//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: The End (Part II) // Story: Dinky: A Filly That Is Loved // by vincent5000x //------------------------------// (9_6) Derpy didn't waste a single moment as she lunged at the stunned unicorn. "Give. Her. BACK!" She shouted as she flew towards Glittering Gem. But just as she was about to connect, she felt herself freeze in mid-flight. "I have to admit," Glittering Gem said with a chuckle, her horn glowing and a look of mild shock on her face. "I didn't think you'd find me this fast." Then her expression turned darker as her gaze connected with the mad pegasi's eyes. "I was actually hoping it would be that damn Miranda Case." "Give. Her. BACK!" Derpy repeated, using all her strength to fight back at the magic that held her. The magic wasn't focused around her entire body, but more on its key areas, like her wings and legs. All being forced to remain motionless. "Now why would I do that?" Glittering Gem asked with a slight grin. Derpy watched as the unicorn proceed to sit down on a nearby couch. "I mean, she is my foal. I should be allowed to do with her what I want." Suddenly, a quick jolt of pain came from Derpy's left wing. Daring to glance back at it, Derpy watched as one of her feathers flew past her face and levitated in front of Glittering Gem's face. "I thought you pegasi were supposed to take care of these things," she commented as she looked the gray feather over. "Where is she," Derpy seethed as she felt another feather being plucked. She could tell that the magic holding her hooves had weakened so Glittering Gem could pluck her feathers, but it still wasn't enough for her to free them. "Why do you care," Glittering Gem chuckled, a group of five feathers already accumulated in front of her. "I mean, she's not even yours," she continued as she stood back up and circled the room. Looking over her shoulder, Derpy watched as Glittering Gem proceeded to look out into the hallway before forcing the broken door closed. "Why are you doing this?" Derpy asked as another three feathers were pulled out at once. Derpy knew that if anymore where pulled out, she would half trouble flying. "Again, why do you care?" Glittering Gem asked, moving about the room as she closed any open window blinds. "I have my reasons for doing what I did and will do." Derpy couldn't help but shudder as the unicorn said this and another feather was plucked. "Please," Derpy began to plead. "I don't care what you do to me, just don't hurt my muffin." "Muffin?" Glittering Gem said as she burst out into a laughing fit. Suddenly the laughing stopped and was replaced with a scowl as the unicorn placed her ever increasing group of feathers on the ground. "So not only did you give a name to a foal that isn't yours, you also gave her a ridiculous nickname." "Somepony had to!" Derpy yelled through the pain of a primary feather being pulled out. "And apparently it wasn't going to be her mother." "Oh shut up you autistic little brat," Glittering Gem said as she lost the last of her composure. Derpy suddenly felt the pain of several primary feathers pulled out at once as the magic that held her was released, dropping her to the ground. "That should be enough to keep you from flying away." (o^o) Dinky felt her heart skip a beat as she heard Derpy's voice. She knew that she would be saved from the darkness, Derpy always saved her from the darkness. "You know," Glittering Gem's voice chuckled from outside the closet door. "I can't help but question your real motives behind caring so much for my foal?" Dinky felt a small pain in her heart when her mother referred her as her 'foal'. It made her feel like an object that could be left and forgotten. Something that didn't even deserve to have a mother. "Because you won't!" Derpy shouted back. "You left your own daughter to die in a trashcan. You are a monster that should be locked up and should never..." Dinky jumped as the sound of glass breaking interrupted Derpy's statement. (9_6) Derpy held her hoof to the side of her head. She could already feel small amounts of blood trickling from a fresh cut. "How dare you insult me you little whelp," Glittering Gem seethed, a half broken vase still held in her magic. "Do you really want to know why I wanted to get rid of her? Why my life would be better off without her? A constant reminder of my worst mistake?!" "What could be so important that you would be willing to kill your own daughter for!?" Derpy yelled as she lunged forward. But Glittering Gen easily stepped aside as Derpy tumbled past her and into a wall. "How about my life!" the unicorn began to yell, dropping what she held in her magic. "My career perhaps. But most of all," Glittering Gem continued, now standing over Derpy. "It’s something I never wanted!" "Then why have her in the first place!?" Derpy yelled