Chapters Chapter 1 - The First Meeting
Listening to the rain can be really calming, but sometimes it makes me sad. I was standing outside Sugarcube Corner listening to it, and I wasn't very happy. I was thinking about Dinky, and what the strange pony that came to the door told me. What did he mean when he said I might "lose custody" of her? What does "custody" mean? Whatever it means, I don't think I want to lose it. Maybe I'll go look it up in a dictionary when I'm done with my mail route.
While I was thinking, something distracted me from the corner of my eye. I turned around, and right then my crossed vision focused on a muffin poster inside the window of Sugarcube Corner. The rain running down the glass in front of it made the picture look even less like a real muffin… But it still looked so good, and I was hungry. I licked the glass, but then I stuck out my tongue. It tasted bad. Like glass, and water. And dirt. Definitely dirt. I sighed, knowing that I didn't have enough bits on hoof to buy one, and then started flying again to continue my mail route.
Those words that pony said were haunting me for the rest of my entire route that day, and all I did was wonder what would happen when he came back that night. He said he'd be coming around 8:30, to give me 'the details'. Whatever the details are, I hope they'll tell me how to make sure I don't lose my Dinky for custody. Or… Lose my custody for Dinky… Whatever that means.
When I came home, I looked at the clock. Thank Celestia, it was only 7:49! I heavily breathed out, and trotted up the stairs to look for Dinky. But she wasn't in her room, so I came back downstairs and called her name, or… Spoke her name, because I wasn't really getting loud yet.
"… Dinky? Dinky where are you?" I asked with a chuckle. "Are you playing hide and seek again? Actually, I don't think it's hide and seek unless you tell the other pony you're playing…"
"Derpy?" Dinky came out from the door of the kitchen, and I went up to her happily. But… She didn't look very happy.
"Oh, hi Dinky! I didn't see you there! But then again, I didn't check the kitchen yet, either."
"Derpy, where were you?" The look on her face made me frown, because she looked like she was scared or worried before I came home.
"What do you mean? I was working, silly! And I came home a little early, just for my little sister!" I told her, trying to keep a good attitude to cheer her up, "I told you I would come back at 8 o' clock and we could go get something special to eat with the bits I made today, remember?" What I forgot, is that I barely had the bits to buy a muffin earlier.
"But it's not 8 o' clock…" I saw her eyes start to water, "It's almost 9 o'clock!"
"What?" I turned around, and looked at the clock I saw before. Well, it looked like 7:50 to me… Then I heard Dinky say something from behind me.
"Not that one…!" She went into the kitchen, and when she saw me follow her in, she pointed at the clock in there. "This one! And the one in my room, too…" Then, I remembered something.
"Oh!! We never set that one for the spring savings... Thing! So…" I gasped, "I'm late?" I frowned, "Oh, I'm sorry, Dinky! I had such a small amount of letters today that I thought I should deliver some more, too, because I thought I had time… I didn't know I was an hour late!"
"It's okay, but I was really hungry while you were gone. And really scared while you were gone, too…" She nuzzled her head under my chin, "There was someone knocking on the door, but I didn't want to answer it… And then they started knocking even harder, and I thought they were gonna break in…" At first I had no idea what she was talking about, but then it hit me.
"That custody pony!"
"That what pony?"
"The pony that was going to talk to me about-…" I stopped talking when I remembered that I probably shouldn't make Dinky worry, and then I backed away. "Uh… Well the point is that we were supposed to have a guest over…"
"So I was scared of a guest?" Dinky frowned again.
"Sorta…" I went to the door, and opened it. When I looked down, I saw a little letter, so I picked it up and brought it in the house.
"What's it say, what's it say?" Dinky was smiling now because she was excited to see mail, but she still sniffled a little bit. "Is it for me? Is it for you?"
"Huh, I don't know…" I opened it up, and started reading it.
"My Dear Derpy Hooves,
I see you aren't home at the moment, so I'll have to reschedule our discussion to the same time tomorrow. Feel free to ask any questions you may have, and think the matter over. If you aren't interested in waiting until tomorrow, you may come to a 24-hour café with me to discuss the matter. I'm going to be relaxing there until 10:00pm. The address of the café is on this letter below this message. I look forward to speaking with you. "
"What does that mean?" Dinky asked me.
"… I think he wants to talk to me… Well, I guess I'll just go tonight! You're going to bed soon anyway, right?" I smiled at her, and she nodded at me. So after making dinner, I decided to go meet him at the cafè. I had to know what was going on.
As soon as we saw each other at this "24-Hour Cafè" (I didn't even know we had something like that), we sat down and started talking.
