...and Making Time
“Happy Hearth’s Warming,” Derpy murmured as she set the last trinket in its place.
Three eyries, actually unused bird nests saved before the first snows and meticulously cleaned, sat on the mantle above the fireplace. Two were lined with decorative, sky-blue and white hoof-stitched quilts smoothed to an even bowl with only the corners peeking over the edge. Derpy sat in front of the third, one eye closed, and tallied up the items inside.
Each one was a wish for the new year to come. A tiny wooden egg painted like a robin's; the petals of a rose, bundled with a silver thread and preserved in crystalline wax; a quill sharpened for writing, wrapped in a scrap of paper with a wish written, and carefully rewritten after last week’s blizzard.
It’d given her a headache to force her eyes to agree long enough to write that much, but it’d been worth it.
She covered the nest with her mother’s quilt, made ages ago, as many pegasi did, while Derpy had grown in her mother’s womb. Kneading into the quilt as her mother had shown her year after year, each wish was wrapped warm and snug for the coldest night of the year, before the hearth would be warmed with laughter and fire and friendship.
Each one, she touched lightly with the edge of her hoof, eyes closed, and recalled to her heart the quilts she had knitted for each of her own daughters as they lay nestled within her. Like her mother before her, it had taken almost eleven months to complete all the necessary stitching for each one. Like her mother before her, she had spent only the moments before going to bed, singing softly to her daughter, and then both, at the task.
Dinky’s had taken longer, lasting up through the first months of her weaning, as it was hard to knit and care for her daughter while working figures for the team’s finances and juggling play schedules. But she had finished it.
Her daughters would have brought their own wishes, and she had taken great joy in helping them choose in years past, but last week’s blizzard had closed off the passes to Canterlot, and they were stuck until the work crews could clear the tracks.
She wished, sometimes, that her mother was still there to give her advice. Or that she had been closer to her father. She sighed, pushing those thoughts away, and drew in a breath filled with the smoky, spicy warmth of cedar chips smouldering merrily at the edges of the fire.
The wind rose and moaned down the chimney, sending the low-burning fire to guttering briefly as a patter of snow-turned-rain cascaded down amid the simmering coals. She added, again, fixing the flue to the list of things that needed doing, and shook her head over how scattered her thoughts were.
Outside, the wind settled again to the slow rise and fall of a constantly shifting song of chill merriment against the eaves of her home. It set a branch to playing a gentle tattoo against a wall, asking her to come play and sing and dance. Voices drifted along with it, raised in song, cajoling her to come join them. They grew in volume, and the wind rose again, as though accompanying them, and sent another chilling gust and light patter of snow.
Warmth waited for her outside, and happiness.
She should push the nests closer together if the snow was going to keep falling in. The lumpy quilt would keep them warm with her words, waiting until the dwindling embers would, tomorrow, kindle a blaze that would warm her hearth even as her wishes might warm her heart.
The voices of the carolers died down, the words muffled into incoherence by the thickly insulated walls of her home. Whether they had stopped or moved on, she didn’t know until the sound of hooves crunching in the snow announced a visitor.
“You girls go on ahead,” Twilight’s voice called from without. “We’ll catch up with you.”
“If you can catch up with us!”
“Shush, Dash. We’ll go slow. Do whatcha gotta, Twi.”
“Spoilsport.”
Derpy pressed a hoof to her lips, stifling the laugh that wanted to escape. Her friends were there for her, and they were letting her know they were. They didn’t have to shout above the low wind, after all.
A knock came at her door.
“Come in, Twilight.”
Laughter followed a whispering line of snow as Twilight Sparkle danced inside, catching a snowball on an upraised wing. Two more snowballs slapped against her flank, and a third against the side of the house to gales of laughter from outside.
“Hey! That’s not fair!” Twilight laughed as she returned fire with a salvo that drew muffled shrieks and gales of laughter.
The door closed just in time for a dozen more snowballs to thump harmlessly against its solid surface. Twilight danced in place, laughing, her hooves striking a muffled staccato against the welcome mat.
“I’m almost ready,” Derpy said, interjecting before Twilight could quell her laughter enough to speak. “I just need to tidy up a little for—” She cut herself off, flushed, and shook her head. “Just give me a few minutes.”
She didn't miss Twilight's ears quivering to stay upright as her eyes flicked across the mantle, but she didn't say anything. Neither did she stop smiling, nor her eyes cease their twinkling. “Of course. Would you like me to help? I’m really good at cleaning up.”
Derpy’s thoughts came to a stop, and she looked around at the house, really looked. It was an effort to force her eyes to agree, but when they did…
Everything was out of place. The books Twilight had given her for her birthday last year shouldn’t have been on that shelf, but the one above it. The decorative bookends Twilight had given her should have been facing outwards, not with their noses almost touching, with only a single book keeping them apart. The bowls she thought she had stacked next to the sink were, in fact, stacked atop a newspaper that was spreading a slow, black stain of newsprint into the wood below it.
In fact, the only things that were in their proper places were the three eyries, and she knew that only because she’d spent the last hour arranging them with one eye closed, writing in her best hoof, and preparing the three gifts of heart, hope, and home.
“Derpy, let me help.”
She couldn't help a sigh as she smoothed the two quilts down again. “It’s hard to start over.”
“But you’re not starting over. This is a step in a process,” Twilight murmured at her side. “I read all the books I could, and all of them said the first major holiday is the hardest. I know… I know things didn’t exactly work out like we’d planned, either, but…” Twilight coughed, her lips curling up into a smile that danced crazily in Derpy’s vision as her eyes slipped out of focus again. “I can help. I want to.”
“I know you do.” And she should. She knew she should. But some stubborn part of her was still insisting that she could manage it on her own. But it’s more fun together.
“Remember our first date?”
“Un. For. Gettable.” Derpy laughed softly, shaking her head. “Everything was perfect, Twilight.”
“What first date are you talking about?” Twilight smiled as she said it, and leaned over to nip Derpy’s cheek. “I will admit to enjoying the gazebo.”
“And that’s all that needed to happen.”
“Oh please. We wouldn’t have been under the gazebo in the first place if everything else hadn’t gone horribly wrong!”
“We define horribly very differently, then. Let’s see…” Derpy tapped a hoof on the floor. “Equestria wasn’t in danger, there wasn’t a precipitating riot, or a rogue chaotic thought. That would have been a dandy first date.”
Twilight shook her head, laughing. “I’m dating an insane pony. Fillydelphia wasn’t date material. At all.”
“Oh? I thought the cafe after you all stopped the riot was quite nice. And the park. And the formal dinner the mayor threw us. Everything leading up to that was prep work.” Derpy smiled at Twilight’s incredulous stare. “You don’t have to wrestle a teenage mare and a hyperactive filly into a morning routine every day. Everything leading up to that dinner in Fillydelphia was positively peaceful next to a Monday morning in the Hooves household.”
“I’d like to see that.” Twilight tapped Derpy’s hoof lightly. “But I sincerely doubt it compares to an infectious thought for sheer chaos potential.”
Derpy tried to smile, but found her eyes drawn back to the wish eyries. “Maybe someday… but it won’t be like it was. They’ll be grown up.”
Twilight shifted beside her. A wing came up, brushed against Derpy’s back, and dropped again. In a soft, slow voice, she whispered, “They’re fine. I know they are.”
