Dinky Hooves has always had a pretty good life. She has an excellent mother and sister, and, well, an absent father. But when he finally shows up, Dinky knows everything will be fine... right?
Dinky Hooves has always had a pretty good life. She has an excellent mother and sister, and, well, an absent father. But when he finally shows up, Dinky knows everything will be fine... right?
Dinky thought she had a pretty great life. She had a (not) nice sister, a caring mother, and the best friend a mare could ask for.
Ever since Dinky was a little filly, she and Tootsie Flute had done everything together. They went to the same school, attended the same parties, had the same friends. Dinky knew she could always count on her...and wished she could say the same of her sister, Sparkler.
Sparkler was mean and cold, and always seemed to have it out for Dinky. When Dinky was a little filly, Sparkler watched her while their mother was away delivering mail. Sparkler either ignored Dinky or followed her, issuing cutting remarks every so often. Dinky would wander all over the house, but Sparkler would either change rooms if she got within 10 hooves of her or follow her. Then Derpy would come home, after hours of torment, and demand that her daughters get along... but they never did, and Sparkler continued to torment Dinky when their mother was away. In the rare moments that Dinky was away from Sparkler, she often found herself angrily wishing her mother would stand up for her and force Sparkler to be nice, voice booming and eyes flashing, but in a few moments, the anger would fade, and Dinky would remember how much her mother had sacrificed for her children.
She would then run over to her mother and beg her to relieve the story of Sparkler and Dinky's father for the millionth time. Derpy would smile down at her youngest daughter, and shake her head. As much as it pained Derpy to relieve these memories, her daughter never seemed to tire of the story. She would then clear her throat, smile again, wistfully this time, and begin.
**{O}**
At the very young age of 11, Derpy had been an aspiring artist, and many art magazines across Equestria speculated that Derpy would be the next great artist of the 20th century. She was at the height of her career, and rising very quickly, and it seemed she would rise very high indeed.
But, the success and wealth she and her family enjoyed would not last for long. Derpy had just been leaving a new gallery opening, then, at only 18, she had gotten in a horrendous accident involving quite a few brick walls.
Sadly, her art career crumbled into ruin. Canterlot art critics that had once raved about her "youthful" and "inspiring" pieces now poked fun at them, and insulted poor Derpy mercilessly. She soon realized how prejudiced the Canterlot elite were, and quit art altogether. Her family went bankrupt not long after, and Derpy, alone and still healing from the accident, ran away from Canterlot and fled to a small town named Ponyville, seeking a job and a place to live.
She soon found a low pay job at the Ponyville post office, and quickly making friends, fit in to Ponyville right away. Things were going very well, and then she met Dinky's father.
He was charismatic and handsome, and many mares in Ponyville lusted after this mysterious stallion. He would often disappear for months at a time, and then reappear as if nothing had happened. It seemed like almost everyone was intrigued with the strange, charming stallion. He seemed oblivious to every mare 's romantic advances until Derpy came along, and soon, he seemed smitten with the slate gray pegasus.
It was a fairy tale courtship, involving quite a few notes and flowers. It wasn't long before Derpy succumbed to his charms.
However, mere months after meeting him, at the ripe age of 19, she got pregnant his child. Strangely, the stallion seemed quite overjoyed at the prospect of children, and he stayed with Derpy, doting on her even more now that she was with child.
11 months later, baby Sparkler was born. The mysterious stallion proved to be as kind as he was handsome, showering his daughter with all sorts of exotic and strange gifts that seemed somehow otherworldly.
At this point in the story, Derpy's expressive, light amber eyes would well up in tears. She would cough, then lower her head and continue with the story, unable to look Dinky in the eye.
But the small family's joy would not last. After Sparkler's 4th birthday, the stallion left her and Derpy in the dead of night, leaving nothing but a tear-stained note, and taking only a picture of Derpy and Sparkler.
