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Chapter 8: The Peeved Mare
Half an hour after starting her game, a long-stretched, painful scream sounded out of the speakers of Dinky's TV. With a face full of satisfaction, Dinky watched how her second-worst enemy finally found his fiery finish in the depths of the lava lake that permeated the Frightening Fire Fortress. Feeling the joy over her victory spreading out in her chest, Dinky's mouth began to form a huge smile.
“YEAH!” she cheered and jumped up, throwing one hoof into the air. Having landed in her soft chair again, she lit up her horn and opened the drawer to her right, hovering out two of her hidden blueberry muffins. With this match won, Dinky felt she deserved something extraordinary to celebrate.
Still wearing the smile, she bit a chunk out of the first muffin. Feeling accomplished, she chew on it, her cheeks bulging. As she had swallowed the first piece, she reached out for the bottle of strawberry lemonade in front of her on the table. It was still half-full after the short playing session. Greedy for the taste, Dinky held it at her mouth and let the delicious, fizzy drink run into her mouth and down her throat. Then she leaned back relaxedly, burying her spine deeply into the thick, comfy fabric of the chair. Dinky groaned satisfiedly.
Now hovering both of the muffins and the bottle of lemonade in her magic, she alternatingly bit into her favourite food and took a sip from the bottle, while enjoying the relaxation that flooded her body. In a very distant part of her mind, the thought “It's almost like Aunt Millie isn't here,” flashed up for a moment, but was buried again immediately by the good feelings of the moment.
As she had finished her victorious meal and taken a last sip of the lemonade, she hovered the now empty bottle back on the table. Feeling her full belly, Dinky groaned again comfortably and rubbed with one hoof over it. What she felt now was a stark contrast to the despair she had to feel yesterday and she savored every second of it. Dinky wanted this moment to never pass and last forever, but, as she was painfully reminded on the old saying a few seconds later, the good things came to an end eventually.
The handle of the door got pulled down vigorously, producing a squeak that hurt in Dinky's ears, then went up again as the door didn't budge. As the sound vanished, the good feeling in her body vanished too. The young unicorn wiped the treacherous traces of blueberry from her face with the inside of one hoof, then she got up and approached the door, now fully back in reality. A knock sounded from the door.
For a moment, she pondered to just not react – there was not much her aunt could do against a locked door – but Dinky knew that she would just keep knocking, breaking her concentration and annoying her until she would lose her temper and open anyway. Now groaning in vexation, Dinky wrapped the key in her magic and turned it around, then she pulled the door open. As she had expected, Aunt Millie was behind it, trying to give her a sympathetic grin.
“What?” Dinky asked grim, her voice not betraying the hard feelings she had for the obnoxious mare.
Millie ignored the openly displayed hostility and kept her sugary smile. “Get ready, Dinky my dear, we go out and do some shopping. Your mom's fridge is really empty, except for tons of sugar, so we desperately need to fill it with food that is actually good for you. And I need somepony helping me to carry everything.
Dinky frowned. “I don't have time, I'm gaming,” she said taut, her voice not showing room for opposition.
The smile in Millie's face dissipated and her mouth became a thin line, but just for a moment, then she smiled at her niece again.
“Don't give me such backtalk, you naughty little missy!” She lifted a hoof and pinched into Dinky's cheek, a gesture that would have seemed playfully, if it wouldn't have been for the more threatening and impatient tone in her voice now. “Your sister may have threatened me with the law to prevent me from removing those malicious games from your precious mind permanently, but I'm still the authority here until your mom is back and if you behave like this, I can still take them and hide them for the rest of the week.”
Dinky felt her aunt's eyes piercing through her skull as she looked at her in the most pervasive way the filly could imagine. She sighed. “Fine.” Her eyes rolled over. “Let me just get my wallet.”
Dinky turned around, motioning towards her desk. “I just let her have this one..... My mood is too good right now to have another fight.” As she was in front of her desk, she opened another one of the drawers and took out the wallet. Hovering it alongside her, she returned to the door and slipped outside, her aunt willingly getting out of the way.
