//------------------------------// // Sparkler's and Dinky's Dad // Story: "Why does everypony say that?!" // by The SideKick //------------------------------// Sparkler was in her room, just staring at the ceiling. She had cried herself out holding her little sister earlier, so she laid there just thinking about what had transpired that day. She was saved from the self imposed torture by a knock at the door. "Sparkler honey, can I come in?" Turning over so now she laid on her stomach, head on her forelegs which were hanging off the side of the bed, she looked over at the door. "Um...Yeah mom, come on." Derpy opened the door, looking around her daughters room right quick. While she wouldn't outright call her big muffin a tomboy she would say she's tomboyish. She had makeup at a vanity mirror and other common beauty stuff that most young ladies would, but the thing was a dreadful mess with socks somehow thrown, quite literally, into the whole thing. Hanging from the walls were posters of some her favorite musicians such as DJ-Pon3 (Which nearly sent Sparkler into overdrive when Derpy mentioned that she actually was good friends with Vinyl Scratch) and Lincolt Park. Without a second longer for the room she had seen a hundred times over she looked at her daughter, and gasped. Most of her front was covered in bruises, but the most distinct one was the huge black eye she sported. As soon as she saw it Derpy ran over and began to look over her daughter, her eyes more focused than one of Twilight's telescopes. "Oh dear oh dear oh dear, Sparkler what happened?!" Feeling a little uncomfortable with just how close her mom was Sparkler used some magic to gently push her away, though it was only a little. "I'm okay mom, just sore." She averted her gaze as she said it. "Was it those colts again? If it was I can talk to Twilight about it. I'm sure with her being a princess now she coul-" "MOM, yes it was the same guys but I don't want Twilight getting involved. It would just make things more complicated. Besides if you think this is bad you should see them." Sparkler gave a weak smile, trying to lighten the mood and get her mom to stop worrying. "This is nothing to joke about. This is the third time this month you've gotten into a fight! This can't keep up Sparkler." "It's not like it's my fault! It's theirs for not leaving me alone! They should have gotten the point the first time I beat their flanks." Sparkler sat up, staring angrily at her mom. Derpy knew the look all too well. It was a look that wasn't really meant for her, but she was the only one there to take it's wrath. Sighing, Derpy flapped her wings once and landed next to Sparkler on her bed. "How about you tell me exactly what happened." Sparkler remained quiet for a while, just staring at a wall, before consenting defeat. "Alright, alright." She looked at her hooves as she began. "I was just getting off work and heading home when I ended up passing Scotch Light and Butter Corn." Derpy bristled a little at the two names, but didn't say anything. They had always been trouble, getting a bad reputation for being bully's. Only really coming in to stallion hood recently the pegasus and earth pony had never tried bothering her, being a full grown mare and them just young colts, but they certainly loved teasing poor Sparkler all throughout school over her mother's eyes. "Of course I didn't want to bother with them, so I just kept on walking. Despite all my wishing they still noticed me." Sparkler's nose scrunched up and her gaze narrowed considerably. "They tried to get me to look at them, following me and throwing insults at me since I wouldn't acknowledge them." She closed her eyes before continuing. "Then they started talking about dad." Sparkler wanted to punch them in the face so badly. The two hadn't left her alone for the last five minutes, but she knew it wouldn't help her in the long run if she put them in their place. "Ugh, maybe instead of her eyes, Sparky here inherited her mom's denseness." Said Scotch Light, flapping lazily beside his friend. "Must have, hasn't done nothing this entire time." This was Butter Corn, a few steps behind Sparkler herself. Anypony that bothered to look at Sparkler from the front would have seen her grinding her teeth. She really, REALLY wanted to hurt them, but again she didn't want trouble where she could avoid it. She just had to make to her street and the two would leave her be. "ORRRR maybe shes from the future. You know how you're not supposed to mess things up when you're in the past." Stopping and looking back with a raised eyebrow Sparkler caught the two giving each other huge grins and nodding their heads in agreement. Despite