"Careful now, Sparkler," said Gem Star. "You don't need to put that much magic into it. You don't want to lose the stone again, do you?"
Sweat ran down Sparkler's forehead as she reduced the flow of magic to her gem-cutter spell. A thin beam of light carved through the gem in front of her, glowing and sparking as it did.
"Alright, now carefully make a cut there...and there...and viola!"
The gem fell apart into a collection of smaller gems. Sparkler panted from the exhaustion, while her father beamed. "See? I told you'd get better at this."
Sparkler wiped some sweat off her forehead. "Yeah, but I'm still not as good as you..."
"Hey, now, don't sell yourself short, said Gem Star, scooping up the gems and passing them to his daughter. "It took me twice as long to get you're at now." The older unicorn rubbed Sparkler's head. " you're gonna be a fine jeweler one day..."
"Gem Star?" called voice from another part of the house. "Gem Star! Get in here!"
Gem Star scowled at the door of the workshop. "Oh, what now?"-Then turning back to Sparkler.-"I'll be back. Just...just keep practicing until I do, okay?"
With that Gem Star left the room. Sparkler sighed despondently and played around the gems on the table, trying very hard to ignore the loud, angry shouts coming from the next room.
<o>
"What? No greeting?" asked Black Lantern Gem Star, looking around at the ponies grouped together in the kitchen. "No 'Hello, Dad, nice to see to you'? No 'Hi, honey, it's been awhile No?"
Gem Star gazed at each of ponies--perceiving their emotions as color swirling around their bodies--until he rested his eyes upon Dinky clinging to her mother.
<Fear.>
"Well, if nopony has anything to say," Gem Star levitated the fridge with his power ring. "How about we just right to it then?"
Dinky screamed as the ponies dived to the floor as the fridge flew overhead through the wall behind them. Ditzy covered her head as plaster and bits showered her head.
"Ahh! No! Get off me!"
The sound of her child's voice caused Ditzy's head to shoot back up. The thing that called itself Gem Star had crossed the room and was gripping Dinky in between his hooves.
"Hey, hey it' okay," it cooed at her. "I'm your daddy, see?"
Something snapped inside Ditzy. "No, no, NO!" She launched herself at the Black Lantern, tackling it and causing it to drop Dinky. "GET YOUR HOOVES OFF MY DAUGHTER!"
A black colored clamp gripped Ditzy by back of her neck and yanked her off Gem Star. "Come on, Ditzy, let's not fight in front of the children-"
A blast of magic scorched the side of the zombie's face. Gem Star hissed and the construct holding Ditzy dissipated as it turned it's attention to Sparkler. A second blast tore through Gem Star's head, tearing half of it off.
"Time Turner," said Ditzy to the earth pony as he helped her back to her hooves. "Take Dinky and go get help."
"What? I can't just-" Time Turner started to say.
"Don't argue! Just go!" Ditzy jumped onto the disoriented Gemstar's back, throwing him into a headlock.
Time Turner looked unsure of what to do at first, but then he ran to a huddled, cowering Dinky.. "Dinky, come on!"
"B-But what about momma-?" Dinky asked as Time Turner pushed her out the kitchen door and through the living room.Sparkler attempted to shoot Gem Star a third time, but a construct claw forced her head downward, blasting the floor instead.
"Is that who you replaced me with, Ditzy?" the zombie demanded, half it's face still smoldering from Sparkler's attacks. Ditzy said nothing in reply and tightened her grip around the Black Lantern's neck. "What a wimp. I would've stayed behind and protected you. But that doesn't matter." Gem Star's ring glowed ominously. "They're not going get far."
<o>
Time Turner hustled Dinky out the front door. "Come on, Don't stop!"
"T-Time Turner?" asked Dinky as the pair started to run across the front lawn. "Will-will Momma and Sparkler be okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Of course," said Time Turner, distractedly looking back at the house. "Of course they'll be alright. We just go get help from town and then everything will be fi-"
Thunk.
