Little star chaser

by Chloemcg

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sparkler, Dinky Hooves, Derpy Hooves, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Doctor Whooves
Length: 7215

Doctor Whooves comes home to find out his younger daughter, Dinky Doo, troubled and the two do a bit of stargazing.

After coming home, Doctor Whooves (or Time Turner) finds out that his youngest daughter has been acting a bit withdrawn and he decides to have a father-daughter chat whilst they look up at the starry night sky.

Published 2021-07-04 10:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-07-12 13:05:13 UTC

Little star chaser part 1

The night was dark as dusk cast itself like a long, sleek shadow across the small and humble town of Ponyville.

The stars twinkled brightly and there were lots and lots of them, the skies were a dark navy blue colour as Princess Luna’s moon had long since risen high into the sky in replacement of Princess Celestia’s sun; truly, it made for a spectacular evening backdrop.

The path was long and it seemed to stretch on and on in front of anypony who happened to have been making their way down the cobblestone pathway.

Time Turner, better known as Dr Whooves, cantered through those very same streets.

The stallion had a brown coat with a spiky brown mane and tail, he had a somewhat muscular build and he had pale blue eyes. He had an hour glass cutie mark sported upon his flank and his hooves were strong and sturdy as he carried himself with such an air of confidence. He had a fine English accent and he wore a green bow tie with a neatly-folded, crisp white collar worn around his neck.

It made him look extinguished but modern at the same time.

The road continued to stretch right front of him with each step he took as he headed home to spend time with his wife and daughters.

Make no mistake, he enjoyed his work and adapting his theories about time and science but he just longed to spend time with his family because he hated having to be apart from them for long periods of time. His research on the workings of time, the laws of physics and other pursuits of science were quite (and literally) time-consuming, especially after sending his reports straight to the Princesses over in Canterlot.

Dr Whooves had gotten married to the most special mare in all of Ponyville, Derpy, and then they both had two daughters whose names were Amethyst Star and Dinky Doo; Amethyst was a young adolescent whilst Dinky was a young filly.

He felt blessed to have such a lovely wife and a pair of lovely daughters whom were both growing up to become a pair of fine mares.

The stallion could feel naught but excitement swell up inside of his heart since he was truly looking forwards to seeing his loving family after a long week of working and toiling away in his workshop. Of course, he loved his job but he loved his family much more then all of the research to have ever been recorded in all of history. Whenever he would have to leave his family and just stay in his office chock full of gadgets and research subjects on time, he could actually feel the days blur into a gooey mass of timey wimey stuff —the days only differing depending on the weather outside and the list of important research he had to do.

The stallion eventually made it to his home.

The Whooves house was a bit different from most in Ponyville; their house was a simple little detached house that was painted a simple pine colour and it had a large clock on the front. The windows were brightly shining due to the fact that the inside lights were on, meaning that the household was still awake. There was a balcony on the upper deck and a silhouetted figure stood out upon it but it wasn’t all that visible since it practically blended in with the nighttime colours.

Doctor Whooves exhumed a long and satisfied breath upon seeing his house, even though his posture slumped due to how exhausted he was.

He carried on towards the front door and proceeded to push it open with one hoof, opening it.

“Hello, my sweet butter muffin!” The gray female Pegasus greeted as she zoomed out the door as soon as it opened.

She wrapped a foreleg around her husband and pulled him in for both a hug and a passionate kiss on the lips that Doctor Whooves couldn’t help but relish in and single time his wife hugged, kissed, snuggled and showed him any kinds of affection, his heart would do a ecstatic loop-do-loop inside his chest. Every single time he’d stare into her bright yellow crossed eyes that looked as jolly and bright as the sun shining, he’d feel his soul take flight like a Pegasus.

They could have stayed in their loving embrace forever.

Eventually, however, they parted and both stared tenderly into each other’s eyes.

“So...how was work today?” Asked Derpy.

Doctor Whooves replied “It was wonderful, thank you. Rose luck and myself both did some research during the Breezies migration; we were trying to see whether or not they would float into some void stuff! Rose is turning out to be a good companion and assistant for my research.”

Derpy smiled warmly.

“That’s nice!”