Dinky shut the door. “Let's go,” she grumbled and marched down the corridor. She could hear her aunt hurrying after her, but did not pay attention, trying to distract her mind with some nice thoughts. She had not yet spent any of her pocket money for this month, so if she had to go with Aunt Millie, she could at least buy herself some nice things to make it bearable. And as she did not know what yet, she had a convenient reason to occupy her mind with pondering about something while her her aunt would ramble about healthy food. A smile appeared on Dinky's face again. That was at least something.
Feeling more energetic now, Dinky cantered down the stairs to the first floor where she pulled the entrance door open with her magic, then rushed outside, not waiting for her aunt. As Millie had caught up with her, Dinky had already galloped a fair way down the street. Frowning, Millie stepped at the side of her unicorn niece.
“Did you even look where you went, Dinky? In that tempo, you will run over some younger foals one day and hurt them. You didn't even check if the path in front of you was clear, didn't you? By the princesses, I still can't believe how much you have changed in.....”
For Dinky, Millie's lecture soon became a distant babbling, as her mind drifted away, trying to make a decision for how to spend her money. Sweets came to her mind first. She would have to buy them when her aunt wasn't looking and then hiding them in her mane or something. Or buying something she could quickly eat at the spot, before her aunt could intervene and take it from her. Shuddering as a certain memory entered her mind, Dinky quickly lifted her wallet much higher into the air, out of reach of her aunt's strong hooves.
Comics were another option. She could slip away in an unobserved moment and check what new comics came out this week. “Maybe I even meet Lily there!” she thought happily. Apparently, Lily was spending the afternoon with Noi, so it wouldn't be a surprise if she ended up getting dragged into the comic shop, then forced to look at gruesome things at the shelf with the horror comics. This option was definitely to her liking, Dinky realized. Even hanging out with Noi and getting buried under enthusiastic speeches about zombies and nightly graveyards would be better than listening to her aunt's madness. Or she could.....
Dinky was interrupted in her pondering as more rambling found its way into her ears, yet it did not come from her aunt for a change. From above, she could hear upset words.
“I'm sorry, but, I am just so..... so... peeved right now!”
Noticing the voice, Dinky stopped in her tracks, one hoof lifted from the ground, and looked up to the yellow pegasus. She pursed her lips and a whistle of approval left them. “Wow, nice one, Fluttershy!” she thought in astonishment. “She should really speak her mind like this more often.”
Millie did not share her sentiment. The spoken words let her become frozen on the spot, her pupils shrunken to tiny balls, and an expression of utter shock graced her face. Reflexively, she raised up on her hindlegs and pressed her forehooves on Dinky's ears, now wearing a distraught, worn out expression. She was biting her lower lip and looked down on her niece in concern.
As Dinky felt her aunt's hooves covering her ears, she winced. Her own pupils shrunk to even tinier balls and she crunched her teeth in panic.
Millie turned around and looked up, shooting the yellow mare an angry, disapproving glare while scrunching her face in disgust.
Dinky did not say anything, but she lowered her head and, her lips pointing down unhappily, she looked at her aunt frustrated and resignated.
As Millie did not see the mare anymore that had exposed her niece to such filthy language, she gave Dinky a push on the flank, signaling her to continue her way, which Dinky acknowledged with a deep groan.
Suddenly, Dinky felt something hard landing on her back, close to her neck. She yelped and turned around. There was something directly behind her mane and as she brushed it aside, she could see that it was her wallet. Epiphany coming over her, Dinky realized that her aunt's reaction distracted her so much that she had lost the magical grip around her wallet. She groaned again.
“She can't be serious now.....” Dinky thought. “Fluttershy just said that she was peeved, that's not a swear word! This is ridiculous even for her!”
