Derpy sat with her daughter on a waiting room couch, her crossed eyes staring miserably off into the distance.
Clover, who was very absorbed in the magazine she was reading, did not notice when her mother flung herself at her father, who had just entered the room.
Derpy stared into Lightning Dash's eyes, allowing a tear to roll down her cheek.
She opened her mouth to speak, her lips quivering.
"I –"
"Shhh... It's okay," Lightning Dash whispered, putting his hoof to her lips.
He wiped away her tear and leaned his forehead against hers.
"We'll work this out."
Lightning kissed Derpy gently on the cheek, and she returned to her spot on the couch.
Lightning Dash found a seat next to Color Blotch and slumped into it, sighing deeply.
The long silence that followed was only broken by the occasional crinkled page turn of Clover's magazine.
After approximately ten minutes, Lightning Dash cleared his throat.
"So, Color Blotch, um, does your mother talk about me much?"
"Oh, don't get me started," Color Blotch said, rolling his eyes.
"You're practically all she ever talks about. She has several periods of time throughout the year when she goes into deep thought about you, and gets caught under a one or two-day wave of depression. She doesn't dare step out of her bedroom when she does this, so I always have to take charge of the shop. I'm used to it by now."
"That's terrible! I had no idea," Lightning said, pity seeping through his voice.
"Does it ever interfere with her career?"
"You could certainly say that," Color Blotch mumbled.
"Her depression has been getting worse lately, and if she doesn't start painting soon, we're going to start losing a lot of money."
"Celestia... All that and she still manages to raise you..."
Color Blotch shrugged.
"She has her issues, but I love her dearly. Mom and I are best buds, we do everything together."
Color Blotch seemed to smile at an invisible heartwarming memory.
"She'll even let me sell my own artwork, just like she does."
Lightning Dash buried his face in his hoof, squeezing his eyes together tightly, forcing out the buildup of tears that had been welling up in his eyes. With a loud sniff, he wiped his cheeks violently.
"Dad? Are you... crying?"
"No!" Lightning shouted a bit too loudly.
"No, I'm not..."
Lightning Dash leaned in closely to Color Blotch's ear.
"I love her too, son. I really do."