"So, you got my letter, then?" He started off.
"Yup! I thought that it would bother me all night if I tried to sleep, so I came here instead."
"Yes, I see…" He sighed, and leaned forward, "Derpy Hooves… As I told you earlier today, I'm here to inform you that you may lose custody of your younger sister Dinky Hooves. If you have any questions or concerns, now's the time to tell me what they are."
"Oh yeah, I got one." I began, "What's this whole 'custody' thing you're talking about? I don't get it."
"You don't even know what 'custody' is?" He sighed again, "Well, right now, you have the rights to look after her. Those rights you have are called 'custody'."
"Oh. Okay, wait… So…" I stopped to think about this. So 'custody' is 'the rights' to look after Dinky… And if I lose those 'rights'… I gasped, "Oh no! So I might have to give Dinky away?"
"That's right."
"But why? What did I do?"
"Well, how do I start…" He started thinking, and then when he decided what he wanted to say, he looked at me again and started listing a whole bunch of things that were wrong… With me. "To start, you're irresponsible. You've left a young filly like Dinky home alone countless times for hours on end, while you're off working for the post office, barely making enough money to support yourself, let alone a sibling. I've also received reports from Dinky's friends and our investigator that there have been occasional times where you didn't feed her, due to forgetfulness or quite literally not having enough food in the house. You're barely getting by on your house bills, and aside from money-…" When he stopped his sentence, I knew he was hesitating. He sighed deeply. Then I knew something was wrong. "… Ms. Hooves… You are-… Or well… You seem to be… A danger to yourself and others. Including Dinky."
"Wha?" A danger? I never tried to hurt anypony. How could I be a danger to Dinky?
"Well, it's your countless accidents and reputation of, well… Messing up."
"Oh, mister," I said with a slight giggle, thinking it was like a joke, "I know I'm clumsy, but I don't think tripping once in a while or dropping my food on the floor by accident is a danger to Dinky! … Unless she slips on it."
"But you must understand, it's more than just tripping and bumping things or dropping your food. From a few residents around town, I've had witnesses who have seen you-… Hold on, let me get out my papers." He took out some papers from a folder he had, and then started reading one of them off to me. "According to this, you've been seen falling multiple times from the sky, flying into trees, tripping over things, bumping into buildings, and knocking into doors."
"W'll yeah, but that's just tripping and bumping stuff, isn't it, mister?"
"Oh, but I'm not done. On the job, you've been reported to have delivered mail to the wrong houses, damaged precious packages and messages to the point where you were demoted, and ruining other ponies' mailboxes and messages by trying to shove in mail that wouldn't fit. Also, supposedly because of your eyes, you aren't a very good flier, as witnessed in the Cloudsdale Flying Competition. Your clumsy flying has caused injuries to yourself and occasionally other ponies. I'm personally surprised they haven't given you some kind of flying ban."
"But what does that have to do with-…"
"Please, allow me to finish." He said, interrupting me. "As for injuries... In town, you have bumped into many ponies and knocked them down, you have knocked down various things such as pulling down strings of lights causing other ponies to fall or be injured, you have broken several of Roseluck's flowerpots, resulting in somepony accidentally cutting themselves, and you have caused damage to multiple things including roofs, merchandise, plants including trees and tree branches, food, and as mentioned before, mail. Packages, packets, folders, letters, and messages. Other than the mail, almost all of these things have caused harm to others. I even have one report of you falling from the sky, and roughly bumping into a school pony during recess hours, causing them to receive injuries. I can go on all day mentioning the sorts of trouble you get yourself in, including worse situations, but I think you get the point. And, of course, the most well-known accident of all, you completely destroyed the roof of Town Hall, and almost caused serious injuries to Miss Rainbow Dash twice during the ceremony for the very pony who was willing to offer money to fix your mistake."
"Oh… Can I talk now?"
"Yes. I'm finished."
"Well, I haven't hurt Dinky yet! I try to be super careful," I was hoping he would take that as a good answer, and let me keep her.
"The key word, my dear, being 'yet'. Although, you already have hurt Dinky in some way. By - as I mentioned - not having the money to support her, if anything. I've had reports of Dinky's school friends mentioning how many times she's come to school hungry because her older sister forgot to give her breakfast, or because you told her you were short on bits that morning."
"But I always made sure she had food when she got home. Or I brought food to school for her when I got some." I frowned.
