Family
Bubblecup needed a pet, too, but even after a long time of considering the matter, she had no idea what kind of critter she wanted. While her standards weren't particularly restrictive, there were still certain qualities that needed to be considered first and foremost. She always had a mental list of them running. Whenever she walked around Ponyville or flew around Cloudsdale, she saw things she liked (Applejack's dog was every bit as dependable as her owner) and didn't like (gee, Rarity's cat could be persnickety) about other ponies' pets, and she had finally come up with a decently comprehensive list of things she was looking for in an animal companion.
It had to be a well-tempered pet, friendly and loyal, and it would have to be able to keep an eye on Dinky Cup in the afternoons right after school, when her homework playdates with Noi and Alula were over. She knew her muffin was an incredibly intelligent, responsible little filly (and she couldn't be prouder!), but the fact remained that she was still quite young, and she liked to know that someone would be there for her. Sure, Sparkler came over a few days a week to watch and tutor Dinky, and she was certainly welcome at any time (Sparkler was like a second child to Bubblecup), but sometimes the unicorn was busy with her apprenticeship at the jeweler's; she didn't expect her to be there twenty four hours a day.
The creature also had to be able to take messages. You know, just in case Dinky needed to reach her while she was out working, for whatever reason. They couldn't all be like Twilight Sparkle, with a mobile mailbox buddy at their beck and call, though that would have been kind of nice; if they had a Spike at their place, Dinky could have a real little brother, a way of reaching Mama, and a magic tutor all in one. But that just wasn't practical, so she had to set her sights lower, to an animal that was still competent but perhaps not quite sentient.
But she still didn't know what animal it should be.
Carrot recommended a ferret; her mother had just bought one for Noi's birthday and it seemed like a friendly enough creature. Dinky sure liked it; she and Noi would take it out into the living room and play with it for hours. Noi had even managed to teach Pongo how to fetch small objects. However, Bubblecup feared it was slightly too mischievous, and that it was too small to really watch over Dinky the way she wanted.
Over a juice break at the mail office, Raindrops suggested something like a snake, because snakes were really cool. Bubblecup didn't like the idea. Snakes were creepy, and they came in two sizes—holy-Celestia-who-let-that-one-headed-hydra-free huge, and holy-Celestia-it's-so-small-it-could-be-hiding-anywhere small. Dinky might have liked it; she and Noi liked to play down at the edge of Froggy Bottom Bog, and when she came back, she would often excitedly regale her mama about the little critters they saw there. Bubblecup didn't like frogs or snakes, though she encouraged Dinky's curiosity about them. It was good to let your child be curious about such things. Nevertheless, she wouldn't have one in their house. Too creepy!
During the same juice break, Showers suggested some colorful tropical fish. While fish were pretty to watch, they couldn't watch Dinky the way that Bubblecup needed them to. Unless it was some kind of giant monster from the Everfree Forest, and she didn't like the idea of trying to cram a giant monster fish into her house. How would they even do that, anyway? She didn't know, but either way, fish were probably out as anything more than a pretty moving decoration in the living room.
Her eyes crossed as she fretted over it. What on Equestria could she get for Dinky? Well… it was probably best to ask Fluttershy. She almost certainly had something perfect waiting to be adopted by just the right owner. Right! She didn't know why she hadn't thought of visiting the yellow pegasus sooner, because that really should've been her first idea. Things slipped her mind sometimes.
After work, she zipped off to the edge of town, half trotting and half flying. Couldn't delay. She had to do it while it was on her mind, otherwise it might slip and she'd get occupied with something else and never remember!
When she got to Fluttershy's cottage at the edge of town, she found that she was already occupied with helping Rainbow Dash select a pet. They seemed to be occupied with singing and dancing through the air, as if they were performing for an audience. Bubblecup looked around, slightly confused, then decided to quietly wait her turn, trotting to the chicken coop to take a look at the animals that her esteemed fellow pegasus had rejected.
The buzzard sitting on the fence looked far too grumpy. She couldn't have a grumpy pet glaring from its perch all the time, so that was probably out.