Ponyville was shocked. The stallion that had loved his child and her mother so had left them while they slept! Many speculated that he did not leave of his own choice. But whether it was a voluntary leave or not, Derpy was still left alone to care for his child.
She kept her low paying job at the local mail service, and hired trusted friends to care for Sparkler during the day. She was just starting to think about finding a house in a new town, only to find out that she was pregnant with Dinky. She had no choice but to continue to work in Ponyville, and she was soon promoted to manager of the local mail service.
In 11 months, Dinky was born, and Derpy got a second job as a part time employee at Sugarcube corner, and the rest usually dissolved into cutesy stories about Sparkler and Dinky's childhood, like the time Dinky had had a magic surge so powerful, the house had shot up into the sky and into a tree.
**{O}** Dinky sighed as Sparkler's stony silence filled the room. She couldn't concentrate on the book Ms. Cheerilee had assigned the class, even though she knew that if she didn't read it she'd be in big trouble. Her haunches itched to be stretched. She sighed again and Sparkler's icy amethyst gaze washed over her, sending a chill down Dinky's spine.
She couldn't bear the room's tense atmosphere any longer. Dinky lowered her eyes and stumbled to the small house's door, feeling Sparkler's cruel eyes on her the whole time. Dinky crossed the threshold of the house she shared with her mother and sister and stepped on to the small, lopsided porch. She took a deep breath of the sticky air outside. Dinky sensed the electricity fizzling in the humid air and heard a violent clap of thunder, reverberating with violent energy. She sighed slowly. A thunderstorm was sure to come.
Dinky's brilliant gold eyes were drawn away from the lightning flashing across the sky to an almost invisible speck of moving gray. Dinky's heavy heart lifted as she realized her mother was flying home after a long day of delivering mail and baking pastries.
But there was something wrong. Dinky furrowed her brow in concern as she saw her mother's light yellow mane was disheveled, and her large, expressive eyes were heavy with bags. When she spoke, her voice was forlorn and hoarse.
"Hi muffin."
Derpy reached out a hoof to pat Dinky's head. Dinky trotted behind her mother, who's usually magnificent feathered wings hung limp at her sides.
"What's wrong mom?"
Asked Dinky. She knew that working two jobs couldn't be easy, but she rarely saw her energetic and optimistic mother so....tired.
Dinky trotted a little ahead of her mother, a smile growing on her face as she thought of how her mother would react to the surprise she was planning. She closed her eyes and stopped in front of Derpy, blocking her entrance into the small house.
Tiny drops of sweat appeared on Dinky's forehead as she opened the front door for her mother, her amber magical aura lighting up Derpy's tired eyes.
"Dinky!"
Exclaimed Derpy incredulously, the corners of her mouth turning up. "Where did you learn to do that!?" Derpy's eyes shone with the radiance they had lacked before.
Dinky puffed out her chest in pride.
"Ms. Cheerilee signed me up for the advanced magic classes at school. I'm the top of the class!"
Derpy's eyes spun in circles as her wings flapped in glee.
"Oh, Dinky, that's amazing! I'm so proud! Maybe this could be your-"
Derpy stopped speaking suddenly as a sound tore through the tense, humid air. Derpy's ears perked up and a smile spread across her face.
"Yeah," Dinky said knowingly. "Auntie Lyra STILL hasn't fixed that old washing machine of hers."
"No," Derpy whispered quietly. "It's not that." Dinky realized the noise was growing louder. Derpy's eyes sparkled and shone with love, and the smile on her face was the sweetest smile ever to be smiled. She uttered one word as a tear dropped from her smiling eyes. "Doctor."
Dinky felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She took a shaky deep breath. It unsettled her that the air was very pregnant with electricity now, and a growing sense of unease told her it wasn't just the oncoming storm.
She started backing up slowly, trying to get inside to safety. She glanced quickly over at her mother, wondering why she wasn't heading inside as well. Why was Derpy standing statue still and watching the sky with utmost concentration? What was going on? Questions raced through the panicked filly's head, tumbling over one another in their rush to be answered.