"Did I mention that I have another report from her teacher that Dinky has occasionally been experiencing malnutrition problems during recess? Fatigue, loss of energy? Stomach pains? And did I mention that on those days, Mrs. Cheerilee had asked her what was wrong, and the only thing Dinky had to say was that nothing was wrong besides the fact that she missed breakfast that day and dinner the night before?"
I didn't talk this time.
"While we're on the subject of what happened with Dinky, I have reports about you accidentally causing her to break her wrist during one specific accident at Sisterhooves Social, whilst ruining the race for everypony else by breaking a majority of the obstacles on your first run... Actually, I hear that's why you couldn't enter the following year, resulting in Amethyst Star entering with Dinky in place of you." He sighed again. He was doing that a lot. "Mrs. Hooves, the point is that if this continues much longer, we're going to have to hand Dinky over to someone who can actually take care of her. Your mother, perhaps?"
"Oh, no." I shook my head, "My mother left Dinky and I on our own, so it's just us!"
"Then I'm afraid we're going to have to hand her to an orphanage. I'm sorry, Mrs. Hooves, but I'll give you a week or two, and if your situation hasn't changed by then, you're going to have to say goodbye to Dinky. I have just enough information to prove that Dinky needs to be in better care, and you need to change that if you want to keep her in your custody."
I didn't have a lot to say after that. We ended up leaving a little after our talk, and I had a harder time sleeping that night than I thought. I thought that when I came to the café to talk to him, we could sort things out and everything would be okay! But it turns out, things are worse than I thought they were…
When I got home, the first thing I did was check on Dinky. I went to her bedroom, and saw her all snuggled up in her bed. She looked so cute, and so… Small. I tried focusing my eyes to get a better look at her, and managed to get a good view of her for a little while before my eyes crossed again. I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead… Then I teared up… I don't want to lose her… She really is all I have, the only one who thinks I'm more than just clumsy…
All I was thinking about that night, was Dinky. Was he serious when he said I would lose her? I had nightmares that night, about falling on Dinky and making her cry, and then that stallion taking her away…
I hope everything will be okay...
Chapter 2 - Overconfidence
After what happened, I tried super hard to treat Dinky really good. Days went by, and Dinky looked like she was doing well. She looked happier than before, and that made me happy, too. I even made a check list and put it on the refrigerator so I remembered to make dinner instead of falling asleep first! And I made sure to make her breakfast really early, and prepared her lunchbox the night before. I thought everything was going great, but I still wasn't making enough bits at my job...
I went to work right after walking Dinky to school, and appeared at the post office just in time. I told my boss that I was going to try to be really super careful from now on, and he sent me out on my regular mail route. I delivered mail to a whole bunch of nice ponies, and when I came back to the post office, it was around lunch time. This is when I had to do something I've never done before... Ask him for a raise.
"Um, excuse me... Sir...?" I walked into his office slowly, "Can I talk to you a little bit?"
"Make it quick, Miss Hooves. I haven't got all day." He spun around in his chair and looked at me. At first I thought, I wish I had a spinny chair like that. But I shook my head back and forth, and tried to remember that I had to focus.
"... Can I have a raise?"
"What?"
"Uh..." I didn't know how to ask this. I never asked before. "... Well... You see..." I was trying to sound professional. I guess I have to, if I want a better chance of a raise. "... Due to my... Un-... Responsible actions..." I hesitated a little. Was 'unresponsible' a word? "My younger sister has... Been mal-nutrated-... Wait..." I bit my lower lip. "She has... Uh... malnutrition in her-... Eh..."
"... Miss Hooves, is there something you want to say, or are you purposely wasting my time?" He had an annoyed look on his face. I decided that maybe it wasn't good to try to use bigger words right now.
"Sir..." I let out a deep breath, and decided to tell him the truth without hesitating. "... Ever since I got demoted that one time, I haven't been making enough bits in my job to help me and my little sister." I frowned, "She went without lunch before because I didn't have money for food... I'm really just asking for your help! I don't want Dinky to get taken away!" I waited for him to say something back, but there was a long pause before he actually said anything.
"... Miss Hooves, it's not my responsibility to support your family. I'm sorry for your situation, but you were demoted for a reason. We could have had a lawsuit on our hands for the important package you ruined!"
"But I promise I'll be more careful this time!"
"No. No thank you. Once is enough, Miss Hooves... But I'll tell you what." He leaned back in his spinny chair, and sighed. "If you feel up to it, you can do extra work at the end of the day. If you get all of your letters mailed before your shift ends, you can deliver a few more before the end of your shift, and I'll pay you extra depending on how many more letters you put out... But I warn you. New letters means a new route. I'll give you a map, but if you mess this up, I won't be so kind next time."