Time Turner yelped in surprise as he unexpectedly ran into a solid, jet-black wall. Groaning, Time Turner rubbed his head in pain as Dinky helped him up. "Time Turner, look!"
As the two watched, the wall expanded from where Time Turner ran into it and formed a immense dome surrounding them and the house, trapping them inside.
Time Turner tried to think of something to say. Something to reassure Dinky.
But all that came out was: "Oh, crud."
<o>
Gem Star threw Ditzy off, tossing her into the living room and onto the coffee table, breaking it. Groaning, Ditzy struggled weakly to get back up as the fight continued in the kitchen.
Sparkler smashed a chair leg over the back of the zombie. "You are going to pay that!"
"Ah, Sparkler, don't think I've forgetton about you." Gem Star grabbed the chair leg with his magic, tearing it away from her. "So how have you been since I died?"
"Shut up," snarled Sparkler, narrowly dodging the chair leg as it was thrown at her.
"Come on, Sparkler, you know I hate when you try to close me out like this," said Gem Star. "Can you at least say something."
"Shut. Up," she repeated, throwing a punch at Gem Star. "You are not my father."
Gem Star caught Sparkler's hoof with his ring. "Still angry after all these years, huh? It's okay, I understand if you still hate me."
Sparkler fired a magic blast into Gem Star's face at point blank range. The zombie's muzzle to practically disintegrate, sending bits of bone and flesh flying.
"I didn't hate my dad," she growled as Gem Star's face re-constructed itself.
"Oh, don't lie, sweetie, of course you do. After your mother and I had our...disagreement, you couldn't stand to be around me. Somedays you wouldn't even say two words to me. Hell, you got along better with my rebound girl than me-"
Sparkler bucked Gem Star in the chest. Not as powerful as an earth pony's, but strong enough to stun the zombie and allow Sparkler to tackle him to the ground
"Okay, one, I never hated my dad. Ever," she said, struggling to hold Gen Star down. "Two, my dad would never call Ditzy his 'rebound girl'. And three-" Sparkler gripped the black power ring on Gem Star's hoof with her magic. "-the dad I knew would never, ever be caught wearing such an ugly piece of-" She started to pull the ring off-
Sparkler's head felt like a sharp spike had been shoved through it. From all sides, she assaulted by images and sounds of ponies dying. Ponies screaming as Black Lanterns plunged hooves or claws into their chests and pulled out their hearts. She saw a pegasus get his wings bitten off. She watched as a family of diamond dog were crushed in cave-in. She witnessed a Star Sapphire get torn limb from limb. All the while, dark, sinister chant was repeated again and again in the back of her mind...
Then the pictures shifted and focused on a single image. It looked like an ape's corpse, rotted and blackened, and dressed in tattered, black clothing. For a moment, nothing happened...then it's eyes opened and it turned it's head and looked at her.
"I...SEE YOU...INVADER."
"AARRRGHHH!" Sparkler threw herself back onto the floor, clutching her head while her horn smoldered.
"Sparkler!?" The recovered Ditzy forced herself back onto her hooves, ignoring the pain in her hind right leg and stumbled back to the kitchen. "Sparkler!"
Part of Gem Star's hoof had came off when Sparkler attempted to pull his ring off. The black lantern waited as root-like tendrils reconnected it, looking scornfully at the still-writhing Sparkler. "Feh. She's always done that; Acting without thinking. She gets that from her mother." Then the zombie turned it's attention to Ditzy standing in the hole to the kitchen, looking stunned. "Now, Ditzy, I think it's time for you and me to have a little talk. About our daughter."
<o>
Five minutes from now...
Time Turner uselessly slammed himself against the force field. "Oof!"
"I don't think that's gonna work," said Dinky, watching Time Turner struggle.
Time Turner again smashed at the wall. "I don't know what else to do, Dinky. We need to get help somehow..."
From the house behind them, came a piercing scream.
"Momma?" asked Dinky, a look of worry and fear on her face.
