“Hey girls, I'm back!” Derpy landed on the ground in front of Amethyst Star's house.

“Derpy!” Dinky galloped over to her big sister and hugged one of her forelegs. With her free hoof, Derpy patted Dinky's head.

Amethyst, however, didn't look excited to see her sister. “You're late. Again.”

Derpy looked up as best as she could with her wall-eyes, and apologetically flattened her ears. “Sorry Amy. I thought Dinky was still at Golden's house, so I went there first.”

Amethyst buried her face in her hoof. “She's at the Royal Growers' Fair! She's been planning it for weeks! Didn't she tell you?”

Derpy tilted her head. “I'm pretty sure she didn't. But look, I brought presents for you!” Pulling out two purple books from her saddlebag, she said, “I saw these and thought of my sisters! They're hardback copies of The Friendship Journal. I bought one for myself and I could hardly put it down.” She ducked her head. “Rainbow Dash mentioned me in her journal entry about Rainbow Falls. I wonder if anypony will recognize me?”

“You're in this book?” asked Dinky, taking it in her golden aura. “That's cool. Thanks, sis!”

Amethyst's expression softened, her pupils growing larger and more sympathetic. “Yeah, thanks for the book, Derpy, but you still need to keep better track of Dinky. With everypony's hectic schedules, it takes all of us working together to take care of her.”

“I know, I know. It's just so hard. I need a flow chart to keep track of everypony.”

Dinky could hardly blame Derpy. Ever since she and her sisters had lost their parents, the two older sisters had taken turns watching the younger. However, both Derpy and Amethyst led separate lives that were equally busy, so often other relatives would step in to foalsit. Dinky frequently stayed with their cousin Golden Harvest, Auntie Millie, or the Doctor, Derpy's good friend. Sometimes Dinky felt like a hot potato being thrown around.

Derpy looked down at Dinky. “Do you have all your things ready to go, little filly?”

Dinky nodded, trying and failing to lift her luggage with her telekinesis. She wasn't so good with heavy objects yet.

“Ready!” She tugged her luggage onto her back and started to follow Derpy.

“Don't you want to give your big sister a hug before you go?” called Amethyst.

Derpy flew over and practically tackled Amethyst.

“I didn't mean you.” Amethyst sighed. “I'm sorry, that came out harsher than I meant.” She wrapped one foreleg around Derpy and motioned to Dinky with the other. “Come on, little girl, family hug.”

Dinky rushed over and embraced her big sisters.

Then Derpy took Dinky back to her little townhouse in the heart of Ponyville. On the way, they saw the Doctor, who stopped to chat.

“It's good to see you made it back in one piece, my dear friend,” said the Doctor, circling his foreleg around her neck.

Dinky raised her eyebrows. “Why wouldn't she make it back in one piece?”

Derpy shook her head and then jerked it toward her little sister.

“Oh, well, you know how dangerous the minotaur city can be,” said the Doc, pulling away from Derpy and rubbing the back of his head. “But it's nothing your elder sister can't deal with.”

“Doc,” Derpy said huriedly, “I may need you to watch Dinky this Thursday. I'll let you know for sure tomorrow morning.”

Thursday? thought Dinky. That's only two days away. I probably shouldn't even bother to unpack this time.

“Of course. I might have to reschedule some things, but I should be able to make time to watch her.” The Doctor patted Dinky's fair mane.

After they made their way to Derpy's home, Dinky dragged her bags up to her room. She did have her own bed, dresser, and toys there. Just the same as at Amethyst Star's house, and Golden Harvest's farmhouse, and Auntie Millie's apartment, and even the Doctor's workshop.

She sighed. It wasn't like she was abused or mistreated. All of her caretakers loved her. But there were times when she did not feel like she had a real home. She stared at her luggage and noticed her new book sticking out of the larger bag. There was enough time to read a bit before dinner.

Dinky examined the table of contents and skipped to the entry on Rainbow Falls. She grinned at her big sister's willingness to help out the Ponyville team. After she finished the section, she backtracked. It didn't seem to matter what order the entries were read in. Dinky read the story right before Rainbow Falls, the one about Applejack's family road trip with Pinkie Pie.

And it was glorious.

It was a funny story, making Dinky laugh out loud a few times, but what really resonated was the way the family stuck together through thick and thin. They'd even sung a song about it! Although they argued sometimes, they worked out their differences and came out just as close as ever. They also accepted Pinkie as a family member even though they weren't sure if she was their blood relative.

Dinky couldn't help feeling a tad envious of what the Apples had. Sure, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big McIntosh were orphans like Dinky and her sisters, and that wasn't exactly an ideal situation, but at least they always had each other and their grandmother. They seemed almost inseparable. And they always called Sweet Apple Acres home. They never had to worry about how long they would get to stay at anypony's house.