"Really? Oh, thanks a bunch, sir!" I smiled and flapped my wings happily. "I won't mess it up! Really!"
"Yeah? Well let's hope so." He looked at my empty mail bag, and then nodded at me. "You can start today, seeing as you're done with your route already. Just go to the mail room, and there should be a volunteer there who can give you another batch to mail. I'll... Leave it to you."
I went to the mail room right away, and went to look for the volunteer. They were a light aqua-ish pony, with a dark blue-green mane and tail. Their mane was messy. I knew they were a volunteer, because they had a card hanging around their neck that said "Volunteer" on it, and their name was on the card, too. It said "Wintergreen".
"Hiya!" I trotted up happily. "You're a volunteer, right?"
"Huh?" She looked at me, and after a few seconds, she smiled really wide. "Oh uh-... Yup! That's me! What can I do for ya?"
"I need some more letters to mail! My boss told me I could do extra work!"
"Oh, okay! I'll just give you these..." She held up a bag of letters, and helped me empty some of them into my mail bag. "There. Is there anything else?" She smiled at me again.
"Nope! That's it!" I started walking away, but then I stopped. I really need bits, and I wanna make sure I have enough to give Dinky what she needs... What if I don't mail enough letters by the end of my shift? I looked down. She only filled my bag half full. I was doing really good lately, so maybe I should ask for more?
"Actually..." I turned around.
"Yes?" She looked at me immediately, trying to be helpful.
"I think I-..." I started thinking again. Having more letters in my bag doesn't mean I'll deliver them all... But maybe he'll pay me more for delivering packages instead of letters? Yeah, that's perfect! I'll deliver a whole bunch of packages, and then when I get back, I'll get more bits! He'll be so proud of me that he might give me a raise! Oh, or maybe a promotion! Yeah, then me and Dinky would definitely have enough money, and she won't have to go hungry anymore!
"... You think you...?" She tilted her head.
"I think I want packages instead!" I smiled.
"What?"
"Packages! Is... That okay?"
"Oh, yeah, sure!" She took the letters out of my mail bag, and managed to fit three packages in there instead.
"... Only three?" I frowned.
"Well, that's all that'll fit without putting strain on your bag..."
"... Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."
"... Can I try fitting a few more? Please?"
"Well, I guess you can try... Just be careful not to break your bag." I nodded, and started trying to fit them in. I managed to fit four smaller packages in one side of my mail bag, and two big ones in the other side. Then I carried another one in my mouth by a string tied around it. It was pretty big.
"Thanks so much!" I put the last package in front of me, and started trotting off, but everything seemed heavy. I was pushing the last package across the floor because of how heavy it was. She looked at me with a worried look on my way out, but I didn't mind. I knew I could do it!
As soon as I got outside, I flew off. I knew it was faster to fly, but at the same time, the packages were all so heavy... I was flying a little lopsided, because there was more weight on one side than the other. It was really hard.
"Okay, I just have to get this first package to Cloudsdale." I thought. I nodded, but then the package almost fell out of my mouth and I clenched my teeth harder. I let out a sigh of relief, and then made my way up to Cloudsdale.
After a while, I saw it coming into view. There it was! It looked /so/ pretty! I would love to live there, but Dinky's a unicorn and she can't walk on clouds, so I'm just staying down in Ponyville.
As I was going up, the package was just getting heavier and heavier... My mouth was already sore from carrying it, and my teeth were hurting. This whole time it was a strain on my mouth. I already felt it starting to slip... Maybe I shouldn't have picked such a big heavy package? It felt like there was a ton of bricks in here. I felt sweat go down my cheek, but I was almost there. Just a little more. I clenched my teeth harder, and tried going faster. I closed my eyes tight. Luckily, I managed to get to the top, and I dropped the package right next to me, right on the very edge of the puffy cloud floor.
Phew! What a relief. I opened my mouth, stuck out my tongue, and thought it was nice to give my mouth a rest. I think I might've chipped a tooth. I plopped down to a sitting position right there, with my my tail close to the edge of the huge cloud... But I plopped too hard, and a package slid out of my mail bag.
As soon as I noticed, it was already on it's way down. But I had to go get it! I got up and turned around quickly, then I took a deep breath and jumped down... But on my way, I knocked into the heavy package that was sitting on the edge next to me, accidentally giving it the push it needed to slowly but surely slide off the edge. While both packages tumbled down, all I did was worry. I tried flying faster, but all that did was make my wings hurt. Why now? How come it had to be like this when Dinky needs me most? I shut my eyes tight for a second, and tried forcing myself down faster. I caught up with the heavy package first, and threw my arms around it. I thought, if any package would survive, it's the lighter one, so the heavy package should be the first thing to get. I tried to pull it up and stop it from falling, but it was really, really heavy. I grabbed the string with my teeth again and pulled up... It was working! Even though I was heading down fast, I was still slowing it down... But the rope snapped.