Time Turner bit his hoof, racked with indecision, as he looked around desperatly-and finally set his eyes on a small, blue toolshed in the middle of the yard.
Time Turner quickly ushered Dinky towards the shed.
"Time Turner, what are doing?" asked a surprised Dinky as Time Turner threw open the shed doors.
"Quick, get in here," said Time Turner, pushing her inside.
The inside of the toolshed was exactly as one would expect to be: dark, dirty, and cramped. Dinky tried her best not to trip over the various tools as Time Turner spoke to her again, "Now stay here and don't come out until it's safe. I'm going to go help your mother."
"What are you going to do?" the filly asked as Time Turner grabbed a shovel.
"I-don't know. Something I guess."
"That doesn't sound too good."
"No. No, it doesn't," Time Turner uttered under his breath, then more loudly he said, "I'll hopefully be back soon." And with that, he closed the door, leaving Dinky alone in darkness.
Time Turner turned back to the now silent house and suddenly felt his insides turn cold. That thing was still in there and as far as he knew, he was too late. Sparkler and Ditzy could very well be dead. Or worse. A part of Time Turner's brain told him that the wisest thing to do now, was to go back into the toolshed with Dinky and pray to Celestia, Luna, and whatever other deity he could think of, to make the scary monster go away.
Time Turner did not do this. Instead, he swallowed hard, picked up the shovel with his mouth, and started running towards the house.
Brave heart, Time Turner, he thought to himself as he approached the front door...
<o>
The present.
Ditzy once again found herself being thrown across the room. This time it was into the bookshelf. Heavy hardback editions of A Brief History of Equestria and Doctor Whooves and the Hatredicon Imperative fell down onto her head as Gem Star loomed over her.
"To be honest, I really am disapointed in you," he said. "Very disapointed in you." Ditzy threw a book at the black lantern who easily dodged it. "Ten years! I've been gone ten years and where do I find you? Exactly where I left you!" Ditzy gagged as a magic aura wrapped around her throat and forced her up and slammed against the wall. "I hated it here, I never wanted to live in this house forever! " the zombie barked into Ditzy's face, he's hot, rancid breath nearly causing her to pass out. "So tell me, why are you still here?!"
Gem Star dropped Ditzy back onto the ground. Ditzy coughed and gagged as the Black Lantern continued "Did you get too attached to this dump? Did you think to yourself, 'Oh, this is where my poor, dead husband and I used to live, I can't possibly leave here-even if it means my daughter has to be raised in a pigsty'. Huh? Is that what you thought? Answer me!"
Horn glowing, Gem Star lowered his head and shot a thin beam of light at Ditzy's wing, causing her to scream in pain as the gem-cutter spell singed her feathers. Then Gem Star stopped. The pegasus gasped, and struggled to focus her wayward eyes. Her left eye was looking towards ground, where she could see Sparkler starting to stir. Meanwhile, her right one was looking upwards at the angry Black Lantern glaring at her.
"Well?!" he demanded.
"Gem Star," she said through gritted teeth. "Never...tried to hurt me."
"You never did anything to deserve it before." Gem Star's ring glowed and a knotted rope appeared in his hooves. "Say, honey, you remember when I was laying on a hospital bed, hacking my lungs out, and I told you that it didn't feel that bad? I was lying. It felt like this."
Gem Star threw rope around Ditzy's neck and pulled it tight. Ditzy struggled to breathe as she futilely clawed at the rope wrapped around her throat. Within a few moments, her head was starting to feel light and her lungs felt like they were burning. The Black Lantern stared into Ditzy's eyes as her flailings grew weaker, grinning madly.
"Remember, honey," he said, as her vision started to blurr around the edges. "I'm doing this because I love yo-"
THUNK!
The rope vanished and Ditzy fell onto the ground, gasping for breath. Gem Star's head hung limply off to one side before it righted itself with a disturbing crack. Growling, the Black Lantern twisted his head around 180 degrees to view his attacker. Time Turner stood precariously on his back hooves holding a shovel with his front hooves. The earth pony dropped the shovel and fell over backwards when the zombie's head spun around.