“I know. And…” The house did need to be cleaned. Four days worth of plates languished on the counter, the books on the shelves had been opened, stared at and placed back haphazardly. Even the laundry was at least two days behind. Not that there was much of it anymore.
“I would like you to help, but…” Derpy squinted out of one eye, and Twilight’s wavering smile stabilized, and her eyes became twinkling gems in the dimming glow of the hearthfire. She smiled. “Thank you."
"You’re not alone, Derpy. We’re… I’m here, and so is everypony else. We’re all here for you." Twilight edged closer, her cheeks glowing with more than cherry emberlight. “I know… we’re kinda new together, and this is a big step. I think we’re skipping an entire step, actually. From six: casual dates to eight: interacting with family.”
“I know. We are moving fast.” An ugly thought surfaced, suggesting Twilight was only there to fill a need. She had started courting Twilight soon after Sparkler had announced her intent to attend Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, after all. “But it’s also been fun.”
“It has.” Twilight touched her cheek with a light peck. “I’m still learning this marefriends thing. So, if I’m overstepping my bounds, let me know. I’ve been reading all the books I can, but… I’m quickly learning there’s so much that I can’t learn from a book about… you know...” Twilight flushed and stuck out her tongue. “And Rarity’s romance novels haven’t helped at all. I don’t know how she can read those.”
Derpy laughed softly. “I bet I know some things you have learned from those novels.”
“Er…”
A smile tugged at Derpy’s lips, drawing her away from the ugly notion as she leaned into her marefriend as she sputtered a laugh, her body growing warm.
The sprig of mistletoe beside her eyrie had been a part of her original wishes. Something else had replaced it, however. And maybe she didn’t need to wish for it. And maybe she didn’t need to think too hard about it, either.
She’d been friends with Twilight Sparkle for over a year, and they’d been close friends only a little less than that. Being the special envoy to the crown for the Ponyville Post Office had had its quirks, and its perks to go along with the responsibilities, and she’d found herself growing closer to Twilight, and her visits longer, tending to linger longer as simple thank yous turned into polite chats.
Those polite chats had turned into discussions, sometimes arguments, about a dazzling array of topics from the nature of apple cider to zebra myths and legends, and Derpy’s visits had come more often, and on thin pretenses of business… until she had dropped the pretense altogether after an eventful trip to Fillydelphia to solve a friendship problem had nearly spiraled out of control, and only an impromptu game of Hoofball, that Derpy had cheered as enthusiastically as she could from the sidelines, had saved the city from descending into anarchic chaos.
A week later, Derpy had delivered a box of mistletoe and asked the princess on a date.
“I could use your help cleaning up.”
“Derpy, you don’t have to worry. I’m happy to help.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath, let it out, and kissed Twilight one more time. “Let me at least tend the fire before we go.”
Twilight stood back to study the rest of the house while Derpy banked the coals and separated them from the remains of the single log. It was an easy enough exercise made easier for the paltry amount of ash built up.
In the time it took her to herd the embers of the log aside and shovel the ashes into the brass bucket on the hearthstones, the rest of the house was neater than it had been since September.
Plates and dishes were properly stacked for washing and both sides of the sink were full of hot water again—that would freeze by morning if the hearth wasn’t properly tended. The bookends, the busts of two mares, no longer had a book separating their muzzles. Something Twilight giggled over. The book title, she said, was So Your Teenager is Dating.
“Worst. Book. Ever.” Derpy rolled her eyes. “The first page says get over it.”
“Gift from Sparkler?”
“Yep. How’d you guess?”
By the time the last of the cold ash was separated from the few remaining embers, and one of those ladled into a sand-filled bucket, Twilight had turned her house from a neat-freak’s worst nightmare to… what it had been like before. Everything in its place. Neat and tidy, just the way Sparkler liked it.
“You unicorns make tidying up look so easy.” Derpy tried to laugh, managed to force a smile, and swallowed the lump in her throat, only to have it come right back.
“Come outside. Let’s go join the carollers.” The levity in Twilight’s voice hurt. How could she be so happy? “Come on, Derpy. It didn’t take us long. I bet they haven’t gone far.”
It was something she needed to do. She knew that. But… All around her were the memories she wanted to be there again. Memories of other Hearth’s Warmings with her daughters.
There were Dinky’s and Sparkler’s height markers, etched into the solid oak of a closet door. And the smooth-worn planks leading from the upstairs where thousands of days of hooves tramping up and flying down had done better than sanding at wearing them almost as smooth as glass. Tomorrow, they would have come tramping down them. Or Dinky would have. Sparkler…
Calls of “Breakfast!” rang out in her memory, followed by the tramp and scuffle of her youngest, and the moan of “Just a little longer!” coming from almost directly overhead from her eldest.
“Are you okay?” Twilight, the merry glow fading from her voice, brought her back to the present, where her marefriend was holding her close with both wings and hooves. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I mean… I could go by myself. Alone…”
“So help me, if your bottom lip starts trembling…”
It did.
She had to laugh. It was exactly how Dinky got her big sister to do what she wanted. If you don’t want to. With one thing missing. “You don’t sound nearly manipulative enough to pull that off. You need a pint-sized pair of puppy-dog eyes—” She darted a look around. “—to really pull it off.”
“Spike’s in Canterlot, visiting my folks. It’s just me.” Twilight laughed and tried to pull it off on her own, but her smile spoiled it.
"Oh. Did you learn that from your mother?"
“Maybe. I do have a big brother. And he’s just as susceptible as you.” Twilight leaned in for another kiss, eyes twinkling. “Come on. Let’s go. They’re probably waiting for us a couple houses down.”
In short order, Derpy stepped into the soft pile of snow pocked with the lumpy remains of a dozen or more snowballs. Distant strains of a chorus of ponies singing tuneless carols drifted along on the wind, more than a few houses away.
Enthusiasm trumped skill in the cold winter night, when half of the ponies singing would be on their third or fourth brandy or mead or cider provided by the houses they sang for and, at least for the ponies earliest in the train, the second-most important reason for carolling.
The first was having the best time one could have before the start of the new year with your best friends and family.
“How are Dinky and Sparkler doing in Canterlot?” Twilight asked quietly.
“Fine, I think. Dinky sent me a letter last week, and she’s really happy with her teachers, and her roommate is really sweet, it sounds like.” Derpy chuckled and lifted her face to the wind, eyes open. The cold made her eyes tear up. “Sparkler… I think she’s glad to be away from home for a while. She wrote a month ago, said everything was okay, classes were fine, and stop pestering me.” She chuckled again, grinning, her cheeks aching.
“Sounds… good.”
“It is. I know she’s glad to be away, and that hurts, but I’m glad they’re taking their schooling seriously, at least.” More than I did. She shook her head, smiling more brightly. “My babies are growing up.” I’m so proud of them.
“Do you ever… regret? I mean… you know.” Twilight flushed, looking away. “Sorry. I’m trying to follow this book’s advice, and it’s coming out all wrong.”
“It’s okay. We’ve got to talk about it sometime, right?”
Twilight blinked, opened her mouth, and shook her head. “I suppose we do. Maybe not tonight, though.”
“It’s fine. Really. And what better night than tonight? Tomorrow is a new year.”
“Mmm.” Twilight nodded. “So… anything?”
