Time and Masks

Chapters

Fiendishly Tortured Filly
Summer Training Starts
Summer Sun Exhaustion
Progress Report
A Night to Hunt
A Familiar Name
First Burst of Magic
Time and Time Magic
After Class Aftermath
Good-byes
Academy Arrival
Starting to Get the Routine
Costumes
Poisonous Nightmare Part 1
Poisonous Nightmare Part 2
Morning Aftermath
Hearth's Warming Homecoming
Information Quest
School-Wide Joke
School Sneaking
Round Two
Spring Break Visit
Princess on the Hunt
Summer Sun Parasprites
Dinky Hunted
Back in the Saddle
Shattered World
Life Goes On
Spring Break Camping
Awkward Morning After
Questions of the Future
Putting Things Together.
Boulder Bucking
Strength Against Skill
Wins and Losses
Moving On

Fiendishly Tortured Filly

Dinky Hooves bit her lip as she was poked in the side again. She did her best to keep still, refusing to flinch. Not only would she not show weakness, but she was also afraid that any movement would only make the torture take longer.

Dear Celestia, she thought, please either end this soon or put me out of my misery. She felt another poke in the side. This time she could not stop herself and tried to pull away.

"Do try to hold still," the torturer said, "I just have to make a few more adjustments to make certain the outfit fits you properly."

Dinky did her best (and failed) not to roll her eyes. She continued to try and hold still, hoping for it to be finished soon. Getting bored, she began to chew her lip again, but stopped when she realized it was becoming tender. She had to stop or else it would start to bleed. But she would not bleed. She would not bleed and she would not cry out. The filly refused to show any weakness under such torture.

"Just a few more pins," the sadistic torturer said casually, "and then we'll be done for today."

The muscles in the base of Dinky's neck tensed and a knot of fear formed in her stomach at that one word: "today." That single, solitary word was the worst for one simple reason; dread. "Done for today" implied that they were going to continue this cruelty another day.

This was not how she had imagined she would be spending her spring break back in Ponyville.

"Alright darling, we are done for now. You may get down from there and change out of the outfit."

Dinky let out a sigh of relief and climbed down from the display table she had been standing on. Quick as she could, she walked to the dressing room and began to take off the outfit. Specifically the black body under suit that was supposed to fit tight against her. The boots, the purple over suit, the cape and hat all fit properly. The mask had needed adjustment to the muzzle, but that had gone quickly.

As Rarity had requested, Dinky had come back to the boutique alone. When she arrived, she had been measured. It had been unpleasant, but not too bad. She had been poked and prodded, and the measuring tape had been a bit uncomfortable in some places such as her armpit.

Then Rarity asked her to come back the day after next. Since the fashion designer had the measurements, it would be quick work to make the new outfit, and there was still time for a proper fitting. So the filly did, and endured what had to be hours of cruel malicious torture as pins were stuck into the outfit to adjust the fit of it.

At least now it was over. No, that was not quite true. It was done for today, which meant there was at least another day where something like this could happen. At least it was done for now.

Dinky gave the jumpsuit to Rarity and tried to flee from the boutique as quickly as she could while still being polite. Outside she ran as fast as she could. The filly was mostly running from Carousel Boutique, glad to have escaped from the vicious torture of being fitted.

The first place she went to was Sweet Apple Acres. Wind Tunnel was out in one of the orchards with the Apple Family members. A part of it was the crush he seemed to have developed on Apple Bloom, the pegasus would follow her around all day if he could. Another part was genuine curiosity. Having grown up first in Cloudsdale then in Canterlot, Wind Tunnel had never seen food being grown before.

Big Macintosh gave her directions to the part of the orchard where the pegasus most likely was. Dinky found Wind Tunnel up in one of the trees, wings spread out for balance as he walked along one of the branches. It was hard to figure out what he was looking at though.

"Wind?" Dinky called out, "What are you doing up there?"

"Thinking," he replied before jumping down. His wings fluttered as he went. Although he was too young to fly, he had developed enough to land safely from jumps such as the tree.

"So are you done?"

"Yeah. They're done harvesting for today." He stopped and looked around. "Where are they? Where's Apple Bloom?"

"Big Macintosh is by the barn," she explained. "I don't know where Apple Bloom is." She watched as the pegasus headed for the barn before following after him. She kept quiet as Wind Tunnel asked Big Macintosh about Apple Bloom.

"Bloom went off with 'er friends," the big red earth pony said, "reckon she left 'bout twenty minutes ago."

"You mean he was standing in that tree for twenty minutes?" Dinky asked, looking from Macintosh to her friend and back.

"Eyup."

"What?" Wind Tunnel yelped, "No. Two or three... Maybe five... could I? NO! There's no way I was there that long."

"Ya' were," Big Macintosh replied then went back to work.

"What were you thinking about, anyways?" Dinky asked.

"Stuff," the pegasus replied with a shrug.

"Well, let's go get Twinkleshine. She should still be at the library. Bye, Mister Macintosh." With that the two of them left the farm.

"They're not here at the moment," Twilight Sparkle explained when the two friends arrived. "Ruby went to see Zecora to get some ingredients for a potion she's working on. Twinkleshine offered to go with her so she could learn a little about the Everfree." The librarian pony rubbed her chin. "Think she also said something about the old castle, but I doubt she would try to travel out and explore it alone."

Dinky nodded but said nothing. She was a little skeptical on the last part. When Twinkleshine got interested in a story, it seemed like she would do nearly anything to go after it, even if it put her in a bit of danger. Dinky discovered that when she found Twinkleshine after the Poison Joke incident at school. It turned out the unicorn had stood right outside the door to watch the whole thing and ended up getting exposed to the powder... again.

It was a short wait until the door to the library opened again. Twinkleshine entered, leaning against Ruby as they did. One of the white and pink unicorn's legs was lifted up, bandages wrapped around the fetlock. She was leaning against the red filly, using her for support as they walked back in.

"What happened?" Dinky asked, seeing one friend injured and another being used as a crutch.

"We saw a Timberwolf!" Twinkleshine squealed, bouncing slightly. The statement caused the eyes of the others to go wide in shock.

"We were near Zecora's," Ruby explained, "on our way to visit her. We were almost there when a Timberwolf showed up. Luckily Zecora was nearby and able to scare it off."

"So Twinkle hurt her leg running from the Timberwolf?" Wind Tunnel asked.

"No." Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes. "Twinkle hurt her leg when she kicked a root while dancing excitedly."

"I have only heard stories of Timberwolves," the white unicorn practically shouted, "but I've never actually seen one up close before. I got to make all sorts of notes on the whole thing while Ruby and Zecora bandaged me up. It might just help make for a really great story someday."

"Okay..." Dinky turned to Ruby. "What are you working on now, anyways?"

"A sleeping potion," Ruby answered with a grin. "I thought that if someone was hurt and I couldn't do anything, I could at least have a way for them to sleep until they get to the hospital instead of being in pain."

"Kind of like how the doctors put ponies to sleep before surgery?" Wind Tunnel asked, catching the conversation.

"Yeah."

"Ruby?" Twilight asked, "Did Zecora help you with this bandage?" No one had noticed that Twilight Sparkle had moved up and was looking at the wrapping on Twinkleshine's leg.

"No." Ruby shook her head. "She watched me, but didn't say anything."

"Well it's really well done. You're training is paying off quite well."

Ruby practically glowed at the praise, her smile widening as much as it could without injuring her.

"Well, anypony have an idea what to do for the rest of the day?" Dinky asked, looking around.

"Actually," Twinkleshine said, "I think I should head back to your house. I'm supposed to keep form putting too much weight on my leg for too long."

"Aww," Dinky pouted, "but I just got out of being tortured by Miss Rarity. And Spring Break is almost over."

"Yeah, and looks like I'll have to spend the rest of it close to the house. OH! I almost forgot." Twinkleshine turned and reached into her saddlebag. She pulled out a jar with filled with dirt that had a blue flower growing in it. "Here."

"You got me a Poison Joke flower?" Dinky asked, looking at the strange blue flower.

"Well Zecora had it," the white and pink unicorn explained, "I just asked her for it. Thought that if you took it to the princesses, somepony could figure out what it would take to cultivate and grow it in Canterlot."

"So we could figure out who might be The Poison Joke Prankster," Dinky finished excitedly. "Good idea." She looked at the flower closer.

"It's very pretty," Twinkleshine said.

"Yeah," Wind Tunnel agreed, "Too bad it does weird things to ponies."

Summer Training Starts

It was the first day of summer vacation. Schools all throughout Canterlot had ended for the year. Some had gone back to their home towns to spend time with friends and family. Others stayed in town for one reason or another. Some even were planning to attend summer camp or special classes. Most were enjoying the day by sleeping in.

Dinky Hooves was not one of them.

The lavender filly was up with the sun, mane and teeth brushed. An oat and berry bar was waiting for her, so she grabbed it and ate as she went. The small unicorn headed out of her quarters and down through the halls as she headed for what was to be her new morning routine for the summer.

***

"Fall in!" a brown earth pony bellowed. The stallion's mane was cut short, just a little longer than his coat. The remnants of mane and the cropped tail were black with hints of silver in them. There were scars on his face and forelegs. The stallion wore a military combat uniform. He watched as the ponies lined up, standing at attention.

"I am Drill Sergeant Stonehoof. You will refer to me as Drill Sergeant. As such, everything that comes out of your mouth will end in 'Drill Sergeant.' You got it?"

"Yes, Drill Sergeant!" the line of ponies called out.

"You are here because you think you are worth being part of the Royal Guard," Stonehoof continued. "Well you are WRONG! My job is to either...."

The soldier stopped talking as he reached the end of the line and looked at the last pony. At the end of the line of full grown ponies stood a single filly. He looked down at the lavender unicorn who stood at attention in as best she could. There was a slight amusement as he noticed her trying to keep her eyes forward, but slowly shifting toward him before flicking straight again.

"Who are you?" the drill sergeant asked.

"Dinky Hooves," she answered, "I am here under orders of Princess Celestia. I am to undergo training with the recruits until lunchtime and to be shown no special treatment... Drill Sergeant!"

Behind him, one of the other ponies began to snicker. It stopped as soon as Stonehoof glared back to look for the source. He waited a moment before turning to look down at Dinky once again. Finally he turned around.

"I have to speak with my C.O.," he stated, "I'll be back shortly. IN the meantime, I want all of you to run laps until you collapse. And when you do collapse, begin doing push-ups. Moveitmoveitmoveit!" As he shouted, the ponies fell out of line and started to run the laps as ordered. Stonehoof watched long enough to make sure they were actually running before turning to head toward the command quarters.

"Enter," a voice called out from the other side of the door as Stonehoof knocked. The stallion entered and saluted the pony behind the desk who returned the motion. "Something the matter Stonehoof?"

"Sir," Stonehoof responded, "A filly showed up with my recruits claiming to be the student of Celestia and is to undergo training, sir."

"That's correct. By orders of Celestia herself. Dinky Hooves is to undergo military training from morning to noon. She is to be held to the same standards as all other recruits, and given no special treatment due to her status as Celestia's personal student." The pony leaned over his desk, pressing the tips of his hooves together. "Is there a problem, Sergeant?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted."

"It's more that I was not informed of her arrival,sir," Stonehoof said in a softer voice, "I was not expecting to find a filly among my recruits, much less one that is supposed to be the student to the princess. I should have been notified."

"Yes. You should have. Unfortunately it is too late for that now. I will make a note to look into the error with as much discretion as I can. Dismissed."

Stonehoof saluted and turned to leave. He shut the door behind him with some extra strength put into it, grinning as he heard the crack of wood. After letting out a snort, the stallion went to check on the guards in training.

A small number of them were still running laps. A larger group were in the grass, trying to perform push-ups. Most were simply sprawled out, breathing heavily.

The drill sergeant smirked at the worn out recruits then looked for the filly. The smirk faded as his lips pursed. The little pony was still running laps. She was not keeping up with the adults, seeing as she was on the other side of the track, but she was still up and moving.

"Fall in!" he shouted again, getting the recruits to return to the line. "As I was saying: You are here because you think you are good enough to be a part of the royal guard. Well you are wrong! My job is to either whip you into a shape half-decent enough to get the chance to be a guard, or make you realize that you do not belong here.

"Since it has been brought up by the arrival of a half-sized recruit, let me make this clear: when you are here, you are mine. You will do what I say when I say. Nothing short of direct intervention from one of the princesses herself will change anything. Is that clear?"

"Yes Drill Sergeant!" the ponies in the line shouted out.

"Good." He turned and fixed them with a look. "Now that we have that cleared up, we can begin the proper training, starting with the obstacle course. I hope those of you who took a rest enjoyed it, because you get to go first." That caused a slight groan from the trainees. "Now, Move! Move! Move! Move!"

***

Dinky groaned as she walked (practically dragged herself actually) up the stairs to her room. It seemed so malicious to make a pony climb so many steps after such a vigorous workout. Granted she was the only pony that had to do so since the barracks were on the ground level, but they trainees still had the second half of their day ahead of them. The thought of continuing until sundown made her shiver.

Her eyes drifted toward the bed. She wanted so badly to just collapse on it and take a nap. Unfortunately every inch of her was covered in mud. She was fairly sure there were some twigs and even rocks stuck to her as well. As much as she wanted to get in bed, she had to get clean first or else the sheets would probably stick to her. Besides, she still had other matters to deal with before her day was over.

Turning on the water, Dinky set it as to be as hot as she could tolerate and at maximum flow. The filly then closed her eyes, tilted her head back to let the water hit her in the face, and waited. She could feel the impact of the water against her, striking the layer of dirt caked to her fur. Slowly the hot spray washed away enough that she began to feel the wetness against her skin and fur, the warmth soaking into her body to ease the ache of muscles.

She felt like she could stay like that forever.

After the water had washed away the worst of it, Dinky grabbed her brush and soap. The filly generously poured the soap over her coat and mane before lathering it up. She worked to get it deep into her fur, scrubbing hard with the bristles to get the mud out as best she could.

Satisfied, she worked to rinse out all the shampoo, taking the last of the grime from her work out with it. A part of her noted that she would have to be careful. If she scrubbed as hard every day as she did today, she would probably scrape her coat off and leave her skin raw.

Feeling clean, Dinky stood in the water for ten minutes, letting it just flow over her. It was with a little bit of sadness that she finally stopped the water and started drying off. She felt almost five pounds lighter by the time she was clean, dry, and fresh. Encouraged by the rumbling in her stomach, the young filly went out to get some lunch before continuing on with her magical lessons.

It was going to be a long summer.

Summer Sun Exhaustion

Dinky reached her room and took a deep breath. She walked over to her bed and collapsed. Another day of working out with the guard recruits was finished. It had been the better part of a month since she had started, and it was a exhausting. Everyday she ended up being stiff, sore and exhausted. Day after day of running, obstacle courses, jumping jacks, push-ups, and learning unarmed combat.

At least she was done with it for today, and there were no classes in the afternoon for today. After lunch, it would be her own. Twinkleshine and Wind Tunnel were supposed to show up after dinner. Dinky's lunch was probably waiting for her right now. Then again, the bed was very nice at the moment. Everything would be fine for another minute or two... or five....

"Dinky?" a voice called out. There was a gentle poke at her side. The filly let out a groan and tried to shift away from the poking. Her eyes cracked open slightly, catching sight of a pair of green ones staring at her from a rose colored face.

"Ruby?" Dinky asked, blinking in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Princess Celestia invited me," the red unicorn filly answered with a grin. "Since she's having it in Manehattan, she thought it would be nice for me to join you for The Summer Sun Celebration. Come on. The sun's about to set."

"What?!" Dinky jumped off the bed, and immediately regretted it as she felt twinges of pain all throughout her body. With the ache and discomfort, the filly walked to the balcony. The filly opened the door and stepped out onto it. She turned toward the west and looked out at the sky.

There she could see the setting sun. The sky shifted from the pale blue to a bright rosy red with hints of the golden glow to it. Fluffy clouds floated above and around the sun, the color shifting from white at the top to a faint pink at the bottom with hints of purple between the layers. It was beautiful.

Dinky let out a groan and let laid her head on the banister as she watched it.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked as she moved to join her friend.

"I almost slept through it," Dinky responded, "and I missed my free day."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been working hard all summer. Training with the guards in the morning. Studying in the evening. I get an afternoon off, and I fall asleep through the whole thing."

"Well that will make it easier to stay up all night, won't it?"

"...Yeah. I guess it will."

"Come on. Dinner's waiting for us."

Dinky turned to her friend and smiled. The two of them headed back into the room then out and down to eat dinner. While they did, the pair caught up on all that had happened between the two of them since they saw each other at spring break.

After they had finished, the pair were told that Twinkleshine and Wind Tunnel had arrived and were waiting in one of the smaller rooms by the garden. Grinning the two Ponyville unicorns went to meet up with their friends and start figuring out how to stay up all night and wait for the sun to come up.

Finally they came up with the idea of starting off by telling scary stories, with each one taking a turn. It was quickly decided that Twinkleshine should go last since she had the most interest and skill when it came to telling stories. The unicorn did not mind, feeling it gave her a bar to try and match or exceed. After some further conversation, they all decided on the order of the storytelling.

Ruby went first. She told a story about a foal whose family being replaced by changelings. The main character tried to warn other ponies about what was happening, but nopony believed her until it was too late. Next was Wind Tunnel. His story was about a pegasus visiting a distant place when he was attacked by some creature. After returning to Cloudsdale, the poor pony turned into a monster with bat-like wings and thirst for blood. He fed on other pegasi until he was stopped by a Professor Van Helium. After Wind Tunnel was Dinky's turn. The story she told was about a pony that turned into a Timberwolf whenever the moon was full. Finally, after killing her best friend, the poor pony ran away into The Everfree Forest and was never seen again.

Finally it was Twinkleshine's turn. Her horn glowed as she began to tell her tale. The room seemed to grow darker as if the lights were being turned off. Soon the only light seemed to be coming from somewhere in the middle of the group with everything else hidden in shadow. Then as she began to speak and tell her story, figures floated the in the air. They were nothing to extensive, mostly just a colored outline. There was also a subtle hint of music playing, adding to the mood of the story.

"That," Twinkleshine said to her enraptured audience, "Was when... Lightning struck the unicorn."

All four of the ponies jumped as the room filled with a flash of lightning.

"...That... that wasn't me." Twinkleshine finally said.

"There aren't supposed to be any clouds tonight," Dinky said, "much less a storm." The four of them got up and headed for the garden. The unicorns used their horns to create light, allowing them to see what was going on.

The group saw a figure laying in the grass. As they got closer, the air began to smell of something had burned. Dinky and Ruby began to run toward the figure as fast as they could as the grass under their hooves turned black.

In the middle of the burned patch of grass was a pegasus guard. The air around him was rank with the odor of burnt hair and flesh. Portions of his coat, normally a clean and bright white, was dark with scorch marks. Pieces of the armor was misshapen and melted, several small points of it glowing like embers.

"Is he still alive?" Dinky asked, leaning in close to the injured guard.

"Step back," Ruby said, her voice holding more authority than her friend was used to hearing. Closing her eyes, her horn began to glow brighter. The rose colored filly's magical aura began to cover the guard, encompassing him fully. She held still as she focused before opening her eyes, her magic fading back into ambient light.

"He's still alive," she finally answered, "but hurt. He's going to need immediate medical attention." The filly's ears fell back as she glanced back to the guard. "I don't know if he's going to make it though. He's barely hanging on and I don't want to move him..."

Dinky looked from Ruby to the guard and back. Her eyebrows and nose scrunched as she thought a moment. An idea was bubbling up in her brain and she just need to concentrate to catch it and figure it out. The filly's face lit up as it came to her.

"Ruby," she asked, "do you think you can help him until medics arrive?"

"...I guess so. Why?"

"Wind," Dinky continued, "You're the fastest of us. Go get help as quick as you can." Wind Tunnel nodded and ran off. "Twinkle, there should be a first aid kit in the room. I don't know where exactly. Look for it and bring it here."

"Okay," Twinkleshine responded before running back toward the castle.

"I'm going to try and freeze him in time," Dinky explained. "That should buy us time until help arrives. When Twinkle gets back, do what you can for him. Maybe between the two of us we can help enough for him to make it to the doctors."

"Right."

Dinky smiled at her friend then turned back to the pegasus. She wished she felt as confident in this as her friend seemed to. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Dinky reached deep inside herself to take a hold of the magic and tried to focus it.

Please, dear Celestia, please please please let this work. What she was about to do, she had never intentionally done to another pony. It had been something that she had been scared to do to any living creature since she accidentally froze Diamond Tiara. If she could, she would never use it on another pony again.

The problem was that she did not seem to have much of a choice this time. Most of the pegasus guards looked the same to Dinky, especially with the armor, so she had no idea who he was. But he was a pony that was hurt, and badly at that. Dinky had to do something to help. She would try anything and everything in her power, even if it made her uncomfortable.

As the energy built up and got stronger, she pushed it out toward the injured guard. The filly's eyes squeezed tighter and her jaw clenched as she concentrated with all her might. There was no time for hope or fear for the moment as she pushed everything she had into freezing the pegasus in time for the moment.

When the magic left her, Dinky collapsed in exhaustion. She opened her eyes, if barely, and saw that the aura of magic was encompassed around the injured guard. A small smile formed on her mouth as she moved to push herself back up onto her hooves.

"I think it worked," she said as she looked at him, "Now what?"

Twinkleshine arrived with the first aid kit while Ruby spoke, sharing what they could do for the guard to help until medics arrived to get him proper medical care. With the red filly's instructions, the three of them did what their best to help until Wind Tunnel returned with medics to take the injured guard to the hospital.

Progress Report

Dinky woke up and looked around.

"Ruby?"

After the excitement with the guard, Dinky and her friends had found it easy to stay awake the rest of the night. When the medics had taken the injured pegasus, the four friends began to talk and wonder, trying to figure out what happened. Aside from it not being an earth pony, they could not figure anything else out (a pegasus could have used a storm cloud or a unicorn could have used a simple spell), but they had fun speculating on the possibilities. At some points they just made up stories that were as outrageous as possible. It made it easier to stay up and watch the sunrise. After breakfast, Wind Tunnel and Twinkleshine went home while Ruby and Dinky went to bed.

Now Dinky was awake and Ruby was nowhere to be seen. Wondering where her friend was, the filly got up and started searching.

The lavender unicorn found her ruby-colored friend. Ruby was sitting at the table in the dining room, talking excitedly to Princess Luna. The conversation stopped as Dinky entered, turning to notice her arrival.

"Your friend was telling me about your adventures last night," Luna stated. "You had quite an exciting night."

"Thank you, Princess Luna," Dinky said as she walked in and took a seat. "Where's Princess Celestia?"

"Sister is most displeased that one her guards would be attacked on the castle grounds while we were elsewhere. Celestia is awaiting a report on the guards condition as well as if any others were similarly affected."

"Others?" That had not even crossed Dinky's mind. In a way it made sense. After all, what would be the point of attacking only one single pony? Then again, why attack any pony at all? "Why would a pony do this?"

"It is difficult to hypothesize," Luna responded, "without sufficient information on the pony. It could be a great many number of things. We will have to learn more of the pony responsible before we can speculate on the motives.

"Instead, I wish to hear of your experience during the events. I am quite curious as to what it feels like to place a pony in temporal stasis."

"Exhausting." Dinky then went on to tell her part of the story where she used her magic to freeze the guard in time so that his injuries would not get worse and kill him. It did feel quite tiring, like she had to use nearly all her energy. As Dinky told her story, they were eventually joined by Princess Celestia.

"Good..." Dinky turned to look out the window quickly, "...evening?... Princess Celestia."

"Good evening Dinky," Celestia replied, "Luna. Ruby." She joined the three of them. "I have received word if you are curious. The guard is alive and stable. He is expected to make a full recovery." She let out a sigh. "Also, he was not the only one who was struck by lightning last night. I would say he suffered the greatest injuries, but unfortunately at least two died due to what happened. It was lucky that the two of you were able to aid him or there might have been three."

Dinky and Ruby both relaxed at the news the guard would be okay, releasing a tension neither realized that they were carrying. The relief gave way to sadness at the news of two deaths. Dinky could see the hint of grief on her teacher's face. It always seemed that Celestia seemed to take any attack or injury on her subjects the same as if it were one of her friends or family. With a thousand years of rule, that had to create a lot of grief.

It was hard to imagine what the princess was feeling. At the same time, the filly felt a bit of guilt as well. Was there something she could have done? Maybe if they had been quicker, one of them could have seen the pony responsible for the attack. It was possible they could have done something to stop the attacks and save the others from being struck by lightning.

"If you will excuse me," Celestia said, "it is time for me to lower the sun." With that, she turned and left.

"That means that I shall have to raise the moon," Luna added, "If you will excuse me."

With that, Dinky and Ruby were left alone while the princesses went to attend to their celestial duties. The pair still time to hang out together until the morning when Ruby would have to head back to Ponyville.

"Want to go see if the Poison Joke is growing?" Dinky asked.

"Sure," Ruby responded. The two started walking to head down to the ground floor and a small green house just outside the castle's alchemy lab.

"So..." the ruby red filly said, "Do you think the pony will attack again?"

"Probably," Dinky groaned, rolling her eyes. "Why would they stop when nopony even knows who they are?"

"Too bad we aren't older. Then we could do something about it."

Could we?

A Night to Hunt

This is a bad idea, Dinky thought as she walked out of the castle to the garden. The lavender filly's gold colored eyes looked around, making sure that she was alone. Seeing no other ponies, she moved close to the fence and behind some bushes. There she took off her saddlebag, opened it, and pulled out the Mare-Do-Well outfit.

Every night for nearly a week, there had been attacks. Numerous ponies had been struck by lightning, as had several buildings as well. Damage ranged from minor destruction of property to ponies being killed, although most were simply hospitalized. Most of the injured were guard members, making a bit of irony in that by searching for the attacker made them a more likely target.

Finally Dinky could take it no longer. Ponies were being hurt and she had to do something about it. Unfortunately she did not really know what she was going to do. Putting on the costume and going out on night patrol was about as far as she had gotten.

Crouching low, the costumed filly scurried through the bushes, heading toward the gates. Two guards stood on the outside at full attention. Pressing herself down against the ground she crawled forward. Holding her breath, she moved forward and around one, slipping under his nose low enough to the ground that her shoulders were beneath the guard's elbow. Past them, she started to speed up, worrying less and less about keeping quiet as she got further away.

At the corner and out of sight, Dinky stopped and looked around. It began to sink in how badly thought out her plan was (Not even a plan. A plan means you have at least some idea on what you're doing). Now she was out in Canterlot looking for a criminal and had no idea where to even begin looking.

After thinking a moment, she decided to head toward the overhanging part of town. Looking around, the filly tried to figure out where she was and which direction that would be. Making her best guess, she turned and started running again.

The filly slowed down as she continued on, keeping her eye out for any of the guards. As she went, she noticed that the streets seemed to be unusually empty. It did make sense. Most were probably scared that if they were outside, they would be the next victim. Ponies that were more interested in committing crime would also be inside, seeing as the guards were out in greater numbers than usual.

After a while, guards were what she saw. The sight made her stop and move off to the side, hiding in the shadows and watching. They were a group of four, close enough to see and watch each other, but far enough that one getting struck would not harm the others. Dinky began to follow the group down the street, staying close to the walls and hiding whenever she could.

The filly followed the guards without incident for maybe four blocks. At that point, the group turned left and continued on. Dinky decided to turn right, continuing toward the edge of town. She stopped as she reached her destination, moving to stand next to the fountain in the hope that the water would draw any attack on her.

There was nothing. The entire area was clear. No signs of clouds or of strange ponies. There was nothing else around.

"You!" A voice called out, getting Dinky's attention. Turning to look at the source, there was a guard approaching from one of the other streets.

Dinky ran. She knew it would look bad, but a sense of fear and embarrassment made her feel the urge to escape more than anything else at the moment.

"Stop!" the guard shouted. His wings flared open wide before giving a single flap to lift him off the ground. Quickly the pegasus took flight, chasing after the costumed pony.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Dinky thought as she ran as fast as she could. First she had no plan, then she foolishly stood out in the open to look around, now she was running from the guards. This was not how things were supposed to go at all. Although admittedly she had no idea how it was supposed to go.

Turning, she ran into an alley thinking she could hide behind some buildings and possible be out of sight long enough to throw the guard off her trail. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a dead end.

Dinky dove behind some trashcans and closed her eyes. Trying to keep calm, she turned her attention inward to draw on her magic. Feeling her power, she began to channel it, letting it flow out through her horn before wrapping back around her body.

There was a metallic bang as something hit the trashcans, and then... silence.

Dinky opened her eyes and turned around to look. The cans were spread apart, stuck in mid-air with the pegasus between them. He was flying right at her, or would be if she had not sped up enough that time seemed frozen.

It was actually a bit of surprise to Dinky how easily it seemed to work. She had not accelerated herself since Poison Joke Prankster attacked her school, but felt like it was easier to cast and using less energy to maintain.

