When You Wish Upon A Star

Dinky curled up next to her sister in the bed they shared. Their parents were yelling. Again.

"If me working my tail off isn't enough for you, why don't you get off your lazy-"

The last part was cut off by Sparkler putting her hooves over Dinky's ears. "Sparkler?" Dinky whispered. It sounded loud in the mostly quiet bedroom.

"What is it, Dinky?" Sparkler whispered back.

"Why do our parents yell so much? We used to be happy together. We used to be okay, and Mommy and Daddy were both happy, and everything was alright, but then there was the accident at Mommy's work with the Town Hall, and now they yell all the time." Dinky pressed her face into Sparkler's chest. "When is everything gonna get better? I'm sick of it!"

Sparkler stroked Dinky's golden mane. "Dinks...What happened, is that Mommy had to pay for the damage to the Town Hall, which cost a lot of money. Now, Mommy has to work extra hard."

Dinky sniffled. "But why are they yelling? We still have enough money to get food and stuff."

"We barely have enough money for that stuff. And there's other things we have to pay, called bills. You get charged money for things like how much water you use, and the letter that they send you saying how much you have to pay, is called a bill. If you can't pay your bills, you get kicked out of your house." Sparkler sniffed, a lone tear running down her face. "You know the word you asked about the other day that we looked up together? The d-word?"

Dinky brushed aside part of her mane. "Divorce?"

"Yeah. You know what getting married is, right?" Dinky nodded. "Well, sometimes the ponies who get married decide that they don't want to be married anymore, and they get divorced..." More and more tears started to fall. "A-and if they have kids, they fight over who gets to keep them, in what's called a custody battle..." Sparkler broke down after that, sobbing into Dinky's coat.

Dinky had never seen Sparkler cry. She'd seen her look like she was going to cry, but never really cry. Dinky knew that Sparkler wasn't her real sister, and she was Berry Punch's daughter. Bad stuff had happened to Sparkler when she was in Berry Punch's care, because of Berry's husband. That was all she was allowed to hear, along with that her mommy would be taking care of Sparkler, while Berry and her husband got everything sorted out. And now she had to live through that nightmare all over again...

Eventually Sparkler calmed down, and let go of Dinky. Dinky wriggled out from under the covers, and knelt in front of her window like she was going to say her prayers.

"W-what are you doing, Dinks?" Sparkler asked.

"I'm wishing, Sparkler. Luna should be out flying right now." Dinky closed her eyes and began to speak. "Princess Luna, if you can hear me, I wish that all our problems would get fixed. I want Mommy and Daddy to be happy again, and for us to get enough money to pay the bills. The end." Dinky climbed back in bed. "There. Now everything will get fixed!"

Sparkler took a deep breath. "Dinky, wishes don't always come true. Some wishes, like this one, are too messy to fix just like that." Her horn sparked for emphasis. "Maybe Luna will fix part of it, but not all of it. Wishes don't work like that."

"B-but...I wished! I wished on a star, and wishes on stars always come true!" Now it was Dinky's turn to cry. It wasn't fair! Sparkler said they'd had just enough money, or something like that, so why couldn't they be happy?! Why couldn't her wish come true?!

Sparkler gently stroked Dinky's back, whispering soothing nothings in the filly's ear. "Shhh, shhh. It'll be okay, everything'll be okay at some point. And I'll still be here for you. I've got you, Dinks."

As Dinky continued to sob, and their parents continued to fight - Sparkler genuinely hoped they hadn't started throwing things - and the stars continued to sparkle, innocent of the tears and lost hope they had wrought, Sparkler made a wish of her own.

Luna, I know you're out there. If you're in a wish-granting mood tonight, please, grant as much of my sister's wish as you can.

Princess Luna was flying over Ponyville. She liked that little town, with it's tranquil beauty. But swooping low revealed things weren't as beautiful as they appeared from above. She heard tears.

She hovered outside the window where the sound had originated from. Inside, a little filly sat, crying her eyes out, in the arms of another pony, barely a young mare, that looked to be her sister. Oh yes. She knew this household. This was where Ditzy Do lived, the pony who had smashed the top of the town hall to bits by accident. She knew the verdict was cruel - indeed, she was one of the ponies who had objected to it - but it had to be done. There was no other way.

Now, with determination, she flew back to the castle. She knew a wonderful family counselor that could help, and charities that helped underprivileged ponies like the Do family. A few strings could be pulled, a few special snowflakes persuaded, and she could do this.

The night was a time of wishing, of dreaming. She could grant this wish. She could give those girls something to dream about.