It slipped out of my hooves... I started to really worry.
I shook my head. Get yourself together, Derpy! I started flying down again, but by now we were too close to the ground. I had to warn the ponies below.
"Watch out!" I yelled really loud. Then I saw where it was going to land. It was right over the school, and all the school ponies were just finishing their lunchtime. But what was going on? Was everypony safe? I knew some ponies were already inside, but how many? It looked like there was still some ponies outside, and one was really close to the shadow of the package. I focused my eyes, and tried to get my vision as clear as I could, so I could see who it was.
... Dinky?
"Dinky!! No!!" Tears were falling out of my eyes, "Dinky look out!!" I looked away and protected my face with my hooves.
I heard a crash...
My cheeks were wet...
I was shaking...
I spent the rest of my day waiting...
... Outside the emergency room.
Chapter 3 - Important Conversations
... Why do things like this happen?
... How do they happen?
And when they happen, why is it always... Me?
I sat there and waited. And I waited for a really long time... I had to wait so long, that when I was done waiting, I had to wait some more. I waited until the sky was starting to get dark, and then I heard a voice. I knew that voice somewhere.
"... Are you finished, now?"
I raised my head, and looked up at him. "W-... Wha...?"
It was the custody pony again. He put his hoof under my chin and made my look straight at him. "My, my... Your cheeks are soaked." He put his hoof down, and my head dropped. I kept looking down, and I teared up again.
"Y-Yes, Mr. Custody Pony... Sir..." I bit my lower lip, "I-... I-..." I looked at him, "This... This was my fault..."
He stared at me, without saying a word. I tried to fill the awkward silence.
"... I... I tried to make things better... I asked for a raise... But when he gave me the chance, I just-.... I tried to do my best so he would be proud of me... And then this one package was really, really heavy, and I-... They just-... Fell... And... I-..." I started crying again, "I-I don't... Know what went wrong..."
He stood there, not saying a thing. He let me cry... And then sat down beside me.
"... Miss Hooves... Keep your head high. I'm sure Dinky will come out of that emergency room free as a bird, with her chin in the air." He softly smiled. I looked at him. I know Dinky isn't going to come out of the emergency room with her chin up like a bird or... Something... But his silly phrase made me smile. It was a little smile, and it went away after a tiny bit, but it was my first smile since this morning.
"... Thanks, Mister..." I looked over at him again. I remembered what he said would happen to Dinky if things didn't get better, and my eyes got wide. "B-But this doesn't mean I won't take care of her when she's out! I-... I-... I'll give her lots of rest, and make her really healthy food, and if she wants dessert I'll make her a healthy dessert like a muffin with fruit in it, a-and I'll make sure she doesn't hurt herself again and-... A-And I'll even take off of work to take care of-"
"Miss Hooves..." He interrupted, "That's what I'm here to talk to you about..." He sighed. "You know, I didn't come here just to see if you and Dinky were okay. There were two other reasons I came. One of them, just so happens to be to deliver some news..."
"... News?"
"... Yes. Miss Hooves, I know this may have been obvious to you, but you've been fired."
"W-What...?!" I was so worried about Dinky, I completely forgot about my job. "I-... B-But... I-I've been working there for such a long time, and-..."
"... I know, I know. Unfortunately, it's true, and they have no intention of re-hiring you anytime soon... And with your current record, I don't think anypony else is going to want to, either..."
"But-... Does that mean-...?" I sat up.
"... No money coming in, plus Dinky's current condition due to one of your mistakes... Yes. I'm afraid this is what it's come to." He let out a deep sigh, like he was getting ready for something. "... Miss Hooves..."
"P-Please, mister-..."
"... We can't keep Dinky in your custody any longer. When she's well, we're taking her to the orphanage."
I gasped, and bit my lower lip again. "But-... But you can't! We... We were doing so well, and I-..." I teared up again. He shouldn't have tried cheering me up if he was just about to tell me something so... Bad.
"Miss Hooves-..."
"Just let me try! One more time, please?" I interrupted.
"Miss Hooves, you-..."
"Please, sir!! I don't wanna live by myself without Dinky!"
"Miss-..."
"I'll take a really, really safe job, and I'll make sure she's fed even if I don't get food, and-..."
