Coming Home
“Thank you for coming Derpy.” said Cheerilee as Derpy carefully took a seat across the desk from the teacher.
“Why did you need to see me?” Derpy glanced at her daughter, who was reading quietly in the corner of the schoolhouse. “Dinky hasn’t caused any trouble has she?”
“Oh no, no…” Cheerilee sighed, “Dinky is an excellent student. I just wanted to speak to you about some…issues…that came up at school today.” She looked almost sadly at Dinky before continuing, “You see…today we were doing family trees in class.”
Derpy groaned and slumped in her chair. “Were those nasty fillies teasing her about her father again?”
Cheerilee shook her head. “After that incident I moved her far away from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. No, you see…” She drew out a piece of paper from the drawer in her desk and placed it in front of Derpy. It was a traditional basic family tree for fillies, with a slot to fill out their names, and two slots above those for the parent’s names, with two slots above each parent for the grandparents.
“Each child was given one of these trees to complete. I told Dinky not to worry about the father’s side…since you’ve discussed that with me before. However…” she shifted the piece of paper to reveal Dinky’s family tree.
Derpy’s heart sank as she stared at it. Dinky had written in her name, Derpy’s name above hers, and even drawn in a line for her sister Sparkler, but in the spots for Derpy’s parents she had merely drawn two large question marks.
“I’m afraid to say that after seeing all her friends family trees, she had some questions.” Cheerilee looked at the mailpony, “Derpy, does Dinky not even know her grandparent’s names?”
Derpy felt like crying. After all these years, her luck had finally run out. “No…I mean, well, you know I haven’t spoken to my parents in a long time, not since…Dinky. I guess it just never seemed like a big deal to me. After all…my parents have never expressed an interest in meeting her.”
Cheerilee sighed, “Well it seems to be a big deal for Dinky.” She carefully took Derpy’s hoof and looked her in the eye. “Derpy, this is more than a meeting between a teacher and a student’s parent, this is a meeting between friends. So, as your friend, I beg you to talk to Dinky about her grandparents. This is a different situation from her father, and if she wants to know more about them, then she has a right to.”
Derpy sighed and nodded. “Thanks Cheerilee.”
******
Derpy peered around the door to Dinky’s room, where she was sitting on her bed with a book. Slowly, Derpy walked into the room and sat down on the end of the bed.
“Hey Muffin…” she whispered quietly.
Dinky looked up from her book, “Hi Mom.”
“So…You had some questions about your…your grandparents?” Derpy winced slightly at the word.
Dinky looked down, “Well…kinda. I mean, today was just kind of the first day I realized I’m the only filly in my class who doesn’t know anything about their grandparents. Even Applebloom knows her grandfather’s name, and he died before she was born.”
She looked back up at her mother, “They’re not dead, are they?”
Derpy sighed, it was an easy way out, but Dinky deserved the truth. “No Muffin, they’re not dead.”
“Then why haven’t I met them? Do they not like me?” Dinky was crying now, big round tears of pain and sadness.
“Oh sweetie…no,” Derpy reached forward and wrapped her daughter in a hug. “It’s just that Mommy had a bad fight with them before you were born.” They lay there in silence for a minute as Derpy allowed her mind to wander to the last time she had spoken to her parents.
Derpy stood outside the entrance of her parent’s house, her home. She had more than once in the 21 years of her life had to tell her parents when she had done something that would make them mad…but never anything quite like this.
She took a deep breath and brought a hoof to the door, emitting three sharp knocks. The door swung open to reveal her mother, a frown on her face.
“Derpy! Where have you-“
“I’m pregnant.” whispered Derpy, cutting off her mother.
“What??” Her father had joined her mother at the door.
“You heard me, I’m pregnant. I took a test yesterday and went to see my doctor this morning, he confirmed it, I’m pregnant.”
Her mother stared at her, horror and anger etched on her face. “Who is the father? WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!”