"Now, boy," said Gem Star, the rest of his body spinning to re-align with his head. "Just what did you think you could accomplish by doing that?"
"Oh, crud," said Time Turner.
<o>
Dinky carefully pushed open the shed door and peeked out. It had been only a few moments, since Time Turner had left her there and things had gotten quiet. There were no screams or shouts coming from the house anymore. The black dome in place prevented any outside noise fro getting in and so a rather eerie calm settled over yard.
Then the front windows of the house exploded outward as a body was violently thrown through it.
Time Turner rolled to a stop, blood running from his nose and various cuts on his body, as Gem Star followed through the window.
"I remember you," he said, producing a whip with his ring. "You're that wimpy clockmaker that was always hanging around Ditzy." The Black Lantern whipped Time Turner across the back, causing him to yell in pain. "I always thought you wanted her for yourself. Bet you were beside yourself when I kicked the bucket."
"That's-that's" Time Turner said, breathing heavily as the Black Lantern approached. "That's not what happened-"
"DON'T LIE!" Gem Star kicked the prone earth pony's midsection before dragging him upright by his mane."I can see every emotion you're feeling right now, and whenever I mention Ditzy's name, you feel..."
<Love.>
<Hope.>
<Compassion.>
"'Compassion?!' You feel sorry for her? Is that why you're with her? Because you pity her?" Gem Star's ring glowed and a dagger appeared in his hoof. "Do you think she's completely helpless? That she needs your help to function at all?"
"No-no, that's not true-" a horrified Time Turner started to say.
"Oh stow it, you pathetic sack of filth, " Gem Star drew back the dagger and stuck it into Time Turner's side. The earth pony stood wide-eyed for a moment, making a sickengly, gurgling noise before falling limp. The Black Lantern let him collapse to the ground.
"I'm doing Ditzy a favor here," Gem Star said as the dagger fizzled out of existence. "She's can do better than you." Gem Star rolled Time Turner's moving body over onto his back. "Especially when compared to me. I actually helped support Ditzy and Dinky. That house over there? I bought that with my blood, sweat, and tears. What did you do for Ditzy? Besides being a massive waste of her time-?"
A rock struck the back of Gem Star's head. "Again?" he said, turning around.
Standing a few feet away was Dinky struggling to heft up another rock with her magic.
"Ah, there you are, Dinky," the Black Lantern said, cracking a wide grin. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to."
"Uh oh.." Dinky said, wide-eyed, dropping the rock.
<Fear.>
The filly started to back away, but a black construct-claw grabbed her by her front hooves and yanked her towards Gem Star.
"Easy, now," he said examining her closely as she tried to wriggle out of the construct. "I didn't get a good look at you earlier. And you know what? You seem okay. Despite all your momma's bumblings, you turned out alright." The Black Lantern placed it's hoof on Dinky's chest as she continued to squirm. "Now shh. Everything will be fine. In a moment, it'll all be over and then we'll go get Momma and Sparkler, and then-"
<Rage.>
"What-?"
THUNK!
Gem Star roared in pain and dropped Dinky, who quickly got back up and ran off. Behind him, breathing heavily, stood Ditzy, shovel in hooves and a look of fury on her face.
"I've told you once and I'm going to tell you again," she growled through gritted teeth before once again swinging the shovel at Gem Star's head.
THUNK!
"Stay-"
THUNK!
"-away-"
THUNK!
"-from-"
THUNK!
"-MY DAUGHTER!"
THUNK! The force of the last blow broke off the blade of the shovel and sent Gem Star sprawling onto the ground, his face mangled and broken by Ditzy's attack. Seizing the opportunity, Ditzy pounced onto the zombie's back and tried to throw him into another headlock.
"Ditzy!" Sparkler, still somewhat unsteady, ran out from the house and towards Ditzy and Gem Star.
