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Chapter 3: Aunt Millie's Arrival
With the mare both mother and daughter dreaded having arrived, Derpy and Dinky reluctantly let go of each other and turned around.
Derpy was the first one who talked to Millie. “Uh, hi, sis!” she greeted her.
Dinky didn't say anything, instead, she just eyed her aunt as she walked through the door and put a heavy suitcase down. She had an expression in her eyes that looked like she would soon start to fire daggers at her.
The next thing that Aunt Millie did was approaching Dinky, her hooves stretched out. She clearly intended to hug her and Dinky grimaced. “Oh, finally I can see my favourite niece again, Derpy, how does it come you don't invite me more often, your little daughter here must die from not seeing me for so long!” she said as she wrapped Dinky up.
An answer on this question came from Dinky, instead of her mother, as a deep groan left her mouth.
Millie placed a wet kiss on Dinky's cheek, leaving traces of her red lipstick there, then she reached out for the muffin in Dinky's hooves, on which she had her eyes almost the whole time. She tried to grab it, but Dinky was faster and with a defiant smirk on her lips, she put the rest of the blueberry muffin into her mouth and started chewing on it. Her eyes showed satisfaction as she saw her aunt's face falling apart in front of her.
“Oh! Young lady, what are these manners I have to see?!” Frantically, Millie turned around to Derpy. “Derpy, why is she acting like this to her aunt? She wasn't like this the last time when I was here, tell me, what has spoiled her? We must do something against it immediately!”
A sheepish and flustered expression appeared on Derpy's face. She laughed nervously, while her eyes darted around slightly. “There is nothing, really. Dinky is just Dinky as always.”
As Millie saw Derpy's irritated reaction, her voice became more soft. “I see. You had always trouble raising her right, but don't worry, I'm going to find out where this nasty habit comes from and once I'm gone, she will be a better little filly.” Having addressed this statement, she turned her attention back to Dinky again. “Have you heard, Dinky? I know your mother always gives you too much leeway, but we're going to fix this while I'm here!” She pinched Dinky's cheek and ruffled through her mane, which Dinky acknowledged with another groan and an annoyed roll with her eyes, then Millie lifted up her suitcase again and approached the stairs.
“So, Derpy, won't you show me in which room I'm sleeping while I'm here? Or should I just assume it is the same one as last time?” There was a slight impatience in her voice, clearly a reaction to it that Derpy didn't do any attempts to show her the guest room so far.
Derpy, who was more busy with disapprovingly watching how her big sister interferred with her education for Dinky, looked at her surprised. “Oh! Sorry, I, uh, got caught up in some thinking and didn't pay attention. I show you the room.” Derpy motioned towards the stairs too and up on them, with Millie following her closely.
“Oh, Derpy.....” A laugh escaped Millie's throat. “You are still as ditzy as you were as a filly, I guess some things really never change.” Another laugh from Millie.
Unhearable to Millie, Derpy let out a deep sigh as she led her further up the stairs.
Dinky looked after her mom and her aunt, the conversation between them becoming dull and quiet as they moved up to the second floor. As they had disappeared from her sight, Dinky cantered into the kitchen, having a certain target in mind. She approached the table with the plate of blueberry muffins on it and, without wasting time, lifted up five of them with her magic and put them into her saddlebags, two at one side and three at the other one. She had to squeeze the last muffin a little as she tried to get it into her right saddlebag, but eventually it worked and she hectically closed it again as she heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs. Reflexively, she reached for another muffin from the plate then, took it into her hooves and bit a huge chunk out of it, as much as could fit into her mouth. She had just started munching on the delicious, soft mass of pastry and blueberries as her mom and her aunt walked into the kitchen.
Another shocked expression appeared in Millie's face and with quick tempo, she approached her niece. Dinky tried again to prevent her aunt from getting the muffin, but her mouth was still full and couldn't take anymore right now, so she used her magic and tried to hover it out of Millie's reach. Unfortunately, Millie was quicker this time and with a swift grab, she pulled the muffin out of the air and squashed it with her hoof, holding it so firm that Dinky didn't stand a chance and had to give up. Her aura vanished around the muffin.
“Ha, not this time, young lady!” Millie exclaimed triumphantly. “Maybe this mischief is working with your mother, but not with me.”
Now it were Derpy's eyes who began to shoot daggers. “I don't even try to prevent her from eating muffins.....” she pressed out between clenched teeth, loud enough that Millie could hear her interjection.
But Millie didn't pay attention and let Derpy's statement hang in the air. Instead of answering, she trotted up to the table and pulled the tray with the muffins closer to her. She started to inspect them, a clear frown on her face. Then she waved at them derogatory and threw the squashed muffin she took from Dinky on the tray. “Derpy.....” she began to speak again and immediately trailed off with a sigh. “This is just no food for a filly. I can see all the fat and cholesterine glistening on those muffins. If you continue to feed her with them, she will become fat and soon she will have a stroke from all of it.”