as she jumped up and finally tackled the unicorn. Derpy threw Glittering Gem into the side of the nearby couch, quickly jumping on top of her before she could register what to do. "Why torment her like you did?! Why abandon her like you did?!" Derpy felt her hoof collide with the side of the unicorns face with every word she spoke. Suddenly, her hoof froze mere inches from Glittering Gem's face. "You BITCH!" Glittering Gem roared, sending out a magical shock wave that throw Derpy back against the wall, small droplets of blood dripping from the side of her mouth. "I don't see the need to explain ANYTHING to you!" Derpy felt her body suddenly lifted up and then slammed back into the ground. Glittering Gem continued to slam Derpy into the ground three more times before she released her magic once again. "Just let her go," Derpy coughed, pain pulsing through her chest. "Please!" "Why do you care about her?!" the unicorn yelled, wiping her face with a cloth. "All that thing is just a burden." Derpy threw herself back at the unicorn, slamming both her front hooves into the unicorn’s chest. "How dare you call her a thing!" Derpy yelled, pushing Glittering Gem into an adjacent wall. Once again, Derpy began punching the unicorn with her hoof, only this time, she aimed for the horn. (o^o) Dinky listened to everything that was going on outside the door. Even though she couldn't see what was going on, she knew that both Derpy and her mother were fighting. But she couldn't tell who was winning. "How dare you call her a thing!" Derpy's voice yelled, followed by several loud thuds. Several moments of awkward silence soon followed as Dinky began to fear the worst. Suddenly, the closet door opened and Dinky was blinded by the light once again. Before her eyes could adjust, Dinky felt herself being lifted up. Not by magic, but by a pair of hooves. "Thank Celestia you’re alright," Derpy cried as she brought Dinky in for a hug. Dinky quickly returned the hug, overjoyed by the fact that Derpy had saved her. Pulling herself from the hug, Dinky looked around the large room. On one side, Glittering Gem lay in a crumbled heap, small sparks jumping from her horn as she lay unconscious. "It's ok, she's not going to hurt you anymore," Derpy said, drawing the young foal's attention. Dinky couldn't help but cringe at the sight of the pony that held her. She had several cuts on her face that were bleeding and a black eye was beginning to form around her left eye. "I'm ok," Derpy said as she carefully nuzzled the top of Dinky's head, trying her best not to let blood drip on her. (9_6) Derpy held the filly close to her, hugging her once again. Time seemed to stand still as she held Dinky as close as she could, happy to see Dinky safe and unhurt. "I was so afraid that she had hurt you," Derpy said as she looked back down at Dinky. She felt a small weight ease off her aching shoulders as she stared at the smiling foal. "W-wh-why?" a voice choked from nearby. Looking over, Derpy wasn't surprised to see Glittering Gem's eye's half open as she stared at the two of them. "W-why d-do you care s-so much for my foal? Don't y-you understand what you'll ha-have to give up, just to c-care for her?" Derpy watched as the unicorn forced herself to her hooves, wobbling as she tried to stand up straight. "Yes I do," Derpy seethed, facing the unicorn. "But for her, I will do anything to keep her safe and happy. Because..." For a moment, Derpy paused and contemplated what she was about to say and what it would mean for her and Dinky. But the more she thought about it, the more she was sure that it was what she wanted. "She's my daughter and I love her!" (o^o) Dinky couldn't tell which was louder. Her mother’s scream or the sudden explosion from her horn. All she knew was that she was falling. Her mind, trying its best to understand exactly what Derpy had just told her mother. "Dinky!" Looking up, Dinky watched as Derpy came plummeting toward her, her wings tucked in as she quickly scooped her up and wrapped her body around her. (9_6) Derpy wrapped as much of her body as she could around the foal as she closed her eyes, knowing that it would be the only thing to shield the foal from the hard impact of the ground. But as moments passed into seconds, Derpy cracked an eye open, wondering what had happened. "By Celestia's mane that was close!" Miranda gasped, standing nearby with her horn aglow. "I was afraid I wouldn't catch you two in time." All Derpy could do was chuckle as everything around her faded to black. "And then we add some water to the bucket," Derpy told the little filly, pouring some water into a small plastic bucket. "Then we pack it in," she continued pushing her hoof down on the wet sand in the bucket. "Finally, we turn it over and let it slide out." With that Derpy turned the bucket over and slowly began