Thankfully, I didn't have to worry about looking for Ditzy's house on my own, as Dash was quick to return later that night and let me know that I would be needed to come over tomorrow by ten, and she would be leading me there. This was just after Twilight and I finished going over the book about Winter Wrap-Up, and with a thanks to the speedy mare, the two of us went to bed for an early night.

The next day, true to her word, Rainbow came back once we finished breakfast. With an hour left, I questioned her why she came to get me so early, only to tell me that the Wonderbolt's show she got tickets for was due in ten minutes. Understanding her need to hurry, I gave a quick goodbye to Spike and Twilight before following the rainbow mare.

Thankfully it only took five minutes for us to reach Ditzy's place, which of course was a house that looked almost like the others around it. Well, if it works then no need to change it too much I guess. In any case once we were there Rainbow, who was eager to get to the Wonderbolt's show, gives me a quick bye before zooming off in a streak of rainbows. Shaking my head at the sudden departure, I walk up to the front door and knock on it.

It doesn't take too long to get a response from inside. "Coming! One moment!" I hear, most likely Ditzy by the sounds of it. As I wait, I start to lean against a foot before taking a jump back as I hear a crash followed by a loud thud. I pause, unsure if I should barge in and help, but before I can make up my mind, the door opens and a rather rattled up Ditzy opens the door, her mane in disarray.

It takes her a moment to collect her senses, her eyes soon somewhat focused on me...well, one eye at any rate. "Drak? You're here early."

"Yea, Rainbow came and showed me where you live early cause her Wonderbolt's show was gonna start soon." I explain.

"Still, I don't need to leave for another fifty minutes!" She says, before quickly adding, "I mean, not that it's bad that you are early, I just wasn't expecting it and-"

I give a soft chuckle and wave my hand to calm her. "Ditzy it's ok. If you want I can come back later. I know where you live now so-"

"No!" Her sudden response causes me to pause in surprise, the shout seeming to surprise even her as she blushes lightly. "I mean, no it's fine, really. Please, come in." She adds in a calmer tone, opening the door wider and stepping to the side. I hesitate, still feeling as if I was pressuring the gray mare into making her take me early, but she quickly adds, with a bit more of her normal cheery tone, "Don't make me pull you in here mister."

I can't help but to laugh at that, giving a shake of my head. "Ok ok, I'm coming." I say as I enter the room, letting the pegasus close it behind us. I take a quick look around, finding the room to be the main room, and once again not very different from most other houses that I've seen around here. At least, it looks as normal as I would expect one to be on the inside, this being the first time I was in another pony's house. Of course there were pictures of her and Ditzy along the walls, among other simple nik naks that obviously had some value to them. One thing that stood out was a small bookshelf that seemed to have been knocked over, the books all tossed around. Obviously Ditzy ran into it when she was rushing for the door to get me.

She sees me looking at the mess as she frowns. "Yea, sorry for the mess, I kind of...ran into it trying to get to you."

I shrug. "No worries, we all make mistakes at times." I reply, getting a slightly relieved smile from her.

Ditzy quickly trots to the front of the stairs that lead to the second room and calls out, "Dinky! Drak's her!"

"Coming!" I hear the filly call back, and after a few seconds she is on the top of the stairs, a huge smile on her face as she sees me. "Drak!" She calls out, nearly flying down the stairs and jumping onto me, forcing me to catch her in my arms and steady myself otherwise risking falling over.

"Woah!" I cry in surprise, holding her close as she hugs me. Even with the sudden surprise hug, I can't help but to smile as I hug her back, feeling her cheeks smile as she pushes her face against my chest. For some reason my normal hesitation with hugging others doesn't seem to come up when it comes with Dinky, perhaps with just how adorable she is. "I see somepony's happy to see me."

She giggles as I gently lower her back on the floor, her mom quickly walking over to her with a frown on her face. "Dinky! I've told you no jumping on the guests!" She scolds her.

Dinky just smiles back at her. "But mom, he's big enough to catch me. Plus he was able to easily carry me out of the fire."

The grey mare looks at her daughter for a few moments, the younger pony giving a very happy and joy filled smile, before Ditzy looks back at me, to which I shrug. "I don't really mind. A bit of warning would have been nice, but it's no problem for me."

Seeing that I was ok with it, the mare softens her look as she smiles a bit at Dinky. "Ok, you get a pass with Drak...but only for now!" She adds, which gets a cute yay from the filly, causing us to laugh a bit. Looking back at me, she says, "As for you, I may as well show you around the place and where everything is..." She pauses and looks at Dinky for a moment before adding, "...as well as give you the rules for Dinky to follow." to which said filly just sticks her tongue out.