The little brown bunny that Fluttershy tossed down from her hooves was very cute and friendly, but it probably wasn't big enough or protective enough for Dinky.
The otters and seals were right out, because they didn't have a swimming pool or anything to put them in.
The flying squirrel was really really cool, but again, not big enough or protective enough.
The chickens, though maternal and caring critters, were too scaredy; they ran and shrieked in terror when Bubblecup came nosing into their coop.
What to choose?
She poked her head out of the coop again when she heard Fluttershy's and Rainbow Dash's strange random duet reaching a crescendo. It seemed like the song was coming to an end, but she kind of wondered why they'd been singing in the first place, and to who. Well, maybe they'd just been hanging around Pinkie Pie too long. Everypony in Ponyville knew about her love for breaking into song at random. Clearly it had an effect on Pinkie's closest friends, too.
But before Bubblecup could squeeze her way out of the coop to ask Fluttershy about finding a pet, the other two pegasi had flown away, with several of the flying pets (and the tortoise, who had been following Rainbow around all during the song, crept along after them on foot). She flopped down on the ramp to the coop, grumbling to herself. She would have to wait till Fluttershy came back from whatever she was doing.
At least Sparkler was coming over this afternoon to help tutor Dinky (who was only just learning basic telekinesis, and needed help with fine motor control, especially on light, small objects); the little filly wouldn't be alone for the evening. Which meant that she could wait, and then come home with the best surprise! It would be like expanding their family, adding a mute but watchful, loving member to the household. There was nothing better than having a big, warm, happy family; Bubblecup had grown up with four adopted sisters (Dizzy Doo, with the purple mane, who worked on the weather team spreading dew; Dancey Doo, with the ice-white mane, and who was now called Dancey Flash, having taken her wife's last name; Daffy Doo, who now worked at Mr Breezy's pub brewing new drinks; and Dazzle Doo, with the red mane, who was living in Manehattan selling fancy soaps and bubble bath) who loved her to bits, no matter what her faults, and always wished that Dinky could have shared the same experience. Which was why she had enrolled the filly in the mentoring program. Having Sparkler around was just as good; she was the best substitute big sister anyone could have ever wanted.
Though she couldn't have any more foals right now, Bubblecup happily accepted any additions to her family, whether they were other ponies (she considered Raindrops, Showers, and Carrot to be like extra sisters, and Sparkler a second daughter) or… whatever animal she was about to adopt! She still didn't know, but whatever it was, she'd love to meet it, and she was sure Dinky would love it to bits, too.
It was gonna be great!
She flapped her wings and reared up impatiently, her pretty amber-colored eyes crossing in excitement. It was nearly winter, and winter was a time for family, no matter how unconventional that family might have been. That was part of why it was on her mind. All of the holidays around this time of year centered around family and togetherness, all in celebration of the Princesses and their loving bond with one another. Legend had it that the sleeping Princess in the moon would awaken for one night a year, remembering her true self, and give gifts to each family (usually a game or books or something to be enjoyed together), attempting to atone for the trouble with her sister so many centuries ago by encouraging siblings, parents, children, and even adoptive families to celebrate and treasure one another.
Bubblecup was always excited about it every year, in the most childlike way; she would even attempt to cut out the traditional paper moon and star shapes to hang in the high, brightly-lit windows, something that the little fillies and colts did to show respect and love for the long-lost Princess. Well, not that she was long-lost anymore. She was back in Canterlot again now. Probably napping the day away and waiting for her turn to raise the moon, which is what Bubblecup would have done if she had to work the night shift.
Still, the point remained. Winter was all about family, and she looked forward to expanding theirs with the new pet. Whatever it turned out to be.
