//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Like Yesterdays Trash // Story: Dinky: A Filly That Is Loved // by vincent5000x //------------------------------// (o^o) The young foal looked up with hunger filled eyes at the dark silhouette in front of her, wondering when her mother had been replaced with such a dark image. Even though a soft energy glowed slightly around her body, a never ending darkness surrounded the foal. All she could do was stare at the large silhouette in front of her. "Its your fault!" a feminine voice seethed through angry breaths. The voice was filled with rage, but stayed contained to where only the foal could hear it. "Because of you, my life could be ruined at any moment!" The foal merely continued her stare at the silhouette. She didn’t know what the pony was saying, having been born a little over a week before. All she knew was the pain in her stomach, one that never seemed to leave. "But I won't let you…" the pony continued, a strange scraping sound suddenly echoing through the darkness. For what felt like hours, the foal felt herself slowly glide through the never ending darkness, the silhouette of her mother slowly disappearing. Suddenly, the energy around the foal faded as a soft thud rang through the darkness. "I still have my own life to live." (9_6) The young mare couldn't help but smile as she stared up at the sky. Her amber colored eyes staring in opposite directions as a white cloud passed by her sight. Her gray fur and yellow mane stood out among the bland city streets as her wings stretched out to soak in the morning suns warmth. Several bubbles of various sizes could be seen on either side of her flank, a bag full of letters and packages she was tasked to deliver hung just under her wings, almost obscuring the bubbles from sight. It was all part of her summer job to save up what she needed to for the senior trip that coming school year. Although, she had to admit, she didn’t just do it for the bits. There was something about delivering letters and packages that brought a calming peace to her mind. "Good afternoon Derpy," ponies would say as she passed. Every now and then, she would stop and hand a pony a letter or package meant for them. Some would question why she did this rather than bringing it to their homes. But Derpy always felt that a letter or package was meant to be received and opened as soon as possible. This was Derpy's summer. Not full of fun and games, but full of doing the thing she loved. She couldn't help but giggle every now and then as she thought of how poetic her summer was, even though she was barely two weeks into it. By the time the sun was beginning to drop from its high point, Derpy had delivered all but one final package. It was a large box, meant to be delivered to a small hardware store located close to the middle of the city. Derpy knew where it was, she knew where everything in the city was. As she made her way up to the shop's front door, she became a little downhearted to see that the shop was closed for the day. She would leave the package at the front door, but she knew that the part of the city she was in wasn't known for its consideration for others and their property. So she decided to leave it by the side entrance. Looking down the path, Derpy couldn't help but hesitate for a moment as she made her way down the alleyway. The only things she could see was a large green dumpster and the side entrance to the hardware shop. Derpy didn't want to be caught back there by somepony who wasn't all that nice. So she quickly made her way over to the side entrance, dropping the package just outside the door. Turning to leave, Derpy quickly began trotting back towards the main street. She was halfway out before a strange noise reached her ears. Rather than startle her, the noise seemed to confuse her. The sound was what Derpy could best make out as, dried wails. Like a child had thrown a tantrum for so long, their throat had run dry and they couldn't make any actual sounds. Derpy turned to look for the sounds source, but all she saw was the hardware shops side entrance and the lone green dumpster. All shreds of fear faded from Derpy's mind as she made her way back into the alley. A sense of worry reached for her as thoughts of somepony being in trouble fed her with the courage to move forward. Her father had raised her right, she would never leave somepony who needed help, even if it meant putting herself in danger. The sounds of the dry wails only seemed to intensify as she made her way farther in. The wails seemed muffled, so Derpy guessed that they were coming from one of the surrounding buildings. But as she past the dumpster, a new sense of worry and fear spread over her as she realized that the wails were, in fact, coming from inside. Without even a second thought about her own safety, Derpy rushed over to the dumpster and flung open its lid, looking down at the horrid sight it contained. (o^o) The baby foal lay alone in the dark, grasping an unknown object for protection as she cried out. She had no idea what was going on. She was alone and hungry, with nothing but the surrounding darkness to comfort her. Her young mind still trying to grasp what her mother had done. She had no memories or knowledge. She was only a few days old and all she knew was that she wanted to hear her mother's voice again and to feel the warmth of the strange energy she made. The foal had no idea that the acts of kindness and love she believed her mother had given her, were all just acts of loathing. So the baby filly cried. Never knowing that the mother she wanted would never return, never realizing just how hungry she was, never feeling just how dry her young throat was. All she could do was cry as she continued to hold the unknown object as firmly as her body would allow. All she could do was wait for the unknown as she weakened over time. After what the filly believed to be hours of being alone, a new feeling of weakness was sweeping over her. One that caused her to breath more adversely and loosen her small grip. Just as her last dry wail broke through her lips, a blinding light filled the baby foals eyes, pulling her from a cold dark embrace. Using what strength she had left, the baby foal looked up as a large pair of horror struck, misaligned eyes. (9_6) Derpy could do little but look down in horror at the sight before her. A baby unicorn, most likely no more than a few days old, lay in a small pile of trash and blood at the bottom of the bin. Blood slowly dripped out of a scratch on her head and nose, staining her very pale periwinkle fur. Several other cuts and bruises could be seen, as well as what appeared to be a black eye. Her short yellow mane and tail contained several bits of trash. The baby unicorn looked up at Derpy, releasing a soda can it had been hugging onto for dear life. Derpy continued to stare in horror as she saw the baby unicorns definable ribcage, telling her that the foal had not been fed in a long time. A sudden urge to throw up and curl into a little ball began to form in Derpy's mind, causing her body to try and lock up on her. But she knew she couldn't, not with what was in front of her. Reaching in, she began to take the baby unicorn out of the dumpster, doing her best to be gentle. She could feel the young foal try to move in protest to her touch, but she was too weak to do much. "Oh, please calm down," Derpy whispered through her rising tears as she pulled the unicorn out. Using her mouth, she reached into the bag she had and pulled out a small blanket she had brought with her for emergencies, carefully wrapping the baby unicorn in it. Then, as the unicorn began to notice its new, more comfortable location, Derpy reached into her bag and pulled out a small, half empty bottle of water. Soaking a small piece of the blanket with water, Derpy lead the damp cloth to the unicorns mouth. Almost instantly, the baby unicorn started to suck the water from the blanket. Derpy wanted to smile as she soaked the portion of blanket several times for the unicorn, but she knew that this was nothing to smile about. (o^o) The baby filly couldn't help but feel happy as she felt the warmth of the blanket. It reminded her of her mothers magical grasp, only much softer and warmer. She was so lost in this new feeling, that she almost didn't notice the cold that had touched her lips. It was on pure instinct alone that the foal took the portion of cloth in her mouth and began to drain it dry. Almost instantly, the filly felt the cool liquid soothe parts of her mouth and throat. She was even more surprised when, after drinking the cloth dry, it returned seconds later with more of its cool liquid. The young foal didn't know who this pony was, only that they were very, very kind.