Dinky stared at the folder the doctor had given her, disgust evident on her face as she read it. "When you arrive at the Ponyville Hospital Surgical Center, you will be prepared for your procedure. AN IV will be started if one is needed, and a surgical scrub or prep will be done if ordered by your physician." She skipped over the words to the next section. "The Operating Room. When you arrive in your surgical 'suite', the room will be very bright." Her words dripped sarcasm, but she kept reading. "You will be asked to move onto an operating/procedural table. Since the tables are narrow, a safety belt will be placed above your knees for your own protection." She threw the book down, her disgust even stronger as her mom sighed.
"Do I need to take the book away, Dinky?"
"No! But this is stupid! They're sticking needles in my arms and tying me to a table! It's unnatural!"
"Now Dinky, you don't want to have this permanently, do you?"
"I want to be just like you mommy," sighed Dinky, her voice softening, "And they can't make me!" Her mother sighed and continued working, writing out a letter for a colleague of hers. Dinky stood from the table anxiously, her eyes stormy as she stomped down the hall to her room. "I might as well write out my will now!" She yelled, collapsing on her bed. She shut her eyes, and within minutes, was sound asleep.
She was awoken by the sound of her mother's keys jangling, and she jumped out of bed, running to the door. "Where are you going, mommy?" She sniffed, and grabbed her hooves around her mother's neck, enjoying the sweet scent of her shampoo.
"I have to go in for work. I'll be home soon, okay? Sparkler will watch you." Her purple-maned sister emerged from the living room, a bored expression across her face.
"Okay. Bye mommy," sniffed Dinky, and she curled up on the couch, watching her sister watch "The Twilight Zone". She remained silent through the multiple episodes, simply enjoying the eeriness of the show.
Her mother returned home a few hours later, a thick box in her jaws. Before Dinky could ask what it contained, her mother hid it in her room, and Dinky decided against asking. Instead, she hopped towards the kitchen, where she began magically pulling out ingredients, more showing off what she could do rather than actually helping. Her mother gently patted her on the head, returning a few of the ingredients and beginning to cook.
"What's for dinner? What's for dinner? What's for dinner?" Dinky bounced up, her head visible over the counter for just a few moments before she fell and jumped again, and her mother couldn't stifle her laughter as she reached a hoof out, gently pushing her filly to the ground.
"Hayfries, salad, and... ice cream!" Derpy sang out the final words, and Dinky jumped up again, this time landing on her mother's back with only minor difficulty. She sat there as her mother worked, simply enjoying the peaceful silence between them as she ignored the stress in her gut. Her mother finished cooking dinner and served the plates, calling for Sparkler to set them on the table. Her sister sighed but complied, magically lifting all three with no difficulty.
Dinky slid off her mother's back, and opening the drawer with her teeth, magically lifted out the silverware one at a time and set them on the counter where her sister lifted them all and set them down on the table. She slid the drawer shut, and looked out at the world.
Other said it looked flat to her, and compared to when she used to see dimensionally, it was. And yet, at the same time, she could tell how far away everything was, simply using shadows and sizes. As she trotted to the table, she saw the folder of information again and lifted it up, throwing it harshly against the wall where it fell into the garbage basket.
"Now Dinky," sighed her mother again, gently patting her on the head as she sat down also. They ate, letting Dinky monopolize the meal as always, explaining everything that had happened that day, even if they had been present for all of it. Her topics wandered, and she realized she was barely done, while her sibling and mother had long since cleared their places. She finished talking and instead stuffed her face, finishing her meal quickly.
"Hey mom, tomorrow for breakfast, can I have hay pancakes?"
"Dinky, you can't eat breakfast tomorrow. The anesthesia might react with your stomach, and the doctor doesn't want you throwing up all over him. After the operation, you can have a big lunch, if you really want."
"Ha, you better not throw up on the doctor! Otherwise, he might not finish the surgery and just leave you half cut-up!" Her sister's teasing merely emphasized the pain in her stomach, and she slumped downwards in her seat.
"Apologize immediately Sparkler!" Her mother was angrier than Dinky had ever seen her, and she cowered down, covering her ears.
"Sorry Dinky," muttered her sister before leaving to her room, mumbling something about how idiotic everything was.
"Hey mommy?"
"Yes dear?"
"Can we watch a movie?"
"After I finish my wo-" She saw the sadness in Dinky's eyes and sighed. "Sure. Go pick one out."
"Yay!" Exclaimed Dinky, running back to the bookshelves of movies. She magically grabbed one and ran towards her mother, pushing it in the DVD player and flopping on the couch, cuddling next to her mom.
"Not this one," groaned Derpy jokingly as it started, and Dinky hit her teasingly.
"Yes this one." Mean Mares came on, and Dinky smiled. Choosing her mother's favorite movie was perfect. Now the next step in her plan. "Do you want some popcorn? Coffee?"