Without saying another word, Derpy stepped aside to allow her husband entry into the house.

As the stallion cantered through the main hallway of the house, he decided to pop his head into the sitting room and glanced over to look at his teenaged daughter, Amethyst Sparkler.

The purple unicorn lay sprawled out on the sofa, tummy first, with her head bobbing up and down to some DJ-PON-3 music that was playing on the radio nearby. As she did this, she appeared to be clutching a pen in her mouth as she scrawled some writing on a piece of paper laying front of her. One forehoof rested firmly on one corner of the paper in order to keep it still while the other forehoof was folded underneath her.

Doctor hooves smiled over at the young purple unicorn.

“Good evening, Amethyst, darling!” He greeted.

“Oh! Hi, dad!” Amethyst responded, speaking aloud, clearly preoccupied with both her writing and with the loud music bursting through the stereo.

“What are you doing there?”

Sparkler spared a quick glance over to the brown stallion before resuming her work.

“I’m just organising some things for the next festival!”

Doctor Whooves nodded.

Before Princess Twilight Sparkle arrived in Ponyville, Amethyst Sparkler was the best pony at organising and planning special events. She harboured no grudges against Twilight at all but that didn’t mean that she didn’t at all miss working and planning as much as she had used to. The purple unicorn might have been young but she was talented and fantastic at what she did.

“Alright, Amethyst! I’ll come sit with you in a bit!”

Doctor Whooves/Time Turner whirled on his hooves but he stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes widened when a single realisation made his train of thought come to a screeching halt:

He hadn’t seen his younger daughter, Dinky Doo!

Normally, aside from his wife, she’d be one of the first to come barrelling down the stairs and tackle him, knocking him right off his hooves. But this time...she was nowhere to be seen. Upon realising that something was off, the theoretician of time felt a cocktail of confusion, perplexity and a pinch of concern wash over him like a massive tidal wave crashing against a sandy shore.

Doctor Whooves frowned as he gazed up at the empty staircase.

Ditzy seemed to notice her husband’s confusion and wrapped a wing around him, draping it over his back, and proceeded to guide him up towards the staircase —presumably so they could have a more private chat without worrying about their other daughter overhearing and it was because of this that Doctor whooves felt his concern for his daughter’s strange behaviour double tenfold.

What was going on here???

Once the couple were certain they were out of earshot, Doctor Whooves spoke up.

"What's going on with Dinky?" He asked, tilting his head to one side with pure confusion written on his face, “Is something wrong?”

Derpy just shook her head, the movement of her head causing her blonde mane to sway from side-to-side with criss-crossed eyes full of concern. She had gained a bit of a reputation (both good and bad) for her clumsiness, her special eyes, her job as the mail pony and her love for muffins. What Turner especially loved about his Derpy was her courage, kindness and her willingness to do the right thing.

However the love for her family was something that was indisputable and plain for everyone to see.

The Pegasus mare explained about what was happening with her youngest daughter.

“I don't know, but Dinky’s been rather withdrawn lately. She’s been sitting out on the balcony while staring up at the sky way past her bedtime and I can't get her to open up to me. I think only you can sort this out, since you know what it's like..."

Doctor whooves looked down at the floor thoughtfully.

What his wife said was true (if this was about what he thought it was) then it was more than likely that this was a matter that only the bond between a father and daughter could fix. He looked back up and nodded in concurrence with the light gray mare, knowing full well that her words rang true.

When he was young, he had a few problems with his...obsession with science and theory such as constantly being bullied by other foals about his way of thinking, having problems with finding out what his cutie mark meant (this was an issue since he turned ten years old) or even being made fun of for strange tendencies such as obsessing over all things time. He recalled painfully as other foals would flat out ignore him, especially when he’d ramble on about his theories about the space time continuum....all except one filly:

Derpy.

They both attended the same school; whenever little Time Turner would find himself alone, a certain gray Pegasus filly would sit next to him and then listen to all his ramblings with those unique cross-eyes of hers focused upon him and sparkling with enchantment.

It was during those times that they had grown close and, eventually, when they grew up, they got married.

The brown stallion was only snapped out of his reminiscing when he received a quick peck on the lips.

