//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: Dinky's Memories 
// Story: Dinky: A Filly That Is Loved 
// by vincent5000x 
//------------------------------//


(o^o)


Dinky loved the red wagon. The color was fading, but she didn't care. She was more intrigued by the sights around her. Every time she turned her head, something new would pass in front of her eyes. 

"Well if it ain't Ditzy Doo, the clumsy mare," A voice echoed. It was a voice she had never heard before, yet the tone of it seemed very familiar. Looking towards the new voice, Dinky was surprised to see Derpy standing between her and a new pony. Dinky could see Derpy's legs shaking slightly, making her think that the pony was scaring Derpy.

That’s when another pony appeared. Dinky couldn't help but notice their curly orange hair, wondering what it was that made it look so fluffy. 

The new pony quickly began yelling at the pony that was scaring Derpy. Resulting in the two new ponies yelling at one another.

After a while, the meaner pony left in a huff, flipping her mane as she walked away. Soon after, the wagon began moving again. Looking towards the front, Dinky saw Derpy talking to the orange haired pony with a smile.

Dinky's gaze quickly shifted as the three of them made their way up to a large building. Except for the hospital, it was the biggest building she had ever seen. 

It was only one floor, but stretched farther than several houses put together. She could see different ponies coming in and out of the building. The ones walking in were empty hoofed and the ones walking out had bags full of different things.

Before she could realize what was going on, Dinky found herself being put back into the harness on Derpy's chest. It wasn't that comfortable, but she wouldn't complain. She liked how close she was to Derpy when riding in it. 

Walking inside, Dinky was amazed by what she saw. They had entered a small open area and she could see a countless number of ponies lining up in different lines. Every pony was talking with one another and loud beeps could be heard every second or two.


(9_6)


"That’s horrible!" Carrot Top said as she grabbed a nearby shopping cart. "I can't believe somepony would do such a thing."

Derpy simply nodded in reply. She had thought enough of the subject and hated having to talk about it. But she had to when she explained everything to her friend. She knew she could count on her for help when she needed it. Like how she had already offered to help with the shopping.

"I'm telling you Derpy," Carrot Top said as she made her way down the first aisle. "Once school is over, you should just leave the city and move to my home town." 

Then, she went on with one of her giant explanations of her home town. Saying how safe and friendly everypony there was, that she would never be bullied, teased, or judged ever again. She even offered Derpy a room to stay in until she could find a place of her own. But Derpy continued to show her hesitation. The city was all she knew, and she couldn't help but wonder if an entire town of ponies could be as nice as Carrot Top said.

"Speaking of your home town…" Derpy began, trying to change the subject. "Why are you still here in the city? I thought you were going home for the summer?" 

“It’s my last summer before I graduate,” Carrot Top began with a shrug. “I just wanted to experience it once before I finished school. Nothing too big, just thought it would be fun.” 

Deciding not to bring up the subject again, Derpy turned her attention towards shopping. Luckily, with Carrot Top's help, she was able to get find all her regular groceries within fifteen minutes.


(o^o)


Dinky liked this place. She had felt a little intimidated with all the different ponies at first. But everything around her was so amazing that she didn't care. She didn't know what everything was, but she was surrounded by so many different things. There was even a time when she smelled something very sweet and slightly familiar.

Then, the group walked into a different kind of place. Dinky quickly noticed several items with ponies that were her size on them. Each pony looked happy and seemed to be doing different things. Then she saw something near the end of the aisle.

It was a group of three ponies. One was large and looked very strong, while another was a bit smaller and was pushing a cart. She also noticed that the pony had a horn, like her mother. In the cart sat the third pony. What surprised Dinky the most about this pony was that they were about as small as her. 

She couldn't help but notice the smallest pony crying. The little pony seemed to be looking towards the pony with a horn. Within seconds, the horned pony took the smaller pony out of the cart and, to Dinky's surprise, cradled them in one of her arms. The small pony almost instantly, stopped crying as they snuggled in close to the horned pony. Dinky couldn't help but feel sad as she watched the group leave.

Dinky couldn't help but wonder why the horned pony had carried the small pony in their arm rather than with magic. This thought continued to linger in her mind, even as the world around her faded.

She opened her eyes to a almost complete darkness. The only things she could make out, was the faint outlines of several large object around her. The sound of heavy sobs could be heard from close by. For several minutes, it was all she could hear.

"Why?" a voice continuously repeated through the sobs. "This wasn't supposed to happen?!"

That’s when Dinky started crying. It was the only thing she could do. She felt cold and hungry, and was scared of everything that surrounded her. She desperately wanted somepony to make it all go away. Suddenly, she felt something clamp her mouth shut, muffling her cries.

"Shut up!" the voice yelled as their own sobs subsided. But even then, Dinky continued to cry. Not because she was scared or hungry, but because it was getting hard to breathe. She tried her best to breathe through her nose, but there was a thick liquid in it that made it hard to do. She could feel her head begin to spin slightly from lack of oxygen.

Suddenly, the thing holding her mouth was released and Dinky could breathe again. Her crying had stopped and all she wanted to do was breathe in as much air as she could. The pain she felt coming from her lungs made her want to cry again. But before she could even form the first whimper, she felt herself being lifted up.

She couldn't tell what it was that held her. Only that it felt slightly warm and very tight as it surrounded her whole body. She didn't like how it felt. It was almost too tight for her to take, and she could feel parts of her body numb a bit.

