Chapter 1: Family Appreciation Day
DINKY'S DADDY
CHAPTER 1:
FAMILY APPRECIATION DAY
Celestia's sun was raised high in the sky overlooking Ponyville, with much of the city going about their usual days.
Business ponies were selling products and food in the market.
Mailponies, including a certain gray-colored pegasus mare, were delivering letters and packages at rapid speeds throughout town.
Older ponies were enjoying the sunlight, chess, and other stereotypical elder activities in the park.
Bon Bon was struggling to keep her eyes open through her wife Lyra's latest lecture on humans.
Big Macintosh was attempting to transport some hay through town while ignoring the multitude of mares and stallions trying to get his romantic attention.
Pinkie Pie was leading a big musical number about the importance of sugar through the streets while Colgate sobbed over a tub of toothpaste in the background.
Twilight Sparkle and Applejack were attempting to stop a somewhat stressed out Rarity from beating Rainbow Dash to death with a pincushion while Fluttershy watched from her unconscious and recently fainted form on the ground.
You know, all the usual things.
But none of that mattered to a small purple unicorn filly as she cheerfully bounded into the Ponyville Elementary schoolhouse. All the other foals had faces of disappointment that their recess had ended, but six-year old Dinky Doo was excited, especially when she saw an adult Earth pony stallion sitting patiently in the back of the classroom.
Today was Family Appreciation Day, and it was Dinky's turn to bring in a family member to speak!
Dinky quickly ran towards the front of the classroom, and secured herself a seat in the front row. It was the first time in two months since it had been her turn for Family Appreciation Day, and she couldn't wait to hear what the stallion waiting in the back of the room would say.
Behind her, two other fillies noticed her excitement, and they collectively scoffed and shot her nasty looks. Dinky ignored them, and instead smiled as Cheerilee, the teacher, led the stallion to the front of the room.
"Okay class," Cheerilee said, sitting down at her desk. "For today's Family Appreciation Day, we are all very pleased to welcome Dinky's uncle Time Turner,"
She gestured over to the brown-coated Earth pony who stood smiling in front of the class. He was wearing his usual green and white tie, and he also had the same old Cutie Mark he had since he was a little colt - an hourglass.
Dinky immediately applauded with enthusiasm, and she didn't notice quite a few of her classmates look at each other in confusion at Cheerilee's words.
"Good afternoon, students of Ponyville," Time Turner said in his Trottish accent. "My name is indeed Time Turner, and some of you may know me as the owner of Clockwork's, the clock store here in Ponyville. I'm also the assistant to Mayor Mare, and in charge of all things timey-wimey here in Ponyville,"
"That is the most interesting thing I have ever heard," Diamond Tiara, one of the two fillies who had scoffed earlier, said in a very sarcastic tone. Dinky shot her a glare, while another colt raised his hoof.
"I heard my dad say that if Mayor Mare can't fulfill her duties," the colt said, stumbling over he word "fulfill". "Then that means you become acting Mayor of Ponyville. Is that true?"
Time Turner smiled, happy that somepony knew that information. "Why, yes, that is true, and I have actually been acting Mayor several times over the years," he confirmed.
"Anypony would be a better mayor than that lazy coon," Silver Spoon, the other scoffing filly, piped up.
"Silver Spoon!" Cheerilee chided, and the filly shut her mouth. "Everypony, please stop interrupting and allow our guest Time Turner to speak,"
"Oh, that's alright Cheerilee," Time Turner said. "I don't mind if they have questions. After all, a mind eager to learn is one of the most important things a little pony could have, in my opinion,"
Dinky beamed as Time Turner looked over at her and winked. Time Turner often would compliment her so-called "inquisitiveness". Maybe she'd get a Cutie Mark in it!
...What would and inquisitiveness Cutie Mark look like anyway?, she wondered, tapping her chin thoughtfully.