“You go and tuck in Dinky, alright? I’ll make you something in the kitchen.”

Doctor Whooves watched as his wife meandered down the steps with her wings fluttering, he smiled fondly at her before he continued to walk up the staircase and traipsed towards the room of his little filly, Dinky Doo.

Dinky took after her mother mostly but she was a unicorn and her coat was a pale purple colour and she had a bright yellow mane with a blonde streak halving it; this little filly was special and, on the day she was born, Doctor Whooves could have sworn that he saw shooting stars glint and glimmer inside her eyes.

Turner slowly opened the door to his younger daughter’s room by nudging it with his snout and peered into the room.

The sight he found made his heart quiver:

Dinky stood out on the balcony with her bright yellow eyes glancing upwards at the starry skies, a somewhat saddened look upon her face as she would occasionally peek through her telescope to get a closer view of the twinkling stars dotting the band of constellations above her.

The little lilac filly couldn't contain a deep sigh as she kept her gaze focused on the twinkling stars that hung overhead.

She didn’t know why but, whenever she stood on the balcony to watch the stars, it always made her feel better about any problems that she would have. Alas the small filly felt so small and diminutive compared to those stars above her, she couldn’t help but feel the slightest hint of envy for how blatantly glorious they were as they shone in the deep sea blue skyline.

Dr Whooves slowly walked through the room and stepped lightly on to the balcony, he could feel the chill of the gentle evening breeze smooth over his dark brown fur coat and cause his green bow tie to flutter in the wind.

If Dinky noticed her father’s presence, she didn’t show it.

She just kept on gazing up at the night sky.

Time Turner decided to join his daughter and started to gaze up at the little twinkling stars that dotted the indigo-coloured night sky.

He couldn’t help but find the sky so beautiful yet at the same time he wondered why the little unicorn had such a magnetic attraction to it? He noticed that, from what Ditzy had been telling him, little Dinky staying up past her bedtime to watch the stars was not an uncommon occurrence. He could recall when he used to take the little lilac unicorn stargazing when the she was a small foal and even then she seemed intrigued with astronomy.

The stars were like diamonds that sparkled beneath the moonlight and the moon itself was full and bathed the world below with its silvery white beams of light, it was easy to say that Princess Luna had put in a lot of effort to create such a marvellous night —a night filled with serenity and calm soothingness.

It felt like a century before either pony spoke.

“...Your mother tells me that you have been struggling a bit as of late. Care to tell me why?”

Dinky visibly tensed up after hearing those words, her eyes wide and hard and full of terror; both of her ears shot straight up and stood erected as her brows made a collision straight to the moon. She finally lowered her gaze and looked at her hooves while she fidgeted where she had sat on her haunches.

“My little spark, what is going on?” Whooves asked with a sterner edge in his voice, eyes now focused on the unicorn filly beside him.

Dinky hung her head and closed her eyes with shame.

“I...I’ve....I’ve been picked on for being a blank flank at school; Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon won’t leave me alone, they either mock me not having a cutie-mark yet or they make fun of you and mama or they even make fun of my wonky magic and my lack of co-ordination...”

The brown stallion nodded, urging his daughter to continue but had to bite his lower lip when her magic was mentioned.

Dinky was born with magic that didn’t seem to work like most other unicorn’s; instead of having magic surges when she was a month old, her magic seemed to weaken or using levitation or illumination spells first, she would turn furniture into fruit or instead. She seemed to know what spells to cast but it appeared that her horn didn’t want to listen.

Indeed, she was a unique little unicorn filly…

Dinky stayed silent for a long few moments before she resumed speaking but her high-pitched squeak of a voice lowered a few octaves each time she lowered her head solemnly, her ears flattening against her skull more and more.

“I come out here to look up at the stars. I remember when you would take me out to see them when you weren’t so busy and it reminds me of when our family was happier.”

A single tear oozed out of her eye as she closed them both, said tear cascading down her cheek and dripping to the stone marble foundation of the balcony. Her sweet little heart crumbled inside her chest and her tail curled around herself, wrapping itself around her front hooves, she snivelled and sobbed in spite of her efforts to hold them back. Her lower lip trembled and quivered.

“The stars don’t hurt me, the stars listen to me, the stars don’t judge me...it makes me feel better...”

