Author's Notes:

A good bit of scene cuts in this chapter, sorry.

So, stuff happens! Can anybody find the secret hint in the chapter? (PM me if you think you have the answer) As always, much love to Patric12345 for being a great co-author!
Toodles!
~TOOWC

Rush pressed his nose to Derpy’s with a wide smile, saying, “This is absolutely perfect.”

“Oh? Why is this exact moment perfect, hmm? Is every moment with me not enough?” Derpy asked, a fake haughty tone entering her voice.

He chewed on his lip in a moment of thought before saying, “Of course they are… It’s just… I really… love holding you.”

Opening her eyes back up, Derpy saw the sincerity on his face, her heart melting at the sight of it. “Oh, Rush, you big silly zebra. I know you love holding me. I love being held by you, too! It’s so fluffy, and warm…” She said, burying her face in the crook of his neck. He kissed her cheek and squeezed her.

He whispered softly, “I wish I could hold you forever.”

“And I wish I could be held by you forever,” she said.

Rush grinned and kissed the end of her nose. Giggling, Derpy kissed Rush back, ever so softly. He pulled back and nuzzled her neck, relishing in the soft feeling of her fur. “I also wish we could stay like this all day… but I have to work on the map I was commissioned to make.” He sighed.

Derpy whined, grabbing on to Rush even harder. “Nooo… you can’t leave me…I won’t let you.”

“I don’t want to leave either… but this will get us quite a lot of bits.” He said.

“Us?” Derpy asked, opening one eye.

His smile grew and he nodded, saying, “Yes, us. You, Dinky, and I.”

“O-oooh...DInky? Are you up?” Derpy asked, a tear glinting in her eye.

Somewhere in the house, a small, high-pitched voice rang out, saying, “Yes, Mommy! D’ya need me?”

“Could...could you come here, Muffin?” There was no answer, but there was a slowly growing set of *thuds* coming their way.

Walking into the room, Dinky asked, “What’s wrong, Mommy?”

“Oh, Dinks, there’s nothing wrong...I was just wondering if… if before you went to school, you would like to sit here and snuggle with us? We’re having a bit of a family moment, and we wanted to involve you.” Derpy asked, opening her arms.

“Yeah! I love getting snuggled by you, Mommy, and Mr. Rush is all warm and floofy, so he’s a good snuggler, too!” Dinky said, climbing up onto the bed. As soon as she was up there, she laid back in Derpy’s arms, the gray pegasus surrounding her in arms and feathers. Rush quickly hugged the two and pulled them both against his chest.

“Mmph… Mr. Rush, Momma, you’s squishin’ me.” Dinky said, her voice muffled by the amount of pony around her.

Rush loosened up and smiled at the two of them, saying, “If only the rest of my family didn’t live so far away…”

Derpy looked up at him, asking, “The rest? Does that mean we’re your family, Rush?” He smiled silently at her.

“Yeah, Mr. Rush, does that make you my daddy? Because you would make a good daddy. You make mommy happy, and that’s what makes a good daddy, right?” Dinky asked, looking up at Rush.

“Yeah, it does make me your daddy. And I’m more than happy to take that part.” Rush nodded.

“...does this mean I can just call you Rush from now on if I want to? Or...or d-daddy?” Dinky asked, her eyes watering slightly.

“You can call me whatever makes you happy.” Rush smiled as he hugged Dinky.

During all of this, Derpy said nothing. She just leaned her head on Rush, crying tears of joy at what was taking place.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ten minutes later:

Rush kneeled down and smiled at Dinky, asking, “You ready for school?”

“Yeah! Can you carry me there, Rush? I always like it when you carry me, it makes me feel like a giant! Rawwr!” Dinky said, giving a cute growl at the end.

“O’ course I can.” Rush nodded, lifting her right up onto his shoulders.

“Hehehe… onward!” Dinky said, pointing towards the school.Immediately, Rush dashed off in that direction, making sure not to jostle Dinky too much.

“See you later!” Rush waved back at Derpy.
“Bye, Mommy!”

“Seeya, Rush! Have a good day at school, Muffin!” Derpy shouted back, waving them off.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few minutes later:

Rarity heard the bell over the front door ring and turned around, smiling and speaking as she saw the familiar gray pegasus. “Why, hello there, Derpy!”

“Hey, Rarity! How are you doing today?” Derpy asked, walking into the building.

“Quite alright darling, and yourself?”

Derpy blushed, saying, “Actually, I’m doing amazing! Rush and I… well, we connected really well today. Dinky too!”