I chuckle, giving the silly filly a small pat on her head, avoiding her horn as I nodded to Ditzy. "Of course, lead the way."

(49 Minutes Later)

"And that should be the last thing! Just make sure to put her to bed at eight at the latest and I'll be back at around nine thirty." She finishes as we come back down the stairs.

I nod, putting the last of that information in my head. "Bed at eight, got it." I repeat, getting a smile from the mare.

During the walk around the house, Ditzy showed me where everything was, the food, their rooms, as well as cleaning supplies in case of spills. She also gave me a list of dos and don'ts that Dinky needs to follow, just in case she tried to pull a fast one on me, as well as to, no matter what, give in to her "adorable puppy eyes". About half way through the house, Dinky went back into her room to continue on whatever she was doing before I got here, leaving just Ditzy and I.

Seeing that I got it all, Ditzy glances at the clock on the wall, gasping as she realizes the time. "Oh no! I need to go before I miss the train!" She says. She flies up a bit and gives me a hug, which of course causes me a bit of surprise as I hesitate before responding in kind. "I need to go, tell Dinky I love her and to behave. I'll see you around nine thirty."

I nod as she parts and, grabbing her saddlebags and her hat, she swiftly flies out the door, closing it behind her. I turn and the first thing I see is the toppled bookshelf and books.

"Must have forgotten about it during our time." I say to myself, to which I shrug. I make a mental note to clean and even organize it up before she comes back as I walk back up the stairs to Dinky's room.

Her door already open, I just stand outside as I watch the mare work on what seems to be some sort of arts and crafts project, a large poster with lots of colored paper and glitter on it, seeming to depict two ponies and then a third...being, holding one of the ponies. It takes me a minute but I soon realize that she is making a scene of when I ran out with her from the fire. Realizing that the two ponies are herself and her mother, and the taller one holding her was me, I couldn't help but to smile. As I noted before, even with what happened, it seems that the incident didn't affect her in the slightest. Certainly for the best, since the one who was injured the worst was me.

"Gluing paper to make that scene of the fire I see." I comment, getting the filly to glance up and smile at me, nodding.

"Yup! Miss Cheerilee said that we have to make something explaining the brave actions of the other ponies during the fire!" She says with glee before motioning to the poster she is making. "I decided to make the scene of you saving me from the fire, cause I think it was the most bravest thing!" She adds.

Hearing just how sincere she is from that, as well as the total joy in her voice made it hard for me to say anything negative about her idea, if there was any to begin with. I just smile at this as I walk over and kneel down besides her. "Need any help, or is this something you have to do by yourself?" I ask.

"Nope! Miss Cheerilee said that we can ask our family and friends to help if we want! Though we can't help with any pony else in our class." She explains.

I nod in understanding. "Great, so what can I do?" I ask.

She quickly hands me a bottle of red glitter. "Here, you can put some of the red and orange glitter onto the fire I as I make it." She says, to which I nod, scooting a bit closer to get ready with the new task.

The minutes tick by as we work on the project, both of us quickly getting deep into the work of making the art come to life. As Dinky glued the paper onto the poster into the correct positions, I focused on adding the correct glitter to the right spots. It doesn't take too long, about thirty minutes before we finish it up, a nice paper poster art scene of me saving Dinky from the fire, her mother waiting with open hooves.

I smile at the rather cute picture, despite the darker undertones that are there. As the thought pops up, I can't help but to say, "You really are a brave filly."

This gets her to look at me with a confused look. "Brave? Me?" She asks.

I nod. "Yea, you were in that fire just under a week ago, and yet here you are, happy as before and not scared at all about the fire that you were just in."

She shakes her head, her eyes getting a bit of a worried look. "But I was scared! I was terrified when I was in there, all alone. Besides, you were the brave one. You ran into the fire and pulled me out from it."

"I don't mean that." I add. "I mean right now. Most others would still be worried and scared about what you went through, maybe even changed, but you came out of it giggling only minutes after you left the fire, like nothing happened."

She falls silent at this, and I start to worry that perhaps I said too much for her to understand. However, to my surprise, she says, "Mommy says that we can only make the best out of the situation that we are in, and control what we can with the tools we have. I know I was stuck in the fire and scared out of my wits...I'm still scared of what happened...but..." She falls silent as she looks down at the poster for a few moments, then back at me, her smile back on her face. "But what happened, happened. We can't change the past and no pony got hurt bad, so it all turned out better. All that was broken was the mail building where Mommy works, and that is easier to fix than other ponies." She says.