Behind her back, Derpy facehoofed.
Now Dinky said something for the first time since her aunt's arrival. “I'm not getting fat from muffins! I'm eating muffins for years and do I really look fat?” To demonstrate what she just said, Dinky rose onto her hindlegs and presented her underbelly to her aunt. She moved her forehooves over it and under them, one could see her muscles getting shifted around. Right above it, on her chest, where less muscles were, even a slight hint of her ribs could be seen. “See?” Dinky asked her aunt, slightly provocative. “There isn't any fat on me!”
But her aunt remained unimpressed. “Oh, there is, darling, trust me. It's all inside of you, it clumps together inside of your veins and arteries until the blood doesn't get through anymore and then you have a stroke from it and it kills you.”
Blood indeed vanished from some of Dinky's veins now, the ones in her face, to be precise. The reason for that was a different one, though. Beginning to feel defeated, she sunk down on all fours again. She opened her mouth for another counter, but Millie put a hoof onto it and interrupted the attempt to talk.
“Hush now!” she said. “Trust your aunt a bit more, I know what I'm talking about!” As she had removed the hoof from Dinky's mouth leaving her with a pout on her lips only, Millie lifted up the tray with the muffins and swiftly approached a bin in the corner of the kitchen. Both Dinky and Derpy followed her like on command, but before they could reach the obnoxious mare, she had already dropped all the muffins on the plate into the bin. Millie trotted to the sink and let the now empty plate glide into it. Then she turned around again, to find herself looking into the shocked faces of a mother and her daughter who shared a deep love for muffins.
Soon, their faces turned into anger and now it was Derpy who spoke up. “Millie.....” the blonde pegasus mare hissed at her. “I didn't ask you to come to throw food away that I made for Dinky!” She stomped with a hoof on the floor.
The unexpected reaction let Millie twitch back a little, but just for a second. Then her trademark importunity continued. “Oh, don't worry, Derpy dear, I will bake new food for her. I brought my recipe book with me, so there won't be any shortage for my little niece. There is nothing wrong about muffins per se, but you need to make the right ones for her and I'm going to bake Dinky some muffins that won't endanger her health.”
Nothing of this speech did something to quench Derpy's anger, though. In fact, it increased it. “I also didn't ask you to come so that you could change Dinky's diet!” Derpy was shouting at her sister now. Her patience was used up. “What Dinky eats is my decision and not yours!”
Millie just rolled her eyes over this statement. “Oh, sure, your decision.....” She turned around, carried the bin in which she just threw the muffins over and held it in front of Derpy's face. “This is your decision. Unhealthy food that puts your daughter at risk of getting affected by all sorts of diseases and questionable medical conditions. Food that only harms her. Your decisions will kill her one day, Derpy.”
Derpy wanted to reply something, but like before with Dinky, Millie just put a hoof on her mouth. “And that's not even the worst of your decisions, I can see that clearly. I'm not even here for five minutes and all your daughter gives me is an unbehaved smirk and complete disrespect. She did not even welcome her aunt. I don't even want to know what kind of 'decision' led to it that she became such a brat.”
“Hey, I'm not a brat, I just don't–“ Dinky interferred, but Millie interrupted her with more rambling.
“There you have it. Your daughter is not able to greet me after not seeing me for years and only complains about everything I'm saying even, which leads me to believe that she reacts with the same rudeness to her friends, her teacher and even to yourself, Derpy. This is a sign of miserable education! How can you expect me to trust your decisions in raising her when she shows such an impolite behavior, little sister?”
With her mouth free again, Derpy wanted to reply something once more, but this time, it was easier said than done. It was impossible to deny that what Millie just said made sense, yet Derpy knew the reason why Dinky reacted like this to her and that she was way different around herself, her big sister and other ponies. It already was on Derpy's tongue to tell Millie that the only reason why Dinky reacted like this to her was because of her own, demeaning way she treated her with, but when thinking about it to throw the truth into the face of her big sister like this, Derpy felt her heart sinking. All the anger that had built up in her when she saw how Millie was throwing away Dinky's muffins she had worked so hard on crumbled all of a sudden and all that remained was a cold feeling and a bit of fear.
Derpy tried to speak out this truth anyway, but when she found herself unable to and the unpleasant feeling inside of her grew too strong, she sighed defeatedly and turned around to her daughter. “Dinky..... Go and give your aunt a hug. She came to watch over you for a week and has cancelled all her own appointments for you. Please give her a welcome at least.” She looked at Dinky with pleading, yet sad, eyes.
Dinky felt her heart sinking too now. She still remembered with horror how the almost exact situation happened years ago, and it felt as awful as back then.
