//------------------------------//
// Wish You Were Here 
// Story: A Dinky Love Story 
// by Cryptid-Kid 
//------------------------------//

"Dinky. Wake up. Dinky!"
This was the first annoying noise that rang in her ears to start off her day. Repeating itself like a broken record, the line became more and more recognizable the more she was roused from her slumbers.
Opening one tired, bleary eye, she made a pathetic attempt to shoo away the hoof that was shaking her so rapidly. Had she been more awake, it would have made a bigger impact. 
"Go away" was the simplest phrase mumbled from the lump of a pony buried underneath the messy bedspread, barely audible as the blankets above her muffled her sleepy voice.
"Dinky. We're late! Come on, you lazy lump." 
The blankets were pried off the half-awake unicorn, who grumbled at the notion. Glaring up drowsily at her sister, Dinky hissed in anger. "Let me sleep! Five more minutes."
	
"I told you, we're late!" the furious older mare snapped back, dropping the blankets heedlessly on Dinky's wooden floors. "We were supposed to be on the road twenty minutes ago. C'mon, Dinky! Move your tail!" She made an attempt to nudge her sister off her tired state onto her hooves - which were asleep.
Grumbling and groaning, Dinky obeyed reluctantly with the sense of a drowsy mind. What she wouldn't do for another hour of sleep. She had Rumble to thank for her restlessness at night. 
But the thought of him made her tense up, and she shoved it out of her mind. Light purple hooves met the discomfort of the cold, hard wood panels that made up her floor. Stumbling whilst trying to wake her hooves from the everlasting sleep they were stuck in, the pony nearly tripped over a mess of blankets that had fallen from her grasp overnight.
The older unicorn mare rolled her eyes, trotting out the door after hurling one last frustrated remark, "Meet me outside as soon as you can. And for Celestia's sake, get off the freakin' ground!" The door slammed shut behind her.
Dinky grumbled. What the hay just happened? Digging through her mind, the pony was able to uncover a lost important memory that got her scampering out the door.
She was late. They were supposed to be on the road twenty minutes ago! Her stomach churned at the thought of where they were supposed to be headed - back to Fillydelphia to visit her mom's freakish relatives. She groaned.
But there was no time to lose for the rushed little filly. A pink saddlebag lay carelessly open on the floor by the door, with its contents spilled out on the wooden panels. Filled with aggravation, Dinky gritted her teeth at the lack of consideration Amethyst was displaying. She must have thrown open the door in such a rage that knocked over the bag, and caused everything that Dinky had so neatly packed in a perfect, organized way, to fall and lay splayed out on the floor beneath it.
In all her frustration the pony nearly forgot to pick everything up - she was so upset that she was about to march downstairs and confront her sister right then about her annoying behavior, before she sighed and began to have second thoughts: Whatever. I can just throw everything back inside. So much for organization, she concluded with a huff to herself as she attempted to cram three books, her beloved drawing notebook and set of charcoal pencils, her cell phone, sunscreen and a hairbrush into the bag at once using her magical aura to hold everything. When the items finally fit, though not with ease, she couldn't help feeling a bit of a bit frustrated at the sight of the lumpy shape of her saddlebag, an obvious result of rushed packing.
The lavender-coated filly nearly tripped over the clumsiness of hooves that had not yet been fully roused that morning as she attempted to dash down the staircase at full speed. But when she reached the outside, a sudden thought came to her head that made her uneasy.
"Who's going to watch the house when we're gone?" she asked her mother as she tried and struggled in vain to close the trunk of their beat-up, rusty old car they rarely used over the lumpy suitcases packed tightly within. 
"Don't worry, muffin," she said and patted her daughter's messy blonde mane. "I called Thunderlane and he said he'd take care of it all." She pointed with her hoof to the dark gray pegasus stallion Dinky hadn't noticed that had been standing there helping them with their luggage the whole time. He waved to her.
She trotted over to him - an old friend she hadn't had the privilege to see in a long time. Though her heart skipped at the thought that he was the older brother to Rumble, she ignored the confusing emotions through her happiness to finally see him again. She threw her arms around him in a hug.
"Thunderlane, hi!" she giggled as he embraced her tightly in his hooves. Squeaking softly at the surprising sudden action of her hooves leaving the ground, she noticed he had picked her up and was carrying her through the air - something he used to do all the time when he saw her, and she would squeal in delight just as she was doing now, even as a teenager.
"Hey, Dinks," he called her by her special nickname, ruffling her hair with his hoof. He was like a big brother to her - and she hadn't realized how much she missed him until she thought about the gap of time that connected his past visits to the present.
