//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Beginning's to an End // Story: Dinky: A Filly That Is Loved // by vincent5000x //------------------------------// (9_6) "Another late night," Carrot Top asked as her friend walked into the restaurant. "Yeah," Derpy sighed as she placed Dinky in a nearby highchair. "She woke up again at midnight crying again." "Have you figured out why she's having them?" Carrot Top asked, looking at the sleepish filly. It was obvious that she was fighting the urge to fall asleep, even though she looked like she needed it. "My dad say's it could be everything finally catching up to her," Derpy sighed, taking a seat opposite her friend. "And what do you think it is?" "I don't know," Derpy said, looking down at the menu in front of her, obviously not reading it. "I cant help but feel like something bad is about to happen," she continued, looking up into her friends green eyes. "It feels like somepony's been watching me and I cant help but worry. I think its been getting to Dinky too." "Well, this isn't a time for worrying," Carrot Top said, trying her best to change the subject for the better. "This is a time for a nice healthy lunch with a friend." Derpy merely nodded in agreement as a waitress came to take their order. "What can I get y'all to drink," she asked with a slight southern accent. "Carrot juice" "Two things of apple juice please," Derpy said with a weak smile. Giving a nod, the waitress left to get the drinks, giving Dinky a slight wave as she left. "So how has the rest of your week been?" Carrot Top asked Derpy as they waited for their drinks. At first, the pegasi didn't answer, her eyes fixed on the menu. "The asparagus lunch special looks pretty good," Derpy said mostly to herself. But she quickly caught herself and answered her friends question. "Aside from Dinky's nightmares, Its actually been really fun." "Just a few day's ago, we went to the beach," Derpy said as the waitress returned with their drinks. Stopping only to thank the waitress as she gave Dinky a special cup for foals. "It was a bit of a walk, but worth every moment to see her face light up as she saw the water." "Are y'all ready to order or do ya need another minute?" the waitress asked when she was sure Derpy had finished speaking. "Two asparagus launch specials and a thing of mashed veggies for the filly please," Carrot Top quickly answered, barely taking time to breath. The waitress gave a slight nod as she mentally wrote down the orders and went to get them prepared. "The next day I had to work in the morning, but we spent the rest of the day on a nice walk through the city, I even bought her some ice cream," Derpy said as she turned to look back at Dinky. The filly was trying to figure out how to drink out of the small sippy cup in front of her. "How did that turn out?" Carrot Top chuckled. Derpy kept the answer to herself, giving her own chuckle as she remembered the look on the filly's face as she tried to eat to much of the ice cream at once. "Fine then, don't tell me," Carrot Top sighed, giving Dinky a smile. "I bet you liked it though." Derpy couldn't help but laugh as her friend began to tickle Dinky's stomach with her hoof. "Thats two asparagus lunch special's and a thing of mashed veggies," the waitress said, walking up to the table with a tray of food balanced on her back. With a practiced hoof, she placed the two lunch specials in front of the two mares and set the mashed veggies in front of the small filly. "If y'all need anything else, don't be afraid to ask." The two mares gave a final nod as the waitress left to help another set of customers. "So what did you do yesterday?" Carrot Top asked as she began to eat her meal. "We went to the park and made sand castles for most of the day," Derpy replied, slowly pushing the plate away. She suddenly found her meal far less appetizing than she thought it would be. "Well thats nice," Carrot Top said, already finishing half her plate. "But what about today?" "Well, we're here aren't we?" Derpy chuckled. "But I was thinking of spending the rest of the day at home. Hopefully we can get some actual sleep before either of use pass out from exhaustion." "Thats probably a good idea," Carrot Top replied, noticing Dinky bob her head a few times. "If anypony needs it, she does." (o^o) Dinky stared at the bowl of food in front of her, trying her best to stay awake. She knew that she couldn't fall asleep yet, not when her mother could be just around the corner. Throughout the past week, she had seen her continuously throughout the day. No matter where Derpy brought her, her mother would be there, waiting for the two of them, always hidden in plain sight. Dinky tried her best to warn Derpy whenever she saw her, but her groans and cries were only answered with something to eat or a return trip home, and she hated it. She couldn't help but fear what her mother was planning to do. She was so worried, that she had begun to have nightmares of her mother appearing out of nowhere and attacking Derpy or saying mean hurtful things to her. But the thing that scared her the most about the dreams, was how she was always alone at the end, surrounded by nothing but a never ending darkness. (9_6) "Bye Carrot Top," Derpy called from in front of her house. She watched as her friend disappeared around a house, giving a final wave before she disappeared from sight. "Today's been pretty calm, huh muffin?" Derpy asked the filly in her arm, slowly making her way into the house. Dinky merely stared back as Derpy continued to walk through the house. "You