PonyHooves

"It is better for us this way... She needs to spread her wings and find a special somepony of her own. She needs to raise her own family." Gerty explained. "She's got her free spirit from my side of the family. Down my side of the family we are always given the choice to be free, who we are and leave becuase anywhere is home and we're never alone. She's never alone because we're always with her in her heart." Pixie Parcel blushed slightly. "Aww, mother... Even though I got my sense of freedom from you, you still suprise me by saying the nicest things." She coughed even more after speaking. "I just wish you didn't have your father's sense of duty towards work. You know, just the other week he came home at half past three in the morning because he was helping out three colts who had injured themselves by trying to run away from home, just to stay out late. He just got through the door and passed out before he even reached the stairs!" Gerty Greetings told them both. "Father always puts the health of others before his self." Pixie agreed.

"Oh my..." He sound shocked. "What happened? Did you wake the napping wolves or something?" Whisperpaw was worried for his new friend. He had never known anypony to get hurt by going to the local badger sets. He knew that there were a few wolves that often took quick naps nearby. But they were shy and always avoided conflict. The vultures that were lined up, scattered and flew away back into the trees which they originally perched theirselves on. "Let my help you to my home. I've got a few medical supplies there..." He finally managed to whisper out of worry.

That one word, 'child', was enough to make Pixie snap out of anger. "Child! Child! I'm a fully grown mare... I'm old enough to have a foal of my own! Why else would I live on my own in the clouds when my mother and father live down in Ponyville?" She coughed a little bit before she continued on. "Sure, I've only just left my filly years, but by no means am I a child!" "You hit a touchy subject with her there... She takes her age as serious as her job." Gerty muttered in a low tone to Amaranth. After a few seconds of being in a fuming rage, Pixie Parcel calmed down. "And I had no choice but to do it... No pony wanted to deliver on those streets... It's a tough pony job and the toughest got sick." She coughed a few more times afterwards.

Gerty saw the clinic up ahead. She continued walking at a gentle pace, so that Amaranth could keep up. "Work... Is my... Life..." Pixie Parcel panted. "I love delivering letters... And... Parcels..."

"Your being so kind Amaranth... Sometimes it's hard to give up work or even take a day of rest. But even though you live you in Cloudsdale Pixie, your still my daughter and I have a right to worry about you." Gerty spoke kindly. Pixie Parcel gave in. She accepted Amaranth's offer. With what little strength she had, Pixie Parcel made it onto the stallion's back. "I'll lead the way..." Gerty said. "I know the clinic inside out because of the number of times I've been."

"Well, it's just you and me now Corvus." He spoke in a whisper to the raven. Whisperpaw then took a look around him. He hummed a dark tune. The leaves on the trees rustled loudly. A few dark shapes darted across the sky. Then, several vultures landed in a line right infront of Whisperpaw. "Now if you stay lined up counting your numbers will be very quick." He whispered to them.

"You got that right..." Pixie Parcel said. She tried to stand up, but she fell over again in her haste to redeem her composure. Pixie was still trying to catch her breath. "He sure acted very apologetic... But he was nice." She spoke through her heavy breathing. "Pixie... I think you must have caught what's going around at work... Your as weak as a newbron foal." Gerty spoke with concern in her tone. "I'll get you to your father's clinic... Just to be on the safe side." "I'm fine... I'm... Just a little worn out..." Pixie panted for air. "I don't... Want to miss a single... Day of work..."

Whisperpaw heard him say the word 'friend'. The unicorn smiled even brighter. He had finally made a friend. "Please could you take this badger back to his set... I have all of the badger sets pointed out on this map. Your a real friend." He whispered. The stallion pulled a map out of his saddle bags with his teeth. He carefully handed it over to Inkblot. He then looked at the badger. "I want you to go with my pegasus friend here... He'll make sure you get home nice and safe." He whispered in a gentle tone. The badger slowly walked up to Inkblot and looked up at him.

The sound of beating wings caught Gerty's attention. She looked up to the sky to see her daughter dodging trees gracefully. "Pixie what are you doing?" "I've finished work for the day mother... My saddle bags are empty. Now I'm free!" Pixie Parcel cheered. She gently landed beside her mother. She was sweating heavily after all of her hard work. "Pixe Parcel, did you do more than your share of the work load again? You look more tired than I've ever seen you." Gerty spoke with worry in her tone. "Stop worrying mother... One of the postal workers was off sick, so I offered to take his route as well as my own. It wasn't that much more." Pixie Parcel explained. She suddenly fell over. Her wings were flat out on the ground.

"Then we shall meet when she is back..." Gerty said. "You can spend days wishing your time away... That's when time seems to run slowly. Yet if you try to hold onto every second of the day, it seems to just slip away too fast. Please, enjoy every day and she'll be back in no time."