He returned her to the ground, where she stood smiling until Thunderlane's next remark: "Rumble talks a lot about you nowadays." His joyful expression turned into a mildly devious smirk.
Her excitement faltered and pain and guilt flooded through her heart at the memories of when she last saw him - in the forest when he had kissed her exactly one week ago. He hadn't even showed up to school after that. He never called her or texted her; things between them grew very awkward very fast after that particular moment they shared in their last encounter. Her mind had been set on trying to keep them both friends, even if they had gotten very friendly with each other over the past couple of weeks and he had, by no doubt, demonstrated exactly how much friendliness he felt towards her. She had this whole speech worked out about how she needed time to think and she wasn't even sure how she felt anymore; about how she had a lot going on in her life and she know he did too and that maybe they needed to both slow down a bit and think about where their friendship was headed. She never had a chance to use it given the fact that he hadn't showed his face around her, and she had been given time to think about him. She didn't know anymore.
All thoughts aside, the pony responded with, "How is he?"
Thunderlane's grin slowly disappeared. "He's been sick with the feather flu all week. He told me to tell you to have fun on your trip, and that he can't wait to see you when you come home." He raised an eyebrow.
I'm sure he can't, she realized with a shudder. Even though she wasn't exactly looking forward to the four-and-a-half-hour car drive through the middle of nowhere to meet up with her crazy, mentally unstable family members for an extended family reunion in Fillydelphia, Dinky couldn't help feeling relieved that she wouldn't see the awkward pegasus for another weekend. She was simply nervous and afraid to speak to him after their friendly encounter last week, and jumped at his name even being mentioned in her presence.
She swallowed and nodded. Knowing she had to say something kind back as a message to be delivered to the sickly pony, Dinky instructed Thunderlane: "Tell him hi for me."
He nodded, his hoof running through his light turquoise mohawk as if something was making him uneasy. Whatever it was, it was in the air, because Dinky began to work up a cold sweat just talking to the older pegasus.
The slight tension was broken by who other than her sister, who materialized in front of Thunderlane next to her. Her sudden appearance startled Dinky, and she jolted shortly upon noticing the pony. 
Amethyst's violet gaze intertwined with Thunderlane's own golden gaze. A nervous smile fixed on her face, she scuffed softly at the dirt in front of her with her hoof and mumbled, "Oh, h-hey, Thunderlane," through a fit of quiet giggles. Even though her coat color was a light pink, it was easy to tell she was blushing, and Dinky rolled her eyes. Amethyst had the biggest crush on Thunderlane, and it all started when he had come over one evening to walk Rumble home from their house, and Amethyst had opened the door to find a smiling handsome pegasus standing on their front porch. As Dinky grew older, she began to notice the way Amethyst sat very close to Thunderlane and the way she blushed when he spoke to her, though he didn't seem to return her affections and remained seemingly oblivious to them in general.
The pony nodded to her while grinning as a way of saying hello. Dinky hated the way her sister acted like a school filly in front of him, and that stupid, crooked smile she always displayed when the two interacted. 
"S-So... Thunderlane, h-how have you been?" Amethyst blushed harder when her eyes reconnected with his.
"Fine, thanks," he muttered back to her casually, "what about you?"
The unicorn giggled again, and opened her mouth to respond when another pony's voice filled the air. 
Everyone turned their heads to see a frizzy-maned pegasus lower herself onto the ground below her, speaking with a broad smile, "Hi, Miss Hooves. Great to see you again! You look great." 
It was only till she saw the familiar pegasus pony set down her toolbox she was carrying to embrace her mother when Dinky realized she was carrying a toolbox at all. Confused, the group made their way towards the pony who smiled and waved at them with joy in her eyes.
"Cloud Chaser!" Dinky sprung towards the sight of her old foalsitter she hadn't seen in years. The older pony also used to sit for Rumble when he was younger, and the two grew very close in Dinky's childhood. It didn't take a long time for the nostalgic, bittersweet memories to flood back to the unicorn - memories of the loving, caring pegasus reading her favorite bedtime stories to her before she was granted a kiss goodnight, baking sweet chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips in them and always being able to get the very first cookie off the warm sheet of the freshly-baked treats, squealing with joy and laughter when Cloud Chaser would nearly tackle her in a tickle fight that she never won. The warm memories, without a doubt, left imprints on her heart and she would never forget them. So of course she lit up when she saw one of the only ponies she had learned to enjoy being around.