“What do I regret? Maybe that I never knew their fathers… but Sowing Night traditions, y’know.” Twilight stared at her, eyes blank. “Oh. Maybe they don’t celebrate Sowing Night in Canterlot. It’s a fading tradition out here, anyway, and I went the first time to annoy my parents. And became a parent, myself. That, I never regretted. Second time…”
She looked at Twilight and tried to focus her eyes. “It was after this. I didn’t know what I would do to make a living, and I wanted to try and find him again. I looked, and found the same mask again, and wore the same markings over my cutie mark.” She let her eyes slip out of focus again. “But, I suppose if he’d wanted to be a part of their lives, he would’ve tried to guess who I was… or find me afterwards. Or maybe he was there, and didn’t remember me.
“It doesn’t matter either way. I’m… happier now.” She smiled. “A friend got me the job with the Ponyville Post Office, and I threw myself into it, made new friends, took up the odd side-job, and sort of let my connection to that old life fade away. Mostly.”
Twilight was still silent, her pace slowed.
Derpy waited for her to catch up. “So now you know my life story,” she said with a laugh. “Does it surprise you that I don’t know their fathers?”
“A little? But… I don’t know what to say… I meant…” Twilight’s cheeks burned scarlet as bit her lip and shook her head. “I meant letting them go. To school in Canterlot, I mean. Do you regret that?”
“Oh.” Derpy felt her own cheeks warming despite the chill air. “Maybe? I wish they had wanted to go to school here, and maybe Dinky would have if it were just her, but she and Sparkler are inseparable. From Dinky’s point of view, at least. She adores her older sister, and when Sparkler warms to her, it’s the most adorable thing ever.”
Twilight laughed. “You’ll have to show me pictures.”
“Of course! That’s… what? Step thirteen on the relationship checklist? Sharing embarrassing pictures of relatives?”
“Fifteen,” Twilight said with a laugh. “Shining has no idea how many pictures of him mom kept. No idea.” She laughed again, the sound bright and happy. “I don’t know if I ever did thank you for that housewarming gift. Spike thought it was a riot.” She flushed. “That was when you first started courting me, wasn’t it?”
“Yep,” Derpy said with a laugh. “I was so embarrassed. I hadn’t meant to give you that gift for opening in public. The, um. My mother’s muffin recipe was meant to be the public gift.”
“I wondered about that… Spike loves to make them. They’re the best muffins he’s ever tasted, he says.” Twilight bumped her rump against Derpy’s, smiling. “I thought the book was a gag gift.”
“It, um, didn’t help that I said it was. I thought I was going to die from embarrassment. Sparkler teased me about it for weeks.” She still had the envelope and card in her box of mementos. “But… You’re welcome. And just in case it wasn’t clear… it was a gift given in earnest.”
“I won’t lie… I’ve been reading it a lot lately.” Twilight grinned. “We’re on step nine. Awkward confessions.”
“You don’t say!”
They shared a laugh, their voices carrying back to them after bouncing off houses and shops, their hooves crunching in the snow the only other sound in the night.
Some urge prompted her to add, “Thank you for talking me into coming out. I needed to be out of the house.”
“Of course.” Twilight sidled closer, shoulder to shoulder and wing to wing. “I’m glad to have an excuse to leave the castle for a while, too. Even on Hearth’s Warming, there’s paperwork to do, and I’m tired of it.”
It took a moment for Derpy to get the cadence right, but the gentle thudding counter-rhythm of their hooves ever so slightly out of sync sounded good. The snowpack on the road was heavily sanded, and their hooves found easy purchase. No rough patches to stumble over, no ruts to look out for. For the first time in weeks, she could let herself drift instead of paying attention where she was going. Twilight’s solid presence at her shoulder assured her she wasn’t going to stumble into anything.
“You know you’re welcome to come over with paperwork, or lunch, o-or anything, anytime.” She felt her cheeks heat. “I could bake muffins.”
“That sounds wonderful. I have always loved your muffins.”
They rounded a corner into the market square. It was empty, now, except for a pair of huge sleds drawn up to the front of Sugarcube Corner and the massive snowdrifts streaking out in delicate formations from the edges of buildings bordering the western side of the market.
Snow-speckled forms crowded around the entrance to the bakery, heads raised. They must have been in between songs, because only a quiet murmur drifted from the crowd. Odder, the door to the bakery stood wide open, spilling out a golden bar of light, and letting in cold air.
The entire building was lit up with festive streamers of fey lamps casting rainbows of green, gold, and red across the crowd. Carollers closed their doors and snuffed their candles before leaving, and Pinkie and the Cakes would have been the first to join. Or, Pinkie would have been; the Cakes would be homebound until the twins were old enough to bear the cold.
But there was Pinkie, her bright mane and coat clearly visible in the center of that bar of light, hooves raised as though she were ready to conduct an orchestra.
The crowd hushed.
“What’s going on?”
“I heard there was a late train from Canterlot,” Twilight said, winking.
“But… the blizzard last week… I thought the tracks were closed.” Could she really be suggesting what I think she is? Her steps faltered, the world blurring further. And the mail’s been on hold since yesterday.
“Were. Quite a few students in Celestia’s school aren’t from Canterlot anymore, Derpy. It’s not so easy for them to get home as it was for me.” She grinned. “The students at the school were more than happy to ride in the engine compartment and clear the tracks as they went.”
A figure at the edge of the crowd, almost invisible in the dim light against the white snow, turned, and what Derpy had thought was a snow-rainbow cast by the light of the open door became Princess Celestia’s mane.
“With Princess Celestia to watch over them, of course.” Twilight stepped closer, drawing a wing close over Derpy’s back. “Happy Hearth's Warming."
Derpy sighed, languishing in the warmth of Sugarcube Corner with her daughters and her marefriend keeping her company. Twilight’s friends lingered nearby, laughing and chatting with each other and friends, but staying respectful of the sleepy Dinky with her head tucked up against her mother’s wing.
Once the shock had worn off, she had fallen into the familiar joys of sharing gossip and stories, laughing at jokes, and eating more food than was probably healthy. Warmth filled her, and she didn’t even have to worry what her daughters were up to. They were right there with her, laughing and joining in.
Sparkler had monopolized Twilight’s time quickly, and drew her away to talk with some of the other students from the train. A quick lesson and demonstration followed as Twilight warmed to the role of teacher and taught the impromptu class a simple spell to chill drinks. An odd thing, with it so cold out, but the interior of the bakery would have become stifling if it weren’t for the efforts of the students practicing the spell on each others drinks.
She didn’t even protest much when Sparkler and Twilight had teamed up against her on Sparkler’s drinking of the lightly alcoholic punch, though she kept a close eye on her daughter’s intake. Twilight had more than once stopped Sparkler from refilling her cup, for which Derpy was grateful.
Party games had turned into a general riot of laughter when Princess Celestia insisted on playing each of the winners, and playful bets of cupcakes and candies were tossed about over who would win. To most everypony’s surprise, Princess Celestia had lost a little over half of the time to skilled Pin the Tail players and apple bobbers, and she hadn’t made it look like she had held back. Nopony beat Apple Bloom at apple bobbing, and Rarity dominated Pin the Tail regardless of the poster used.
But the one game Princess Celestia had yet to lose a single point on was the trivia game still going strong by the fireplace. Of course, she only raised her hoof after a considerable wait, and several teams of ponies were edging up on her lead by the time the first students started turning in around midnight.