“Apples forever, Apples together,” Dinky repeated to herself. She checked the table of contents once more and found another one of Applejack's entries.

Derpy called Dinky down to dinner just as she was finishing the entry about the vampire fruit bats. Dinky didn't enjoy this story as much as the first two she'd read. Applejack's lesson was that she should always listen to her friends, and that she shouldn't be shortsighted. However, Dinky took away a different moral. The way she figured, the problem would have been resolved much sooner if Applejack's family had been at Sweet Apple Acres. Granny Smith especially would have known what to do, with all her farming experience.

It just goes to show how important it is for family to stick together.

Derpy had ordered a pizza with pineapple, which she picked off Dinky's slices. They sat at the kitchen table which had mismatched chairs that gave it an eclectic, young, single pony's charm. Derpy's chair was of crystalline pegasus construction with cloud coasters on its feet, while Dinky had a more standard stool with a padded seat. Over the table hung a chandelier with spherical lightbulbs that had twisting, swirling filaments. As they ate, Derpy told her little sister a story about how she'd accidentally flown into a window in the minotaur city. Dinky tried to pay attention, but her mind kept wandering to The Friendship Journal.

Finally she blurted, “I started reading the book!”

“That's nice.” Derpy wiped sauce from her mouth. “What do you think so far?”

“I love it! Especially the part about Applejack and Pinkie's road trip!” Dinky spread her forelegs.

“I like that one too!” Derpy picked up her glass of soda and drew a long, slurpy sip. “Did you read the one about Rainbow Falls yet?”

“Yeah, it was pretty good,” said Dinky with less enthusiasm.

“You know I used to compete in the Junior Fliers' Competition before my eyes got really bad?” asked Derpy.

Dinky suddenly felt a pang of sympathy. “Yeah. You told me, Derpy. I'm sure you could still at least compete with a team if you had a chance.”

Derpy lowered her glass and smiled wistfully. “It just wasn't meant to be, I guess. Still, I can't really complain. I got a good life. At least it's never boring.”

After helping her older sister put away the leftover pizza, Dinky headed back upstairs to read. The entry about Trenderhoof was okay, but not as good as the one with the road trip. Dinky wondered if any of the stories could possibly be as good as that one. She did sympathize on some level with Trenderhoof wanting to leave his old life and move to Sweet Apple Acres, however.

Next, Dinky read the section about Apple Bloom staying home by herself while her other family members left on separate trips. Dinky thought it was sweet that Applejack didn't want to leave Apple Bloom home alone, although she didn't understand why Applejack babied her younger sister, since she never did that at any other time. Still, Dinky was very impressed that the sisters survived the Fire Swamp, and the way Applejack defeated the chimera was both clever and brave. Apple Bloom was bold and daring as well, proving that she was grown-up and responsible.

The next morning, Dinky washed her face and brushed her teeth, and she started to get an idea. It was perfect, really. Most of her toiletries and other essentials were still packed. She simply dragged them back downstairs.

“Good morning, sweetie. I made muffins with sprinkles. They're like cupcakes, but without icing.” Derpy pointed to the cooling tray on the counter.

“Thanks,” said Dinky before lifting a muffin in her magic and biting into it. “No apples?” she asked. “Did you forget?”

“I'm sorry, Dinky. I didn't forget, I just I haven't had time to go shopping since I got back. I don't have any fruit in the house right now. I'll go to the marketplace today.”

Dinky shrugged. “That's all right. I'm moving to Sweet Apple Acres anyway.”

“Oh.” Derpy blinked. “Today?”

“That's right. I've already got my things packed,” answered Dinky, patting her luggage. “Sweet Apple Acres is a safe, constant, warm, welcoming place to live, don't you think?”

“Yeah,” replied Derpy, her face unreadable. “Do the Apples know you're staying with them?”

“Oh, they'll find out. They would never turn away a little foal like me.”

“No, I'm sure they wouldn't.” Derpy tapped her front hooves together. “They'd take good care of you, too.”

There was an awkward pause.

Dinky crinkled her forehead. “You're not going to try to stop me?”

Derpy shook her head. “The Apples are a wonderful family. You'd do just as well with them as you would with me or the Doc or anypony in our family.”

“Oh.” Dinky's ears twitched. She gazed into her sister's lazy eyes and felt a stab of guilt. “Um, are you going to be all right here by yourself?”

“I am a grown-up.” Derpy picked up a coffee mug and stuck a pink, swirly straw in it. “I'll be just fine.”

“Well. Okay then. I guess I'll see you around?”

“I'm sure I'll see you next time I deliver the mail,” said Derpy with a nod.

“All right, bye for now!” Dinky turned to face the door. “SSA, here I come!”

She left Derpy's home and cantered toward the orchard as quickly as she could while carrying her heavy travel bags. There were a lot of other ponies running and flying in different directions, many of whom where carrying copies of The Friendship Journal. Dinky smiled and nodded to them. Soon she saw a few ponies heading in the same direction she was. Curiously, they had drawings of apples taped over their cutie marks.

