria. I was hoping I could be lucky enough...” Derpy slammed the door shut and collapsed to the ground with her back against it. This was exactly what she was trying to avoid, but it seemed that he just won’t give up so Derpy caved in. After deciding to give him a chance she opened the door. > Chapter 3: From One Doctor To The Next > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upon re-opening the door Derpy just stood there awkwardly for a few moments; with Dr. Whooves doing the same. After an unknown amount of time passed she gathered her thoughts together to say: "I'm so-sorry, you seem l-like a very nice st-stallion, but I can't r-risk getting hurt ag-again. Even more so t-that I have my li-little Dinky to look af-after." Derpy then allowed the stallion inside, and Dinky bounced up and down with joy as she hoped to have some of those muffins the new pony brought. Dr. Whooves noticed so he took a muffin from the bouquet; giving it to the excited filly who then bolted off back to her room. Derpy and the Doctor sat down on the comfy couch; then she explained her whole past with Ponet in regards to what he did to her, and why she is hesitant about trusting other stallions in that way again. Dr. Whooves was more than understanding, and assured Derpy he would never do that to her. The Doctor promised that Derpy's eyes or stutter would in no way affect how he felt for her, and found it quite appalling it was the opposite for other ponies. "W-Well, okay then, b-but we only just met a co-couple of weeks ago, l-let's take things sl-slowly." "That's fine by me Derpy. Then I shall see you tomorrow morning as I wait for my mail. I bid you farewell." After taking a bow the Doctor graciously left the pegasus' home and closed the door behind him. A few moments later Derpy was shocked by the ear piercing wail of her daughter crying "Mommy" as it traveled the air. She ran into Dinky's room to see a half eaten muffin on the floor and Dinky rolling around in her bed; intensely crying in pain as she held both of her eyes closed and covered with her hooves. Derpy wanted to yell out but managed to keep this thought to herself: "Oh no! Please Celestia don't let my little Dinky have my eyes, Please!" She then ran over to her bawling filly and scooped her up into a comforting embrace. "There th-there Dinky. Mommy is h-here now." "But Mommy!! WUAAAHHH!! My eye it!! WUAAAHHH!! Hurts!!" "I-I know Dinky." A shaking and frightened Dinky looked up at her mom as she uncovered and opened her left eye; while the filly still left her right one covered by her hoof. It nearly tore Derpy to pieces having to hold her daughter as she cried intensely in pain, and being unable to help her. Dinky's expression was both scared and hopeful her mother could do something. This reminded Derpy of when she was DInky's age, and how she dealt with it. One of her eyes would be extremely painful when her condition acted up as she was settling into it, and the eye would go Derp for about an hour afterwards. She also remembered her parents gave her an eye patch to wear; which helped with the nauseating feeling from her eyes acting up, and the pain from having split vision. Though when Derpy hit her teenage mare years the fits of pain stopped altogether and her eyes were permanently Derped. The distraught mare just cradled Dinky tightly for the remainder of the fit, and when it ended she consoled her daughter: "Its o-okay Dinky, it's over f-for now. Hold yo-your eye closed still a-as I go get you so-something for it." Derpy then quickly galloped off to her room and rummaged through her old childhood trunk until she found that eye patch. When she returned to Dinky's room she affixed it on to Dinky's head and said: "Th-There you go, Muffin. Just k-keep that on for n-now." The old cotton eye patch instantly caused Dinky to fidget and attempt to mess with it as it was annoyingly itchy. The filly almost took it off when Derpy scolded her: "N-No Dinky! You m-must leave it on!" "But Mommy! It itches, I want it off!" "But muffin, i-it will help k-keep the pain away. Y-you want that r-right?" "Yes Mommy, thank you." "N-Now get ready for bed D-Dinky. No school f-for you tomorrow, y-you are going to the d-doctor. " "Oh... Okay mommy." Dinky then walked off to go take her bath as her mother cleaned the muffin and crumbs off the floor. After that Derpy went to her bed to read the latest issue of Muffin Monthly, and after some time Dinky walked in sniffling almost crying and interrupted her. "Mommy?" "Y-Yes Dinky?" "I looked at in the mirror, I have your eyes, if they stay like that will you still love me?" "Why o-of course Dinky, you a-are my littlest muffin, a-and I will always l-love and be there f-for you." Dinky perked up some from her mom's caring words and trotted over to give her a hug. She then looked up at her and said: "Mommy, can I sleep with you tonight? Just in case my eyes hurt again?" Derpy wiped the tears off of Dinky's face as she stroked her mane: "S-Sure Dinky, I'll b-be right here t-to help you." Dinky jumped up onto the bed with joy and quickly ran underneath the blanket; to resurface snuggled up next to Derpy. :"Goodnight Mommy. I love you." *drawn out yawn* Dinky then drifted off to sleep. "I love y-you too Muffin." Derpy gave Dinky a goodnight kiss, set the magazine on the nightstand, and turned off the lamp. She better settled into bed and wrapped her legs around Dinky. She had to readjust several times as Dinky would turn in her sleep and her horn would poke Derpy; the main reason she didn't let Dinky sleep with her anymore. Dinky woke up with the sensation of being gently pushed around, and couldn't see much of anything. She could feel canvas walls which told her she must be in her mother's saddlebag. Dinky quickly shuffled around to poke her head out of the bag, and had to squint as her eye adjusted to the bright sunlight. Derpy noticed her daughter waking up and said: "Good mo-morning Dinky." "Where are we going mommy?" "T-To the Doctor's o-office. We need to g-get there early." "Okay mommy, but I'm hungry. Can we stop to eat?" "Yes Muffin." After about half an hour of walking Derpy stopped at a snack cart on the side of the road and bought Dinky a foal's meal that contained a sippy cup of cider, a small bunch of hayfries, and a daffodil