I look at the young filly once again with newfound respect before giving her a smile and a nod. "Your mom is a very cleaver pony, that's for sure." I say, reaching down and ruffling her head lightly.

This gets a giggle from the unicorn, nuzzling into my hand for a moment before walking over and sitting down on her bed. "I just wish every pony else thought that was true as well." She says softly.

Sensing a need to talk, I walk over and sit on her bed next to her, a bit worried once again. However, I remain silent for a minute as I tried to figure out the proper words to say, knowing that this is most likely a sensitive subject for her. "I'm guessing not a lot of others think the same?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "No, they think she's just clumsy and silly, and not in the good way either." She says. Reaching over, I gently rub her back, which seems to make her feel a bit better as she leans against me before she continues. "It always hurts me when other ponies see my mommy and only think of her as some goof and don't take her serious at all. I mean, I know being funny is good and can be fun, but all the time?" She falls silent after that, the frustration obvious on her face.

I nod in understanding, rubbing her back still to keep her calm. "Yea, I can see what you mean. It isn't the best to be poked fun at in such a way huh?" I say.

She nods. "Sometimes, I see her with a sad look after some pony insults her in some way whenever we go out together, and then there is the whispering too..." She frowns more, taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down.

I remain silent as I think over a bit more of my words before speaking up again. "Well, I can see one good thing in her life at least."

This gets her to look up with confusion. "Really? What's that?"

"She has you. I can't think of a better filly to make her life that much brighter, and I know I may have only known you for a short while, but I can tell you are a very happy filled filly with lots of love for her mom, and I know she loves you lots in return." I say, smiling.

This gets her to fall silent as I see her mind slowly work those words over. Slowly, she smiles and looks up, nodding her head. "That's true, I do love her a whole lot."

I smile in return. "And I think that you help her a lot as well during those darker times, yes?"

She nods more eagerly this time. "Oh yes! I always try to make my mommy happy however I can, such as with games or even practicing my magic." She says. With this she starts lighting up her horn, and soon the glitter bottle is glowing as it slowly, shakily raises up about an inch before falling back down, the little filly panting lightly. "It's...still very hard to do though."

I give her head a gentle rub of encouragement. "Still, that must be very impressive, especially for one so young." I tell her.

She smiles in return at this, clearly happy with her accomplishment. "Thanks Drak!"

As we both smile, I suddenly get an idea of what we can do next, seeing how it's still early yet. "So, what games do you usually play with her?"

This gets a very positive response as she smiles wider. "Oh! We play all sorts of games, like hide and seek, tag, catch. When there's snow we sometimes build some snow forts and snow ponies." She says before adding, "Though we haven't gotten a chance to build anything this season, with her being so busy as of late."

I nod in though as I stood up. "Well then, I think I know what we are gonna do now."

She gasps in surprise. "Really? Oh that's great! With your help we can make the biggest snow fort ever!" She says as she hops off the bed and onto the floor, bouncing in place lightly. In doing so one of her hooves causes to knock over the glitter bottle, causing it to tip over, though thankfully it didn't spill as the cover was on tight. "Oh...oops."

I chuckle and shake my head lightly. "I think we need to clean up first, then we can go and make some snow forts." I say.

She nods sheepishly as she starts to clean up the area. Leaning down, I start to help her too as a thought hit me. "Oh, I almost forgot, did you get anything for lunch today?"

She nods. "Yea, mommy and I had a late breakfast before you got here, cause she said she wouldn't have enough time for a proper lunch during her trip to Canterlot."

I give a small nod at this. "Ok, then let's clean up and we can make those snow forts." I say, getting another yay from her as we focus on cleaning up the mess we made from making her poster.

(Several hours later)

As the day went on, I grew to very much enjoy my time spent with Dinky, and I could see that she was very much loving our time together as well. It didn't take much to excite the cute filly, and she was always more than happy to help whenever it came to doing some chores and such.

We had plenty of fun playing in the snow, making a very large fort in the shape of a castle. I even managed to make a couple of small guard ponies to plant on the entrance of the fort, which really made Dinky happy, having never been able to do that herself. Of course my hands were freezing after that, so after a couple of hours playing in the snow with her being a mighty princess fighting against a fierce snow monster (which I played as, of course), we went back inside to warm ourselves up.