"Popcorn sounds nice," smiled her mother, and Dinky went flying off the couch, magically grabbing the bag of popcorn and stuffing it into the microwave, hitting the popcorn button and tapping her hoof impatiently as the bag spun around, slowly enlarging. She grabbed a large bowl, and stood just as the beeping began, signaling the end of the popcorn's cook time. She set down the bowl, and in one fluid movement, opened the microwave, grabbed the bag, tore it open, and dumped it into the bowl. She magically carried it back to the couch, where Sparkler was now sitting, far from her mother, and her arms crossed.
"Here you go!" She set down the bowl between them and magically grabbed a piece, throwing it into the air as it fell and hit her on the nose. Her mother giggled again, and Dinky smiled.
The movie's credits began playing, but Dinky didn't stand, and instead turned to her smiling mother. "Hey mommy?"
"Yes Dinky?"
"Can I stay home all day tomorrow?"
"Of course," smiled her mother, and the weight in Dinky's stomach left. "After your surgery." The crushing feeling returned, twice as strong as she hugged her mother goodnight and scurried to the bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth, then curled up in her bed, crying herself to sleep.
Dinky sighed. She had been in the waiting room for easily an hour, and was growing more impatient by the minute (as well as nervous). She was about to complain to her mother again when she heard her name called, and a doctor trotted over to her. Leading Dinky and her mother back, she was led to a room.
"Just change into this, and sit down," smiled the nurse, and Dinky grunted.
"Come on, Dinky," insisted her mother, but Dinky refused. She stomped her hoof until her mother pointed out she was causing a scene, at which point she slid her hooves into the gown and flopped down on the chair. The nurse returned moments later, smiling all the while.
"I'm going to give you an IV," smiled the nurse gently, but Dinky recoiled. "Maybe this will make it easier." The nurse magically held up a small stuffed cow, which Dinky seized immediately. The nurse turned to her mother, winking, as she said, "Works every time." The nurse held up a syringe, injecting it into Dinky's arm. She whimpered, and grabbed her hoof around her mother's, squeezing it tightly. Her squeezing only tightened as she felt the IV being poked into her arm, and she megan whimpering softly.
"That hurts," said Dinky through gritted teeth. "Just to state the obvious." The nurse sighed, looking down at the needle.
"I'm going to take this out, and put it in your other arm."
"What!" Dinky's voice bounced off the walls, creating a small echo.
"Dinky," said her mother, in a commanding tone.
"Sorry," apologized Dinky, just in time to grit her teeth as the IV slid again, this time much less painful.
"And we're done. The doctor's working with the previous patient still, so it'll be about half an hour. You can watch TV." The nurse lifted the remote from where it was Velcroed onto the wall, and Dinky flipped through it to the cartoon channel.
An hour later, the nurse finally returned, still smiling. "I'm going to push you down now," she said gently, and Dinky whimpered again.
"Love you mommy," sniffled Dinky, and her mother gently kissed her on the hoof as she was led down the hall. They entered a bright room, where the nurse gently led her to a bed. She laid down compliantly, and looked up at the gangly anesthesiologist.
"I'm going to put this in your IV," he smiled, and shot some sort of liquid in. Moments later, she was slightly dizzy as the world swam above her. He then lifted a triangular mask over her nose, when she looked up at the nurse.
"Do I need to breathe it in?" She asked, and the nurse nodded gently as Dinky took a few breaths in.
"Don't fight it," said the nurse with a sigh as Dinky struggled to keep her eyes open. Dinky nodded, closing her eyes, and the world faded to black.
Dinky awoke presumably an hour later, and she struggled to open her eyes, but winced in pain. The nurse turned towards her, and magically set a cool cloth over her eyes. Dinky continued struggling to open her eyes, and they kept resisting for about ten minutes until finally they complied, letting her open them slightly.
"Remind me not to do this again," she groaned to the nurse, and the nurse let out a chuckle as she continued working over the computer. A few minutes later, yet another nurse appeared to push her in the stretcher towards her room, though somehow the TV had disappeared.
"What's your mother's name?" Asked the nurse kindly, flicking the lights off. Dinky slowly opened her eyes again, and looked towards the chair, and down at the stretcher.
"Derpy. Derpy Hooves. And don't tell me I have to get up."
"Yep." Dinky sighed, and gently crawled off the stretcher, when she crawled over into the chair, magically carrying her cow with her. "I'll go get your mother," smiled the nurse, magically closing the curtain behind her. Dinky curled up in the chair, shutting her eyes, when she saw her mother's familiar blonde mane.
"Mommy!" She cried, and her mother sat down on the chair across from her.
"Your eyes are really red," she remarked, and Dinky nodded.
"Makes sense."
"You have eye drops," added her mother, blinking as her eyes tried to refocus.
"Makes sense," she repeated, and her mother trotted over.
"I love you, Dinky."
"I love you too, mom."