"Miss Hooves!!" He yelled at me. His voice was so loud, I got startled... He sighed. "... Miss Hooves, you don't understand. I work in an environment where we care about the lives and well-being of ponies. I work with anypony who's been stolen from, hurt, or otherwise. I'm the one next to the police department, as a detective and a lawyer, and to claim both of those positions was NOT an easy task." He stood up, and stared me with a serious look. "I'm the one who makes sure that whoever commits a crime or offense, is punished for said action. I do my best to defend the innocent. And, if and when an innocent pony is in danger from another innocent pony, it's my job to separate them and put the pony at fault in a suitable environment where they can fix their problem. Unfortunately, simply being a klutz doesn't allow us to do any more than to limit where you work, and perhaps order some natural medicine to aid your focus. Of course, when there is any kind of accidental abuse toward a child, we simply have to take the filly or colt away from the irresponsible guardian."
"... I... I'm not that clumsy..." I felt a tear fall on my hoof. "... I... I've been taking pretty good care of Dinky... Right...?" I looked at him, "I... I've been a good sister, right...?"
He looked down. "Well, there's some fair and unfairness to that... Allow me to explain. When we first got reports of what you've done to Ponyville thus far, we knew you were an accident waiting to happen. We knew that you had the capability to potentially harm somepony, but your accidents had never been serious enough for us to step in. And, after a time, we calmed down and began believing that your accidents were nothing more than simple acts of a clumsy pony. Although, after the Town Hall incident, which luckily caused no injuries, we all cringed and were now sure that you were capable of bigger accidents than just delivering a damaged package. But still, since nopony was injured and the Mayor had forgiven you, the whole situation seemed to die down, and everypony almost seemed to forget about it... Besides us."
I lowered my head.
"We knew that we needed some reason to step in and get you the help you needed, as to protect you and other ponies around you. We needed some evidence - any evidence - to make the higher-ups believe that you truly needed help. 100%. In other words, we got paranoid, and needed to ease our worries. To do this, since a few accidents wasn't enough to convince anypony we should take care of your clumsiness, we had to find another reason to confront you. Then, when we did some investigating... When I did some investigating... I found from Miss Cheerilee that Dinky had been experiencing some problems during some past months, ever since you had been demoted. Her lunches got smaller due to your financial problems, and her performance in P.E. began showing more and more symptoms of malnutrition... When we found this out, we thought, 'This is it. This is the evidence we needed.' " He paused to look at me again, but I didn't have anything to say, so he kept talking. "... And so, after gathering enough evidence, we knew that we finally had the case we needed to prove that you were capable of hurting others, and we could step in, and deal with the matter... Even if it meant taking Dinky away from you."
My mouth opened wide and I sat forward, "B-But... That's-... I-..." It was hard to find something to say. After a long pause, I thought of something. "... So that means... You too, mister...?"
"... What?"
"... You thought I was dangerous too... Right...?" I looked at him, "... Did you want to take Dinky, too?" There was also a lot of silence after that. I looked at him for a long time, but he didn't say anything. Finally I looked down, and gave up on getting an answer.
"... Actually..." When I heard his voice, my head rose. "... In the beginning... I didn't. I thought it was absurd that they were trying to 'fix' you because you weren't perfect... I was against them. I was only doing my job."
"... R-Really...?" I asked, smiling a little.
"... Yes. But..."
My smile went away.
"... But after this... After what happened with Dinky..." He looked away from me. "... I think it would be best if... If Dinky was put somewhere safer... And if you were given some kind of natural focus formula, to lower the chances of this sort of thing ever happening again..."
I don't know how to describe my face just then, or my emotions. There was a mix of different things... And I'm not really too good with words. I just know that whatever it was... It didn't feel good at all.
Finally, a nurse came out of the emergency room. "Miss Hooves?"
I turned to her quickly, "Y-Yes...?!"
She smiled softly, and nodded at me. "It was a close call, but Dinky will be fine." I smiled again, and more warm tears fell down my cheeks. "She'll need some bed rest here at the hospital for a week or so, so we can keep track of her initial recovery, but you can visit as often as you like. And remember, when she can go home again, she needs bed rest and lots of care."
"Can I see her?!" I stood up.
"Yes, just wait in the front room and I'll get to you in a moment." She walked back into the room, and I felt relieved. I looked over at the custody pony again, but he was walking away.
"Hey-... Where are you going?" I asked. "... Don't you want to check on Dinky?"