The costumed filly moved to step around the frozen scene and ran for the mouth of the alley. Since the guards were supposed to be in groups, the other guards were probably close to where the one had found her. That was reason enough to turn and run further away from there.

Block after block passed. Dinky had no idea how many, just running quickly to get as much distance as possible. As she stopped to catch her breath, she looked around. Feeling she was in another part of Canterlot and far enough away, she let her magic drain, returning to normal time. She leaned against the wall and walked slowly, trying to catch her breath.

This whole thing is a bad idea. Things are not going well for me at all and I'm not really doing anything to help. This is stupid of me. Maybe I should just give up. I should just go home and go to bed.

A boom of thunder echoed through the streets, making the filly jump in surprise. Before she even realized what she was doing, she was running toward it, no longer feeling tired. It never even crossed Dinky's mind that she was running toward danger.

Dinky stopped running when she saw something move past her overhead. It looked like a cloud with something on it. It was a pretty easy guess as to what that something was. The filly had seen pegasi moving clouds above the sky in Ponyville enough to know what it looked like from below.

Before she was even able to finish turning around back around, the pegasus-driven cloud was far away. Despite seeming pointless, Dinky started to chase after it. The filly did her best to chase after the cloud from the the ground, following the streets and turning when and where she could to try and keep close.

She managed to keep it in sight of it for five minutes before she lost track of it. Worse, she now had no idea where she was. The filly looked around at the unfamiliar city, and the even more unfamiliar part of it she was currently in. Made her feel she had to get out more.

"Who the buck are you supposed to be?" a voice asked from behind. It was deep and scratchy but something slightly feminine to it. The sound of a pony talking caused Dinky to jump slightly and turn around, mentally kicking herself for letting whoever get the drop on her.

Two inches from the ground floated a black cloud with a pegasus laying on it. The mare had a pale blue fur that could be seen on her wings, mouth and ears. The rest of the coat covered by a costume. The main body of it was a dark purple with the mask and boots black. There was yellow piping that looked like lightning lining separating the purple from the black. The mare's eyes were hidden by smoky yellow goggle lenses in purple frames.

"I," Dinky responded, "Am Mare-Do-Well. And you," she pointed a hoof at the pegasus, "are the one who has been hitting others with lightning." This caused the pegasus to start chuckling.

"Yeah," the mare sighed out with a grin. She rubbed at her chest that was swelled up, looking like she was being praised. "You can call me Shadowbolt."

"Well you need to stop," Dinky said, surprised by how much authority she was putting into her own voice.

"Or what?" Shadowbolt asked, her grin turning into a scowl. "What are you going to do about, runt?" She poked the filly with one of her hooves. "Dinky little filly like you? Probably can't even spell 'Mare-Do-Well.'"

Dinky let out a snort and glared at the pegasus, who glared right. The filly then closed her eyes and started to concentrate. Focusing her mind, she began to draw on her magic, preparing to freeze the pegasus in temporal stasis.

There was a crackle of electricity. Every part of Dinky's body suddenly tingled as a shock ran through her. The feeling caused her to lose concentration, the magic she had been gathering dispersing harmlessly.

"Two things," Shadowbolt said. "First, do not," she poked the filly in the chest with a hoof, "your eyes off your opponent. The moment you do, you give them an opening. Second, I have been in Canterlot long enough to know when a unicorn is trying to use magic." Standing up, she leaned forward, pressing face to face. "That was just a warning. Try it again and you'll get a lot more of a shock."

A new feeling of anger burned in Dinky's chest. She stared back at the pegasus before letting out a snort. The filly raised one hoof up as quickly as she could, aiming it for the mare's jaw.

The punch missed as Shadowbolt pulled her head back. The criminal grinned again, letting out a chuckle. The sound now grated on the filly's nerves. Without thinking about, she took a step back and lunged at the criminal. Instead of hitting Shadowbolt, Dinky found herself in the cloud the pegasus had been using instead.

"Eh, you can keep it," Shadowbolt called from above. "I was done with it tonight anyways. Besides, I can always get another one. Better luck next time, runt." With that she turned and flew off, moving so fast she was out of sight almost in an instant.

With a cry of frustration, Dinky started to try and destroy the cloud. It was not as easy a task as it would be for a pegasus, but she eventually moved it enough that the evening air caused it to dissipate. Panting, she stood there, glaring at the sky where she had last seen Shadowbolt.

A Familiar Name

"Halt!" Drill Sergeant Stonehoof called out. At the order the trainees stopped, standing at attention. All kept their eyes forward as the earth pony walked past them.

All except one.

Dinky blinked rapidly, trying to keep her eyes from closing. Despite her efforts, the filly let out a wide yawn. She clamped her jaw shut as soon as she noticed she was being looked at. Her gaze flicked to glance at the drill sergeant before staring forward again.

"That," Stonehoof said, "Was pathetic. The worst I've seen from you grunts in weeks. It was slow, it was sloppy, and it was disgraceful! You are training to be in the royal guard. That means strength, focus, and discipline. I saw none of that today. it was like watching a bunch of foals playing soldier. If I see another performance like today, half of you will be doing mile runs with full packs and the other half will be cleaning latrines with toothbrushes. Understood?"

"Yes Drill Sergeant!" the trainees called out.

"Well lucky for you grunts it's chow time. Dismissed!"

With that, the trainees broke formation. Almost all of them cantered toward the cafeteria, trying to get there as quickly as possible. After all, they only had an hour for lunch before they needed to continue with training.

Dinky was planning for lunch as well, but not as strictly since she was finished with the military training for the day. She stifled another yawn as she started heading back to the castle.

"Cadet Hooves," Stonehoof stated, stopping Dinky in her tracks. She turned and looked back at him as he approached. "You especially were performing below your standard capabilities. I expect to see you do better tomorrow."

"Yes, Drill Sergeant," she said with a salute. It was quickly returned before the stallion turned to leave. She watched him go then returned to heading toward the castle.

She arrived in the dining room in time to see both princesses sitting down and beginning to eat.

"And what have you been up to, my student?" Celestia asked. "Luna tells me that you were not in your room last night. So I went to check on your room while you were at training, when I noticed that your bed had not been slept in and that a certain costume was not in the closet."

Dinky felt her face heat up in embarrassment. She had been planning to tell Princess Celestia about what occurred the night before, but had really been hoping there was more to tell than she had. A thought suddenly crossed her mind.

"None of the guards reported chasing a filly in a purple costume last night?" she asked. The look on Celestia's face was answer enough that yes, in fact, somepony had. Dinky let out a sigh.

"Okay, so you know I took my costume and snuck out last night. I was hoping to find the pony who was causing the lightning and stop her. I found her, but couldn't stop her. She called herself Shadowbolt and-"

"Shadowbolt?" Luna interrupted, bumping the table as she stood up. "Tell us what she looked like!"

The outburst startled the filly, making her mind go blink. She shook her head, shifting her body nervously as she tried to remember anything that she had been talking about. It took her a while to remember the question and then to figure out the answer.

"I didn't see much of her," the filly finally replied. "She was wearing what looked like a Wonderbolt costume, but with black and purple..." She stopped talking as Princess slammed a hoof against the table, letting out a cry of frustration. Worse, she let it out using the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"Sister?" Celestia asked in confusion. "What is wrong?"

"When we..." Luna paused and shook her head. "When I was Nightmare Moon and attempted to... dissuade Twilight and her friends from gathering the elements, I created an illusion of stunt flyers called The Shadowbolts to tempt Rainbow Dash away from her friends. We... I have seen the outfit only once since, which was when Rainbow Dash wore it for her costume during Nightmare Night after my return. She even went around and pranked many ponies by creating thunderclaps using a cloud to startle them."

"But Rainbow Dash wouldn't be here," Dinky said, "and even if she was, she wouldn't actually hurt anypony."

"Indeed," Celestia agreed, "But I do not think that the possibility is what provoked such a reaction from my sister."

"Nay...No. It is more...The Shadowbolts were a creation of Nightmare Moon. Rainbow Dash created a costume similar, but I believe her too busy pranking to have told anypony. As such it seems ... unusual to come across another pony, especially here in Canterlot, to be using the same name and garments. Yet I cannot believe that such a thing could simply be a coincidence."

"What do you think then?" Dinky asked.

"It is... difficult to say." Luna shook her head rubbing a hoof against one side of her forehead "But it is... worrisome as it introduces the possibility that portions of Nightmare Moon separate from me still remain in Equestria. Excuse me. I... I need to get some sleep and do some contemplating before raising the moon." With that, she left.

"Is... Is that possible?" Dinky asked, turning toward Celestia, "Could Nightmare Moon still exist?" She watched as her teacher seemed to consider this for a long moment.

"I guess," she said, "the most accurate would be 'not truly.' Nightmare Moon is now believed to partially be a separated entity that possessed Luna when she had become lonely and jealous. However, a part of what she was came from being a part of Luna. Should this entity take over another, it would be a different creature.

"What this sounds like is not Nightmare Moon, or the entity which combined with Luna to create her. It sounds more like... maybe a fragment of Nightmare Moon that had a memory from Luna creating The Shadowbolts found a host here in Canterlot."

"What does that mean?"

"...I don't know..."

First Burst of Magic

The bell rang, releasing the class at Ponyville Elementary for lunch and recess. The foals rushed outside excitedly, talking amongst themselves. The ponies broke off into groups as they searched out places to sit and eat. Among them was a gray unicorn with bright yellow eyes and a blond mane and tail, Dinky Hooves. Walking beside her was her friend, the dark red unicorn Ruby Pinch. Carrying their lunches in their mouths, the two of them found a nice spot in the shade. The pair had just begun to eat when they were interrupted.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the loser-corns." Dinky and Ruby looked up at the sound. Standing in front of them were a pair of earth ponies. One was a pink pony with pastel purple hair with a white streak wearing a crown. The other was a dark gray with silver in glasses. The two stood up, heads held high to look down their noses at the pair of unicorns.

Dinky and Ruby looked at the two older fillies then two each other. Each then looked around the playground. So far there had only been two ways the pair knew to stop the bullies from pestering them: either find some adult to be around, or find some other poor fillies the two would rather pick on. The second option was not a very nice one, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"So," the pink earth pony said, "What are the second and third most useless unicorns in Ponyville doing?" She moved closer toward the pair.

"Come on, Diamond Tiara," Ruby spoke up, "We're just having lunch. Leave us alone."

"You?" the gray filly said in shock, "You mean you actually have lunch?"

"...Yeah..."

"Wow," Diamond Tiara said in mock shock, "I thought your mother was too busy to even remember you existed, much less feed you." Ruby's eyes went wide at the statement, her lip trembling slightly.

"I bet she doesn't," the gray retorted before pointing at the red unicorn, "I bet she has to beg other ponies for food, like that stupid dentist." The comment got a laugh from Tiara.

"Oh, look." The pink pony grinned. "I think that she's about to cry."

"Stop it!" Dinky suddenly shouted. The other three turned and stared at her in shock.

"What did you say?" the gray earth pony finally asked.

"You heard me." The blond unicorns eyes narrowed as she stared at the two. "I said stop it. Leave me and Ruby and alone and go away."

"Guh," Tiara huffed with a roll of her eyes. "You would come to her defense. Your mother is worst."

"Don't talk about my MOM!" Dinky yelled, stomping her hoof.

"Why?" the gray filly asked. "You know it's true."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is," Tiara retorted. "Your precious 'mommy' is too stupid to even take care of herself. That's why the two of you have to live on that stupid carrot farm."

"Stop it," Dinky growled.

"Don't forget that she's ca-razy!" the gray one added.

"Oh," Tiara said in pretend shock, "You're right, Silver Spoon! Who could possibly forget those outrageous stories she makes up about 'doctor' and his weird box."

"Stop it. Stop it! STOP IT! STOPIT!" Dinky shouted as loud as she could. Her eyes shut tight as she yelled, trying to drown out what they were saying.

The young unicorn was so caught up in her emotional outburst, she was unaware of another that was happening. A dark blue energy encompassed her horn, pulsating. The glow was accompanied by the sound of ticking, like the seconds of a clock being counted by.

"Why would a doctor every be interested in her?" Tiara continued. "I bet she's seeing some ho-" So caught up in her teasing, Tiara had not noticed the blue aura around Dinky's horn, or that the same color of energy was surrounding her. As it encased her, she stopped. Tiara's body held it's position, mouth open and hoof raised. Dinky slowly opened her eyes, and the three of them stared at the unmoving pink pony.

"Diamond Tiara?" Silver Spoon said, braking the silence. Moving closer to her friend, she reached out with a hoof and poked at Diamond Tiara. There was no reaction. Silver Spoon poked her friend harder, causing the pink pony to fall over sideways. Diamond Tiara still held the exact same pose. The gray earth filly turned toward the unicorns.

"What did you do?!"

The odd scene, and the shouting, started to draw a crowd. Classmates began to gather around the four, watching. Feeling watched, a cold lump formed in Dinky's stomach. Moving backwards, she slipped behind Ruby and tried to squeeze down, looking as small as possible. She stared down at the ground, not wanting to look at any of the others.

"I... I don't know..." she mumbled, "I just wanted her to stop picking on us."

"Change her back," Silver Spoon shouted. "CHANGE HER BACK NOW!"

"I can't." The gray unicorn squeezed down behind her friend more. "I don't know how." She bit her lip as she pressed as close to the ground and Ruby as she could. Tears started to drip from the corner of her eyes.

"Miss Cherilee!" the earth pony shouted. Turning around, she ran from the others and toward the schoolhouse. The others watched her go, then turned back toward the frozen Diamond Tiara. After a minute, one moved forward.

"Scootaloo?" one of the others called out, "What are ya doing?" Scootaloo, an orange pegasus with purple mane, continued to move toward the tipped over pony. Reaching out with a hoof, the orange pony poked at the pink one.

"She's still soft," the pegasus called out. "Hey, do you think she can still move? Maybe we can pose her."

"She's not a doll," a different pony said.

"No," Scootaloo admitted, "But maybe we can make her do something embarrassing and have Featherweight take some pictures." There was a slight murmur among the others as several as they considered it. Something like that might be a useful way to keep Tiara from picking on them.

"Scootaloo!" an adult voice called out "Step away from Diamond Tiara and leave her alone." Scootaloo let out a groan, moving away from the prone pony as Miss Cheerilee walked up, followed by Silver Spoon. The teacher walked over to Diamond Tiara and leaned down to check on her. Cheerilee then lifted the immobile student up and onto her back. The teacher then turned to one of her older and more responsible students.

"Go get Twilight Sparkle from the library," she ordered, "tell her we have a magic emergency at the elementary school." As the student left, she turned toward Dinky. "While we wait, why don't you come back inside and tell me what happened?"

Time and Time Magic

Twilight Sparkle reached Ponyville Elementary and followed the foal straight for the door. Stepping in, she entered Miss Cheerilee's class room and looked around. Most of the students were in groups, looking at books. The exceptions were: Dinky Hooves who sat at her desk with a Ruby patting her back, and Diamond Tiara who sat beside Cheerilee's desk.

The teacher was relieved at the sight of the lavender colored alicorn. Having a student somehow immobilized made it difficult to continue classes normally. It felt odd to teach regularly with Diamond Tiara standing there like a statue and Dinky understandably upset over what happened. At the same time, it did not seem appropriate to dismiss class early, leaving the two alone with the teacher until Twilight arrived. As a result, Cheerilee had them get in groups and just read, helping each other if necessary.

"Thank you for coming," Cheerilee said as she get out from behind her desk, "I know you just came in, but could we step outside to speak for a moment."

"I guess so," Twilight replied turning to head back out. "So, what do you need my help for?" She listened as a brief explanation of what happened was given: Diamond Tiara had been picking on two students when of them, Dinky, got upset then accidentally had a magical surge which caused the bullying filly to be immobilized. Twilight stood and listening, shifting slightly as she thought about what she was told.

"Well I can see why you sent for me," she finally said. "I know a few spells that it might have been. I'll need to find out which one was used though, which means I'll need to take a closer look at Diamond Tiara." The two went back inside.

The pretense of reading was forgotten as the two adults returned to the classroom. Twilight Sparkle walked over toward the paralyzed pony. Leaning forward, the unicorn's horn began to glow with an aura of magical energy. Twilight brought her horn to touch Diamond Tiara, the magic spreading to encompass the pink filly. As the lavender energy fully enclose the form, a dark blue energy pressed out from the form. The two energies pressed against each other, mixing into a dark purple energy. Twilight finally pulled away, letting out a gasp.

"Dinky?" she asked as she turned around, "You're not still using magic, are you?" The whole class turned to face Dinky, causing her to squeak and slouch down behind her desk.

"No," she mumbled, "I don't think so."

"Well I don't think we need to do anything," Twilight said.

"You mean she's stuck like that forever?" one of the other students asked.

"No," Twilight replied, getting a groan of disappointment in response. "The spell seems to be weakening. It should disappear on its own and leave Diamond Tiara unharmed. It's not like anything I've dealt with before. The closest thing I could compare it to is..." She paused a moment, rubbing her chin as a thought went across her mind. "Did anypony see what happened when Diamond Tiara was frozen?"

"...I did..." Ruby finally responded, holding up a hoof.

"Okay. Tell me what happened best you can."

"Well..." Ruby shifted, trying to remember what happened best she could. "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were making fun of Dinky's family. Dinky got mad and yelled at Tiara to stop. Then her horn started to glow blue and there was this ticking sound. Next thing I know, Tiara isn't moving and Silver Spoon is yelling to fix it."

"A ticking sound?" Twilight repeated, getting a nod. She chewed on her lip, considering this.

"-meless stallion and his 'magic box' is just some shipping crate he lives in." Diamond Tiara stopped talking and looked around. She had been outside making fun of Ruby and Dinky's parents. Now she was in the front of the classroom, with nearly everypony staring at her.

"Diamond Tiara," Miss Cheerilee said, "please take your seat. Also, stay after class. There are some things that I would like to speak with you about. Dinky, please see me after as well."

"Well I'll leave you to finish your class," Twilight said as she turned toward the door. "...Dinky. I know it's been a bit of a hectic day for you, but I'd appreciate it if you could stop by the library after school."

"Okay," the small unicorn mumbled. With that, Twilight left.

"Well we still have an hour," Cheerilee told her class, "So let's get back to work, shall we?" The students let out a small groan as she turned back to the chalkboard and began to teach again.

After Class Aftermath

The school bell rang, dismissing the students of Ponyville Elementary. Most of the foals collected their bags and headed for the door, some moving into groups and talking as they went. Four of them stayed behind. Two because they were told to. Ruby Pinch got up and walked over to Dinky Hooves, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

"I'll wait for you outside," the red unicorn filly said. She gave her friend a gentle smile before moving to head for the door. Silver Spoon said nothing. She walked over to stand beside Diamond Tiara, the two looked at each other a moment, and the grey earth pony continued toward the door as well. Dinky and Diamond got up and headed toward the desk, looking at their teacher. Miss Cheerilee turned and looked at the two of them, then turned more toward Dinky.

"Dinky, I would like to see your mother tomorrow after class and talk to her about what happened today." She held up a hoof. "Now you're not in trouble. I understand what happened was an accident. I would like to speak to her on the matter. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." the filly gave a small nod.

"Good." Cheerilee turned to face Diamond Tiara. "Now if you'll excuse, I have some matters to speak with Diamond Tiara about in private." The teacher's eyes narrowed, causing the earth filly to look away. Dinky looked between the two, then hurried for the door.

Outside, Ruby was sitting next to an older unicorn with a pink coat and violet mane. The older girl sat and watched the younger, listening curiously. The conversation stopped as the two noticed the arrival of the third.

"I was just telling Sparkler what happened," Ruby said as Dinky came closer.

"I'm not in trouble," Dinky blurted out. "Miss Cheerilee wants to see mama tomorrow after school though." Amethyst Star -- "Sparkler" to the fillies -- gave a nod. Her gaze shifted along Dinky's form.

"Well," she said, "it seems that you got your cutie mark out of the whole thing." She pointed at the grey filly's flank.

"What?" Dinky turned to look at her own flank. There was a thin ring of gold filled in with white. In the white were to clock hands; the longer pointing straight up with the shorter at a forty five degree angle. Ruby moved around to take a look at it as well.

"I didn't even notice," Ruby said.

"Neither did I," Dinky added.

"This should be something to celebrate," Sparkler said, beaming. "We should stop at Sugar Cube Corner on the way home. We can get a celebratory snack. Ruby, would you like to join us?"

"Thank you," the deep red filly responded, "but my mom is expecting me home soon. I can walk with you for a while though." With that, the three of them started toward the heart of Ponyville. Sparkler walked slowly, letting the two fillies keep up with her easily. It made the older one a little disappointed that the two friends did not seem to be very talkative at the moment. Considering all that had happened, it was understandable.

Ruby left them as they reached her mother's shop. Sparkler and Dinky said good bye before continuing on toward Sugar Cube Corner. As soon as they stepped into the bakery, the hyper pink pony Pinkie Pie was there to greet them. Dinky ordered an apple cinnamon muffin and Sparkler had a slice of strawberry cheesecake. Taking their food the two of them sat down at one of the tables and began to eat.

"Oh," Dinky blurted out, "I forgot. Miss Twilight wanted me to meet her at the library after class."

Sparkler looked up at the young filly, about to say something. She stopped as her gaze drifted further. Behind the gray filly, the full grown pink earth pony was moving closer. Pinkie Pie was pushing her party cannon along in front of her. The strangest part, to Sparkler, was that Pinkie was somehow standing on the very edges of all fours hooves as she moved closer.

There was a loud pop from the Pinkie Pie Party Cannon. Dinky let out a yelp of surprise at the sound, jumping in her seat. The burst of surprise and fear caused another surge of magic. This time the blue energy encompassed the filly herself instead of Pinkie Pie. A ticking sound filled her ears as everything seemed to stop.

The little filly blinked in confusion, looking around. Directly in front of her, Sparkler sat. Her horn glowed brightly, but there was no shifting indicating it was in use. The same energy encompassed the fork as well, hovering in the air between the pink unicorn's mouth and the top of the table. A piece of the cheesecake rested on the tines, a drop of the strawberry glaze suspended in the air. Nothing was holding it in place to stop it from falling onto the plate.

Turning her head to look up, Dinky saw streamers and confetti frozen in the air above her. Following the path as best as she could guess, she turned around. Behind her was Pinkie Pie and her party cannon. The pink party pony had her front legs resting on the cannon, back legs in mid-air as if she had stopped in mid-kick.

As the blue glow around her began to fade, Dinky saw movement start to occur again. Bits of the confetti and streamers moved forward through the air. Pinkie's backside moved downward, returning toward the ground. Dinky turned forward again, and could see the shifting of Sparkler's magical aura. As the last of the dark blue magic faded from around her, everything returned to normal. As the confetti landed on the two unicorns, Pinkie came up to the table and began to sing a quick little song, congratulating Dinky on on getting her cutie mark. Neither the party pony nor the pink unicorn seemed to notice that anything strange had happened.

"Dinky?" Sparkler asked, "Are you okay?" One ear twitched as she tilted her head, looking at the younger filly.

"I... I think I need to get to the library and talk to Miss Twilight," she responded, not looking the older unicorn in the eye. Dinky moved away from the table and started for the door. Sparkler grabbed the piece of cheesecake and stuck the rest into her mouth. She then used her magic to get a hold of Dinky's muffin. After sticking it into her own saddle bag, she ran after the young unicorn.

"Dinky?!" she called out as she caught up, "You left your muffin behind. That's not like you." Moving, she tried to block and stop the filly "What's going on?"

"I don't know. That's why I need to talk to Twilight. She's really smart about magic." Dinky looked at Sparkler while answering, but did not stop. Sparkler watched a moment, then moved to walk along with Dinky. The older unicorn did not say anything, but she could not stop giving worried glances to the younger one. It was clear by the young filly's face that something was bothering her.

The two of them reached Ponyville library. The sign on the door said open, so the two of them pushed it open and went inside. At the table sat Twilight. Several books surrounded her, floating in the air as they were held up by her magic. Her eyes shifted the pages of one to the other, seeming to be reading multiple books at the same time.

"Miss Twilight?" Dinky finally said. The sound caused the librarian to jump slightly, turning to see the new arrivals. The surprise gave way to a smile. Setting the books down on the table, she let her magic fade. The mare stood and and walked over toward the two.

"Hello Dinky," Twilight said, "Thank you for coming." She turned her attention to the other unicorn, looking at her a moment. "Amethyst Star, correct?" She smiles as she receives a nod. "What brings you here?"

"I'm just here with Dinky," Sparkler replied, "I watch her when her mom's at work and Carrot Top is busy with farm work."

"Well this does kind of involve you then. Do you know what happened at the school today?"

"About that," Dinky said as she raised a hoof to get the other two's attention. She then began to tell about what happened at Sugarcube Corner. Twilight moved to listen carefully, head tilted and ears flickering. Her eyes turned slightly unfocused as she took in this new information, making mental notes to look into it later. Sparkler's own eyes went wide as she listened. Part of it was surprise at what she was hearing -- it was quite a strange story and if she did not know Dinky, Sparkler would think the filly was making it up -- and part of it was understanding. It now made sense why the little unicorn wanted to get to the library so badly that she forgot about her muffin.

"Well that's interesting," Twilight said, "and will probably help me figure out how you can do that. It seems like a lot of power for a filly. I think that the best idea would be that you attend Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns."

"What?" Dinky and Sparkler both cried out in surprise.

"I was going to ask if you had any other unicorns that could teach you how to control your powers, but I was doubtful. With this new information, I think that you are very powerful and need some sort formal training in unicorn magic. It won't cost your family anything, but it does mean that you will have to go to Canterlot."

"What if I don't want to go?" Dinky asked.

"It wouldn't be nearly as good," Twilight responded, "but I could teach you some. It would mean coming to the library every day after school though, and I'm really not sure how well I would do as a teacher." She moved over to Dinky, putting a hoof on the young filly's shoulder. "You don't need to decide now, I'm just letting you know. Give me a minute and I'll write a letter to your mother explaining the idea. You and your family can think about it and let me know at the end of the week. Okay?"

Dinky looked up a moment, then nodded. As Twilight moved to write the letter, the little filly moved to lean against Sparkler. The pink unicorn reached out, wrapping a foreleg around the filly and giving a half hug. Neither said anything for a moment, one thinking about the choice that laid ahead and the other letting her.

Good-byes

The school bell rang, letting out the class of Ponyville Elementary. The young students chattered excitedly as they headed for the doors, leaving to start their weekend. Two of the foals, Dinky Hooves and Ruby Pinch, moved slightly slower than usual.

"So," Ruby said slowly, "It's really happening? You're going to Canterlot?"

"Yeah," Dinky responded. It had been over a week since the offer had been made. There had been a lot of talking and consideration. Dinky had discussed it with her mother, who in turn had also talked about it with Twilight, Sparkler, and Carrot top. Ruby had asked some questions about the whole matter, seeing it meant her friend might be leaving. Sparkler had shared some of her own experience in Canterlot and at the school. After all had been said and done, it had been decided that the school would be best for the young filly.

"Miss Twilight is taking me tomorrow so I have the weekend to get to know the place."

The two continued to walk from the school, catching sight of Sparkler waiting for them.

"I'm gonna miss you," Ruby mumbled. She looked at her friend then down at the ground, paying attention to her hooves as she walked.

"I'll miss you too." A slow smile spread across the blond filly's face. "Hey, maybe you'll end up having to go too. Then we can have classes together again." The statement caused her friend to look up, smiling slightly. The pair of them reached the larger unicorn.

"You two ready to go?" Sparkler asked, getting nods from the younger pair. The three of them started walking toward Ponyville. A grin suddenly burst across Ruby's face.

"Hey, Dinky," she called out. "Race ya!" With that she started to run as fast as she could.

"HEY!" Dinky called out. "No fair!" She started running after her friend, trying to catch up and pass her. Sparkler let out a small laugh and chased after them.

The young pair ran as fast as they could, neither considering the idea of pacing themselves. Eventually the two slowed down as they started wearing themselves out. They were panting heavily as they reached their destination of Sugarcube Corner. Seeing the building, Dinky tried to get a second wind, pushing herself to try and get to the doors first.

"I WIN!" she shouted as she jumped through the doorway. The young gray unicorn then collapsed onto the floor, trying to catch her breath.

"Hooray!" a puffy mane pink earth pony shouted as she tossed confetti over the exhaust filly. "Congratulations. Aaaand welcome to your going away party!" With that Pinkie Pie picked up Dinky and took her into the room where they held most of their parties. The pair were shortly followed by a panting Ruby and a moment later by Sparkler.

The room was decorated with streamers in bright yellow and pale purple that looked almost to be grey. On the refreshments table were a bowl of punch, muffins in blueberry as well as apple cinnamon flavors, cupcakes with either yellow or lilac colored frosting, and a giant chocolate chip cookie with a Dinky drawn on it in frosting with "good bye" written above the image and "good luck" below.

"Where's everyone else?" Dinky asked, looking around. Only the four of them were in the room at the moment.