Feeling the anger over her patronizing aunt welling up in her again, replacing more of the positive feelings she had acquired earlier, Dinky did a deep breath. For a moment, she trotted with closed eyes, doing all she could to put her mind at ease. As she opened them again, she felt better. “I'm fine,” she quietly spoke to herself. “Aunt Millie won't ruin my mood again, not this time.”
At her side, Millie noticed the happy smile that was now on Dinky's face again. She breathed a sigh of relief, then she smiled too. “Now I was afraid that this word could have harmed her and that she would get distraught over hearing it or suddenly starting to speak in such filthy ways too, but here she is, just smiling like nothing happened,” she acknowledged Dinky's happy expression innerly. “I guess I was lucky and it couldn't affect her yet. Or maybe she did not even hear as much of it as I thought, this would be even better!”
Both of them wearing happy smiles now, the mare and the filly continued their way to the small shopping district of Ponyville as suddenly, the word Millie dreaded so much entered their ears again unexpectedly.
“She is a bit peeved,” it sounded to their right.
As Dinky heard the words of the rainbow-maned mare, she stopped and looked at her, her pupils shrinking once again and her mouth opening in shock, immediately knowing what was to expect now. “NO!” she thought in panic.
And of course Millie had heard it again. Indignantly, she stopped herself mid-movement, keeping a hoof lifted from the ground. She gave the mare an angry look and, simultaneously, put a hoof on Dinky's flank and began pushing her niece.
As Dinky felt her aunt touching the back of her flank and starting to push her, a startled, and slightly embarrassed, expression appeared on her face. From the corners of her eyes, she glared at her aunt angrily, her mouth a straight, thin line now. “Stop touching me there! I don't like this!”
“Hush now!” her aunt answered, oblivious to the unicorn filly's feelings. “We need to get you away from this word as fast as possible! And don't you ever dare to talk like this, Dinky!” she said, upset and furious.
With her aunt not listening, Dinky freed herself from the grasp by jumping a few inches ahead, then she turned around swiftly, the wallet she was still carrying on her back falling to the ground in the process. More angry than before, she continued to glare at Millie.
“I have enough now!” she began to yell. “I can't eat what I want, I can't play what I want and now I'm not even allowed to tell you to stop touching me! Leave me alone finally!” Dinky's face was distraught now and in the corners of her eyes, tiny tears glistened. She was expecting anything from her aunt now and she was prepared for it. Unfortunately, she had to find out that she was wrong and not quite prepared for her aunt's reaction in this case.
As soon as the word “touching” washed over Millie, she turned to stone, then she looked to the ground, shamefacedly. “I-I did not want to touch you, Dinky. I was just trying to push you ahead so that you won't have to hear this bad language anymore.
“I know, but you did and I told you to stop, but you did it anyway!” Dinky stomped a hoof into the ground now, leaving a mark there.
Now her aunt looked at her again, regret in her eyes. She closed them and sighed, then she trotted closer to her niece. Dinky did a step back, but Millie was faster. Lifting one hoof and putting it around Dinky's neck, she pulled her into a pseudo-hug, letting her head rest on her chest. Dinky resisted and tried to get away from her aunt, still upset, but the strong grasp of Millie kept her in place.
Millie sighed again. “Listen, Dinky, dear, I apologize for what happened.”
Surprised, Dinky stopped her squirming and looked up to her aunt, but was still wearing the angry expression. “Did she just.....? No way,” she thought sceptically.
Millie returned the look. “It was not my intention to touch you, Dinky, all I wanted was to get you away from there,” she repeated her words from earlier. “But.....” She sighed again, closing her eyes now. “I guess I went a little too far to do this. This really shows how easy it can happen, Dinky, how easy we can slip and do something bad, it's in all of us, even in me.” She opened her eyes and looked at her niece again. “I am sorry, Dinky.” Her squeeze became a little tighter.
All at once, the anger inside Dinky disappeared suddenly and was replaced by utter surprise, that was as intense as the other emotion before. Her mouth gaped open while she looked into the face of her aunt. For once, her aunt had shown something like emotion and Dinky had a hard time believing what just happened. “I-It's okay,” was all she could muster to say after the unexpected words of her aunt that just didn't seem to fit to her. She squirmed again, trying to get away from her aunt's chest, and now, Millie gave her free.