By then, the bakery was still full of laughter, even if it had toned down, and the music had been lowered to a less lively rendition of the Hearth’s Warming instrumental orchestra, as played by the Canterlot Philharmonic.
Twilight Sparkle came back from the trivia game with Sparkler, both of them laughing after having talked to Princess Celestia. It made her heart swell to see her daughter and the mare she was in…
She shied away from that thought. It was still too early to say for certain.
Derpy met her with a gentle nuzzle and ruffled Dinky’s mane to wake her up. The young filly was halfway towards dozing, and Derpy had elected to stay with her instead of join in some of the more energetic games… not that it had stopped her from participating in the trivia game by shouting out answers. She had a comfortable twelve points, represented as individually wrapped sweets arrayed in front of her.
Well, eleven. Dinky was working on one of them.
“Is this okay?” Twilight nodded at the winding down party.
“Okay?” Derpy laughed and kissed Twilight gently on the cheek. “I may be a little miffed that nopony told me you’d all be here…”
Twilight flushed. “I know I probably should have told you they had a plan, but I wanted to make this a special Hearth’s Warming for you, as a surprise.” Twilight blushed more deeply, shaking her head as her ears wilted. “But there was a chance the snows would have been too deep, even with Princess Celestia helping clear ice. And I didn’t want to tell you, get your hopes up, and then find out they couldn’t make it.”
“I’m not upset.” Derpy pressed a hoof to Twilight’s lips. “Really.” She replaced her hoof with her lips.
“Ew!” Dinky thrust her head up between Twilight and Derpy, facing off against her mother’s marefriend. “Don’t kiss mommy.”
“Hey Dinks, don’t be rude,” Sparkler said, tugging her little sister’s tail and hauling her back. “Mom can date whoever she wants.” Her eyebrow went up at that, and she smirked.
Derpy frowned, barely hiding the smile she wanted to show. “If you think that means you can date that… that…” She swallowed the rest, shook her head, and let herself sink into Twilight’s side, with Dinky wriggling and trying to free herself of Sparkler’s magical grip, and glaring up at Twilight. “I just hope you’re keeping up with your schoolwork.”
“Mom, lay off. Schoolwork’s got me all tied up. No time for dating.”
Derpy lifted her head and cast a look at Princess Celestia, currently talking to an elderly couple lounging near the fire. As if she had heard, or felt, Derpy’s gaze and knew the reason, the Princess looked up at her, winked, and said something that made the elderly couple break into wheezing gales of laughter.
“Sure you don’t.” Derpy leaned forward and ruffled Sparkler’s mane with her muzzle. “Just make sure you do the best you can.”
“How long are you two staying?” Twilight asked.
“Oh. Um.” Sparkler blushed. “Dinks and I promised we would help get the other families to their homes before we stopped. Not just the Canterlot pass was blocked, and Princess Celestia promised extra credit if we helped all the way to the end of the line.”
“That’s generous,” Twilight said. “I remember Celestia loved to hand out creative extra credit. It was… it was a lot of fun.” She glanced over at her old mentor, smiling, and pulled Derpy closer. Dinky, remarkably, didn’t object beyond a glare directed first at Twilight, then at her older sister, still holding her tail in a purple magic field.
“You’ll be coming back, right? Before you go back to school?”
“Of course, mom. And we’re not leaving until tomorrow.” Sparkler glanced between Twilight and Derpy, and shook Twilight’s hoof. “It’s… I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself right away, but mom’s said a lot about you in her letters.” Sparkler’s bob of a nod covered her impish smile. “Good for her.”
“I feel like I already know you so well, too, as much as your mom talks about you.” Twilight said with a laugh. “I’m just lucky I didn’t catch the full brunt of that tackle outside.” Twilight winked very obviously and nudged Sparkler with a hoof. “You really should think about joining the mare’s hoofball team.”
“Haha. Totally… Hah.” Sparkler grinned, shook her head, and prodded her mother gently with a hoof. “So… that’s something I actually wanted to talk to you about. I know you don’t like hoofball, but…”
Twilight sidled closer, displacing Dinky, and wrapped a wing over Derpy’s back. Twilight knew, of course; everypony in town knew what had happened to her. She had been a fast forward for Canterlot’s professional hoofball team, the Cloudhunters, she hadn’t seen the tackle coming, and the other player hadn’t been able to stop her momentum. At least that’s what she’d been told. Derpy had found herself staring up at a red streak on the goalpost, head ringing from the impact, a frantic Cloudsdale defensive rear alternately calling her name and screaming for a medic.
She swallowed the lump in her throat, and banished the ringing in her ears with a light flick of her head. That could be her daughter. That could—
“You should see the helmets nowadays, mom. They’re harder than rock, and I couldn’t feel a building if it fell on me.” Sparkler lifted her hoof again, reached out to her mother, and set it back down, looking away. “It’s not like when you played. And it’s not even professional league.”
“Not like…” Her right hoof quivered, but Derpy kept it firmly planted and forced her heart to stay steady, her breathing even. She failed at both, and stared at her daughter. “Why?”
Twilight pulled her closer, nosing her ear, and the scar just below it. Nopony but Twilight had ever seen it. “She came to me, saying she wanted to talk to you, but didn’t know how,” she whispered. “Listen to her. She’s scared you won’t let her play.”
She’s scared? She almost laughed, but looked again at her daughter. The cocky, borderline snarky facade fell away as she pierced the familiar teenage bravado and really looked at her daughter. The hoof twitching on the ground, the ears quivering, not quite still… “She’s scared that I won’t support her?” she asked in a whisper, mostly to herself.
In answer, Twilight nudged her ear again.
Derpy took a deep breath, shoving aside the almost years old trauma, clutched Twilight’s foreleg tight with her own, and tested her voice, “New helmets. Good. That’s good.” Her heart started beating again. “You’re staying safe?”
“Yes. And the team… well, we have fun. We’re not the best, but it’s a lot of fun. And we don’t play national. It’s just for fun.” Sparkler glanced at Twilight, flushing, and nodded sideways at her mother. “And it’s safe.”
Twilight blinked, glancing between mother and daughter. “I, um never played. Or payed much attention to sports. But she’s right. Some of the other students here play, and I had a chance to talk to them. The lower leagues are strictly limited in maximum speed, and they have zero tolerance for overaggressive players. Celestia’s school does participate in the intracity leagues, which are just a step above pee-wee hoofball.” She shuffled a hoof against the floor. “I’m sure it’s safe. Princess Celestia wouldn’t let her students put themselves at risk.”
But there was the unspoken knowledge that any sport involved a risk of injury. But… she had enjoyed playing hoofball herself. The team had been her family, helping her raise Sparkler, and later Dinky, helping her make the best of the nomadic life of a professional hoofball player. They had even helped watch over her daughters even as she went through recovery and discovered she wouldn’t play ever again, that her life had been changed irrevocably.
And she still kept in touch with some of them. Was it any wonder that her daughter looked up to those one-time aunts and uncles?
Can I really tell her she can’t be like them?
Derpy looked between Sparkler and Twilight, held her breath for a long moment, and nodded. “I know.” I miss you. “I love you. I want to make sure you stay safe. And happy. And, if playing hoofball makes you happy… I’ll be happy with you.” Please, Celestia, don’t let happen to her what happened to me.
“So… new beginnings, mom?” She raised a glass of cider. “It’s a new year tomorrow.”