The time-theorist stared down at his daughter as a pang of pain, sympathy and guilt hit him right in the heart like a bullet.

It was true that he hadn’t been able to spend much quality time with Dinky on account of his schedule and how hard he had worked and he felt really bad that he wasn’t able to remedy the fact that his youngest filly was hurting due to trouble at school but also how her eyes made her world (quite literally) spin.

Dinky rubbed at her eyes with one of her fore hooves to rid them of any lingering teardrops.

“I know it’s dumb, but when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon bully me it hurts...!”

Time Turner proceeded to wrap a hoof tightly around his daughter and gingerly rubbed her side up and down in a comforting manner. He could easily relate to Dinky’s pain as he, too, was bullied when he was young —albeit it was more for his way of thinking then anything else but that was besides the point.

“I know, darling...I understand. Bullying always hurts but you can always rely on me, your mother and sister to have your back.”

Both ponies looked back up at the sky to continue watching the stars, both letting their minds and their imaginations wander and the Doctor and his daughter kept right on gazing up until they both felt the strain pull and stretch their necks until a single star flitted across the sky.

“You know, Dinky, sometimes I wonder whether or not I can follow the stars when they fall and then I wonder where it would lead me if I did...?”

Dinky looked at her father in wide-eyed awe.

“You do?”

The older brown stallion nodded whilst letting a reminiscent smile spread across his lips.

“Yes,” Doctor Whooves shook his head sombrely. “But I haven’t been capable to follow those falling stars simply because I was....was....”

Dinky noticed her father’s hesitation to finish that sentence and gingerly lifted one fore-hoof before placing it atop one of Doctor Whooves’ as a show to unrelenting support from daughter to father. Her eyes enlarged to add to her adorability and she gave a sweet little smile.

Doctor Whooves felt his lips curl at his daughter’s gesture of assurance and resumed his sentence.

“...I was afraid of what or where’d they’d lead me to and what sort of pony that I’d become if I had. Sometimes the future can be a bit intimidating, you see. Shooting stars can take you to your destiny or they can take you somewhere you never thought you’d be...nevertheless, in my humble opinion, they are worth following…even though I was too cowardly to do it myself.”

Dinky looked down at the marble ground of the outside balcony in deep thought but continued to listen to her father.

“I want you to promise me that you will keep following where those stars go, Dinky Doo, because I am sure that they will lead you somewhere you nor I could even dream of. Whether that be an actual place or even a pony I don’t know yet, but you will go far as long as you never stop chasing the stars like you always do.”

Dinky looked down and pondered on her father’s words for a couple of moments.

She didn’t know why but it felt as though a fire ignited inside of her heart and mind when those words were spoken to her, it was like unlocking something that she didn’t even know was there until now. Those words had imbued within her a brand new confidence and determination and she even found that the world had become more mystifying and mysterious after she heard this.

The little yellow-eyed unicorn couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if she did chase those shooting stars and connect those constellations? What would she find? Would the stars and its constellations guide her to his destiny? Who knows? Perhaps they would even take her to places she (or maybe even no other pony) had never been before!

Finally the small filly spoke as the flames of determination spread throughout her entire body.

She snuggled up to her father lovingly.

“I promise, daddy. I will follow those falling stars until they lead me to a great life...but for now, I’d rather stay here and watch them twinkle with you, mama and Sparkler.”

Turner felt his lips curl whilst he playfully rustled Dinky’s mane in a forehoof.

“You are my daughter alright...” He chuckled.

Dinky sighed softly and contentedly while a soft smile blossomed across her own muzzle. She nuzzled her head into the crook of her father’s neck (making sure to mind her own horn as she did so) and she soaked in the warmth and comfort of his body heat that she had known ever since the day she was born. It was in feeling that warmth and comfort that her body began to feel heavy and her eyes tried to close over.

It was clear that sleep was beginning to loom over her.

The Doctor stooped down and bit the back of her neck in order to grab and carry her by the scruff.

When he lifted the sleepy filly off of her hooves, the Earth pony stallion gingerly whirled on his hooves before he reentered the pretty pink bedroom that belonged to the filly he carried. Dinky didn’t even move as she hung from her father’s mouth by the back of her neck, not hurting her in the slightest, and she gave a soft sigh of contentment as sleep continued to swallow her consciousness whole.