"Well you ran all the way here from school," Sparkler explained as she moved to stand beside the young unicorn. "You're going to have to give them some time to get here." She placed a hoof gently on Dinky's back. "We can go ahead and start having some fun while we wait."

Taking that as a cue, Ruby went over to the table. She grabbed one of each kind of muffin and one of the yellow cupcakes. The deep red filly gave the muffins to the other two and kept the cupcake for herself. The three of them sat as they ate, talking as they waited.

Other ponies started to show up and join them. They would come by to talk to Dinky and say their good byes. Some left immediately, some went to speak with others, and a few sat to join the group. Shortly, PInkie Pie put on music and started to lead others in playing games.

By the time Dinky's mother had shown up, the party was in full swing. The game was immediately forgotten as the guest of honor ran up to hug her mother. When it broke, the filly re-joined her friend as the mare joined her own friends who had shown up to say good bye to the young unicorn.

The party began to break up as it started to get dark. Ruby was one of the first to leave, needing to get home before it was late. Many of the younger ponies were the ones to leave first as they got tired and had to be home for bed and such. Some stayed longer, but were taken home when their parents noticed how worn out the foals were.

"We should get going," Derpy finally said. "You have a big day tomorrow and need to get up early."

"Okay," Dinky said before yawning. "Thank you for the party miss Pinkie. It was a lot of fun."

"You're welcome." Pinkie Pie smiled down at the little filly, reaching out to give her a pat on the head. "Good luck on your school. Now if you'll excuse me." Her eyes narrowed as she turned her head toward the table. "I have some cleaning up to do. Starting with the left over food." The pink pony licked her lips as she started for it.

"How about one last ride?" Derpy asked as they left the bakery behind them. With a squeal of excitement, Dinky hopped onto her mother's back and held on tight. The gray pegasus grinned as she felt her daughter take a hold. A few quick flaps of her wing and they were off the ground. With her daughter on her back, Derpy began to fly. She climbed as quickly and carefully as she could, getting above the buildings to make sure she did not accidentally bump into any of them. The pegasus may not have been the best flyer, but she always made extra certain to keep her daughter safe when they flew together.

From her position, the small filly looked around excitedly as she held on. She watched as the building shrank down with their rise and seemed to move past below them so quickly. It was always so exciting to her when she got to fly with her mom. Sometimes it made her wish that she had been born as a pegasus like her mother instead of a unicorn. A part of her wished that right now since it would mean not having to go to Canterlot to learn how to control her magic (magic she had done her best to not use since the incident at Sugarcube Corner when she seemed to stop time).

The pair soon reached their destination, flying over the carrot farm. Derpy tilted her body, allowing them to fly a slow loop around the building, letting the momentum fade as they came down for a landing. The pegasus came to a stop before dropping onto the path and walking to the front home. Dinky hopped off, following her mother as they entered the house.

"Welcome back," a voice called out, "how was the party?"

"It was fine, Aunt Carrot Top," Dinky replied as she walked toward the voice. She stopped at the doorway between the living room and kitchen, looking a moment. There stood a yellow pony with orange mane by the table where food and wrapped packages were set.

"Someone had to make a proper good bye dinner so you don't get sick from the party," Carrot Top explained, "and to wrap your going away presents."

At first the filly was going to say that she was not that hungry, but the smell of the food made her think otherwise. After all, she had only eaten one muffin -- maybe two -- at the party. The three of them sat down together to eat and talk. It was mostly the two adults that did the talking, but the filly did her best to keep up with the conversation. By the time everypony was done eating, she was ready for bed.

"Muffin," Derpy called out, "don't you want to open your gifts first?"

"Oh yeah." The filly had forgotten about them for a moment. Climbing back into her seat, she sat back down and waited for the first one. When she opened it, she found that it was a photo album. Each page had a picture of her friends and family. Some had been taken with her and some without.

"So you never forget any of us," Carrot Top said with a smile.

"I never could. Not in a thousand thousand thousand years." The filly went to the next one. Inside was a stuffed dog that was white with black spots. Some one had told her about dalmatians when she had gone as a firefighter for Nightmare Night. Giving it a hug she felt how soft and squishy it was. Trying to be creative, she decided to name it "Bubbles."

The largest one was last, and also the heaviest. It took Dinky a while to unwrap it and find out what it was. Getting the paper off, she found a set of brand new saddle bags. They were a familiar dark blue color, with an hourglass shaped clasp. The weight for it came from the fact that it had already been packed with paper, pencils, and quills for school.

"Thank you," Dinky said, yawning again. "It's all very nice. I'm going to get some sleep now." Taking a hold of Bubbles, she headed up to her room. As soon as she was under the blankets, the filly was out cold. She did not even stir when her mother came in to tuck her in and give her a kiss on the cheek.

She did get awaken in the middle of the night. Dinky jumped up as she heard the familiar vworp-vworp-vworp noise. Jumping out of bed,she looked out the window. The excitement suddenly switched to confusion as she realized it was not the sound of arriving, but of departure. She saw the outline of the box as the color faded before disappearing completely. The filly also saw her mother, now standing outside alone. As Derpy turned to walk back inside -- head hanging low -- Dinky turned and went to the stairs.

"Mama?" she called out, "What happened? Is something wrong?"

"Go back to bed Dinky," her mother said. "It's late and you have a big day tomorrow. Go back to bed." The grey pegasus did not look at her daughter, her head hanging low. Dinky could hear the sadness in her mother's voice though. The filly stayed where she was for a moment, watching as Derpy went by and headed down the hall. To the young unicorn's surprise, her mother went into Carrot Top's room instead of her own.

Dinky stared at the door as it shut, staying where she was for a minute. Finally she turned and went back to bed. The filly slipped back under her blankets and grabbed her stuffed toy. Pulling it closed to her, she buried her face against the soft plush body, letting bubbles absorb the tears. It took nearly an hour before she cried herself to sleep.

Academy Arrival

"Dinky," a voice said, "Wake up Dinky. We're here." A gentle shaking finally roused the sleeping filly. Blinking her yellow eyes, she looked around to find the source. Seeing Twilight Sparkle in front of her helped wake up her mind and remember where she was.

The young unicorn had been awakened early by Carrot Top. The yellow mare had explained that Derpy was not feeling well and was not going to be able to see Dinky off. As such, it was Carrot Top helped finish with the packing and walk with Dinky to the train station. There were a few more good byes before getting on the train. Once moving, she had watched the scenery going by before falling asleep again.

As the train came to a stop, she moved off the bench she had been laying on. The filly stretched out her body, letting out one last yawn as she worked the effects of sleep from her mind and body. She watched a while as some of the other ponies disembarked. As their turn came, Dinky quickly pulled her saddlebags back on and followed Twilight onto the walkway.

As they got off, the filly's eyes went wide in awe as she looked around. Dinky had never been to Canterlot before. Everything looked so tall, and white. It must take a lot of time and energy to keep everything clean.

Dinky continued to follow Twilight as they left the train station and headed further into the capital city. The filly pressed closer against the alicorn, continuing to look up as they went. Except for a few trips through time and space, Dinky had spent most of her life in Ponyville. There, only one or two buildings were taller than two stories, and most of them were spaced apart. Here, everything was taller and closer together. Combined with the side of cliff looming on one side, and the whole thing had the little filly feeling extremely claustrophobic.

Twilight Sparkle strolled casually through Canterlot, enjoying the place. There was a twinge of nostalgia as she went. She loved her life in Ponyville, and all the friends she had made since moving there, but Canterlot had been her home for years. It had been where she grew up; first with her family, then as Celestia's student. It always made her feel a little homesick when she came to visit.

The two continued to walk until they reached the gates of Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns. The wrought iron gates were wide open, allowing the new student and former alumni to enter easily. Looking around, Dinky saw a lot of unicorns. They were in a variety of ages ranging from Dinky's age (if not younger) to Twilight's

"I've never seen so many unicorns," the filly said as she looked around to see them all.

"This is probably only a quarter of the student population," Twilight said.

"Wow. Really?"

"Yeah. Some who live in Canterlot tend to go home on the weekends, so they aren't here. There will also be older students just out and about the town. Some are probably in the library or the dorms, studying for classes. Not to mention there are always students in the cafeteria as long as it's open."

"That's a lot of unicorns."

"Not even including the faculty."

"...Miss Twilight? This all looks really expensive. How can they afford all this if the classes are free for any unicorn?" Dinky's paced slowed down as she looked around more, considering all she saw. She was doubtful that even Diamond Tiara's father -- the richest pony the filly knew of -- could afford all this.

"Well it's not actually free," Twilight explained. "Many of the students have to pay tuition for their classes every year. Celestia has tried to make it as cheap as she could, with tax cuts, funding, and fundraisers where alumni -- students who graduated like myself -- can make donations. Like you said, it's really expensive."

Dinky's mind reeled with all the information she was being told. Her pace slowed down as she thought about all that she had been told. It almost felt like she was learning, and she had not even started her first class here yet. As she thought about the money, something clicked.

"Wait a second." The filly narrowed her eyes at the older mare. "When you told me about the school, you said it wouldn't cost mama anything. Now you're saying it's expensive and twi... tooe..." She paused a moment, thinking of the word. "...tu...it..tion..." that sound about right to her "every year?"

"Well there are also scholarships," the older mare continued, "Every year, a certain amount of money is given out to ponies so they can attend schools they normally couldn't afford. Not just for unicorns either. There are also scholarships for pegasi and even earth ponies. Anyway, among the ones available are those that are for anypony whose parents work a civil service job, like delivering mail, and there are also some for unicorns that have unusual or powerful magical talents. So between your unique ability and your mothers job, there were actually several that you could have gotten. Add to that a couple letters from Celestia's former student -- who it turns out is also a hero for Equestria and a princess -- and tuition will not be something you or Derpy will have to worry about."

"I forgot you were a princess now."

"So do I most of the time. I didn't even mention it when I was sending letters. It wasn't until some wrote back with 'Dear Princess Twilight' that I remembered. I kind of like not remembering though, and it's nice that nopony in Ponyville treats me any different than before." She smiled, omitting (and doing her best to forget) the fact that some actually did treat her different when she first came back.

"What about other unicorns, like Ruby?" Dinky asked. "Are you going to do something like this for them too?"

The quest made Twilight look at Dinky then look away. The little filly said nothing as she watched. She had seen the look on the purple pony's face before to recognize it for what it was: Twilight was giving serious consideration to the question before coming up with an answer.

"I don't know if I could," the mare admitted. "Ruby's mom owns her own business, and she makes too much to qualify for certain ones. Unless Ruby has some unusual or powerful magic, I don't think she could get any scholarships." She let out a sigh. "I might have to start looking teaching classes for unicorns in Ponyville after all."

The two turned quiet as they continued to walk, finally reaching the doors to the building. Twilight looked around, face scrunching as she tried to remember the layout of the school and the location of the administrator's office. Thinking she remembered, she turned and continued to walk. It was almost a relief when she found the door where she expected. Taking a step closer, she knocked.

"Come in," a voice called out. Something about it sounded extremely familiar to Twilight Sparkle. It almost like someone she had known for years. She gave her head a shake, dismissing the idea. With a push of the handle, she opened the door and stepped inside, Dinky close behind. The two stopped at the sight in front of them.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight blurted out, blinking in confusion.

"Surprise," the princess said in her calm voice. There was a twitch of her lips to curve slightly upward as she looked down at the two. After a moment, her horn began to glow with golden energy as she shut the door behind Twilight and Dinky.

"Yes," Twilight managed to say, "Surprised. Very much so. I'm glad to see you, but I didn't expect to."

"Now Twilight," Celestia stood up as she spoke to move around the desk, "did you honestly think that I would not want to meet the filly who caught the attention of one of my best students? More so with the description of what supposedly did." Reaching the pair, she lowered her head and smiled at the filly. "Hello. You must be Dinky Hooves."

"Hello Miss Princess Celestia, ma'am." Dinky found herself tongue-tied. She had seen the Princess before, several times, but this was the first time she had ever actually met her so close face to face.

"A nice attempt," the princess spoke, "but 'Princess Celestia' is formal enough. No need for additional titles." She straightened up looking down at the two. "Now the main reason for my visit is to actually see the capabilities of this filly's powers directly. As such, I have set up a small test."

"Test?" Twilight squeaked, "But, we're not ready. We haven't done any studying. We...I.."

"Twilight!" Celestia stated, "Calm yourself. You are not the one being tested, Dinky is. The result is not going to affect her position here. It is merely to see if she can perform the task and so that I can get a feel for her power myself. If your young friend is unable, she will simply go about her normal classes until her power manifests enough for us for the school to explore and understand it. If she is able, it will give us a better idea of what is required to help control and begin to master it."

Twilight nodded as she listened, slowly taking deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth. She could feel Dinky looking at her in confusion and could not help but blush. Here she was a full grown adult, and even though she knew better, she still felt anxiety at the idea of taking a test. It could not be a very comforting sight for the young filly to watch someone suffer a panic attack like that.

"Okay," the purple pony said, "Okay. I'm calm. I'm okay. Sorry about that." She looked from Dinky to the princess. "So what now?"

"Do you think you are ready, Dinky?" Celestia asked.

"I thinks so," the filly said with a shrug. "I mean I don't know what you want me to do and I can't control my magic yet, but I can try my best."

"Very well." The princess gave a nod. "Brace yourselves. First, I'm going to take us to the classroom where the test is to take place." With that, her horn began to glow golden once more. The magic soon encompassed the three ponies as the world around them turned white. As the light faded, a different room began to become visible. Twilight looked around, taking it in a moment.

"This is the same room where my test took place. This is where I had to hatch Spike's egg." And it was. The three of them were now in an lecture hall with elevated desks and chairs allowing students to look down at the front of the room where there were several chalkboards. Standing at the front of the class room was an elderly white unicorn beside a large hourglass.

"Indeed it is," Celestia agreed. "Now Twilight, you and I shall take a seat near the back. Dinky, please make your way down to the front." Dinky gave a nod and did as she was asked while Celestia and Twilight moved to take their seats The two watched as the filly made her way to the front, turning to look at them curiously.

"Now," the white alicorn explained, "when I give the order, the hourglass shall be turned over and the sand will begin to flow. All you will have to, my little pony, is to stop it."

"You mean like I did with Diamond Tiara?" Dinky asked.

"If it is possible," Celestia agreed, "but by any means so long as it is magical. Ready?" She smiled as she received a nod. "BEGIN!"

With that, the elderly unicorn reached out and pushed on the hourglass with a hoof, turning it over. The sand began to flow, pouring through the narrow spout as it traveled from the top to the bottom.

Dinky watched it for a moment, then closed her eyes. She tried to force the sand to stop, to make her magic flow out do as she had been told. But she could not feel any of the power flow through her horn. Squeezing her eyes tighter, the filly began to think about how she had felt at Diamond Tiara: the anger at her mother being made fun of; the frustration at feeling like being able to do nothing as she and her friend were teased. Most of all, she thought about how she just wanted it to stop.

Stop it. Stop it! STOP IT!

As Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle watched, a dark blue aura encompassed the horn of Dinky Hooves. The silence of the room was broken by sound of ticking, causing Twilight to look around the room curiously. The filly's magic aura grew larger, the energy encompassing the hourglass at the center of the lecture area. Before the alicorns' eyes, the flow of the sand slowed, then finally stopped.

The two got up from their seats to move down. Twilight flew up from her spot and quickly landed in front of Dinky. Her gaze shifted back and forth between the hourglass and the filly. Celestia joined shortly, moving at a more relaxed pace. Looking down at the hourglass directly.

"Dinky?" Twilight asked. "Dinky you can stop now. You did it." Reaching out, she placed a hoof on the little unicorn.

At the touch, the filly started to relax. The glow of her horn faded before disappearing all together. She looked up at Twilight Sparkle, tears filling the unicorn's gold colored eyes.

"What's the matter, child?" Celestia asked, looking at the teary eyed filly.

"N... Nothing." Dinky sniffed and rubbed at her face. "I just... to do what you asked I thought about Diamond Tiara and how she treated me that day. I tried to get myself as mad as I was at her. I guess it worked."

"Indeed it did." Celestia motioned to the hourglass. "Take a look." The two did so, their snouts practically pressing up against the glass.

"Wow," Twilight whispered, "You can actually see some of the grains suspended in mid-air."

"I did that?" Dinky asked, tilting her head as one ear flicked.

"You did," the princess gave a nod. "Hopefully with training, you will be able to control your powers so that you can use them without forcing emotional torture on yourself."

"I don't understand." Twilight turned to look up at Princess Celestia. "What did she do?"

"In this case, I believe that the symbolism is also the literal."

Twilight's eyes went wide. She turned from the princess, to the hourglass, to Dinky, and back.

"You... you mean that she... she..."

"Dinky stopped time," Celestia completed with a nod. "Yes. Your young friend froze time, both for the filly that angered her and for the hourglass."

"But..." Twilight shook her head, "But that's IMPOSSIBLE!"

"And yet," Celestia motioned at the hourglass once again, "you see the evidence before you with your very eyes." Twilight continued to alternate between looking at the other two and the frozen timer set before her.

"Do you think that's what I did in Sugarcube Corner?" Dinky asked. "Did I get scared and stop time for the whole world?"

"I don't believe so," the princess gave a shake of her head as she spoke. "I believe that you did the opposite, in fact. That when Pinkie Pie inadvertently startled you, you sped yourself up so fast that time seemed to stop."

"Wow." Dinky dropped into a sitting position, letting the information sink in.

"This is amazing," Twilight said. She turned to Princess Celestia. "How... how did you even think of this? I have never heard of anything like this before."

"That is why I had to see it for myself." Celestia sat down and motioned Twilight closer. "There are tales that were considered ancient legends when I was no older than our dear Dinky. Tales of Alicorns, before the titles of Princesses were used, who had powers over the elements, over the season, over the weather. There was even a tale of one who had the powers over time and space."

"What was her name?" Dinky asked.

"The stories never said. She only ever identified herself as the protector of time and space and friend to all kind ponies everywhere."

"Wow...."

"So..." Twilight said contemplatively, "Dinky is supposedly using a magic so old, that it only existed in myth even thousands of years ago?"

"Correct." Celestia gave a singular nod. "Had I not heard such stories growing up, I would never have considered it myself. Having seen things over my life, even before my rule over Equestria, it seemed like a possibility."

"So can you help me learn to control this?" the filly asked, tilting her head as she continued to look at the princess.

"I believe so." Celestia rubbed at her jaw for a moment. "Although, I also believe that you are closer to accurate than you intend. With such a rare and unique talent, I may have to take a direct and personal interest in your training and education."

"What?" Dinky blinked in confusion.

"You mean," Twilight shifted as she spoke, "You mean that you want Dinky to be your new protege?"

"Indeed I do." Celestia gave the filly a gentle pat before turning her attention back to Twilight. "After all, my last one has done so well, that -- as I said when she ascended -- there is nothing more I could possibly teach her. As such, it is a perfect time to take on a new student of my own." Her gaze shifted as her mouth quirked into a slight smile. "Perhaps it would do you well to consider seeking a protege of your own as well, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight's eye went wide before looking away. Her face turned bright red with embarrassment at the use of her title, one which she was still not used to.

"...I'll take it into consideration..."

The reaction got a chuckle from Celestia and Dinky.

Starting to Get the Routine

Dinky entered her room and set her saddle bags down by her desk. The young filly walked over to her bed, the flopped against it with a sigh. She closed her eyes, and immediately opened them back up at the sound of the knock on a door.

"It's open," she called out, not moving. Her ears shifted to listen as the door opened, followed by the steps of hooves entering.

"Hello Princess Celestia," the unicorn filly said.

"Hello Dinky," the princess replied. "How do you feel now that you have completed your first week of classes?"

"Exhausted," Dinky let out a groan, rolling over onto her back. "First the regular classes, which are a lot harder than the classes I had back in Ponyville. Then I have to go through tutoring to catch up on what I've missed and am supposed to know already, so it's like I'm learning everything backwards. After that, there's additional teaching and magical training back here as your personal student. It's all a lot more work than I'm used to."

"Well you seem to be doing quite well in the lessons I have observed." Celestia walked over and gave the worn out filly a gentle nuzzle. "Do not worry, my student. The school tutorial will end shortly and while the lessons will always be challenging, the routine of your education will become familiar until things seem easier. Our own lesson will begin shortly, but first I thought I would make formal introductions."

Dinky looked at Celestia who was turning to look back at the door. The filly moved to look as well. Her eyes went wide as the form of a dark blue alicorn stepped forward, entering the room.

"Dinky Hooves," Celestia said, "this is my sister, Princess Luna. Luna, this is my new student, Dinky Hooves."

Dinky quickly hopped off the bed and onto the floor, taking a step forward. The filly gave a bow.

"Greetings Princess Luna." She looked up slightly. "It's nice to see you again."

"Celestia told us you were a resident of Ponyville," Luna stated, "I assume from your statement that you were among the fillies I met at Nightmare Night."

"Yes ma'am." Dinky moved to straighten up, no longer bowing. "I was a firefighter."

"'tis a noble profession. Celestia says that you are capable of using an ancient type of magic. She has consented to allow me to observe your lesson if you have no objections."

"I don't mind."

"Wonderful," Celestia spoke up, "Then we shall all meet in the classroom after supper." With that, the princesses left.

Dinky watched them go a moment, then a thought crossed her mind. It was still quite a ways away, but Nightmare Night was coming up again. It would also be her first holiday in Canterlot. She should probably start planning for it. She was going to need a really good costume. There actually was one she had in mind already, but it may not be as effective away from Ponyville. On the other hoof, it was unlikely that anyone else would have a similar costume, so she would certainly stick out. Maybe some of the other fillies would ask about it and they could talk more.

Quickly, she moved to the desk. The filly grabbed a sheet of paper and a quill. Although she was starting to learn how to work one with her horn, she still preferred to write by hoof. She listened to the scratching of the tip on the sheet as she wrote, trying to keep the text as legible as possible. Finished, she set it in an envelope, addressed it, and set it aside to mail.

Dinky grabbed another sheet and checked to make sure she had enough ink still. The filly then started writing a second letter, this time to her mother. She had written one the day after she had been selected to be Celestia's student, telling Derpy about the test and everything. For now, the filly was writing to tell about the week she had been going through and how her lessons were going. She also included how much she missed everyone and a request to spread her well-wishes. Finished, she gave it a kiss before putting it in the envelope and addressing it. Finished, she went to get supper.

When the meal was finished and cleared, Dinky went to the room where she had been getting lessons from the princess directly. As usual, there were two guards at the door, giving her a salute as she arrived before letting her pass without issue.

"Good evening," Dinky said as she walked past. She was aware they would not respond since the two were on duty. Still, she thought that there was a slight hint of a smile on the lips of one of them. Entering she saw Princess Celestia and Luna off to one side. On the other was a white unicorn mare with silvery mane, tail, and -- strangest of all -- horn. Surrounding the mare were ... toy balls?

"What?" the filly blurted out, looking around.

"You have learned quite well to use your magic to levitate objects basically," Celestia explained, "This lesson will seem odd, but it is partially to help you to control your powers. It is an attempt at something of a variation on what you did with your first power surge and during your test."

"You want me to freeze the balls in mid-air?" Dinky asked. She looked at the two a moment, the turned to look back at the balls.

"Not exactly," Celestia continued, "Instead of trying to stop the movement fully or freeze them, you are to slow them down and set them on the floor gently. If effective, the ball shall stay where it has been set. If not, it will bounce. This will let us see how well the attempt goes with some ease."

The filly looked a moment longer and thought about this. She gave a slow nod as she seemed to grasp the main concept of it all. Adjusting her footing, she leaned forward, pointing her horn toward the adult unicorn and the bounce-able toys.

"You may begin when you are ready, Lady Silverhorn," Celestia called out. After a quick nod to the princesses, she turned her attention to the balls. A silver glow encompassed the mare's horn then one of the waiting balls. It floated up into the air then flew toward Dinky without any further magical aid.

Dinky watched and tried to stop it. The first ball landed beside her, bouncing past with no interference. She let out a small noise of frustration and prepared for the next one. Her horn began to glow with it's dark blue energy and a faint ticking filled the air. As the next ball flew up, she managed to wrap an energy field around it. Unfortunately, the momentum caused the ball to slip out and continue until it too bounced.

This was starting to be harder than the filly had expected. Although, having never done any thing such as this before, she was not sure what it was she should have expected. Taking a deep breath, she got ready again. As another ball was tossed, she managed to wrap it in her magical aura. She managed to stop it in mid-air, but the excitement caused her to loose focus and let it fall straight down to the floor.

There was a hint of disappointment at the drop, but pride that she actually managed to catch it for a moment. She narrowed her eyes and tried to concentrate more. As another ball was tossed, Dinky managed to grab it with her magic. The filly's horn grew brighter as she tried to stop it. Trying to set it down, she felt resistance.

"Uh-oh." Dinky released her magic from the ball, finding it still suspended in the air. Reaching out she pressed her hoof against it and found that she could still move it. As soon as she pulled away, the ball stayed exactly where she had pushed it. While she looked at the suspended ball, Lady Silverhorn collected the ones which had been used so far.

"We were aware of this possiblity," Celestia explained, "As with Diamond Tiara and the hourglass, it should resume on its own. In the meantime, please continue."

Dinky looked at them a moment then back to Lady Silverhorn and the balls. The filly took a deep breath and started to call up her magic once again. Once again the balls started to be thrown one by one. and Dinky tried to catch them. It took more than a dozen attempts to manage to stop the ball and set it down gently. As she worked, it turned out the Celestia had been correct. After a while, the ball which had been frozen in time had eventually resumed flying through the air and bouncing from where it had last been left behind.

Finally, Princess Celestia called an end to the training. It actually felt like a relief to the filly. She did not know how much magic she had, but she felt worn out by the time they were finished. It did not become apparent how badly worn out until she tried to walk up the steps to the door, and slipped.

"It seems your student has over-exerted herself," Luna said. Using her magic, the smaller princess picked up the exhausted filly, setting Dinky across her back. "I shall return her to her quarters. You should go and rest as well."

Dinky fell asleep before they even left the room.

Costumes

To my dear little muffin,

Thank you for writing me to let me know how you are coping with Canterlot and your classes. It is nice of you to be thinking of me. I don't know how hard it can be, though I imagine more difficult than flight school. I also know that you are a smart little pony and can do something great if you set your mind to it. You will become a very skilled and great unicorn.

I am sorry about the events of the night you left, about not being able to see you off, and for not writing back sooner. It has been a bit difficult for me to cope with what happened. I know this isn't fair to you, but I'm sure you'll understand. It would have been better if I told you face to face.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but your father is gone. The Doctor is still alive, I think, but he is no longer the pony that we once knew. He didn't tell me much, but the main idea is that things didn't go the way they were supposed to. He managed to save some ponies, but it cost him quite a bit. Unfortunately when something like that happens, it not only changes his body, but his very personality. He still remembers us, but he is not the same pony we have known. I don't know if we will ever see him again, or what he will be like if we do. Dangers of time travel I suppose. His past could be our future and vice versa.

I know this news is going to upset you, and you have every right to be. One thing I ask is that you try not to be mad at your father. What he did, he did because it was right and save lives. Knowing what it would cost him, he would do it again. As for not being able to say good bye to you, remember that he had two hearts, and know that they were both breaking for you.

I will try to send you another letter soon with good news about what is happening in Ponyville. I don't think you would have a very strong interest in hearing about it after what you have read.

Remember that you are loved.
Especially by me.

Mom

Dinky set the letter aside and wiped at her face to get rid of the tears. She had been so excited when she saw that there was a letter from home and a package waiting for her. Excited her mom had written, Dinky read the letter first. It had not been what the filly had been expecting. She had been expecting either good news or at least mundane. Dinky had not been expecting bad news, and certainly had not been expecting something like she had read.

Reaching out she took a hold of the package and pulled it in front of her. It was a surprise to her that the return address was Carousel Boutique. With the use of her magic, she opened the box, looking to see inside. On top of the contents was a note.

To Miss Dinky Hooves,

While I am aware that your request was solely for design sketches of the Mare-Do-Well costume so it may be designed for you in Canterlot, I have instead taken the liberty to fully design and assemble the ensemble for you. Not having you available, I have done my best to estimate your measurements and construct the outfit accordingly. There may be some minor adjustments necessary, but I believe it should be an approximate fit and should be sufficient for Nightmare Night. Should any ponies be curious as to where it was designed, or by whom, please let them know.

Your business is appreciated,

Miss Rarity,
Carousel Boutique.

That was not what she expected. Turning back to the box, she reached in to get a better look at the contents. At the top was the hat. Several pieces of paper were put on the outside and inside to keep it safe and help in the proper shape. The mask had been folded enough to fit inside, the eyes facing out from each other on opposite sides of the little square. Unfolding it, she felt like the blue lenses were staring at her, judging.

Are you worthy?

Dinky gave her head a shake, wondering where that thought had come from. She set the mask down.... then turned it over so the eyes were pointed down instead of staring up at her. Below that was the cape. She felt a little bad unfolding it. With the insignia pin in place, she was doubtful that she was going to able to re-fold it as well as Rarity had. All the same, she tried her best before setting it aside.