to lift it up. But just as the bucket was fully removed, the clump of wet sand crumbled. "That’s the third one," Derpy sighed placing the bucket to her side. "I'm sorry muffin, the sand just doesn't want to cooperate today." Derpy couldn't help but feel a little sad, having not been able to make even a basic sand castle for the filly in front of her. But as she looked up, she couldn't help but chuckle as the filly held the small plastic shovel in her hooves, a smile on her face. "I love you muffin," Derpy said as she scooped the little filly into a big hug. (o^o) Dinky stared down at her new mother as she slept peacefully, a smile on her face. She couldn't help but relive the moment she would never forget. Dinky's mother wobbled in front of her and Derpy, with her piercing eyes as her horn sparkled, a crack easily visible in its side. "Because," Derpy began, giving her own piercing stare at Dinky's mother. "She's my daughter and I love her!" Dinky still couldn't believe that Derpy had called her her daughter. She had always wanted it, and now that it was true, she couldn't be any happier. A mother that didn't hate her, but loved her more than her own life. She could already tell that her life would be better from that point on. (9_6) "Derpy," a voice softly said in the pegasi's ear. "Derpy, are you awake?" "Now I am," Derpy moaned as she slowly awoke to reality. Derpy's body felt slightly numb and she couldn't feel her wings at all. "Where's Dinky?" she asked as she looked to her side. "She's right here," Derpy's father said, holding a concerned, yet smiling foal in his arm. Almost immediately, Dinky began squirming, trying her best to get over to Derpy. "Where... Where am I?" Derpy asked as she took Dinky in her arms. Even though they felt slightly numb, she could still tell feel the young foal in her arms. "In the hospital," Derpy's father responded, rubbing the top of Dinky's head with his hoof. "We brought you here after you passed out. I can't believe you jumped out a window with your wings like that." "But I had to save my daughter," Derpy said as she looked at her bandaged wings. Each were bound tightly with bandages and had blotches of blood dotted in random locations. "I'm not saying you shouldn't have, its ju...." Derpy's father froze mid-sentence as he realized what Derpy had just said. "Just what?" Derpy asked suppressing her laugh at how shocked and confused her father looked. "J-just, uh," he began to stutter. "Did you say daughter? Because I think I heard you say daughter and I just wanted to make sure that is what you said and..." "Yes," Derpy chuckled as she stopped her father’s incoherent rant. "If her own mother won't be a mother to her, then I will," Derpy told her father with a serious face. "I just never expected Glittering Gem to explode like that." "So that’s what happened," Miranda said as she walked into the hospital room. "Glad to see you’re finally awake," She chuckled as she walked over to the bed. "She was arrested right?" Derpy questioned, trying her best to hid her anger. "Yes she has," Miranda replied as she nuzzled the side of Dinky's face. "She's currently cuffed to an infirmary bed back at the station with two unicorn guards." "She should've been in jail!" Derpy partially yelled, trying her best not to yell in Dinky's ear. "I know Miss Hooves," Miranda said with a sigh. "Unfortunately there wasn't much I could do." "I know," Derpy sighed. "But what took all of you so long to find out where we were? Aren't there records or something for where she's supposed to be." "Yes," Miranda continued, a small look of annoyance on her face. "Unfortunately, she wasn't where she was supposed to be." She paused for a second before she continued. "If it weren't for that pegasi that limped into the station when she did, it would've taken us most of the night to find out where she was." "So shooting Star turned herself in did she?" Derpy huffed as she drew Dinky into another hug. "I hope she goes to jail for what she did." "She'll get what she deserves Miss Hooves," Miranda said, giving a confident smile. "Even though she helped find Glittering Gem, she was still an accomplice." "Good," Derpy huffed, nuzzling the top of Dinky's head. "So what now?" "Now, you can go back to how it should be," Miranda said with a smile. "Both you and your daughter." "Will everypony please stop saying that," Derpy's father sighed. "Daughter," Derpy chuckled. "Daughter, daughter, daughter, daughter..." "Ok," Derpy's father chuckled. "But are you sure of this? It's not going to as easy as you think." "I don't care," Derpy said as she curled up in the bed, feeling her exhaustion begin to take her away. "She's my little muffin, and I love her." With that, Derpy drifted into sleep, her daughter snuggled up close to her chest. Both dreaming of the rest of their lives together.