Eventually, near sunset, Fluttershy came back, leading a flying parade of pets behind her. The only one absent was the tortoise that had so eagerly followed Rainbow Dash earlier. That was fine! That meant there were a lot for Bubblecup to choose from now, and they were probably all great. The gray pegasus trotted out from the side of the chicken coop excitedly, eyes still crossed; she tried to shake them back into alignment, but of course, that wasn't quite how it worked. Oh well. Fluttershy was nice—the nicest pony in Ponyville!—and wouldn't make fun of her eyes, she knew it. The yellow pegasus jumped, slightly startled, as Bubblecup appeared seemingly out of nowhere, but relaxed upon seeing who it was. Just the mail-mare.
"Hi Fluttershy!" she said, bouncing a little on her hooves.
"Oh, um, good evening, er, Bubblecup," Fluttershy replied. She smiled awkwardly, not used to having visitors at night.
"Me and Dinky need a pet and I talked to a lot of other ponies about what the best pet for us would be but I should've thought of you first because you're the expert! So here I am. I waited! Can you help?"
"Um, s-sure?" A falcon lit on Fluttershy's back, carefully preening its wings with its sharp, curved beak. "How about one of these flying pets? I know they'd love a home like yours!" She smiled brightly and motioned to the pets that were hanging around, looking eager.
"Flying pet is good! I want it to be able to bring me messages from my muffin! Just in case! Can you train any of these to do that?" Bubblecup crouched down to peer at the wasp that was settling for a nap on a posey next to Fluttershy's front door.
"Oh! Well, um, you could probably teach, um, the birds. They're quite smart!" Fluttershy indicated the falcon, who was picking some long needles out of his wings and dropping them on the ground.
"What happened to him?" Bubblecup asked, concerned.
"Oh, um, Rainbow Dash had a race for them. Through… the Ghastly Gorge."
"Oh, wow. Poor birdie." She leaned closer to Fluttershy, trying to force her excited, rolling eyes to focus only on the falcon. After a moment or two, they stayed put and she was able to see the bird more clearly. It was a really pretty bird, with silky brown feathers tipped with midnight-black, and its eyes were keen but somehow kind as well. "I like him! Do you think Dinky would like him?"
"Um, I'm sure she would. And he's very very friendly. Watch. Shake!" Fluttershy said. The falcon extended a wing (one that was now free of burrs and spines) and shook Bubblecup's hoof.
"He's amazing! Can I adopt him, Fluttershy, can I?" She bounced excitedly.
"Of course—let's just go in and fill out the paperwork. Um, well, I'll fill out most of the information. You can just sign it!" Fluttershy knew that Bubblecup's eyesight made writing difficult; it affected her depth perception, which made it hard to write in the right place on the paper. She wanted the adoption process to go smoothly for the gray pegasus, so she would just fill out the address and other stuff and save her the trouble. Twilight Sparkle had helped her organize an adoption system a few months ago, and she quite liked how neat, quick, and orderly it was; it was easier to keep records and thus keep tabs on who adopted pets. Of course Fluttershy wouldn't stand for having any of her friends mistreated, so she liked to check in on occasion to make sure they were all safe, happy, and healthy. She knew Bubblecup would make a good owner; she might have been over-excitable and slightly absent-minded, but she was a very good mother to her foal. There was no reason she couldn't take care of the bird as well.
"Thanks!" Bubblecup fluttered after the other pony, following her towards the cute, cozy little cottage, careful not to knock anything over with her flapping wings. Once inside, she tucked them in, even though she wanted to keep flying at this low level; as excited as she was, she just didn't want to keep her hooves on the ground. The falcon seemed perfect! He looked really graceful, and he knew tricks, so he had to be smart, and he had really kind eyes, too. He really would be perfect for her muffin! Like a little brother!
Fluttershy went to the cabinet near the bookshelf and took down a little sheaf of papers and a stump of a pencil. It was nearly winter, and a lot of people wanted to expand their families by adopting pets, so the pencil had seen a lot of use recently. It was probably time to get a new one. "Bubblecup, you can play with him while I fill out the papers for you! Um, if you want!"
"Sure! That sounds good!"
The falcon tilted his head as Bubblecup walked closer, trying to fix her sight on him again and squawked curiously.