A green earth mare glanced down at her. “Howdy! Are you a Sweet Apple Admirer too?”

Dinky blinked. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Great! Then you need an apple mark!” said the mare, pointing her tail at the drawing of two apples and two hearts on her flank.

“Oh, I didn't think of that. Good idea!” Dinky stopped and set down her bags. “I should have some paper and crayons,” she muttered. “There!” She withdrew the drawing utensils and drew two apple drawings, one for each flank.

“Hm.” She tapped a crayon against her lip with her telekinesis and watched a stallion trot by with a plain red apple stuck over his real mark. “It needs something to make it different.” After a moment of thought, she drew a red barn next to her apple. “There! This means I belong on Sweet Apple Acres!”

Dinky didn't have any tape in her bags, though, so she'd have to find some later. Tucking her pictures into her luggage, she continued on the dirt road, past Golden Harvest's carrot fields. She saw the inviting wooden archway that marked the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. Grinning, she breathed in the scents of apple, dirt, grass, and hay mingled together. Dinky let out the breath in satisfaction.

An old earth stallion with the biggest, bushiest beard Dinky had seen outside of an illustration drew up alongside her. Maybe he had let his beard grow so long to make up for his receding hairline.

“Smells like home, don't it?” he drawled.

“You can say that again, mister!” said Dinky, beaming up at him.

“Call me Red Delicious,” he said, holding his hoof up to her. Dinky bumped his hoof with hers.

“Excuse me,” said a young earth mare behind them. She wore her auburn mane in pigtails, and a camera hung from her neck.

“You can't be Red Delicious,” said the mare.

The stallion chuckled. “You got me there, miss. My real name is Carter, but I picked Red Delicious as my Apple name.”

Shaking her head, the mare said, “No, I mean you can't be Red Delicious because that name has already been taken.”

Carter blinked. “Really?”

“Oh, yes, he's right here in the official Apple family tree.” The mare opened her camera case and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. After unfolding it, she pointed to the name, a smug smile on her face.

Carter adjusted his eyeglasses and whistled softly. “Mighty impressive! Where'd you get it?”

“I took the liberty of looking through the records at Town Hall and I made a copy.”

“So I can't use the name Red Delicious,” said Carter, rubbing his chin.

“You're better off anyway. Red delicious is a garbage apple.”

“What? How can you say that?” Carter knitted his bushy eyebrows together as if he honestly couldn't comprehend why someone would say anything negative about any apple on Sweet Apple Acres.

“The skin is thick and bitter and the flesh is flavorless mush,” she scrunched up her muzzle. “I'd sooner eat a raw potato!”

“I've had some good red delicious apples,” said Carter, sounding a bit defensive. “And raw potatos, for that matter. But there's no accountin' for taste.”

“The best red delicious doesn't taste half as as good as the worst orange pippin!” declared the mare.

“Guys, please don't fight!” Dinky cut in. “We're family now, and family shouldn't fight about such silly things!”

The mare's eyes widened, and then she hung her head. “Sorry, kid. I wasn't trying to be difficult, I just get really passionate about apples. And I'm sorry to you too, Carter.”

“Oh, that's all right, missy. So, what name did you pick for yourself?”

“Apple Snap.” She glanced down at Dinky. “What's your name, kid?”

“Dinky.”

“Just Dinky?” asked Apple Snap scratching her head. “Well, at least it's not taken.” She clicked a pen and wrote with her mouth on the back of her chart. “I'm keeping record of all the Sweet Apple Admirers I meet,” she explained after she finished writing.

“I could be Dinky Apple,” suggested Dinky, wanting to fit in.

Apple Snap shrugged. “I've heard worse. Did you think of an apple cutie mark yet?”

“Maybe she'll be lucky enough to get an apple mark for real!” said Carter.

Dinky whipped out her drawings. “I made these, but I didn't have any tape.”

“Hoo-wee, those are better than mine!” said Carter.

“Here, you can borrow my tape.” Apple Snap withdrew a small roll from her camera bag. “Now Carter,” she said, holding out her green hoof toward the stallion, “I have a name for you: Apple Cart.”

“Hot dog! I like that, Apple Snap.”

“I knew you would! I have a gift.” Apple Snap folded up her family tree, while Dinky taped her drawings to her flanks. Once they were ready, the three ponies walked together through the archway.

To be continued . . .

Author's Notes:

I know Dinky's family situation in this fanfic is not going to fit a lot of readers' headcanons, but that's sort of the point, isn't it? Besides, this story isn't meant to be taken seriously.

Also, I'm not a Whovian, so “Slice of Life” is literally my only frame of reference for writing the Doctor. Sorry to disappoint any Whovians reading this.