Dinky took one last look at her mother before entering her small house, eyes round with terror. She spun her head, looking at every corner of the sky she could see through the tiny kitchen window and observing it fearfully. She saw nothing but rolling turmoil for miles in every direction. The sky was heavy with rolling thunder, and purple-blue lightning zipped from cloud to cloud.
Wait!! Was that a-a- Dinky's mouth dropped in pure shock. A little blue box flew back and forth across the sky. What in Celestia's name was a blue box doing flying around?!
Dinky turned her head suddenly to the sound of her mother's jubilant laughter. She scrunched up her face in confusion.
"Mom, what's going on?" Dinky's voice rang with fear.
"He's coming back, muffin, he's coming back!"
Suddenly, the wind started to blow. Dinky's light gold mane whipped around her, and the feathers on Derpy's wings became ruffled. The wind was so strong, Dinky stumbled backward.
She realized in horror and disbelief that the blue box was coming closer... and closer... and- HOLY CELESTIA WE'LL BE CRUSHED!!!!
The panic overwhelmed her, and Dinky screamed and ran in circles. She felt nothing but pure terror. Adrenaline kicked in, and Dinky ran even faster. She had no direction, but she knew was that she had to get away from this place.
Her mind cleared a bit, and she darted into her house, seeking shelter from the storm. She practically flew into her small bedroom. She crawled under her bed, heart beating frantically. Air whooshed in and out of her lungs at an alarming pace.
After a little while in the safe warmth under the bed, Dinky's heart began to slow and her breathing became more even. She shuffled forward slowly, peeking just her head out from under the bed.
She breathed in shakily. Tentative hoofsteps echoed in Dinky's still, silent house.
The sky was still dark and thundering, but Dinky did not feel terror like before. Something about the sky seemed calmer, less chaotic now.
Dinky's front door creaked ominously as she stuck one eye out fearfully, looking for signs of danger. Another eye slowly appeared, and a lavender hoof came with it. Soon, the whole Dinky was outside, glancing fearfully at the sky.
There was no sign of the blue box now. Was I hallucinating? Wondered Dinky. A fat raindrop fell on her horn. Finally, She thought, It was finally-
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her mother crying from the backyard. Dinky's brow furrowed and she cocked her head slightly, wondering why. Had Sparkler been hurt? Had Derpy been hurt?
Fear fluttered in Dinky's heart. Her stomach twisted as horrible thoughts came to her head. She shook it quickly, trying to clear it. She stepped forward, approaching the gate leading to the backyard. She heard her sister crying faintly as well, and- was it...?
No, it couldn't be. Thought Dinky. Your mind is just playing tricks on you. There is no one but your sister and your mother in the backyard, there is no one but your sister and your mother in the backyard, there-
Dinky's fears were confirmed as a stallion's sable-colored stallion emblazoned with a half-empty hourglass came slowly into view. The edge of a tall blue box was just visible behind the stallion.
Dinky's vision became rimmed with black, and her hooves and the tip of her horn grew numb. Her head throbbed and ached, and her stomach rolled. Her back legs gave out, leaving her in an uncomfortable seating position. Oh, her head.... she blinked, realizing her sight was limited to tiny pinpricks in a sea of blackness now. The last thing Dinky remembered before passing out was her mother's voice..... "Oh, Doctor, you're back!"
**{O}**
"Ohhhhh......" Dinky moaned quietly as waves of pain crashed on her horn. Her magic teacher had told her and all the other unicorns in the advanced class to be very careful when playing sports and such, because "A unicorn's mind continuously processes and excretes waves of magic when it's conscious. When we sleep, half of our mind is processing and emitting magic, but when we, say, faint, our mind is fully asleep. When we eventually wake up, our mind has to process large amounts of magic all at once to make up for the break, and it can cause extreme headaches and nausea."