Finally the filly reached the main portion of the outfit. It was almost magic as she unfolded and gave it a quick shake. Especially the collar. It almost seemed to pop up and flare out from out of nowhere. It was also a lovely color. Beneath that, the only thing left were the boots. It made her wonder a little why they had so many straps on them. She would have to send Rarity a thank you letter, and find out the cost. It seemed as though the bill had been forgotten somehow.

She began to put the outfit back in the box when a knock came at her door.

"It's open," she said, turning toward the door. It opened to reveal one of the pegasus guards.

"I have been sent to notify you it is time to prepare for the ball and to escort you to the dressing room," he stated, giving a salute. She gave a nod and followed after him. It did not take long to reach the room where several ladies were waiting. Horns glowed brightly as she was clipped and brushed, pedicured and painted, and dressed up. She felt so relieved when it was over and done.

Then came the hard part.

Still being escorted by the pegasus guard, she headed down to the ball room. There she joined Princess Celestia, who thanked the guard and dismissed him. Now, standing beside the princess, Dinky had to wait for introductions to be made. In the mean time, the unicorn moved to peek out from where she stood in the wings.

A stew of emotions boiled in her as she looked out at all the arriving and waiting ponies. There was excitement at the event: living in Ponyville with Pinkie Pie, she had attended a lot of parties. None of them like this though. There was fear: There were a lot of other ponies out there, and most of them were going to be looking at her. Not for long, but there was going to be a point where she was the center of attention after introductions. There was also a bit of disappointment: most of the ponies were older than her by a noticeable amount. The guests would have more in common with Amethyst Star or Miss Twilight and her friends than with the little filly unicorn.

A touch on her shoulder drew her attention. Dinky turned to look at Princess Celestia who gave her a comforting a smile. The young filly found herself starting to smile back. There was a feeling of calmness. She did not feel like the feelings had stopped boiling completely, but the heat did turn down enough to become more of a simmer.

"Mares and Stallions," a voice called out, gathering everyone's attention, "Our host and royal leader, Princess Celestia!" The sound of a musical fanfare filled the air. Celestia straightened up, tilting her head back slightly. She spread her wings wide from her sides, raised high as the tips could reach. With that, she moved forward, stepping out of sight and into views as she approached the top of the steps.

"Thank you all for coming," the princess said. She did not seem to have the same boom as Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice, but her words could clearly be heard by everypony in the room. "Tonight is not merely a night of celebration the joys of life and the continuing changes of the seasons. As I am sure many of you are already aware, my last student has reached a point where my teaching is no longer necessary. Unfortunately, a teacher is not much without a student. As such, I have found a young unicorn who is willing to allow me to teach her what I can. Allow me to introduce you all to my newest student: Dinky Hooves."

Dinky was a little impressed by the statement, and confused. It made it sound as she were doing a favor for Celestia by being a student. Taking a deep breath, she straightened up and lifted her head high. Imagining herself as a princess to try and look as proud and noble as she could, she stepped out from the wings and out for all to see.

The attendees watch as the young filly came into view for all to see. The powder blue dress flowed gently as she moved, the pale blue pulling the hints of purple from her coat to make her look less grey. A small bit of gold thread and jewelry were added to accent the filly's blond mane and bright yellow eyes. Pushing down a new sense of nervousness building in her stomach, she gave a small smile.

After the introduction passed the pair walked down to the base of the staircase. Dinky was permitted to go out and mingle. Celestia had to stay and greet any who wished to speak with her. As the filly left her teacher, a thrill went through her as she caught sight of some fillies that looked to be close to her age in attendance. The hope flickered out quickly as she saw the look on the faces of several of them. It was a look she had seen before; on the face of Diamond Tiara just before she began to make fun of somepony. Walking past the fillies, she headed over to the buffet table and see what is available.

"Look at her jewelry," one of them said, "I bet it's not even pure twenty-four karats. Probably like... twelve or something."

What? Dinky crinkled her brow at the statement, continuing to look at the snacks available.

"What is with her dress?" another asked, "That shade of blue is so last week."

Last week? She looked a little longer before picking up what seemed to be a miniature strawberry shortcake.

"Look at the color of her magic," a third cried out. "She looks like she should be a student of Luna."

"I bet she's only a student of the princess because her mother is a friend of somepony," the first one spoke up again.

That was when Dinky reached her limit. She could not take it anymore. The filly finally had to let it out.

The other fillies, especially the three that had been talking, now turned at looked at Dinky Hooves. They could not help but stare in confusion. Was she laughing at them?

"What is so funny?" the first filly asked, stamping her hoof.

"You three," Dinky replied while chuckling. "I'm sorry, but if that's the best you can do then you are the worst bullies I have other met." Taking her miniature strawberry shortcake, she left the others as she headed out toward the balcony. It actually turned out to be a very tasty choice as a treat when she took a bite.

The laughter slowly passed as the filly calmed down, still finding the whole matter funny. She sat down and looked up at the night sky, watching the stars and the moon in the sky. Maybe I should write a thank you letter to Diamond Tiara. Who could have thought that all of her snobby remarks would actually have an upside?

"Did what they say really not bother you?" a voice asked, making Dinky jump. She had been so caught up in her thoughts and the laughter, she had not heard another filly approach.

The white filly with a pink mane and tail stood there, smiling. Moving closer, she used her magic to hold out a plate holding more of the shortcake minis. The new arrival gave a nervous smile as she approached, setting the plate down on the edge of the balcony.

"I brought you some more cakes," the filly said, "I'm Twinkleshine."

"Thank you," Dinky said as she looked between the visitor and the plate of snacks. "I'm Dinky Hooves... but you know that already, I guess."

"Yes." Twinkleshine gave a nod as she came closer. "But like I said, I'm more curious about how you acted to those other fillies. They're bullying really didn't make you mad?"

"It didn't make me mad," Dinky responded. She looked away thinking a moment. "I guess it should bother me since they were trying to make fun of me, but the insults were just..." She gave shrug. "It just that the things they were making fun of were things I don't care about." Dinky smiled then turned to look out at the night, thinking of where her home was. "I got teased worse in Ponyville."

"You're from Ponyville?"

"...Yeah?"

"What's it like?" Twinkleshine asked as she moved closer. "I've heard so many stories! Is it true that they don't use magic to end winter? What about Twilight Sparkle having a pet ursa major? Oh oh what is she like? Have you met her? And the other Elements of Harmony?" She finally stopped when Dinky placed a hoof across her mouth.

"Have you always been from Canterlot?" Dinky asked, getting a nod. "How about you tell me about Canterlot, and I tell you about Ponyville?" She pulled her hoof back, smiling as she saw the massive grin. "Now, what do you want to know about first."

It took the white and pink unicorn a moment to decide what she wanted to ask. Once decided, the two of them started to talk, asking questions and sharing stories about their home towns. The two talked and laugh as they became friends.

Poisonous Nightmare Part 1

Nightmare Night!
What a fright!
Give us something sweet to bite!

Dinky checked her outfit one more time, adjusting her hat. A wide grin spread across her mouth, even if hidden by the mask she wore. It had been a surprise when she had tried it on and found that it fit quite well. It was a little loose, but not enough that it seemed to need to be adjusted. Satisfied, the filly left for the night.

Outside, Twinkleshine was waiting. Her mane and tail had been dyed into a deep royal purple color. The tail had been styled into a slow curl and the mane fell to one side of her head ending in a similar manner. A pair of red glasses rested on the tip of her nose, and a measuring tape around her neck.

"Wow," Dinky said as she caught sight of her friend, "you look just like Miss Rarity."

"Why thank you darling," Twinkleshine replied. She even attempted to make the r in "darling" sound more like an h. "Shall we begin? I have our path planned out for the best opportunity at most candy."

"Yeah."

The two of them began to walk through Canterlot. They had fun as they went from one house to the other to get candy. The pair even met other ponies close to their own ages. Some recognized one character or the other (which surprised Dinky who had no idea Mare-Do-Well would be know outside of Ponyville), some recognized both, and some asked who they were.

As they went, Dinky noticed a pony not far ahead that seemed to be walking alone. The one up ahead seemed to look at other ponies as they approached, but seemed to shy away slightly and not say anything. Dinky got Twinkleshine's attention and pointed out the lonely foal. After giving a nod, the two moved to meet the other.

Getting closer, the two friends got a better look at the third. The pony was dressed in a blue jump suit with yellow lightning bolts designed to be a part of it. On the flank of the costume was a lightning bolt with wings on it. The pony had a mane and tail of dark -- almost black -- blue. As Dinky and Twinkleshine got beside the new pony, they noticed a pair of wings pulled up against the side.

"Which Wonderbolt are you supposed to be?" Dinky asked. The question caused the pegasus to turn and look at the masked filly, the moon light reflecting off the goggles covering the eyes. The pegasus smiled.

"Soarin," he said. "My parents actually got to meet him once at a bakery."

"I'm Twinkleshine," the fashionista said, "and this is Dinky."

"I'm Wind Tunnel," the pegasus replied, smiling back and forth between the two.

"We were going to visit some more houses and then go to the carnival at the town square," the masked filly explained. "Do you want to join us?"

After Wind Tunnel agreed, the three of them continued on together now. It was all quite exciting as they visited houses to get treats. With Twinkleshine's planning, the three of them hit the houses which supposedly gave away the best candy. By the time they got to the town square and the carnival, they had more candy than Dinky had ever seen.

It actually made her a little sad for Ponyville. Yes, there was a lot more candy, but she had no idea who most of the ponies she met were. It was clear she was not the only one either. Most of the other foals who were out running around knew which houses had the best treats, but none really seemed to know anything else about the adults that were giving them out. It made her remember how everypony seemed to know each other back home, and she found she kind of missed it.

As they walked, Wind Tunnel told them how his family had recently moved to Canterlot. He kind of seemed unwilling to talk about why though, so neither of the unicorns pushed the subject matter. Instead they shared a little bit of their own lives with him.

The conversation was dropped as they drew closer to the town square, the sound of music beginning to fill the night air. The sound made the trio more excited, picking up the speed as they approached. As they got closer, they looked around, Dinky and Wind Tunnel with great excitement. As the carnival came into view, the two stopped and stared in awe.

Several ponies stood watching, looking to be in uniform instead of costumes. The trio moved forward, walking through the crowd. They looked around as they went, taking in all the games and snacks that seemed to be available. As they went, the three came closer to a stage.

"Are timing should be perfect," Twinkleshine explained as she looked around. "If I'm right, we should be here just in time for the main concert to start."

Before anything more could be said, a rose colored mare with a deep purple mane headed out onto the stage. The instrumental music slowed down as she stepped out and stopped completely as she walked out toward the center. As the mare reached the spot, she stood and looked out at the crowd. Practically all of the ponies in the town square were watching the mare. Her horn began to glow and the band began to play once more.

The gentle melody began to fill the air, creating a soft song that fit the calmness of the moment for that quiet night. It was gentle with a slow, steady rhythm; almost like a lullaby. As the song turned steady, the mare on stage opened her mouth and began to sing. Her voice was deep and rich. Listening to it made Dinky think of when she was at the candy shop in Ponyville, watching Bon Bon pour the melted chocolate to make them into candy bars. It was almost hypnotic.

A blue orb flew over the heads of the audience and onto the stage. The sound of shattering glass echoed as the burst up into the air, revealing it to be a powder. The explosion hid the singer, coughing bright from inside the cloud.

"What was that?" Wind Tunnel asked, looking at the stage.

"I don't know," Twinkle Shine answered before turning to Dinky, "Do you?"

"I don't think so," the masked unicorn responded. Her eyes narrowed as she turned her head. "But... something about it looks... familiar..." She rubbed at her chin, looking at it and trying to place where she had seen something like that before.

As the cloud dispersed and faded, the singer continued to stand on stage. Aside from bits of the blue dust sticking to her. Coughing a moment, she resumed her position from prior to the attack. The performer closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The mare opened her mouth and croaked like a frog.

"Is this a joke?" Wind Tunnel blinked, tilting his head to look at the performer.

"Joke?" Dinky gasped. "That's it!...Oh no. Oh no oh no." She looked around quickly, head low as she tried to find where it came from. The sound of another croak from on stage reached her ears.

"Joke?" Twinkleshine shook her head, thinking a moment. "You mean... You don't think...?" She turned to look at the stage again, her own eyes going wide.

"What?" Wind Tunnel nearly shouted, looking between the two. "What is it."

"I think it might be a plant called Poison Joke," Dinky finally explained. "It's a plant that grows not far from where I grew up."

Before the conversation could go any further, a figure jumped up onto the stage. It was a figure dressed all in black. The only spot of color was a poison joke flower on the flank where the cutie mark would have been. A blue aura encompassed the covered horn as to more sphere's levitated in the air. Looking at the audience, the black figure tossed the orbs backwards at the band, covering them in the cloud of blue powder.

"We need to get out of here," Dinky said as she began to move backwards away from the stage. Twinkleshine nodded and started to follow. Wind Tunnel did the same, moving slowly as he looked back at the stage.

"What does this stuff -- LOOK OUT!" The pegasus lunged, pushing the other two ponies.

The three of them hit the ground, Dinky being pushed further and stumbling back in the process. Several of the orbs were thrown out at the audience. One shattered beside Twinkleshine and Wind Tunnel, the two of them coughing as they were engulfed by Poison Joke.

Dinky got back up and moved toward the cloud. Her horn began to glow as she used it to grab her hat and wave it back and forth to try and disperse the powder away from her friends faster. It was actually a relief when she could see her two friends again.

"Are you two okay?" she asked, moving toward them, "Talk to me!"

"I'm okay," Twinkleshine said. "I'm... no I'm not." She glanced around. "I... I can't see..." She started looking around frantically, her breathing turning rapid and erratic. "Dinky? Where are you? I-I-I..."

"I'm here," Dinky responded, pressing against her friend. "I'm right here. Don't worry. Wind Tunnel, what about you?"

"I OKAY!" the pegasus boomed. A massive blast of air exploded from his mouth, hitting the two unicorns hard enough to knock them off their hooves and send them flying nearly ten feet.

"SORRY!" Wind Tunnel shouted, looking up toward the sky to keep from knocking them back again. "ARE YOU TWO OKAY?"

"I'm not hurt," Dinky responded, "Twinkle?"

"Nothing new to add." She reached out to grab her friend. "We need to get the cure though. Do you remember what it is?""

Dinky moved to stand up then helped her friend. She pushed Twinkleshine over to Wind Tunnel.

"Lean on him. I need a moment to think."

Her gaze glimpsed up to the stage. On it the black clad unicorn continued to throw the orbs. This time she seemed to be aiming more at the guards attempting to approach instead of random targets. There was no way of knowing how many orbs there were or where they were being pulled out from. Dinky shook her head and looked away, starting to pace back and forth in front of her friends.

Think, she told herself. Try to remember what Apple Bloom told you. After Applejack and her friends were affected by the plant, Apple Bloom had shared the entire story with the class during the next show and tell. She had even brought the book and talked about the ingredients Zecora had told her to find and collect. Now Dinky needed them. If only she remembered what the little earth pony had said.

The unicorn tapped her head as she tried to remember. She was supposed to be dressed as a superhero after all. Super! The word made something in her head click. The book had the word supernatural in it. With one domino tipped, the others quick fell and the idea finally came to her.

"That's it!" she cried out. "Twinkle, do you think you could make it to the library with Wind Tunnel's help?"

"I think so," the blinded unicorn replied, "Why?"

"You two go and look for a book called Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super. It should have the cure for Poison Joke. Take it and get it to the castle and tell the captain of the guard. He'll make sure they can get the ingredients out to everypony who needs it."

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?" Wind Tunnel asked.

Dinky turned and looked at the stage again. None of the guards were able to reach the wicked unicorn there. Turning, the villainous mare started to run off. Dinky let out a sigh and shook her head.

"I guess I'm going to be stupid and try to play the hero." She started to run after the escaping criminal before either of her friends could say anything more.

Poisonous Nightmare Part 2

Running at full speed, the filly leaped onto the stage and ran toward the back of it. She threw herself through the curtains, looking around as she reached the back portion. As soon as she thought she caught a glimpse of movement, she turned to chase after it.

This is stupid of me. This is a bad idea. What am I doing? Her mind kept asking her as she chased after the villain. I'm just a filly in a costume. I'm not a superhero. I have no idea what I'm doing. It is a bad idea to be chasing somepony who likes to throw balls of Poison Joke powder at ponies. Why am I doing this?

Because it is right, a voice other than her own answered. And because it's what HE would do!

She believed that too. Maybe he would not be wearing a costume, but if somepony -- or anything else -- threatened innocent lives, he would do anything in his power to stop them. Now Dinky found herself trying to do the same thing. It suddenly seemed that maybe he had been insane all along and she never realized it.

Running down an alley, she caught sight of the trouble-making mare. The figure stood near the end, looking back. As Dinky got closer, the villains horn began to glow. Three of the Poison Joke orbs appeared, levitating in front of her. The black clad unicorn stamped her hoof and sent the orbs flying at the would-be hero.

A barely audible squeak escaped from Dinky at the sight of approaching spheres. She threw herself to one side, grunting as she misjudged and hit the alley walls. Gritting her teeth, she tried to push the pain aside use her magic. There was a quick flicker, but it was too difficult to concentrate and focus. Two of the orbs flew past her, shattering somewhere on the street behind her. The third hit the wall beside her, coating her in poison joke.

Dinky jumped forward, getting out of the cloud of powder. She got out just in time to see the opposing unicorn use magic -- and several crates and walls -- to make her way up the side of one building and onto the roof.

"STOP!" Dinky called out, running toward the figure. She gritted her teeth as she tried to use her magic again. She felt the flow of energy, the ticking sound filling her ears. Getting as fast as she could, she leaped off the ground. As soon as she hit the top of the crate, she pushed off to try and keep the momentum. With it she was able to land on the top of the next crate and jump again.

The air was knocked from the filly's lungs as she hit the ground. Pain flared in her back where they hit the cobblestones, sending flashes of white across her vision.

After several seconds of lying there, she moved to get up. The filly shifted and moved to check herself. Her back ached from the impact, but nothing seemed broken. Turning her attention back to the building and tried to think. She had to think fast too, the criminal was getting away this very moment.

A strange idea crossed her mind. It seemed unlikely, but it could not hurt to try (well, couldn't hurt MORE!). Turning around she walked up to the mouth of the alley. As she reached the opening, she turned back and looked at the wall once again. She took a deep, slow breath and concentrated, trying to call on her magic again.

Dinky felt the power flow through her horn. Her jaw clenched as she took a hold of the energy, trying to shape it and wrap it around her. The filly had never actually tried to intentionally do what she was about to. The closest experience had been on accident when she was in Sugarcube Corner.

With a deep breath, the filly ran as fast as she could at the wall. As she got closer, she once again pushed off the ground and jumped. This time instead of aiming for the crates, she threw herself directly at the wall.

The impact ran through her forelegs as the hit the side of the building. There was a moment of weightlessness before she kicked, landing her hind legs on the wall as well. She ran as fast as she could, moving straight up along the wall until reaching the edge of the roof and tossing herself onto it. The filly collapsed as she landed onto the roof tiles.

"It worked," she said out loud. "It actually worked." A broad grin spread across her muzzle hidden beneath the mask. There was a shocking thrill at the fact; she had just climbed straight up the wall. She was just like a real superhero.

The grin vanished as she suddenly remembered why she was doing it to begin with. Quickly pushing herself back up onto her legs, she kept going. The filly ran as quickly as she could, heading in the direction she thought she saw the criminal go. Reaching the peek of the roof, she looked around to get her bearings on Canterlot and try to catch sight of her opponent.

The figure stood by the edge of the roof, staring at the masked filly. She gave a stomp of her hoof, knocking off a piece and causing it to fall to the ground. Turning away, she leaped off the roof and into the air before vanishing from sight.

Dinky ran to the edge and stopped, trying to keep herself from falling off it. Her gaze glanced down at the ground then up to look for the escaping criminal. The two of them looked at each other before the villain fled down another road and rounded a corner out of sight.

With a snort of frustration, the filly turned and climbed back up to the peak of the roof. She turned back and started to sprint down as quick as she could. Her jaw tensed tightly as she ran toward the edge.

A pang of fear shot through Dinky. She stopped running, spreading her leg wide. The filly dug her hooves into the tiles as best she could, shifting her weight. Tiles broke from the roof as she slid down, leaving a trail. She let out a sigh as she was able to stop six inches from the edge.

It was too much. She must have been insane to have gone this far. She had just been planning to throw herself off a building in pursuit of someone she did not know. She could have broken something. She could have been killed. Or worse.

What felt worse was that she was mad at herself. Her courage had given up and now the criminal was getting away. There was actually a pang of guilt over the fact she had failed. She turned and started back up the roof and over to get back down. As she walked, her mind went through the events, trying to find something she could have done different. A dozen possibilities went through her head: trying do something sooner, trying to slow the criminal down, speeding herself up sooner. Anything and everything was gone over, finding what could have gone differently.

The filly fought back tears as she made her way back to where she came from and used the crates to help her get down. As she did, she hoped that things had gone better for her friends in getting the cure that a lot of ponies were going to need.

Morning Aftermath

The sound of knocking echoed through Dinky's room. And her head. Letting out a groan she grabbed the pillows and blankets, pulling them tighter around her and trying to ignore the morning sunlight. The filly hoped that if she did not respond, the pony at the door would go away.

The door opened.

"Guess who made the morning paper," Princess Celestia called out in a sing-song voice.

"What?" Dinky Hooves shifted, lifting her head enough to peak out from under the bedding. She looked out at the princess who stood with her horn glowing as she used her magic to hold up a newspaper. Dinky reached out with her own power, taking a hold of he paper. The filly moved to sit up and see the page properly as she brought it closer.

Mysterious Masked Mare Pursues Poison Joke Prankster the headline of The Canterlot Chronicle read. The majority of the story was about the attack on the carnival using orbs filled with what turned out to be powdered poison joke. Near the end was mention of a chase where the criminal responsible being pursued by a pony dressed primarily in purple. Included were to photographs. Both were on the same roof; one was of the criminal leaping from the edge and into the air, the other of Dinky in her Mare-Do-Well costume standing on the same edge. If she did not know better, the filly would think that she was heroic as she looked down at the street below.

Dinky let out a sigh and held out for the princess to take back.

"Most foals your age would be much more excited to be in the news," Celestia said as she took the newspaper and set it aside.

"I didn't do anything," the filly said as she flopped back onto the bed. "I chased... what did they call her?"

"'The Poison Joke Prankster.'"

"Yes. I chased her up onto the roof but couldn't jump down after her. I could have stayed with Twinkleshine and Wind Tunnel and been just as useful. I probably would have been more useful actually. They were actually able to find the book and bring it to the guards. They don't even get a mention."

Dinky noticed as the princess's magic encompassed her. She shifted as she felt the warm golden glow, doing her best to relax. The filly was lifted from the bed, floating in the air as she was brought over to Celestia and set down gently on the ground. The princess leaned down, giving a gentle nuzzle.

"Despite what you may think," she stated, "you did the best that you could at the time. In retrospect, yes there is probably more that you could have done, or perhaps something you could have done differently. Such things take time, however. It takes experience, wisdom and practice to become more competent and capable. These things come from trying to do such things and learning from the mistakes and failures."

"So it gets easier?" Dinky asked, looking up with curious gold eyes.

"I'm afraid not." Celestia gave a shake of her head. "When things do not go exactly as you hoped, you will always wonder if there was something you could have done differently. Some times you will have to remind yourself that you did the best you could have even if you do not entirely believe it."

"Is that what it's like for you?"

"Quite so. One is not born being a wise and benevolent ruler. Such things are skill as much as anything else and thus take practice." She let out a sigh and looked toward the window. "Even with over a thousand years of training and experience, I still sometimes wonder and question myself when it comes to some of the decisions I've had to make."

Dinky watched the princess, saying nothing for a moment. The filly's mind wondered what other choices had to have been made in the course of a thousand plus years of ruling over Equestria. With the return of Luna, the tale of Nightmare Moon was now well known. The return of Discord and The Crystal Empire have caused speculation on what led up to the defeat of the former and disappearance of the latter. Still, there must have been a lot of decisions to make over so much time. A lot of them were probably written down somewhere that somepony that had a lot of time and really wanted to know could find them. But it would still leave a question on some if they were the right ones or not.

"Well I doesn't matter now," Dinky said. "I'm never doing anything like that again."

"I would not be so certain," Celestia responded. "I believe that anypony who makes choices will wonder such things. If not then they are either very confident, or find themselves regretting not taking any risks in their lives. As for you, I believe you will do great things. I see in you a desire to help and change the world for the better." She looked down at the filly a moment, smiling gently.

Dinky looked down, but said nothing.

"I have some royal duties to attend to," the princess continued, "so I must leave shortly. On other matters; the costume is being proper laundered. It was quite wet when found."

Dinky bit her lip but still kept quiet. When she had reached her friends, they were already in tub being treated. Not wanting to know how the poison joke affected her (if at all) and having the powder stuck to her costume, the filly had joined them in full costume. It seemed like the best way to handle the matters at the time.

"Breakfast is waiting when you are ready to eat, which will be on your own as I have to work and Luna has just recently returned from her Nightmare Night adventure and gone to sleep. Also, there is a letter from your friend Ruby Pinch waiting for you." Celestia stood up, turning toward the door. "Now I must prepare for my day, so I will leave you to yours."

Dinky watched her go then got up and left as well. The filly was not feeling very hungry yet, so breakfast had no real interest. But a letter from a friend back in Ponyville got her attention. It was the second one Ruby had sent, the first being shortly after Dinky had arrived at Canterlot. If there was a new letter, something interesting must have happened.

Hearth's Warming Homecoming

"Last stop, Ponyville! All passengers prepare to disembark!"

Dinky Hooves shifted in her seat excitedly at the call. She turned to look out the window, a wide grin on her face as she watched the landscape go by. She recognized the area they were now driving past, having seen it in all kinds of weather for years. It sent a small thrill to see Ponyville again.

School had been let out for Hearth's Warming. With two weeks without active classes, she had an opportunity to return to Ponyville. There were some things she had to do -- such as some practice Celestia assigned for her and talking to Zecora about Poison Joke -- but there should be plenty of time to get around to them without rush. She had written them down, just in case (Miss Twilight would probably like that).

As soon as the train came to a complete stop, Dinky hopped up and grabbed her bags. The filly waited for several of the full grown ponies to go by before stepping out into the walkway. It would have been easy for her to slip through and get out easily enough, but the baggage made the going slower. It was a relief when she finally managed to disembark from the train.

Waiting on the platform were Carrot Top and Ruby Pinch. As soon as they saw Dinky, the two approached. Carrot Top walked at a casual pace while Ruby almost ran to her friend and embraced her in a hug. Grinning, the pale lavender pony hugged back. They were shortly joined by the yellow mare, watching them with a smile of her own.

"Welcome back," Carrot Top said, "As you can see, we all missed you."

"I missed everypony too," Dinky replied, breaking the hug with her friend. "I've missed Ponyville too. Canterlot is so different. Where's Sparkler and Mom?"

"Sparkler is out getting supplies for a special order that needs to be done by Hearth's Warming," the adult mare explained, "And your mom has been working extra shifts at the post office so she can have some extra days off. Tomorrow should be her last day and then she'll be off until three days after the holiday. Are you ready to head home?" She started trotting toward the town. The two fillies quickly followed.

"We need to stop by the library first," Dinky said. "I need to drop something off for Miss Twilight first." She turned her attention Ruby. "By the way, what's it like being her student."

Ruby had written shortly before Nightmare Night that she had gotten her cutie mark. It turned out that the red filly had a talent for healing and medicine so now she had what looked like a pair of band-aids making a cross on her flank. She also got selected by Twilight Sparkle as a student.

"A lot of work," Ruby responded with a sigh. "On top of school work, I have to study and practice magic with her. She's also having me work with Fluttershy to learn about bedside manner and treating wounds, and Zecora so I can learn about herbs and plants that help with healing. I have never worked so hard on learning in my life." A smile spread across her lips. "It's awesome how much I'm learning though."

Dinky smiled back. The two fillies continued to talk to each other as they walked. They began to about their education, compare how their teachers were, and share some of what they learned. Both were so caught up in catching up, they jumped when Carrot Top cleared her throat.

The fillies had been so caught up in their conversation that neither of them had been paying attention to where they were or where they were going. The three of them were now outside the Golden Oaks Library. They had walked through half of the town without Ruby or Dinky even realizing it.

Taking the lead, the filly headed to the library. It was hours of operation, so she went ahead and opened the door.

"Be with you in a minute," a voice called out. Not long after, a small purple and green dragon came into the main room. "What can i do for you?"

"Hello Spike," Dinky said, "Is Miss Twilight in?" The filly turned her head and her horn started to glow. Using her magic, she opened one of her bags, shifting through it's contents.

"She's pretty much out for the day," Spike explained. "Anything I can help you with?"