"Sparkler, get out of here-!" Ditzy started to say when Gem Star suddenly got back up, knocking Ditzy off.
"Do you always insist on doing everything yourself nowadays, Ditzy?" asked Gem Star, your voice slightly distorted as his snout repaired itself. "I don't see why Sparkler can't join in."
Gem Star's horn flared and he pointed it at Sparkler. Seeing this, Ditzy jumped up and smashed both her hooves onto Gem Star's head just as he fired the gem cutter spell again, causing the spell to hit the ground directly in front of Sparkler, missing the mare by inches.
"Seriously Sparkler, go make sure Dinky and Time Turner's okay-" Ditzy said through as she struggled to force the black lantern back to the ground.
Sparkler, however, stared at the scorched spot in the grass. "No... wait," she said before towards Ditzy. "Hold him! I have an idea!"
Ducking under a construct knife thrown by Gem Star, the unicorn grabbed the Black Lantern by the arm helped Ditzy pull him down.
"What are you doing, Sparkler?" Ditzy, as Sparkler wrestled with Gem Star's ring arm.
"Yeah, what are doing, Sparkler?" Gem Star asked, attacking Sparkler and Ditzy with ring-generated snakes. "You're not going to try to use magic on my ring again, are you? That didn't go so well last time."
Sparkler ignored the construct-snakes' bites and focused on the black ring. "I didn't forget," she said. "That's why I'm changing my approach." Sparkler's horn flared up. " This is for you, Dad."
Sparkler fired the gem cutter spell at the black ring at point blank range. The Black Lantern roared in pain and tried pull his arm away, but Ditzy held it in place.
Sweat ran down Sparkler's forehead as she increased the flow of magic to the spell. The thin beam of light intensified, spraying sparks off of the surface of the ring. But despite this, the ring seemed unaffected. It's not working, she thought desperately. Oh sweet Celestia, it's not working.
Then something strange happened. Sparkler's magic suddenly changed colors, from it's usual purple to a brilliant white. Ditzy felt the light shine on her fur and it felt...good. Gem Star screamed in pain as light hit him. Then the ring too started to change colors as well. It shifted from black to a glowing-hot red, then deep cracks appeared on it--and then it finally shattered.
<Connection Severed.>
Like a switch had been flipped, Gem Star's body went limp. The constructs and the dome surronding them and the house faded away, and as the mares watched, Gem Star's body crumbled into dust.
Both mares shakily sat down on the ground, out of breath, their body bruised, battered, and bleeding. They quietly stared at the pile of dust in front of them.
"It's over now," said Ditzy, more to herself than Sparkler. "It's over. Finished." And for a moment neither mare spoke. Then a foal's voice broke the silence.
"Momma?" Dinky called out fearfully. Momma, Time Turner's not waking up!"
"WHAT!?" Ditzy's head snapped up and look towards Time Turner's unmoving body. "No, no, NO!"
Briefly forgetting her injured wing, Ditzy tried to fly over to Time Turner, causing her stumble before she regained her bearings and reached the earth pony.
"Time Turner?" The mare shook the stallion who flop over lifelessly. "Time Turner!"
"Is he still breathing?" asked Sparkler as she ran up to them.
Ditzy placed her head onto Time Turner's chest and listened. "I think so--yes. Yes, faintly." Ditzy raised her head back up. "Sparkler, go get something to bandage up Time Turner with."
Sparkler ranback into the house. Ditzy gently stroked Time Turner's face. "Come on, Time Turner, be okay. Be okay. I can't lose you too..."
"Um, Momma. Momma!" Dinky tried to get her mother's attention, but Ditzy was too focused on Time Turner.
A moment later, Sparkler re-emerged with some towels. "Here. This is all I could find."
"Alright, good," said Ditzy, taking them. "I think these will work."
"Do you know what to do?"
"I--think so. I do know we need to stop the bleeding, help me tear those towels up."