Dinky had not been paying much attention that day. She and Tootsie Flute had been giggling in the back of the class about something or other. If she hadn't been paying attention then she was paying attention now! "My head..." Her throat was dry and her voice was hoarse.
"Oh, Muffin you're awake!" Dinky couldn't see it, but her mother's face was flooded with relief. "We were so worried!"
We? Derpy was surely worried, but Sparkler didn't give one bit about Dinky's well being. That could only mean... the stallion! Dinky's eyes flew open, startling Derpy; who was leaning right over her; so much she flew straight up and hit the ceiling.
Dinky's eyes suddenly seemed to glow with rage. "YOU!" A snarl escaped the ugly grimace that was her mouth. Her voice stung like a swarm of bees, but at the same time rang with utmost disdain. She leaped at the stallion, knocking him to the ground and landing on his chest. "WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU HERE!?" Her horn started to glow with shimmering golden magic. It was excruciating to use her magic while her head still hurt, but Dinky was too full of white hot rage to care much. She lowered her horn to the stallion's forehead, ready to blast his brains out at the slightest move.
"Dinky!! NO!" Derpy and Sparkler shrieked in unison. It would have been comical if not for the terrifying situation at hand.
"Uhhhhhh..It's okay!" The stallion yelled back. Dinky didn't show it, but she was momentarily perplexed by the stallion's strange accent. He lowered his voice, addressing Dinky and Dinky alone.
"You're quite the fighter, aren't you?" For a moment, their eyes met, and Dinky froze, confusion plain on her face. She had expected him to make a plea for his life, not make a witty comment!
The stallion took advantage of Dinky's momentary hesitation, worming out of Dinky's grasp and pinning her to the floor before she could bat an eyelash. "Gotcha!" He puffed out his chest and gazed down proudly at his struggling capture. An expression of surprise overtook the pride, and he was lifted off of Dinky and into the air in a swirl of magic. Dinky looked over to see Sparkler's horn lit with the same amethyst magic, and grew even more confused. "Dad," Said Sparkler evenly, you've got to stop teasing her. That's a sister's job!"
The stallion smiled condescendingly. "Sparkler, your mother and I didn't have any more children after you.This demon spawn belongs to someone else."
Sparkler grinned evilly, her eyes dancing with mischief. "Are you sure?"
The room grew completely silent, except for the rain dropping steadily outside.
The stallion spoke, right eye twitching. "I created that!?
The room was dead silent. Derpy's amber eyes filled with tears, and she refused to look anyone in the eye. Sparkler's smug expression slipped slipped slightly as she realized that what she said may not have been very funny at all.
Dinky sat statue still on the couch, mouth hanging wide open in disbelief. She stared at the stallion sitting next to her. Her... father? He didn't look anything like her! He was brown, and an Earth pony, and, and.... her father? The shock of finding out finally hit Dinky like a tsunami crashing on a distant shore. This was her father. A kooky Earth pony. It just didn't make any sense! Dinky shook her head, trying to make sense of her situation. The sound of the rain pitter-pattered steadily in the background.
The stallion cleared his throat awkwardly. He cursed himself inwardly, wishing he hadn't set the TARDIS to adventure mode. The TARDIS was too smart. She knew about Derpy, and she knew that he was avoiding her. She knew that he was too cowardly, too weak to face her after what he had done. She had brought him here, and it was all his fault. He turned around to inspect the purple filly (daughter?) sitting net to him. Their eyes met. Piercing icy blue met deep, honest gold. After one of the most awkward milliseconds the stallion had experienced in over 900 years, they both glanced away, staring at their hooves.
Sparkler's mind was spinning. She had screwed up before, many many times, but never like this. She had just created a deep, deep canyon of chaos and awkwardness in her family. The weight of what she had done hit Sparkler square in the face, and her amethyst eyes darted around the room. She could practically see the tension in the air. Her eyes fell upon her mother, and she almost whimpered at what she saw.