Expectantly, her aunt looked at her. “So, what now? Will you give me a hug and show me that you aren't such a horrible, ill-mannered filly, after all?”
Dinky looked around between the sad face of her mom and the curious face of her aunt. Finally, she gave in and with a sigh, she wrapped her hooves around her aunt in a reluctant, loveless hug. “Hi, Aunt Millie. Thanks for coming,” she said stoically.
Millie answered the hug and pulled Dinky closer. “Well, finally. I thought this would never happen.” Then she looked over to her younger sister. “Derpy, you really must listen to me more and stop arguing so much. I can see that you are overchallenged with raising Dinky, but I am your sister and I want to help you.”
Weakly, Derpy nodded. “Okay, sis,” she said obediently.
Satisfied with the outcome of the heated debate, Millie gave Dinky a last squeeze, then she let go of her. She turned her back to Derpy and Dinky to return the bin into the corner.
Dinky used the opportunity to shoot her mom a glance. She already felt anger rising in her again, but remembering what happened because of this at the morning, she suppressed it this time, and only looked desperately at her mom instead of angry. Derpy answered the glance in the same fashion and formed the word “Sorry” with her lips. Suddenly, a few tears shot into Dinky's eyes. She wrapped her mom into a hug and dried her eyes at her coat, as she didn't want to show her aunt that she was crying. Derpy put a hoof around Dinky and they stayed like this for a few seconds until they got distracted by Millie a second time on this day. To both of them, this coincidence felt like a weird, cosmic formula the universe forced upon them.
“Oh, now look at this!” the voice of Millie sounded softly over to them. “Well, at least you seem to love your mom as it should be for a filly like you. Maybe it isn't completely hopeless then.”
The implication that she couldn't love her mom earned Millie an angry glare by Dinky, which Millie didn't notice because she looked up to the clock on the wall right after she ended her sentence. Upon seeing the time, an alarmed expression appeared on Millie's face.
“But Derpy, isn't it time for you to leave already?” she alerted her.
Alarmed as well, Derpy released the hug, something Dinky only let happen very reluctantly, and looked up at the clock too. “You're right,” she said then, regret in her voice. When she looked at Dinky once more, it became apparent that, after all that happened in these few minutes since Millie arrived, she really would prefer to stay here with Dinky, instead of leaving her in the care of her big sister Millie. “I'm sorry, Dinky, but it's time,” she addressed the inevitable to her daughter.
Dinky's lips pointed downwards now. “Do you really have to go?” she asked her.
“Yes,” Derpy replied. “They won't move the training to another week just for me, Dinks, I have no choice but to attend.” She reached up with a hoof and ruffled through Dinky's mane. “But I'm sure you're gonna make it, Dinks, you're strong!” She wrapped Dinky into a hug on her own and brought her mouth close to her right ear. The next words Derpy only whispered. “Don't worry too much about the muffins, Dinks. Sparkler is keeping a few for you in her room.”
Dinky pulled away from her mom a little and looked at her with big, surprised eyes. She giggled, then she returned into the hug and brought her own mouth at one of Derpy's ears. “I have hidden some in my saddlebags too before she could throw them away.”
Now Derpy's eyes grew big in surprise and she giggled as well. After a few more exchanged squeezes, they finally let go of each other. Both having smirks in their faces, they exchanged a conspirative hoofbump, which caused Millie to give them a suspicious look and she rose an eyebrow, but ultimately didn't say anything.
Then Derpy lifted up her mailbag, that she had already prepared while Dinky was in school, from a hook on the wall and hang it over her neck. Derpy glanced over to Millie a last time and gave her a short wave to say goodbye, then she and Dinky left the kitchen together.
At the entrance of the house, Derpy ruffled through Dinky's mane again. “Keep your head up, okay, Dinks? If anything bad happens, talk with Sparkler about it when she returns home after work.”
Dinky nodded and then, she wrapped her mom into yet another hug, having even more desire for physical contact with her now. Derpy reciprocated it and reiterated her words from earlier in the kitchen about how strong Dinky was. “I have to leave now if I don't want to be late, Dinks,” she then added after a few more seconds of embracing her daughter.
Reluctantly, Dinky let go once more. “Goodbye mommy,” she said, with her voice breaking from sadness. She activated her magic and, wrapped into a yellow aura, the door of their house opened slowly.
Derpy did a few steps outside, followed by Dinky who stayed under the doorframe, and turned around a last time to Dinky. Following a final ruffle through her mane she said “If you stay strong, Dinks, I will return before you know it.” Then she flapped her wings and flew up a few feet, with Dinky looking after her sadly. She waved at her. “Bye Dinks, until Saturday!”
Dinky waved back at her mom. “Bye, mommy!” her sad voice rang up to her.