At this point we sat by the fire for a bit, warming up our hooves and fingers as we drank hot coco that I made for us before we turned on the tv to watch some of her favorite shows. I watched a couple of episodes with her before going to make us dinner, deciding on a simple grilled daisy cheese sandwich for her while I just had a grilled cheese. Once food was finished we watched a few more episodes together before I noticed her yawning, which made me realize it was close to her bedtime. Despite telling her this, she begged to stay up for a bit longer, wanting to see mommy when she returns, but I was adamant about her going to bed, even as she gave me those puppy eyes. She was stubborn though, so after a bit I agreed to let her stay up for thirty more minutes (and not cause her puppy eyes were super adorable). Once the time was up I got her upstairs and ready for bed before helping to tuck her in.

I smile as I watch her get nice and comfy under the blankets, making sure she is nice and warm. "So, does the princess want a story?" I ask, getting a small giggle from her.

"Yes please!" She says, snuggling even deeper under the blankets.

I smile, sitting down next to her as I think over a story to tell before an idea popped up in my head, slightly inspired by another storyteller.

"Well, in a far distant land, there is a mighty dragon warrior, champion of a thousand duels, who was on a quest to save a lovely unicorn princess. Now, this warrior had to travel across dangerous lands and face many terrifying enemies in order to find her, of which he was more than ready to take on."

"During his travels he meets a kind and wise wizard, one who lost his powers ages ago. The wizard has a relic that can help protect any pony from the elements, which he needs in order to pass the towering Mountain of Storms. The wizard promises to give him this relic in exchange for the warrior to protect her during his trip to battle some rogue bandits."

As I continue the story, I couldn't help but to smile a bit as I start to get lost in my own story telling. Dinky smiles lightly at the story, giving a small yawn as she slowly gets more and more tired. I can't help but to smile as I watch her start to sink into sleep, her eyes slowly closing as the minutes tick by. Soon they are fully closed as she gently breaths in her slumber, just as I finish how the warrior and wizard both manage to make it to the top of the mountain.

I smile and gently stroke her head, deciding to pause the story there for now as I watch her sleep for a few more moments, happy with how today went. I thought about today and realized that this is exactly what I needed myself; to do something that not only helps others, but makes me feel useful. For some reason, it feels just...natural to me. Perhaps it's just part of who I am?

Regardless, I soon lean down and give her a small kiss on the forehead, smiling as I get up and leave her room, closing her door softly behind her. Once back downstairs, I look around for a moment before seeing the bookshelf still strewn across the floor with all of its books. Nodding to myself, and seeing that I still have forty minutes before Ditzy is supposed to return, I kneel down and lift the shelf back up before getting to work picking up and even organizing the books.

"Well, one good thing with living in a library is that you learn plenty of ways to organize books." I say to myself, placing the books back on the shelf, deciding to go with an easy alphabetical style via author names.

I was placing the last book on the shelf when the front door opens, a very tired Ditzy walking in and closing the door behind her, mane a bit disheveled and her eyes more crossed than normal. She gives a small start when she sees me before realizing what I was doing. "Drak? What are you doing?"

I smile as I stand back up, dusting my knees. "Hey, welcome home Ditzy. I realized you didn't get around to picking up the bookshelf and books when you left, not that I blame you, so I thought I would pick it back up for you." I say. She walks over and looks at the books as I add, "I even organized them for you, though that's mostly thanks to Twilight and her own organization stuff rubbing on me."

She looks at the books carefully, her eyes a bit misty as she turns back to face me, smiling. "Thanks Drak, that's...I just..."

I just wave my hand lightly. "No worries, it's what friends do, and besides I wasn't gonna let you come back to a messy house."

Those words seem to have click something in her as she looks around more carefully before realizing what it was that looked so different. "You...you cleaned up the place?"

I shrug. "Well, Dinky and I did. I did most of the heavy lifting while she told me what normally gets cleaned and such." I say. "She's a very adorable filly by the way, and very helpful."

She nods, giving a soft smile. "That she is. She's my soft muffin in this word." She says. I watch her curiously, wondering why she seemed to be getting so emotional about all of this as she starts to slowly tear up.

Worried, I lean down and gently rub her back, just like I did with Dinky after we finished the project. "Hey, what's up?"

She takes a moment to gather her thoughts before she recovers a bit and smiles, "Nothing, I just..." She pauses as she gives a bit of a hiccup before adding, "I'm sorry, I'm such a mess, I just had a rough time trying to find a job, and no pony was willing to take me, and then I come to this, a clean house, some pony else cleaning up one of my messes..." She falls silent as she looks at the bookshelf before looking back at me. "Nopony else has done something like this for me ever since my husband passed."