Rarity smiled a little more, saying, “What happened?”

“Ehm...well, we were snuggling on the bed, and we just talked. Some of the things we said to each other… just… clicked. Then, Dinky came over, and sh-she… she called Rush her daddy, Rarity! Her Daddy! It was so sweet, I just couldn’t do anything but watch…” Said Derpy, tearing up a bit. For a single moment, Derpy noticed a twinge of pain on Rarity’s face, but that was instantly replaced with an even brighter, and happier smile.

“That’s absolutely amazing!” Rarity exclaimed as she walked up to and hugged Derpy. “I’m so happy, for both you and Dinky!”

Derpy sniffed,enjoying the hug for a few moments before she pulled back, asking, “While this is nice, you called me here for a reason, right Rarity?”

Rarity nodded and pulled back as well, saying, “Yes, darling, I wanted to ask if you would like to go to lunch with me.”

“Of course I’d like to go with you, Rarity! Where do you want to go, just to the cafe down the street?”

“That sounds like an excellent place.” Rarity nodded. “Shall we?” She motioned to the door.

Derpy nodded, offering an arm out to Rarity, who smiled a little more and took it, both of them walking out onto the street.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“...Hmm. I think I’ll just have a daisy sandwich and a glass of lemonade, with a sundae later on. What about you, Rarity?” Derpy asked, closing her menu.

“I think I’ll take the house salad and a glass of water.” Rarity said. Turning to the waiter, the mares handed him their menus.

After a few minutes, both of them got their drinks. After taking a sip of her beverage, Derpy asked, “Rarity?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Rush… Rush said that you’ve been acting strange, lately. Is that true?”

“What have I been doing that was strange?”

Derpy glanced away for a moment, before looking back at Rarity with determination. “He said...He said that you were acting very… seductive. That you even kissed him. Is that t-true, Rarity?” Derpy asked, a small tremble in her voice.

Rarity was silent for a few moments, before finally speaking, “Yes… and I’m ashamed of my behaviour... I’m sorry.“

Derpy paused for a moment. “W-well… why would you do that, Rarity? You know that he’s my zebrafriend, so… so why would you do that to him?”

Rarity sighed, “He’s so nice… and he’s handsome… I wasn’t thinking about what could happen if I did it... “

“Rarity… since we’re friends, I’ll let you off. Just this once. But I won’t be so nice next time, alright? Please don’t… don’t do this again, alright?” Derpy asked, a pleading look on her face.

“I swear, it won’t happen again.” Rarity said, tearing up a bit, “Like I said… it was wrong of me to do that… and… and I really do feel horrible about it.”

Stretching her hands across the table, Derpy held Rarity’s hands, and said, “Rarity… I forgive you, alright? Please don’t cry, or else I’m gonna start crying, and then it’s gonna just spiral off from there…”

“Alright…” Rarity said, a small smile returning to her face.

“Ladies? I’m sorry if I’m interrupting, but your meals are here… do you, uh, want me to come back?” The waiter said, appearing out of nowhere.

“No! Err… no, we’re good. Thank you.” Derpy said. “Here you go Rarity, you got the salad, right?”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Derpy leaned back and patted her stomach, saying, “Mmm-mm… do you want the last bit of my sundae, Rarity? I can’t eat another bite…”

Rarity smiled and shook her head, saying, “I really shouldn’t…”

“C’mon, Rares, live a little!” Derpy said.

“Well… alright, if you insist.” Rarity sighed. Reaching across the table, she grabbed the glass. After taking a bite of the sundae, her eyes widened, and she said, “Oh my Celestia! That is delicious, Derpy, thank you so much!”

“Oh, it’s nothing, Rarity. Here, you enjoy that… I’ll go pay for our lunch!” She said, getting up from her seat and rushing to the counter.

Rarity paused for a moment as she watched Derpy, a small twinge of guilt hitting her again. [She’s just so... nice. I just can’t believe it… I… just feel even worse about what happened now…]

Coming back to the table, Derpy hugged Rarity, saying, “This was fun, Rarity! We should do this again sometime, huh?”

“Of course, darling, any time you want to.” Rarity nodded, a sincere and warm smile on her face.

“Wonderful!” Checking the time, Derpy sighed. “Well, I’d love to stay and talk some more, but duty calls y’know? Either way, enjoy the sundae, Rarity! Bye!”

“Bye.” Rarity waved, “I can’t wait for our next date.”