Don't Ever Forget

"Leave him alone! You guys can have the muffin, just let him go!" Dinky pleaded.

"It's not about the damn muffin anymore. It's about teaching him a lesson he'll never forget! And I know just how..." Lance pulled out a shiny object.

Dinky soon realized what it was. "No! Please don't!" she cried.

"Too late!" Lance plunged the object into Pip's chest. Dinky screamed as she saw red splat on the floor. Pip tried to cry out, but choked up from the immense pain.

"Pip!" she screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Din...ky." Pip said softly as his eyes began to close.

"No!!!" Dinky screamed.

"AAH!!!" Dinky screamed. She shot up, panting heavily, knocking her bed sheets on the floor. A combination of sweat and tears rolled down her face.

"Dinky! What happened?" Her mother flew into her bedroom, a look of concern on her face.

"Mom, it was terrible! Lance, he... He hurt Pip. Badly… Pip... The way he looked at me when it happened... It... It's all my fault!" Dinky shut her eyes and sobbed, burying her face into her mother's forelegs.  Her mother embraced her, trying her best to soothe her terrified child.

"Shh... Its okay, sweetie. It was just a bad dream. Pip's not hurt, he's okay," her mother said.

"But he's not! He's still in the hospital because of me! I dragged him into my own mess! He was just trying to help me... And look where that got him..." Dinky continued to sob.

"Dinky, that's not your fault. Anypony would've helped you if they knew what those boys were doing to you. Pip is a brave colt, and his actions weren't in vain. If it weren't for Pip, those boys would've continued to harass you. Thanks to him, they're being punished for what they did." her mother told Dinky in a soft tone.

"Pip... I just wish he would come back to school... I just want to know for sure if he's okay, and I want to see him so I can thank him. Rumble, too! He helped me too, and he also saved Pip... Because I couldn't do anything..." Dinky slumped down, her depression getting worse.

"That's not true. I'm sure Rumble was afraid to do what he did, but he must have felt awful because of what those colts were doing to you. You may not feel it, but you probably helped Rumble get over his fears to stop Lance from making both you and Pip miserable. You helped to stop them too." Dinky's mom told her.

"I don't feel like I helped at all..." Dinky continued to sulk.

Her mother frowned, feeling sad. Then she thought of something. "Tell you what, why don't we go visit Pip tomorrow? That way, you can see that he's okay. "

Dinky looked up. "Really?" she asked.

Her mom nodded, "You can visit Rumble, too, and thank him for helping out."

Dinky smiled, "Okay." She hugged her mother.

"But first, you need your sleep. You don't wanna fall asleep on your way there, do you? Come on, I'll tuck you in," her mom said.

"Thanks, mom," Dinky said, yawning. Her mother smiled. She tucked her daughter in and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Anything for you, my little muffin," she said quietly.

~~~~~~~~~~

The automatic doors slid open. Dinky was greeted by a circus of sounds. Beeps, squeaks, wheelchairs, coughing, slight murmuring, and a nurse on the intercom merged into one big jumble of noises. Her mother walked into the hospital and up to the front desk, Dinky following behind. There, a female Unicorn receptionist was sorting some papers. "Excuse me miss, I'm looking for someone," her mother said.

The receptionist looked up. She levitated some files to the counter. "Right, and who might that be?" She asked.

"His name is Pipsqueak." Dinky's mother replied.

The receptionist used her magic to look through the files. "Pipsqueak... And what relation do you have with the patient?"

"He's a good friend of my daughter." Dinky's mom said.

"Hmm... It says here that Pipsqueak doesn't have any friends." The receptionist said.

"But he knows me!" Dinky said. The receptionist peered down, looking at Dinky. "In fact... I-I'm... the reason he's in here..."

"Honey, it's not your fault." Her mother said. "Look, may we please just visit Pipsqueak? We promise we won't be of any trouble to him," she asked.

The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "Hmm... Alright." She levitated a pen and a form towards Dinky's mom. "I need you to fill this visitor's form out."

"Oh, alright. Is there a place where I can sit? My hooves are a little sore." Dinky's mom asked.

"Yeah, it's right over there." The receptionist pointed to an alignment of chairs. Dinky and her mom sat down to fill the form out.

Dinky's mother took the pen into her mouth. "Let's see... First name... Derpy…  Last name... Hooves…." Dinky eyed her mother's writing. It was legible, but a few scribble writings were connected to her name. "Relation to patient..." Eventually, Dinky's mother returned the form, completely filled out.

The receptionist eyed it for a moment before taking back the pen with her magic. She tore a slip of paper from a small book that looked like a checkbook. "Here you go, a visitor's pass." Dinky's mom took the pass. "Pipsqueak's on the third floor. Take the elevator, and he'll be in the fifth room to your right."

"Thank you." Dinky's mom guided her daughter towards the elevator and pushed the third floor button. "There, you see? We'll be able to see that Pip's alright."

Dinky began to feel nervous. She shut her eyes tight, and began to think. What if he doesn't want to see me? What if he's mad at me for doing this to him? The elevator doors opened. They began walking down the hallway. Dinky opened her eyes, beginning to feel determined, and started to think. No! Pip's not like that! He's in here because he helped me, because he was brave enough to stand up to those bullies! Now I'm gonna help him. I'm gonna make sure he gets better, and after that, I'll do something for him. They made their way to the fifth room to the right.

"You ready dear?" Her mother asked.

"More than ready, mom." Dinky looked up at her mom, smiling, a fierce look in her eyes. Her mother was surprised at first, but soon grew happy that her daughter was now anticipating visiting Pip more than ever, without any fear or doubt.