"No, thank you." She pulled a package wrapped in plain brown paper from the bag. "I'm just here to drop of something for her. Princess Celestia asked me to for some reason." She shrugged. The filly handed the package over to the dragon.

"Okay," he said as he took it. "I'll make sure that she gets it. Oh." He turned to Ruby, "That book Twilight wanted you to study came in yesterday." Moving to the table he set it down and went to one of the shelves. Look through it a moment he pulled a book out.

"Here it is." Bringing it back, he handed it to Ruby.

"Thank you, Spike," Ruby said as she took the book. Admittedly she was not thrilled at the book. Its arrival meant she would have to start studying pretty soon. Twilight Sparkle understood the value of friends -- and making time for them -- but she was very adamant about studying and learning.

"I guess I should head home and begin to study." The red filly turned to her friend. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good-bye Spike. Good-bye Miss Carrot Top." With that she took the book she was given and headed for the door.

"We should head home as well," Carrot Top spoke up, "Your mother should be off work soon and we need to get started on supper."

"Okay," Dinky said. "Good-bye Spike. Say hello to Miss Twilight for me." With that, she and Carrot Top headed for the door and left the library. As they walked through Ponyville once more, the filly turned her attention to the adult mare.

"What about you?" Dinky asked. The question made Carrot Top slow down, looking at the little unicorn in confusion.

"What about me?"

"What have you been up to? I haven't gotten any letters from you since I left. Anything interesting going on with you?"

"Well I haven't really been up to anything interesting. Most of my time is spent taking care of the farm and growing carrots. Not really anything worth writing about."

"What about you and Mister Macintosh?"

The question made Carrot Top gasp slightly, eyes going wide. Distracted, she placed one hoof wrong, causing the mare to stumble forward. Luckily she was able to catch herself before falling face first into the dirt. Managing to resume her pace, she looked away from Dinky. Carrot Top's ears pulled back and her face burned a brightly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she finally managed to blurt out. "I mean he comes by and helps out a little when things are slow at Sweet Apple Acres. And he's a great listen. Sure some times when he comes by we have some lemonade and talk... Well... I talk... But there's nothing going on between us."

With that the adult mare looked away. She tried to ignore the feeling that Dinky was staring at her. The filly had probably not meant it like that. Carrot Top continued to feel the heat in her face. Less from the question and more from her reaction. It was not a good way to respond without making a pony even more suspicious.

"...Sorry..." Dinky said softly.

"...What?" Carrot Top turned to look at the filly, confused by the statement.

"I didn't mean to make you mad, Aunt Carrot. I was just asking. I'm sorry." The filly looked down, head low as she stared at the ground. The expression made the adult mare's anger and embarrassment disappear, a hint of guilt left in ts place.

"You didn't do anything wrong. I got kind of weird." She let out a sigh. "It's just... I don't know. I know you didn't mean romantically, but that's how I took it. The problem is I'm not clear on how I feel about him, or how he feels about me. I know I should ask, but I'm kind of scared to."

Carrot Top stopped talking, trying to keep herself going into a long rambling conversation about her and Big Mac. She was nearly ready to spill everything on the matter to the little filly. Dinky for her part did not say anything. She recognized the look on the adult's face and one that meant something was being thought about, very hard. It was better not to interrupt at times like that.

The two continued to walk together until reaching the carrot farm. As soon as they arrived, Dinky headed up to her room to drop off her bags. It was a relief to see it exactly as she had left it. Granted she had only been gone for a few months, but she had still been worried about things changing while she was gone. It even still smelled the same. Setting down her bag, she hopped onto her bed and stretched out. It felt so nice and comfortable, so familiar.

"I'M HOME!" a voice called out, waking Dinky up. A grin spread across her face as she recognized it. The filly was instantly out of bed, running down the hall and nearly jumping down the stairs.

Standing at the door was the familiar gray pegasus. She had been busy taking off her winter jacket and scarf, but stopped as soon as she heard the sound of hooves thumping on the staircase. A grin of her own spread across her face as she turned to look at the impending pony. Both gold eyes focused on the approaching pony.

"Mama!" Dinky shouted, leaping at her mother.

"Muffin!" Derpy called back, holding out her hooves. As her daughter jumped into her arms, the motherly mare fell backwards, pulling the filly in close for a tight hug. The two held each other, rubbing their cheeks together as the time they spent apart faded away for the moment. After they separated the two joined Carrot Top in the kitchen for dinner.

"So," Derpy asked between bites, "How much have you learned in Canterlot?"

"A lot," Dinky replied excitedly, "It's not as fun as Miss Cheerilee's class, but I learned about history and math, and Princess Celestia is teaching me about strategy and magic. I can even show you what I was taught before I left and am supposed to practice while I'm here."

Closing her eyes, she began to concentrate. Her horn started to glow dark blue as she channeled her magic into it, which was becoming easier each time she did. Continuing to focus and concentrate, she took the power and gently coaxed it into doing what she would like.

The ticking sound grew louder as the magic built up. On an empty spot on the table, the mystical energy began to collect. It glowed and pulsed, shifting and reshaping. The magic then puffed out, leaving a book behind.

"Wow," Derpy said, looking at the book.

"You can teleport now?" Carrot Top asked, looking at it as well.

"No," Dinky said with a shake of her head. "I can do small objects that are close by, like the book from my bag upstairs. I can't use magic on anything big or heavy and it has to be ... in-an-i-mate... I think that's what Celestia said. It means nothing that is alive or able to move."

"Well it's still impressive," Derpy said.

"Yes," Carrot Top agreed, she then narrowed her eyes at Dinky and grinned. "So maybe you can teleport dessert from the kitchen for us."

Grinning, Dinky tried to do exactly that.

Information Quest

Dinky let out a sigh of relief as she caught sight of the library. Her breath puffed out in a cloud of as it hit the cold winter air. The filly pushed through the snow further, feeling relief as it thinned out to let her walk without having to push through the cold powder up to her ankles. Walking up, she opened the door and stepped inside.

Ruby sat on the floor, leaning forward. Her horn glowed with green energy as she used her magic to hold onto some bandages. Her face tensed with concentration as she worked to wrap the bandages around the front leg of a blue pegasus with rainbow colored mane and tail. Twilight Sparkle stood back watching the two closely. Off to one side of her stood Spike with a first aid kit.

"What'cha doing?" Dinky asked as she walked toward the others.

"Rainbow Dash twisted her ankle," Ruby explained as she continued, "So Twilight is having me practice on wrapping a sprain." She glimpsed at her friend for a second but kept nearly all of her attention on the task before her.

"It's not necessary," Dash groaned, shifting her position other than the hoof being wrapped. "I just have to be careful for a few days and I'll be fine."

"That's part of why it's good practice," Twilight explained. "Ruby needs to learn how and it's better to do so when it's not as important so she can perform the act when it is necessary."

"Miss Twilight," Dinky said, "When Ruby is done, I could use your help looking for some books."

"Well, I can help you now," Spike spoke up. He set the first aid kit down and started walking for the shelves. "What do you need?"

"Any books about Poison Joke that isn't Supernaturals." Dinky's statement caused Spike to stop, he and the other ponies turning to look at her curiously.

"Why?" Spike asked.

"You know about what happened in Canterlot on Nightmare Night?" Dinky got several nods in response. "Well Princess Celestia thinks that it would have taken a LOT of the flowers to make so much powder. So Princess Celestia asked me to talk to Zecora and see if she saw anypony collecting a bunch of the flowers."

"I take it that she didn't," Twilight said, moving around the others. Dinky shook her head.

"No. She remembered seeing some collecting one or two but not what would have to be an entire field of them."

"So why the books?" Spike asked again. He turned back to the shelves, looking through them quickly.

"To see if Poison Joke grows in other places. Then Princess Celestia can send other ponies to ask around there."

"What if it doesn't?" Rainbow Dash asked. The normally physical pegasus seemed to be getting interested in the events going on.

Dinky closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath. She tried to relax her body and think. Princess Celestia had said a lot on the matter, and she tried to listen to it all. Now the filly tried to remember as best she could. Without realizing it, she adjusted her stance, mimicking the way the princess held herself.

"Should Poison Joke have neither been harvested from The Everfree Forest no grow elsewhere in Equestria," Dinky said, her tone and pattern shifting to try and match Celestia, "We shall be forced to conclude that the unicorn responsible collected a small sample and has been cultivating the plant on her own. If that were the case, it will mean that we will not have enough to find the unicorn, much less arrest her, until she decides to strike again. Assuming she ever does."

Dinky stopped and opened her eyes. She blinked a moment, looking around. She took a few steps, holding herself the way she normally did once again. Her gaze drifted around the room, looking at the others in the room.

"So," Ruby said slowly, "if it doesn't grow anywhere else, she has to be growing it?" She got a a nod. "And if she's growing it, no one can catch until she does it again?" That got a second nod.

"Ruby," Twilight stated, "You help Spike look for books that might help and Dinky look through them. I'll join you as soon as I check your bandaging."

"Okay." The red filly moved over to the shelves and began to look through the books. She was joined by Spike and Dinky, the three of them searching for and pulling any that looked to be related to plants. They also collected a few that were related to legends in Equestria. After checking Rainbow Dash's leg, Twilight joined them.

After the better part of an hour, the options were not looking good. Almost none of them had anything related to Poison Joke. The one or two that did were legends speaking of a strange plant that grew only in The Everfree Forest.

"Well I guess I should get going," Dinky said. "Mom should be home from shopping now." She set the book she had been looking at down with the others. She turned to Twilight "Are there any other books?"

"No," the alicorn responded with a shake of her head, "I can look again, but I'm pretty sure that's all of them that could possibly have anything."

"Okay." Dinky moved away from the table they had been using. "I can come back tomorrow just in case."

"May I be excused for the day, Twilight?" Ruby asked.

"I guess so. By the way, you did quite well with Rainbow Dash's sprain."

"Thank you." The red unicorn turned and joined her friend. "I'll walk home with you for a while." Stopping at the door, the two put their winter gear back on. Covered and ready, the friends headed out, leaving the library for the day.

School-Wide Joke

Dinky stifled one last yawn as she walked toward the entrance of the academy. The feel of the spring sun on her coat felt kind of nice, even if it was still early in the morning. There was still a smell of the morning dew hanging in the air. It was such a wonderful day... and she had to spend the best part of it in school.

That was something that had always irked her, no matter where she was. When spring started, it seemed like it would be great to go outside and play. But school came first, and skipping was never an option. Especially now that she was supposed to be Celestia's student. It would reflect badly on the princess if the filly decided to miss class for a day in order to play outside.

The first bell rang, signaling a need to get to class. Dinky was startled out of her thoughts by the sound. She walked as quick as she could ("No running in the hall!" one of the faculty members had yelled before, "You're a unicorn, not a pegasus!") to her class. It was pretty easy for her to weave through the other students, reaching her classroom and sitting in her seat with time to spare.

The instructor entered and stood before the class as the second bell rang. There was a brief flash from the horn as the door was shut, locking automatically. With that, a lesson on Equestrian history began.

After an hour, a squeal filled the air, interrupting the class. Everypony turned at the sound, looking up at the intercom attached to the wall.

"Hello fillies, colts, and faculty," a voice said through the speaker. It did not sound like the principal or the pony that normally did the announcements. It was certainly female. A bit on the deep side, with a slightly scratchy tone. "If I could have your attention please, I would greatly appreciate it.

"I am certain that many of you are wondering who I am. Well the newspaper referred to me as 'The Poison Joke Prankster.' A bit long of a name, but I believe that it shall work for the time being. Quite a number of you met me last Nightmare Night. I am certain you would not recall it from my voice, but I assure you that you remember me -- or at least my joke orbs -- quite well.

"Moving on to the next question, which I am certain you all have since you are all such clever little ponies. You may be wondering why I am here and interrupting the class, even if you appreciate a temporary reprieve from the monotonous tedium of education. Well while I was enjoying a very entertainment evening, a rather insolent foal attempt to disrupt matters and pursue me. No harm had occurred, but it was quite a nuisance. Do not think I have forgotten you, whomever you may be.

"Which brings me to my arrival at your lovely academy. After much conversation, consideration and contemplation, I have concluded that the costumed character is a student at this fine facility. With the addition of the princess being indisposed with diplomatic matters, the opportunity to attempt a confrontation seemed rather ample.

"Now, allow me to elaborate on some matters. The school is locked, so none of you can get out, nor could the guards enter should they somehow be contacted. I have several wonderfully strong, but not very pleasant, stallions standing around as well. Most of them are not fond of foals and have a tendency to use their hooves when they get upset. There are also several specially designed Poison Joke containers hidden in various parts of the buildings.

"What is going to happen now can basically be brought to one simple idea: the unicorn who chased after me is going to turn him or her self in. I believe you can hear me my dear. All you have to do is turn yourself in to me at the principal's office. I will give you two hours to do so, my dear.

"Should the pony in question decide not to report to me in the allotted time, I shall detonate the containers. Ponies are allowed to leave the classrooms, but any attempt to escape will have to deal with my darling stallions. Should one of them decide that the attempts are too problematic, they shall detonate the containers. Basically, if at any time for any reason I decide to do so, I shall detonate the containers. Doing so will release the Poison Joke powder all through the school, causing each and every pony to be affected by it. That would mean that all would be under its effects for hours before even being able to have the possibility of an antidote. It could be until classes end normally, or it may even be until night.

"Enjoy yourselves, my lovelies. Feel free to enjoy the gymnasium or cafeteria while we wait. And to a certain pony, I'll be waiting." The sound of a kiss echoed through the intercom before going quiet.

The entire class room was quiet for the moment. None of the students spoke, most still staring up at the intercom as they tried to process what they had just been told. The idea that their school was locked down and they were supposedly hostages had a hard time sinking it. It was made all the more difficult to believe that it was with someone who was threatening them with powder from a flower most had not heard of before the previous Nightmare Night.

"Well this is disconcerting," the instructor said, "with such an event going on it seems inappropriate to continue with class. At the same time, it would be a bad idea to release students." He reached up to rub his chin as he thought, then turned back to the class. "Get out your textbooks. Turn to page 149 and begin reading. I will be back shortly." With that he headed to the door and left the room.

As soon as the door shut, the students began talking to each other. There were all sorts of questions being asked: who was the mare on the intercom; what did she want the other pony for; what would happen if she never showed up. Some talked about what happened during Nightmare Night, having been hit by the poison themselves, or with somepony that was.

Meanwhile Dinky look around as her mind raced. What was she going to do? If she turned herself in to the prankster, would the other students be released? What if the prankster was lying and went back on her word? Would the mare believe that Dinky was the pony in the costume from that night? More and more questions started to come to mind and she had no answers for any of them. It was enough to make her head spin.

The room turned quiet as the door opened again. The instructor stepped back in. One of his eyes was bruised and swollen shut. Behind him followed a pony in a blue outfit wearing a gas mask. When the teacher turned back, the masked pony pointed at the class room.

"Attention class," the instructor stated, "After discussing the matter with some other faculty members and..." he looked at the gas masked pony "visitors, it has been decided that the best choice would be to have the students assemble in the auditorium. Now if you would please all stand up and begin to leave in an orderly fashion, it would be appreciated."

There was a moment of silence before students started to move, putting their supplies away and taking their bags. They moved to slip out of their seats and head to the stairs. One by one the students walked up and past the teacher. Whenever they reached the pony in the gas mask, they seemed to find something that was very interesting somewhere in the other direction.

Dinky tried to look at the gas mask, to glare at the pony wearing it defiantly. After all, she had seen bigger. So some average sized stallion in an outfit should not bother her. Despite her efforts and intents, she looked away. The filters sticking out of the mask and the large reflective lenses made something about the whole thing disconcerting. It actually made Dinky want to call out for her mother.

Entering the hallway, it soon became apparent that theirs was not the only class which was being moved. At doors to other classrooms stood gas masked ponies, watching as the students filed out and into the hall. Despite the sheer number of students, none seemed to try anything or even talk. It was actually a little disconcerting to the filly.

As she walked past the bathroom, she felt another pony press against her and push her inside. The movement threw her off balance a moment, causing her to stumble as she went in. After regaining her footing, she turned to see who it was. There stood Twinkleshine, shutting the door behind her and moving to lean against it.

"We need to do something," the white unicorn said.

"I know," Dinky replied, "but I don't know what. Do you have any ideas?"

"Can you send a message to Princess Celestia?"

"No. Right now I could only teleport it to her room, but she's not even in Canterlot. Her and Princess Luna are visiting The Crystal Empire. Maybe I can turn myself in?"

"I don't think it would do any good. In most stories the villain is untrustworthy and don't keep their word. I doubt this mare is an exception. Seeing as she's having us all put in one room, I'm pretty certain she's going to dose us with her powder no matter what happens."

"Okay." Dinky started to pace back and forth as she tried to think. "So It's up to us to get through this. Giving up would do no good and we can't just wait her out." She stopped and sighed, rubbing at her forehead. "I guess our best chance is to somehow stop her from setting off her orbs and covering everypony in Poison Joke. So that means we have to figure out where they are and how to stop them."

"Well the where seems easy," Twinkleshine replied. "To get as much coverage as possible, they would probably have the orbs in the ventilation shafts in and around the auditorium. As for how to stop them from exploding..." She gave a shrug. "We have to know what we're dealing with a lot better than we do." She tilted her head. "Wait. Does this mean you have a plan?"

"No." the pale lavender filly gave a shake of her head. "But we have at least some idea. And I have to at least try to do something."

With that she closed her eye and started to focus on her magic. Her horn began to glow as she used her power. Focusing her thoughts on what she wanted, she gently reached out and coaxed the energy into doing what she wanted. The filly's magical aura continued to glow and pulse. As it did, the dark blue energy also started to collect in a ball in front of her. The ticking started to sound as the energy grew larger.

There was a pop of air as the magic coalesced. The ball vanished as the Mare-Do-Well costume appeared, floating as Dinky caught it with her magic and held it up. Reaching out, she began to pull pieces out of the aura of magic and pull them on.

"What are you doing?" Twinkleshine asked.

"The Poison Joke Prankster wants Mare-Do-Well?" the filly asked as she dressed in the costume, " Well then she is going to get her."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"No. But I don't have any other idea and this seems better than nothing. If it helps, I don't think anyone in my family ever has a plan when they face something like this."

"...Your family has done stuff like this before?"

"Well.... not exactly like this, no." Dinky gave a shrug as she put finished putting on the cape. "But we have dealt with weird things before. Some creative thinking and a bit of luck seem to work well for us." She pulled the mask on, pulling it tight to her face. "Just do whatever you can when you have a chance I guess."

"Okay." The pink maned white unicorn started for the door and stopped. "When spring break comes, you have to introduce me to your family and tell me some stories." With that she left.

School Sneaking

After Twinkleshine left, Dinky walked to the door and crouched down against the floor. Pulling the door open a crack, she peaked through and watched the ponies passing by. She was tense, ready to shut the door if she seemed to be noticed. Once the crowd finished, she counted slowly to twenty-five to make sure.

Satisfied that no other ponies were coming, she let the door fall shut. Closing her eyes, she focused on her magic and concentrated again. This time she pulled the magic back in and around her, feeling it tingle through and around her body and she accelerated herself in time.

When she had experienced the event in Sugarcube Corner, the filly had been able to accelerate herself so much, time seemed to stop. After Nightmare Night she began to practice on the spell. It was during the practice she discovered that, unfortunately, she could not intentionally duplicate the results again. Closest she could get to it was such that it reminded her of looking at a flip book one page at a time. Even that speed she could not hold for long.

Instead she was moving at a very rapid pace, but time was still passing. The best estimate that could be made based on a lot of calculations she could not understand was that one second was the equivalent of ten. Anything she did would be a blur that most ponies would be uncertain as to whether or not they saw it. All the same, she concluded it would be best to keep out of sight as much as possible. Now she just needed to figure out where to go and what to do when she got there.

Opening the door, she checked one last time. Not seeing anyone, she began to walk quickly down the hall. Her mind tried to figure out the best place to start and what in Equestria she should do. She quickly considered what others she knew would do.

Let's see.... The Doctor wouldn't have much of a plan anyways. He would do something that seemed insane with his screwdriver and end up having it working out. Maybe he would block the mare from using her magic and have mom get the orbs? I can't do either since I don't have wings or a screwdriver. She stopped at a corner and looked around the edge to check. Rainbow Dash would go over the stallions straight on. Maybe if I were larger and stronger. Applejack could tie them up. I don't know how to work with a rope. Fluttershy would probably scold them for scaring fillies...

Dinky stopped as a thought came to her. Fluttershy's first thought would be about the fillies. Her second would be about the animals. The filly resumed her walk as the thoughts came together. There were some animals in one of the classrooms. Maybe she could let them out of the cages and create a distraction. She would have to go and see about that after.

The filly stopped again as she reached the hall with the principal's office. Pressing against the wall, she peaked around the corner to check. There was one near the door. He seemed to be looking straight ahead. Could he somehow see both sides of the hall through his mask?

The stallion's head began to turn in her direction and she jumped back. Even with the increased speed, she could not get to the door and check on the principal without getting seen. It would have to wait on that. Maybe an animal could help distract him, which would be all the better.

As fast as she could, she bolted across the hall entrance and ran as fast as she could. Hopefully she would be well out of sight if the stallion in the gas mask decided to investigate. As she ran, Dinky's mind continued to work out options.

Miss Rarity would be a good distraction. She could use her charms to distract the stallions, or her wit and fashion sense to mock the prankster until she got mad and forgot the plan. Under her mask the filly grinned. She could almost hear Rarity's voice. "Why darling, you simply should not wear such an outfit. I mean such a bright blue in contrast to black? And the whole outfit skin tight at that? Why, it simply draws far too much attention to the excessive size of your flank."

Pinkie Pie would throw a big party. That would probably work for her. Have all of the ponies so worn out and too tired to fight any longer. I don't know how to throw a party like that. Miss Twilight would probably use her knowledge to figure out where the orbs are hidden then her magic to teleport them somewhere safe.

Dinky chewed on her lips as she reached the door to the classroom she wanted. Could she do that? She did not know as much as Miss Twilight so it would be harder to figure out where the orbs were. Twinkleshine's idea might help on that part. Dinky wondered if she could teleport the orbs. She could send things as well as summon them, but her powers were weak. Still only things on the smaller side, and nothing that was living. The outfit was easy enough. If the orbs were the same as the ones on Nightmare Night, it should be easy to send them somewhere else.

Deciding to keep it as a possible plan, she continued with her current actions. Reaching up, she took a hold of the knob and pushed the door open. Dinky stepped into the room and looked around. On one side was an entire wall with various sized cubby holes. Each cubby had an animal in it: mice, rats, rabbits, ferrets, birds, even a few snakes. Most seemed to be content in their habitat at the moment. She dropped the spell around her and moved through the room.

"Excuse me," the filly said as she walked up to the animals, "I don't know if you heard, but the schools in trouble. I could really use some help dealing with the mean ponies. Would any of you be willing to help me?"

Several animals looked at the others in the cubbies with them. There were little bits of noise among the different ones, seeming to discuss or answer. Finally one of the snakes, three rats, a ferret and a rabbit came out to join the filly. After all, the school was their home as well.

"Thank you." Dinky could not help but smile at the animals. Using her magic, she began to pick up the animals that volunteered. Picking up the snake, she put it under her hat and put it back on her head (Not exactly tradition for magicians, but seems like the best choice). Next the three mice. Picking them up she put them inside her costume's collar. The three rodents scrambled a moment before settling on the back of her neck. The filly stifled a giggle as the movement tickled her a little. Finally the rabbit and ferret were set onto her back, the cape covering them from view.

Dinky began to collect her magic, then stopped. Was it safe to speed up with the animals on her? She had never tried it on another creature before. Would they speed up as well? Would they move at normal pace? Could it kill them? The whole thing made her want to shake her head, but the snake probably would not like that. She decided the best option was to move at normal speed and try to keep out of sight as best she could.

As quick as she felt comfortable with, the costumed filly headed out the door and back through the hallway. She continued to check as she went, making sure that there were no ponies to stop her before moving past. Especially since this time if they spotted her, they would know it for sure. When she reached the hall that led to the principle's office, she stopped and looked around the corner. The gas-mask pony was still there.

Using her magic, she reached back and took a gentle hold of the ferret. The filly brought the animal around to float in front of her, looking mask to mask at each other.

"You move pretty quickly," she whispered to the ferret. "Down that hall is a pony in a gas mask. Do you think you can get him to chase you and lead him away from that door for me?" She set the ferret down on the floor gently, letting it go. It made some dooking noise then turned and scurried down the hall. Dinky did not want to be seen, so she could not risk peeking around the corner to watch what happened. Instead she closed her eyes, focusing on her ears to listen as best she could.

Unseen by either pony, the ferret jill ran as fast as it could at down the hall, stopping directly in front of the gas mask pony. Standing sideways, the ferret arched her back and started jumping up and down, moving toward the pony. Jaws held as wide as possible, she bounced back and forth, getting the pony's attention. When he leaned down to get a closer look, she jumped.

The ferret leaped at the gas mask, grabbing onto it and covering the eyes. She held on tight as the pony shook his head, keeping her grip as best she could. Seeing a hoof come up to smack at her, the ferret jumped, letting him punching himself in the face and knock the mask slightly to one side.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the jill ran forward, getting beneath the pony. Turning to one side she bit at his leg just above the hoof. The sharp needle-like teeth would not do any lasting damage, but it would sting. As the stallion cried out in pain and surprise, the ferret pulled back. Once she was certain that his attention was on her again, she began to run as quickly as she could down the hallway.

The sound of hooves running growing fainter and fainter gave Dinky her cue. Taking a quick look she saw that gas-mask pony running down the hall after the ferret. Trying to keep as quiet as she could, she moved toward the door. Stopping in front of it, she leaned up and looked inside.

The room was empty except for one pony. The principal was on the floor in front of the desk. A piece of fabric was wrapped over her eyes and another in her mouth. The mare laid on her back, all four legs up in the air and tied together.

Dinky quickly opened the door, slipped inside the room, and shut the door quietly behind her. As she walked closer, she looked at the knot on the rope tying the principal's legs together. She did not really know anything about knots and it looked like a complicated one. She pulled the bunny from off her back.

"Can you chew through the ropes?"

The rabbit hopped from where it was held and over to the bound mare. Hopping up, it stretched out its body to reach the rope and began to bite and chew. As it did, Dinky reached up to remove the blindfold and the gag from the principal. The mare blinked rapidly trying to get used to the light again. She then looked at the would be rescuer, and the excitement shifted to confusion.

"Who are you?"

"...I'm... Mare-Do-Well..."

The principal continued to stare at the costumed foal, looking very confused. The masked mare shifted her hooves and cleared her throat.

"Principal Authority," Mare-Do-Well said, "You know this school better than anyone, correct?"

"Of course." The principal straightened up (or as much as she could while tied up and stuck on her back with her legs up in the air), "I have been on the faculty for over three decades -- from teacher's aid to teacher then principal -- and that's after being a student to graduate summa cum laude and being valedictorian. So I have been here for near half a century."

Underneath the mask, the filly could not help but roll her eyes.

"Right...Anyway, The Poison Joke Prankster has moved all the students to the auditorium for some reason. Most likely it is the best way to keep them under control and dust them all at once with Poison Joke, probably through the ventilation system. So I need to know where the vents are and the best location to spread the most powder."

"But... There are no vents in the auditorium."

"...What?.."

"There are no vents," Principal Authority repeated, "It was built with maximum acoustic capabilities, which outside wind could interfere with." She shifted. "There is a latticework of walkways up near the ceiling to allow move above the audience without being noticed though..."

"I take it that the orbs could easily be dropped onto the audience from there?"

"Yes."

"Alright. The rabbit should get you free soon. Now if you excuse me, I have some students that need to be saved."

With that, Mare-Do-Well opened the door and ran out into the hall.

"NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS!" the principal shouted, squirming from where she was tied.

Round Two

Two ponies in gas masks stood outside the doors to the auditorium. They stood directly in front of the doors, side by side and facing straight forward. Neither noticed the small mirror that was being held out.

Dinky pulled the mirror back and slipped it into her outfit. She had found it in the hall was she was sneaking to get to the auditorium. Thinking that it might be of use, the filly had grabbed the compact mirror and brought it with her, using it to look around any corners she was at instead of simply sticking her head out.

Now the question was what should she do next? She still did not have the physical strength to take them on directly. With the mice and snake on her, speeding up was not something she would risk. Neither the mice nor the snake would be something the ponies might chase after. Even if they were, it would only get one of them.

Could she freeze them in time? She had practice the spell, but not on anything alive since she accidentally froze Diamond Tiara. But there were two of them, and they were larger. It would take more energy to take use the spell on one of them, to say nothing of both. What if she did it wrong? They could unfreeze before she got in. Or she could use way too much power, they could be stuck that way who knows how long. Days, weeks, maybe even years.

Maybe there was another door. One that the guards were not at. Turning around, she started following the wall she was against, looking for a door. As soon as she reached one, she pushed it open and looked inside.