Derpy winked at her, then she turned finally around and took off into the sky towards Canterlot in full speed.
Dinky looked after her until she couldn't see her anymore, then she returned inside and closed the door with her magic. For a few seconds, Dinky just stood there and eyed the door, unwilling to return into the kitchen. She felt like just going up into her room now and to lock herself inside of it, but there were still her saddlebags in the kitchen that fell down on the floor as she tried to proof her aunt that muffins don't make her fat. She needed them to make her homework for today and, more importantly, to bring the muffins inside into safety and hide them inside of her room. She had no choice but to return.
Dinky took a deep breath, then she averted her gaze from the door and trudged back into the kitchen. As she arrived there, she saw her aunt sitting at the kitchen table and waving her over.
“Dinky, come here and sit down, there's something I want to talk about with you.”
Dinky gritted her teeth, then she continued her trudge to the table and took seat opposite of Millie. She could have asked her what she wanted, but Dinky was determined to keep any conversation she would have with her aunt until her mom's return on Saturday as short as possible, so she was silent and just looked at her aunt with a frown until she began to speak.
“Okay, now that your mom is gone.....” She sighed a little and then continued. “Dinky, I know that you don't like me. But I want you to respect me like you respect your mom and that you listen to the things I'm saying. Even if you don't like it, I am your aunt and I only want what is best for you. Do you understand this?”
Without letting the frown disappear, Dinky answered taut “Yes, I understand, aunt.” The answer caused a smile to build up on her aunt's face. “Can I go into my room now? I have a lot of homework to do.”
“Of course, I wouldn't like you to do anything else now! Learning for school is important for a filly like you. And while you are busy, I will make you some real food!”
Without giving another answer, Dinky slid off of her chair and snagged her saddlebags from the floor. She put them on her back again, then she eagerly trotted out of the kitchen at a fast pace and up into her room. She kept up that tempo, increased it even, until she was in the safety of her room.
Dinky leaned her back against the door, closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. “Maybe she will leave me alone at least in here,” she uttered to herself in a hopeful manner. After staying like this for a few seconds, she got up again before her saddlebags could fall to the floor once more. She trotted up to her bed, took them off and put them on it. Carefully, she opened the bags with her magic and took out the muffins. They were deformed a lot now, especially the one she had to squeeze into them in the first place, apparently, the impact when the saddlebags landed on the floor had hit them hard. But Dinky just shrugged. Even deformed blueberry muffins were better than everything her aunt would bake for her. For a moment, Dinky considered to eat another one right away, but then decided against it. It would be a long week, after all, and she didn't know how many muffins Sparkler kept for her. For now, it was more important to keep them safe from Aunt Millie. “Where should I hide them now?” Dinky thought.
She turned around. There weren't exactly many possibilities to hide a bunch of muffins in her room. Observantly, she went over the possible hiding spots.
Under her bed? Too risky. There was a chance that her aunt would clean up under it while she was in school and find them, this was a place she could only rule out.
Behind the books in her shelf? Dinky trotted up to it, pulled out a few books and checked behind them. Then she shook her head. There wasn't nearly enough space, not even for muffins that were flatter than usual.
She put the books back to their places, then turned around. There was the table carrying her TV and her Neightendo console, but Dinky could see at the first glance that neither of them were big enough to hide something behind them. Not to mention that the table needed cleaning, so her aunt would probably dust it off soon.
She looked across the room. Opposite of the table was her wardrobe. Its right side contained the few dresses she possessed. The left, and much larger, side consisted of several compartments containing her toys and other stuff; dolls, action figures, even some rare Power Ponies merchandise. Her eyes fell on one compartment that was packed with board games. She knew that there was enough space behind the stack of them to easily hide the muffins, but she also knew that her aunt loved to play boardgames, so sooner or later, she would find them there when she would pull out one of the games to play it with her.
Finally, Dinky settled with hiding them in one of the drawers of her desk. One of the two drawers it had was filled with her videogame collection and she figured her aunt wouldn't look in there, so she opened it, took out a few of the game cartridges at the far end of the drawer and placed the muffins in the now free space. She closed the drawer again and carefully stapled the games at the side of the console, then a smile flashed over her face. At least the muffins were safe now and there was something she could look forward to this week. Aside from her big sister coming home in the evening, of course.
For the first time since she got the bad news of having to deal with Aunt Millie for almost a week, Dinky felt something like confidence. Maybe she could survive this week after all, somehow.
Having taken care of the task of hiding her muffins, Dinky returned to her saddlebags and carried them over to her desk. She took seat on the stool in front of it and unpacked her school stuff. What she said to Aunt Millie about having a lot of homework was a lie, but there was still some stuff she needed to get done today.
As she had placed everything she needed on the desk, she took one of her pencils into her magic aura and began with her homework by trying to solve the task in the book in front of her.