When I first saw Dinky, she was sleeping, but I was so happy she was okay. I didn't want to wake her up, but I also didn't want to leave her alone, so I slept in her room that night just like I thought I would. I was in sitting in a chair when I fell asleep, but I don't know if you could call that strange position I was in, "sitting"... So, when I woke up my neck hurt a little, but instead of worrying about that, I walked to the edge of Dinky's bed to see if she was awake yet.
"... Dinky...?" I rubbed my nose against her cheek to nudge her a little, "... Dinky, are you awake...?" I stared at her with a sad look on my face, and then went back to my chair to sit down. My stomach growled, and I put my head down. I was so hungry, but I wasn't going to leave Dinky all alone... What if she wakes up? Finally, I heard the door open, and Nurse Redheart came in.
"Miss Hooves...?"
"Nurse!" I lifted my head again, and got up to go see her. "Nurse, is Dinky okay? Why is she still sleeping?" I watched as she walked to Dinky's bedside and caressed her forehead with her hoof.
"She'll be fine, she just needs time..."
"B-But I don't have time! I need to say goodbye!" Reminding myself of it made me tear up again, and when I noticed, I backed up a little so that maybe she wouldn't notice. "I mean... I..."
"... I heard last night. But she still has a week in the hospital, so there's no reason to hurry." She smiled at me to try to be friendly, but I couldn't smile back.
"But that's why I have to spend time with her as much as I can..." Just then, my stomach growled.
"Oh," Nurse Redheart looked at me, "Are you hungry?"
"Um... Well... Yes, but..." I hesitated, "I wanna stay here until Dinky wakes up so I can have all the time with her that I can..."
"Well, that might be a while... I suggest you go get something to eat, and come back." She smiled at me. "I'll take care of Dinky."
"Well..." I looked at Dinky, still asleep in the hospital bed, and then looked down at my stomach. "... I guess one muffin wouldn't hurt..."
I decided to take her advice, and before I knew it I was eating a muffin at that cafè where I found out that I would lose custody of Dinky. I knew I didn't have many bits left, and I didn't have a job, but I was really hungry and just wanted to relax. Before long, when I was half-done with my muffin, I heard another pony walk into the cafè. The little bell on the door started jingling, and I looked over to see who it was.
"Custody pony...?" I stared, and realized that I was looking at that custody pony who talked to me the other night. I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk to him, so I just looked down and kept eating my muffin... But it didn't take long before I heard his voice call me.
"... Ms. Hooves? Well, fancy seeing you here! I come here all the time, but I wasn't expecting you. Small town, isn't it?" He walked up to me, and I looked up at him.
"Oh... Yeah, I... I guess so..." I looked down again. He stopped smiling, and started looking worried instead.
"I... Shouldn't have come up to you, should I?"
"... I'd rather just be alone right now, mister..." I told him after taking another bite of my muffin.
"Well, I understand I'm probably the last pony you want to see right now."
I didn't say anything. He kept talking.
"... I'm only here to say hi." He sat across from me, and I looked away. "And to apologize for last night."
"Apologize...?" I looked at him, "So you didn't mean it when you said you want Dinky taken away...?"
"Well, not exactly... I just mean it was rude of me to mention it like that."
I didn't reply.
"... Ms. Hooves, you have to try and remember that I'm here for the well-being of Dinky. I need to make sure that she is in the proper care, and-"
"She IS in the proper care!" I interrupted him, upset. "Mister, I give her everything she needs! And... And I love her! She's all I have, I don't have any other family! And... And neither does she! I mean... We had to MAKE family when we moved to Ponyville! And even though they aren't her real family, some really nice ponies offered to help take care of her! My friends, Carrot Top, Amethyst Star, Time Turner... They're all very important to her, and it took a long time to make a family with everypony like I did!"
"Ms. Hooves, I understand that, but-..."
"But Mister, you don't understand! I..." I could feel my eyes getting wet, "I really am a clumsy pony, even... Even my friends treat me like I'm handicapped! And... And the only pony who looks up to me... The only pony who looks at me, and sees a nice, responsible older sister instead of a clumsy pony... Is Dinky! Mister, please don't take her away! Please, I'll do better, I promise!"
"Ms. Hooves, I'm sorry, but I already filed the papers and as soon as Dinky gets out of the hospital we're taking her to the orphanage! I promise, she'll be happy!"
"No she won't, she's... She's a sensitive filly, b-but she's responsible and sticks up for her friends at school, and... And she helps me around the house and sometimes I let her cook dinner for us both and even though sometimes it tastes bad, I eat it anyway!"
