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Chapter 13: Showdown
Friday had been a quiet day. Dinky woke up in the morning and readied herself for school. She had been a little tireder than usually after awakening, as it had gotten a bit late the night before with the movie they watched, but her spirits were lifted again, so she felt well. The small amount of tiredness had been nothing compared to the stress Millie had put her through and so, Dinky had been looking forward to the day ahead of her.
She had attended school again and met Lily there. Dinky had to solve tasks from her teacher and recess had been spent by talking with Lily and Noi. On the afternoon, she had taken care of her homework with help from her big sister and the rest of the day, Sparkler and Dinky were playing games together or just talking. Dinky's life had returned to normalcy. Now it was Saturday and there was only one element in Dinky's life missing to make it the perfect life she knew again.
Dinky was outside, sitting before the front door, and her eyes were scanning the sky for the one pony her heart was longing for. It was close to noon, so it was close to her mom's return as well.
“Dinks?” her sister suddenly called out for her.
Dinky heard it, but did not turn around. She kept her eyes fixated on the sky. “Yeah?” she shouted her answer.
Sparkler came down the stairs, her glance falling on Dinky and how she was sitting there, constantly looking up. A smile played around her lips. “Is the kitchen ready?” she asked her little sister.
“The table is laid and prepared!” Dinky shouted back, still not turning around.
“Awesome! I'll take care of the rest, Dinks!” She motioned towards the kitchen.
“Mhm,” Dinky replied, her voice sounding dreamily. By now, her surroundings had become blurred out for the young unicorn. All she could see was the sky. More than that, even, all her eyes detected right now was that small patch of the sky visible between two houses in the not so far distance and in which direction Canterlot was located. The route her mom would be most likely taking on the way back to their house. And to her, of course.
Dinky opened her mouth for a smile. In her imagination, her mom was already here. She saw her appearing between the houses in front of her mind's eye, saw her flying towards their own house, hovering in the air for a moment..... then starting to land. The sun was in her back and the rays that surrounded her made her look like an angel. An angel heralding the end of the worst week she had ever experienced in her ten years of life. Gracefully, the cross-eyed angel landed in front of her. It smiled warmly.
Dinky's smile turned into a broad grin and her eyeballs seemingly grew in size as she opened her eyes wide. They glistened and sparkled as she felt the joy spreading out inside of her. Overwhelmed, she spread her arms and hunched forward to hug the angel. It was an awkward sight for a pony, because, of course, Dinky was only hugging the air. Perplexed, the pony gave her a poke. “Uh..... Are you alright, Dinky?”
And with that poke, Dinky's bubble burst. The angel disappeared. Dinky blinked in confusion as she suddenly only saw the street in front of her and the buildings in the distance anymore. She looked to the side, from where the poke had come from, and her face turned dumbfounded. She blinked again as she found herself staring into the face of Derpy, her mom.
The grey pegasus mare was looking at her, cross-eyed and puzzled. Around her neck was her trademark mailbag adorned with a muffin and on her back was a large box that looked heavy.
Dinky's mouth opened slowly, but she did not say anything and kept sitting still in her position. Silently, she stared at her mom.
“Dinky.....?” came it again from Derpy. She poked her daughter once more. “Are you daydreaming?”
Dinky swallowed, then shook her head. No, she wasn't daydreaming. This was definitely not a dream. The realization slowly settling in her mind, Dinky's eyes became watery.
“Mom?” she whispered, her voice sounding absent.
Unsure what to answer, Derpy scraped a hoof at the ground. “It's me, Dinky,” she stated the obvious.
Dinky swallowed a second time, then her eyes moved up and down, looking from Derpy's face down to her hooves and back up again. “Mom.....” the filly said again. Then, finally, her face cleared and her mouth formed another smile. “Mom!” she cheered, then turned around and inched forward, flinging her arms around her mother's neck.
It almost made Derpy lose balance. “Careful, Dinky, I have muffins on my back!” she said and chuckled.
Holding her mom tight in the embrace, Dinky buried her face into the fur on her neck, soaking it with her joy-filled tears. She whimpered and sobbed as the relief of seeing her beloved mom again washed over her completely.