She shook herself out of her thoughts as Time Turner began describing his job as the town timekeeper, his experiences as assistant to the Mayor, and even some of his early life in Trottingham. She knew that a lot of ponies assumed that those kind of things would be boring, but Dinky loved listening to her Uncle Time Turner's stories. She was very happy to see most of the class was also listening quite intently.
"...And then I came to Ponyville, opened up my shop, and the rest, as they say, is history," Time Turner concluded after several minutes of talking. He accompanied his conclusion with a dramatic flourish of his hoof.
Dinky began clapping her hooves enthusiastically once again, smiling proudly as her classmates also clapped. Yeah, Uncle Time Turner did so good!
"That was wonderful, Time Turner," Cheerilee said, clapping along with her students. She looked over the class. "Now, does anypony have any questions for Mr. Time Turner?"
Apple Bloom, a yellow filly with a red mane, raised her hoof. "Is my Granny Smith's clock almost ready? She really wants to have it back as soon as possible," she asked.
Time Turner chuckled. "Tell Granny Smith she'll be ready by tomorrow morning," he said.
"Um...does anypony have any other questions for Mr. Time Turner?" Cheerilee asked after a pause.
"Is it true you're secretly an alien from another planet who travels through time and space inside a time machine shaped like a gigantic blue box?" a younger Trottish accent spoke up.
Everypony in the room turned and stared at the brown-and-white coated Pipsqueak in shock.
"......No," Time Turner answered after a long, awkward pause. He gave Pipsqueak a strange look and took a few steps back. Where in Equestria did THAT even come from? he thought.
A pegasus filly with a dark blue coat raised her hoof. "Yes, dear?" Time Turner asked, pointing to her.
"So...you're Dinky's uncle?" the filly asked.
"Well, I'm not actually her biological uncle," Time Turner replied. "It's kind of an honorary title,"
"And he's the best honorary uncle ever!" Dinky cried, causing Time Turner to smile again.
"Wait, you're not actually related to her?" an orange pegasus filly named Scootaloo demanded. "Isn't that kind of completely against the point of Family Appreciation Day?"
"Family isn't always just who you're related to Scootaloo," Cheerilee reminded the little pegasus. "Family is also anypony whom you love,"
"Besides," Diamond Tiara suddenly spoke up. "The only other family she has is that cross-eyed freak she's so unfortunate to call her mother,"
"HEY!" Dinky shouted, sitting up in her seat and pointing a hoof angrily over at Diamond Tiara. "Don't make fun of my mommy!"
"Diamond Tiara, you just earned yourself another detention, young lady!" Cheerilee snapped at the filly. She looked over to Time Turner. "Mr. Time Turner, I am so sorry about that,"
"It's okay," Time Turner said, although the glare he was sending Diamond Tiara said otherwise. He looked back at the other filly who had asked the question. "I'm sorry dear, was there anything else you wanted to know?"
The blue pegasus filly shrugged. "I just always thought that you were Dinky's daddy," she said.
Dinky froze in her chair.
Time Turner laughed, but his laughter was a bit forced. "Did you really?" he asked.
"Yeah, so did I," another colt said.
"Me too,"
"Me three!"
"I always thought you were her dad too,"
Time Turner looked around in shock as a large portion of the class nodded their agreement. "Oh...did you really?" he asked again, feeling very awkward.
"Well, you are always hanging around with Dinky's ma Derpy," Apple Bloom pointed out.
"And since the Cakes had Pound and Pumpkin, we all figured that you and Miss Derpy having a unicorn foal wouldn't be that weird," a white and purple unicorn filly, Sweetie Belle, added.
"Well, that is because me and Dinky's mother Derpy are very dear friends," Time Turner said. "In fact, I was the first pony she and little Dinky met when they first moved to Ponyville six years ago,"
"But, if you're not her daddy," Pipsqueak spoke up. "Then who IS Dinky's Daddy?"
Time Turner opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His focus was drawn to Dinky, who was looking straight down to the floor, her hooves curled up on her desk. "Uh..."
