Wednesday 27th December
It was a sad fact that all good things had to come to an end. Two o’clock was imminent, and Derpy was making the most of the last few moments she could spend with Dinky before having to return to Ponyville.
The doorbell rang and I went up to answer it, taking as long as possible, while the two ponies hugged each other as tightly as they could. And then…
“Lyra? It’s really you? It’s been so long!”
“Wait, you know each other?” Dinky asked, five minutes later. The teal unicorn had accepted my offer of a cup of tea, claiming that she could easily allow another half hour.
“I was an exchange student in London for a term in secondary school around nine years ago,” Lyra explained. “He was part of my host family.”
“Yes,” I confirmed. “I just didn’t expect-”
“I’m sorry I didn’t explain,” Lyra continued, “But when Belladonna ordered that Dinky be relocated to London, I had to act quickly, and I knew that I could trust you. It would probably have been better if I’d shown up as opposed to Autumn.”
“But why London?” I asked.
“Because if she sees someone she can kick - proverbially, anyway - she’ll do so.” Lyra sighed, helping herself to another biscuit.
“That would explain the ultimatum she issued last Monday then,” I said, remembering Dinky's damp face and puffy red eyes as she'd entered my room every night that week - it had been just like the first couple of weeks after her arrival.
“Anyway,” I asked, as the two other ponies made the most of their extended time together, “Why haven’t I received anything regarding visitation rights? I’d be perfectly happy to allow it.”
“Autumn says she’s having trouble getting the form to the visitation office,” Lyra replied, “Then after getting it back she’d have to send it here for you to sign and return, then she’d have to move onto the next step.”
“Of course…” I muttered under my breath.
Half past two arrived all too soon, and both parties exchanged their goodbyes.
“I wish you didn’t have to go back,” Dinky sniffed, trying very hard not to tear up as the two of them shared one last hug.
“So do I, Muffin,” Derpy sighed, “But Rainbow Dash needs her season ticket back, Ponyville needs me to deliver their post, and if I stay here there’s a very real risk that Lyra will lose her job.”
We waved as the two ponies walked down the corridor until they got into the lift.
"Thank you so much for arranging that," Dinky said, as the two of us sat down on the sofa to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on Sky Cinema, "Especially after how the preceding week went-"
She spread out her forelegs to indicate a hug. I obliged, and she nuzzled my cheek whilst repeating her thanks.
Saturday 30th December
Fulham (12th) vs Chelsea (4th)
Although Dinky had been sad to see Derpy leave, I couldn’t help but notice that she was much happier for having been able to see her mother again. As the two of us prepared for the West London Derby away to Fulham, news came through which we both found most welcome.
“We are getting breaking news that Armando Fontana has refused to play in this evening’s match at Fulham,” the Sky Sports News anchor said. “The Spaniard is reported to have gone AWOL this morning and…”
“Good riddance,” I said.
“Wait, he’s really going to leave the club?” Dinky asked.
“If you’re a footballer, you don’t refuse to play,” I explained. “Especially not for someone like Mourinho. The transfer window opens in two days and he’ll be out of the club before you can say ‘Stamford Bridge’.”
Indeed, the mood on the double-decker bus was fairly buoyant, and as the match at Craven Cottage started, it became clear that Chelsea's spirits were lifted too.
It took until the eleventh minute for this to bear fruit. Chelsea had dominated from the off and it came as no surprise when Drogba connected with a pass from Essien, charged through the Fulham defence, and powered a shot past Niemi to give Chelsea the lead.
It seemed as though Chelsea would increase their lead, but a rare Fulham attack in the 24th minute saw a cross headed clear. The clearance, however, was intercepted by Fulham right-back Liam Rosenior, who trapped the ball before sending a blistering shot into the net beyond the outstretched arm of Cech from 25 yards out. It was a spectacular effort, which would win Goal of the Month for December, but it didn’t seem to faze Chelsea, who redoubled their efforts, with Niemi twice pulling off heroics to keep out Lampard and Robben, and Drogba having a header cleared off the line.
Then, just before half time, a break from Fulham resulted in a corner, from which Carlos Bocanegra managed to scramble the ball over the line to give them the lead against the run of play.
It was clear, however, that Fulham had been extremely fortunate to be in front, and three minutes into the second half, a cross from Robben found Drogba, who powered a header past Niemi to restore parity.
“Well, only five minutes of the second half have played so far,” Kick Off said a couple of minutes later, “but Chelsea have been a massively improved side from what we’ve seen for much of December.”
“Indeed,” Full Time agreed, as Mourinho brought Joe Cole on for Paulo Ferreira in a bid to push forward, “And it has to be down to today’s news, it’s almost certain now that Fontana will be leaving the club, and that’s been a massive lift.”
In the 58th minute, a Fulham throw-in was intercepted, and Drogba played a short pass to Kalou. Kalou ran through the Fulham half and, from 25 yards out, hit a low shot which settled in the net off Niemi’s left hand post.
Fulham’s heads seemed to drop at this, and four minutes later Drogba won possession and went for goal, only to be denied his hat-trick as the shot went wide.
With just over fifteen minutes left, it seemed that another Chelsea attack had been stopped when Kalou was fouled by Bocanegra. The referee, however, played advantage, and Drogba passed the ball into the area for Lampard, who fired a right-footed shot across Niemi into the opposite corner of the net to surely put the result beyond doubt.
There was still time for Joe Cole to send two efforts wide, but Fulham were unable to muster up any threat and Chelsea came away with bragging rights – and all three points.
Fulham 2-4 Chelsea (Rosenior 24, Bocanegra 44; Drogba 11, 48, Kalou 58, Lampard 73)
“Well, a good win against a local rival, Arsenal and Bolton both being held, and Fontana’s departure all but confirmed,” I said on the bus back from the ground. “An almost perfect day, football-wise.”
“What would have made it perfect?” Dinky asked.
“United not winning.” I replied.
Premier League Table
1 Man Utd 50pts
2 Arsenal 44pts
3 Liverpool 42pts
4 Chelsea 42pts
5 Tottenham 36pts
6 Bolton 35pts
…
16 Wigan 22pts
17 Middlesbrough 21pts
18 West Ham 18pts
19 Charlton 16pts
20 Watford 11pts
“You know,” I said the following morning, as Dinky once again cuddled up to me on my bed, “I think I’ll write to the British Embassy next October and sort out something with a lot more substance for next Christmas. From what I’ve been told about the British Ambassador to Equestria, he’d run rings around Belladonna without breaking a sweat. Anyway,” I continued, switching on the radio on my bedside table, “Let’s see what the morning’s football news has to say.”
“...and in a statement this morning, Bruce Buck has announced that he has given Mourinho permission to sell Fontana. Although clubs from all over Europe are after the forward, Fontana has requested that he be sold to a Premier League side…”
“That makes sense,” I said, “He's played for us in the Champions League, so he won't be able to play in Europe with another club this season.”
“Meanwhile, news from La Liga this morning is that Eidur Gudjohnsen has handed in a transfer request at Barcelona,” the radio announcer continued, “The former Chelsea forward has claimed to have been underutilised, and has not featured in the Champions League this season…”
The transfer window opened a couple of days later, and Fontana duly left for Everton. Eidur Gudjohnsen arrived from Barcelona in short order, returning to the club where he'd spent six successful seasons.