think we can actually get some sleep tonight?" she continued to ask as she made her way into her room. She instantly noticed the tray of muffins set on her bed. Just by looking at them, Derpy felt her hunger reemerge as the scent of chocolate chip reached her nose. Walking over, Derpy noticed a small handwritten note set against one of the muffins. Have a nice nap ~Dad "He didn't have to do that," Derpy said as she set Dinky down on the bed by her stuffed pony. Without a second of hesitation, she picked up the top muffin, reveling in the fact that it still felt warm in her hoof. "I wonder when he made these?" Derpy asked herself as she began eating. The first bite alone sent shots of warmth and bliss through Derpy's body as she quickly devoured the muffin. "Best. Muffin. Ever!" Grabbing another muffin, Derpy began to break it into pieces so she could give some to Dinky. She couldn't help but notice a strange prickling feeling in her hooves slowly appear as she finished breaking it apart. "Maybe I'm more exhausted than I thought," Derpy said as she began to lift a piece of muffin up to Dinky. Before it could even reach the filly's mouth, Derpy's hoof went completely numb as the piece fell to the ground. "shash nosh goosh," Derpy slurred, suddenly becoming light headed. As everything around her began to fade away, Derpy's final thought was to make sure Dinky was ok. But before she could even raise her head, everything around her faded to black. (o^o) Dinky stared at the scene as Derpy flopped to the ground motionless. She couldn't help but question what had caused the pagasi to pass out like she had as both tears and worry filled her eyes. "I can't believe she actually ate one," a all too familiar voice chuckled. Dinky stared at the rooms entrance with a new sense of fear gripped her as her mother, Glittering Gem, walked into the room. "This really is too easy." "I-is she d-dead?" another voice stuttered from behind Dinky's mother. Just then, a dark blue pagasi walked in, a mixture of worry and confusion on her face. "No she's not dead," Glittering Gem spat at the pony. "Just some VERY powerful medication." "Ok, we've done what we came to do so can we. . ." the other pony's statement trailed off as they noticed Dinky looking at them, pure fear in her eye's. "She sees us, what do we do?!" "Like I care," Glittering Gem huffed as she moved over to where Derpy lay. Dinky could only stare in horror as her mother proceeded to kick Derpy's gut several times before turning back around. "Miss Gem!? What are you. . .?" "Grab the foal and follow me," Glittering Gem interrupted, moving towards the exit. "WHAT?!" the other pony yelled after several moments of awkward silence. "I SAID GRAB THE BLASTED FOAL, YOU USELESS SLUT!!!," The unicorn yelled, turning and staring at the other pony, all elegance gone from her now deranged face. "Or should I go tell the police about everything you've done to help me already?!" "B-but. . .I," the pony began before the soft glow of magic wrapped itself around her muzzle. "Grab. The. FOAL," Dinky's mother seethed. Giving a defeated nod, the pegasi turned around and tried to pick Dinky up, from the bed. Grabbing the closest thing she could, Dinky began flailing the stuffed pony at the pegasi, hoping it would do something to help her. But it did little to stop the pegasi from picking her up and holding her tightly against her chest. "She really is a retard," Glittering Gem mocked as she left the room, followed by a silent pegasi and their hostage. (9_6) "Derpy!" "What?" Derpy breathed, noticing just how dry her mouth was. "Oh buck! Come on hun, you have to wake up!" "Why is it so dark?" she asked, only just grasping the fact that it could be well into the evening. "You have to get up!" the voice echoed. "Dad?" Derpy said recognizing the voice of her father. Doing her best, she tried to sit up and open her eyes. A horrible pain from her stomach caused her to fall back to the floor as she stared at the ceiling. She could just make out the outlines of her fathers face above her. "You look funny," she giggled. "Come on Derpy, you have to get up," her father continued, helping Derpy to sit up. Again, she felt the pain in her stomach as she began looking at her surroundings. She was in her room, a tray of upturned muffins on her bed, but she couldn't remember why. "Derpy, what happened? Where's Di..." "Where's Dinky?!" Derpy interrupted as full awareness gripped her. Dinky was nowhere in the room and the worried look on her fathers face did little to ease her increasing fears. "That's what I'm trying to figure out," her father replied, trying his beast to calm Derpy. But as her fears increased, he knew it was a losing battle. "What happened?" she questioned as tears were already running down her face. Before her father could answer, she began scouring the room, looking for some sign of the little filly. "Dinky?" She looked under the bed. "Derpy you need to calm down," her father said, trying to get through to her. "Dinky?" She looked in the closet, throwing its contents away as she continued to search. This continued throughout the house as Derpy continuously looked in ever nook and cranny for any sign of the young filly. "DERPY!" her father yelled, Derpy mere inches from rushing out of the house. "You have to calm down, running out into the middle of the night won't help you find her." "No!" she yelled back at her father. "I WILL find her and I KILL the monster that took her!" "DERPY!" her father called one last time, only to watch as Derpy took to the sky's, disappearing into the night.