Cloud Chaser giggled softly and threw her arms around the excitable pony. They embraced for a short moment before she let her go, and the pegasus smiled and said, making eye contact now, "How's my favorite pair of fillies doing?"
"Great, thanks," Amethyst responded, walking up behind Dinky to grin and nod to Cloud Chaser. 
But Thunderlane was the one who was a bit more than joyful as a result of seeing the newly arrived pegasus. He trotted up towards her, eyes wide and a huge smile plastered over his face. "Hey, Cloudy!" 
Dinky could almost feel her sister's heart exploding into a million pieces when she watched as Thunderlane took Cloud Chaser's hoof and the two ponies shared a loving, short kiss on the lips. When the pegasus couple broke apart, he smiled happily towards the rest of the ponies.
Amethyst's jaw dropped open and she looked as if she wanted to tackle Cloud Chaser and fight her in a brutal mess of feathers and tangled hair. She was left dumbfounded, and finally worked up the courage to nearly shout, "You and Cloud Chaser are dating?!"
Cloud Chaser's hoof slipped from Thunderlane's and returned to the ground, but her smile never faltered. Exchanging a look with her boyfriend, the pony responded, "Yeah, we've been together for over two years now." With that, she planted a soft kiss on the side of Thunderlane's face and abandoned them briefly to pick up her toolbox. 
It really had been a long time since they'd seen each other.
Amethyst remained still, her mouth open and invisible tears rushing down her face like a waterfall. Dinky couldn't help herself - she burst out laughing in a fit of giggles till she noticed the menacing glare Amethyst Star was fixing on her. Wiping a humorous tear out of her eye, Dinky shut her mouth but smiled nonetheless.
"What's funny?" her mother asked casually, walking up to her daughters, the older of which was staring at Cloud Chaser, her face red as a strawberry. Only fatter and less appealing, Dinky concluded to herself with an inner giggle.
"Nothing," Dinky said, elbowing Amethyst in a silly, teasing way that made her grit her teeth and glare down at her. Returning her attention to her mom, she continued with a different question that nagged her. "Why's Cloud Chaser here anyway?"
"Came to help out - your mom said your car wouldn't start," Cloud Chaser said, placing the toolbox down as Dinky's mother opened the car door for her to climb in. The frizzy-maned pegasus pulled out a wrench. 
"Cloud's a real genius when it comes to fixing things," Thunderlane said, nudging her with a loving smile.
"Shut up," she shot back in a playful way, rolling her eyes at the compliment. "I'm only an amateur mechanic - not a genius." Her face turned redder at her boyfriend's remark. Cloud Chaser's face was prettier than Amethyst's when she blushed, Dinky realized with amusement.
Cloud Chaser emerged from her work nearly fifteen minutes later, her hooves brushed with soft stains of dark oil. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and nodded to Dinky and company that her job was done. The proud pony shut the hood of the car until it fit snuggly over the dented wiring the car had, and closed up her toolbox. "Should work now," she told them, climbing into the driver's seat to test it out. 
To everyone's relief, the car backed out of the driveway at Cloud Chaser's control. She pulled the vehicle back up to smile at everyone through the tinted glass windows. The door shut behind the pony as she stumbled out of the old car. "Sorry it took so long. I know you're running late."
Dinky's mother flashed her a warm, appreciative smile. "That's okay. Thanks for fixing my car, Cloud Racer."
"It's Cloud Chaser," the pegasus huffed, but her smile never faltered.
"Mom, are you driving?" Dinky asked out of curiosity.
The light gray pegasus still smiled but was very quick to say, "Oh, no no no. They took my driver's license away years ago. Your sister's driving." 
So that was why her mom never took her anywhere by car.
But a bad feeling crept through Dinky and her sick stomach. She didn't exactly like the idea of her sister driving them anywhere. Not after she had gotten several horrifying tickets on different occasions and had been arrested once. But Dinky had failed her driver's exam due to reasons she didn't like to talk or think about, and the gloominess of it all was enough to make her reluctantly sulk her way to the back seat of the rusty vehicle.
She hated the sharp and short screeching noise the door made when she shut it. It sounded like someone was scratching a chalk board. As far as Dinky knew that car was older than her, and she was extremely surprised to see it was still clinging on to the edge of life. No wonder why it was always breaking down... that is, when somepony ever used it. They weren't exactly the richest family so they had to cut back on the excess use of unnecessary gas needed.
Three ponies waved from their sad little car as it pulled from the driveway to the two pegasi out the window, returning their goodbyes with equal excitement and cheerfulness.