“Yes.” Derpy made herself smile. “New beginnings.” She would have some letters to write. And she wanted to get a look at those helmets. “New year.” She raised her own glass and drank it down in one go.
“Twilight?” Derpy stopped at the intersection that would lead to the castle. “Thank you.”
Dinky, riding on her back and nestled between her half-raised wings, raised her head slightly, shifted, and nuzzled the back of Derpy’s neck. “Go home?”
“Soon, sweetie. I need to see Twilight off.”
Dinky didn’t even grumble at that, relaxing and resting her muzzle into the base of Derpy’s neck, little forelegs hooked over the bases of her wings.
“You’re welcome.” Twilight hesitated, eyes on Dinky. Sparkler, ears drooping from either drowsiness or alcohol, and possibly both, gave her a nudge.
Derpy saw the conflict brewing, and held herself apart from it. Except for when Sparkler had intervened, or Dinky had gone off with some other foals to play the foal version of Pin the Tail, she had kept herself between Derpy and Twilight as much as possible. Twilight, Derpy and Sparkler had spent some time playing at the adult games, and she had gotten some quality nuzzling time in during the first rounds of trivia. But, for the most part, Twilight had respected Dinky’s overprotective attitude.
Don’t let her push you away. She wanted to say it. It had to be said. But… what if it didn’t work out? She gnawed at her lip, working the problem over in her mind, eyes darting between Sparkler and Twilight. She took a step, and paused when Dinky made a grumbling sound and pulled harder at her wings.
Sparkler nudged Twi again, pushing her towards Derpy. “Go on. Dinky’ll come around eventually. You’re good for mom.”
Twilight’s ears flattened, and she stared at Derpy.
“Look. I haven’t seen mom this happy in a while. Yeah, you knew her a long time before you started dating, but the way I see it, she hasn’t freaked out about me playing hoofball. Yet. And that’s huge.” She grinned. “I’ll have to tell ya what she did when I suggested I might possibly, maybe be interested in playing when I was a filly. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t pretty!”
“You were five! I didn’t want you breaking your leg and being a cripple—”
“Mom, please. I’m tryin’ to help.”
“Don’t push your luck.” Derpy bit her lip, swallowed, and forced her right hoof to stay still. “We’re still going to talk about it in the… well, I suppose it will have to wait until you get back. But we are going to talk about that. I want to be comfortable knowing you’ll be safe.”
“Ugh. Fine. Just listen to me.” Even in the cold Sparkler’s cheeks were glowing, noticeable even with her lavender coat. “I’m tryin’ to, uh…”
“Oh, dear,” Twilight said with a small sigh. “I think the walk is circulating the alcohol in her bloodstream more than the party was.”
“Psh. I’m fine! I feel good.”
“Letting you at the hard cider was a bad idea…” Derpy sighed theatrically and took a step towards Twilight. Dinky mumbled, but stayed in place. She must have fallen asleep for her to be so quiescent. Or was simply hiding in the warmth between Derpy’s half-raised wings.
“She’ll drink responsibly. Won’t you, Sparkler?” Twilight asked softly, flicking her tail at Sparkler.
“Psh. You’re not my mother yet.” But Sparkler was laughing, and danced aside from a sloppy snowball.
“I’m serious.” Twilight lifted a hoof and tapped Sparkler’s foreleg. “Drinking is a big responsibility, and I need to know you will drink responsibly.”
“Yes. Fine. Drink responsibly. One drink per hour, maximum size of no more than twelve fluid ounces with an alcohol content of no more than ten percent by volume” Sparkler rolled her eyes. “Please. Memorizing history is harder.”
Twilight’s jaw firmed and raised one imperious eyebrow at Sparkler. Derpy wanted to add her firm stare, or compliment Twilight. She had the stern mother look down to a science. Knowing her, she probably does. She giggled, drawing startled looks from both mares.
“Hah!” Sparkler raised a hoof and pointed it waveringly at Derpy. “I’m not the only one.”
The glare from Twilight intensified, and she added a heavy hoof-stamp. “Sparkler, you’re more mature than this.” Her voice grew softer, but her look stayed as hard. “I will support you wanting to play hoofball, even against your mother’s wish. If you can prove to me that you’re responsible enough to take the risks seriously. Right now, you’re not doing a very good job of that.”
I’m so proud of you… It was an effort to not cover her muzzle, but she couldn’t stop the tears from trickling down her cheek to freeze in the night air.
“Sorry.” Sparkler broke away first, looking down at her hooves. “I know it’s hard for you, mom. But I will play safe. And I won’t drink. Promise. Except for holidays.”
Both of you.
“Good. Now… um.” As suddenly as Twilight had shown her resolve, it faded into an almost adolescent timidity, her ears flattening as she looked down at her hooves, blushing, and back up at Sparkler. “Can you please look away? I’m going to kiss your mother.”
Sighing, Sparkler did as she was asked. “You know I already know what kissing is, right? And it’s not the end of the world if mom falls for a Princess. It’s actually kinda cool. Would that make me a Princess, too? Y’know, if you got hitched?”
Twilight laughed, hiccuped, and shook her head slowly.
“Sparkler!” Derpy laughed, covering her muzzle with a hoof. “You didn’t drink that much! Or you, Twilight Sparkle!”
“Like you were watching me the whole night…” Sparkler muttered.
Twilight flushed, biting her lip. “I was. It’s my fault, but I think maybe I did let her have a little too much. In my defense, some of Star Swirl’s theories require the imbibing of alcohol to properly appreciate their complexities.”
“And insanities. How did you ever get through Intermediary Time Travel?”
“I didn’t! I kept going back to the Beginning!”
Both mares broke down into fits of giggles.
“You two… I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on the both of you, aren’t I?” Derpy sighed, shaking her head. She’s not my little baby anymore. “I’m just happy you’re here right now. I can see we’re all going to have to have a little talk in the morning.”
Sparkler cast a pleading look at Twilight, who dodged it with a shrug.
“I am apparently in the same hot water as you,” Twilight said, grinning and sticking her tongue out. “We shall face it together.”
“You make it sound like a sentencing board,” Derpy said. “How does a date, tomorrow night, my house, for dinner sound as punishment? For you,” she added, tapping Twilight on the chest.
“Woohoo! No sentencing for me.” Sparkler laughed and stuck her tongue out at her mother before addressing Twilight with a low bow. “You may kiss my mother, Your Highness. Mother, I will take my leave… over here.” She turned in place and set about crafting snowballs very obviously.
“Thank you for permission, daughter,” Derpy said with as theatrical a bow as she could manage, mindful of not waking Dinky. “Thank you,” she whispered as Twilight’s breath warmed her nose, “For a wonderful night.”
Twilight’s eyes closed partway as they met in a gentle, slow kiss. It wasn’t mind-melting, or heart-throbbing. And Twilight wasn’t a very experienced kisser, but she was a fast learner.
When they parted, Twilight’s cheeks were glowing, her eyes alight. Derpy felt her own cheeks with a hoof, and found them warm to the touch despite the cold. She giggled, resisting the urge to prance. That would wake her daughter, and she desperately wanted to have some time with Twilight without Dinky coming between them.
Their second kiss came slower, with more than just a hint of heat threading its way around her ears and down her neck. Twilight responded in kind, her wings half-raising as her body shook with reaction. But, perhaps mindful of the company, she didn’t press further, and their lips parted after a hoofful of heated breaths, their heads shrouded in icy fog.