Instantly, a large pair of amber colored eyes flashed in front of her face. They were so captivating and large that she couldn't look away. At first, Dinky liked how they shined in the darkness. But as she continued to look, she began to fear them.

"I am not your mother!"


(9_6)


"Dinky?" Derpy softly nuzzled the top of the foals head. She had gone completely still and if Derpy hadn't been able to hear it, she could've sworn that Dinky wasn't breathing either. "Dinky, are you ok?" Derpy softly said. 

Carrot Top was waving one of her hooves in front of Dinky's face, trying to gain the filly's attention. After a few moments, Dinky responded with a soft gurgle and began looking around at her surroundings.

"Is she going to be ok?" Carrot Top asked out of concern. Derpy didn't have an answer. She hoped it was only a slight reaction to her surroundings. But all she could do was continue to softly nuzzle Dinky's head out of concern.

While Derpy continued this, Carrot Top began putting foal food and formula mix into the cart. Derpy looked up in time to see Carrot Top place ten jars of foal food in the cart, each featuring carrots as its main ingredient. 

It only took a stern look for Carrot Top to change out most of the jars with a wider variety.


(o^o)


Dinky continued to look around the aisle. She could feel Derpy softly nuzzling the top of her head and was happy she was. It made her feel happy, knowing that Derpy was there and cared for her.

Suddenly, something caught her attention. It was a small stand just a few feet away. On it, hung several different animal dolls that looked very colorful and were a little smaller than she was. Dinky couldn't help but stare at them in awe. She liked how soft they looked, feeling a sudden urge to grab one and squeeze it tightly.

As if in response, Derpy moved over to the stand. Close enough for Dinky to get a better look at the different animals. She quickly noticed that there weren't just different animals, but ponies as well. Each looked the same, while representing a different pony.

Before Dinky could even touch one, Derpy began to walk away. Dinky didn't complain, but she didn't want to leave the stand just yet. She wanted one of the soft looking animals. 


(9_6)


"It should be done within the in a few days," the customer service representative said to Derpy. With a final nod, he took several filled out papers from in front of him and walked back through a set of double doors.

"Are you sure about that?" Carrot Top asked as they made their way to the cash registers. "It seemed pretty expensive for what it is."

“Its fine,” Derpy said with a nod. “I want to do this anyways.”

“Seriously Derpy, you’re way too kind for city life,” Carrot Top chuckled, causing Derpy to smile and blush.

After a little while, Carrot Top and Derpy finished paying for everything and brought it all back outside, the red wagon exactly where they had left it. It didn't take long to move all the bags into the wagon. But before leaving, Derpy wanted to make sure Dinky had something to eat and drink.


(o^o)


Dinky was a little sad seeing the wagon full of bags. There wasn't much room left inside and she doubted Derpy would let her ride in it. But a sudden feeling of hunger took control. 

As Derpy brought Dinky to a nearby bench, she couldn't help but notice two ponies who were already there.

A pony around Derpy's size was holding a pony Dinky's size. Both ponies seemed very happy as the smallest one drank the bottle they had dry. Again, Dinky began to feel a strange sadness sweep over her as everything around her faded away.

She was sitting on the ground with a small bowl in front of her, half filled with a creamy white liquid. Dinky couldn't help but drink as much of it as she could, helping ease the hunger in her stomach. 

But once it was empty, she began to wish for more, the hunger quickly building back up.

Looking up, she found herself alone in a increasing darkness. All she had was the empty bowl in front of her and the pain of hunger to comfort her.


(9_6)


Derpy couldn't help but worry as Dinky sat motionless in front of her. All she had wanted to do was give Dinky something to eat, but no sooner had she set her down, Dinky froze. She was breathing and blinking, but she wasn't responding to anything she was doing.

"Dinky?" Derpy softly said as she put down what she was holding and cradled Dinky in her arms. Derpy could feel her shaking slightly and began to fear that she had done something wrong. But just as these thoughts crept into her mind, Dinky began burying herself in Derpy's arms, softly crying. 

“It’s okay,” Derpy softly assured, brushing a hoof through Dinky’s mane. As Dinky's cries weakened, Derpy slowly began to feed her. 

Dinky took the bottle Derpy offered in her mouth and drank as much as she could without stop. Derpy couldn't help but wonder what had caused Dinky to cry, still thinking that she had done something wrong. 

Looking towards Carrot Top for an answer, something else caught Derpy's attention.

All around her, mothers and fathers moved about with their families. Fillies and colts could be seen happily playing with one another as they stayed close to their parents. But right on the other side of the bench sat a mother and her foal. Both looked very happy as the foal drank from the bottle.


(o^o)


Dinky couldn't understand it. Her own mother had never treated her like the other ponies treated one another. All around her, she could see ponies physical holding smaller ponies rather than carrying them with magic. Everypony seemed so happy to be with each other, even the two nearby ponies. 

She couldn't help but remember the lonely hours with only a small bowl in front of her. 

Then, Derpy's voice broke through her fragile mind, calming it to a point that she could drink from her own bottle.

As Dinky began to eat, she could hear the beat of Derpy's heart as it calmed her even more. She couldn't help but wonder why Derpy was being so nice to her. 

Derpy, the first pony she had ever met besides her mother, was treating her so kindly. She fed her when she was hungry, stayed with her when she felt lonely, and carried her in her arms. 

There was so much she wanted to know. But, as she listened to the rhythmic patterns of Derpy's heartbeat, Dinky could do nothing but slowly fall asleep.