Upon reaching the bed, the Doctor lowered Dinky so she could lay on the mattress.

After making sure the fatigue-ridden little unicorn was properly laying in bed, Doctor Whooves reached down to grip both ends of the blanket in both hooves and then pulling it over the small prone form of his daughter —Dinky snuggled contentedly beneath the warmth of the blanket and she was quickly losing the fight to keep her eyes open as they started to drift shut.

The brown Earth pony stallion’s heart swelled in his chest.

He never imagined that he would love another pony as much as he loved his wife, his oldest daughter and his youngest; no word could even come close to describing how much adoration he felt for his wife and children. No such word existed because the love he felt was insurmountable! In fact, his capacity for love was as expansive as his knowledge!

Turner’s lips curled up as he bent down and gingerly kissed the little lilac unicorn's brow.

"Goodnight, my little star chaser..."

Author's Note

Hi, everyone! There is another chapter coming because this is supposed to be a short story. I see a lot of Derpy and Dinky fics so I thought about a Dinky and Doctor fic.

I hope you guys enjoy this first chapter and I’ll work on the next and last chapter as soon as I can.

Have a lovely day/evening, everyone! :)

Little Star chaser finale

15 years later...

Dinky Doo Whooves had grown up into a mare with a bright mind.

After that fateful night all those years ago, when her father had prevented her from sinking into the dark chasm of sadness, she had found herself peering into her telescope more and more. As a matter of fact, her father had encouraged her fascination of astronomy so much that the two would sometimes sneak out together to watch the stars in the night sky.

The father and daughter duo had become inseparable.

Ever since that night, the pale purple unicorn swore that she would continue to follow those stars someday and, whether they would lead her to something good or something bad, she didn't know but she felt a rush of excitement flow through her veins at the mere imagination of what the future could hold in store just for her.

The thought thrilled her more than anything in her life.

She grew up to be quite the sensible mare. Whenever she had found herself in a precarious situation, she always knew the rational thing to do and would be the first pony to suggest the sensible option among an ocean of stupidly impulsive ones. She had become the town darling, you could even say! She had taken to being the town librarian after Princess Twilight had left to rule in Canterlot in place of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna but her main passion was actually what her nighttime occupation was —an astronomer.

It was Dinky's father that helped her truly discover her passion for astrophysics and astronomy and it was with fond memories that father and daughter spent a lot of time with one another.

The bright pink scarf Dinky wore around her neck fluttered in the late night breeze.

The unicorn stood proud and tall as she lit her horn up with magic (albeit, her magical aura flickered on and off like a faulty switch). The bright magenta aura fizzled in and out as it crackled and popped as the magical aura surrounded the telescope and, with great difficulty, the magical clasp turned and then lowered the optical tube so it now pointed towards the ground instead of up towards the sky.

The skies above were coloured a fine blend of black, navy blue and purple. Stars were dotted all over the place and they twinkled brightly, the moon hung high in the sky as it beamed silvery streams of light down on the world below.

Dinky smiled.

Princess Luna must have put a lot of effort to make this night as enchanting as possible.

The unicorn dug her hooves into the ground as she strained herself as hard as she could, her face sticky with hot sweat. After exerting so much energy, she fell back on her haunches and hung her head so she could catch her breath. Using magic had remained a difficulty and the only spells she could successfully pull off were the levitation spell, the spell that helps non-Pegasi to walk on clouds and the illumination spell.

Nevertheless, she had learned to accept it as part of herself a long time ago….

It was after she had grabbed her telescope with her magic that she turned on her hooves and started to walk back inside to pack up her belongings to get ready for her journey.

After that initial night that started everything, Dinky was determined to leave Ponyville in order to seek out her true destiny. She grew up in Ponyville, she had friends who support him, a family who love her, and he has all she could ever want. Alas, she was also a blank flank…despite being on the cusp of adulthood. She just felt this nagging in her mind and she was just itching to go and travel the world and see where the stars took her.

She was determined to follow those stars.