Derpy lifted both of her forelegs and wrapped them around her daughter's back. Her voice was joyful, but concern was ringing in it as well. “Why are you crying so much, Dinks?”
“Because I missed you, of course!” Dinky's answer came promptly. The crying made her voice sound very high-pitched. She tightened the grip arount her mom. “Aunt Millie was awful!” was all she explained for now.
Well, this didn't come as surprise to the pegasus. Derpy's face turned slightly grim and her daughter's emotional reaction made her already think that asking Millie for help was a mistake, completely without explanation about what happened exactly.
“Is Aunt Millie still here?” she asked her weeping filly.
Dinky wagged her head. “N-No. Only Sparkler is here.” Her answers were concise, she didn't care for explaining much right now.
“She went through a lot,” another voice rang out to Derpy. The mare looked to the left and saw Sparkler standing in the doorframe. “Hey, mom.”
“Sparkler..... Was it really so bad this time?” Derpy's face was sad now.
“It's a long story, a lot happened. Let us go inside first.” Sparkler hovered the box full of muffins down from Derpy's back, so she could let Dinky lay on her back. The filly kept clinging tightly to her mom's neck, soaking it more while she cried for joy.
Derpy followed her oldest daughter inside and closed the door behind her. Quietly, except for Dinky's sobbing, the two mares trotted into the kitchen.
Already before entering, Derpy was greeted with the sight of a fully laid table. Cups, spoons and plates were neatly arranged on it and in the middle, two pots filled with steaming hot coffee and cocoa had been placed. A bowl of sugar was there too and between them was a larger plate and muffins were stacked on it. A blue cloth had been spread over the table.
Derpy gasped. “You prepared so much for my return?” She was flabbergasted.
Sparkler turned around and grinned. “Sure, mom! With all that happened, it's a bigger reason to celebrate than you imagine.”
The arrangements gave Derpy another big indication for how much she had been missed over the past five days. Mouth still open, she sat down on one of the chairs, gently putting Dinky down from her back and placing her in an own chair to her left. Dinky's tears were still streaming, but at the same time, her mouth was one, huge smile. It was a heartwarming sight of happiness.
And finally, Dinky wiped a hoof over her eyes and brushed the tears away. “You can't imagine how happy I am that you're back, mom!” she addressed her mother, than gave her another hug.
Derpy kissed her head, then chuckled. “I can now, Dinky.”
Dinky released the hug and looked at her mom, a sheepish grin on her face. Then, like on command, both mother and daughter turned to the mufffins on the table.
Noticing the reaction, Sparkler commented on the muffins. “Now Dinks and me bought so many muffins at Sugarcube Corner and you brought so many with you, too.”
“Hehe..... There weren't any muffins at the headquarter and the bakeries in Canterlot were always sold out on them so fast, I didn't get to buy any there!” She rubbed over her head and laughed, a little embarrassed.
Dinky gasped over the announcement. “You survived a whole week without muffins?!” The word she used would have been an exaggeration in many cases, but for the muffin-obsessed mare, it was accurate. “At least that's something I didn't have to endure this week.....” Dinky then said, suddenly sounding modest, but having her ears laid back.
Derpy's answer on the question did not get expressed by words, instead, she lunged with her hoof at the big plate and grabbed a muffin, then bit into it in the same movement.
Simultaneously, Dinky and Sparkler broke out in laughter. Then Dinky grabbed a muffin on her own and bit into it, not any less greedy than her mom. Following the example, Sparkler sat down as well and hovered a muffin over to her.
The first three muffins the small family bit into after Derpy's return were enjoyed in silence. Only as they had been consumed, Derpy picked up the conversation again.
Dinky faced her mom in excitement, eagerly to hear everything about her staff training. It wasn't very exciting. After settling in on the first day post-arrival – which included moving into a middle class hotel room and getting shown around in the building where the training should take place – the other four days were filled with dragging meetings and boring recitals. All of the unexciting aspects of Derpy's job. Worst of all, much the pegasus mare had heard wasn't of any use for her. For a mailpony of Ponyville, it just wasn't really necessary to know about advanced delivery methods or new standards for mailboxes. If the latter ever changed at all in Ponyville, then it would be years down the road. Change always took a long time to arrive in the small countryside town. Nonetheless, the attendance of mailponies from all over Equestria was mandatory, so Derpy had no choice to spend the week there.
