(-_-)
"I know this is all going to seem confusing," Carrot Top said to Derpy as they walked up to Derpy's house. "But just let me and your dad do most of the talking."
Derpy nodded, making the throbbing in the back of her head worse. Every step she took, brought another throb. To her, it felt as if somepony was kicking the back of her skull, hard. She couldn't help but wonder what it was that was causing the throbbing.
As the two walked into the living room, Derpy heard her father greet her. She heard a slight hesitation in his voice but decided to ignore it when she caught sight of a different pony in the room. Derpy guessed that it was the caseworker.
"And you must be Miss Hooves," they said as they walked up to her. Derpy tried again to respond but seeing the pony caused the throbbing to increase. She couldn't help but cringe slightly with each throb.
"Miss Hooves, are you alright," the caseworker asked, noticing Derpy cringe slightly.
"She's fine," Carrot Top quickly said as she helped Derpy to her seat. "Just a long day at work."
"Does she always work this hard," the caseworker asked, becoming intrigued by the subject. "And where is Dinky usually when you're at work?"
Again, somepony had mentioned a 'Dinky'. The word had been stuck in her head ever since Carrot Top had mentioned it. Derpy couldn't help but notice that the more she thought about the word, the worse the throbbing felt.
(o^o)
"Please young one," the older pony asked Dinky softly. Again, they tried to give Dinky the nipple of the bottle they held. But like every time before, Dinky refused it. Her mind still focused on Derpy.
Derpy had done nothing but toy with her emotions. She showed her what it was like to be cared for, gave her a toy to remind her of the good times they had together, and raised her hopes. Then, she crushed them. Leaving her like her mother had. Alone, hungry, and hurt by the fact she may never see somepony she cared for ever again.
After one final attempt at getting Dinky to eat, the older pony placed Dinky back in the bed and left. Dinky continued to watch them walk away. Remembering all the other ponies that had done the same.
(-_6)
"I appreciate that you're both willing to help answer my questions," the caseworker said to Carrot Top and Derpy's father. "But do I look like a fool?"
For the past hour, the caseworker had been asking questions about Derpy and what she usually did. Every time, either Carrot Top or Derpy's father would answer the question, never giving Derpy a chance to answer. But the expression on the caseworkers face made it obvious that she was getting annoyed.
"If there is something wrong with Miss Hooves," the caseworker said pointing a hoof at Derpy. "Please tell me." Derpy remained where she was, softly rubbing the sides of her head. The throbbing had eased up a bit, but her head still ached as she herself tried to think.
After a concerned glance at Derpy, Derpy's father quickly explained to the caseworker what happened after Dinky was taken away.
"We were hoping that if this went well," Carrot Top added in. "That Dinky could come back. She's not doing so well at the orphanage." Carrot Top then went on to explain that she volunteered at the local orphanage, helping to prepare the morning meals and clean a bit. She also explained what she found out that morning.
After finding Dinky, Carrot Top rushed to find the manager. She couldn't understand what Dinky was doing in the orphanage in the first place. She knew Derpy would never abandon the little filly, especially after her already being abandoned once.
While the manager herself didn't know the exact details, she did have some concerns. The moment Dinky was brought to the orphanage, she immediately began to seclude herself. They tried their best to get her to open up, so they could ease any worries she might of had, but she wouldn't let them.
Then, when they tried to feed her, she would refused whatever they tried to give her. Also, they found out from one of the night guards, that she had forced herself to stay awake throughout the night.
"They need each other," Carrot Top finished, holding back her worry filled tears. For a moment, everypony was silent and Derpy was left with her thoughts. She couldn't comprehend everything both her father and Carrot Top had said. The most she could make out was that there was a young filly that wouldn't eat or sleep without her.
Derpy suddenly felt the throbbing in her head intensify. Over and over again, the throbbing continued to pulsate through her head. Filling her thoughts with strange, unfamiliar images, as the room around her began to shift.
"Derpy? your eyes are," Derpy's father began, noticing Derpy's eyes slowly misalign. But Derpy ignored him as she rushed out of the room. She knew what she had to do and where she needed to be, and nopony was going to stop her.
(o^o)
Dinky sat alone on the small bed. The stuffed Derpy lay a few feet away. Thrown after Dinky became fed up with seeing it. All she wanted, was to be left alone.
Dinky couldn't help but wonder what it would've been like if Derpy had never found her. The thought of everything ending in the darkness of the dumpster scared her. Derpy had been the only pony she had truly come to love. The only pony that could end the fear. But now, she was gone, and the fear had returned.
Looking at the beds guardrails, Dinky began to think. She knew that if she tried, she could climb over it. Making her way over, she looked over the edge and began to think.
How far is it to the ground?
(9_6)
Derpy remembered everything. She hated herself for forgetting about Dinky. Dinky had meant so much to her and she let them take her. Now, Dinky was hungry and scared because Derpy hadn't tried her hardest to protect her.
She had hurt Dinky, and instead of being there to comfort her, she ran away. It didn't matter if her mind had caused her to forget. To her, it was unforgivable. She couldn't help but think of her own mother. She had hurt Derpy and ran. But Derpy wasn't going to do the same to Dinky.
Barely slowing down, she landed outside the orphanage doors and rushed inside. Ignoring everypony around her, Derpy ran up to the front counter and demanded to see Dinky. The receptionist tried to say something, but Derpy wouldn't hear it as she demanded that she be allowed to see Dinky.
