Dinky thought she had a pretty great life. She had a (not) nice sister, a caring mother, and the best friend a mare could ask for.
Ever since Dinky was a little filly, she and Tootsie Flute had done everything together. They went to the same school, attended the same parties, had the same friends. Dinky knew she could always count on her...and wished she could say the same of her sister, Sparkler.
Sparkler was mean and cold, and always seemed to have it out for Dinky. When Dinky was a little filly, Sparkler watched her while their mother was away delivering mail. Sparkler either ignored Dinky or followed her, issuing cutting remarks every so often. Dinky would wander all over the house, but Sparkler would either change rooms if she got within 10 hooves of her or follow her. Then Derpy would come home, after hours of torment, and demand that her daughters get along... but they never did, and Sparkler continued to torment Dinky when their mother was away. In the rare moments that Dinky was away from Sparkler, she often found herself angrily wishing her mother would stand up for her and force Sparkler to be nice, voice booming and eyes flashing, but in a few moments, the anger would fade, and Dinky would remember how much her mother had sacrificed for her children.
She would then run over to her mother and beg her to relieve the story of Sparkler and Dinky's father for the millionth time. Derpy would smile down at her youngest daughter, and shake her head. As much as it pained Derpy to relieve these memories, her daughter never seemed to tire of the story. She would then clear her throat, smile again, wistfully this time, and begin.
**{O}**
At the very young age of 11, Derpy had been an aspiring artist, and many art magazines across Equestria speculated that Derpy would be the next great artist of the 20th century. She was at the height of her career, and rising very quickly, and it seemed she would rise very high indeed.
But, the success and wealth she and her family enjoyed would not last for long. Derpy had just been leaving a new gallery opening, then, at only 18, she had gotten in a horrendous accident involving quite a few brick walls.
Sadly, her art career crumbled into ruin. Canterlot art critics that had once raved about her "youthful" and "inspiring" pieces now poked fun at them, and insulted poor Derpy mercilessly. She soon realized how prejudiced the Canterlot elite were, and quit art altogether. Her family went bankrupt not long after, and Derpy, alone and still healing from the accident, ran away from Canterlot and fled to a small town named Ponyville, seeking a job and a place to live.
She soon found a low pay job at the Ponyville post office, and quickly making friends, fit in to Ponyville right away. Things were going very well, and then she met Dinky's father.
He was charismatic and handsome, and many mares in Ponyville lusted after this mysterious stallion. He would often disappear for months at a time, and then reappear as if nothing had happened. It seemed like almost everyone was intrigued with the strange, charming stallion. He seemed oblivious to every mare 's romantic advances until Derpy came along, and soon, he seemed smitten with the slate gray pegasus.
It was a fairy tale courtship, involving quite a few notes and flowers. It wasn't long before Derpy succumbed to his charms.
However, mere months after meeting him, at the ripe age of 19, she got pregnant his child. Strangely, the stallion seemed quite overjoyed at the prospect of children, and he stayed with Derpy, doting on her even more now that she was with child.
11 months later, baby Sparkler was born. The mysterious stallion proved to be as kind as he was handsome, showering his daughter with all sorts of exotic and strange gifts that seemed somehow otherworldly.
At this point in the story, Derpy's expressive, light amber eyes would well up in tears. She would cough, then lower her head and continue with the story, unable to look Dinky in the eye.
But the small family's joy would not last. After Sparkler's 4th birthday, the stallion left her and Derpy in the dead of night, leaving nothing but a tear-stained note, and taking only a picture of Derpy and Sparkler.
Ponyville was shocked. The stallion that had loved his child and her mother so had left them while they slept! Many speculated that he did not leave of his own choice. But whether it was a voluntary leave or not, Derpy was still left alone to care for his child.
She kept her low paying job at the local mail service, and hired trusted friends to care for Sparkler during the day. She was just starting to think about finding a house in a new town, only to find out that she was pregnant with Dinky. She had no choice but to continue to work in Ponyville, and she was soon promoted to manager of the local mail service.
In 11 months, Dinky was born, and Derpy got a second job as a part time employee at Sugarcube corner, and the rest usually dissolved into cutesy stories about Sparkler and Dinky's childhood, like the time Dinky had had a magic surge so powerful, the house had shot up into the sky and into a tree.
**{O}**
Dinky sighed as Sparkler's stony silence filled the room. She couldn't concentrate on the book Ms. Cheerilee had assigned the class, even though she knew that if she didn't read it she'd be in big trouble. Her haunches itched to be stretched. She sighed again and Sparkler's icy amethyst gaze washed over her, sending a chill down Dinky's spine.
She couldn't bear the room's tense atmosphere any longer. Dinky lowered her eyes and stumbled to the small house's door, feeling Sparkler's cruel eyes on her the whole time. Dinky crossed the threshold of the house she shared with her mother and sister and stepped on to the small, lopsided porch. She took a deep breath of the sticky air outside. Dinky sensed the electricity fizzling in the humid air and heard a violent clap of thunder, reverberating with violent energy. She sighed slowly. A thunderstorm was sure to come.
Dinky's brilliant gold eyes were drawn away from the lightning flashing across the sky to an almost invisible speck of moving gray. Dinky's heavy heart lifted as she realized her mother was flying home after a long day of delivering mail and baking pastries.
But there was something wrong. Dinky furrowed her brow in concern as she saw her mother's light yellow mane was disheveled, and her large, expressive eyes were heavy with bags. When she spoke, her voice was forlorn and hoarse.
"Hi muffin."
Derpy reached out a hoof to pat Dinky's head. Dinky trotted behind her mother, who's usually magnificent feathered wings hung limp at her sides.
"What's wrong mom?"
Asked Dinky. She knew that working two jobs couldn't be easy, but she rarely saw her energetic and optimistic mother so....tired.
Dinky trotted a little ahead of her mother, a smile growing on her face as she thought of how her mother would react to the surprise she was planning. She closed her eyes and stopped in front of Derpy, blocking her entrance into the small house.
Tiny drops of sweat appeared on Dinky's forehead as she opened the front door for her mother, her amber magical aura lighting up Derpy's tired eyes.
"Dinky!"
Exclaimed Derpy incredulously, the corners of her mouth turning up. "Where did you learn to do that!?" Derpy's eyes shone with the radiance they had lacked before.
Dinky puffed out her chest in pride.
"Ms. Cheerilee signed me up for the advanced magic classes at school. I'm the top of the class!"
Derpy's eyes spun in circles as her wings flapped in glee.
"Oh, Dinky, that's amazing! I'm so proud! Maybe this could be your-"
Derpy stopped speaking suddenly as a sound tore through the tense, humid air. Derpy's ears perked up and a smile spread across her face.
"Yeah," Dinky said knowingly. "Auntie Lyra STILL hasn't fixed that old washing machine of hers."
"No," Derpy whispered quietly. "It's not that." Dinky realized the noise was growing louder. Derpy's eyes sparkled and shone with love, and the smile on her face was the sweetest smile ever to be smiled. She uttered one word as a tear dropped from her smiling eyes.
"Doctor."
WREEEOP WREEEEOP WREEEOP