Though, even with as boring Derpy's report was, Dinky was hanging on every word that came over her mother's lips. To her, it felt like her mom had just been on the most epic adventure a pony could imagine. Her eyes were sparkling while she bit into another muffin almost without noticing it.
“And that's all,” Derpy concluded her report. “I checked out of the hotel after a last meeting and flew right to Ponyville, bought some muffins and then I got here and found Dinky sitting in front of the house.” She chuckled and booped her daughter, which was reciprocated with hearty giggling by the filly.
Finished now, Derpy reached for the can of coffee and poured it into her cup, then equipped Dinky with some cocoa, causing her to grin. Sparkler filled her own cup with coffee in the meanwhile. After all three of them had added sugar to their hot beverages, it was Sparkler who continued.
“So, in other words, it was a completely boring week,” Sparkler stated.
Derpy gave her a confirming nod. “It was, but at least there was a nice incentive payment for having to attend the training.” She took a sip from her coffee. “But I guess my week was better then the 'exciting' week you two had to go through,” Derpy said then, remembering Dinky's initial reaction right after her return.
Like on command, Dinky's ears flattened and Sparkler's face turned dark. It was very much recognizeable that none of them wanted to relive the moments. But of course they wanted let their mom know.
“Was it really that bad?” Derpy repeated her question from earlier, as none of her daughters began to explain what happened.
Sighing, Dinky finally took the floor. “It was,” she said. “Every single day she was here. She demanded that I go to bed at eight and forced me to eat her ugly muffins!” Dinky stuck out her tongue. Feeling reminded on the taste again, she dropped the remaints of the muffin she was holding into her mouth.
Having swallowed it, she continued. “And she was taking all of my videogames and my Neightendo and sold them! Right on the first day!” Her face was filled with anger.
Derpy gasped. “Even the games I bought for your birthdays?”
Dinky nodded sternly. “All of them!”
“But I bought them back,” Sparkler clarified, easing her mother.
“And my console almost didn't work anymore, because Millie just ripped the plug out of the socket without turning it off! And then she insulted Twee.....” Her face one big frown, Dinky stopped for a moment, taking a sip from her cocoa, then reaching for her third muffin.
Sparkler continued for her. “It was nuts. She really thought Twee would infect Dinky with a disease. Even had the nerve to call me a 'bad sister' when I called her out on that.” She bit off the top of another muffin.
Derpy had listened to the report in consternation and was shaking her head now. “Millie really hasn't changed. I have hoped she could be less worse this time because Dinky is older than at her last visit.” She looked at her daughter, remorsefully. Gently, she moved a hoof over her right cheek. “But she was still belitting you so much.....”
Feeling moved, Dinky hovered the half-eaten muffin out of her hooves and gave her mom a hug. Having pulled away again, she let her shoulders hang. “And this wasn't even all she did.....”
“Just the start of it, unfortunately,” Sparkler added.
Dinky nodded, another sigh leaving her throat. “She even decided for me what I should spend my pocket money on..... I just bought a comic that is a little scary and she took it and exchanged it for some stupid pre-school foal comic.” Dinky shuddered at the memory. While she was taking another sip from her cocoa, just to calm herself, Sparkler chimed in once again.
“Dinky had already nightmares because of Millie after she had been here for just two days. I almost didn't recognize her anymore when she woke up on Wednesday and knocked on my door, with all the bags under her eyes. And what happened on the playground then.....” Sparkler's voice trailed off. She wasn't completely sure how to put the event into words.
It was Dinky's turn again. “First she forced me to sit on some plastic mat, just because I was in the sandpit. Then she called Lily a monster because of her strength and pushed and hurt her!” Dinky's face became darkened by hatred.
Derpy's eyes almost popped out of their holes. “She did what?!” she asked, in complete disbelief.