“A-hem.” Sparkler kicked a pile of snow. “I said you could kiss her, not make out with her.”
“Come with us,” Derpy said, the words coming out before she had a chance to think about them. “Spend the night with us. We’ll have enough time before the train leaves to have breakfast and open presents. They’re still set up in the living room, just the way we left them.”
Twilight cocked her head to the side, ears flattening. “But… the castle has…” She trailed off, looking up the snowy street to the glittering crystalline tree looming over the town. Derpy had seen the decorations set up in the castle, more than once. But… she and Twilight had set up the ones in her house in an afternoon, and…
“Please, Twilight.”
“It’s… big.”
“I know it is. I’m asking you to be a part of my family. And I can’t imagine you being happy tonight in that big, empty castle. Your friends might stay part of the night, but what about later? Tomorrow morning?” Derpy reached out to clasp Twilight’s foreleg with her hoof. “My home will be filled with family. Thanks to you, I was happy tonight. It was a good surprise.”
“I want to, but what about…” Twilight nodded at the bundle on Derpy’s back. “I don’t want to upset her.”
“You won’t. I promise.”
“Really, Twilight? Mom’s asking you to join our family tonight, and you’re really gonna say no? I’ll talk to Dinky.” Sparkler snorted and flicked a snowball over her back in Twilight’s direction. “Come home with us. I want to talk to you more about Star Swirl’s Ethereal Amalgamation Theory.”
“She could work on her tact… but she’s right. Dinky will come around.”
“Yup!”
“I… I suppose I could.” Twilight glanced at Sparkler, still with her attention ostensibly on the snowbank at her hooves. “I don’t want to upset Dinky. Would she…” She bit her lip, ears flat as she studied Derpy and Dinky, the filly still sleeping on her mother’s back. “I want her to like me.”
“She does. I think she just needs to see that you’re not leaving.” I need to know that.
“I’m not going to.” Twilight leaned forward and punctuated the statement with a firmer kiss, sliding into a nuzzle along Derpy’s neck to lightly kiss Dinky’s forehead. “You have a wonderful family.”
And I want you to be a part of it. The same thought had been drifting through her mind all night, buoyed by her children’s presence, Twilight’s cheer, and her patience with Dinky’s protectiveness. It had underscored the obvious: I need somepony special in my life.
“Will you be a part of it?” She lifted Twilight’s chin up, forcing her eyes into alignment to meet Twilight’s, seeing her marefriend’s widen as she nodded, saw the smile blooming, and drew Twilight into a deeper kiss than she’d risked all night.
“Yeah. We’re a pretty awesome—” Sparkler turned around, squeaked, and whirled back, tail snapping. “Could have told me you were still smooching… lecture me about… what about… need therapy…” She settled to giggling and looking over her shoulder.
Twilight broke off the kiss, laughing. “Yes.”
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Yes kids, all of that will be on the test.
This was a fun little experience. I've never written a story with a lesson in mind before, and I hope I helped that intent shine through.
Also, derpi lists the artist as adamscage. Here's another picture he did that links to a tumblr page. Not sure if that's the same place to find the cover art, but it's there.
6855800
Sadly not... I looked through all 25 pages of arts on the tumblr. No luck. All the google image search results lead right back to Derpi, too. Also looked through the deviantart gallery, and didn't find even a sketch like it.
I loved this so so much, the tone or feel of the narrative was introspectively warm? I dont know how to describe it.
The melancholy threaded throughout was very palatable
I loved the time travel joke, the characters interactions, conversations and just everything felt very real.
Would love to see more of this.
6855945
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I meant it to be a warm story, with a growing warmth as it went on, with the melancholy drifting through it feeling both real and attached to a particular... feeling, situation... it's a hard to describe thing, but it has a name. That name was actually in the story, if you take the metaphor in the condition's name somewhat literally.
It was something that I got to witness firsthand when I was home for the holidays this winter.
6856023 Yes that is the feeling I got. I believe you captured it very well.
It comes in a bit late for the Hearthswarming crowd, but honestly I think this might be my favorite Hearthswarming story released this winter! I'm a huge sucker for TwErpy, and the emotional weight was just perfect for the amount of time given. Small bits of holiday melancholy interspersed with beautiful moments of lightness. Excellent piece, simply excellent.
This is the stuff that keeps my heart beating.
I like this Universe, but I get the feeling you weren't planning to continue using it, were you?
All the same, this was a ship that I have never, for some reason, ever thought of. I like it.
I liked it. It hits all the right buttons: soft & warm romance, bits of silliness, happy family, all the good feelings.
My only problem is that the introduction is...well, to put it best, I'll borrow the line right before things started making sense. It pretty much mirrors my thoughts.
That's not to say that the intro was necessarily bad or impossible to understand, but up until that sentence, the writing is really scattered. Certain phrases took rereading to make sure I caught what was being said, and there are times where two sentences are in the same paragraph, but are completely unrelated to each other.
Other than that part, though? Loved it, would read more of it, and this is a rather under-represented ship that I like.
An original backstory for Best Pony, an adorable romance, an exquisite nerd joke...
Yeah, there's nothing here I didn't love. Thank you for it.
6856996
Better late than never! And thank you. I really enjoyed filling in the bits and pieces in this story.
6857057
I don't have any plans at this time, no. A part of the problem is that I need an ultimate goal for the characters to reach. This can be overcoming an obstacle, achieving a self-set goal, or coming to a fundamental realization. I would need to develop a few ideas and mesh them into the world. Something I could certainly do, given time, but it does take time to develop a longer story's plot. Not to mention writing it.
6857104
I can't disagree with you there on the opening being a bit of a jumbled mess. I will have to have a look over the structure and see what I can do to improve it without losing the sense of being lost and uncertain. I have a tendency, especially in early drafts, to be a little sloppy in constructing paragraphs, and some of those construction mishaps make it through to the final product. Similarly, I find I have a tendency when self-editing to ignore the opening of the story, despite it being the most important part to getting folks to read on. It's a failing.
6857615
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I was a little worried how folks would feel about me giving her an original backstory, but it seems like it's not poorly received.
I had thought I would make the Fillydelphia (Philadelphia Experiment) connection a bit more concrete... but that it might also detract from the story. So I settled for the 'meme' (infectious thought) in Fillydelphia, since conspiracy theories are pretty similar in thought morphology to memes... and the chapter title + story title.
(That's mostly a lie... it happened by coincidence in the writing initially, and I decided to run with it.)
6857615
Oh... that joke... Uh...
I actually forgot that was in there. Until I re-read it. Whee! In my defense, I was also trying to craft the blog series that started this story, and update another story at the same time.
6858097
Fair enough. Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it, and thank you for giving me a some specifics about why. I really appreciate the feedback.
Edit: At the risk of killing the author, the focus of the story was meant to be on family growing up, and making changes as it does. But everyone takes away something different, which is why I love hearing back from readers. And I can certainly see where you're coming from, I'm just not sure I agree with parts of it, specifically the preachy part, but I can see where you're coming from.
Which, of course, doesn't mean anyone is right or wrong. It's all up to interpretation, preference, and personal enjoyment.
I agree with 6857615, everything about this was great. It helps that this is my favourite ship...