For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other; Millie's eyes still expressing regret, Dinky's eyes still full of disbelief and her mouth still open. As none of them said anything and it was clear that nothing would come of this situation than endless staring, Dinky slowly averted her gaze from her aunt, lifted up her wallet and put it on her back again, then continued trotting towards their destination. A second later, Millie followed her, now keeping a respectful distance between them. Still, none of them spoke a word. Dinky was busy processing the surprise, Millie was busy processing her own, inappropriate behavior and on top of that, did not dare to say more.
Only as they reached the shopping district and a booth full of tomatoes and other vegetables was before them, Millie was thrown out of her trance and she hastily approached the booth. “Here are the first things we need, Dinky!” Her eyes now scrutinizing, she bent down and started to check the vegetables in front of her. Her skilled look went over them, detecting any that were of less quality or showed signs of beginning rot. As she had finished her quality control, she pointed at assorted pieces and a bunch of tomatoes, carrots, asparaguses and radishes went into a bag. She paid the salespony, then took the bag into her hooves. Millie took out one of the carrots and, without hesitation, put it into her niece's mouth, which made Dinky's eyes bulging in surprise.
“Eat this, Dinky, and no discussion about it! You need to eat more healthy food if we want to prevent you from suffering of deficiency!” she said as she put the bag with the vegetables on Dinky's back.
Dinky scrunched her face, now having almost forgotten the heartfelt words from earlier as her aunt continued her obnoxious behavior like nothing happened. She lit her horn and pulled the carrot out of her mouth, then rolled her eyes.
“I already do,” she said annoyed. “I am eating vegetables sometimes.” Demonstratively, she took a bite out of the carrot. “My diet isn't even as messed up as you think.” A accusatory tone rang in her voice.
“At least something!” Millie answered. She ruffled through Dinky's mane, causing Dinky to twitch. “But there's still way too much sugar and fat on your diet!” Then she went further through the market, not awaiting another answer by Dinky.
Wordlessly, Dinky followed her, while munching on the carrot. Millie led her from booth to booth and more bags with different kinds of vegetables, fruits and loafs of wholemeal bread landed on her back, all accompanied by the speeches of Millie in which way this kind of food was good for her.
While trotting across the market, they passed a stand with the most delicious and colorful sweets. Dinky's mouth became watery as she saw the delectable treats and her eyes looked over them longingly. With Millie so close by, though, there was no chance for her to buy any, so she had to trot past them and leave the objects of her desire behind. Her ears dropped and she gave them a last, sad glance over her shoulder. Then, feeling reminded on her thoughts from earlier, she used her magic to hover her wallet off her back and let it ascend high into the air again.
The next booth they were at was one that only sold cherries and finally, Dinky saw her chance to get away from her aunt, at least for a while. The salespony there, a bulky, brown stallion with a very big chin had just named the price for his cherries, which caused Millie to argue.
“Ten bits for one cherry?! That's a very exorbitant price, no matter how good these cherries are, they are not worth ten bits each!”
The stallion looked at Millie sardonically. “That's the price, ma'am, pay it or leave.”
The answer caused more counters by Millie and as Dinky noticed how caught up she was in rambling and negotiating with the stallion, Dinky ducked her head, crouched down and creeped away, putting her hooves on the ground as careful as possible. She went past a few booths, then, as she came at one whose owner was currently not here, she slipped under the cloth that was hanging down at its front and crawled under the table to the other side.
Back under the open sky, Dinky perked her ears and listened closely, but she could not hear Aunt Millie calling for her, nor any other signs of the mare following her. She wiped some sweat off her forehead and sighed relieved, then smiled as she saw the comic shop in a small distance in front of her. Now feeling safe, she stopped crouching and galloped towards it in full tempo. In a rush, she opened the door and hurried inside.