Sparkler nodded. “That crazy mare thinks that Lily's strength makes her a bad influence for Dinky. Called her a freak with a big strength and everything.”
“It's true,” Dinky confirmed as well, gravely. “And she made me so angry, I.....” Now the filly shrunk a little in her seat. “I called her a bitch,” she whispered. Ears laid back again, she lowered her eyes and just stared at the tabletop. For the first time since the playground incident, she felt shame for the outburst.
Derpy held a hoot at her mouth. “Oh, Dinks.....” she said, her voice soft, but with the shock clearly audible in it. She reached out and pulled her daughter over and into her lap, where she embraced her. Dinky rested her head on her mom's chest, her eyes expressing sadness now. Derpy squeezed her. “You never talk like this. That she made you use such a word.....” Her voice was ripe with disgust for her older sister.
Dinky said nothing, just nodded grimly.
“And Millie got her into such a crying fit that I was worried she would never calm down. She even locked her inside her room because she wanted to prevent her from seeing me, so I had to break the lock of the door open with my magic.”
“Has she done anything else?” Derpy asked, now sounding deeply concerned.
“Mhm,” Dinky answered. “She covered my ears and even touched the back of my flank and pushed me around, just because she heard Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash saying the word 'peeved'.” She sniffed, just a bit. “I didn't allow her to touch me there.....”
Derpy's eyes became slits and she gritted her teeth. “I hate her,” she said, voice completely cold. “I knew my sister is awful, but this is just too much.....”
Dinky spoke again while Derpy's mind tried to process what she just heard. “And then she called me a 'bad filly' all the time. But I'm not.....” This last sentence opened the floodgates. Having recounted her days with Millie and told her mom each of Millie's horrible deeds, it was like a dam breaking inside of her and she began to cry into her mother's chest.
Derpy began to hold her tighter. “I never let her come back. This has just gone too far.....”
Having watched the whole scene unfold, Sparkler nodded approvingly. “It's time for that,” she said then. “You finally need to stand up to her, mom.”
Derpy looked over to her oldest daughter. “She will never enter our house again, Sparkler. Millie won't get an opportunity to make it necessary for me to stand up to her.”
And, having spoken those words, it suddenly was like fate had been listening. The words had barely left Derpy's lips as it knocked on the door. Dinky gasped as she heard the knocks and she looked up, her tears suddenly drying up. She looked over to the door.
“Is this Millie?” she asked. Her face was in equal parts fearful and focused.
“Who else would sneak to the sidedoor?” Derpy answered rhetorically, gritting her teeth.
Sparkler nodded quietly, face stern.
They waited a moment, to see if the knocking would stop, but it continued.
“I will go and see who it is,” Derpy announced, having become unsure if the arrival was really her unwanted sister.
Dinky climbed back onto her own chair, unwillingly. She looked at her mother with concern. “Be careful, mom.”
“Don't worry, Dinks. If Millie is outside, I won't allow her to do more harm.”
It knocked again. Not dragging the moment out any longer, Derpy did the few steps to the sidedoor and pulled it open. And her eyes narrowed, as she saw exactly the pony she had expected to see.
“Millie.....” she hissed. “What are you still doing here? After all you did, you–”
In her typical fashion, Millie interrupted her little sister. “Before you say anything, Derpy, hear me out!” There was a strange tone in Millie's voice, awareness that Derpy knew everything by now mixed in with something that almost sounded like Millie was trying to do an attempt to reconciliate. Derpy didn't buy it.
“It's too late,” Derpy answered stiffly, her eyes drilling through her sister. Her face showed that she wasn't susceptible for any of Millie's attempts. Yet, there was a thought flashing up in her mind, a thought that made her surprised about herself.
“Too late, fine,” Millie said, still using the sympathetic tone. “I don't expect you to forgive me, Derpy. But let me come inside and listen to what I have to say, just for a moment.”
Derpy raised an eyebrow, but something in the sentence had piqued her curiosity. Staring at her older sister wordlessly for a few seconds, she suddenly stepped aside. “Come in,” she said dryly, pointing with her hoof into the kitchen in a welcoming gesture.