6858201
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
6858227
Even so, I do so adore criticism. It stings, but it's a good sting, y'know. Actually can't think of anything at the moment that stings that would be 'good', but I hope you get what I'm saying. Growing pains! That's it.
Anywho... I'm glad you did enjoy it, and I do keep in mind as much critical feedback as I can, and I especially appreciate that you took the time to explain it. I have a hard time, sometimes, writing up reviews myself. Putting why something struck me as odd takes time and effort to suss out, and more time and effort putting it into something coherent.
So, thank you for the time. I truly do appreciate it.
And, well, my edit may have come from the old angle. But it's the same sentiment, I hope. Feedback is always appreciated, but never expected.
And I'll stop
writingadding things to this reply because I have a tendency to ramble and add things unto incoherence.Edit: My comments tend to be very spacy. I'm a space case. Hence the short bio. Luna also accurately portrays my mood most days. Spaaaaace!
Twilight x Derpy was one of the first ships I've encountered after getting into the fandom (I think it was Address Unknown), so it holds a special place for me.
Nicely done.
6858507
Thank you! I'm glad I was able to do it justice. I shall now have to find this story and read it, because it's definitely relevant to my interests.
Found it! Address Unknown by Remedy
Thank you! Got another story to read, now. And a long one.
6858517
I'm sorry... I have to do this mashup... PinkiePox: Contagious laughter.
6858518
You're welcome!
Huh
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/1/17/565.png
6858521
hehehahaha! 
D'aww
I now have another ship involving Twilight that I love. I think I have a problem......
6859607
Nah. That's not a problem. That's a solution.
To what?
I'unno. I imagine it's, like, the ultimate question. Like 42. Except the question is something more like "Who can I ship this pony with?"
Twilight!
6858968
I will see your d'aww and raise you d'aaaaaaaaaaaw (seriously, that's the tag I found this under)
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/10/11/999400__safe_twilight+sparkle_clothes_blushing_equestria+girls_upvotes+galore_cute_open+mouth_glasses_sunset+shimmer.png
And because it made me smile:
derpicdn.net/img/2015/7/24/943024/tall.png
Same tag.
"Sowing Night?" Do I want to know what that is? :P
6859708
What? The planting celebration? Psh. Nothing uncouth going on there. Nosirree. 'Specially not at night. Nope. Nothin' to see here.
Nope.
Pst. Sowing wild oats.
6859721
If you're the one sowin' them, how can the be wild? Ain't that the definition of cultivated?
I feel bad for being curious, given the off hand nature of the line and the lewd implications, but it feels like there's a backstory here
My feels were not prepared for this... I'll just be happily ded in the corner for now.
Holy shiztaco. Twiderp is RARE.
6857907
Of course.
What I really want to see is Dinky and Sparkler having Twilight as a second Mom. There are endless cuteness possibilities.
6859825
True. And yes, there is a backstory to it. The origin of the idea is from a book I read a long time ago, the Books of Swords, where there's a festival that plays a large part in the start of the story, the implications of which echo down through the stories. The festival revolves around the mingling of nobility and commoners without any obligation on either party. Part of a fertility rites ceremony.
I decided that something like it was popular in olden days, but had lost its following slowly. However, the Planting Festival itself was still going strong. The Sowing night was something that kept going by the stories young mares and stallions of the more rural towns and villages where the old traditions still held strong. But, modern times creep up on all, and the Sowing Night tradition only attracts enough for a semi-annual gathering of about a hundred ponies. It's not all about the fertility, of course. It's a part, but there's gaming, drinking, and a good deal of proving themselves as new adults. Racing, tests of strength, etc, and prizes for the winners.
6859835
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm always glad to see that.
6859956
It is, isn't it. Sad, that. I like the ship, myself.
6860013
Indeed. I always have a few ideas blipping around, and I had some ideas for how to incorporate it all into a story about Twilight learning to be a mom and balancing her duties as a parent and a princess, Dinky learning to share her mom, and Sparkler learning what it means to be a princess, and the responsibilities that go along with the privilege. For Derpy, it's learning to let go and not need to step in whenever one of her girls is in trouble.
6860066
vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/2/21/Stahp.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140401024542
You're making me hyped for an indefinite continuation!
6860116
Sorry... I have a tendency to do that...
6860030
Huh, I wasn't actually expecting a reply D: It's certainly an interesting thought; were you interpreting it being 'on part' from the apparent sex imbalance in Equestria, as many authors have, or just wanted to incorporation the idea in general?
6860150
I don't generally subscribe to the idea of the huge gender imbalance. If you read Ghost of a Rose, you can see some of the ideas that I work from when I write ponies. That story has the greatest amount of my world-building at a slice of life level. In particular interest to this, ponies have fewer hangups about the mechanics of scoodlypooping. Origin of that word below.
Anywho... I see that, because they don't generally wear clothes, the physical body isn't something they give a lot of thought about being afraid of or embarrassed by. I mean... there's gonna be accidental flashes, and ponies have a very distinct difference of feeling between casual and intimate, and that's all in the body language. They have very expressive tails, which a lot of authors don't pay attention to, and very expressive ears, as well. Both tell a story about a pony's mood.
They're also cues that we humans tend to pick up on easily, too, because the cues for ears are very similar to those of cats, dogs, and... well... horses. The tail motions of a horse aren't hard to understand, either. Angry, frustrated, annoyed... ears plus tail lend to a full body emotional readout. Adding in hoof movements adds more layers of meaning. Stamping, shuffling the hoof, and more naturally human things like reaching out, hugging, clapping, etc... Ponies are extremely expressive creatures, and they can make their mood known easily with just a few cues and no words.
So... yeah. Got a little off track, but my point was that a pony's body language is the indicator of whether something was accidental or with a purpose, and that's where the embarrassment and discomfiture of trying to flirt and the complexities and uncertainties of dating... It's not that they're on display, it's that they're actively looking, and that's where what appear to be more human traits come into play, things that we can relate to.
It's all about intent and mood.
And rambling... so... thanks for giving me an opportunity to ramble! I do love it so.
6860205
Canon-wise, it looks like Gender Imbalance takes place tenfold. It's improved season to season, but it still seems like Equestria is mostly Female. More so than our Earth. Not I agree with that, but still.
This was an excellent story! I loved it. It was heartwarming, honestly, I want to read more .-. This was so amazing, I simply cannot describe it..
I give this story a muffin rating of: Twelve and a half muffins out of ten
~SoDF
6860066
I haven't personally seen Twiderp since S1.
6860205
And it's why when you get HiE that get poofed into ponies, the awkwardness factor shoots to 11 out of 10. Misunderstandings and missed social cues galore!
But clothing isn't all bad. Walking around on fleshy feet can be painful if not outright dangerous when every little jagged rock or pointy stem happily punctures the soles, oh and exposed roots are excellent places to smash toes inward. And don't get me started on sunburns; I must be part vampire because I all but burst into flames under a strong lightbulb since I always burn, never "tan". Then there's the dangly bits of human anatomy that are super sensitive to rough surfaces and sudden impacts. Owch! Ponies have it so easy with their fur and hooves... hmph.
That was a wonderful, heart warming read.
Thank you
6860504
I'm glad to hear it! I wish I could say that I could promise more, but alas, all I can promise are maybes. I currently have close to sixty other ideas to write, some of which are sequels to other stories I've already written.