I frown, having a feeling of understanding dawn on me. "Oh...not even the others around here helped?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

She shakes her head. "No they think that I'm...I'm a-" She starts to say, but I quickly silence her gently.

"Shh, no need. I already know." I tell her.

Her eyes go wide with surprise. "You do? Drak I know I can be clumsy and a bit air headed bu-"

"Again, no need for that, it's fine. I'm just happy to help. And for the record, I think they are all wrong about you." I pause, making sure to get her attention. "I really think you are a kind hearted and great mare, and an even better mother. Dinky says nothing but positive things about you."

She can't help but to giggle at this, her expression softening up. "Yea, she always does her best to cheer me up when I'm in a sad mood, that's for sure." She agrees. We stay silent for a few more minutes, me letting her gather herself as I just rub her back lightly. After a bit she finally speaks up, "Drak? Can I..." She pauses, to which I gently nudge her to continue. "Can I...hug you? I know last time was a bit sudden, so I thought me asking first would be-"

I don't bother letting her finish as I gently lean in and hug her, knowing how much she needs it. She is quick to respond in kind, much quicker than me that's for sure, both of us hugging one another tight as I held her close. I gently rub her back, being careful to avoid her wings, remembering what Dash said about pegasus wings being sensitive, and stroking her head with my other hand. She gives a soft coo at this as she nuzzles closer into the pets, her sad energy slowly fading away. I didn't even need to look into her eyes to know that she is very much a hard working pony who gets very little for her efforts, the negative emotions just radiating off of her.

We hold each other for some time, feeling her nuzzle deep against my shoulder as she slowly relaxes. After a good few minutes, she finally feels well enough to part, smiling as she settles back on all four hooves. I smile as I stay kneeling before her, so we are a bit more at eye level. "Feel better?" I ask her.

She nods, wiping a few tears from her eyes. "Yea, thanks Drak." She says.

I just smile as I stand back up and look out the window, seeing the sky getting almost to full night. "Well, I better get back before Twilight asks why I took so long." I say, getting a small chuckle from the mare.

As I'm about to head out, Ditzy stops me. "Wait Drak!" She says, causing me to look at her curiously. It takes her a few moments before she manages to continue. "I didn't get a job so...so I'm gonna keep looking tomorrow, and I'll need you to help with Dinky tomorrow...if you are willing." She asks.

I just smile and nod. "Of course. Want me at the same time or a bit later?" I ask a bit cheekily.

She giggles at the small joke. "I think the original time is fine. Gives me enough time to be ready for when you get here."

I laugh and nod in agreement. "Sounds good to me." I say.

She smiles and nods as well before her smiles fades to a frown. "I...I don't really have that many bits to pay you with though. I can pay for today, and tomorrow, but after that..." She falls silent as she looks away in shame.

For a second, a part of me pings with slight annoyance at the fact that I wouldn't be getting as many bits as I should, and that all my work would be for naught, that I would have to go looking for another job again. But that unworthy feeling is quickly pushed away as I remind myself that this is way more important than just finding a job to get me money. Besides, it is also a lot more meaningful than any monetary value. I smile and give a shrug. "That's fine, I didn't really do it for the bits in the first place anyways." I say, to which I realize that it's the truth.

She smiles a bit as she hears this. "You sure? I mean, if you want to wait for when I am able to get some proper bits again, I won't blame you if-"

I quickly wave her off, my mind made up. "No really, it's fine. Bits or not, I'm willing to help babysit Dinky for as long as it takes, and longer still. She's very fun to play with and very sweet like her mother." I add, smiling.

This causes her to blush lightly, pawing the ground a couple of times as she hears this. "Oh, um...t-thank you, Drak. Really." She says.

I smile and give a nod before heading out once more, calling over my back, "Same time tomorrow, yes?"

She smiles and nods her blush fading. "Yup! And don't be early!" She adds, causing us both to laugh.

With that I close the door and walk off the path and onto the street, turning to head back to the library. I couldn't help but to look up at the sky as I did so, the crips air causing my breath to fog lightly as I admired the stars and moon. I smile as I think about how Luna would be working on the sky back in Canterlot now, then smiled some more as I wondered just what I would be doing with Dinky tomorrow. Either way, it was sure to be interesting and fun.

HAPPY NEW YEARS!! Hope you are all doing well and are having a wonderful time!

Also, new chapter for the new year, yes I did.