Derpy glared at her mother, “I don’t know.”
“Well then, you’ll simply have to get an abortion, and we’ll never speak of this again.” Her mother spoke with a tone of finality.
Derpy grit her teeth, “No.”
“What do you mean no?” yelled her father.
“I mean I’m not getting an abortion. If having this filly is what fate has picked for me, so be it. Every child deserves a chance.”
“You will not have that filly, or…or…”
“Or what?” challenged Derpy.
“Or your no longer welcome in our home!”
“Fine.” She turned and left.
Two weeks later she moved into the little house in Ponyville, she hadn’t spoken to her parents since.
Dinky’s voice drew Derpy from her memories. “What are their names?”
“Well…” Derpy pictured her parents’ faces, “My mother’s name is Dainty Hooves, and my father’s name is Dusty Hooves.”
Dinky giggled. “I…I wish I knew what they look like…”
Derpy grinned at her daughter, “Well, I do have photos, silly.” Dinky let out a cheer and clapped her hooves as Derpy whizzed into her room, and grabbed the old photo album off her shelf.
Derpy sat down next to her daughter again, and Dinky snuggled up close. Carefully, the little filly opened the worn cover to a photo of a young Derpy and her parents.
Dinky pointed to her grandmother. “She looks a lot like Sparkler!” Sure enough, Dainty Hooves had a similar purple mane, with more of a curl, and her coat was a light purple (though more of a color like Dinky’s).
Derpy smiled fondly, “Yes…that’s actually what gave me the idea to adopt her. A couple months after you were born, I saw the add in the paper for a nine year old filly who needed a home. She looked similar to my mother, and it reminded me of something I once said to her.”
“What was that?”
“That every child deserves a chance.”
Dinky leaned her head against her mother’s shoulder and let out a sigh. “Mom, what did you and them fight about?”
“Well muffin…ummm…You know how I’ve never been sure who your father is?” Dinky nodded, it had been a fact her mother had always been honest about.
“My parents…weren’t happy with what had happened. Some things were said, and we all agreed we’d rather not see one another again.”
“So it is my fault they don’t like you anymore.” A single tear traced down Dinky’s cheek.
“NO!” Derpy grabbed her daughter by the shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. “Dinky it is anything but your fault. If it’s anypony’s fault, it’s mine!”
Suddenly, Dinky pushed her mother off with a grin. “I know! I’ll meet them and show them I’m a nice filly! I can even show them my photo album with all the photos of me and Sparkler!”
“I’m not sure if that’s a smart idea…” whispered Derpy.
“Please????”
Derpy hesitated, remembering Cheerilee’s words. “Well muffin, If it’s what you want…I’ll take you to meet your grandparents.”
Dinky cheered and tackled her mother with a thank-you hug.
******
Derpy hesitantly stood in front of the door to the home she had dared not come near for nine years. She glanced back at the filly hiding shyly behind her. Sighing, she reached up and rang the bell.
Dainty Hooves opened the door. The last nine years had stolen most of the purple from her mane, but aside from that she was still the same mother Derpy remembered.
“Derpy?” she whispered.
Derpy looked down, trying not to cry. “Hi Mom.”
Dainty stared at her daughter. “What…What are you doing here?”
Derpy stepped aside wordlessly to reveal the small unicorn filly standing behind her. Dinky hesitantly took a step forward, a large photo album balanced on her back.
“Grandma Hooves? I’m..I’m Dinky…” She glanced at her mother. “I know you and mom had a fight about me a long time ago, but I brought my photo album, so I could maybe show you I’m not a bad pony…”
To Derpy’s surprise, Dainty Hooves smiled warmly, if a bit sadly at Dinky. “I’m sure your anything but a bad pony Dinky, but I would love to see your photo album. I’m sure I’ve missed a lot in the last few years.”
Dinky grinned and trotted inside. A slightly calmer Derpy started to follow her, but she was cut off by her mother throwing her forelegs around her in a tight hug.