"Have a safe trip!" Cloud Chaser called out to them.
Like I have control over that, Dinky thought gloomily as the purple and dark gray pegasi became reduced to smaller, blurry figures and then to colorful dots the more and more the car began to pull away from them as it roared down the street. She shivered at the thoughts of hanging around her annoying extended family she usually did her best to avoid for a whole weekend. One. Entire. Weekend. That was like - an eternity when it came to staying with her crazy relatives.
Ahead as she leaned over, she could see the horizon's borderline, cut off by jagged points of trees and shadowed houses in the distance or any other objects that came to stand in the way. As the car screeched to make a sharp turn - this was more like a jolt that shocked Dinky's heart - nothing but gravel, sidewalk, and bland houses of their neighborhood came into view. She sunk into her seat as she allowed herself a second to relax when most of the hardcore, roller coaster-like maneuvering of the car had slowed. Her ears immediately were filled with annoying, long, laments slung from the mouth of her impatient sister as she kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead of her.
"I don't get it!" the older mare hissed, suddenly and without any warning turning onto a more narrow, busy street buzzing with cars and ponies trotting to and from random places. "I mean, what could Cloud Chaser possibly have that I don't?" Even though Dinky could not see her face, she could tell Amethyst was turning a bit red with anger as she always did when she became passionately upset.
"Isn't he a bit old for-" Dinky began, growing amused again now, and smirked as her sister caught her expression through the mirror and growled.
"Shut up. Anyway, I know Cloud Chaser's a nice pony and all, but I really think Thunderlane is missing out." She jerked the steering wheel to the right for the car to obey in a swift, streaking motion that nearly burned the rubber on the black tires. Dinky raised an eyebrow and her sister noticed it, menacingly shooting her a glare quickly before focusing on the road above her. After narrowly avoiding a squirrel that had scampered across the street, and receiving the sound of multiple car horns setting off at her, Dinky spoke.
"Don't you think you shouldn't be driving if you're this upset -" 
"I'm not upset," Amethyst interrupted again, obviously lying. "Besides, what do you know about driving? You didn't even get your driver's license."
"Amy," their mother, who had been listening intently to the hostile conversation, snapped suddenly, one of her gleaming golden eyes fixed on her daughter while the other trailed off into some random point out of the window. It was hard for anyone to take her seriously with her eyes' conditions, but Amethyst knew she meant business by the tone of her voice.
In response, Amethyst shrugged and muttered an insincere attempt at an apology. Dinky accepted it anyway. With an annoying older sister like her, she'd take what she could get in the blink of an eye, and she so generously allowed Amethyst to continue on with her rant. The fact that she didn't get her driver's license bugged her, but she did her best to ignore the taunts thrown at her from Amethyst on a typical day's notice.
Two hours in and Dinky was practically begging her sister to get off the freeway and find a place for them to stop and eat, for Celestia's sake. Amethyst waved her off and said that the next exit would lead too far away from their destination and it would take awhile for them to turn back to the freeway.
"But I'm so hungry - You're the worst sister ever - ANSWER ME!" Dinky's angry insults were drowned out by Amethyst's hardcore rock music that was advancing in loudness. Overflowing with frustration, the younger unicorn's rage got the best of her. She had been amazingly patient with her sister's annoying ways for too long and she wanted to be repaid. Not noticing how her mother was growing steadily anxious and nervous, Dinky's hoof bolted out in front of her without even thinking to turn off the radio and cut the startling, insane music.
"Dinky! That was the best part of the song!" Amethyst swatted her hoof away and the two sisters bickered over the music station for a brief moment, the aforementioned's attention being divided between the struggle and her driving. The car swerved into three different lanes due to the lack of care Amethyst began to display.
Their mother watched on, growing shy and more nervous now, and retreated to the corner of her seat, peering out from under her hooves with cautious eyes (something she did not often do when her daughters fought, so this was very strange.) Neither of them noticed her as they were so involved in having their own way.
After Amethyst's pink hoof struck Dinky softly but firmly on the nose, the younger sister screeched, "If you don't exit the freeway right now I'm calling Thunderlane to tell him you have a massive crush on him!"
A loud gasp was elicited from Amethyst and she struggled to hit her sister the more she slunk out of her reach to retrieve her phone (to show she wasn't lying.) "You wouldn't dare!"
Blinded by frustration, Dinky held the phone out of reach as Amethyst's hoof reached back to snatch it from her. The result ended in the car being driven a little more-than-slightly out of control as several other drivers honked furiously at them.