"Momma! Sparkler! You need to look--"
"Not now, Dinky," said Sparkler, tearing up the towels up with her magic. "Do you know what to do? Can we even move him?"
"I--I don't know," said Ditzy at last, becoming increasingly agitated. "I just don't know, I mean--look at him!"
"Momma, look--!"
"What!? What is it, Dinky?!" snapped Ditzy, whirling on her daughter. "What is so important--" Dinky wordlessly pointed off towards something glowing off in the distance. Something glowing green and getting brighter as she watched. "...oh."
<o>
"So then what happened?" asked Twilight Sparkle.
"After that it was over," said Ditzy, resting her head in her hooves. "Raindrops took us here and we got Time Turner help in time."
The two were in the Ponyville Medical Center waiting room. The yellow lantern sat, out of uniform, next to the mailmare as she listened to her story. "And how is Time Turner doing?"
"Good. They gave him a magic transfusion when he came in and he managed to pull through. He was even awake for a little bit, but they're making him rest now." Ditzy heaved a sigh. "Nurse Redheart says it was pretty close though. She says that the fact he's an earth pony is the only reason he made it as long as he did..."
"And how are you doing?"
Ditzy's left wing was tightly wrapped in bandages. "I'm alright. A few cuts and bruises and the doctor says that my wing just looks worse than it actually is. I should be back to flying in a couple of days."
"That's good." Twilight fell quiet for a moment before speaking again. "I didn't know that your husband had died. Sorry, I mean, I just never thought to ask..."
"It's alright," reassurred Ditzy. "It was a long time ago. Dinky was just a baby when it happened."
Twilight fell silent again, longer this time. For a few seconds, she simply stared at the floor tiles for a few seconds. And then: "I'm sorry."
Ditzy was slightly taken aback. "What?"
"This shouldn't have happened. We should've-" Twilight closed her eyes and ran her hoof over her forehead. "We were tricked. Flim discovered a mass of Black Lanterns gathering in the Everfree and we all thought that they were preparing for another attack, so we got everypony together and tried to head them off. But when we reached them, they all scattered and led us on a wild goose chase through the forest." Twilight sighed before continuing. "And while we doing that, they sent a bunch of other Black Lanterns to raid the graveyards." Twilight gestured around the crowded waiting room. "And a lot of ponies got hurt or worse because of it. Because we made a mistake." The unicorn stared down at her hooves, ears flattened in shame. "So, I'm sorry."
Ditzy watched the yellow lantern slump down in her chair in disgrace. Biting her lip, Ditzy carefully considered her next words before placing a reassuring hoof onto Twilight's back. "Look, I know I can't speak for everypony, but I don't blame you."
Twilight looked up in surprise. "You...don't?"
"No, I don't," replied Ditzy, shaking her head. "What happened tonight, you had no way of knowing would happen. Nopony can fault you for that. And to be honest, right now I'm just glad that my family made it out alright."
Twilight seemed to be mulling this over in her head. "I still believe in you Lanterns, you know," Ditzy continued. "I still think you guys are our best hope right now."
"Thanks, Ditzy," Twilight said at last, smiling weakly. "Though, I doubt that everypony will share your opinion."
"Of course they won't. You can't make everypony happy. Just keep your chin up and do what you what think is right, it's what I do."
"Yeah, I guess so," said Twilight getting up from her chair. "Well, I should get probably going now. I have some things I need to discuss with the other Lantern leaders."
"Yeah, I should be heading off too," replied Ditzy following Twilight to the door. "Me and Dinky are going staying at Sparkler for now."
"That's probably a good idea," said Twilight, summoning her costume with her ring. "Oh, and Ditzy? Thanks for the talk, I really needed it."
"Ah, it wasn't that much," said Ditzy, smiling and rubbing the back of her head. "But you're welcome."
And with a final wave good-bye, the two parted. Twilight flew off towards the library and Ditzy took off towards town.
