Little piece of Grey
by derpyhooves15
Little Piece Of Grey
Dinky had seen it all. She had seen her mother be young, have friends and a healthy social life. She had seen her mother grow tired and uneasy. Then she saw her mother's mind and body decay. It had been months since Derpy Hooves, the Grey Pegasus and mother of Dinky, was diagnosed with the disease which rotted her life. The symptoms had been around since the moment Derpy first opened her eyes, only to her mothers shock to see her filly look at her but also the wall on the other side of the room. Doctors registered it as a defect caused by stress of the mother during the early stages of Derpy's development. But now things had changed. Her eyes flashed between being relatively normal to leaving the mare next to blind. Accompanying this was pangs of terrible nausea, searing pain in her face, and migraines so terrible she would black out and wake up to find blood running from her ears. The moment these symptoms showed up during a standard physical, Derpy was admitted to Ponyville General, where she had lived permanently, but with no signs of improvement, only a progressive decline into the very depths of pain and misery.
Dinky mulled this over in her mind as she plodded after the orderly along the dull corridors of Ponyville General. She passed rooms of the ponies with broken bones, newborn foals, disabilities and terminal diseases. But none of this was important to her. She wanted to see her mommy. It wasn't usual for the hospital to call for her during the middle of the week. They were usually uptight about when regular visitors could see their loved ones and friends. But today they had told her to come "soon", no specific time, no specific reason. She was confused, but mostly she was worried. Her mommy was not well, and was not getting better. She hated to think about it but.... A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of life with out mommy. She rounded a corner, then the orderly walked up to a door and held it open letting the small filly step underneath her outstretched foreleg.
Dinky stared at Derpy, and Derpy tried to stare back, a subtle smile creeping onto her face. Dinky thanked the orderly and watched the the door swing shut behind her. She trotted up to Mommy's bed and plopped down onto her haunches, looking up into the wonky, yet comforting face of her mother.
"Mommy, why did they want me to come today instead of the normal day?" asked Dinky, her voice high pitched and sweet.
Derpy looked back, her smile intensifying and her eyes trying desperately hard to focus on her young daughter.
"Well sweetie, I just thought it would be nice to see you today. I always feel better when I see you." Derpy's voice was slurred and croaky as always. This comforted Dinky; it felt nice to hear the voice of the pony who cared for her again. But this didn't override the fact that something wasn't right. Her mother looked paler than normal, which was particularly strange for a pony with her dull Grey coat. Her mane was shorter than normal, and the hairs were discolored from her original luscious blonde. There were less, in fact no tubes running into her from the machines at her side.
"Mommy, I'm not a dumb filly, there is something wrong isn't there?" inquired Dinky.
"No dear, I just wa-"
"Mom," cut in Dinky, elongating the vowel sounds and adding her best whining tone.
Derpy sighed. Her face sunk to a most morbid expression, and she stopped trying to control her eyes. They swiveled round until they were facing in nearly the complete opposite directions, and Derpy clutched her head and let out a quite moan, as it throbbed at the sudden change. Dinky whimpered at the sight of her beloved mother cringing in the pain which plagued the Pegasus every day.
"Dinky, come up here with your mommy," Derpy said, patting her hoof on the bed to reassure her gradually saddening daughter. Dinky stood up on her hind legs and placed her forelegs on the duvet. She kicked her rear legs and shuffled forwards, but was left dangling on the edge of the bed, grunting and flailing her legs randomly in order to try and gain lift. Derpy chuckled quietly and stretched a hoof out to the flailing filly's flank, then shoved her up onto the bed. Dinky landed in a heap, but picked herself up and wobbled over the thick duvet as she went to lie at her mother's chest, so she could feel her beating heart and warm blood telling her she was still there. Once she was settled, Derpy began to stroke her daughter's mane with a frail hoof, ruffling it around the little horn. Derpy took a deep breath and began to speak.
"Dink, I'm afraid that the doctors can't do anything more for me. I'm just to weak to fight back and they can't do anything to help me anymore, they just can't cure it. I've made an agreement with them, and they've taken me of the life support machines. I can't just live on in this pain any longer, even if I have you by my side, Dinky. I will probably last a couple of days, but in the end I'm going to need you to be a brave little filly for mommy. I've made arrangements for you to stay with Ms. Cherrilee at her house until she can find you a more suitable lodging. And I will need you to be good for her, and try to do well in school so you can have a nice life with a good husband when your older."
Derpy paused and looked down at the little bundle of Grey now lying wrapped in her wing, the fillies face buried deep in her own increasingly wet forelegs.
"Sweetie, I know you're sad, but I need to go. All this is a sign that my time is now upon me, and I can't live with the pain."
In seeming recognition of the statement, Derpy cringed as pain shot through her body and her eyes blacked out, only to fade back in. The jerk stirred Dinky, who looked up, tears flowing in a steady stream down her face. Dinky knew it had been coming soon, her mothers death. But now it stood before her and she couldn't cope. It didn't help that mommy was so relaxed about it, accepting it as if it was just like a holiday and she would be back in a week. Between snivels, Dinky spoke.
"I don't-don't w-w-want you to go, I love you."
Derpy smiled at her daughter, but inside her heart shredded itself as her daughter poured her emotions out.
"Sweetie, you need to-"
Her sentence was interrupted by a bout of coughing. And Dinky looked up at her mother's face, trying to fathom the pain her mommy was in so she could know her passing would be a good thing. But all she saw was the pony she loved over all others and never wanted to be without. Derpy wheezed her coughing fit to a halt.
"Sweetie, I don't want to leave you either, but it can't be helped. If I live for much longer I will be blind, and in really bad pain. And then I would be worried that your last memories of me will be bad ones."
This time Derpy felt tears welling up in her eyes. As she looked at her daughter sobbing into the feathers of her wings, she felt like a cruel demon. She was sat here, discussing her death with her young daughter as if it was a trivial matter. She stretched out an arm and brought the small filly up onto her chest, ignoring the pain that shrieked through her body. She then wrapped her wings gently over the filly and nuzzled her head, listening to the sobs coming from the little foal, and now her. They cried together, for the times ahead that they would not share.
The past few hours had been good for both Dinky and Derpy. After Mommy broke the news and they shared in the sadness, they began to discuss life: the times they had had touring Equestria not but a year ago, to the times that only Derpy could remember, but still made Dinky feel warm and happy, for she began to acknowledge what her mother felt. Derpy led a small, but full life, which anypony could have and be content. She still felt a pang of sadness when her mother talked of the future, which Dinky would live alone. But she knew it would, and probably should happen. They spent a long time in silence just relishing in being close to each other, until Derpy spoke.
"Dinky, I'm getting really tired now. I think you should go home." She yawned to confirm it and reached for the bell to call in an orderly to take her daughter away, but Dinky spoke up.
"I'm coming straight back tomorrow anyway, can't I sleep in here with you?"
Derpy knew she shouldn't; the hospital wouldn't allow it. But she wanted to be with her daughter for as much time as possible over the next few days, so she agreed quietly with a small smile on her face. As Dinky once again settled down onto her mother's chest, enveloped in the soft feathers of her wings, Derpy began to whisper into her ear.
"Dinky, I love you. You're all I need in life to be happy. You're that one friend I never had. You're the one daughter I couldn't be happy without. You're my filly, my little Dinky. You're my little piece of Grey."
And with that, Derpy placed a small kiss on the smiling filly's head, and said goodnight.