Of course, convincing her family was a bit difficult as her mother and older sister were both hesitant in watching the young adolescent leave on her own. When she explained everything to her father, though, while he was reluctant too, he believed in her and knew that it was time for his youngest daughter to fly the nest.

After Dinky had packed her belongings, items and other stuff in a bag that had previously lay on her bed, she decided that she was ready as she made her way out of her bedroom for the very last time in a long while. The room was almost the same as it was from when she was a young filly with the exception of a few posters of DJ Pon-3 on the wall and she had a few star maps stuck to the wall. There were no longer any toys with the exception of a plush version of her mother laying on the bed next to her pillow.

The unicorn grabbed her suitcase in her mouth and and crossed the doorway.

She forced herself to not turn around and look back into her bedroom as she didn't want to feel any reluctance about leaving her home. She knew that she needed to do this and she couldn't afford to have any doubts. Her legs were stiff as she had trouble maintaining a cool and confident stride while keeping her eyes forwards as she gave a tentative canter down the staircase.

Her mother, father and older sister were both there to meet her at the bottom of the stairs.

The years had changed everyone, appearance-wise.

The years had rendered Derpy's wings frail, her crossed eyes foggy and her mane a blend of yellow, platinum and silver. She had bags gathered and stretching beneath her special eyes yet she wore that same, kind-hearted, loving smile that she always wore when she was young.

Doctor Whooves/Time Turner looked almost the same except with his mane and tail beginning to gray and there were wrinkles sagging beneath his eyes, as well as the odd age line decorating the bridge of his muzzle. Instead of wearing his collar and green tie, he instead wore a black coat with a white shirt underneath. His pale blue eyes still retained that same wisdom he had in his youth, just like his wife.

Amethyst Sparkler looked practically the same but had become slightly taller and was wearing a Pearl necklace with a black jacket with a white shirt underneath. Her mane was styled and tied into a ponytail and she had her eyelashes decorated with eyeliner. She truly looked the part of an organiser now.

The Whooves family were practically still the same ponies but they were definitely beginning to show their ages.

Dinky lowered her head to place her suitcase down on the ground and then watched her mother step towards her, her (Derpy's) wall eyes were practically overflowing with pure emotions and her eyes seemed to become misty when they landed on the suitcase the unicorn was clutching in her teeth.

Derpy stopped in front of her and then nuzzled the lilac unicorn's cheek affectionately with her snout.

Dinky giggled as she resisted the urge to move away from the embarrassing show of affection.

"Mama, please…." Whined the young adolescent unicorn, shutting one eye although she couldn't fight back a smile as she let her mother shower her with every ounce of motherly affection.

A bashful scarlet tint coloured Dinky's cheeks as she ducked her head in between her shoulders and she turned her head a bit, her heart warming up immensely at her mother's gentle nuzzling. She wondered whether or not if she was too old for this but, then again, if it put a smile on her mother's muzzle then she would gladly endure it.

"What?" Derpy teased, faking being offended "You aren't telling me you're too old for your mother's love, are you?"

Dinky just giggled at the older Pegasus's teasing as it reminded her of when her mother would play with her when she was a foal, making her heart feel even warmer. She'd tickle her before bedtime, always making sure to be the kindest and sweetest yet playful of parents ever. The unicorn remembered how her mother loved to blow bubbles and watch both her (Dinky) and Amethyst chase the bubbles around until they popped and then she'd blow some more.

Dinky shook her head, snapping herself back to the present so she could stop reminiscing for a moment and remain in the present. She softly pushed her mother away so they could look each other in the eye but she made sure her shove was nowhere near hard since she didn't want to inadvertently hurt her chest or something.

The mother and daughter pair stared at one another, completely ignoring the staring eyes belonging to both Sparkler and Time Turner, and just letting the actual reality of the current situation sink in. It was as if the space they were occupying had become a gooey mass where time didn't matter and never moved.

Dinky watched with growing worry as her mother stood there in front of her, those unique eyes of her starting to accumulate the biggest tears she had ever seen. Her mother's smile had wobbled until it had morphed into a frown and a couple of choking sobs slipped from her throat. Her body trembled and shivered and even her wings had started to bristle due to the upset energy that had started to accumulate around her.