In the shop, she let her eyes wander across the various shelves full of colorful comic covers, beaming from fascination. In the back of the small shop, near the counter, she recognized Noi. The yellow filly was, unsurprisingly to Dinky, standing in front of the shelf with the horror comics, a grin on her face. Strangely, Lily was not at her side.
Figuring that something went wrong in Lily's attempt to befriend the filly with the passion for zombies and also remembering her friend's words from the morning, she approached Noi. She gave her a friendly pat on the back as she had reached her, causing Noi to twitch in surprise and giving her an angry stare.
Dinky smiled at her. “Hey, Noi!” she said.
“What do you want?” she asked, her voice sounding a little aggressive. “I'm busy!”
Feeling a bit taken aback by the harsh response, Dinky squinted her eyes, but decided to stay nice. “I'm here to buy groceries with my aunt, but I snuck away from her while she didn't look to check out some comics!” she explained. “Then I saw you here and I wondered why Lily isn't with you.”
“Lily?” Noi raised an eyebrow, the name sounding unfamiliar to her. Then her face cleared up. “Oh, that strong filly with the pigtails that pestered me after school..... I talked with her for a while, but I sent her away when she said she doesn't like zombies.” Noi shrugged, then returned her attention to the shelf.
Dinky's ears lowered themselves a little as she heard about the bad outcome of Lily's attempt. “Lily just wanted to become your friend because I told her that you don't have many.”
Noi looked at her again. Now it were her eyes that got squinted. “Yeah, I reckon that's what she wanted to do,” she replied sarcastically. “I bet she just wanted to talk me out of the zombie business like everypony else tries, but nopony talks me out of this.” Dismissively, she flicked her tail, then turned to the shelf once more, her face immediately forming a grin again as her eyes fell on a certain comic.
Dinky followed her eyes, curiously. “I didn't know that 'The Trotting Dead' has a comic series.....” she said surprised.
Hearing these words was like a signal to Noi. Her eyes beamed more. “Yep! A comic series, a TV show, trading cards and a sticker album!” She turned around to Dinky, her face overflowing from adoration for the franchise. “Even a video game! The first one just came out a few days ago!” Noi's enthusiasm was almost contagious, with the fact that Dinky didn't like “The Trotting Dead” being the only reason why she didn't join Noi in geeking out over it.
“That's nice,” Dinky lied, trying to not get sent away by the earth pony filly too while trying to form some bonds with her.
“Mhm, mhm!” Noi nodded repeatedly, her face looking almost maniacal now. “I don't have money for the game yet, but I'm going to buy the comic now!” Reaching up with her hooves, she lifted out the first three issues of the series, then carried them carefully over to the counter, where she placed them gently. She grinned at the shop owner, making clear what she wanted without saying a word.
But the stallion behind the counter shook his head, which resulted in disappointment appearing in Noi's eyes.
“You're too young,” he said brash.
Noi's ears dropped and her mouth pointed downwards. “B-But I need it! I'm the biggest fan of it!”
“No chance.” The stallion shook his head again. “This is an 18+ comic, I can't sell this to a filly.” Noticing some tears forming in Noi's eyes, he pointed behind her at the shelf, at another comic.
Noi turned around and followed his hoof. It pointed at a comic titled “Tales from the Everfree”. The cover showed a group of fillies, dressed up in Nightmare Night costumes and their teeth clattering in fear as they stood at the entrance of the Everfree Forest, while some yellow eyes from the forest had set sight on them.
“How about this one if you like horror stories so much?” the shop owner offered.
Noi rolled her eyes. “Pfft..... Those stories are for foals! I only read the real deal!” She turned to face the stallion again. “I want to buy those!” she pointed with her hoof at the comics on the counter again, her voice sounding demanding now.
“I won't sell you those,” the stallion refused.
“Fine, then screw you!” Noi snarled angrily at him, then turned around and trudged to the exit, leaving the shop owner behind with a shocked face.
Dinky, who had watched the whole scene, followed her, but Noi stopped her after a few steps.