her better interest she couldn't help but wonder what the they were talking about. "What are you boneheads talking about?" They stopped as well and looked back her, Butter being the first to reply. "So we finally got your attention, time mare?" "When you're spitting out nonsense like that it's hard to ignore, and trust me, I'm trying very hard." "The only nonsense any ponies spitting would be your dad, the Time Lord." This came from Scotch who used his free hooves to make quotations in the air as he said Time Lord. Sparkler felt an eye twitch, finally turning around fully. "Are you really going to go there?" The edge in her tone was all too real, but it didn't do much against the pair. "Why don't you tell us? You're the one that's already lived through this all." Butter had a dirt eating grin plastered on his face. Sparkler on the verge of sending him flying took a deep breath, deciding to tell him a thing or two. "Listen here you dunderhead, is not my father. Anypony with enough brain power to ask would know that him and mom are just old friends and that she met my REAL dad while on a delivery to Seaddle." "Oh I'm sure that's what she told ya. After she realized that he was an even bigger weirdo than her shes been trying to cover it up ever since." Sparkler glared pure anger at the pegasus who was snickering. "I'm not going to explain to you how wrong you are, so-" Butter interrupted her. "Doesn't help that your little sis's pa is some random stallion no one knows." Sparkler froze. "Yeah, I can only imagine what it's like having a crazy stallion for a dad who's gone and found another mare already while your sister's dad is some mystery." "Maybe the good doctor can go back in time and help them figure it out!" While they broke out in laughter Sparkler sat there speechless. While the two had picked at her before about Doctor Whooves being her dad, this was the first time they had ever gone this far. They didn't notice through their own laughter as her gaping mouth slowly closed into grinding teeth. They didn't notice as ponies started to either walk away quickly or stop and watch the three of them. They didn't notice a harsh glow emitting from her direction. They DID notice a sort of hissing sound and at last looked at Sparkler again. She had her head down with her horn pointed alight with her magic right at them, eyes aglow with pure white light. Any other unicorn or pony who had spent enough time around one knew how mad one had to be to get to this state. While Scotch fell to the ground and began to shiver a bit, Butter got into fighting position himself, grinning. "And then we fought. Like I said, I won. But I can't say Butter didn't put up a good fight, with Scotch getting a few cheap shots in." Sparkler had a brave face on, giving her mom another weak smile. Derpy could still see that the bully's words hurt her. "Sparkler...I know what they said was way out of line, and your reaction was completely natural, but if Mayor Mare doesn't see it that way, looks at it as just another fight, you know you could get into some really big trouble." Sparkler deflated, looking away. "I know..." While Sparkler didn't like it, she knew her mother was right. She stared at her own hooves, not really sure what to say. After a bit of an awkward silence, a wing warped around Sparkler's shoulder, bringing her into a full hug with her mom. "I'm sorry you have to go through this." Sparkler nuzzled her head into her mom's chest, surrendering completely to the embrace. "It's not your fault, and don't you dare ever think that." This managed to pull a small smile out of the older mare. They stayed like this for a long time, just letting the natural comfort of the other wash over them. After a bit, Sparkler wiggled her way out of the hug. "Hey mom, can you tell me about how you and dad met again?" Derpy giggled at the sudden question. "And this is coming from...?" "Well~ I just think it'll make me feel better, hearing about him." Derpy could only smile. "I guess it really couldn't hurt, but I'm gonna have to make it quick. Dinky's waiting for us down stairs." Sparkler shook her head excitedly and got comfortable, waving for her to go on. She loved hearing stories about her dad, no matter how many times she already heard them. "Right, so, of course I was making that delivery to Seaddle. I had just checked in with the post office headquarters for confirmation when this unicorn colt crashed right into me." Derpy's eyes lidded a bit with a smile gracing her face. "Well than Miss Derpy, it seems you're clear to head out. Thank you again for coming all the way out here for this delivery." "Oh it was no trouble at all, but I better get going. My boss