//------------------------------// // Chapter 13, Part 1: Sugar Cube Corner [OLD] // Story: The Soul's Savior // by Dusty Old Qrow //------------------------------// Time Turner was tired. The night before had been restless- full of tossing, turning and sweating instead of sleep. The thought of today terrified him. Today was the day that would decide if he got to be a father again. Would Derpy and Dinky forgive him for everything he’d done? Turner had no idea. He could only hope. Whatever they decide, he began in his thoughts. It’ll be their choice, and I have to respect that. If they don’t want to know me as their father, then they won’t. I’m lucky to even get this chance. His desperate thoughts served to solidify his resolve; he had to respect his daughters’ wishes, no matter what. Time Turner stood alongside Luna, just outside of Sugar Cube Corner, barely a few steps away from the glass doors. He could see inside the bakery and all of the people inside it. Mrs. Cake was behind the counter, finalizing a purchase with a teenager. Mr. Cake was not in immediate sight, but eventually walked out from the kitchen with a fresh order. And in the far right corner, were his daughters and their adoptive mother. Derpy sat straight up with her eyes wide, almost as if she was in fear. But then Turner saw her eyes move- they were aligned correctly, but they darted from side to side to side. She’s looking for me. Turner realized. He quickly brought his wrist to his eyes and rolled up his sleeves, checking his watch. Twelve thirty. I’m half an hour late. He slowly put his arm back at his side and continued watching the inside of the bakery. Derpy sat on the outside of the booth. In the middle was Berry Punch, who sat with a neutral yet tense expression on her face. Dinky, however, sat with her elbow on the table, which supported her head as she leaned on it. Her eyes were grumpy- almost angry. I... I thought she wanted to be here? “Time?” Luna asked, concern in her voice. “What are you waiting for?” Turner sputtered and his throat locked; there was no way he could go in there. “Luna, I...” “Don’t you want them back, Time?” “I-I-I do! God, yes, I do. But... I’m not sure if I...” He tilted his head downwards and closed his eyes. “Do I deserve this chance, Luna? Because I don’t think I do. I gave them up. I’m not their parent. But yet... Here I am, asking for their forgiveness...” He felt his eyes start to moisten, so he wiped them with his sleeve. “My point is... Should I go in?” Luna smiled sadly and put her hand in Turner’s, using her other hand to lift his chin. “Time...” She sighed slowly. “If you didn’t think you deserved this second chance, why are you standing here? You’ve had plenty of time to simply walk away. You could have said ‘no’, when Berry told you about this. But you’re here. You may not think you deserve this, but it isn’t a question of deservedness. It’s about if you want it. You said yourself that you want them back. So go get them, Time Turner.” “I... I... Right...” Shaking his head, Turner cast aside all of his doubts and confidently walked inside the bakery. Derpy’s eyes widened, either in happiness or shock, Turner couldn’t tell. Dinky gasped, but kept her head low and her eyes off of him. Berry Punch smiled softly as Turner walked over to their booth and sat on the opposite side of the three. Luna took her seat beside him. And as Time Turner sat in the booth, opposite his daughters and their adoptive mother, he began the most awkward minute of his life. He was too nervous to say anything- his throat closed and he started sweating underneath his blue suit and brown trenchcoat. Luna waited for Turner to say something. He fidgeted in his seat as he glanced from each woman across from him- Derpy seemed just as awkward as he was, Berry Punch just watched her adopted children with curious eyes and Dinky... She’s glaring at me. The younger sister had long since removed her elbow from the table and now sat up straight, glaring at her father, looking him in the eyes. Her breath was deep and angry, her glare sharp as daggers. Dinky took a deep breath and and started talking. “You should not be here, Mister Turner.” The pure venom in her words chilled Time Turner to the bone and made his blood run cold. The pure, unadulterated hatred behind Dinky's words caused all the people at the table to reel back in shock. Dinky's eyes were sharp, full of anger as they bore into Turner. Her sister was the first to recover. "D-Dinky..." Derpy sputtered. "What...?" Dinky slammed her hand on the table as she turned to face her sister and pointed at Turner. "All this time, sis! He knew! He could have turned up at any time, and he does it two months before graduation? Derpy, your college is halfway across the country, and mine is three states over! If he really wanted to be apart of our lives," Dinky again turned to face her father. "He would