"What in Celestia's name is going on out here," a mare asked as she walked into the lobby. Derpy quickly recognized her as the manager, having delivered a few letters to her in the past. She didn't waste a second, demanding that she bring Dinky out immediately.
After a few seconds seconds of confusion, a sudden look of shock and worry appeared on the managers face.
"I'm sorry," she said, holding back a slight stutter. "But there was an accident and. . ."
"What do you mean accident," Derpy nearly yelled at the manager. The manager tried her best to calm Derpy, but that wasn't going to happen. Derpy began bombarding the mare with questions, ready to rush wherever it was she had to get to.
"She somehow fell over the guardrails on her bed and. . ."
"WHERE IS SHE," Derpy yelled, tears already running down her face. The moment the manager said 'hospital', Derpy took off without a second thought.
As if she didn't blame herself already for Dinky being taken. Now, she was physically hurt and it was all because she hadn't tried harder for Dinky. She prayed that Dinky was ok as the hospital quickly came into sight.
(o^o)
Dinky expected the fall to have be worse than it had. All she ended up doing was spraining one of her hooves as she fell barely two feet. No sooner had she hit the ground, then some random pony whisked her and her stuffed Derpy to the hospital. Now, she was alone in a crib with nothing but a bandaged hoof and a stuffed Derpy.
Again, she was alone. She knew that there was a nurse keeping an eye on her, but she didn't care. She knew that the nurse would leave when they were finished with whatever it was that they were doing. Nopony really cared for what she thought or wanted.
Grabbing the stuffed Derpy, Dinky held it in front of her. Part of her, wanted to fling it out of the crib and never see it again. She felt betrayed, remembering the promise Derpy made to her about never leaving her. But another part of her wanted to keep it, still clinging to a the small glimmer of hope that Derpy would still come for her.
(9_6)
"Please," Derpy begged the receptionist. "I have to see her."
The receptionist merely shook her head, apologizing as she told Derpy that she wasn't allowed to give out patient info to non legal guardians. But like in the orphanage, Derpy wasn't going to take no for an answer. After five minutes of begging, the receptionist told Derpy that she needed to leave before she called security.
"Thats a bit much, don't you think," a voice said from behind Derpy. Turning around, Derpy was surprised to see doctor Scope walking towards her. Before Derpy could even ask, Scope asked the receptionist for Dinky's room number. Derpy couldn't help but feel a slight sense of relief as Scope lead the way towards Dinky's room, asking Derpy questions along the way.
"Dissociative amnesia you say," Scope said as they turned a corner, he seemed mildly intrigued at the idea. Dinky's room was just around the next corner and Derpy couldn't wait to hold the filly in her arms again. But as they turned the next corner, a new fear gripped Derpy as she saw a hospital guard standing outside of the room.
"Scope," the guard nodded, recognizing the doctor. With a simple smile, the guard opened the door for Derpy and the doctor. Derpy wanted to ask why there was a guard at the front Door, but decided against it as she walked into the small room. She didn't bother to look at anything as she rushed up to the crib and looked inside.
At one end of the crib, lay the discarded stuffed Derpy. At the other, a curled up Dinky, facing the cribbs corner and trying her best to ignore everything around her.
"Dinky," Derpy softly whispered, brushing a hoof across Dinky's back. At her touch, Dinky jerked violently, but continued to face the corner. Derpy tried again to gain her attention, but no matter what she did, Dinky kept her attention on the corner of the crib.
"Dinky, please. I'm sorry," Derpy said, moving to the other side of the crib. But as she moved, so did Dinky.
(o^o)
Dinky's heart skipped a beat when she heard Derpy's voice. She wanted to look back at her and finally go back to the way she wanted things to be. But part of her didn't want to. Derpy had decided to return only after she had gotten hurt. To Dinky, Derpy only cared about her when she was hurt.
Over and over again, Derpy tried to get Dinky's attention. But Dinky wasn't going to give her that satisfaction. She had left her, and there was nothing she could do to fix it. Suddenly, Dinky felt herself being picked up. She immediately began fighting back, lashing her hooves out at Derpy.
"Please Dinky," Derpy whispered in her ear, drawing her into a hug. "I don't deserve your forgiveness, but you have to know that I'm sorry." But Dinky wasn't going to hear it as she continued to flail her hooves, hitting Derpy's chest.
Dinky kept hitting Derpy over and over again. She knew that it didn't hurt her, but it was all she could do to vent out her anger. She wanted Derpy to know that she was angry and that she wasn't just going to forgive her for letting the other ponies take her away. But as she continued her assault, her exhaustion finally began to catch up to her.
(9_6)
Derpy continued to let Dinky hit her. It didn't hurt, but Derpy wished it did. Derpy deserved Dinky's hatred for the way she had let things happen. Suddenly, Dinky's hits began to slow down as she slowly began to fall asleep. Slowly, Derpy placed Dinky back into the crib before passing out.
"Do you think she'll ever forgive me," Derpy asked whoever would listen. When nopony answered, Derpy looked around and was surprised to find herself alone. She couldn't help but wonder when it was that Scope had left her. Derpy could even see that the hospital guard had left from his position out in the hall.
"I guess its just me and you again," Derpy said, a single tear running down her cheek.