got me a hotel here in the city for the night and I need to check in with them before they think I'm not coming." "Have a good day!" Said the pony behind the desk waving as Derpy turned and walked away. She headed straight for the front door, idly looking at everything inside the sizable mail office. ("Seaddle is such a big place.") When she neared the front door she heard a kind of crackling sound. Not really giving it any mind she opened the doors only to hear a loud pop and be blinded by a flash of light. Next thing she knew she was on her back with a grey unicorn laying on top of her. He had his eyes closed and was groaning. "Ow...Note to self, work on teleport spell." Opening his dark blue eyes he looked around, taking notice for the first time of the mare he had landed on. With a small gasp he quickly scrambled to his hooves. "Oh my gosh miss, I'm so so so sorry about that! You see I was running late for a delivery and so I tried using a teleportation spell I just recently learned and- Oh dear my letters are everywhere now, but again I'm really sorry. Here let me help you up." Derpy felt herself enveloped in magic and lifted in the air for a moment before being set back on her hooves. Normally it was very rude to just randomly pick somepony up with magic, but Derpy was still a little too confused to complain. Plus it looked like the unicorn was too preoccupied with apologizing and picking his letters up to have paid attention to his faux pas. "I'll make this up to ya I promise, I just need to get done with work today and I'll...um...BUY YOU LUNCH! Yes, that's what I'll do! I'll take ya to a real fancy place out in the city." Derpy had gained back enough of her wit now, noting finally that he had a dark green mane and tail, to try and say something. "That really isn't-" "I get off at five o' clock, so I'll come get you around five thirty. That'll give me time to clean up. You'll love the restaurant, I promise!" He had gotten up the last of the dropped letters and was holding them in his telekinesis. "I've gotta go, but I promise that this lunch will make up for crashing into ya. See you tonight!" "WAaait..." Derpy tried calling, hoof in the air as he ran off. She stood there speechless, hoof remaining in the air limply before she sighed and turned back towards the door. "I don't even know..." "I almost forgot!" Derpy jumped with a scream, hugging the top of the door frame as she looked down at the colt that had just scared her. He was looking at her with nothing more than blind innocence and a frantic smile as he walked in place, eager to get back to work before he was yelled at again for being late. "Where can I find you after work?" Letting go of the door frame and floating back down on to the ground, she looked at the mail pony dubiously. "I'm staying at the Sir Fine's Hotel, room 158." "Okay, see ya tonight!" And he cantered off again, leaving Derpy covering her mouth with her hooves. "I just couldn't understand why I had told him that. I could tell he didn't think it was weird, just a good way to apologize, but reasonably I still shouldn't have told him. But-" "But something about him was just really charming right?!" Sparkler interrupted excitedly. "Well, I wouldn't say charming. Something more along the lines of amusing. I guess you could say he kind of reminded me of myself. Though I have an excuse. He was just clumsy." The girls giggled. "Of course, the night was wonderful, even when he spilled cider all over one of the waiters at the restaurant and I broke a window. Took me a week to build up the courage to ask him out on a real date, and to save up the money to replace the window." Derpy smiled solemnly as she remembered more times with the quirky stallion. Sparkler seemed a little more cheerful now, though her smile matched her mothers. "...I miss dad." Derpy wrapped her in another hug. "I do too." Again they stayed like that until they heard a call. "MOOOM, SPAAAARKLERRRR, CAN YOU PLEASE HURRY?! I'M GETTING REALLY HUNGRY!" The two parted, both laughing. "You go on ahead and get dinner started, I need to use the little fillies room." "Okay mom...and thank you." Derpy just smiled and nuzzled her. They both left the room, Sparkler heading down stairs and Derpy heading down the hall. On her way to the bathroom Derpy saw a window. She paused to look out it. "..." Her eyes were unconsciously focused, though she wasn't looking at anything particularly. They were looking for something she knew wouldn't be there. "...Maybe I'll tell her about The Doctor when shes a little older. She needs to know sometime." "MOOOM!" "I'M ALMOST DONE!" Derpy then ran to the bathroom, letting thoughts of lovers past leave her.