It turned out to be the custodian's closet. There were cleaning materials including mops and buckets. Against one wall stood shelves with cleaning chemicals. Near another was a water pump. Directly across from the door was another door. Maybe, just maybe, it would lead to the inside of the auditorium.

Instead, it led outside. The sky was clear and the grass green. After a stone step that was just post the threshold, the grass seemed thicker than the rest. Dinky stepped outside and shut the door. She started walking to what she hoped would lead her back to the auditorium from the outside.

There were actually two doors. One was pretty much just another door. The other was below ground level with a set of steps leading down to it. Dinky walked over to the first door and reached out to check it. It was locked and refused to open. Having come this far, she climbed down the steps and tried the other. It was almost a shock when it opened and let her in.

The door shut itself behind her. The costumed filly moved further into the room, looking around. The room was dark, and smelled a little like dust and mold. There were several crates and boxes of different sizes. One that was open was full of costumes. Another had what looked like spears and swords, but they were made of wood and had no sharp points

Props. They're prop weapons. Reaching in she took a hold of one of the swords and looked at it. It was made for the stage so there was no real danger. Still it may prove useful. She slipped it into the belt of her outfit.

After looking around longer, she found a set of stairs off near one corner. The metal steps were quiet under her hooves as she climbed up, stopping as she reached a trap door. The filly took her hat off, holding onto it to keep the snake inside safe. She then pressed her head against the underside of the door and pushed up to peak out as it opened.

She was backstage. The room she had just been in was under the stage in the auditorium. This was great. She would have to remember the place again some time. She could see light from the stage and the curtains, but there was no way to see the stage proper or the audience. Made sense to her since that meant the audience would not see what was going on backstage.

The filly grabbed the hat and put back on her head as she climbed out from under the stage. She moved quietly, looking around. The principal had said that that there was a latticework of walkways above the audience. She also mentioned that ponies could go from back stage to where the spotlights were set up. That meant there had to be a way to get up to the walkways from where she was.

After searching, she found a staircase near the ropes for the curtains and scenery changes. She climbed up, trying to keep as quiet as possible on the iron steps as she spiraled up toward the top. Reaching the top, she stepped onto the lattice work and looked at the walkway. Her gaze glanced down and she felt a knot in her stomach.

Dinky realized she was scared of being up so high. It did not make sense to her. She had been fine on the roof. She had also been flown much higher by pegasi such as her mother. There was no reason to be afraid. Still, a part of her refused to be ignored as she felt scared of being up on the walkway.

In the middle of the walkway was a large platform. Standing on the platform was a large metal column. A closer look revealed the surface was etched with symbols spiraling down from the top. In multiple spots there were curved glass surfaces filled with a blue powder. It was easy to guess what the powder was.

Reaching it, Dinky moved to stand up on her hind legs and place her front hooves onto the side. She only came about half way up the length of it. The filly stepped back onto all four hooves and circled around, trying to figure out the size and radius of the thing. She could not figure out the exact size, but it was big. That would mean it was heavy too. Too heavy to pick up and move.

So she could not levitate or teleport the whole thing. Maybe she could just teleport the powder out. If she was lucky, they would just be the same spheres as before. That would mean that she could just use magic to send the orbs somewhere outside and the machine would be useless.

Dinky began to conjure magic, but stopped. What if it was booby-trapped? Would the machine go off if she removed one of the orbs? It would be a waste to remove one and set the others off. That one orb would be gone, but all the others would explode and the powder would cover the entire crowd of students and faculty below.

But if I froze it first... she thought. That would work. She could freeze the machine in time and teleport the Poison Joke. If it was set to go off, she would only need to keep it frozen long enough to remove them. Plus, since it was a machine, there was no reason to be afraid of using to much magic and leaving it frozen for too long.

Closing her eyes, she focused on her magic. Reaching for the power, she pulled it up and began to collect and draw on it. Her horn was hidden beneath her hat, so the blue aura forming around it was hidden. As the power built up more, the sound of ticking began to fill the air. Unfortunately, due to the design of the auditorium, the sound quickly began to echo throughout the entire room.

"What is that noise?" the voice of The Poison Joke Prankster called out, echoing over the sound. "You and you! Find the source of it. Find out where it is coming from and why."

Dinky closed her eyes tighter and tried to focus more. There may not have been enough time to do everything she had planned now, but she had to at least freeze the machine. Gritting her teeth, she pushed to collect as much magic as she could quickly and throw it at the machine. It felt painful and exhausting as the energy surged and burst out of her. Her legs nearly gave out when it was done.

Opening her eyes, she looked at the machine and let out a sigh of relief. It was glowing with the aura of her magic. There would be no way of knowing for sure if it worked until somepony tried to set it off. Right now all she could was hope for the best.

There was the sound of hooves stepping on metal behind her. Turning around, she found two ponies in gas masks walking toward her. Seeing no way around them, Dinky decided to turn back around and run the other way. Her own hooves continued to keep silent as they hit the grating beneath her.

Reaching the balcony at the far end of the walkway, Dinky jumped on and glanced around. She sprinted to one of the spotlights, pointed it at the walkway, and turned it on. The two stallions stumbled back as their lenses were filled with the bright light, shaking their heads. Dinky then ran to the other one, turning it on and pointing it at them as well. While they were distracted, the filly tried to figure out what to do next.

"What's going on?!" The Poison Joke Prankster's voice called out, "Why isn't the machine working? Bring her to me NOW!!"

Dinky made her way down from the balcony and found herself in the back of the auditorium. She ran at the doors, slamming against them to throw them open as hard as she could and hoping that they would somehow hit the gas mask ponies on the other side.

"Everyone get out!" she shouted. "I don't know how long until the machine's working again. Get out before it goes off!"

With that, the ponies -- student and faculty both -- started running for the door as quickly as they could. Due to the sheer number of them, they were able to overwhelm the gas mask ponies waiting on the outside, causing them to be swept up and carried away by the crowd.

While the others fled, Dinky stood where she was. She currently had two options. She could either run with the others or go back to the stage. If she returned to the stage, she could possibly stop The Prankster, but would risk being surrounded by her and multiple henchponies. If she fled, she would be safe, but the mare would escape again and possibly return to try something worse.

That decided it. At least one teacher was hurt, and the entire school had been in danger. If The Prankster got away, next time she might actually do something that could hurt more.

Dinky could no allow that to happen.

The filly turn and ran to the stage, jumping up onto it and facing the costumed mare. The larger pony tilted her head back slightly, looking down her nose at the smaller one.

"Well," The Prankster purred, "you're quite a courageous foal. But this is the second time you have attempted to interfere in my plans, and this time you are very irritating." She stomped her hoof on the stage. "I will have to do something about this to make sure it doesn't happen a third time, and send a message to any other would-be heroes."

Bracing herself, Dinky used her magic to draw the wooden sword from her belt and held it out. She narrowed her eyes beneath her mask, staring at the mare in front of her from beneath the brim of her hat. As she waited, an idea came to her.

"What's this?" The Poison Joke Prankster asked with a giggle, "Do you expect me to be intimidated by some toy? I mean really. I can tell that it's not real and I bet you wouldn't know what to do with it if it were."

Dinky ran at the mare as fast as she could, swinging the sword in a wide arc. The Prankster stepped back and to one side, watching the toy sweep past without even touching her. Taking advantage of the moment, Dinky lifted the brim of her hat and threw the snake at the mare from underneath.

The snake was a harmless thing. It was neither a viper with venomous fangs nor a python that could squeeze the life from a creature as large as a filly. It was just a little green snake that ate insects and maybe the occasional mouse. Nothing about it was a threat to Dinky, much less to a full grown mare like The Poison Joke Prankster.

Regardless, having a snake thrown at her was not something she had been prepared for.

The Prankster shrieked out in terror as the snake flew at her through the air, landing on her face. The mare continued to shriek out, shaking and bucking her entire body as she tried to get it off. All rational thought was forgotten in the panic, so much so that she continued to scream and buck after the snake had fallen to the floor and was slithering away to avoid being stomped.

The moment gave Dinky an opening. The filly ran in close to the mare, swinging the sword as hard as she could. There was a thump as the toy weapon struck the prankster on the side of the face, causing her to stumble and shake her head. Dinky lunged and grabbed onto one of the prankster's legs, hold onto it as tight as she could.

"HEY!" The Poison Joke Prankster shouted, "Get off me!" She shook her hoof, trying to get it free. She was so distracted by being grab, she had forgotten about the sword until it hit her on the other side of the head.

Still holding on, Dinky closed her eyes and concentrated. She grabbed the mice from where they sat in the collar of her cape and pulled them out. Lifting them up, she put them in view of the mare before dropping them onto the Prankster's face.

The mice elicited another shriek from the mare. Everything else was quickly forgotten as she panicked, running and bucking as the rodents crawled over her body.

"Get'em off! GET'EM OFF!" she screamed "Dear Celestia! I can feel them crawling on me! I'm covered in horrid horrid vermin!"

Dinky released the leg and stopped, watching as the criminal panicked. The mare was so busy freaking out that the filly had to find a way to take advantage of it. When the mice were thrown off or fled, she had to be ready to keep fighting and keeping The Prankster off balance. The best thing to do would be to tie her up, but there were no loose ropes that the filly could find.

A different idea came to mind. Quickly she undid the clasp of her pin, removing her cape. She watched The Poison Joke Prankster a moment longer, waiting.

The mice managed to jump off the mare and scurry away without being noticed by her. Thinking they were still somewhere on her body, they continued to jump and scream, trying to get the rodents off her.

Dinky threw her cape, covering The Prankster's head with it. and used her magic to hold it in place. She then ran to circle around the mare and jumped, landing on her back. Dinky grabbed onto the cape and pulled tight, holding on with all her strength. Her jaw clenched as she tried to keep on The Prankster's back.

Blind and in a panic, The Poison Joke Prankster had no idea what she was doing. No longer screaming, she continued to run and buck.

Dinky started to tug and shift the cape, feeling as the criminal fought against it. The filly had to keep the mare off balance and unsure. If The Prankster calmed down, she would realize the mice were gone and just use her magic to free herself. If that happened, Dinky was out of ideas. The filly had to keep the mare there until either both of them were too exhausted to go on (and the little unicorn was starting to feel really tired), or until the guards showed up to arrest the criminal.

In her panic, the mare headed toward the edge of the stage. Fearing what might happen, Dinky yanked on the cape to try and get them to move away from the edge. The Prankster resisted, moving closer. Not knowing what else to do, the filly jumped off the mares back as the mare jumped off the stage.

The Poison Joke Prankster fell into the band pit. There was the sound of bangs and crashes as she did, hitting the chairs and music stands on the way down. Finally the mare fell to the floor.

Dinky still stood on stage, hearing the sounds of the crash. Worried, she ran to the edge of the stage and looked down. The Poison Joke Prankster laid sprawled on the floor. One of her legs looked to be in an odd position, but Dinky could see the rise and fall of the mare's breathing.

The sound of thumping made the filly look up, reminding her that there were still two ponies in gas masks in the walkways above. The pair were heading back toward the stage. It was a safe guess that they were going to be really mad about what happened to their boss. So mad that the pony responsible, filly or not, might just get hurt.

There was a flare of blue energy and a loud hum followed by echoing pops. From the middle platform of the an explosion of blue powder burst out, the dust spreading through the auditorium as it slowly floated toward the ground.

Seeing the poison joke coming, Dinky turned and ran toward backstage. She lifted the trapdoor as she approached and slipped in, slamming it shut right behind her. Quick as she safely could, she climbed down the steps into the storage room beneath the stage. The filly moved deeper into the dark area and pulled off her costume.

It was a relief to her to get out of the thing. It was hot and stuffy, which she had not fully realized until she pulled off the mask and could breathe again. As she continued to take off the outfit, she realized she lost the hat above at some point during the fight, and that she had left the cape on The Poison Joke Prankster's head. She was tempted to go back and search for them, but that meant dealing with a lot of poison joke and the two gas mask ponies.

Instead she chose to take the rest of her remaining costume off. Folding it all up she teleported it back to where it was. Hopefully the guards would be here soon enough to catch them and she would never need to wear it again. With the outfit gone, Dinky headed out the door and up the steps. She glanced around a moment, then went to find the other ponies and see what was going to happen next.

Spring Break Visit

"Breakfast is ready!" a voice called after a knock on the door. The sound woke up Dinky, a lavender unicorn filly with a blond mane and tail, and Twinkleshine, a white one with pink. Of the two, Dinky was the first one up and heading for the door. Twinkleshine was not far behind. The two of them headed down the steps to the kitchen, excited with hunger and a day ahead of them.

In the kitchen, Wind Tunnel -- a pale blue pegasus with a silvery mane and tail -- already sat at the table with a plate full of pancakes. He held a knife and fork in his hooves, but Carrot Top stood over him, giving the colt a very stern look. She held a wooden spoon in one hoof, and Dinky knew from experience she knew how to use it.

"Good morning," Carrot Top said without looking away from the pegasus, "Derpy is making everyone whole wheat pancakes with strawberries and white chocolate chips. I had to keep an eye on this one," she brandished the spoon at Wind Tunnel, "to keep him from eating before the two of you arrived. You two help yourselves. I'm going to go help your mother."

Twinkleshine and Dinky Hooves took their seats and began to fill their plates with pancakes as well. As soon as he felt Carrot Top was out of spoon smacking range, Wind Tunnel began to dig into his own.

It had been several weeks since the second confrontation with The Poison Joke Prankster, and the upcoming week was Spring Break. At the suggestion of Princess Celestia, Dinky was spending the week back in Ponyville and -- after getting permission from her mom and Carrot Top -- invited her friends to come along and stay with them. The trio had then left Friday after school to catch the train for Ponyville.

"Do you have breakfast like this every day?" Twinkleshine asked, looking up from her pancakes. Dinky shook her head in response.

"Normally Mom just makes breakfast on her day off," she explained. "Normally she's up first and going to work. So it's either whatever Aunt Carrot Top makes or a bowl of cereal.

"But they're having me help in the office today," Derpy joined in, carrying another plate of pancakes, "so I get to go in later and spend the morning with my muffin and her friends."

She and Carrot Top took several of the pancakes as they sat down to eat.

"So what are you three planning to do today?" Derpy asked before taking a bite.

"I was going to show them around town," Dinky said excitedly. "I thought I could introduce to my friends and show them what we have. Plus, Twinkle really wants to meet Miss Twilight and all her friends."

"Oh?" Carrot Top looked at the white and pink unicorn who nodded excitedly.

"I have always loved stories," Twinkleshine spoke with a grin, "And they are supposed to be the greatest heroes alive now. A chance to actually meet them, and maybe get a first-hoof experience about some of what they done." Her grin grew wider as she practically danced in place with excitement.

"Well then I guess you'll want to visit Applejack first," the yellow earth pony said, "She is the closest one since we aren't far from Sweet Apple Acres. You would also probably want to talk to Rainbow Dash last. When it comes to telling stories about herself, she gets quite worked up and will talk your ear off."

Derpy made a face at Carrot Top. The gray pegasus had known Rainbow Dash for years. She could not get upset because it was true, but still. Derpy then turned to Wind Tunnel.

"What about you? What are you hoping for?" she asked. Wind Tunnel swallowed his mouthful before answering.

"I'm just glad to be out of Canterlot for a while," he answered. "There aren't a lot of pegasi where we live and even fewer around my age because most are in Cloudsdale. Plus not all the unicorns there are as friendly as them." He motioned at Dinky and Twinkleshine. "I'd much rather spend a week with them than be stuck in Canterlot with no close friends."

"...Why did you move to Canterlot anyways?"

"You know," Twinkleshine said, "I've wondered myself."

"Me too," Dinky added.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Wind Tunnel looked down at his plate, poking at the food as he no longer felt hungry.

The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence. Derpy finished hers first, heading off to work after. The three young ponies were next, though Wind Tunnel picked at the rest more than eat it. They cleaned their plates -- at Carrot Top's insistence -- before heading out for the day.

As suggested, the three of them headed to Sweet Apple Acres first. As they walked, a yellow filly with a red mane and tail walked past. Wind Tunnel slowed down as they got closer. His head followed her as she passed, watching her go.

"Who is that?" he asked. The other two stopped to look at who he was talking to.

"That's Apple Bloom," Dinky answered, "She Applejack's little sister. Probably going to meet with her friends to try and get their cutie marks."

"She's..." Wind Tunnel blinked, "beautiful..." His ears and wings give a small twitch.

"Come on Romeo," Twinkle sighed. She grabbed the pegasus with her magic and began to drag him with her as they continued to Sweet Apple Acres.

After speaking with Big Macintosh, the three found their way to the orchard where Applejack was currently working. As soon as they got close, Twinkleshine pulled out a notebook and quill. The unicorn began to ask the orange farm pony many question, much to Applejacks amusement ("I swear, you could almost be Twilight's little sister"). She answered what she could so long as it did not interfere with her work.

Next, the three of them went to Fluttershy's hut. Dinky pointed out The Everfree Forest to them and told them about Zecora. When they reached the hut, it took some coaxing, but Fluttershy came out. Dinky and Wind Tunnel helped take care of the animals outside while Twinkleshine asked Fluttershy questions about the elements and taking care of animals.

When finished there, they headed over to Carousel Boutique. There, Rarity was busy. Her horn glowed as she moved around one of the mannequins, working on the outfit being fitted to it. Hearing Twinkleshine's request, she agreed to answer questions, but was busy to do so and suggested a day later in the upcoming week. With that, the trio began to leave.

"Before you go," Rarity called out, "Dinky, I would like to speak with you in private for a moment."

"Okay," Dinky said before turning to her friends. "I'll be out in a moment." As they left she turned and walked back over to where Rarity stood. "Yes, Miss Rarity?"

"I would like you to come by on your own another time," the designer stated, "I would like to get some new measurements and make the new outfit wear properly. Also, if you are going to continue your activities, we will have to work on something that is far more durable and resilient."

"....What?"

"Oh come now." Rarity turned, her horn continuing to glow. "Do you honestly expect me there are others in Canterlot using an outfit and title based on a local costumed hero?" She lifted up a newspaper and held it out to Dinky. It was a copy of The Canterlot Chronicle with an article about the event at the school. There was even an interview with Principal Authority where she mentioned Mare-Do-Well by name. "A costume, I might add, that I originally designed and also duplicated for you to wear last Nightmare Night."

"Oh," Dinky said in surprise, "that. Uhm... well... Thank you for the offer Miss Rarity, but it's not necessary. I just wore it because that's what I needed to stop the crazy pony. I really don't think I'll be wearing that costume again."

"Seeing as you seem to have lost the hat and cape, that is correct. I will be making you a new one."

"But-" Dinky stopped when Rarity held up a hoof.

"Don't misunderstand. I heard what you said. Now answer me this, after Nightmare Night, did you plan on wearing the outfit again?"

"...Well... maybe once or twice when playing."

"So you had no intent of stopping a real criminal while wearing it?"

"No?"

"Yet you ended up doing so. Who is to say such an event shall not happen again?" Rarity looked down at the filly, who did not answer. "Besides, even if not, it will still be something you could potentially wear next Nightmare Night... Although I suppose that's highly unlikely since most fillies like variety in their costumes from year to year. At the very least, you will be humoring me."

"Okay," Dinky said with a nod.

"Good." Rarity smiled. "Now you go have fun and I shall see you later this week."

After being escorted out of the boutique, Dinky rejoined her friends and the three continued their tour of Ponyville. The trio made their way to Sugarcube Corner. Stepping inside, they saw many ponies sitting through out. Behind the counter stood a yellow-orange stallion with an orange mane wearing a hat.

"Hello children," he called out with a smile. He looked at Dinky a moment. "Now you I recognize, Dinky," he turned to look at the other two, "but I don't think I've seen you or you before."

"Hello Mister Cake Sir," Dinky said, "These are my friends, Twinkleshine and Wind Tunnel."

"Well nice to meet you," Mr. Cake responded before his face shifted into one of thought. "Twinkleshine you say?" He got a nod from the white unicorn. "That's funny, I actually have a letter her from Pinkie Pie for a Twinkleshine." He started looking around behind the counter.

"Pinkie Pie's not here?" Dinky asked.

"Not at the moment. She took Pound and Pumpkin out to the park so they could get some air and watch some of the other ponies play. Ah, here it is." He pulled out an envelope from behind the counter and held it out to Twinkleshine. "For you, young lady."

Twinkleshine used her magic to take a hold of the letter from the baker. She began to unseal and open it to see what's inside.

"Are you three going to stay for lunch?" Mr. Cake asked.

As Twinkleshine opened the envelope, a squeal of a noisemaker filled the air as confetti burst from inside, landing in the unicorns pink mane. The three friends stared a moment to see if anything else came out of it. When nothing else happened, Twinkleshine carefully pulled out the letter and began to unfold it.

"Why don't we order first," Wind Tunnel suggested, "then you can read the letter while we sit and eat."

The three of them placed their orders and took their food to an open table. Dinky and Wind began to eat while Twinkleshine read the letter. The look on her face got Dinky's interest.

"What's it say?" she finally asked.

"It's..." Twinkleshine looked up, blinking in confusion, "It's the answer to the questions that I was going to ask her." She looked from the letter to Dinky. "How did she do that? Not only did she know we were coming here today, but what I wanted to ask her."

"I don't know." Dinky gave a shrug. "Pinkie Pie does all sorts of things that not even dad could figure out. Honesty? I thought she was going to pop out of the envelope herself and shout 'surprise.'"

"But... but that would be IMPOSSIBLE! There's no way for a full grown pony -- for ANY pony -- to be able to fit into an envelope this small."

"So?" Dinky looked up at her, "I once saw Pinkie Pie pop out of a mail slot when I was helping mom at work once."

"A mail slot?" Wind Tunnel asked. "You mean one of those little openings in the door just big enough for a letter?"

"Yeah." Dinky nodded.

"How?" Both of her friends asked, almost simultaneously. Dinky just shrugged and returned to eating her lunch. The two friends stared a moment, the returned to their owns. Twinkleshine kept glancing at the letter, practically expecting Pinkie Pie to pop out of it now.

After lunch the three resumed their tour of Ponyville. They were even in time to see the latest incident and damage caused by The Cutie Mark Crusaders. Dinky did not care all that much. Twinkleshine found it strange and a little amusing. Wind Tunnel stared at Apple Bloom the entire time, hearts filling his eyes. Dinky suddenly got an idea.

"Scootaloo," she called out, "Hey! Scootaloo!"

"What?" Scootaloo called back.

"Are you three done crusading for today?"

The crusaders looked at each other a moment. If they said anything to each other, neither Dinky nor her friends heard any of it.

"I guess so," Scootaloo finally answered as she and her friends came closer, "Why?"

"These are my friends," Dinky said, "Twinkleshine and Wind Tunnel. Guys, this is Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle; The Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"Didn't ah see y'all earlier?" Apple Bloom asked, eyes narrowing as she moved to look closer at Dinky and the other two.

"Yeah." Dinky motioned to her friends again. "I'm giving them a tour of Ponyville and Twinkleshine really wants to meet all of the Elements of Harmony."

"I'm a really big fan," Twinkleshine said with a grin.

"We already visited Applejack, Fluttershy and Miss Rarity," Dinky explained, "and we just left Sugarcube Corner, but Pinkie Pie was busy. So we were going to see Rainbow Dash next," she grinned as she saw Scootaloo perk up with interest, "and I thought that since Twinkleshine wants to hear stories, Scootaloo could take her to meet Rainbow Dash and share all kinds of stories. After all, Scootaloo is Rainbow Dash's biggest fan, right?"

"You bet I am," Scootaloo shouted, hopping off the ground in excitement as she did.

"You mean to tell me," Sweetie Belle said slowly, "You actually think your friend wants to hear Scootaloo talk about Rainbow Dash?"

"I'd love to," Twinkleshine added, "I've been trying to get stories about them all day. The more the better."

"So why don't you follow Scootaloo out to Rainbow Fields," Dinky suggested, "and she can tell you all about Rainbow Dash on the way. When you're done, you can meet us at Miss Twilight Sparkle's library."

"Okay." With that Twinkleshine and Scootaloo started for Rainbow Field, with the orange pegasus chattering as they went. It was probably a safe bet that she spoke the entire time. Dinky then turned to face Wind Tunnel.

"I'm going to go straight to the library and see if Ruby is there," she continued, "Do you want to come with me or look around more?"

"I'd like to look around more," Wind Tunnel responded, but his gaze never looked away from Apple Bloom. While the yellow earth pony did not seem to notice, her friend did.

"Okay," Dinky responded then turned to the other two, "Could one of you please show Wind around for me?"

"Why don't you do it?" Sweetie Belle asked Apple Bloom.

"Me?" Apple Bloom gasped out in surprise. "Why?"

"Why not?" the white unicorn asked. "Besides, I want to hear about Canterlot." Out of sight of her friend, she gave Dinky a wink.

"Oh. Okay." Apple Bloom gave a nod. "Come on Wind Tunnel. Just stick with me."

"Okay," Wind Tunnel said and started following after the youngest of the Apple family like a love sick puppy.

"Thanks," Dinky said as she moved up beside Sweetie Belle.

"No problem," Sweetie Belle responded with a grin. "Besides, I actually do want to hear about Canterlot. I've never been there before and Rarity mostly talks about boring things. Be nice to hear about it from somepony my age."

With that the two unicorns began walking to the library, with Dinky answering Sweetie Belle's questions about Canterlot and it's school for Gifted Unicorns. Sweetie started to lose interest when she started to learn that in some ways it was just like regular school, while in others it was a lot more work and study. She was still quite interested in the magic lessons though, and the filly perked up quite excitedly when she learned they also had music programs.

As they reached the library, the two decided to go their own ways. Sweetie Belle was going to go see how her sister was doing while Dinky went inside to see if Ruby was there and to wait for her other friends to show up.

Princess on the Hunt

Dinky used her magic to hold the newspaper up as she ate. Her gold colored eyes flicked quickly as she scanned, looking from article to article as she only read the titles. Not finding what she was looking for, she set it aside and continued to eat in peace.

Five nights.

Five nights had passed since she had met Shadowbolt. It had also been five nights since the last lightning strike attack had occurred. No pony had been attacked -- to say nothing of injured or even killed -- since.

That would be no surprise to anypony who knew why. After all who would dare to go out and cause mischief when an actual princess was actively searching for them?

The afternoon she had returned and informed Princesses Celestia and Luna what had happened, Celestia had made Dinky continue with her afternoon classes. The filly was able to manage being let out early (though she could not remember if it was from doing well, or from dozing off too much), and grab a quick nap.

The filly woke up just in time to catch the last rays of the setting sun's light through the window. Climbing out of bed, she stretched and yawned, shaking out the tiredness from her nap. Quickly she grabbed her costume to stick it back into her saddlebag which she then put onto her back. She then ran for the door, opening it to head out for another night.

And there stood Luna.

The princess was right at the threshold, standing directly in front of Dinky's door. As soon as it opened, the princess of the night looked down at the young unicorn.

"Can I help you?" Dinky asked, shifting her hooves.

"Yes," Luna said as she stepped into the room, "You can do as I request and not go out tonight."

"What?" The filly's eyes went wide. "But... but Shadowbolt is still out there. Somepony needs to stop her."

"Correct," the princess stated, "which is why I shall be taking my guards this night so that way me seek her out."

"You? Are you sure you want to do that? I... I mean you seemed really upset at lunch and Celestia..." She stopped talking when a hoof pressed against her muzzle.

"In honesty," Luna responded, "I do not want to do this. However, it is something that I feel I need to do. As a princess of Equestria, I have responsibilities I must see to regardless of my personal feeling." She stopped and sat down. "With this matter... I feel that I have additional personal responsibility in the matter. After all, it was I who was corrupted and became Nightmare Moon, and as such, it is I who should take care of any consequences of that time. That is why I must take a personal hoof in dealing with this mare going by the name of Shadowbolt."

"...Okay," Dinky said "I won't go out and look for her."

"Thank you." The princess smiled and leaned down. "I am appreciative of your assistance. Now if you will excuse me, I must prepare to raise the moon and then begin our search." With that, she turned and left.

So Luna went out that night, and every night since, looking for Shadowbolt. The princess and her bat ponies had even spotted the criminal that first night and gave chase. It had been by luck that Shadowbolt escaped, and even that was just barely Fortunately, it was before she had been able to attack anyone. The criminal had not been seen since, most likely having gone into hiding.

"Dinky?" a voice asked from the doorway. A blue pegasus colt with a silver mane and tail stood there.

"Hey, Wind," Dinky said with a smile. "What are you up to?"

"Check this out." Wind Tunnel stepped in and turned to his side. on his flank was a copper colored cutie mark of a pair of wings inside a gear wheel.

"Neat."

"Yeah. Hey could you come over later this week? I have an idea and need some help with it."

"Sure. Shouldn't be a problem."

"Great. Now..." He had began to turn toward the door and stopped, bowing at Princess Celestia.

"Hello young colt," the princess said. "I take it you are a friend of my student."

"Oh," Dinky moved from the table. "Princess Celestia, this is my friend Wind Tunnel."