They must have thought Amethyst was drunk or something.
A devious smirk settling upon her face, Dinky laughed as she pretended to dial Thunderlane's number with her hoof, pressing the cell phone against her face and ear when she supposedly finished.
"DINKY!" 
"Hello, is this Thunderlane?" she spoke into the phone. "Oh, hi, it's Dinky." Had Thunderlane actually been on the other line, he might have heard several cries of frustration and fury along with burning insults meant for Dinky spoken by Amethyst in the background. "I was just calling to tell you that Amethyst loves y-"

And that was how they ended up eating hayburgers that were strangely colored gray and hay fries that were burnt and overly crispy at the shady, deserted shack of a restaurant by the freeway that reeked of smoke and alcohol despite it surprisingly not being a bar. In other words, it was heaven, according to Dinky, who hadn't eaten in at least twenty-four hours. Though the menacing stares of the waiters who carried strange scents and had tattoos leaking all over their body stirred her, she was too hungry not to appreciate the awful meal. It was at least better and a lot more edible than her mother's cooking most of the time. 
Amethyst, however, was not so amazed by the unappealing plate of food sitting before her, the sickly foul smell disagreeing with her system. It was hard to tell if their mother enjoyed the food or not, given the fact that she simply maintained a neutral expression whilst finishing her portion of the meal. She didn't smile or frown. She didn't talk. This was so obviously strange of her, but neither of her daughters pointed it out or acknowledged it.
Out of the corner of her eye, Dinky noticed a pair of icy eyes fixed intently on them. The minute she felt unsettled, the pony's head whipped around to see a bulky, scruffy-maned pony turn away from them to hide the fact that he was staring. Unnerved by the stallion, she held him at a cautious look from a distance until she noticed his figure was growing nearer and nearer to her table.
The light brown pegasus obviously had a strange limp, something Dinky didn't notice till he began to edge closer towards them. His icy blue eyes scorched into her soul, making her heart leap with tension and nervousness. Another thing she realized about him was that he had a very strange scar tugging at his left eye, but she tried not to stare out of it as they made eye contact for a brief moment, not wanting to come off as rude or disrespectful. Definitely not to a pony that looked like that.
The looming figure approached their table, carrying a strong and strange scent with him. A crooked smile attempted to climb the side of his face, but ultimately failed as he noticed the weird expressions the ponies before him were shooting him. He reached into the pocket of his apron to retrieve a small notebook and pen. He opened his mouth and hissed in a croaky, raspy voice, "Would you like to see a dessert menu?" 
The family exchanged glances and in turn, their mother shook her head but smiled. "No thank you. We'll take the check, please."
The pony gave a grunt that sounded somewhat discouraged and unsatisfied with her answer. The waiter turned and left them, returning to his station with a slow limp.
Amethyst stretched out her arms above her after taking in the strangeness of the moment and attempting to break it. "So... Can I see the map, Mom?" 
Their mother froze. 
"...Mom?" Amethyst's eyes narrowed and a bad feeling settled in all of their stomachs. Whether it was from the food or not was left unclear at the moment. "Mom? You do still have the map, don't you?" She nearly gritted her teeth waiting for an answer that was not given right away.
Their mother nervously smiled, tapping her soft hooves together slowly. "Um... Well.. You see, uh..." She gulped, and laughed in a hoarse voice. "I... I think I might have lost it..."
"Mom!" Dinky nearly gasped. She just couldn't believe this. After all the trash she had to sit through so far! 
"Where could you possibly have lost it?!" Amethyst nearly shouted, seeping with frustration. "We were with you the whole time!"
"I'm sorry!" their mother said back, holding her face in her hooves. "I'm really sorry. It was in my bag, and think I might have left it when we stopped in the public bathroom a long time ago...." 
Dinky sighed. "It's okay, Mom.... What else was in the bag?"
"Nothing, just muffins..." 
"Alright, well-- Wait, you had food all this time, and didn't tell us?!" Dinky groaned.
"They weren't even that great...I'm so sorry! I should have said something... I'm the worst mother ever!" Her crooked eyes were now watering with tears.
Dinky sighed heavily, and Amethyst crumpled her napkin as a way to safely express her anger without hurting anypony.
"No, no you aren't the worst mother ever, you're a great mother..." Dinky meant this, truly, but she couldn't help being a bit frustrated at both of the facts revealed to her. "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. It's okay, Mom." The pony reached out to hold her mother's shaking hoof. 