"... I already know she's fine." He answered, "Besides... I'm going to see her in 'a week or so' according to the nurse... Remember?" He walked off, leaving me by myself... I forgot that Dinky was going to be taken away right after she's out of the hospital. I looked down, and started walking to the front room of the hospital like the nurse told me... I think I'm spending the night.
When I first saw Dinky, she was sleeping, but I was so happy she was okay. I didn't want to wake her up, but I also didn't want to leave her alone, so I slept in her room that night just like I thought I would. I was in sitting in a chair when I fell asleep, but I don't know if you could call that strange position I was in, "sitting"... So, when I woke up my neck hurt a little, but instead of worrying about that, I walked to the edge of Dinky's bed to see if she was awake yet.
"... Dinky...?" I rubbed my nose against her cheek to nudge her a little, "... Dinky, are you awake...?" I stared at her with a sad look on my face, and then went back to my chair to sit down. My stomach growled, and I put my head down. I was so hungry, but I wasn't going to leave Dinky all alone... What if she wakes up? Finally, I heard the door open, and Nurse Redheart came in.
"Miss Hooves...?"
"Nurse!" I lifted my head again, and got up to go see her. "Nurse, is Dinky okay? Why is she still sleeping?" I watched as she walked to Dinky's bedside and caressed her forehead with her hoof.
"She'll be fine, she just needs time..."
"B-But I don't have time! I need to say goodbye!" Reminding myself of it made me tear up again, and when I noticed, I backed up a little so that maybe she wouldn't notice. "I mean... I..."
"... I heard last night. But she still has a week in the hospital, so there's no reason to hurry." She smiled at me to try to be friendly, but I couldn't smile back.
"But that's why I have to spend time with her as much as I can..." Just then, my stomach growled.
"Oh," Nurse Redheart looked at me, "Are you hungry?"
"Um... Well... Yes, but..." I hesitated, "I wanna stay here until Dinky wakes up so I can have all the time with her that I can..."
"Well, that might be a while... I suggest you go get something to eat, and come back." She smiled at me. "I'll take care of Dinky."
"Well..." I looked at Dinky, still asleep in the hospital bed, and then looked down at my stomach. "... I guess one muffin wouldn't hurt..."
I decided to take her advice, and before I knew it I was eating a muffin at that cafè where I found out that I would lose custody of Dinky. I knew I didn't have many bits left, and I didn't have a job, but I was really hungry and just wanted to relax. Before long, when I was half-done with my muffin, I heard another pony walk into the cafè. The little bell on the door started jingling, and I looked over to see who it was.
"Custody pony...?" I stared, and realized that I was looking at that custody pony who talked to me the other night. I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk to him, so I just looked down and kept eating my muffin... But it didn't take long before I heard his voice call me.
"... Ms. Hooves? Well, fancy seeing you here! I come here all the time, but I wasn't expecting you. Small town, isn't it?" He walked up to me, and I looked up at him.
"Oh... Yeah, I... I guess so..." I looked down again. He stopped smiling, and started looking worried instead.
"I... Shouldn't have come up to you, should I?"
"... I'd rather just be alone right now, mister..." I told him after taking another bite of my muffin.
"Well, I understand I'm probably the last pony you want to see right now."
I didn't say anything. He kept talking.
"... I'm only here to say hi." He sat across from me, and I looked away. "And to apologize for last night."
"Apologize...?" I looked at him, "So you didn't mean it when you said you want Dinky taken away...?"
"Well, not exactly... I just mean it was rude of me to mention it like that."
I didn't reply.
"... Ms. Hooves, you have to try and remember that I'm here for the well-being of Dinky. I need to make sure that she is in the proper care, and-"
"She IS in the proper care!" I interrupted him, upset. "Mister, I give her everything she needs! And... And I love her! She's all I have, I don't have any other family! And... And neither does she! I mean... We had to MAKE family when we moved to Ponyville! And even though they aren't her real family, some really nice ponies offered to help take care of her! My friends, Carrot Top, Amethyst Star, Time Turner... They're all very important to her, and it took a long time to make a family with everypony like I did!"
"Ms. Hooves, I understand that, but-..."
"But Mister, you don't understand! I..." I could feel my eyes getting wet, "I really am a clumsy pony, even... Even my friends treat me like I'm handicapped! And... And the only pony who looks up to me... The only pony who looks at me, and sees a nice, responsible older sister instead of a clumsy pony... Is Dinky! Mister, please don't take her away! Please, I'll do better, I promise!"
"Ms. Hooves, I'm sorry, but I already filed the papers and as soon as Dinky gets out of the hospital we're taking her to the orphanage! I promise, she'll be happy!"