Derpy wished she could melt away and disappear into the floor. No, that wouldn't be enough. She would have to erase all her family's memories of her. Fat tears dropped steadily to the floor, and quiet, almost inaudible sniffles could be heard from time to time. She wished she could have told the Doctor sooner. No, she wished she was brave enough to tell him sooner. He would hate her for this. He would never forgive her for trapping him, tying him down like this. Guilt overwhelmed Derpy, and she ran to her room, avoiding all eye contact. She collapsed on her bed, and for the first time in many years, she cried.
The Doctor's eyes grew wide. Because he had been traveling on his own for a long, long time, he was shocked by the powerful emotion exhibited by his former companion. He suddenly felt very, very guilty. If only he could have come here sooner.... No. If only he was brave enough to come here sooner. He could have watched his children grow up. He could have been there for every lost tooth, hoofball game, and Father's Day. He could have been a father. Guilt washed over him. His hearts grew heavy with the thought of all the pain he had caused Derpy and her family. His fault. All his fault.
Sparkler coughed uncertainly. She was unsure of whether to leave and comfort her mother, because something was telling her she was the last one her mother wanted to see.
The Doctor was awoken out of his reverie by his eldest daughter's shaky cough. He shook his head and spoke quietly, his voice cracking from lack of use. "I should...um..."
"No, I um......" Sparkler shifted uncomfortably.
"No, I've got it." The Doctor's voice was surer now, and he made his way off the couch and through the kitchen, getting closer and closer to his companion.
**{O}**
Derpy raised her head wearily as the sound of tentative hoofsteps became closer. Her eyes were bloodshot and her lemon-yellow mane was disheveled. Her usually pale gray muzzle was blotchy and flushed, and tear tracks were etched into her cheeks. She buried her head in her pillow quickly as the door creaked open. She didn't want anyone seeing her like this.
"Derpy?" The Doctor's gentle voice broke the sound of silence echoing in Derpy's room. "How are you feeling?" Derpy's heart twinged in pain as she heard the caring tone in her lover's voice. After all this time and all that had happened, he still loved her.
She felt the covers near her hooves shift slightly, and she knew the Doctor had sat on the bed. His accented voice broke the quiet again as he made comforting small talk about the weather, and the house, and how good it was to be in Ponyville again. Derpy was lulled into an exhausted and dreamless sleep.
**{O}**
As soon as the sound of Derpy's room's door closing broke the steady noise of raindrops, Dinky and Sparkler exchanged a single fleeting glance and raced to the edge of the door. Sparkler peered through the keyhole, and Dinky crouched under her, peeking through the crack between the door and the ground. They shifted and shoved their ears in their respective holes, straining to hear some of what was being said. "Move!" Sparkler whispered angrily. "Ssssh!" Dinky furrowed her brow and leaned closer to the door, straining to hear. "I can't hear! And you might let them know we're out here!"
Sparkler silently (and angrily) conceded, and she bit her tongue and tried not to object. After more minutes of silent spying, Sparkler and Dinky glanced at each other, perplexed. The room had fallen silent after continuous quiet talking thus far. The mare and the filly pressed their ears even closer, the filly's eyes squeezed shut in concentration.
Dinky glanced up at Sparkler, her golden eyes shimmering wide with unanswered questions. "Nothing," She sigh-whispered. "Nothing at all." Sparkler glanced down in defeat. She blew a lavender strand of mane out of her face as the stepped back from the door. Dinky backed away also, and shook herself quietly. They stood there for a moment awkwardly, not quite sure what to say.
Suddenly, in the milisecond in which Sparkler had closed her eyes to blink, Dinky barreled over her, her sharp hooves digging into Sparkler's ribs. The clip-clopping of frantic hooves echoed in the little house as Dinky raced to her room and Sparkler rose from the ground, fuming. She turned around, ready to give Dinky a piece of her mind, only to come face to face with her father. His icy-blue eyes were disapproving.