All of a sudden, the older pegasus started to (quite literally) cry a river.

It wasn't a surprise that the mail pony would cry like this.

The gray Pegasus mare loved her daughters to the end of the world and back and there was nothing that could make her love diminish in the slightest. She felt that the puzzle pieces of her life had clicked into place ever since she laid her special eyes on Sparkler for the first time…it was as though she was always meant to become a mother, it felt natural and imagine how much her joy doubled when her little Dinky Doo was born! True, being a mother with her wonky eyes was no trot in the park but she would readily do it all again if given the chance.

Eventually, Derpy had accepted that her children would have to leave but that didn't mean that she wasn't upset over it…

She had been as supportive as she possibly could of her foals decisions and smiled through each and every time there was a possibility she'd suffer heartache but the reality that her youngest daughter was living was bound to hit her like a ton of bricks and it appeared that this was happening right now.

"We'll miss you so much, muffin…" Derpy cried as she pulled in her younger daughter for a tight embrace.

Dinky couldn't hold it back anymore.

She felt as her own eyes filled with tears and she had to bite her lower lip to fight back the sobs that were trying desperately to wrack her body. Her ears drooped and her big amber eyes were bloodshot. She could feel her throat throb and quiver as the sobs and violent sniffles tried their best to slip out and

This was so difficult.

She didn't want to leave her life here in Ponyville...but destiny was calling her name and she had to heed it.

"I'll miss you too, mum. You and daddy and Sparkler…" The pale purple unicorn whimpered as she shut her eyes to try and prevent the tears from continuing to flow, but that only served to make it worse as the tears kept on streaming out of her closed eyes.

Doctor Whooves and Sparkler stood back as they knew they needed to let Derpy and Dinky have this moment.

It took a few minutes of the mother and daughter pair to cease their hysterics and Dinky eventually stopped crying. However, the same couldn't have been said about Derpy as she just kept on bawling like now tomorrow, clinging on tight to Dinky as if she'd vanish should she relinquish her hold.

Dinky decided to try and calm her mother down.

"C'mon, mum…there, there, it's going to be alright…" She soothed, gingerly rubbing her mother's back with a shaking hoof. She tried desperately to keep her own voice from cracking.

It took some more time but Derpy's wails were subdued eventually.

The motherly, cross-eyed pegasus pulled herself away and noticed that her daughter's scarf tails had become slightly unravelled. The gray pegasus grabbed one tail in her teeth and proceeded to furl it more securely around Dinky's neck before tying both tails into a tight knot to avoid it from loosening again. Now the scarf was wrapped more securely around her daughter's neck, even though Ditzy knew the scarf was more an acessory rather than a piece of clothing to keep warm.

Dinky smiled warmly, albeit tearfully at her mother.

"Thank you."

Derpy smiled right back at her youngest filly, her facial expression matching her daughter's.

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

Dinky then went over to her father and wrapped both hooves around him, nuzzling her tear-stained face into his shoulder; she had spent all of her tears during her mother's emotional breakdown but that didn't make this any less painful and heart-wrenching for her.

"You'll make us proud, Dinky, I know you will…" Doctor Whooves murmured softly. "You go and follow those stars."

Dinky sniffled and smiled sadly at her father.

He had believed in her since the beginning and there were no words that she could say that could even come close in conveying her thanks for that. She appreciated him in more ways than one and she felt her own heart swell in her chest as she thought about how much her family had supported her and loved her with every fibre of her being.

"Thanks, daddy."

Doctor Whooves kissed his daughter's forehead gave her a nod full of pride and love.

Dinky leaned into her father's kiss before she finally turned to face Sparkler.

The older unicorn's ears were splayed backwards and she hard trouble looking either one of them in the eye as she tried to make eye-contact with her mother and baby sister; she was a bit timid and wasn't much of a social butterfly (sort of like Fluttershy, the element of kindness) but she was organising events, she truly shined and temporarily broke from her shell.

The purple pony gulped nervously as she fixed her little sister with a single look full of reluctant anxiety.