“She’s more beautiful then I ever could have imagined.” she whispered. Gently, she leaned out to face her daughter. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For finding the courage to forgive me, and to come home.” With that, Dainty turned and walked inside.
Derpy curved slightly to look out at the beautiful sky. Smiling slightly, she went inside to be with her family
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Take my feels!
crushable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/One-Direction-Hit-With-Feels.gif
*Dinky
Other than that, this was short and plausible, an I liked it! Brings me back to the age old question of how ponies would have abortions. I know that horses can abort at will, but I wonder if ponies would do the same thing.
Makes ya think.
Short and sweet. A few grammar issues (wrong forms of 'your', etc) but overall, quite nice.
3477688 holy shit you posted a comment that wasn't full of the anger of a thousand scots
am I dreaming
3477731
Yes.
Yeah, it's a cute story.
tinyurl.com/mbho6go
Sone grammar issue and way to quick when Derpy made the reveal, but otherwise a good and cute story
short sweet and cute. I approve!
The feels are making my liquid pride generators malfunction.
The family tree on her foster father's side is even weirder. Gallopfreyans are all genetically engineered clones (they lost the ability to reproduce biologically millions of years ago). The Doctor could probably tell Dinky from which clan's genetics his own genes were spun but it wouldn't exactly be the same thing as identifying a 'grandparent' of any kind.
I respect Derpy's decision, but not the reasoning behind it.
Fate... bleh.
3478372
I know it's a bit lame..but I wasn't sure how else to put what I was trying to get at in words.
To me, Derpy is the kind of pony who takes what the world gives her and makes the best of it. So basically....she got herself into that situation and she's going to do the right thing opposed to the easy thing.
3477981
Twilights Library?!?!
You have no idea how much that means to me.
thank you <3
3478991 when a mother hear the heartbeat of her child for the first time on most cases they fall in love with their child and that drives them to go through the 9 months of pregnancy and raising the child
3478991 I'm not criticizing you, author. You have the right to write a story in a way that it feels genuine to you. If that resonates with me, however, is an entirely different discussion.
I myself don't think that abortion is a bad thing, but the last thing I want for my life is to have a pro-life-esque debate on a pony website. I will, however, tell you to measure your words more carefully. The debate on abortion has several rights and wrongs and it is very easy to just fall into the deathtrap of assumption.
Never assume something is completely, 100% right. Because it isn't.
3477731 Don't you need to go be stupid somewhere else?
3479323
I apoligize If I sounded mad, I wasn't trying to get into an arguement either
I was simply trying to explain why I used the word fate
I'm not saying abortion is a good thing or a bad thing....I'm simply trying to show how I think Derpy would reason a decision like that, based on her personality
3479412 Ah, I see. Well, your previous comment makes much more sense now.
While I like the story, I disagree with how it ended.
Dainty should have been the one to ask Derpy for forgiveness, not have it given freely like that.
I'm all for small one shots but this still felt a little rushed towards the end. I kinda want to know Dainty's side of the story as to why she was so quick to forgive. I get that she may be a good mother but that doesn't explain the distance between the two up till now. I just wish there was a bit more to help fill in the gaps.
Still, not a bad one shot.
Dainty's line pisses me off. Maybe Derpy had the courage to come home, but forgiveness takes time. I try to keep my opinion out of it but people who abort seem like monsters to me. It may solve that problem, but there are women who continually use it like they are getting nails done. It's a moral decision.
3481948
I'm not saying forgiveness happens overnight, but one has to forgive and forget enough to at least take the first towards proper acceptance.
If Derpy wasn't willing to give her mother the tiniest bit of sympathy, she wouldn't have ended up back on her doorstep.
And I'm not getting into an argument about abortion here. It's neither a good thing nor a bad thing.
3481987
Yeah I don't want to get into an argument about it, but it just hit me hard she says it so quickly as an option in the flashback. I mean that is just wow, that's a fast response there. I probably should have said that instead. Ok Sorry, now I am shutting up about it...