"It sounds like everypony learns something about themselves with the help of another." Gerty Greetings spoke as though she was deep in thought. "And even as we grow... We are forever learning something new about who we are and our place in the world." A butterfly landed on the tip of her ear. It stayed for a moment and then it flew away. "Its why I cherish every moment of every single day... Because I know that each day brings a new lesson about life." Golden Heart arrived at the clinic. He clocked in, two minutes early. After putting his belongings in a locker, he put on his white doctor's jacket. He knocked his stethoscope of its hook with his tail and caught it around his neck; just where it was meant to be. Golden Heart then entered his office.

"I'm sure she will... Well, I best be off to work now." Golden Heart said before placing the sparklers in his saddle bag. "Take care!" He called out a friendly farewell, before continuing on towards the clinic. "I've been accident prone my entire life..." Gerty explained and then began to wonder. "So, what's your story?"

Golden Heart pulled four bits out of his saddle bag. He placed the coins out infront of Firework. "One bit for every sparkler... It seems fair and now you've earned some money." "I never thought about it that way before." Gerty replied with a smile.

"Are you sure?" Golden Heart asked. "I really don't mind paying for them like any other pony would." He was being kind because he wanted Firework to make a profit. Golden Heart knew that it would be rewarding for the pegasus to have made a sale. Also, making his father proud would be an even bigger reward. Golden Heart thought that Firework deserved it. "Oh I'm fine... I've had worse accidents." Gerty replied. "Oh and my husband told me to be careful before he left for work... It seems the harder I try, the more the accidents happen." She spoke quite thoughtfully. "Never mind that... I'm Gerty Greeting's."

"The name's Gerty Greetings... But you can just call me Gerty. Everypony does." Gerty spoke kindly to Valen Orange. She kindly shook his hoof, before placing the piece of paper back in her saddle bag. Gerty then looked at Granny Smith. "I'm doing fine... I've only had thirty little accidents this month. I only needed to go to my husband's clinic for twelve of them. Maybe one day I'll stop having little accidents." After speaking to Granny Smith, Gerty turned her attention to Applejack. "Your quite right there Applejack... It looks like this year's crop is the best so far." She smiled at the three of them. Even though they had seen her little slip up nothing was going to ruin her day. She'd met a new pony who seemed to be quite friendly and both AJ and Granny Smith seemed to be in the best of moods. "As usual I really have to thank you for letting me draw your apple trees. My cards never seem to look right without them being there."

"Yeah, that's right. I'll take two reds and two purples... She always said she loved those two colours." Golden Heart Replied with a smile. He was also wearing a saddle bag that contained his lunch and some money. "How much do I owe you?" He asked kindly. Gerty had started to sing a little tune. She had a soft gentle singing voice, but it wasn't that loud. That's what made it impossible for her to be a singer. Her singing voice just wasn't strong enough. "The birds are chirping around me... The sun is shining so brightly... Everything seems to just be going the right way." She sung with a kind hearted melody. Gerty Greeting's stood up. She began to dance. She was in her own little world and wasn't looking where she was going. Gerty suddenly bumped into Amaranth. She fell to the ground with a thud. "Oh... I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." She apologised.

"Its okay... I don't mind looking after your handsome pal. I've always liked ravens." Whisperpaw replied. "But my favourite animal will always be the wolf." Whisperpaw looked at Corvus and smiled gently. Then he looked at Inkblot. "Animals will like you if your quiet and speak softly. If you move to fast they'll see you as a threat. Bu if your quiet and calm, they will be drawn to you." He explained kindly. A badger came wandering across the path Whisperpaw smiled with his gentle nature starting to show. "Hey there little guy... You look a little lost." He whispered gently to the badger. The badger walked closer and nudged him. Whisperpaw looked at Inkblot again. "I forgot to mention that I help lost animals find their way back to their homes. They always seem to find their way to me when then need help."

Golden Heart had almost reached the clinic he worked at when he saw Firework and his display. "I remember you..." He spoke cheerfully. Have you got any sparklers? My wife loves them because they're not that dangerous." Gerty Greetings happily wandered through the park. She sat under the shade of a tree and smiled.

"Well, I need to keep a count of the population of the wild animals... Otherwise, no pony would know if they needed a little help to stay populated and then we could end up loosing them forever." Whisperpaw replied. "I'm also taking care of some bunnies that aren't feeling too well. They need alot of care and they aren't eating solids so I have to mash up their carrots. They've already taken their medicine, but when I get back they'll be hungry." He took a moment to think about the other things on his list. He was quite suprised with his self. That was the most he had ever said to any pony and he had more to say. Sure he whispered every word he had said, but this pegasus was listening and was acting very kindly. Could this possibly mean that Whisperpaw had made his very first friend? Then again he needed to concentrate. Which was just what he did. "I also need to release four squirrels back into the wild. They're healthy now." He added.