Cheerilee, sensing the clear and imminent danger, cleared her throat. "Well, class, I think that was a lovely Family Appreciation Day presentation, but I believe our time is up for the day, so please all give Time Turner a round of-"
"Isn't it obvious?" the ever vile voice of Diamond Tiara once again interrupted the teacher. "The little blank flank doesn't have a daddy. Who would wanna be her daddy, anyway?"
"Diamond Tiara!" Cheerilee shouted as the rest of the class gasped.
Time Turner wasn't looking over at the bully. He quickly trotted over to Dinky, worry in his eyes as he gently wrapped his hoof around her. "Dinky?"
The unicorn filly didn't answer. Instead, she looked away from everypony else, trying to keep her tears out of her eyes.
I don't know who he is. I don't know...
Chapter 2: The Question That Never Gets Answered
DINKY'S DADDY
CHAPTER 2:
THE QUESTION THAT NEVER GETS ANSWERED
Time Turner glanced over his shoulder with worried eyes to look at the unicorn filly that was sitting on his back, her hooves wrapped around his neck, and her face buried in his coat.
He sighed. He had been very excited when Dinky asked him to speak at Family Appreciation Day, and he had done his best to make it as interesting and entertaining as possible.
But then things had gone terribly downhill.
School had ended, and Time Turner had stayed behind for a few minutes to have words with Diamond Tiara and her father Filthy Rich. Time Turner greatly pitied the poor stallion - he seemed to be at his wits end at trying to get his bully of a daughter to behave. Now he was taking Dinky back to her house, where he was planning on staying for dinner with Derpy Hooves and their other good friend Carrot Top.
Looking back at Dinky once again, Time Turner let out another sad sigh. "Dinky, I'm sorry for what Diamond Tiara said. Honestly, sometimes I think that filly is psychologically incapable of being nice to anypony,"
"Didn't you say those kind of ponies are called sociopaths?" Dinky muttered into his neck.
Time Turner smiled. "Well, sort of. I don't know if I would call Diamond Tiara a sociopath just yet," he said. "Let's wait until she hits puberty,"
"What's puberty?"
"...................I'm sorry for what Diamond Tiara said," Time Turner repeated, wisely choosing to ignore the filly's question.
Dinky sighed, and lifted her head up. "I don't care about Diamond Tiara," she said softly, looking down at the moving ground as Time Turner walked on. "She's just a stupidhead,"
Time Turner probably should have reprimanded her for using the word, but he wasn't really concerned about that at the moment. He was more concerned about his honorary niece's feelings.
"Then what is the problem?" he asked. He already knew what the answer was.
Dinky sniffled. "I wish I knew who my daddy is..." she whispered, hugging Time Turner around the neck tight.
Time Turner's heart broke upon hearing Dinky's words. He had known the little filly ever since she wasn't even a year old, when she and her mother Derpy first arrived in Ponyville via train six years ago. Time Turner had been at the train station to say goodbye to his cousin Crescent Moon, who had been visiting from Manehatten. When the train departed, Time Turner noticed a gray pegasus mare standing on the platform, looking around with an unsure and nervous expression on her face, and a tiny little foal wrapped up in a pouch on her back. Time Turner immediately went over and introduced himself, and offered to show her around. It was, in his opinion, one of the best decisions he ever made.
Since he had known Dinky practically her entire life, he also knew that for her entire life, there has been one thing that frequently came around and troubled the little unicorn's mind.
Her father.
More specifically, the absence of her father.
Time Turner opened his mouth to offer Dinky some words of comfort, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He looked up and became relieved to see Dinky's house, a one-story building on the outskirts of Ponyville, was coming up.
He sped himself up until he was at the door to the house. Knowing it would be unlocked, Time Turner pushed on the handle and opened it up, stepping into the house and shutting the door behind him. Dinky remained on his back, still very quiet.
"Oh, Dinky, Time Turner, is that you?" a cheerful voice called from within the house.