have come back sooner." Luna, angered, glared at Berry Punch. "You're going to allow your daughter to continue this?" Berry kept her cool, but still narrowed her eyes at the vice principal. "She came here to speak her mind. I'm not going to stop her unless she gets seriously out of hand." She moved her gaze to Turner. "And as far as I'm concerned, she hasn't." Turner was about to speak up, to tell everyone to calm down, but Luna yelled over him. "Turner has nothing to be sorry for! If anything, Celestia and I are the ones to blame for all of this!" The blue woman put her hands on the table and leaned forward. “Celestia and I made him tell them. It was not his fault!” Berry Punch crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes further. “So he would have never told them, then? He would, what, sit idly by and let them live without a father?” She scoffed. “You have no idea how many times I’d been asked ‘where’s daddy?’ before I told them that he’d died in that car crash. If he’d been less of a coward and come forward years ago, I wouldn't have had to hear my daughters cry every night over the death of a man they never knew. They were five, Luna. Two five year olds shouldn’t have to worry about not having parents!” Dinky smiled at her mother, agreeing. “And besides,” Berry continued. “He was too much of a coward to live, let alone raise two kids. How could he ever-” “ENOUGH!” Turner shouted, but to his surprise he wasn’t the only one- Derpy had shouted with him. Turner stared at his older daughter in slight shock, who stared at him right back. He blinked and hardened his gaze, looking at both Luna and Berry Punch. “Both of you, stop! Luna, we came here to hear what they have to say,” Turner sighed. “No matter how hard it may be. If this is what Dinky really believes... And I have no objections if it is... Then she has that right to speak it.” Luna nodded in understanding but kept her glare focused on Berry Punch as she leaned back in her seat. “Though I could have done without that jab at my suicide attempt, Ms. Punch.” Turner turned to his youngest daughter. “Now then. You were saying, Dinky?” The girl in question scoffed and glared at her father. “I have nothing else to say to you, Mister Turner.” Dinky turned away and stared out of the window, blocking out everything and everyone else. Derpy sighed and tried to reach past her mother to her sister, but Berry Punch calmly grabbed her hand and shook her head. “Leave her be, Derpy.” Berry said. “Give her time.” “B-But...!” The older sister tried to object. “We-We came to talk this out, not to... to... whatever this is! Mister Turner wants to know us, doesn’t he have that right?!” Derpy yelled. By this time, other customers had taken notice of the drama, and several of them had stopped to stare. Among the onlookers were several of Turner’s students- this secret wouldn’t remain that way for long. “Derpy Hooves,” Berry Punch began sternly. “Time Turner gave you up. You’re not his daughters, you’re mine.” She looks... Sad, Turner noticed. Almost worried... He spoke up. “Berry,” he began slowly. “You’ve been acting aggressive ever since we started this. I understand Dinky being apprehensive about me- Hell, I understand her hating me. But you? You were my friend.” He took a shaky breath as he continued. “You were Ditzy’s friend. Do you think that she would want you to keep your daughters away from me... out of fear they’d leave you? Because let me tell you... “She would have never wanted that. They won’t leave you, Berry. You’re their mother. I’m not here to change that.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dinky study him as she turned her head forward. “I’m here for two things: Do your daughters want to know me, and will they let me know them? “Those are the questions.” Berry Punch glared at him, her eyes narrower than ever before. She clenched her fists and leaned forward, pure venom in her eyes. “You hypocrite. You say ‘this isn’t what Ditzy would have wanted’ when you’ve already done worse twice over. You tried to kill yourself, Time Turner. Then you gave up your children. Do you think that’s what she would have wanted? Do you? Because I sure as hell don't." Berry Punch gave an angry sigh as she leaned back. "Now get out." Turner's mouth hung agape. Her words left him speechless, unable to form words as his breath caught in his lungs. She was right. Completely and utterly right. Dejectedly, Time Turner slowly pushed Luna out of his way as he got out of the booth, stood and walked out of the store. Luna stood, angry. She turned to Berry Punch, who sat motionless. "I hope you're happy, Ms. Punch." She put as much weight on her words as possible- a last 'I hate you' before leaving- and rushed out of the store after her friend. "Time!" She called as she burst through the doors and into the sidewalk. She saw him sitting there, on the edge of the sidewalk, his arms