"Ah, yes." Celestia gave a nod. "It is nice to meet you again. I did not recognize you outside of your Wonderbolts costume." The comment caused the colt to blush.

"Like I was saying," he shifted to stand up, "If you'll excuse me, I need to go find Twinkleshine and see if she can help as well."

"See you later," Dinky said, waving as her friend left. She turned to look at the princess. "It must get tiring having every pony bow when they see you."

"It does make social interaction a bit more difficult when you are royalty. Now as for you. Today, you shall begin study on a new skill." With that, the princess's horn began to glow. "To start, you shall begin to read this." She levitated a book into view, handing it to Dinky.

The filly took the book and looked at it. She read the title then looked at the princess.

"Sewing?"

Summer Sun Parasprites

It was the second summer since Dinky had become the latest student of Princess Celestia and started attending the Academy for Gifted Unicorns. A full year of studying and learning. Another summer had started of having the filly work out and train with the newest recruits for the royal guard.

Except today.

Today was a day to sped around town and with her friends since tomorrow was the Summer Sun Celebration. All of Canterlot was getting ready to celebrate, preparing to be up all night and ready for the raising of the sun for the longest day of the year. Even more of an effort was made by the city because Celestia was holding the ceremony in Canterlot once again.

All around town, ponies were working hard so they could have a wonderful celebration this night. There were decorations being set up and food being prepared. Stages were being set up and musicians hired. Nearly everypony working was working hard so they could have fun later.

Dinky was with her friends Twinkleshine and Wind Tunnel, walking around Canterlot and looking at all the work being put into the celebration. The group stopped as they caught sight of one of Princess Celestia's representatives. The representative did not look happy as she worked. Floating beside her was a scroll and quill, several boxes were ticked off.

"Just think," Twinkleshine said to Dinky, "Some day that could be you making sure everything was ready."

"What?" Dinky turned to look at her friend. "You think Princess Celestia would put me in charge of setting up a Summer Sun Celebration?"

"Why not?" The white unicorn asked. "After all, she did with her last student, did she not?"

"I thought you said that she did that so Twilight would meet the other Elements of Harmony," Wind Tunnel said.

"She did..." Twinkleshine shifted. "It's just... We don't know what the princess has planned for Dinky, if anything." She looked at her friend and smirked. "Maybe we should stop being your friends so you'll end up making whole new friends and saving Equestria."

Dinky let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. She was going to reply, but something caught her attention. Turning, she went in search of what she glimpsed, walking down one of the alleys. Her friends had missed her leaving right away, taking a moment to realize she was no longer with them.

Looking around, the lavender grey filly saw nothing at first. She was turning to leave when she heard a small burping sound. Dinky turned to look at the source, freezing with her eyes growing wide.

Sitting on a crate were two small ball shaped creatures, one blue and one orange. Both of them had a dragonfly-like wings from their back and looked up at her with large green eyes. One of the let out a small chirp.

Dinky let out a gasp and reared back from the things. Her horn burst with energy and glowed blue. Before even realizing it, she had wrapped the two creatures in her magic, levitating them in front of her and keeping them from getting away.

"Oh no," she snarled, "I am not going through something like that ever again."

"Dinky," Wind Tunnel called out. "There you are. We didn't see you and wondered where you went. What are..." He stopped as he looked at the two floating creatures in Dinky's magical aura. "...What are those."

"They're parasprites," Dinky responded.

"What's a parasprite?" Twinkleshine asked, moving to look at them as well.

"...You mean you don't know?" The lavender unicorn looked at her friend in surprise, getting a head shake in return. "They're a little bug that's a pest. They eat anything and everything in sight. Then they burp up another and are hungry again."

"What do you mean burp up another?"

"Well.. Let's say this one," Dinky pointed at the blue one, "was the only one, and it was hungry. It would eat... whatever it could. But instead of getting full, it would burp and spit out this one." She pointed at the orange one. "Now there's two of them and they're both hungry. So they go look for food and do it again."

"That's kind of cool," Wind Tunnel said, grinning.

"That's kind of gross," Twinkleshine replied, wrinkling her nose. "How do you know so much about these?"

"A bunch of them came to Ponyville," Dinky responded. "Well... I guess one came to Ponyville and they multiplied from there... " She shook her head. "Anyway, first they started eating all the food, then they started to eat everything else.:

"...When you say 'everything else'..." Wind Tunnel turned toward the filly.

"Chairs, tables, buildings... Everything. They probably would have started eating ponies next."

"How did you stop them?" Twinkleshine asked.

"Pinkie Pie did," Dinky replied. "Well... sorta. She collected instruments from all over town, then started playing them as she walked through Ponyville. For some reason the parasprites followed her. Then the just kind of... bounced into The Everfree Forest and disappeared." She turned back to the two she held. "Do either of you have some kind of empty container we can put them in?"

"Give me a moment," Twinkleshine responded. "I can move some stuff around and fit it all in one side of my saddlebags." her horn glowed as she lifted the bag from her back. Quickly opening them, she transferred the contents from one side to the other. When she finished, Dinky stuck the two parasprites into the empty one.

"I need a favor. I need you two to start looking around town and find any other parasprites. Keep them away from any food and try to catch them if you can."

"What are you going to do?" Wind Tunnel asked.

"I'm going to see if I can find Princess Celestia. If there are more, we'll need Pinkie Pie's help. Or at least the information she knows on how to stop them from attacking."

"Okay," Twinkleshine said as she started for the alley entrance, "Come on Wind, let's start with the food stalls that are setting up."

"Be careful," Wind Tunnel called to Dinky as he ran after his friend.

"You too," she called back. With them gone, the filly looked around, feeling like she was being watched.

Not seeing anything, she headed out of the alley. Quickly she turned and started running toward the castle. If things went the way the filly wanted, she would be able to find Celestia, get a message to Pinkie Pie, and have a way to get rid of the parasprites in an hour. Actually, if things went the way she wanted, the only parasprites in Canterlot would be the two in Twinkleshine's bag and there would be no need for the information. The problem was they were to destructive to rely on that hope.

Once again she got a feeling of being watched. Stopping, she turned just in time to see a purple orb flying through the air at her. Without thinking, she jumped to one side as hard as she could. The orb hit the ground, a cloud of purple smoke puffing up into the air. Dinky winced in pain as one of her legs scraped against the cobblestones. Opening her eyes, she looked around again.

Standing not far off was a unicorn dressed in black with a blue flower on the flank of the outfit. Her head held high and horn glowed with magic as she held several more orbs.

"Poison Joke Prankster?" Dinky blurted out as she moved to stand up again.

"Please," the dark dressed unicorn said, "Let's go with Poison Prank. Less of a mouthful and better alliteration."

"...But... Poison Joke isn't purple..."

"Yes. I had to expand my repertoire. There is only so much one can do with a singular gimmick. That was a knock-out powder."

"What?" Dinky stepped back, staring at Poison Prank. "Why would you want to knock me out?"

"Because, I simply can't allow you to complete your task." The unicorn mare moved closer, watching the filly. "It has taken quite a bit of effort, and it is far too soon for the Princesses to interfere."

"You? You released the parasprites?"

"Well... Not I alone. My associate is currently occupied handling your friends though. It seemed prudent if we separate and handle both issues. Now you can either come with me quietly and be my guest until dawn, or-"

Dinky ran.

Dinky Hunted

Dinky ran. Her hooves clacked against the cobblestones as she moved down the street as quickly as she could. Her eyes scanned the area around her, trying to find a way to lose her pursuer and turn toward the castle.

The filly was tempted to look back, but it was not really necessary. She could hear Poison Prank's hooves clicking on the street as well. Besides, Dinky had to pay attention to where she was going, and try to figure out how to escape from the wicked unicorn.

So far all she had was a list of things she could not do. Running the rest of the day and all night was not an option, she would just get tired and the princesses had to know. She could hide and rest for a few minutes, but then what? Her Mare-Do-Well costume would be useful -- although it may not fit since has been nearly a year since she last wore it -- but she would need time to summon it and put it on. Plus, It was unlikely that Poison Prank was dumb enough to believe that Mare-Do-Well would show up the same time a filly being chased disappeared. For that same reason, magic was out. Poison Prank had heard the ticking sound of Dinky's magic from when Mare-Do-Well cast a spell. The color was fine, but the sound was too unique.

She needed to get back to the castle and send a letter to Ponyville.

Maybe that's it, Dinky suddenly thought, a letter. The idea, or the basics of one, began to form in her head. It was a bit of something she had never tried before, but it should work. Now she just needed a way get the supplies.

Seeing a cross road, she turned. The filly's hooves skidded on the cobblestones as she did, almost sliding past the intersection before getting herself to move forward. That was going to make getting away more difficult.

At the end stood two guards. They turned at the sound of running, seeing first the filly, then the costumed mare chasing after her.

"Halt!" one of the guards shouted. Dinky ran right between the pair, not stopping. She soon heard the sound of glass shattering twice, followed by coughing. It was tempting to look back and see if the guards were hit by Poison Joke or knocked out, but that would mean slowing down and making herself an easier target.

From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a pony in a hat. Looking at it fully, she felt a flutter of hope: the hat had a feather in it. Using her magic, the filly grabbed the feather as she ran past, If the pony noticed, Dinky never heard anything. She just kept running.

The filly turned onto another street then dove down an alley. Hope glimmered in her golden eyes as she saw the trash cans. As she reached them, she pushed at one of the lids, looking inside. With nothing on top, she reached in with one hoof and pushed some of the trash around. It almost felt like a miracle when she found a crumpled up piece of paper. Grabbing it, she continued to run down the alley.

"Oh, little pony," Poison Prank sang out, "come out come out and play." Her voice echoed along the alley, finding its way to Dinky. Poison Prank sounded so sweet and playful. If the filly did not know better, she would not have expected anything malicious.

At the back door to one of the businesses were several crates, barrels and large burlap sacks. There was a small space between some of the containers. Closing her eyes, she threw herself at the gap. Clenching and shifting, she squirmed and wiggled her way in. It was tight, uncomfortably so. Now she had to hope that she would go unnoticed, or at least to be hidden just long enough.

Dinky lifted one of her forelegs. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath...

And then bit into the skin of her ankle.

The bite sent pain through her limb, making her want to cry out and let go. Squeezing her eyes tighter, she gritted her teeth and pressed harder. It was when she tasted something wet and coppery fill her mouth that she finally let go. The filly quickly dipped the tip of the quill and placed it against the scrap of paper.

Princess,

Parasprites in Canterlot. Poison Prank and another pony responsibe. Poison chasing me. Other pony after Twinkle and Wind. Please send help

Dinky.

Dropping the quill, she closed her eyes again. This time she was focusing on her magic. This was a new take on a spell for her. She had teleported objects to her as well as back to where they had been, but both was using a fixed location she knew. This time, she was trying to send it to a specific pony.

Once the magic was released and the note disappeared, there was nothing left to do but pray it reached the princess.

"Come on little filly," Poison Prank called out. "Just come out and I promise I won't hurt you... too badly."

Dinky held her breath and tried her best not to move. Hidden in the gap face first, she had her back to the opening. It sounded like the mare was close though. Could she be right outside the opening?

"Ah-ha!" the mare called out.

An aura of energy surrounded Dinky, holding her tight. She kicked out with all four legs, scrabbling at the sides of the wooden containers and trying to find a spot to grip it tightly. Desperately, she pressed the tip into the wood as hard as she could, gauging a scratch deep into the surface as she was forced out of hiding.

Dinky slipped out of the gap with a pop. She floated in the air upside down, held in place by the magic of Poison Prank.

"Now really," the mare sniffed, "what, pray tell, was your plan?"

"Uhm..." Dinky tapped her hooves together, trying to look sheepish, "try to hide until you left or Mare-Do-Well arrived?" She grinned, hoping it looked embarrassed. Turning her head, she looked around and tried to think. The filly saw one of the burlap bags and got an idea.

"Mare-Do-Well?" Poison Prank asked in a huff, "Really? That... foolish foal is the one you were hoping to rescue you?"

"Well she did stop you twice before."

"ONCE!" the mare shouted before coughing and collecting herself. "She only defeated me once. And that was with cheating. With the..." She shuddered. "...snake. And... those horrible little vermin. It was all luck. Luck and cheating. Had she fought fair, I would have easily dealt with her."

"How is threatening an entire school with Poison Joke fair?"

"Worthless brat. You wouldn't understand."

One of the burlap sacks flew through the air, striking Poison Prank in the face. The coarse fabric caught on the mare's horn, tearing open a wide rip. Flour began to pour out from the tear, covering Poison Prank in the white powder and covering her face. The mare shook her head, and tried to wipe the flour from her eyes.

Feeling the magical grip weakened, Dinky started to struggle and squirm. She pushed at the weakened energy, finally feeling it give way and dropping her back onto the ground. A burst of white flooded her brain with a cracking sound as her jaw hit the stones.

Despite the pain and her mind being elsewhere, the filly managed to push herself up onto her hooves and began to move. Double-vision and vertigo caused her to stumble and stagger. One of her shoulders pressed against the wall, supporting most of her weight and keeping her upright. Moving slower than she would like (but at least I'm moving), she walked toward entrance to the alley.

"That is it!" Poison Prank snarled out. "I am through playing nice with you, you annoying little brat."

Dinky turned her head, feeling everything inside it swim for a moment. She saw a blurred, overlapping, double-image of the criminal, horn glowing. Floating next to her head (and in the middle of the other) was an orb filled with a silvery red substance. Poison Prank then threw it at the filly.

At the sight of the orb being thrown, Dinky tried to throw herself from the wall as far as she could and against the ground. There was a boom as the orb struck the wall, causing Dinky's ears to ring. A blast of heat struck her back and side, making it feel like something slammed into her. The area went numb, causing her to feel nothing. The smell of smoke was strong and acrid, mixing with the horrid stench of something burning. It was so pungent, she could taste it.

Everything but sight was unusable, and that was close to it as well. All she saw was just a shapeless blur of colors.

Poison Prank reached out with her magic, taking a hold of the filly and lifting her up in the air once again. The mare stomped over to the injured filly at the golden eyes that were not really looking anywhere.

"You," the villain snarled, "a very stubborn, very stupid foal. All you had to do was come quietly and everything would have been fine in the morning. But no. You just had to be a mule and fight. It was a nice move you had getting away from the explosive. Oh, but darling," she said with mock sympathy, "now you are so badly hurt. Maybe I should just put you out of your misery, and mine."

The air crackled with powerful magic. A golden white light burst in the air above the alley, filling the area and blinding Poison Prank.

Poison Prank cried out in pain as a golden aura engulfed the filly, the criminal mare feeling her own magic burned away by someone with greater power. The pain caused her to reel back, shaking her head. A thump of hooves drew her attention.

Standing before the criminal was Princess Celestia. The ruler's wings were spread wide and horn glowing brightly. Her head was held high as she looked at the criminal through narrow eyes. Her magic held the filly in the air, pulling her close.

Using her own magic, Poison Prank pulled out one of the purple orbs and threw it at the princess. Celestia horn flared and pulsed brighter. The orb burned away before it reached the princess, it and the powder turned to ash.

The criminal pulled out a gray one and threw it down in front of her, creating a cloud of smoke. The princess began to clear the smoke, but a groan from Dinky drew her attention. Remembering her student was injured, Celestia let her anger go and allowed Poison Prank to escape, for now. Once the filly was set on her back, the princess quickly made her way to Canterlot's hospital.

Back in the Saddle

"Fall in," Drill Sergeant Stonehoof bellowed. He watched as his recruits followed orders, lining up in front of him and standing at attention. Stonehoof walked along the line, and stopped as he caught sight of a bandaged filly standing at the end.

"Cadet Dinky, remain where you are." He turned around. "The rest of you, hit the obstacle course. Movemovemove." He watched them fall out of formation and begin running for the obstacle course as ordered. He then turned back to Dinky.

"Now," he said in a calmer and more casual voice, "what are you doing out here?"

"Reporting for training, Drill Sergeant," Dinky replied, giving a salute.

"Let's set formality aside for a moment and talk pony to pony. Now, you are not allowed to train. You are on medical leave."

"But... but the hospital let me go."

"Being discharged from the hospital doesn't mean the same thing as being cleared to return to duty. You are still injured and need time to recuperate. You should enjoy it since you saved Canterlot."

"But I didn't," Dinky snorted, looking away. "Princess Luna caught Shadowbolt, saving Twinkle and Wind. It was them who had the parasprites. Princess Celestia scared off Poison Prank. In fact, if it hadn't been for me getting hurt, Celestia could have caught Poison Prank. I didn't do anything but run away and get blown up." She slumped down, staring at the ground between her hooves.

"Aren't you the one who recognized the parasprites and caught them?" Stonehoof asked.

"...Yeah..."

"Didn't you manage to send a letter to Princess Celestia, alerting her of the danger and thus allowing her to save you and Luna your friends?"

"...Yeah..." Dinky raised her head a little, but still did not look at Stonehoof.

"Weren't you also the one who distracted Poison Prank until the princess arrived."

"No," she said, giving him a look. "I hit her with a sack of flour and she threw a bomb at me. I got her dirty, and she tried to blow me up. I'm lucky to be alive."

"A fair point." Stonehoof moved forward, placing a hoof on an uncovered portion of the filly's back. "What I'm getting at is that you did a lot for a filly. If you had been an actual guard, you probably would have gotten a commendation."

"If I were an actual guard," Dinky responded, "I would have been big enough and strong enough to stop Poison Prank by myself."

"Maybe some day you will. But pushing yourself too hard too fast will only make you take longer to recover. Worse, you might tear something open or even get an infection. The best thing to do for now would be to let your body recover and find something else to keep you busy."

"Okay." With a sigh, she got up and started walking off. Stonehoof watched her go, then went to find his trainees.

Dinky returned to her room and let out a snort of frustration. She did not want to be just sitting around in her room. After being in the hospital and cooped up in bed for weeks, the last thing she wanted to do was continue to stay still. Beside which, it caused two major problems for her. One was that the healing of her burns and cuts were itching like mad. She wanted so badly to find a way to scratch at them.

The other was that she could not stop thinking about what had happened, and she hated it. Canterlot had been threatened, as had her friends, she had been attacked and nearly killed, and the pony responsible had gotten away. Worst of all... she felt like she had been useless.

That was the real problem for her. It had been a little under two years since she had become Celestia's most recent personal student. It was also over a year since she had defeated Poison Prank and save the school. Since coming to Canterlot, she had learned a lot about all sorts of things, including magic and strategy. She had also gone through extensive physical training. Although still small for her age, she was stronger than she used to be, with more muscle than when she was younger. There also had been training in armed and unarmed combat.

All of it had been a waste. The time came when she had the chance to use it, to do some real good, and she ran. She ran and she hid. The most she had been able to do was to write a letter asking for help.

Dinky the coward, she thought. Look out for her, criminals, she might run away and tell the princess what you were doing. That would strike terror into the heart of evil. Look out! She's got a quill! She could almost hear the laughter. It sounded like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

Never again! No longer was she going to run, or hide. She was going to fight, to protect others, to win.

"But how?" the filly asked herself with a sigh. Walking over to her bed, she reached out with her magic and grabbed the stuffed dalmatian. "What should I do, Bubbles?"

The stuffed dog floated in the air, its glassy eyes looking at the pony. It had the blank, but oddly friendly, look on its face that most stuffed toys seemed to have.

After letting out a sigh, Dinky set the stuffed animal back down onto the bed. She walked closer to the edge and looked at it. Instead of climbing on and laying down, she walked around her room a little more. Stopping at the closet she pulled out the Mare-Do-Well costume.

It had been in the closet and not worn since she had batted Poison Prank at the school. Now it was too small for her to wear. Even more so with her having gained additional muscle from exercise and especially at the moment with the burns and bandages. Taking it with her, she set it on top of the desk.

A knock drew her attention to the door.

"Ruby?"

"Surprise," Ruby said with a smile from the hall.

"What are you doing here?" Dinky asked, smiling back at her friend.

"By request of Princess Celestia and consent of Princess Twilight Sparkle," the grapefruit red filly stated, "I, Ruby Pinch, am hereby assigned to be a nursing aid to one Dinky Hooves."

"What?"

"Basically I'm here to play nurse to you until you get better. That means I help change your bandages, keep you from over-exerting yourself, make sure you take your medicine, and even keep an eye on your diet."

The last one made Dinky groan out. When she had gotten free of Poison Prank's magic, the filly had hit the road hard enough to fracture her jaw. The doctors had decided that it was not bad enough to need to be wired shut, but she had to stick with a diet of soft foods. There were also painkillers and antibiotics she had to take throughout the day to help with the pain of burns, breaks, bruises and cuts as well as to prevent infection.

The annoyance suddenly gave way to excitment.

"Wait," Dinky said, "you mean that you're going to be here with me all summer?"

"Yeah."

"Neat... Now if there was only something fun to do while you're here."

"My main purpose," Ruby replied, "is to make sure you get better. Now, it's time to change your dressing. Now come on." She then led her friend to the bathroom to remove the older bandages and put on some fresh ones.

Shattered World

Dinky stood proudly in her uniform as she followed Drill Sergeant Stonehoof. She kept to the right and back of the drill sergeant, keeping up with him. As they approached, she looked over the recruits standing in formation.

For five years she had been going through physical training during the summer. After that much time, she had gotten pretty good at the training. During the first weeks, she could run laps quicker, do more push-ups, perform better at the obstacle course, and fight better in unarmed combat than most of the recruits. The advantage was only temporary since she went through only half the day's training through the summer. By the time they were ready to graduate, most had exceeded her.

This year was going to be a little different. She was less of a recruit and more of an assistant. She still had to undergo the physical training, but now it was more to demonstrate for the troops. It was also a bit bureaucratic for her since part of her duties was now to keep track of schedules and make notes on the trainees for the drill sergeant.

It all seemed pretty easy so far. Troops would fall in and she would take notes while Stonehoof inspected them. After that, she would let him know what the training was supposed to be for that day, even if he had decided it earlier. Then she would demonstrate what was expected, most often she with the obstacle course.

The job seemed pretty easy so far. A little boring at times. Admittedly she did not have the same fascination and obsession with lists and order that Twilight had (at least from what Dinky had seen from around Ponyville), but it was easy to get the information down well enough to be referenced later.

Dinky was making notes as Stonehoof was yelling at the recruits. Soon they would be running with full packs, training to travel with some of the heavy equipment they will be required to wear while out in the field.

The moment was interrupted as a golden white glow filled the area, the sound of magical teleportation reaching the ears of all the ponies. Everyone turned to watch, seeing the flash fade away to reveal the form of Princess Celestia. All but Dinky bowed as the princess approached.

"Pardon the interruption, Sergeant," Celestia said as she reached the crowd, "but an emergency has arisen and I need my student immediately."

"As you wish, Princess," Stonehoof said. "Dinky, you are dismissed."

Before Dinky could say anything, she found herself engulfed in Celestia's magic. Everything around her vanished in a golden light. As the glow faded, the young unicorn found herself standing outside Ponyville's hospital.

"I'm afraid your mother is inside," the princess said. "Hurry on. I'll be there momentarily."

Dinky was off as soon as she heard the word mother. A sense fear filled her stomach as she ran to the hospital. She pushed the door open with her horn, trying to slow down to a more acceptable pace as she went inside. The young unicorn mare headed directly to the front desk.

"Excuse me," she said, "My name is Dinky Hooves. I was told my mother Derpy is here?"

"Dinky," a voice said from one side, getting her attention.

"Carrot Top?" Dinky moved away from the desk, moving toward her friend. "Where's mom? What happened?"

"I'll take you to her." The yellow and orange earth pony turned and started down one of the halls. Dinky followed, keeping close as the walked through the hospital.

"Your..." Carrot Top's voice cracked as she tried to speak. She let out a cough before trying again. "Your mother had an aneurysm. It seems she had a clot developing in her brain for years and it finally ruptured." The mare stopped and looked at the younger one, tears in her eyes. "The doctors can't do anything about it and they don't think she has much longer." Saying nothing else, Carrot Top led Dinky to the door to one room, and motioned inside.

A grey furred pony laid on the bed, the sheets pulled up to the middle of her chest with her forelegs resting on top. The long blond mane was spread out on the pillow and her eyes were closed. An oxygen tube was attached to her nose and a heart rate monitored beep -- if just barely -- from off to one side.

"Mom?" Dinky asked as she moved closer. One of Derpy's ears gave a twitch at the sound. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. The mare smiled as she caught sight of her daughter. Reaching out, she placed one of her hooves on top of the younger pony's.

"Look at you," Derpy said, "It's always a surprise to see how big you've gotten. My not so little muffin." She let out a small giggle.

"...How do you feel?"

"Tired..." The mare looked away from her daughter then up at her again. "And proud." Reaching out, she took a hold of Dinky and pulled her closer. "I want you to know that. I am proud of all you've done, and will be proud of anything else that you do."

"Mom." Dinky's voice cracked as she spoke. She tried to blink back the tears. "Don't talk like that. You're going to be fine."

"No I'm not. We both know what's happening." Derpy let out a small sniffle. "I'm sorry. I can't protect you from this."

"I can take care of myself. I don't need you to protect me anymore."

"I know, but it's part of being a mom. No matter how old you get, even if you live to be two thousand years old, you will be my little muffin and I will always want to keep you safe." Pulling the younger pony closer, the older one leaned up and kissed her on the cheek. Afterwards, Derpy fell back onto the bed, seeming to have been exhausted from the effort.

"...I still need you though... There's so much I still don't know and... Mom?"

Dinky reached out and pressed a hoof against Derpy's cheek. The young unicorn did not notice when her mother's chest stop rising and falling. The sound of the heart monitor flat-lining never registered. The next thing she did know is that doctors and nurses were rushing to her mother's bed. Dinky was escorted out of the room as the pegasus in the bed was being tended to.

Without realizing it, she walked to the waiting room where Carrot Top and Amethyst Star were. Dinky tried to say something, to tell them what was happening. No matter how much she opened and closed her mouth, nothing came out. Instead, Carrot Top moved over to Dinky and hugged her. This was quickly followed by Amethyst Star. Dinky pressed close to the closest thing she now had to a family, hiding her face against them, and let the tears flow.

Life Goes On

"You don't have to do this."

"Yes. I do." Dinky turned and looked at Carrot Top. "I probably put it off longer than i should have already. Thank you for understanding, but it's not fair to you."

It had been a couple of months since Derpy had passed away of a brain aneurysm. Despite efforts from friends, family, and even Princess Celestia, Dinky had been distant in her grief. From the day of the actual death to the day of the funeral, the young unicorn was catatonic. She would just lay on the bed in her mother's room and stare up at the ceiling. Any pony that came and talk with her was not really acknowledged. Dinky did not even look at them, much less respond to anything that was said.

Turned out she had been responsive enough to attend the funeral. Despite the actions of the days leading up, when the day of arrived, Dinky was clean dressed and ready. At first, she had continued to be unresponsive. It was during the eulogy that Dinky broke down, Ruby leading her away from the crowd to allow Dinky to grieve in private. After she returned, she was at least able to thank ponies for their condolences and well wishes.

The very next day, she boarded the first train back to Canterlot. Instead of returning to her regular daily life, she would mostly just disappear with nopony knowing where she was. Sometimes she would be seen around the kitchen just long enough to get something to eat, although it turned out she was skipping meals more often than not. Other times, she would be found in bed asleep with no way of knowing where she had been or what she did.

Turned out she was in the older portions of the library where few ponies ever went anymore. Dinky had been going through older and more obscure books, looking for a time-travel spell. After searching she found one, but it was of no use since more than seven days had passed. The young unicorn had finally decided to give up after finding an old blue journal which had notes talking about fixed points and not crossing one's own time stream.

Eventually she seemed to return to her normal routine. There was a lack of enthusiasm to it though. During physical training, she was moving slower when running, and had been hit several times during unarmed combat training by attacks she should have been able to dodge. During studies, she had a tendency to need to re-read something several times, and had trouble answering most questions. Even her spells suffered as she was having a hard time focusing.

There had been signs of her improving and slowly returning more to her normal self. All the same when school began again, Dinky was scheduled to see a councilor on a weekly basis to help deal with her grief in a more healthy manner. The young unicorn had been reluctant to open up to the councilor at first, but came to talk about what the problem was.

Now here she was, at the carrot farm. At the recommendation of others, she was using what was a long weekend to pack up her mother's belongings. It was not a step that most ponies talked about, but it was a part of moving on when a pony had passed away. Turned out most did it in the weeks following the funeral most of the time.

Thus, she now stood in her mother's room, surrounded by empty boxes and looking at the belongings that had accumulated to mark the mail mare's life.

"Beside," Dinky continued, "you could use the room and the money. You and mom never talked to me about it, but I know neither of you make much. She never said anything, but I know it's part of the reason we moved in. We get a place to stay, mom helps you cover bills. Right?"

"...yes," Carrot Top admitted. "I would have let you and your mother stay for free, but you know how she was about charity."

