Patch was a plucky little pony. Plucky happened to be one of her favorite words; it was a shame that it didn't come up more often in conversation. Plucky. Plucky. It was a synonym for brave, and it rolled off of her tongue.

Patch was plucky then, and she prided herself on that. And that morning she was a combination of two of her favorite words: plucky and perky.

Her mother, a brown pony with a pale ginger mane, smiled a bit as her daughter practically bounced down the steps. Knit Knack just smiled further at the joyous look on her face. "What has you so excited today, honey?"

She smiled warmly at her mom. "I'm going to call Bon Bon so we can go roller-skating later. It'll be so much fun!" Her voice just slightly squeaked at the end.

"That sounds like great fun; she should be a good skater. They have a huge roller rink in downtown Mecklenburger."

Patch laughed with mirth. "Yeah, I know, right? It'll be amazing!"

Then she hurriedly bounced into the next room, where the wall phone was. Knit trotted back to the dishes she was putting away, mainly just plates by then, and kept a listening ear open for her daughter's happy voice on the phone.

But a few moments later, when she heard a slightly nervous tone that belonged to her daughter, her ears shot up questioningly. "Hiya Bon Bon! I was just thinkin', because we're such good friends and all, we should go roller skating this afternoon."

Then there was a brief silence in which Patch was given a reply. Knit finished up putting the fresh sponges on the counter by the sink and closed up the dishwasher.

"But wait, can't I at least talk to-"

Knit frowned at the desperation in her voice, and saw Patch hang up the phone dejectedly.

"What did she say? Is everything alright?"

Patch stared blankly into space for a minute, as if processing what had happened. Then she stumbled forward onto her face, groaning into the orange carpet.

Knit's eyes widened in concern as she trotted up to her daughter. "Is everything alright? What happened?"

"Misty said she was sick," Patch replied emptily. "Really sick."

"Oh." By her daughter's tone of voice, her friend could have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. "You can roller-skate with her another day."

"But I wanted to today!" Patch shouted, sniffling. "I really wanted to, and now I can't over some evil sickness!"

"Oh, honey, it's not as bad as all that." Knit pulled her daughter in close. "She'll feel better soon. But she's really lucky to have a friend like you caring so much about her."

Patch looked up at her mom with a watery, tearstained smile. "R-Really?" Again, her voice went up.

"The best," Knit replied, nuzzling her daughter's hair. "Now, what about I make you some cookies and milk? Then we can talk about anything you want to talk about."

"Okay mom." Patch smiled a bit more, rubbing her eyes. "You're the best."

Knit Knack planted a quick kiss on her daughter's head and then got up, trotting back to the kitchen.

It was quite the adventure, raising a little pony like Patch. Not only did she find fun in getting in trouble, but sometimes her emotions could be wild, even if she wasn't a crybaby… especially when it came to ponies she really cared about.

That was why Knit Knack didn't even consider the possibility that, from her little spot on the couch, Patch was blushing softly as she wondered just one thing: I hope Bon Bon is okay…