“Quit following me, I want to be alone now and I didn't ask for your company!” she turned around at Dinky and snapped at her, her face so distorted from fury that Dinky felt her heart dropping into her stomach.
She did as Noi told her and watched the upset filly leaving the shop, smashing the door shut with a bang. Dinky winced at the sound. Raising an eyebrow then, she turned around again and set her eyes on the shelf with the horror comics. They now rested on the issue the shop owner had recommended Noi.
“Why not?” she asked herself and shrugged. She was not a particular fan of the horror genre, but she liked scary stories at Nightmare Night and the occasional horror comic couldn't hurt. She also figured that her aunt would probably already search for her, after the unexpected talk with Noi, so she ran out of time to look through the new comics.
Dinky placed the comic on the counter. “I take it,” she said. Smiling, the owner of the shop accepted her payment, then Dinky hovered the comic in front of her, wished the stallion goodbye and left the shop.
Returning to the market, Dinky opened the comic and flipped through the pages a little. She was so captured by it that she only heard the voice of her aunt as it rang out to her the third time.
“Dinky! Where in Equestria have you been the whole time? Did your mom not even tell you that it's not okay for a young filly to run off like this?”
Rolling her eyes, Dinky turned around, facing her aunt. She was greeted by her with a disapproving frown. Millie was now carrying a small, brown bag on her back. “I was just buying a comic,” Dinky defended herself.
“A comic, hm?” Millie answered and approached her. “Let me see this.” Quickly, she snatched the comic out of Dinky's aura and began flipping through the pages herself. It did not take long until her face grew pale.
“No,” she whispered dramatically. “No, no, no. This is not a comic for fillies, how could they even sell this to you?!”
“The cover says 8+,” Dinky deadpanned.
But Millie was unimpressed. “I never trusted those age ratings, they are far too permissive all the time. Come, I will exchange it for a comic that suits you better.” With hasty steps, she approached the entrance of the comic shop.
“NO!” Dinky yelled after her. “I can handle this just fine, I don't need a different one!”
But her aunt ignored her input. Desperately, she hurried after Millie, who had just entered the shop. As Dinky was inside again herself, the deal was already finished. Wearing her trademark, sugary smile, Millie trotted up to her, waving another comic, depicting a silly, multi-colored chase scene on its cover.
Dinky planted a hoof in her face. “That's a comic for five-year-olds.....”
“I told you, I don't trust those age ratings. This comic is just perfect for a ten year old filly, you can read the other one in a few years, when you are a little older.” Not paying attention to Dinky's continued protest, she put the comic down on her back, then waved her over as she left the shop again. Dinky followed only hesitantly, groaning over the unwanted ballast on her back.
The way home was filled with constant sighing by Dinky. As she was finally in her room again, she tossed the foalish comic carelessly into a corner, not paying attention to the pages getting wrinkled in the process. Feeling moody, she took seat in front of her console again, starting to explore another world in the role of the plumber pony.
This time, even her favourite game had it hard with distracting her, though. The fact that Millie showed up in her room just a very short time later, making Dinky realize that she forgot to lock the door, didn't make it better. Nor did the dinner her aunt had prepared.
Sitting in the kitchen, Dinky scrunched her face in disgust at the bowl of soup in front of her. She could tell by its fragrance that it was made from the various vegetables her aunt had bought during the afternoon and maybe some others, if her aunt had bought any more. Dinky decided not to ask. And neither did she eat much of the soup. It had an awkward smell and taste and so, after a few sips, she already scrunched her face and let the spoon sink back into the bowl. Making her voice sound intentionally weak, she announced to be tired from carrying all the bags and accentuated the lie with a pretended yawn. To her surprise, her aunt bought it.
“I understand,” she said acceptingly. “Just return to your room and get your sleep, it's close to eight already anyway.”
Dinky slipped from her chair, ignoring the good night wishes by her aunt, and trudged back up the stairs. Now feeling really dull, she once more forgot to lock the door and neither did she notice that there was not a key to lock it with anymore to begin with.