“Mom?” Sparkler asked her uncertainly, putting a half-eaten muffin back on her plate. Opposite of her, Dinky looked similar confused and concerned.
“Thank you, sister.” A sirupy smile appeared on Millie's face and she trotted through the door inside.
Derpy turned after her and followed her to the table, not bothering to close the door. Standing in front of the kitchen table, Millie turned around to her sister. For a few moments, she stared at her expectantly, but as Derpy didn't offer her a seat, she got down to business. Ignoring the glares by Dinky and Sparkler, she began to explain her visit.
“Derpy, first, I want to apologize for calling you a bad mother and for saying that you are incompetent.”
The deep frown that now appeared on Derpy's face made clear that bringing this up was a mistake by Millie. Derpy looked over to Sparkler, surprise mixed into her frown. “I guess you didn't tell me all the details.....”
“Most of them,” Sparkler answered, sounding a little sheepish. “Thanks to the knock on the door we didn't come this far, but” – Sparkler looked at Millie satisfiedly – “luckily Millie let you know how she called you.”
The comment made Millie's face twitch just a little, but the mare stayed under control.
Derpy looked back at Millie. “It isn't me you should apologize to,” she corrected her.
Unphased by the rejection, Millie tried it again. “I'm sorry, my dear, a lot of the things I said went too far.”
Derpy raised an eyebrow again over the ambigious answer.
“I know how hard it is to raise a foal properly,” Millie continued. “I shouldn't have said any of it. And I'm here to offer you something, so that we can be peaceful with each other again.”
Derpy kept her scepticism, but her face softened a tiny bit. “I give you three minutes, Millie,” she said strictly. “Not one more.”
“I will only need one, if you really hear me out, Derpy. Come over here, my dear.” She waved Derpy over and pointed at the table, then turned around.
Derpy came closer, hesitantly, not saying a word. There was something on Millie's back, sheets of paper that she only now noticed. And exactly those sheets of paper were grabbed by Millie and put onto the table now. Sparkler and Dinky could see them first and both their mouths gaped open in shock and disbelief as they saw them.
Millie looked over her shoulder and waved at Derpy again. “Come, this is what I want to show you, sister.”
Derpy arrived at the table and, as her eyes fell on the sheet that lied on top of the papers, her eyes shrunk and she breathed in deeply.
“Kingdom of Equestria. Certificate of Adoption. This is a permanent record – Please print only.” she read the first three lines on top of the document. Consternated, she looked into her sister's face. “Adoption?” she asked.
Millie nodded.“I know, there are some more formalities we will have to go through, but if you fill out the form and sign it, we have a legal agreement. There will be a few check-ups and talks with me by the child protective services, but just leave this up to me, Derpy.”
“Y-You want to adopt Dinky?” Derpy's face was full of shock.
Now the sirupy smile returned into Millie's face. “Yes, Derpy. I know you have challenges with raising your daughter. I'm not blaming you for this anymore, as I said, raising a foal is hard. But if Dinky lives with me, I will raise her into a prim and proper young mare. And of course you and Sparkler can visit her as often as you want, as long as I am at home.” Her voice was full of confidence. “What do you say, Derpy? Trust me, it is for the best for Dinky.”
Derpy reached for the papers and lifted them up with shaking hooves. Her head felt empty, the shock over the offer had driven all thoughts out of it.
Millie put a hoof on Derpy's shoulder. “Derpy, dear, I promise Dinky will have it good in my house. And I know you want this too. I always noticed that you have difficulties with Dinky, even when I just saw the two of you outside together. And the last days in your house have made me more sure about this.”
Demonstratively, she looked at Dinky, who didn't answer her glance, but instead stared at her mom with worry all over her face.
“Mom.....” she said, unsure. “Just throw them away.”
At the opposite side of the table, Sparkler nodded. “Don't listen to any of her words, mom. You always did a great job with me and you do a great job with Dinky too.”
The warnings that were implied in her daughters' words were justified, Derpy knew this. The sugary words of her sister played around her from shock numb mind, stroking the chords in her that she knew how to stroke since they had been fillies, the chords that made her confidence wither.