"If you're going to spy," He said, whispering, "At least try to be subtle about it." He sighed and shook his head forlornly. "Just like Donna. You know," He inhaled a sharp breath through his teeth. "Sometimes I wonder if she's your mother instead of Derpy. You two are just too much alike." Sparkler stood there, dumbfounded. Her father's slight underbite gleamed as he smiled at her mischievously. What?
**{O}**
The trees shimmered as a light, summer breeze rattled through their electric green leaves. The grass was an inviting emerald pillow beneath the smoky blur that was a pegasus streaking through the sky. Oh, the sky! It was such a beautiful thing that afternoon. It seemed to simply glow with joy and radiance. There wasn't a cloud swimming across that vast pond of a sky. The smoky blur slowed, to reveal that it was a female pegasus with a light yellow mane. The pegasus lightly soared across a few more meters, but then it slowed to walk along the ground. It walked right into a deep blue box, the creak of the door opening and closing the only sounds in the summery meadow. The pegasus called out into the large interior of the small box. "Doctor! Doctor, are you there?" The voice echoed as the pegasus trotted into a large library. A scream pierced the dim light of the library. The pegasus cantered toward it, panic filling her lungs and fueling her desperate canter. The pegasus rounded a corner only to be momentarily blinded by a golden, shimmering light. The stallion was utterly enveloped in it. Screams intertwining in some kind of terrifying harmony echoed in the large library.
**{O}**
Derpy awoke in a cold sweat. Her sheets were soaked and her bones felt like jelly. Her stomach heaved, and she swallowed bitter bile. Her breathing rasped, and her eyes squeezed shut, holding in tears that threatened to overtake her. Derpy took several heaving breaths, and got up from the bed, tip-hoofing quietly towards the bathroom hooked up to her bedroom. Once her hooves reached the cold, hard linoleum, she slumped agains the sink, breathing heavily and closing her eyes. All this stress can kill a mare, she thought. Oh, Celestia, I sound like my mother. She cringed inwardly. Derpy stepped into the shower, and washed away all the pain of the dream, the past day, and all the regret since the night the Doctor left her.
For the past hour, Dinky had been trying to distract her frantic and wandering mind with some cheap paperback book. It had proved very unsuccessful, for at every sound, her ears perked up and she pressed her ear to the crack between the door and the ground to catch whatever was going on. This sporadic cycle of calm, alertness, then calm again was finally broken by the distant sound of a shower turning on in her mother's room. Dinky crept out of her room and tiptoed up the the door of her mother's room.
"Spying?" The Doctor's voice rang out behind her. Dinky turned around with her tail between her legs like a cowed dog and her ears perked. Her posture suggested remorse, but an angry fire burned in her eyes.
The Doctor smiled and stepped back. "Don't worry, I was a bit of a snoop as a child too. Back in Gallifrey-,"
"Gallop-who?" Asked Dinky. I swear, if he's from Caneighdia...
"Oh, um, nothing!" The Doctor's blue eyes darted nervously before settling on a point just behind Dinky.
Dinky eyed him suspiciously. She took a step forward and narrowed her eyes. "You're not from Caneighdia, are you?"
The Doctor looked puzzled and then his face cleared. "Um, no, as far as I know. Well, my great-aunt's-fourth-cousin's-sister's-ex-husband's-brother is, but-,"
Dinky didn't listen to his feeble, rambling attempt at conversation, muttering, "Good. Those Caneighdians pump out another crazy every day."
She then walked away, not turning around to see the mystified look on her father's face.
Dinky walked all through her familiar house and kept walking, even out the door. She had a place to go and a person to see.
**{O}**
DING DING The doorbell rang at a nice, small, buttercup yellow house with a steeped roof and purple shingles. Large, pale pink hydrangeas drooping with blooms lined the brick path leading towards the white front door. After 30 seconds or so, the door opened to reveal a pale turquoise unicorn filly with a striped light and dark lavender mane. The filly, Tootsie Flute, grinned happily as she saw that it was her best friend Dinky who had rang the doorbell.