"... I'm sorry. I can see this isn't the time." I watched him turn to walk away, and then I got up.
"No, I'm leaving... I..." I looked away, "I'm... Not hungry anymore, anyway..." I turned around, and walked toward the door, leaving my half-eaten muffin on the table behind us.
The entire week, everything was Dinky. I stayed over at the hospital every night, and all I could think about was Dinky. Was she okay? Is she being fed the right foods? Is she healing right? When can she come home...? I knew in the back of my mind that when she's ready to come home, she would be taken away. The whole week, I was waiting for that custody pony to come and tell me that it was all one big joke, and then we would all laugh, we could be friends, and Dinky could come home... But that never happened. I didn't even get a letter...
Luckily, some ponies came to visit Dinky who heard about the accident. When I saw them, I was really surprised! I almost forgot that other ponies would hear about this, and I was too busy thinking about Dinky.
I rushed to the doorway, and smiled, "Carrot Top! Amethyst!"
"Derpy, is everything okay?" Carrot Top tilted her head with worry, but I just gave her a hug.
"Oh guys, I'm so happy you're here! I was all alone, and Dinky sleeps a lot and I've been so worried about her..." I felt Carrot Top put her hoof over my back.
"It's okay, Derpy, really..."
Amethyst took a step forward, "So is she okay? What's going on? Is everything alright?"
I slowly let go of Carrot Top and smiled at Amethyst, "Everything's fine, she could be getting out at any time now, but she's going to need to rest at-..." I hesitated, "... At home some... Too..." I looked down a little. I had to tell them about what the custody pony said - about Dinky being taken away...
"Are you sure everything's okay?" Amethyst asked me, still looking worried like before.
"Um, well..." I backed up a little, "... Um... Actually..." I looked away, "Everything... Everything's not really okay..." I watched as Carrot Top and Amethyst looked at each other, and then back at me, ready to listen. I sat down where I was standing, and looked up.
I told them the story. Everything I could remember.
"What?!" They both shouted at the same time.
Amethyst stepped forward, "They can't do that!"
"Can they?" Carrot Top asked, looking at her.
"Of course not! What about Dinky?"
"But they've taken fillies and colts away before if they think that the parents can't take care of them, Amethyst."
"Well, our Dinky is more than taken care of, isn't she, girls?" She looked at both of us, and then switched her stare to me. "Derpy, you know she's taken care of! You can't let them do this!"
"I... I told you, I tried! But... But they think Dinky isn't safe with me, and after this..." I teared up, "After this... What if... Maybe they're right...?"
They both looked at me, and they both gasped at the same time, "Huh?"
This time, Carrot Top talked first, "Derpy, I know you've been through a lot, but don't start doubting yourself now. You do your best, and I know we've been busy lately, but we're here now. We can help you!"
"I... I don't know..." I looked down.
"I still can't believe they're saying that you're irresponsible... Even if Dinky WAS adopted, she could never find anypony who loves her as much as you do. Derpy..." She stepped forward, "You're like a mother to her... You know that, don't you?"
"I... I love her a lot, but..." I teared up, "I keep hearing that I'm bad for Dinky, and I know there were some times that I didn't have enough money to support her, and some times that I sent her to school without breakfast by accident because I was rushing to go to work, and that I... I wasn't being careful... And... And I dropped the package-... With the..." I sniffled, and felt Carrot Top put her hoof around me.
"Derpy, it's okay! We all make mistakes, but that doesn't mean you don't love her and take care of her."
"That's right!" Amethyst chimed in, "You were under a lot of pressure with your job, you weren't making enough bits even for yourself, and it's not you're fault!" She walked toward me and sat next to me, "And when you needed us, we tried our best to babysit for you. I even took Dinky to Sisterhooves Social when you couldn't make it, remember?"
"Right," Carrot Top smiled at me, "And when you didn't have the money for a special dinner on Hearth's Warming Eve, I let you two have dinner with me and my family."
I smiled at them, "Yeah, thanks... You guys really helped me out, and I'm really grateful, but..." I looked down, "I don't know if anypony can help now..."
Carrot Top and Amethyst both looked at each other. I knew they were scared that I was right. Carrot Top gave me another hug, and Amethyst put one arm around her and one arm around me. It was quiet for a long time, but after a while, they decided they would go home to get ready, and come back to wait with me for the rest of the week.
It was the longest wait of my life.