“Derpy, please do it, it's the best,” Millie continued to drill into her sister's mind. “When I took care of Dinky, I saw how disrespectful she can be and I bet if I would go through her games, I would find more than one that has exactly this language I heard your daughter using the last few days. And have you never noticed how angry and unhappy Dinky often appears to be?”
She pointed at Dinky and Derpy followed her outstretched hoof. Her head moved strangely mechanical, giving her daughters the creeps. And indeed, Dinky did seem unhappy, now that Derpy looked at her. There was a sad expression in her eyes.
“I can tell you why this is,” Millie continued. “She might not seem like it, but she is not really happy with the way you're raising her.
“Dinky..... Are you unhappy here?” Derpy asked her young daughter, seeking confirmation to disprove Millie's words.
Horror came over Dinky's face. “What? Mom? No, no I'm not..... Why?” Dinky shot questions at her mother, bewildered.
“Can you see how upset she is, Derpy? Deep inside of her, Dinky knows it too. You made mistakes, Derpy, but it's not too late. If you let me adopt her, I can still rectify those mistakes.”
Now Sparkler let a hoof come down on the table, at the end of her patience. She jumped up from her chair. “Finally stop brainwashing her with your nonsense or it's me who will kick you out, Millie!” Her voice was aggressive.
This time, Millie did not even pay attention to her. More outraged by the ignorance of her aunt, Sparkler turned to Derpy again.
“Mom, give me those!” She reached out for the document in Derpy's hooves, but Derpy lifted them up and did a few steps backwards, letting Sparkler only grasp the air. Sparkler wrapped the adoption papers into her magic, but her mom's grip around them was tight. She could not pull them out of her hooves. After a few tries, she had to give up.
In the meantime, Derpy had found her ability to think back, although it was now into the direction her sister wanted her to think. A thousand questions rushed through her mind. The dominating one was:
“What if Millie is right?”
All her thoughts began to circle around this main question. Dinky said she was happy here..... But what did she know?
“She never knew anything other than my education.....” Derpy pondered. “What if I wasn't right? Sparkler grew up just fine, but she's a mare now, maybe she just grew out of what I taught her after getting a job. And I have never given Dinky into the care of somepony else, so she never saw a different perspective. Except for Millie's.....”
A gruesome suspicion crept its way to the surface of her mind. She turned her head to the left. “Do you think..... Do you think Dinky just reacted to you like this because she isn't used to your methods, Millie?” she asked her sister. Her face showed that her question was sincere. “I'm allowing Dinky so many things, maybe I made her become spoiled.....”
Millie smiled more. “Now you're understanding it, Derpy. I didn't want to put it so harsh, it's good you came to the conclusion yourself. Yes, Dinky is spoiled. This is why she reacts in such a way at everything I'm doing.”
Derpy nodded. “Maybe you're–”
A painful tug at her right wing interrupted her sentence. “MOM!” Dinky's voice cried into her ear.
It distracted Derpy from Millie and she looked down at her daughter. Dinky stared at her, her face wrinkled and her eyes shimmering with tears. It stung in Derpy's heart seeing her daughter like this. She moved a hoof away from the documents, holding them only with the left hoof anymore, and ruffled through Dinky's mane with the other one.
“Dinks.....” Derpy's face was sad. “Maybe I really did something wrong..... Maybe staying with Millie would be better for you.”
“No, mom!” Dinky whined. “You didn't do anything wrong. You did everything right!”
“I-I don't think so, Dinky.....” Derpy lowered her head and stared at the floor with half-lidded eyes. Tears gathered in them as well now. “I-I probably let you get away with too many things, Dinks. And I don't think I can do better.....”
Now Sparkler was at her side too. She gave her mother a strong pat on the back. “Snap out of it, mom! You know what she says isn't right!” But it did nothing to change the expression in Derpy's face.
Millie still stood at the table, not saying anything anymore now, but smiling over the fact she had convinced her sister.
Derpy turned around fully to Dinky and bent down at her daughter. She was kneeing in front of Dinky now, forelegs tucked under her body, where she fixated the adoption papers. She unfolded her right wing and stroke over Dinky's back with it. She smiled at her little daughter. “Dinks..... I think you should go with Aunt Millie and stay with her.” The expression in her eyes was distant, even though she directly looked at Dinky.