None of them noticed their waiter standing by their table until he cleared his throat in a gruff, hoarse octave. He had brought them the check as requested, and had been eyeing them over with his bushy eyebrows raised a few inches more than normal.
"Is everything okay here?" he continued to ask, though he did not necessarily look interested or concerned through his mysterious and dark appearance.
"Augh - do you know how to get to Fillydelphia from here?" Amethyst began, coughing slightly as the tall pegasus towered over their table. 
His hoof lifted behind him to scratch the mess of black hair that was atop his head. Deep in thought for a brief moment, he answered them. "Just take the freeway up to Exit 309 and make a left-hand turn, continue down the road until you reach Trotting Street, then turn left again..."

Nothing quite stirred in the murky levels of the foggy forest. The only thing one might have been able to hear was the rumbling in the distance that grew louder-- tires on the gravelly, dark road cruising through the mysterious shade of the woods.
It would have been impossible to see anything three inches away from their noses if it weren't for the pair of dimly lit headlights that were standing on its last legs. They seemed as if they could burn out any minute and leave the vehicle driving into descending darkness, unsure where the heck it was going.
"I can't believe this," a voice from the inside nearly hissed. "You got us lost again!" 
"We're not lost!" Amethyst's squeaky, girly voice shot back with the same amount of power. "We're simply misplaced. And I know what I'm doing!"
	
"No, you really don't."
"Be quiet. You'll wake Mom up. And I do know what I'm doing."
"If you knew what you were doing we wouldn't be stuck in the creepiest place in Equestria at half past midnight!" Dinky whisper-shouted.
"Shut up. I don't need your attitude." Amethyst's eyes narrowed to squint through her level of vision, trying to make out the road in front of her. The forest seemed to go on and on for an eternity - it never stopped, and they would never make it out alive.
"I'm sorry," Dinky said simply, heaving a slight sigh. "I guess I'm just really tired."
"Go to sleep then," her sister snapped in a stern yet quiet voice. "I won't miss you."
Amethyst Star was about to get her wish. But just as Dinky was drifting off, letting the warm embrace of sleep take her to a dreamland...
THUMP.
The whole car shook violently for a brief moment, and Dinky's head zipped up from its position on the uncomfortable, lumpy wall of the car door. Bloodshot golden eyes scraped over her surroundings. "What was that?"
"I dunno..." Amethyst sounded worried, but didn't stop. "I.. I think I might have hit something."
"What?"
"I don't know." The car stopped suddenly after losing speed, the sound of the rumbling tires turning over dirt fading away till the vehicle came to a complete stop.
"Why'd you stop?"
"I didn't." Amethyst groaned loudly, almost loud enough to wake her mother up. "No, no, no. This cannot be happening!" Her hooves beat the steering wheel out of fury.
Before Dinky could respond, her sister's car door swung open into the night. Hooves met the chilly path of dirt and even Dinky could feel the rush of cold air that filled the car through the gap the car door created when open. She shivered, but stared out the window to make eye contact with her barely visible sister anyway.
Soon later, the door shut behind as Amethyst climbed back into the car to keep warm. She would have screamed in frustration had she not been considerate enough as to not wake up her mother who surprisingly hadn't already woken up.
"Hit a rock," Amethyst explained, not meeting Dinky's eyes. Not that there was enough light for her to notice anyway. 
Dinky's heart sank. It felt like... like it was losing air inside of it and was slowly deflating. Like the tire of their sad little car, stuck in a forest in the middle of nowhere not far past midnight.
But Dinky hardly had time to mutter "Seriously?" in a voice she struggled to maintain low before Amethyst's horn lit up, revealing a bright rose aura veil that surrounded everything around her. She used her special unicorn magic to cause a cell phone to rise from its position in her luggage in the back of the car and float slowly over to her in a glowing magenta ring.
The unicorn swore under her breath. "No reception," She hissed lowly, holding her head in her hooves. "It's all my fault... I'm so sorry, Dinky... I let you guys down..."
Dinky didn't have the heart to tell Amethyst she told her so. Instead, she let out a deep sigh and placed a hoof around her deeply upset sister's shoulder. "It's okay..." she whispered, trying to find the words. "Uh, the car was going to run out of gas out here inevitably anyway at some point..."
She didn't even notice that tears were streaking down Amethyst's face until her hoof reached to cup the side of it and was met with the feel of it being warm and wet, stained with the matter. 	
"I'm the worst sister ever," she lamented, rejecting Dinky's offer of comfort by turning her back to her at once and sobbing into the wheel of the car.
"No... C'mon, don't say that." Dinky groaned. 