Dinky's mother Derpy Hooves appeared from an open door and smiled, happy to see her daughter had gotten home. She trotted over to the two ponies, and leaned down to nuzzle her daughter.
"Hi, muffin! How was Family-" Derpy was startled when Dinky suddenly shot away from her, running off through the house and out of sight. "...Appreciation Day?"
Derpy turned around and stared off to where Dinky had gone, confused and worried. "What's wrong with her? Did the presentation go badly?" she asked, turning back to face Time Turner.
He shook his head. "No, it went fine, the entire class loved it," he replied. "But after I finished talking, all the foals were asking questions....It turns out, a lot of the kids thought I was Dinky's father,"
At the word "father", Derpy's expression dropped. "Oh," she said quietly, realizing just what had gotten her daughter so upset.
Time Turner patted Derpy's back sympathetically. "I'm sure she'll be fine," he said.
"She always is fine," Derpy said with sadness in her voice. "But every single time this gets brought up, it takes her longer and longer to be fine again,"
Time Turner just let Derpy lean her head on his shoulder for a few moments. "I should probably go talk to her," Derpy muttered.
The stallion nodded, and let go of his friend. "Do you want me to get dinner started?" he asked.
Derpy shook her head. "Carrot Top is already here, she's got a soup going. You're welcome to go help her though," she said, turning around and trotting off to Dinky's bedroom.
Time Turner sighed, and headed towards Derpy's kitchen. Once he got there, he saw a golden yellow Earth mare standing diligently over the stove, where a pot of steaming soup was boiling. She turned her head, her orange mane bouncing with the movement, and smiled over at him.
"Hello Time Turner! How was Family Appreciation Day?" Carrot Top asked, smiling pleasantly.
The smile dropped when Time Turner sighed once again. "Could have gone just a teeny smidge better, I'd say," he said.
Derpy stared at the door to her daughter's bedroom. Taking a second, she looked over the bright purple wood of the door. Dinky had painted it herself when they moved into the house when the filly was four years old. Derpy smiled at the memory, recalling how her daughter had managed to somehow get herself entirely covered in paint. It took hours, and the combined efforts of Derpy, Time Turner, and Carrot Top to clean the filly up, but it had been fun.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Derpy focused on the task at hand. Inside the room, her daughter was in need of comfort.
She knocked on the door. "Muffin? Dinky, can I come in, sweetie?"
She heard what sounded like a grunt. "I'm going to take that as a yes," Derpy said, pushing the door open. Her daughters bedroom was simple for a child - a snug bed, a lot of toys filling up every corner (most of them gifts from Carrot Top and Time Turner), and a cabinet with a mirror. Dinky was lying on her bed, curled up around a pillow.
"Oh, Dinky," Derpy cooed, moving to the bed and sitting down. Her daughter immediately shifted to hug her, and Derpy wrapped her wings around Dinky.
For a few seconds, Derpy stayed silent and just held her daughter close. Then Dinky sniffled and looked up at Derpy.
Derpy smiled back at her. "Now, there's my precious muffin!" she said, hugging Dinky. "I'm sorry for what happened at Family Appreciation Day, Dinky,"
"I'm not upset about Diamond Tiara!" Dinky suddenly snapped, ripping herself out of Derpy's arms. Derpy blinked in shock, but Dinky continued speaking, facing away from Dinky. "Uncle Time Turner apologized for it too, but that's not what I'm sad about! I'm sad because everypony in my class thought Uncle Time Turner was my daddy, but he's not! He's my uncle, and my uncle can't be my daddy! Nopony can be my daddy because I don't have one!"
Dinky began sobbing into her hooves, and Derpy felt herself begin to tear up. She hated seeing her daughter upset. She tried to hug Dinky again. "Oh, muffin, it will be-"
"NO IT WON'T!" Dinky shouted, smacking Derpy's hooves away.
Derpy gasped. "Dinky!"