Sparkler held a hoof at her mouth. “Mom..... You don't mean this. She's playing with you, can't you see it? You told us so often how she bossed you around and commanded you since you were fillies. It's just the same now. Don't listen to her.” She pleaded to her mom, but somehow, the words didn't really reach her.
Dinky's reaction was more extreme. Tears ran down her face in streams. “N-No, mommy. I-I shouldn't!” She had become completely distraught now.
Derpy moved her wings towards Dinky's head. She ruffled through her mane with it, right above her horn, then gently stroke her cheek.
She gave her a reassuring smile. “But we could still see us, Dinks. You heard what Aunt Millie said. Sparkler and I can visit you as often as we want. You don't have to leave us completely.”
Dinky sniffed. The seriousness in her mom's face and voice let her heart race. She choked. “B-But..... B-But..... this isn't enough, mom.” Dinky did a step forward and wrapped her hooves around her mother. “Please don't send me to her!” she pleaded, then pressed her face into her mom's neck.
“But, Dinks.....” Derpy unfolded the other wing too now and wrapped both of them around her daughter. “I always allowed you too many things and I never set you enough limits..... You don't understand it, but after you lived with Millie for a while, you will see what I mean.”
Dinky sobbed, then tried to gather strength. “B-But, that's not t-true, mom!”
Seeing another chance, Sparkler's face lit up. She poked her mom from behind. “Listen to her, Dinky's right!”
“Don't you remember anymore, mom? How you grounded me for a week after you found out that I snuck into the living room to watch 'The Trotting Dead' at night? You were so mad.....” Dinky sobbed again, her strength used up for now.
Millie furrowed her brow, but did not say anything.
Derpy's eyes became a little clearer over the reminder. “I remember, Dinks, but..... I.....”
Millie did a step towards them now. “This was too late, Derpy. After she had seen it, the damage had already been done. You should have prevented it before it happened.”
Derpy nodded, but did not turn around. “Did you hear, Dinks? It wasn't enough.....”
Stubborn, Dinky ignored her. “And the training..... Do you remember?”
“The staff training?” Derpy asked, confused.
“No..... T-The gym course. Y-You signed me up for it, mom. You said i-it's good for me. Why did you do it? Do you remember?”
Derpy smiled warmly at the old memory. “I just wanted you to stay fit, Dinks. You eat a lot of muffins and–” Derpy interrupted herself as she gasped in surprise. Then she gave her daughter a kiss on the head. “I guess this is the only thing I did really right.....”
Millie grew a bit more uncomfortable and she did another step towards the mom and her daughter. “Derpy, it's still in the veins and arteries. The fat on the inside doesn't disappear because of some training, believe me.”
This time Derpy ignored her, the surprise she just had still in full effect.
“And the videogames.....” Dinky continued between her sniffles and sobs. “We always choose them together, mom.”
“I know, Dinks, but–”
“And you always told me I shouldn't play them before I've done my homework, so I finish it first.”
Another gasp from Derpy, then a smile played around her lips again. A strange, cold feeling spread out in her head, like something was clearing inside of it.
“That's true, Dinks. I did. Did I forget this?” Derpy asked, now feeling light.
“Just for a moment!” Dinky answered, her voice becoming more optimistic. “Mom, you did so many things right!”
Behind Dinky and Derpy, Sparkler laughed out loud. She got into Millie's way before the older mare could do another step forward.
“Sparkler, would you please step aside?” Millie asked, still in her sympathetic voice.
“No way,” Sparkler answered, ignoring her otherwise. “Don't forget about Twee, Dinks!” she called over her shoulder then.
“Right!” Dinky pulled away from her mom and looked her into the face, hooves still resting on her neck. “Mom, you didn't even let me touch Twee before you had made sure he has gotten all the necessary vaccinations in the Ponyville Pet Center!”
Right in front of her, her mother's eyes cleared even more, losing the hazy look they had taken on since Millie made her awful offer.
“And the comics! You explained me how the rating system works, so I won't buy anything I shouldn't see!”