over his knees and his head in his hands. His brown trenchcoat lay beside him, discarded, revealing his blue suit. "I blew it." He mumbled as Luna sat beside him. "My last chance. My last chance to make things right and I blew it!" Turner exclaimed, his voice full of despair. He used his sleeve to wipe his eyes as his continued. “What am I going to do, Luna? They’ll see me every weekday. I have them both for Science. And every day they’ll see me... And they’ll know what a failure I’ve been.” Luna took his hands in her own and looked him in the eye. “Time Turner, you stop that. Stop it right now. I don’t care what you say about yourself. You are not a failure, and you never have been. Berry Punch may not want you to interact with Derpy and Dinky, but you tried. That’s better than what could be said about most fathers. You went out of your way to give them the best life that you could. And it was only after you knew that you wouldn’t jeopardize that did you try to make yourself known to them. You’ve tried your best, Time. You are not a failure.” She spoke with such certainty, such emotion and clarity... Turner wanted to believe her. But you’re wrong, Luna, he wanted to object. But some force, whether it be himself or something else, prevented him from forming any words other than... “Thank you.” He slowly blinked the tears from his eyes. He found Luna staring into them. She lifted a hand and placed it on his cheek as she smiled. He smiled back. She leaned in. He did too. And together, they kissed. Hours Later... Sunset was hungry. Sure, she had dinner with the other girls just a few hours ago, but when one is homeless your stomach tends to demand more food when you get some. So here she was, rummaging in the fridge in Dash's kitchen at one o'clock in the morning, with no light other than the one in five fridge. Her stomach growled yet again, rather loudly, causing her to grasp it with her free hand in a vain attempt to make it shut up. She looked around her and listened for any sounds, but nobody was coming to look for her. She went back to snooping around. She exclaimed in victory as she pulled out a microwave pizza- the sight of which made her stomach growl even more. As quickly as she could, Sunset grabbed a plate and put it and the pizza in the microwave. She pressed start and waited. "What're you doing?" To say that Sunset jumped at Rainbow Dash's voice would be an understatement. She almost leaped into the air with a high-pitched yelp, turning around on a heel with wide eyes to face her athletic friend. However, as Sunset tried to regain her balance she slipped and went crashing down to the floor, landing on her behind hard. "Oh, crap, are you okay?" Dash fretted as she saw Sunset fall, rushing over to help her up. "Sorry," Dash chuckled lightly. "Didn't think I'd scare you." With Sunset back on her feet, Dash took her arm off her friend's shoulder and stepped away. "But seriously, you alright? You seem kinda jumpy." Sunset chuckled nervously, sliding her pupils from side to side with her hands behind her back. Oh, just stealing your food, she snarked in her mind. Outloud she replied “Oh, n-nothing...?” Her face gave away her lie- her pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks and she was sweating bullets. Rainbow Dash raised a skeptical eyebrow, obviously not buying it. “Uh huh. And it wouldn’t have anything to do with the microwave, right? You know, the one that’s cooking a pizza. Right there. Behind you.” She crossed her arms, waiting for an answer. Sunset stammered, looking for the right words, but then the microwave beeped, signaling that the pizza was finished. Sunset sighed. "I stole some pizza..." Dash grinned. "Stole? Sunset, you're my friend; you're welcome to my food!" The athlete assured the former bully as she walked over to the microwave and took the pizza out of it. "The pizza cutter's in the drawer down there," Dash pointed at the drawer in question. Sunset, still a little ashamed, slowly reached for the drawer. Knock. Knock. Knock. Whatever was pounding on the front door did so with enough force to make it heard from the kitchen, causing both girls to jump. "What the- who the hell is knocking at this hour?!" Dash yelled in anger. Another set of loud, forceful knocks caused her face to grow darker. She stomped out of the kitchen and to the door, opening it with fury. “What the hell do you get off to, knocking like that at one in the-” She cut herself off abruptly. Crimson Napalm shoved the barrel of a gun directly in front of her. “What the hell?!” She shouted as she jumped back quickly. Napalm moved forward clumsily, staring directly at her, never moving the gun’s barrel away from Dash. “Give us the magic.” The teenage boy said slowly, almost tiredly, as two other boys emerged from the doorway, one holding a very sharp looking knife and the other holding a baseball bat. Rainbow Dash gulped.