"Hi birdie! I'm Bubblecup!" she said excitedly, extending her hoof to him again. He leaned forward a little to shake it. "You're a gentle… gentlebird, I guess! Since you're not a gentlecolt, exactly. I know Dinky—she's my daughter—will be glad to meet you! You'll be a great new part of our family."
He squawked again, and it was a distinctly happier noise.
"He's, um, he's excited to join you," Fluttershy said helpfully, though it was slightly muffled by the pencil held in her teeth. "He's been waiting to be adopted for a long time. I raised him from a chick. He fell out of his nest and his mother was nowhere to be seen. I waited for her to come back, but she never did." The falcon squawked, nodding sadly.
"Oh! Well, don't worry, bird. Now you'll have a mom and a sister and we have lots of friends who are almost like other sisters, too!"
"I'm sure he'll love living with you, Bubblecup," Fluttershy giggled. "You can bring him back here to help him learn tricks."
"Like how to deliver letters?"
"Sure, why not?" The yellow pegasus brought over the papers. On the bottom was an X on a dotted line. "Here we are. If you could sign, please?"
"Okay!" Bubblecup picked up the pencil in her teeth and tried to focus, signing as carefully as she possibly could. The signature still wound up quite sloppy, but that was okay; the paper was signed, and that was what was important. It rolled up into a neat little scroll, which Fluttershy put onto a shelf in the cabinet with some other scrolls. She kept all of the adoption records. Just in case. "Is he ours now?"
"He sure is! What are you going to name him?" Fluttershy asked as she poked around in another cabinet towards the back of the room. "Um, I call him Captain, but you can change it. If you want, that is."
"Captain seems like a good name! He's all gentlebird-y. Like an old Royal Guard captain. So I'm sure he'll be good at protecting Dinky!"
"He's got the best eyes of almost any pet here, so he'll definitely be able to keep an eye out!" Fluttershy allowed herself a giggle at her own joke. "Um, well, anyway, the paperwork is done. You're free to take him home."
"Hooray! Do you want to fly home together, Captain?" Bubblecup turned to the falcon, who nodded in that weird way birds have. The spines and burrs were all out of his wing by now, so he was good to go. "Let's go! Dinky is waiting!"
Fluttershy waved to them as they left in a flurry of flapping wings and fluttering feathers, then went about feeding and socializing with the remaining pets.
The falcon was a fast and graceful animal, keeping pace with Bubblecup perfectly as they flew above the town, headed east towards the small but neat house that she and Dinky lived in. She tried to show off a couple of tricks; though she was nowhere near as graceful as Rainbow Dash, she did have a few amusing things to show. Most pegasi had at least one neat flying trick; Dancey Doo could dance on the air like a ballerina and never fall or falter, and Raindrops liked to soar right through the centers of rainclouds, shaking off the drops from her wings onto the ground below. The one special flying trick that Bubblecup had mastered was flying upside down. No one else she knew could do it, not even Rainbow Dash, and it was a special mark of pride for her. The falcon showed off a few of his as well, soaring and whirling in tight spirals above the roofs of the town before gracefully returning to cruise next to her.
Eventually, they reached the Cup household. It was a small place next to Daisy's herb shop, but it was very well-kept. The furniture didn't match, but it was all quite comfy and in good repair; it was all that she had been able to afford on her salary. She didn't buy much fancy stuff for the house; every spare bit she had went to Dinky, who had a bookshelf to rival Twilight Sparkle's. While she couldn't afford to send her to Princess Celestia's school, she could still afford to buy good books on everything important (math, magic, science, history) and on most things that randomly caught Dinky's interest (soap-making, reptiles and amphibians, sewing, and so on). So what if the couch was made out of hideous orange-and-brown tweed and the comfy chair was made out of old, worn green faux-suede, and the lamps were all of a dozen different styles? Dinky never went wanting for cool things to read about, no matter what the subject happened to be, and that was what was most important—that her muffin have a proper education, the best that could possibly be given considering her slightly limited means. But she had books and she had Sparkler, who came over and tutored Dinky free of charge, and life couldn't be better.