"No she won't, she's... She's a sensitive filly, b-but she's responsible and sticks up for her friends at school, and... And she helps me around the house and sometimes I let her cook dinner for us both and even though sometimes it tastes bad, I eat it anyway!"
"... I'm sorry. I can see this isn't the time." I watched him turn to walk away, and then I got up.
"No, I'm leaving... I..." I looked away, "I'm... Not hungry anymore, anyway..." I turned around, and walked toward the door, leaving my half-eaten muffin on the table behind us.
The entire week, everything was Dinky. I stayed over at the hospital every night, and all I could think about was Dinky. Was she okay? Is she being fed the right foods? Is she healing right? When can she come home...? I knew in the back of my mind that when she's ready to come home, she would be taken away. The whole week, I was waiting for that custody pony to come and tell me that it was all one big joke, and then we would all laugh, we could be friends, and Dinky could come home... But that never happened. I didn't even get a letter...
Luckily, some ponies came to visit Dinky who heard about the accident. When I saw them, I was really surprised! I almost forgot that other ponies would hear about this, and I was too busy thinking about Dinky.
I rushed to the doorway, and smiled, "Carrot Top! Amethyst!"
"Derpy, is everything okay?" Carrot Top tilted her head with worry, but I just gave her a hug.
"Oh guys, I'm so happy you're here! I was all alone, and Dinky sleeps a lot and I've been so worried about her..." I felt Carrot Top put her hoof over my back.
"It's okay, Derpy, really..."
Amethyst took a step forward, "So is she okay? What's going on? Is everything alright?"
I slowly let go of Carrot Top and smiled at Amethyst, "Everything's fine, she could be getting out at any time now, but she's going to need to rest at-..." I hesitated, "... At home some... Too..." I looked down a little. I had to tell them about what the custody pony said - about Dinky being taken away...
"Are you sure everything's okay?" Amethyst asked me, still looking worried like before.
"Um, well..." I backed up a little, "... Um... Actually..." I looked away, "Everything... Everything's not really okay..." I watched as Carrot Top and Amethyst looked at each other, and then back at me, ready to listen. I sat down where I was standing, and looked up.
I told them the story. Everything I could remember.
"What?!" They both shouted at the same time.
Amethyst stepped forward, "They can't do that!"
"Can they?" Carrot Top asked, looking at her.
"Of course not! What about Dinky?"
"But they've taken fillies and colts away before if they think that the parents can't take care of them, Amethyst."
"Well, our Dinky is more than taken care of, isn't she, girls?" She looked at both of us, and then switched her stare to me. "Derpy, you know she's taken care of! You can't let them do this!"
"I... I told you, I tried! But... But they think Dinky isn't safe with me, and after this..." I teared up, "After this... What if... Maybe they're right...?"
They both looked at me, and they both gasped at the same time, "Huh?"
This time, Carrot Top talked first, "Derpy, I know you've been through a lot, but don't start doubting yourself now. You do your best, and I know we've been busy lately, but we're here now. We can help you!"
"I... I don't know..." I looked down.
"I still can't believe they're saying that you're irresponsible... Even if Dinky WAS adopted, she could never find anypony who loves her as much as you do. Derpy..." She stepped forward, "You're like a mother to her... You know that, don't you?"
"I... I love her a lot, but..." I teared up, "I keep hearing that I'm bad for Dinky, and I know there were some times that I didn't have enough money to support her, and some times that I sent her to school without breakfast by accident because I was rushing to go to work, and that I... I wasn't being careful... And... And I dropped the package-... With the..." I sniffled, and felt Carrot Top put her hoof around me.
"Derpy, it's okay! We all make mistakes, but that doesn't mean you don't love her and take care of her."
"That's right!" Amethyst chimed in, "You were under a lot of pressure with your job, you weren't making enough bits even for yourself, and it's not you're fault!" She walked toward me and sat next to me, "And when you needed us, we tried our best to babysit for you. I even took Dinky to Sisterhooves Social when you couldn't make it, remember?"
"Right," Carrot Top smiled at me, "And when you didn't have the money for a special dinner on Hearth's Warming Eve, I let you two have dinner with me and my family."
I smiled at them, "Yeah, thanks... You guys really helped me out, and I'm really grateful, but..." I looked down, "I don't know if anypony can help now..."
Carrot Top and Amethyst both looked at each other. I knew they were scared that I was right. Carrot Top gave me another hug, and Amethyst put one arm around her and one arm around me. It was quiet for a long time, but after a while, they decided they would go home to get ready, and come back to wait with me for the rest of the week.
It was the longest wait of my life.