Dinky was glaring at her mother, tears still spilling down her cheeks. "It won't be okay! It won't be okay because it doesn't how many times I get sad about not havin' a daddy!" Dinky was shouting now. "No matter how much I want a daddy, YOU will never ever tell me who my daddy is!"
"Dinky," Derpy started, trying to keep herself calm. "I've told you-"
"Dinky, it's complicated," Dinky interrupted her in a mocking tone. "Dinky, you're too young for me to explain everything to you! Dinky, I'll tell you all about your daddy when you're older - I promise! Well when are you going to keep your promise?! You've been saying all those things my whole life! Why can't you tell me who my daddy is NOW?!"
"Dinky," Derpy started, feeling her heart twist painfully. Her daughter was nearly shaking, and Derpy longed to just hug her and not let go until everything was better. "I...I know I keep telling you the same things over and over again, but that's because they're all true,"
She was stumbling mentally, trying to find a way to explain things to her six year old foal in ways that would help her understand. "The things about your daddy...it's a very, very complicated thing-"
"I'M SICK OF HEARING THAT!" Dinky shouted, louder than before.
"Dinky, stop shouting at me this instant!" Derpy cried back before she could think about it. "I'm sorry that I've never told you about your daddy, but you are just not ready to know-"
"WHY?!" Dinky interrupted her again. "Mommy, I am ready to know! I've been ready to know my whole life! Don't you know what its like to see all of my friends playing with their daddies? I hate coming every day and not having a daddy to hug me and ask me how my day was, and read me a lullaby to sleep!"
"Me and your Aunt and Uncle do those things, aren't we enough for you?" Derpy asked. She instantly chided herself for blurting that out - it was obviously the wrong thing to say.
"No!" Dinky sobbed. "No, it's not! If you could just tell me that my daddy was dead or that he isn't here because he doesn't want to be here or something like that, I'd be okay with at least knowing! But what I hate is that you won't tell me ANYTHING about my daddy! You won't tell me how you met, or his name, or anything about him, and you won't tell me why he isn't here with you and me! I hate not knowing anything! Why can't you just tell me something about my daddy? Does he live in Ponyville? Is he dead? Does he even know that he's my daddy?!"
Derpy opened her mouth to speak, but she hesitated for a brief second. "I-"
A lot of ponies assume that because Dinky is only six years old, she must not be the brightest of foals. The truth was that Dinky was actually much brighter than a lot of ponies think, especially for her age.
Dinky heard the hesitation in her mother's voice.
She stared at her mother, and her bottom lip quivered. "I-Is that it?" she asked. "Does my daddy not know about me?"
"D-Don't be silly, Dinky," Derpy stuttered. "Of course he would, why wouldn't your daddy know-"
"Remember that movie you took me to last month?" Dinky said. "It was about a pony who finds out he has a daughter, and she helps him get back together with her mommy! Sometimes ponies don't know they have kids!"
Shoot, why did I take her to see that? Derpy thought. There goes one part of her daughter's innocence.
"So is that it? Does my daddy not know about me?" Dinky demanded.
"...Dinky," Derpy started.
"PLEASE ANSWER ME MOMMY!"
Derpy actually flinched at how harsh her daughter sounded. "...No, he doesn't," she replied, looking down.
Dinky's tears increased at those words. She fell down onto the bed, and pushed her face into the pillow. Derpy's already broken heart shattered when she heard her daughters sob into the pillow.
"D-Dinky," Derpy spoke again, unable to keep her own voice from breaking. "I-I'm sorry that I never told you that, but..."
She took a deep breath, and finally admitted the truth. "But I'm not ready to tell you..." she whispered.
Dinky didn't look up. She only continued to cry into her pillow. Derpy sat on her daughter's bed, feeling helpless as she simply sat with her crying filly. In the hallway, a teary-eyed Carrot Top stood out of sight in the hallway. Time Turner stood next to her, himself shedding tears for his beloved friend and honorary niece.
And somewhere in Equestria, a stallion went about his day, completely unaware of how much his daughter wanted to know him.