Unable to fly with her current injuries, it took Ditzy longer than usual to cross town. Despite the time of night, Ponyville was alive with activity. As she walked down the street, Ditzy passed several Royal Guards running back and forth from one commanding officer to another, overhead Lanterns of various colors streaked across the night sky, and even a few bleary-eyed citizens came wandering out their homes to see what all the commotion was about.
At last, Ditzy reached Sparkler's jewelry shop. The pegasus looped around to the rear and headed in through the unlocked back door. Carefully closing the door behind, Ditzy made her way upstairs to the apartment above the store and carefully poked her head inside.
Sparkler sat on nearby chair. Wordlessly, she gestured for Ditzy to be quiet and pointed at the couch where Dinky lay sleeping.
"She wanted to stay up and wait for you, but she ended falling asleep about an hour ago," whispered Sparkler, as Ditzy sat down next her daughter. "She's been through a lot tonight."
"We've all been through a lot tonight," said Ditzy quietly as she gently stroked Dinky's head.
"So...what do we do now?" asked Sparkler, leaning forward in her chair.
"Well, I still need get some things from the house," said Ditzy. "Twilight says it'll be safe to go get them now. So I'll need to do that, and then I'll need to let my boss know that I won't be able to work for the next few days."
"So, that's it then?" Sparkler sounded a little agitated. "We're just going to pretend that this night didn't happen?"
Ditzy blinked in surprise at Sparkler's outburst. "That's...not what I meant. Is something bothering you?"
"Yes, something's bothering me, Dad came back to life and tried to kill us--!" Sparkler almost started to shout before she caught herself, quickly glancing at Dinky who rolled over in her sleep.
"It's just that..." continued Sparkler more quietly this time. "That thing wasn't really dad, was it?"
"No, Twilight explained it to me back at the hospital. She said that it was just the black ring using Gem Star's body to try and get into our heads."
Sparkler sadly looked down at her hooves. "I know that I kept saying that it wasn't dad when I was fighting it...but I wasn't sure I believed it. It sounded so much like him, and the things it said..." Sparkler sighed. "The one thing I really regret, is that I never made up with Dad before he died. When he ended in the hospital and they said he wasn't going to make it, I wanted to apologize to him for all the times I argued with him, but I couldn't think of what to say and by the time I did...he was gone." The young mare squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "So, ever since then, I've had that hanging over me ever since. I loved dad, I really did. But I'm afraid that Dad died without knowing that."
"Sparkler, listen to me." Ditzy got up from the couch and walked over to Sparkler so she could look her in the eye (or as best as her own eyes would let her). "In those last few days, when Gem Star was in that hospital bed, unable to move or talk, you know who was next to me the entire time? You were." Ditzy smiled. "You might not have said anything, but that alone would be enough to prove to him how you really felt."
"You think so?" asked Sparkler as Ditzy sat back down on the couch.
"I know so and deep down, so do you." Ditzy replied, going back to stroking Ditzy's mane. "And about tomorrow, I know it might sound I'm being a little--I don't know--unrealistic? In denial? Something like that, but anyways it's what I have to do. I can't just sit around and do nothing, I have to keep moving forward and work my way through it. It helps me deal with the situation better. And you know why? Because I believe things can get better if you try hard enough. Sure, things might take a turn for the worse or not turn out like we want them to, but along the way we acheive a lot of litte victories and that's what's important to me. Take tonight for instance. Time Turner's going to be alright. You, me, and Dinky got out okay, in spite of all that happened, we got out better than what we might've."
"I...see," said Sparkler, slowly. She had noticed something odd about Ditzy's eyes, a flicker of something. "So you think we have nothing to fear now?"
"We're in the middle of town surrounded by soldiers and Lanterns," replied Ditzy, leaning back into the couch. "We're probably in the safest spot in Equestria, outside of Cantorlot."
"You still think the Lanterns can keep us safe? After what happened tonight?"
Ditzy simply smiled at that. "Absolutely."
And as she said this, Ditzy's eyes again briefly flickered blue.