"But it's true! I can't even manage one stupid drive to Fillydelphia! I.. I failed the whole family... I'm so selfish, I - I'm so ashamed of myself, Dinky... I really am..." her sentence was cut off by snivels and soft sobs.
"Be quiet, Amethyst," Dinky growled. "You know that isn't true. That's the opposite of the truth. I don't think I could've done any better. It could've happened to anyone." She shook her head in disbelief - she was certainly not wanting to sound stern, but at the same time was frustrated in everyone suddenly being self conscious and in need of comfort provided by Dinky, their nearest loved one offering such warm, yet forced kind words.
Her sister's eyes pierced burning holes and Dinky swore she could almost feel her flesh peel under the scorching, non-existent sensation of such activity. "I know you couldn't have done any better! You know nothing compared to me! It was my job to get us there!"
Somewhat offended, the younger pony held her tongue and slunk back into her uncomfortable, lopsided seat, replaying several mean things she was tempted to say over and over in her mind. A short time period passed before another growl of frustration leaked out of Amethyst once she had remembered to say it: "And don't tell me to be quiet."
Tapping her hoof solemnly on the cold, shivery, sticky and bumpy gray flooring of the car - (what was that stuff made out of anyway?) - Dinky was too tired to be proud of herself for dominating the tears that were currently straining and stored at the brink of her eye line. Why, oh why does this have to happen to me? That line ran over and over, reeled again and again inside Dinky's tired, hurt mind which suffered violent waves from a strong headache.
A loud, piercing snore that shook the tense atmosphere told the two sisters that their mother was still in her vivid dreamland. Another one followed after the other, and this constant growling of the sleeping pony flooded through the cramped room of their car.
Dinky rubbed the side of her head with her hooves, cold as ice cubes, to soften the effects of the unbearable sharp pain in her temples and let out a soft moan of frustration. If only she were somewhere else! Anywhere but here! 


Wood screeched over tiles. A loud slam followed almost instantly, but it was barely audible through the sharp, merciless insults being hurled through the air and into the ears of the pony the insults were meant to tear at. 
It might as well have been a zoo in that house - the one by the nostalgic fruit orchard that carried the strong and spectacular scent of lemons and oranges and blossoming honey berries. The pleasant nature of the orchard did not collide well with the overly tense atmosphere radiating from that small house - anyone in Ponyville might have heard the obsessive ponies' intense battle locked in severe, hurtful words of hate
Snarls of horror and hatred fled the mouths of two pegasus brothers; nothing else mattered in the entire, vast and dreamy land of Equestria at that moment. The extreme argument shook the neighborhood; it reduced even the brashest of stallions and mares alike to stoic figures huddled close to each other, peeking their heads through the window ever-so-slightly to catch a glimpse of the furious ponies who were shredding each other with angry words.
"You can't just stay out of trouble anymore, can you? Have you even been listening to what I've been saying?! Nothing matters to you anymore!"
"Like you have something worthy of my time to say!"
"That's your problem! Nothing is ever good enough for you anymore!"
Wings shot up in an angry, aggressive rage and a burning desire to win the argument, to prove a point they so desperately were trying to prove, to have the last and final, meaningful word in their struggle without interruption. The feeling was equally mutual - no matter how hard either of them had to play, their minds were locked on getting their ways.
Rumble hissed and spat defensive lines back at the older, larger and stronger pegasus that loomed over him. All the tension that had been building up between him and his brother Thunderlane had been stressed and noticed. 
"You're a stupid, pathetic liar!" Thunderlane screamed with tears flooding down the hot, reddened sides of his dark gray face. "You lied to me! You promised!"
"I'm suddenly the liar?! When did you ever tell the truth?!" Rumble's hoof struck the ground. "You never believe anything I say! You think I like getting into fights all the time? It isn't my fault!"
"YOU'RE A BULLY AND A LIAR!" Thunderlane shouted at the top of his lungs.
"YOU'RE NOT EVEN LISTENING!" Rumble screamed back, his urges to fight and smite his brother with force rising as each demanding second passed. Finally he became overwhelmed as his amazing amount of anger took over him.
Not wanting to hear another word, the pegasus bolted out from his position and strained his ears for the upcoming sound of a door slamming. When it happened, it was louder than he had expected it to be - but he didn't care. With Thunderlane screaming behind him for him to get his sorry tail back in that room at that instant, followed by raging footsteps making their way for the door, Rumble scampered down the hall with tears streaming down his eyes.
How could a pony be so cruel?!