6860769
You're welcome!
6860733
But of course! I would love to see a professional equestrian (horse handler/rider) zapped to Equestria and poofed into a pony. That could be interesting. The cues aren't missed... they're well understood... and she ends up reading far too much into a casual tail flick or grin. Misunderstandings abound!
6860205
I'm not sure how I feel about the whole gender imbalance thing tbh; I tend to use it in my stories but I'll admit that it's something of a cheesy idea, and the ratio of mares to stallions has, over the seasons, improved. That said, I think there's still more mares than stallions in the show, as far as I know.
I do think it makes a lot of sense for them to have fewer hangups around sex; it always struck me [this is a bit of an aside] that nudists tend to take such an unusually dim view of sexuality (usually in the sense of 'what do I do if I get a boner' FAQ) given the situation. If you're nude, you're going to see males get erections, and accidental flashes (and perhaps not-so-accidental flashes) and everything in between.
Finally, to comment on body language: I agree, but technically humans have body language too, and it doesn't stop us from making mistakes.
6861400
True about human body language. Our facial language is a bit more subtle, so far as I know. I think, more, what I was getting at is that ponies have far more visible markers for body language. Tails and ears. And I'm certain there are ponies that don't pick up on those cues. Like the impatient mare stuck listening to a boring diatribe about Ogres and Oubliettes because the stallion isn't paying attention or not catching the snapping tail, the slicked back ears, the strained smile, brief, terse replies, and the roving eyes searching for an escape route.
For a human woman it'd be the tapping foot, crossed arms, fake smile, and roving eyes, maybe terse comments, etc.
So, there's a good bit of overlap, yep.
Failed to pick up the cues in both cases.
To the nudists...
I think, for the difference in Pony vs. Nudists - for the pony, not wearing clothes is the norm. For the nudists, it's a part of image. They don't want to be seen as sex-crazed, and want it to be seen by larger society, where clothing is the norm, as a healthy, non-sex-crazed lifestyle. When you wear clothes, the question of what to do when you have an erection is moot, as is bending over, crossing your arms, etc.
When a society has nudity as its norm, the problem of what to do if you have an embarrassing slip is written into social mores, and everypony just accepts it as an oops and moves on and doesn't create a pamphlet freaking out over it. It's taught as a part of growing up, and handled just like any other social faux pas.
As to gender imbalance... there may be a disposition towards mares in the population If you're going by historical herds, mares and stallions were probably born in close to equal numbers. But dispersal and the need to roam to find non-related mates would send stallions out to roam and try to find other herds that weren't related where they could set up as part of the structure of that society, a notoriously dangerous endeavor. Similarly, stallions are also defenders of the herd, and mares the leaders. Defenders protect the leaders, and thus suffer higher attrition due to predation.
But... birth-rate-wise... perhaps somewhere along the line a minor disposition towards female offspring would explain it. Over time, such a minor disposition would lead to a seeming overpopulation of mares.... but it would likely even out as mares would then be taking roles that stallions had, once - namely defenders, and suffering the same rates of predation, thus evening numbers.
As far as the show is concerned... well. I'unno. I just tend to write it as either a minor local abundance of mares, or generally equal distribution, or even just the stallions need to satisfy that need to roam and take jobs that send them off. Railroad workers, mail carriers, couriers, etc., leaving the mares to appear to be in abundance, when the stallions are just off-screen doing something else.
Edit: Wow... I ramble too much.
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That was a decent bit of rambling. But it was the good kind, points were made, information and opinions shared.
Hell, I even learned a little about actual herds. (I actually didn't know that mares lead herds)
Not like the angry and or nonsensical kind that I see far too often.
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I like to think of angry rambling like this:
Anywho... glad you learned something about herds! I've always found horses and herds fascinating. I used to have my own little horse farm playset when I was younger, and I loved it. I've been horsey ever since.
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I think subtlety can be somewhat relative, as well though, Horse's body language seems relatively easy to understand, but I think one could make the argument that it's at least partly because horses likely feel emotions in a much more basic, uncomplicated way than we do--not to mention the complexities of culture and society heap on top of this. For example, one generally would be seen as rude if you bit someone, but horses often do when they're annoyed or angry. The other difficulty would be that even if we take the position that there is no differences in emotional complexity and body language isn't as informed by society as other forms of communication might be, it's still possible that horse body language is more complex than we realize, and we're missing part of it because we're not horses.
I think you've hit the nail on the head, truly, but it does bother me on some level that so many nudists seem to take the position that boils down to, in essence, 'don't be ashamed of your body, but be ashamed of your body'. In some sense, this is probably due to how utterly fucked up our society is to a large degree when it comes to the human body, and it really isn't that relevant to this story save as a compare and contrast with this hypothetical pony society.
On gender: I think the idea of roaming
studmuffinsis actually a rather interesting one, where the stallions go from place to place, maybe spend a month or a few weeks in an area, before moving elsewhere. Do you have any stories that explore it specifically? Or Would it be in that Ghost of Rose fic?6862343
Sort of...
I had the idea of the Wandering College that I used as a very minor plot device in Ghost. It was how the protagonists eventual mate got their degree. The idea of the Wandering College is pretty much there in the title. It's a caravan that roams the nation, picking up and dropping off students as they go, picking up knowledge and sharing it, and their expertise for a small fee, water rights, and some food. The knowledge of the WC is more practical than theoretical. It's more akin to a technical school in our world, that teaches skills and how things work.
It also satisfies, for mares and stallions, a basic wanderlust need at an age when that desire to roam is the strongest. Their may actually be a few, with hometowns that support them instead of them requiring fees for what they do. I had the idea that the students are all active, working parts of the caravan, and they help mend wagons, cook meals, and do other camp duties just like the teachers. But when the caravan settles and sets its tent walls, staying in one place for a week or a month, they teach and spread knowledge to whatever town they happen to be near, with the more advanced students helping teach the younger foals, and the younger wandering students taking lessons from the professors.
Of course, since becoming more stationary and building cities and farms, developing agriculture, the need to wander is becoming less and less. Over the last millennium, the WCs have faded from glorious caravans of hundreds of ponies in each, with the wealth of knowledge in their wagons equal to any library, to maybe a hundred or so ponies who rely on local libraries to store the more delicate knowledge found in scrolls and books and focus more on crafts and magical tutelage.
If you're interested on my take on earth pony magic, I have a good deal of that in Ghost, and some more in Under a Tree. For unicorn magic, or... well, alicorn, really, I have Mother of the Moon. I have yet to publish one focusing on pegasi, but I do have another Derpy tale I'm working on, a LyraDerp with some emphasis on wings in the background details. (Though I call her Bright Eyes in that one... and Muffins in Twilight Sparkle and the Cake Thief)
In fact, much of the detail I have in my stories is understated, actually. I don't exposit on the nature of magic all that much. I try, as much as possible, to demonstrate how it works. It's more visceral that way, I think, and people are free to draw their own conclusions about the minutiae of magical systems and limits. I don't tend to like magic that relies on "It's a level 7 unicorn spell!" Too formulaic. I like organic magic that's woven into the world.
As for the rest, on subtlety and nudists... couldn't agree more. There's just so much we can't know about the complexities of the emotional cues of other animals. Heck... a huge portion of their social cues, as relate to romance, may not even be understandable by us. Scent, you know.
That was adorable and a lot of fun to read.