sandwich. "That'll be six bits ma'am." "H-Here you go." Derpy reached into her other saddlebag and picked up a small bag of bits with her mouth, and shook out six bits onto the cart. Dinky had already readjusted herself so that she sat up with her front legs hanging over the bag. Derpy hoofed the bag to Dinky who quickly snatched it. The filly began gobbling the hayfries first as they were her favorite. After finishing the last bite of her sandwich Dinky belted out a satisfying burp and fell back asleep in the saddlebag; suckling her now empty sippy cup. > Chapter 4: Double Vision > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- During the entire walk to the Doctor's Office Derpy could do nothing but worry about what was going to happen to her little Dinky, and if her eyes could be fixed before they ended up like her own. Even though she knew this was something out of her control Derpy couldn't help but feel responsible for her daughter's pain and condition. Thankfully for the remainder of the journey Dinky stayed asleep and didn't stir too much in the saddlebag which made carrying her all that easier. Upon reaching the Ponyville Hospital after an exhausting trek Derpy quickly rushed over to the desk Nurse Redheart was sitting at and told her: "Hello there Nur-Nurse Readheart. My Dinky ne-needs to see the Doctor ab-about my eyes. I me-mean her eyes." "Sure thing Derpy right away. Just please sign in on this clipboard and I'll go fetch a doctor for you just be patient." As Nurse Redheart trotted off down the hallway and disappeared behind some double doors Derpy scribbled down what would usually pass as her signature and walked over to sit down on a couch in the waiting room. As she set her saddlebag on the couch she could hear a tiny yawn coming from inside the canvas. Derpy opened it up to see a half awake Dinky staring at her while rubbing her eye patch which was about to come off. Derpy fixed the eye patch to the detest of Dinky who complained it was too itchy to wear but Derpy insisted it had to stay on. Some more time passed as Dinky argued with Derpy about various things like the room being too cold, that she was hungry again, that the eye patch was very itchy, and why she couldn't just be at school today like all the other ponies. Derpy knew most of these complaints were just Dinky trying to make excuses to go home but she knew she had to bring her daughter here to get her the help she needed. Eventually Nurse Readheart returned and informed the two that the doctor was ready for them in Exam Room 4. Dinky wouldn't have any of this though and refused to get up from the couch even after hearing her mom's pleas to go with her. Nurse Readheart then brandished a big bright red lollipop which quickly gained DInky's attention. "Now Dinky if you'll be a good little filly and go with your mom in the room. I'll give you this lollipop okay?" Dinky's only was response was an affirmative head nod as she licked her lips. The nurse gave Dinky the lollipop and then Dinky happily trotted off alongside her mother to the exam room as she joyously sucked on her candy. Upon entering the room Derpy walked over to the exam table where a lab coated dark red earth stallion was waiting and she motioned for Dinky to hop up onto the table. After helping her up Derpy began explaining what happened to Dinky earlier and why she brought her here. After listening the doctor had a bunch of his own questions. A few of them were for Derpy but they were mostly directed at Dinky. The doctor questioned how she was feeling and if she knew what a surgery was. Even if Dinky didn't understand a question she would just keep nodding yes as she was mostly focused on her delicious lollipop. After he finished his examination the stallion pulled Derpy aside to talk to her some more. Dinky didn't notice as she was still preoccupied by her lollipop. "Ms. Hooves with all of the advances we have had with unicorn magic. We can now fix your daughter's condition with a surgery." "You mean sh-she will have no-normal eyes?" "That is correct. The surgery will be expensive but after a few weeks of recovery Dinky should have her vision permanently restored. However we have to make a decision soon as there is a small window of time before her condition becomes irreversible." "Yes any-anything for my lit-little Dinky. How mu-much is the operation?" "The procedure will cost 500 bits which also includes staying at the hospital to make sure that everything went as planned." After explaining to Derpy some additional facts about the operation and what she can do to help ease Dinky with her eye pains the doctor left the room. Derpy just stood there for a bit longer as she thought about how she was going to pay for DInky's surgery. It didn't matter what she would have to do as her little Dinky deserved to have normal eyes. Maybe the post office would let Derpy make more special deliveries or perhaps the Hospital would let Derpy work off the bill for the operation. Derpy kept on pondering her worried thoughts until she was interrupted with a tugging at her leg. It was Dinky who was looking up at her while still sucking on that lollipop. "Can we go now mommy? That other pony left and it's boring here. Besides I'm almost done with my lolly." "Oh alright muffin. W-We can go now b-but you have to ke-keep the eye patch on all th-the way home." "Fine mommy. I just want to go home and play." The two ponies exited the hospital and began their journey back to their home that sits just on the edge of Ponyville. The entire time though Dinky kept begging to take off the eye patch as it really was itchy but every time Derpy protested saying that she needed it on for her eye. Derpy promised her though that if she behaved like a good little filly and kept it on that she would bake her favorite muffins when they got home. Dinky grudgingly agreed but she would flip the eye patch up anytime Derpy looked away, but she stopped when her eye winced from a sharp pain. Dinky stayed brave about it but the eye pains really scared her whenever they happened; mainly because she thought if her eyes went permanently derped then her mother wouldn't love her anymore. Though when they made it home Derpy kept her promise and started baking Dinky's most favorite muffins which had zap apple jam filling.