It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. Gerty Greetings had just said her goodbyes to her husband, Golden Heart. She watched him until, she could no longer see his figure in the distance. A gentle sigh escaped her mouth as she closed the door. Gerty Greetings hummed a little tune as she cleaned up the mess left over from breakfast. The day seemed to have got off to a great start. The earth pony had managed to avoid falling down the stairs and didn't break anything for a change. Just as she finished cleaning, she heard a loud knock at the door. Gerty headed over to the door and answered it. "Hello mother... I'm here to deliver some letters for you and father. Speaking of which, is he in or did I miss him again?" Pixie Parcel spoke. The young winged mare, stood in the doorway wearing her saddle bags that were filled up with letters and packages. "I'm sorry Pixie, your father left about ten minutes ago... But, I'll tell him you thought of him. I see your working hard today." Gerty replied. "Your just like you father. A hard worker!" "Aww.. I can't believe I keep missing him. It seems like no matter how early I start work, he's always gone." Pixie Parcel sighed. She took three letters out of one of her saddle bags. Two of them were addressed to Gerty and one of them was adressed to Golden Heart. "I have to work hard. Pony folk rely on me to send them imporntant letters. Anyway, I best be off. Goodbye mother." "Goodbye Pixie... Have a nice day." Gerty Greetings waved goodbye and watched as her daughter flew off out of sight. She Peaked out of her door way and smiled. It was ever so sunny. It was so nice that she decided to take a gentle stroll. Gerty Greetings took a few steps outside and inhaled the fresh air before trotting her way around peacefully at her own gentle pace.

"Oh yes please... I have so much work to do and any help is appreciated." He whispered a reply. Then he felt rude. Whisperpaw hadn't even told the stallion his name. He felt that he was being irresponsible for neglecting the use of manners. His aunt had taught him to be well mannered and he felt as though he was letting her down. "I'm sorry I'm being so rude... My name is Whisperpaw... Pleased to meet you." He introduced his self. Whisperpaw hoped that an apology would make up for his belated introduction. He never wanted to be thought of by any pony as an ill mannered thug. Whisperpaw only wanted to be thought of a a kind soul because that was the way he had been brought up to be. He watched the pegasus in hope of a positive response.

Promise you won't laugh... I'm nearly seventeen years old... I'm the smallest person in my entire college... I'm five feet, one inch exactly. I stopped growing when I turned thirteen.

Whisper saw black wings and hooves. At first, he jumped a little bit because he was given such a scare by the black pegasus. Then he saw a raven resting on the back of the stallion. 'He must be a nice pony... He's letting such a beautiful bird perch on his back. I should try and speak to him.' He thought to his self. He knew that his voice was going to be a whisper, but he tried as hard as he could. "Yes it is a nice day... But a busy day." He spoke in his usual whisper. His horn started to glow a shade of dark blue. Whisperpaw smiled. "Wild vegetables are growing around here. These are just what those sick bunnies need." He whispered. Whisperpaw began to dig at the ground. It was soft. Vegetables could easily grow there and he knew it. After a moment, he noticed out of the corner of his eye, that carrot tops were sticking out of the ground. Carefully, the unicorn dug them up. He gently placed them in his saddle bags and filled in the holes with the misplaced earth. He let out a gentle sigh of relief. 'That's one job completed...' He thought to his self. His horn stopped glowing and returned to its normal state.

((OOC: My character. http://www.canterlot.com/topic/6218-whisperpaw-final/)) It was just an average day for Whisperpaw. He was sitting at home giving some sick rabbits the medicine they needed to get better. "This will make you big and strong... Then you can go back into the wild with your bunny friends." He whispered softly to them. Whisperpaw made sure the two rabbits took all of their medicine. Then he gently wiped their mouths. After that, he placed them in a little basket that was cusioned with a pillow. He placed a blanket over them. "Take a little sleep... And I'll come back really soon with some fresh food for you both to eat." He told them. Whisperpaw watched them fall asleep. Then, he signaled for three humming birds to perch upon his back. The humming birds perched on his back ever so gently. He was already wearing saddle bags. That meant he was ready to leave. As usual, he left his home in silence. After walking for a certain distance, he suddenly whispered. "Fly on home my humming bird friends. Your well enough to go back into the wild where you belong." He stood there for a moment as he watched the humming birds fly off into the distance. Their beautiful voices, made him smile brightly. When the sound of their hum died down, Whisperpaw continued to walk on. He happily passed a few farms. The small stallion was out on a trip to bring back food for the two sick wild rabbits that he was nursing back to health. But he also had another mission. He needed to keep a count on the other wild animals. After all, if their numbers were getting low and no pony was out to keep count of them, then no pony could save them from extinction. He always seemed busy. But without any friends, what else could he do other than take on all of the jobs by his self.

I think I'll stick to hot chocolate. I never was a tea or a coffee person.