That last sentence still clinging in her ears, Derpy shifted a bit, then removed her wings from Dinky and got up slowly. The adoption papers were in her hoof again.
Dinky looked up at her, making an unsure face, while a few, last tears still trickled out of her eyes. “Mom?” she asked.
Derpy folded in her wings, face full of clarity. “Thank you, Dinky,” she said and pulled her daughter closer for a short embrace, during which she placed another kiss on her head. Then she turned around at the spot and trotted towards the other end of the kitchen. “Sparkler, please get out of the way. I want to talk with Millie.” Her eyes narrowed at Millie as Sparkler did as she was asked, a grin on her face.
“Millie,” Derpy said as she stepped in front of her.
Her sister still smiled, although with a nervous twitch in the corners of her lips now. “Derpy, dear, you know she's just saying all those things so she can stay here, right?”
“I know,” Derpy said, eyeing Millie with confidence.
“That's good. Now let's sign this and you have taken care of a better future for your daughter.”
“This?” Derpy asked, lifting the adoption papers in front of Millie's face. “You still want to adopt Dinky?” Her eyes narrowed again, now anger appearing in them.
“Y-Yes, Derpy. It is for the best and–”
Before she could finish her sentence, Derpy had ripped the papers in half. Furiously, she teared them apart with her hooves, until only tiny shreds were left. They formed a pile in front of Millie's hooves.
Millie opened her mouth and stared in disbelief. “I-If you need time to think about it, then it's okay, we can get new papers anytime. But Derpy, dear, please make the right deci–”
Derpy reached into the pile of shreds and took a bunch of them on her hoof. She blew them into her sister's face.
“Buck off, Millie,” she hissed at her.
Millie gasped, the “bad” language shocking her more than the paper that had been blown into her face. She was opening and closing her mouth like a fish on dry land that desperately tried to breath.
“Out,” Derpy just whispered, her eyes showing a dangerous level of fury.
“Derpy, you–” The moment Millie had spoken the first syllables of a new sentence, Derpy just grabbed her by the neck and dragged her to the still open door. With a powerful push, she sent her outside.
“Never show up again, sister!” Derpy shouted after her. Her voice sounded almost like a roar.
Millie lost her balance and hit the ground outside. Face forward, she fell into the dirt.
In the last moment, Lily, who had just approached the house, jumped out of the way. She yelped in surprise. Close behind her was Noi, who pursed her lips and let out a whistle at the sight, having noticed the one responsible for Millie's ungentle flight.
Derpy breathed out heavily, her face easing.
Behind her, Dinky and Sparkler grinned at each other, then exchanged a hoofbump.
“And I will send you a bill for the repair of the lock on Dinky's door!” Derpy huffed a last time at Millie's form on the ground, then she noticed Lily and Noi as they came close to the door.
“What happened here?” Lily asked, confusion written all over her face.
Derpy smiled. “I defeated a witch.” Then she waved the two fillies inside.
They followed the invite and behind them, Derpy closed the door, cutting them off of the sight of the beaten mare.
Derpy turned around. “Now, who wants muffins?” She grinned.
Nopony objected. They all got back at the table, with their new guests following the example. Derpy brought cups, spoons and plates for the two of them and served them with cocoa, then refilled the cups of herself, Sparkler and Dinky. A moment later and a muffin was on each of the five plates.
Dinky dangled her legs down the chair cheerfully, happy that the week that had started so awful, was ending on such a great note now. She lifted her muffin to bite into it, but before she could do so, a realization came over her. Dinky stopped and put the muffin back on the plate. The unicorn filly raised an eyebrow.
“Isn't it weird that, as the whole thing with Millie started, we were sitting here and ate muffins and that, now that everything is over, we're doing the same thing again?”
Both Derpy and Sparkler, who had starting eating already, paused to think, puzzled expressions on their faces.
“What a weird coincidence,” Sparkler commented on Dinky's obversation, dumbfounded.
“But the best weird coincidence that is possible!” Derpy added. She pulled Dinky closer to her, embracing her daughter with her left arm.
“Everything should start and end with muffins!”