Did Thunderlane think that he liked getting picked on? That didn't dread waiting by the steps at school each day and knowing the familiar shape of the small, evil earth pony make his way down over to him to bully him more? And the fact that the younger, scrawnier Pipsqueak still intimidated him tore him apart. 
He thought he'd try it out. Just once. Just this once. He thought he might try to say something to stand up for himself. And of course, what was he thinking? Would Pipsqueak not react negatively to any sign of his showing that he wasn't going to stand for being abused every time their eyes met? 
All he said was one word. One word. In a quivering voice, he had spoken calmly. He was tired of being told nopony would ever love him. He was tired of being berated for not accomplishing amazing flying stunts or flying often - something pegasi should apparently waste their time doing forever until the day they died. Rumble simply said, "Stop."
And yet Pipsqueak had been beyond bewildered to hear such a word come from the mouth of the timid pegasus, given the fact that he'd shut himself down lately and stayed out of everyone's way. Heck, he didn't even hear Rumble say one word in a long time. But of the endless list of words Rumble might have said, it was "stop."
What did that mean to Pipsqueak? Did he know the definition of such a word? Had anypony ever told him that in his entire life? Maybe once, twice? 
But for some reason that word angered him. Burned holes in his wicked heart. Nopony tells Pipsqueak what to do. Ever. 
The school had, of course, called Thunderlane yet again to notify him of Rumble being a bully to the poor, dear Pipsqueak they all loved so much. 
And that was what angered him so darn much. Pipsqueak could get away with murder if he wanted to. Nopony ever believed Rumble when he objected to Pipsqueak's lies and wild accusations.
"Don't lie to me, Rumble."
"Yeah, right. That's what they all say, Rumble."
"Don't you know better than to pick on a pony younger than you, Rumble?"
And now not even his own brother believed him anymore when he was indeed innocent. His whole life was based off a bully and a liar, and nopony ever stopped to listen. To hear his side of the story. To take his words seriously. He was just a big joke everyone was supposed to do their best to ignore.
And he was sick of it. He was sick of being berated and tormented and abused and then being accused of doing such awful things. It was a cycle, it happened every single day. And Rumble was tired of dealing with it his whole life. 

So there he lay, listening to the roar of the water as he usually did, splayed out on the bed of soft green grass and tiny budding yellow flowers. He didn't even feel like shifting his body so that he reached out in more of the sun that lay in patches around him, flittering through the shady brush of trees that protected him. He didn't feel like doing anything anymore.
A disturbance in the sounding pattern of the rushing waves provoked him slightly. It sounded like a hoarse caw from a crow, being barely able to reach his strained ears through the rage of the waters. 
But it wasn't a bird, it was his phone, which was nestled in the soft grass around him, buzzing in an attempt to reach him. The pony let out an inaudible sigh as his head left the pillow of green grass below him, eyes dancing over the ground to lay on the object.
The alert wasn't anything worthwhile, however. It was simply an email sent to him from the school's principal informing him about that month's newsletter regarding the school and its activities held there. His tired purple eyes, half closed, scanned it briefly before he got tired of pretending to care and exited the window. 
He lay there, crumpled on the ground like a failure (that he was) and bored out of his mind. Rumble, however, was too tired to stop a random tear from breaking out of his control and sliding down the side of his cheek. He let out a soft sigh as he watched the lone dewdrop splatter across the screen of his phone after it left a trail of sadness down his face and let gravity decide its fate. His arm wiped the screen until the tear was gone, the tips of the straying fur on the limb brushed by faint water.

Dinky's face was covered by her hooves as she sobbed into them. Her life sucked. She had already tried getting cell phone reception herself - there was none, but she could at least try to scroll through her past text messages and clutch the golden chain containing the picture of her father for comfort in a failed attempt to calm herself.
It wasn't fair. She managed to pry her hooves away from her face and sniffle for a second before trying to go back to reading the phone messages she had sent, her vision blurred by soft and painful tears.
She felt so trapped. So useless. So... unlucky.

Rumble began to moan softly at the thoughts of Pipsqueak and Dinky-- two dominant figures in his life at the time that he didn't want to think about. 
But his teeth gritted together when his eyes trailed over Dinky's past conversations with him over texting - reminding him of their last painful, awkward visit together that he completely screwed up. It sent a shiver down his spine. And it wasn't from the cold he had been under these past few days.
Still, he continued reading.

Both of them began to read over their undelivered texts that never got to the other. Either of theirs read the exact same thing. Over and over again and again:

Wish you were here.