Sitting in her chair again, the videogame still running in front of her, she hovered out another blueberry muffin and began to chew on it. It filled her with horror to realize that this was the second-to-last one she had left, while it was only Tuesday. As she had finished her meal, she took the controller into her magic again, not intended to obey her aunt's words. As always she was going to wait for Sparkler, to have some real dinner with her.
Soon, Dinky was enthralled by the game. She was so enthralled by it, that she did not notice the quiet, clicking sound the lock of her door made as the key got turned around at the outside of it.
Smiling from satisfaction, Millie pulled the key out of the lock, then trotted back down the corridor. “No interruptions this time,” she muttered. Back in the kitchen, she sat down at the table, where she started to eat another bowl of her soup while reading in a magazine in front of her. It was only almost an hour later as she looked up again, when the entrance door creaked and somepony entered the house. She heard a bang, then sluggish hoofsteps approaching the kitchen. Sparkler appeared in the door, her face looking worn and tiredness radiating from her eyes.
“Hello, Sparkler,” Millie acknowledged her.
“Hello.....” Sparkler said absentmindedly, then yawned. On her back was a pink box and, scrunching her face while concentrating now, she hovered it on the table. Letting hear another yawn, she took seat at it.
“How was your work?” Millie asked her in faked interest.
“It was fine,” Sparkler replied, “but that's not what I'm here to talk about.” Her voice was tired, but part of it rang with the determination to address a certain event.
“So? Why are you here then?” Millie did her best to sound unimpressed, yet she felt nervous and her heart was bumping slightly faster than usual.
As Sparkler began to speak out what she had on her mind, she made clear that she was not going to waste any time. “I'm going to have dinner with my little sister now and you won't interrupt us this time.” Her voice was dripping with impatience over Millie's attitude. “Dinky is doing fine with staying up until ten and it's mom and me who make these rules, not you. Am I clear about this, Millie?”
Millie looked at her, but stayed calm. “Sure,” she immediately agreed, much to Sparkler's surprise. “But not tonight.”
Sparkler narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Dinky is tuckered out. She had so much homework today, it took her the whole afternoon and my help even to solve all of it. She became so tired because of this that she went to sleep on her own right after dinner.” It did not sound like the lie it was.
Sparkler was tracing Millie's face for signs of that exact lie, despite her tired mind making this task hard for her, but as she couldn't find any, she nodded. “Okay. I'm taking these up to my room for breakfast then.”
Not acknowledging the other mare any longer, she got up from her chair and put the box with the muffins on her back again. Sluggishly as before, she trotted out of the kitchen again, then up the stairs. As she was at Dinky's room, she stopped for a moment and, putting her hoof on the handle, tried to open the door. She found it to be locked. Figuring the reason why Dinky locked herself in her room, she continued her way.
Inside, Dinky was still busy concentrating on her game. She did not notice the sound the door handle made as Sparkler pulled it down. Strongly intended to forget the horrible afternoon, all she had set her mind on was the game on the screen, and it was only as her actual bedtime had come that she looked up for the first time since dinner.
Panicking, she let the controller fall and jumped up from her chair as her eyes fell on the clock and as she realized how much time had passed. “I missed Sparkler!” she explained disappointedly and slammed a hoof on the floor. She was pondering going over to her sister's room anyway, but as a yawn escaped her throat, she started to feel how tired she was already. Clearly the new stress of the afternoon and the heavy bags had worn at her mind and body. Reluctantly, she decided to go to sleep and climbed into her bed.
“How stupid of me, I wanted to see Sparkler and Twee so much tonight,” she scolded herself as she slipped under the blanket and placed her head on the pillow. She saw that she had forgotten to turn off her console and TV in her regret, but shrugged and did not bother to get up again. Instead, she turned around, a deep frown on her face.
Her mind cloudy and filled with gloomy thoughts, the tiredness let her doze off slowly in the by the screen illuminated room.