//-------------------------------------------------------//
                  Where the Heart Belongs                  
                      -by Dipsy Dye-                       
//-------------------------------------------------------//
//-------------------------------------------------------//
              When Everything Becomes Strange              
//-------------------------------------------------------//
When Everything Becomes Strange
"Dipsy! Dipsy! Wake up!" a voice shouted at me with an upbeat tone, my eyes opening as I regained consciousness, opening my light brown eyes to look at the young filly at the side of my bed, in the once silent summer home room which my parents had bought years ago.
"Dipsy! You're awake! Let's play!" my little sister, Golden Opportunity, yelled happily.
"Sis, what time is it? I'm so tired," I said, rubbing my eyes with my plain white hooves as the blurriness caused by sleep reduced. I rolled on my side to glance at the alarm clock, then shouted in shock, "Five in the morning?! Are you out of your mind sis? The sun's not even out yet!"
She looked down and started to cry, replying, "I'm sorry Dipsy, I just wanted to have fun on our vacation, that's all."
"Goldie, we will have fun, just... you need to relax," I said calmly to my little crying sister, hugging her for comfort, "Use up all that energy and you won't have enough for school when we return home."
Golden Opportunity glanced up, and then out the clear clean window, answering, "I know, but it's not like this in Canterlot. It's not so... uptight, or so orderly. And don't you sense the wonder and magic in the air sister? So much interesting stuff goes on here!"
"I know," I replied, having heard all about the six amazing mares who resided within the town, and their many heroic feats.
"I hope we get to meet them!" Goldie's grassy green eyes lit up at the thought of meeting the ponies who had done so much and more for Equestria than many ponies can vouch they had done in their entire lives, causing her to giggle to the point of jumping up and down energetically.
"Settle down and wait until tomorrow," I said, glaring at her which made a shiver travel up her spine. She immediately left the room silently, knowing that look meant, in exact words, "get out before I throw you out the door with magic."
"That's better," I happily murmured, snuggling into my bed and returning to the amazing realm of dreams.
"Dipsy Dye!" a masculine voice called me from downstairs, once again cutting into my sleep, "Come down here and eat your breakfast! Dipsy!"
I yawned and looked at the clock, noticing the time being half past eight. I was normally a morning pony, but when my little sister wakes me up in the middle of the night, it muddles with my normal regime clock. Unfortunately, that was normal for me. I stretched and lazily tumbled out of bed before walking out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the dining room where my parents and sister were waiting.
"Good morning sweetie. Come sit with us," my mother, Topaz, invited me to sit with eagerness.
"Yes, sit down young lady," Playwright, my father, said as he gestured for me to sit next to my sister.
"Okay, okay," I replied to their invitation, accepting the seat next to Golden Opportunity and stared at my father, who was sitting opposite of me. He nudged a plate of porridge to me, then gave me a spoon to eat it with.
"Porridge again," I said with a sorrowful sigh.
"Eat it," dad commanded me as if I was a royal guard and he was the captain.
Looking down, I picked up the spoon with magic and lifted the sloppy oats to my face, then ate slowly. The plainness of the dish tempted me to pick up the brown sugar and dump a little bit in, just to make it taste better, but as soon as I attempted to levitate it over, dad looked over at me and glared with a disappointed scowl. I moved then to put it down, wary of my every movement and what effect it had on my dad.
I thought to myself in the middle of eating, "Why am I not allowed enjoy the things I love... Goldie gets to do whatever she desires, and what do I get? I have to follow my father's every order. And with this diet thing he started, I'm really wanting to tell him a piece of my mind... but he'd just punish me or yell at me, twisting my words into what he wants for his own results."
After eating my little sister wandered off to play while I had to remain at the table.
"Remember to be back in an hour honey!" Topaz yelled to Golden as she left out the door. Golden responded with a nod and left happily.
"I'm glad you put the sugar down Dipsy; you remembered your diet," my dad said, patting me on the head with his cream coloured hooves.
"Yes honey. I'm sorry, but it was for your own good. Less fats and sugars digested in your body means you can eventually have the perfect figure, like mine!" Topaz mused as she studied my body, which was very different in structure to hers. Unlike her slim model body which could be compared to a princess', I was very normal looking, yet slightly taller.
"Can I please go now? I've had enough of being lectured on this "wonderful limitation"," I asked, emphasising sarcasm on the last two words.
"Oh Dipsy, learn to be a lady!" dad yelled in a fit of anger, pounding his front hooves on the table causing a shock wave which even made the plates move.
"... What if I don't want to be a lady?" I asked, almost silent as the night.
"You need to be a lady," my mother answered, making me blink in surprise, "So you can live our legacy, marry a wealthy and handsome nobleman and live with him the rest of your days. You have a very rich and powerful lineage Dipsy Dye, remember that."
"I remember," I said without any emotion, then left the room silently and walked outside to find Golden Opportunity, wherever she wandered off to. It would take my mind off the arrogance of my parents, their stubbornness to not let me live my life to my free will. I called out for my little sister, hoping for her to respond, but to no avail. My concerns grew when I continued to call for her in various locations and no response came. I soon returned home to find my parents in a panic.
"Mum, dad, what's wrong?" I asked.
"Oh Dipsy, where's Goldern Opportunity?! The pegasus ponies are whipping up a storm, and she's not home yet!" her mother screamed, her hooves trembling.
"She was supposed to be home by now Dipsy," Playwright added to my mother's desperation, "We trusted her enough to come back home in an hour or to, so she wouldn't be stuck in the storm. But..." I froze as my fear climaxed.