"Hey! Come in!" Tootsie said. Her grin faded slightly when she saw Dinky's unhappy and troubled expression. Dinky followed Tootsie into the house that had become so familiar to her, after being friends with Tootsie for so long.
The two fillies trotted into Tootsie's disorderly room and sat on her bed.
"So....." Even though she and Tootsie were the best of friends, Dinky knew that if she didn't start the conversation with her quiet friend, there would be no conversation at all.
"I have news?" Dinky cringed. She had managed to find the biggest way she could have understated the dramatic occurrences of the day.
"Do tell." Though Tootsie Flute didn't speak much, she was eloquent and witty.
"So, um, you know how my dad, is, like, not around?" Dinky inwardly cursed herself. Dear Celestia, Dinky, at least try not to understate things!
Tootsie nodded without speaking. She often thought about her friend's childhood with pity, but she could never express this, for Dinky was too proud.
"Well.." He's come back and everything is ruined and my mother is a weeping mess and Sparkler hates me more than ever and he's so weird but I can tell he is my father and it scares me! "He's come back?"
Tootsie's magenta eyes widened. She looked down at her hooves, unsure of what to say.
"Is he nice?"
Dinky smiled inwardly. Her friend always had a way of finding the small, minute details of a broad topic.
"Um... Yeah, I guess so. I don't know him all that well yet. He has an annoying habit of sneaking up on people, though."
Tootsie hesitated before speaking, not sure if she should tread over a tender topic such as this. "Reminds me a bit of someone I know."
"Who?" Asked Dinky, oblivious to the fact that Tootsie was pointing out yet another similarity between her and her father.
Tootsie sighed and blew some of her lilac hair out of her face. "You, obviously!"
Dinky blushed. She rubbed her hooves together uncertainly. She never was good at saying her emotions aloud. She preferred to write them down, or to keep them inside her and mull them over for a while, so she could solve problems on her own.
"Well," Started Tootsie, a wry smile spreading across her face. "As you know, my mathematical mind likes to make lists when it's confused. So let's make a list of possible courses of action to take."
Dinky grinned. It was a small smile, but an honest one. Tootsie's aquamarine colored magic picked up a pen and well-used pad of paper from the messy desk across the room. The two fillies then bent their heads together and started on their list.
After a long hour of list-making and sparse conversation, the fillies sat up. Their T-chart masterpiece was finally finished. On the right side of the paper, a column with the heading "Feelings" was completed, and on the left side, a column with the cramped heading "Actions Based on Feelings" was all completed except for one box...the box corresponding to the feeling "Scared".
"So." Stated Tootsie simply. "We have solutions for all your mixed up feelings except for 'Scared'. Do you know why that is?"
Sometimes, Tootsie's teaching attitude bothered Dinky, but at other times, such as this, it comforted her and helped her think clearly.
"Maybe because I don't know how to face my fear?"
Tootsie nodded, all business. "Good. And what fear is that exactly?"
Dinky hesitated. Again, her tendency to lock away her emotions was crippling her. "Fear of...of...change? Like that my whole life I've been without a father, and now he's showed up, and I'm not sure how to handle it?"
Tootsie smiled encouragingly. She really should become a teacher, Thought Dinky.
"Yes! And how do animals in nature deal with change?" Asked Tootsie.
"They change with it," Said Dinky slowly. Realization was dawning slowly in her mind.
"In order to survive," Tootsie was sounding as if she was quoting out of a science textbook. "They adapt to the change. That's what you need to do. Adapt to having a father."
Dinky smiled slowly, savoring the feeling of realization and sudden understanding. She jumped off the bed, suddenly animated.
"I've got to get back," She apologized to Tootsie. "Thanks for all your help."
Tootsie blushed shyly. "Don't mention it."
"No, really," Dinky said firmly, making meaningful eye contact. "I don't know what I would do without you." Dinky smiled while strong emotion pooled deeply in her eyes. She had finally gotten over her crutch of locking things away. For now, at least.