Anyway nice story.
3479042
No problem. While Twilight's Library may have that whole incoming folder and a bunch of admins and such, it started as someplace I put fanfics I liked, and I did like this one...
--arcum42
D'AAAAAAAAW!!! This is so cute!
5/5 Mustaches for you, good sir or m'am.
I'd say I like the story, but that would be a lie. 'Like' is too weak a word. The only thing on my mind is where was Dusty Hooves? Honestly, if it's up to the readers where Dusty was, I'd make one of two scenarios. The first is that Dusty died, either of old age or a broken heart her daughter leaving them. The second is that perhaps Dusty and Dainty broke up. Either way, my idea is to give it a "harsh reality" scenario. That and I have a dark mind.
But nice work on the names.
3539725
So...You did or did not like it?
And I frankly didn't feel the need to touch on Dusty...
The reader can assume what they want,
He could be taking a nap upstairs for all I know
3540834 I did like it.
Here I was, reading the flashback and ready to roll my eyes at yet another rushed "hit 'em with the feels!" big reveal, and then I finished it and realized you got me anyway with that ending. Good story.
So, Granny Smith's hubby traveled with Doctor Hooves?
3791643
Um...What???
3791660
Yes, you probably meant the second one to be "she", referring to Apple Bloom, but that's not how you wrote it.
3791705
You sure your commenting on the right story?
AppleBloom isn't even in this
3792028 The full quote:
She was mentioned, even if she stays offscreen.
3792057 3792057
Oh my god, your right
Sorry, I totally forgot about that line, I'm an idiot
3792066
My right what?
3792111
Curse you, you Gramma Nazi!
You're right....Happy?
3792131
... I have the sudden urge to visit Google Images and search for "Grandma Nazi," but I'm not sure how I'd explain that to my IT department at work ...
3792153
Dammit!
I'm about ready to throw my computer at the wall
3792179 .. Apparently I should have closed that last reply with:
<EDI> That was a joke. </EDI>
No hard feelings?
It was way too quick, but I'll give you a favorite anyway.
Such a feel good story! I'm crying tears of joy
I'm your 100th like!
I want more
3893682
I think the story is just long enough. In such a short story, a lot of emotions and feelings are conveyed. We get sadness, uncertainty, anger, sympathy, remorse, courage, forgiveness, hope, and child-like innocence in such a short piece. Expressing so much effectively without any unneeded filler in such a short story takes skill, so despite being short, I really enjoyed it.
4094778
Another thing about stories is that I always believe a story is successful if it leaves me wanting more. I'm not talking about cliff-hangers, but that feeling you get when you finish a tale and you just want to be with the characters in their world because you bonded with them. I felt that way with this piece too. I would have love to stick around and watch Derpy reunite with her parents and eventually see what happiness could have come from this moment. I was sucked in. I wanted more. That is good writing.
4096066 I feel no emotion from this, nor do I see anything that would make someone feel emotional. This needs more because it currently has nothing emotionally.
4096370
Eh, maybe I got a little carried away and probably should do a reread before posting stuff like that. I have been letting my emotions go crazy lately (Stupidly-tragic-but-I-still-can't-hate-it DeadDerpyVerse). Heck, even my avatar is still crying. *IGNORECOMMENTSHOULDAVATARBECHANGED*
4100112 I mean, this story has a decent premise and a small bit of sadness, but it's not nearly long enough to convey proper emotion. But, what do I know? Yesterday, I read a story that I was crying hysterically for and it was normally the kind of story I would say had no emotion! It was written poorly, but it got to me! It was probably just because it was about losing a pet. I like animals and I love my puppy. Maybe your weak spot is Derpy/Dinky, so this made you sad regardless of writing.
I think this is a good story, that deals with realistic topics and is just so sad to read
(the rarity cry is a bit of an exaggeration)