Dinky's bloodshot, teary eyes softened to her big sister as she wrapped one forehoof around her and held on to her. Sparkler more than happy to accept her sister's embrace. The two sisters loved each other unconditionally and made sure to go to the Sisterwhoove social every year and, even though Amethyst was busy with her job a lot of the time, she made sure to partake in a lot of other activities with her sister and they both got along like two peas in a pod.

Sparkler moved her muzzle to whisper in her baby sister's ear. "I'm going to miss you, sis."

"Me too, Sparkler…" Dinky whispered back.

Dinky and Sparkler held on to each other for a long couple of moments before they drew away from each other.

Amethyst glanced down at the floor with a sad look in her eyes. Her horn lit up with magic for a few moments before everyone saw that same magical aura surround Dinky's suitcase, the suitcase was levitated up into the air before it hovered right in front of Dinky for her to grab in her mouth once again. Dinky didn't hesitate before biting down on the suitcases handle so she could grip it in her mouth yet again.

Dinky stepped back and took a good look at her family.

They all had tears in their eyes as they smiled right back at her, they looked like the proudest ponies in all of Equestria.

These three ponies had helped shape and mould Dinky into the young mare she was today and no words could even come close to conveying how much she appreciated that fact; Derpy was the best mother who used one eye to keep the world safe and the other to watch her family grow. Sparkler was the best sister who made sure to remind her family to have fun and to put their all into what they do. Doctor Whooves/Time Turner was the best father who encouraged his daughters and wife to be the best they could be whilst making sure he did his very best to provide for them.

"I love you guys. I promise that I'll keep chasing those stars no matter where they lead me…I'll see you later."

Dinky gave them one big smile before she started to head out the door.

She didn't feel that reluctance anymore nor did she feel afraid of where her destiny would lead her. Her legs moved smoothly and she kept her head up high. Her heart felt as light as a feather and her resolve was strengthening with every second that had passed. Her confidence was growing higher and higher and her eyes hardened with determination.

She headed out the door and she was immediately basked beneath Princess Luna's light.

The streets outside was quiet, due to it being so late at night.

No pony was awake and the world was so quiet and empty, the lampposts were the only sources of light and there were no sounds with the exception of Derpy, Sparkler and Doctor Whooves bidding their youngest daughter farewells. The collectedly faint calls of farewell carried across the gentle breeze of nighttime, like a ship sailing across to the ocean.

She swore to come back and visit someday but now she needed to leave the nest.

This was her time to shine.

The skies above had turned into a deep indigo hue with a thin veil of transparent stars stretching across, casting a second hue of silvery/pale blue to cast itself across the land. The stars twinkled and shined and they lit up the world like fireworks.

Dinky kept beaming as she eyed the starry skies looming overhead and she started to venture out of town as her eyes kept gazing skywards while she sought out a shooting star.

As if on cue, though, she saw one cross the sky and it headed in the northern direction.

She followed that star and galloped after it as fast as she could while she was headed towards the exit to Ponyville.

What she didn't know was that something had happened:

There was a flash swift flash that lasted for a whole second before it faded and left no traces behind that it was even there to begin with.

She wasn't even aware that a fresh new cutie mark had appeared on her flank.

The image that was depicted were four shooting stars with a bright blur streaking behind them —one pale yellow, one light blue, one bright purple and the last was a pure white colour. It was thought that each star represented her family; the pale yellow represented her mother, the light blue represented her father, the bright purple represented her sister and the white colour represented none other than herself.

She glanced down at her flank for a moment and practically jumped out of her skin and immediately smiled an ear-splitting smile.

The pale purple unicorn's heart had stopped momentarily and her breath hitched in her throat, which forced her to give a strange mix of a sharp gasp which coincided with a few gags and a sigh. If that sound didn't convey that the young adolescent unicorn wasn't surprised to the point of almost going into cardiac arrest, then nothing else would!

She had gotten her cutie mark!

Nevertheless, she kept on running as fast as her legs could carry her as her scarf tails kept on fluttering in the wind rushing behind her.

Dinky didn't know what destiny had in store for her but she swore to always let those stars and the love of her family guide her.

Author's Note

Heres the second and last chapter of this fic, guys!

Dinky grew up and is now searching for her destiny. I had this story in the works for ages but had finally decided to finish it.

I hope you guys enjoyed it!