"Sparkler! Dinky! Mama's home!" She peered into the kitchen. The two unicorns were sitting at the table; Sparkler was teaching Dinky some fine control with her telekinesis. Dinky was frowning in concentration, but seemed to be improving, from what Bubblecup could tell. She trotted into the room and peered at it. The letters on the paper were certainly a lot neater than previous times. "Oh! Good job, muffin!" she said excitedly, wanting to hug her daughter, but not wanting to interrupt her concentration. Mastering her magic was an important part of her education.
"She's been an angel as always, Ms. Bubblecup. We made you a pie earlier—it's in the oven," Sparkler said pleasantly. "Applejack was having a sale on the red delicious apples, and Dinky said you liked them a lot."
"I do! I'm sure it'll be delicious! We have to share it!" the pegasus said. "Oh! And here's a new member of our family! His name is Captain. He's a falcon."
The bird was perched on her hindquarters, and peered out from behind her head somewhat nervously.
"Majestic creature," Sparkler said agreeably. "What do you think?" She looked at Dinky, who was trying very hard not to look up from her lesson. "You can take a break now, you know!"
"I just want to finish this last sentence!" Dinky insisted. "Only two more words left."
"What are you writing, muffin?"
"A letter to Princess Luna."
"I bet she'll enjoy that!"
Another holiday tradition. All the little fillies and colts wrote letters to Princess Luna, detailing why they were thankful for family and friends and what kinds of things they liked to do with their loved ones. It was thought that the slumbering-up-till-recently-but-now-fully-awake-again Princess of the Night would encourage love and happiness by dropping off gifts that would foster such feelings in the family (or friend group). Of course, no one really knew how the magic worked, especially not Bubblecup, who didn't understand magic at all. It was just part of the legend built up around the winter holidays that Luna ruled over, and its origin and mechanics were lost over the whole millennium that she'd been absent. Bubblecup had no clue how it would work now that the Princess was awake and in Canterlot again, but she was sure it would roll off without a hitch.
"You should tell her about your new pet. You know, after you've introduced yourself to him," Sparkler suggested.
"Oh! He knows a really neat trick, too!" Bubblecup added. "And Fluttershy says we can teach him more!"
"Really? Cool! I wanna see!" At last, with some effort, Dinky finished the last two words in the sentence, letting the levitating quill fall to the roughly-hewn wooden table. The table had been a present from Bubblecup's own father years ago; it wasn't very pretty to look at, but it was extremely well-made and sturdy.
"Hold out your hoof, muffin." She did, and the falcon reached out a wing to shake it, making a polite chirruping noise, clearly pleased to meet the little filly. Then he turned to Sparkler and shook her hoof as well, just to be proper. "Now that we've all met each other, let's finish your lessons for the night! In the meantime, I'll make everyone dinner. There might be some mice in the backyard for you to eat, Captain. If you like a challenge."
He squawked, pleased, and fluttered to the window, which Sparkler opened for him, and he slipped out the back to catch some food for himself. The pesky mice wouldn't get into the dry pantry, and he would be well-fed. Everyone came out for the better in this scenario!
"So do you like him, girls?" Bubblecup asked cheerily. She nosed open a cabinet and took out a loaf of bread, a bag of deli-fresh daisies (they were Dinky's favorite, and so healthy!), and a small bunch of daffodils held together with a green ribbon. Sandwiches were always a pretty safe bet for dinner with this family.
"He's neat, Mommy!" Dinky said, bouncing on her hooves slightly—a habit she'd picked up from her excitable mother. "I like him a lot. I'm gonna tell Noi and Alula all about him tomorrow. Maybe I can take him to show-and-tell, too! Miss Cheerilee will be impressed!"
"Speaking of Miss Cheerilee, be sure to finish your homework, muffin. Then you can play with the Captain." Bubblecup smiled as she started making the sandwiches. Her family was unconventional, but she liked it that way. Perhaps she'd write her own letter to Princess Luna this year. She hadn't done it in years (however excitable she was, she was still a grown mare), but she felt it was a good idea. She couldn't be happier with her family.