"If we pack up mom's stuff, you can rent out the room. That way you aren't here alone and have some extra money." The unicorn turned to the earth pony and grinned. "Unless something is going to happen between you and Mister Macintosh?" The sight of Carrot Top blushing was enough to make Dinky giggle.

"Well," the mare said, "at least that got a laugh from you. The way you've been, I was worried that you would never be able to smile, much less laugh, ever again."

"...Yeah... sorry." Dinky looked away, letting out a sigh. She moved to look at one of the pictures. Taking a hold of it in the frame, she lifted it to get a better look. It was a picture from when they had first moved in with Carrot Top. Specifically the house warming party that Pinkie Pie had thrown for them. It was quite a surprise, especially to Carrot Top since she had not planned it. Everything seemed to just appear and was ready when she turned around to come back in. Pinkie was nice enough to take a picture of the three new housemates. Dinkie was in the middle, grinning widely as she was caught in a hug between her mother and aunt.

"I just... never expected something like this to happen," the young unicorn continued. "I mean.... the idea of mom.. dying... It never even crossed my mind. I just... I just never thought something like that would ever happen to her. Then there was how it happened. Not from traveling with me, not from trying to protect me, not even an accident caused by her crashing into something. It was just a little clot that caused her to... to..."

"Die."

"Yes. And in a hospital bed. That's not what was supposed to happen."

"Dinky?" the yellow earth mare asked gently. "What do you think was supposed to happen?"

"I don't know. But not this. She at least was supposed to be around long enough to be 'Grandma Derpy.'"

Dinky set the picture down and closed her eyes. She opened them again as she felt Carrot Top take her into a hug.

"I miss her too, Dinky. She was my closest friend." Breaking the hug, the mare took a hold of the unicorns face and lifted it. "But you know she wouldn't want you to be like this. Your mom always did her best to be happy and make sure you were as well."

"Thank you," Dinky said, wiping at tears. "Could I have a moment alone?"

"Sure." Carrot Top left, letting the unicorn be alone in her mother's room.

Dinky took one last look at the picture, feeling a smile twitch at her lips.

"I do miss you," she said, nuzzling the image. "Carrot Top is right though. You wouldn't want me to be sad. I promise I'll do better. I promise I'll make you proud." Setting it down, she turned and looked at the rest of the stuff. Her horn glowed as she began to use her magic. Slowly the young unicorn began to sort through things, deciding what to keep, what to give away to charity, and what her mother would want to be given to friends to remember her by.

She still felt sad, but she was finally starting to move on.

Spring Break Camping

"Is this it?" Dinky asked, looking at the map.

"Yep," Wind Tunnel responded, "this is it. The perfect camping spot." He flew a circle. "Nice clearing in the surrounded by trees. Flat ground with soft grass and no rocks. Enough space in the branches for my hammock. And there's a river full of fresh water just down that way." He pointed.

"It's very nice," Twinkleshine said, looking around. "I think it will be a wonderful place to spend the week."

"Still seems like an odd idea to me," Ruby spoke up. "If you're going to be sleeping outside all summer, why go camping before then?"

Being a year older than the others, Twinkleshine was finishing her last year at the academy. Sadly she would not be around to enjoy the summer as she had an internship. The unicorn would be spending her time helping catalog an excavation site and try to help decipher any possible stories.

"It's not going to be the same thing," Twinkleshine replied. "it's going to be more passing out from exhaustion after a day of exploring a place nopony has stepped in for centuries. Besides, It will give me the chance to try out my camping supplies and make sure that there aren't any problems."

"Speaking of," Dinky said, "we should probably start setting up. How about Ruby and Wind get water and firewood while Twinkle and I set up the tents?" The others agreed.

"Heh." Ruby grinned as she started walking toward the direction Wind Tunnel said the river was. "Maybe we'll get to see evidence of... Big Hoof."

"Big Hoof?"

"I'll explain when I get back." With that, the pink unicorn cantered into the woods and out of sight with Wind Tunnel not far behind.

Dinky watched her friends go, then gave a shake of her head. She then started to unpack the tent that she and Ruby were planning to be using for trip while Twinkleshine began to unpack her own.

"So are you excited to be leaving Canterlot and school behind?" Dinky asked. She looked at her friend from the corner of her eye, trying to keep most of her attention on the tent.

"Yes," Twinkleshine responded, "and nervous. This is something I have never done before, but always wanted to. Maybe this will be my first step toward leading an expedition into the Everfree Forest and exploring the remnants of the old castle." She grinned, "Maybe I can even find artifacts of other towns and learn stories about the ponies from then."

Dinky always wondered about that. Celestia was over a thousand years old and still alive. There were thousands of books in the Canterlot Library dealing with history. There was even a play every Hearth's Warming about the founding of Equestria. With all that, it was hard to imagine that there were any new stories out there to discover in Equestria.

Still it was a possibility. Nightmare Moon had become a myth to scare foals and an excuse to go out and get candy one night a year until she returned. Discord was thought of as nothing but a statue and an old story until he break free. Nopony knew of King Sombra or The Crystal Empire until both returned. With such events in modern history, who knows what might have been forgotten or unseen for centuries.

"What about you?" Twinkleshine asked. "Your last year is coming up. What are you going to do after you graduate?"

"I don't completely know. I want to do something to protect other ponies. I might spend the summer going through full guard training, but after... I'm not sure."

"Oh." Twinkleshine forgot about her tent for a moment, moving over to Dinky. "Maybe you should become a guard. Then you could request to be assigned to The Crystal Empire. That way you can see if there are any strange monsters still out in the snow. Or maybe you could go back to Ponyville, so when I can mount an expedition into The Everfree Forest, you could accompany me as security."

"Or," Dinky interrupted, "I might not get any special treatment and will have to go where assigned. I could just as easily end up in the castle having to guard Prince Blueblood."

"Oh, wouldn't that be fun," the white unicorn said with a giggle. "Having a stallion who is constantly insulting you for being of birth in a lesser class than he, yet is constantly needing help for even the simplest of things. Not to mention that, being a mare, he would constantly stare at your flank and never understand why aren't simply throwing yourselves at his hooves."

"Oh, go back to your tent," Dinky snapped, getting another snicker from Twinkleshine. The two of them resumed setting up camp. It was a relief when they were finally finished.

"Shouldn't Ruby and Wind be back by now?" Twinkleshine asked after they had waited a while longer. "Maybe we should go look for them."

"One of us should stay here in case they come back. Do you want to stay and wait or go look?"

"I'll stay. I can send up a signal if they get back before you do."

"Okay. I'll head straight down to the river and back. Be as quick as I can."

Dinky left the clearing and headed into the forest. Her ears were up and shifting, trying to catch each and every noise and she scanned the area around her as best she could. As she moved closer to the river, she heard the sound of something moving through the brush. Turning, she looked for the source of it.

Ruby walked out from the underbrush, her horn glowing brightly with magic. Floating in the air behind her was Wind Tunnel. The pegasus had all his limbs pulled up tight against his body. His eyes were wide and pupils small as he stared off into space. He was also completely soaked.

"What happened?" Dinky asked as she moved closer to her friends.

"Beeeaaaar," Wind Tunnel wheezed out.

"Yes," Ruby responded. "Wind Tunnel saw a bear and panicked. He flew into a tree and fell into a river."

"Is he okay?"

"Some scrapes and bruises, but nothing serious."

Dinky moved closer and looked at her pegasus friend. Reaching out with one hoof, she poked at him. The young stallion twitched at the touch, but otherwise did not move.

"So he'll be okay?" she asked. "We don't need to take him to the hospital or anything?"

"No. He should be fine in a few minutes."

"Okay. Were you two able to get water?"

"Yeah. We have enough for now."

"Well you go ahead and take Wind back to camp. I'll be there in a moment with some firewood."

"Ay-ay, Captain Hooves," Ruby said with a salute. She then continued toward the camp, laughing to herself. Dinky groaned and rolled her eyes. Looking around, she began to gather wood for making a fire. Once she felt she gathered enough for the night, she started back for the camp site.

"Is it true?" Twinkleshine asked as soon as Dinky returned.

"Is what true?" the returning unicorn asked.

"Ruby," Wind Tunnel pointed as he spoke, "says that you and her have met bears before."

"...Yeah..." Dinky said slowly. "Fluttershy had all sorts of animals that she would make friends with. Most of them would come and see her around her hut from time to time." She continued to walk as she spoke, setting the wood down for the fire.

"So she just had bears wandering around Ponyville?" Wind Tunnel ask, seeming to go thin and pale in shock.

"No. Most of the animals stayed near the woods or close to Fluttershy's hut She doesn't live in town. Besides, it was Angel you had to be careful of."

"Who's Angel?"

"Fluttershy's rabbit," Ruby answered.

Wind Tunnel burst out in a laugh.

"A rabbit? You two don't think twice about a bear, but you're afraid of a fluffy little bunny."

"Trust me," Ruby replied. "There was nothing fluffy or cute about that rabbit. He would-"

"Ruby," Dinky stated, "Don't bother. There's no way he would believe us anyways. Angel is one of things you would only believe if you actually met him." She gave her friend a sympathetic smile. "Now, what was that you said earlier about Big Hoof?"

Soon, the red unicorn began to tell a tale to the others. She told them of a legendary earth pony. The tales say that he was two or three times larger than the typical pony and was strong enough to knock down a tree. Dinky could not resist laughing and compare the description to Big Macintosh. Ruby chuckled at first, then seemed to seriously consider the comparison.

The four continued to have fun for a while. There did come a problem when the day moved on toward supper time. The ponies all had a little experience with cooking, but none of them had ever done it over an open flame before. It was when some potatoes ended up getting burned that they realized it was a bit of a problem. Fortunately they were able to make something edible.

With dinner finished, the friends tried to keep entertained. Wind Tunnel tried collecting the smoke and shaping it similar to how he would do with a cloud. Twinkleshine told some scary stories, including the classic tale of The Headless Horse. Ruby taught a little bit of emergency first aid, using Wind Tunnel as a demonstration dummy. Twinkle and Dinky giggled a little when his muzzle was bandaged shut. Dinky sang a song that her mother used to sing to her when she was just a foal.

As the night wore on, the group began to grow tired. Twinkleshine decided to go to bed first. After bidding the others good night, she headed to her tent. Next was Wind Tunnel. Instead of a tent, he flew up into a hammock hanging from some of the nearby trees.

That left Ruby and Dinky alone for awhile. As they tended to do, the pair discussed how things used to be and what had changed both since moving apart and since the last time they had seen each other. Some of the stories were still surprising, even after all the years that had passed.

It was Ruby who finally decided to turn in and get some sleep. She went ahead to the tent while Dinky put out the fire. Once satisfied, she headed to the tent as well. Her friend was already asleep.

Silently as she could, the young mare slipped into her sleeping bag, enjoying the warmth. As she got comfortable, Ruby shifted in her sleep, pressing against Dinky. Smiling, the unicorn kissed her sleeping friend on the head. Dinky settled in a little more and closed her eyes.

Then opened them again as she realized what she just did.

Awkward Morning After

Dinky woke up, with a small feeling of surprise. She thought that she would be lying awake all night. Seems she had fallen asleep at some point regardless. Turning her head, she looked around. There was light coming into the entrance of the tent. She was also the only one in it.

The young mare let out a sigh and crawled out of her sleeping bag. She let out one more yawn as she got up and out. Dinky closed her eyes and took a deep breath, smelling the fresh morning air as it filled her lungs. It helped wake her up and feel a little less scared.

It turned out that she was the last one up. Twinkleshine was at the freshly made fire, making something for breakfast. Wind Tunnel was flying back from the forest, his front legs full of additional firewood. Neither of them noticed their friend waking up right away as they went about the morning chores.

"Do either of you know where Ruby went?" Dinky asked as she moved closer.

"She should be down at the river," Wind Tunnel answered. "Said she wanted to go for a swim. If not, then she's out collecting edible plants for later."

"Okay. Thanks." Dinky then started heading for the forest.

She found Ruby at the river, splashing around in the water. The deep pink pony was up to her neck, pushing her way up stream. Her mane hung down, dark and heavy with water.

Dinky watched her friend swim and smiled. For some reason, she could feel her face heating up. This all suddenly seemed like a very bad idea. Did Ruby know anything happened? If not, why bring it up? If so, what else could Dinky say on the matter? Maybe it would be better to say nothing and go back to camp. Just pretend the whole thing never happened.

But that was not the way she wanted to live her life, was it? To ignore something and act like it never happened? Was it something either of her parents would do?

With a sigh she turned around. The young mare continued to move toward the river. This time she made an effort to be heard, rustling branches and knocking pebbles as she approached.

Ruby turned and looked at the sound. She smiled at the sight of her friend. The smile disappeared as her eyes went wide. The pink unicorns face turned a darker shade of red if that were possible. Ruby hunched down, only her nose and eyes sticking out of the water.

"Hi," Dinky said, trying to smile. If her friend's reaction was any indication, pretending that nothing happened was out of the question anyways. The pale lavender unicorn decided that the best course of action was to take the lead in the conversation.

"Everything okay?"

Mentally, Dinky smacked herself. She had meant to take control of the conversation.

"Fine," Ruby responded. "I'm fine. Uhm..." She rolled her eyes as she looked anywhere but at Dinky. "Did... Did anything strange happen last night?"

"Like what?"

"Anything? Uhm... You know what, never mind."

"Could you come out of the river. I need to talk to you."

Ruby shifted, her ears flickering as she looked around. After several minutes she finally started toward the shore. Once out, she shook herself and moved closer to her friend. Water continued to drip down from her mane.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Something..." Dinky hesitated a moment, then took a deep breath and continued. "Something did happen last night. When I went to bed, you snuggled up a little. For some reason.... I... I kissed you on the forehead."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Dinky gave a shrug. One hoof rubbed at the other as she shifted to look at the ground. "You were just there... and it sort of happened. I didn't even realize I was doing or think about it until after..."

"Do you..." Ruby hesitated, licking her lips. "Do you like me. I mean... like more than friends?"

"...I don't know." Dinky sighed. "I honestly don't know how I feel. I never thought about anything like that. Not with you or anypony else. Between classes and practice, the free time I do have being spent with friends, I haven't even thought about having any sort of... relationship with another pony." She continued to look down at the ground, feeling her face heat up as she blushed more.

One of her ears gave a flick as she heard Ruby moving closer. Instead of looking at her, Dinky looked further away. A hoof touched her face, gently lifting and turning it so she faced her friend.

"Well you need to figure it out," Ruby said gently. "We both do, actually. I never thought of you or any other filly in that way. But... " she gave a sheepish grin, "...I... kind of liked it."

"So... I guess we both kind of need to think about how we feel?" Dinky said. "But... what are we going to do about the rest of the week?"

"Pretend everything's okay?" Ruby suggested. "Go about as we normally would? Why don't you help me get some food? There's some daisies and lemongrass in a field not far from here. How about you collect them and I'll get some edible mushrooms I saw earlier."

"...Okay..." Dinky sighed and turned, walking toward the field. She watched her hooves as she went, trying to figure out how she felt about her friend.

Questions of the Future

"Thank you for coming," Twinkleshine said, giving her friends a hug.

"No problem," Wind Tunnel said with a smile.

"Sure," Dinky added, "You only graduate from school once after all."

"I still appreciate it," the graduating mare continued. "I'm going to miss you two. I have to get going though. My family is waiting for me so we can go out and celebrate." She gave them a wave and headed off toward her family waiting nearby. The two friends waved back as she headed off.

"Hey, Wind?" Dinky asked. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"Just working on some ideas I have," the pegasus responded. "Why?"

"Could you come by? I have some ideas I could use your smithing skills with... and maybe your engineering skills as well."

"Sure. I think I can make the time."

"Great. I'll see you tomorrow then. I got to get going." She gave one last wave to her friend and headed off.

The young mare left the auditorium and made her way outside. There was a chariot waiting with several guards attached as well as surrounding it. She smiled at the guards as she passed. They gave no acknowledgement of the unicorn, but did not try to stop her either. Dinky stepped onto the chariot and waited.

Princess Celestia emerged from the auditorium not much later. She moved away from the crowd of ponies who had been following her, slipping past the guards and making her way to the chariot. Once the princess had boarded, the pegasus guards took flight, lifting the two riders up above the city.

They rode in silence as they rose and flew over Canterlot. Dinky looked out over the edge, watching the tops of the building pass as they floated above it all.

"Is there something on your mind, my student?" the princess asked. "You have been unusually quiet today."

"After this summer," Dinky said slowly, "I begin my last year of school. The problem is that once I graduate, I don't know what I'm going to do next."

"From your orders of armor-grade leather as well as purple and black fabric, I thought you had decided already."

Dinky looked up at the princess, eyes going wide. The unicorns ears dropped and the color of her face changed from a pale lavender to a bright red.

"You... you know about that?"

Celestia smiled, saying nothing.

"Well... okay, yes. But that doesn't really help. I mean putting on a costume and running around..." She sighed and rubbed her head. "Saying it out loud makes it sound even stupider than just thinking it. Anyway, even if it would mean my helping ponies in trouble, it isn't really something I can make a living with. My cutie mark doesn't help, because it's tied to my ability to use time magic. Can't make a living with that either."

"You are a bright young mare," Celestia stated. "I am confident that you shall think of a way to achieve your goals. I would suggest that you enjoy your summer vacation in the meantime, but it seems that you are planning to be quite busy."

"Right," Dinky straightened up, squaring her shoulders. "Full time guard training from start to finish five days a week, starting the day after tomorrow."

The two continued in silence, although with a better mood than before. They continued to watch the city beneath them as they flew by, quickly making their way back to the castle. The guards circled around as it came in for a landing. With ease the group set down in the with in the fenced in garden. The two passengers quickly disembarked, leaving the guards to dismount and return to their duties.

Dinky walked slowly for a while as she moved through the garden. She looked at the flowers as they grew, her nose twitching slightly to take in the scents. It was a very nice place to be and relax. A thought occurred to her that she had not really just enjoyed the garden in a while. As she got older, she was driving herself more and more toward something. The only exception was when she was out with her friends. Although that actually had become less often, she realized.

The young mare continued her way to the castle and up to her room. Beside her desk were bolts of fabric in purple and black as well as a large amount of dark leather. Strewn across the top of the desk were scissors, thread, leather punchers and sheets of paper with numerous drawings. There was also a letter.

Curious, Dinky picked the letter up and opened it. She began to smile as she read, realizing it was from Ruby. After the week of camping over spring break and some time apart, the two talked and wrote. Although there was quite some distance between them, the unicorns had decided to try and have a relationship. So the two had begun writing to each other, sharing what had happened from time to time and planning for later. This particular letter stated that Ruby would be coming to visit next weekend.

The idea of seeing her... girlfriend? Were they at that stage? Or were they still just friends? Maybe friends with possibilities of a relationship? Long distant romantic hopeful would be accurate, but very boring to say and hear. Well, whatever they were, the idea of seeing each other next weekend was exciting.

There was no mail tomorrow, so there was no rush to write back. She was going to get help from Wind Tunnel for some of her ideas, but other than that there was nothing going on. That meant there would be plenty of time for her to come up with plans for Ruby's visit.

In the meantime, there were other matters to deal with. Setting the letter aside, she picked up the needle and worked to thread it. Once threaded and ready, the mare began to sew.

Putting Things Together.

"Well this was a fun weekend," Ruby said as she walked. "I'm glad I came."

"So am I," Dinky replied. "You don't have to leave today. I mean it is summer after all."

"You have training in the morning and I am expected at the hospital."

"Heh. Right. I forgot that you were a candy stripper."

"Striper."

"I know what I said." Dinky grinned, giggling slightly. Ruby just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"The point is that we both have busy days ahead of us tomorrow. Although, this went well. Maybe we can get back together the weekend after next? I could leave in the morning and be here when you finish training."

"Okay. But time after that, I visit you. Doesn't seem fair to have you two do all the traveling."

Ruby smiled and leaned forward. She gave Dinky a kiss on the cheek, grinning as the pale lavender mare turned a bright red.

"Deal," the naturally red unicorn responded, "I bet Carrot Top would be happy to see you."

"Yeah..." the name sent a slight pang of guilt through Dinky. The young mare had not really been spending much time with the older one. Since the passing of her mother, she had been finding more and more excuses to visit Ponyville and the farm less and less.

"Okay," Ruby said, interrupting the train of thought, "I have to get going now."

"See you soon." Dinky moved forward and returned the earlier kiss. After, she stayed where she was, watching her friend (fillyfriend?) board the train before it left. She watched the train moved, waving at her friend sitting at the window. Once the train had finished pulling out of the station and was quickly moving out of sight did she finally leave the platform. The young mare walked through Canterlot as she headed back toward the castle.

"Dinky!" A voice cried out, getting her attention. Turning, she caught sight of a sky blue pegasus with silver mane and tail flying over the crowd toward her. She smiled and walked toward Wind Tunnel as he landed.

"What's up?" she called out as they got closer.

"I was just about the head over and see you," he replied. "I got those metal bands you asked for done." Opening one of his saddle bags, he pulls out to gleaming metal rings. One was a tall and thin band, large enough to fit around Dinky's head. The other was a wide flat ring, almost a disc if not for the empty center.

"Thank you" Dinky said as she took and looked at them. "They look great."

"Yeah... Uhm... Dinky? What are they for?"

Dinky looked from the bands to the pegasus. She tilted her head, looking at him from the corner of her eye. An ear gave a quick flicker as she raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure you really want to know Wind Tunnel?" she asked.

"Yes?" he said slowly. "I mean... you're not doing anything illegal with them, are you?" Wind Tunnel looked at his friend, shifting as she looked at him without answering.

"Okay," she finally said, "but not here. Too many ponies. Come on back to my room." She then turned and continued walking through the streets.

Wind Tunnel stood a moment longer before finally following after her. He trotted quickly to catch up. As they continued, he kept looking around, the weird behavior making him feel paranoid. It was a relief when they were no longer in sight of the public, heading up to Dinky's room. As soon as they were in, the mare shut the door and locked it, causing the young stallion to jump.

"What I'm about to tell you," she said as she looked at him with narrowed eyes, "is supposed to be a secret. So you have to promise not to tell anypony."

"I promise."

"Swear on your wings."

"What?"

"I don't want to have to teach you a Pinkie Promise, so I want you to swear on your wings that you will never tell another pony about this."

"Ugh. Fine." Wind Tunnel held up a hoof. "I swear to keep the promise you share with me. Should I break this promise, may my wings go bald and get stuck."

Dinky looked at him a moment, then burst into a fit of giggles.

"Okay," she finally managed to get out between bursts of laughter, "That works. Worth it just for imagining a pair of bald wings sticking straight out from the side." As the laughter subsided, she started moving toward her desk. "If you still want to know, they're for a hat."

"...A...hat..."

Dinky set the two rings of metal on the desk. She then picked up a sheet of paper and held it up for Wind Tunnel to see.

"Remember this?" she asked, showing him the drawing on the sheet.

"It looks familiar," he said, staring at it, "but I can't place it."

"Yeah. It's been a while. It's the Mare-Do-Well costume. I was wearing it the Nightmare Night we met."

"Oh yeah," Wind Tunnel said, perking up as he remembered. "Hey, didn't cause you all sorts of trouble with that crazy mare that kept throwing things?"

"Yes, it was. Rarity, a fashion designer in Ponyville who made the original costume, made another for me the summer after we met. I managed to wear it twice then I outgrew it. That was the problem. Thought of asking for another, but I would outgrow it again and again. It would have been a waste."

"So," Wind Tunnel said slowly, "what does that have to do with the bands?"

"After the parasprites," she said, "I decided..." she rubbed her head and sighed. "This sounds stupid but hear me out. After the parasprites, and facing Poison Prank again, I decided I wanted to do something to help others. To stop ponies like her from scaring ponies like you and Twinkleshine. So I've been working on sewing, magic, and fighting. I've also been working on drawings and designs for a new outfit and weapons."

"So the bands are for the hat of the Mare-Do-Well outfit?"

"Yes. One goes into the crown and the other goes into the brim."

"Why?"

"It will weigh it down to keep it in place and the weight and shape should make it useful as a throwing weapon."

"No," Wind Tunnel said, "I mean why are you doing this at all? You already said that this sounds stupid, so why are you actually planning to dress up in a costume and go running around to fight who knows what? This is crazy, so why do it?"

"I don't know." Dinky shifted and let out a sigh. "I... I feel like I have to do something. It may not be the method my parents would use, but it would be the same intent."

"Same intent? You mean they would want you to run around in some costume like a weirdo?"

"They would want me to help others," she responded. "Do anything and everything they could to keep as many ponies alive as safe as they could." She looked away, staring out the window. "Even if it put their own lives at risk."

"....Is there anything else I can do to help?" Wind Tunnel asked.

"Really?" Dinky asked. She turned to look at the pegasus, an expression of shock on her face.

"Yeah." Wind Tunnel sighed and rolled his eyes. "I still don't get the whole 'run around in a mask and costume' thing, but I get wanting to help others and ... the whole parents thing. So if there's anything I can do to help, let me know and I'll try my best."

"You know," the young mare said with a grin, "I could use a sidekick."

"Don't push it."

"Actually, there might be one thing that could help..."

Boulder Bucking

"Fall in!"

At the Drill Sergeants command, Dinky -- as well as the other recruits -- moved to stand in line, shoulders straight and eyes forward. They held the position as Drill Sergeant Stonehoof walked past them, looking at them from the corner of his eye as he passed.

"I hope you're ready to hurt," Stonehoof said. "Because today were are working on hoof to hoof combat. This time, it's not against any stuffed dummies. No. This time, the dummies will be each other. That's right. Today, you will be pairing off and facing a live partner one on one."

One of the ponies in line, a pegasus, made a noise in their throat. As soon as he did, the Drill Sergeant was in front of him.

"Something the matter, recruit?"

"Well," the recruit said, "with all due respect, Drill Sergeant, this is hardly a fair exercise. I mean I grew up in The Dragon's Kitchen and had to learn pretty young how to fight. None of the other recruits could possibly stand against me... sir."

"You really think so?" Stonehoof asked. He moved back. "Step forward."

The recruit did so, his wings giving a slight flicker.

"Recruit Dinky Hooves, step forward."

Dinky did as she was told, stepping out of line. She pressed her jaws tight, almost painfully so, to keep from grinning. She had a fairly good idea of what was going to happen as she had seen similar issues with previous classes when she was training. The major difference was that it was usually Stonehoof himself who handled the recruit. He had mentioned that he might have her do it instead, but she did not actually expect it.

"Tell you what," the drill sergeant said, "if you are able to defeat this recruit," he motioned to Dinky, "I will allow you to skip the combat training and hit the mess hall early. But, if she defeats you, then you will have to report for latrine duty. Acceptable?"

The recruit looked at the unicorn now standing beside Stonehoof. She was somewhat on the short side, and kind of on the slender side. Looked more like the type that would run or use magic than actually fight. The filly would probably go down after one solid hit. It really seemed like it would not be a fair fight. Still, the opportunity to skip the combat training and be the first to eat was a very tempting prize.

"Agreed, Drill Sergeant."

"Alright then. No magic. No flying. This is unarmed combat only. A pony wins when the other surrenders, is knocked out or-"

"Look out!" Dinky shouted. The young mare threw herself at Stonehoof, knocking the earth pony aside. Before any other ponies could react, a large chunk of stone flew through the air, passing where Stonehoof had been a moment ago. Instead, it struck the recruit and knocked him back. The remaining ponies turned to look at the source of the rock.

Standing not far away was what looked like an earth stallion statue. The proof that it was not an actual statue was that it moved. The stallion was larger than average, looking down at the other ponies. The entire form looked more like it was made of marble that had been shaped and polished instead of flesh.

From the spot they landed, Dinky and Stonehoof were getting back up. Dinky stared at the approaching statue, her mind already working to draw magic and ready it for a spell. Drill Sergeant Stonehoof brushed himself off as he stood. He grabbed his hat and put it back on before turning to look at the marble stallion.

"Who the buck are you supposed to be?" Stonehoof asked.

"Stone Breaker," the living statue responded.

"Stone Breaker?" the drill sergeant said, his tone turning mocking. "What's the matter? Couldn't think of Rock Bucker? Or did you just not want everypony to know how much you love bucking big hard rocks?" He stepped forward, straightening. "You must have a head full of rocks to think it's a good idea to come into the guard training grounds alone."

Stone Breaker let out a snort. Rearing up on his hind legs, the intruding pony slammed down his front hooves. A large stone burst from the ground with the impact. Before the stone reached the upswing, Stone Breaker spun around and kicked it with a one hoof.

Dinky jumped to push the Drill Sergeant out of the way. At the same time, she used her magic to throw a shield bubble up around her. Stonehoof was pushed clear, the stone leaving him untouched. It hit Dinky's shield straight on, rock and protected mare both flying back until crashing into some trees.

"Fall out!" Stonehoof shouted. "Get out of here and someplace safe! Move!" He moved to push his way back up, watching as the remaining recruits fled. Head low and eyes narrow, he turned to face the assaulting stallion.

"What's the matter, Sarge?" Stone Breaker asked as he moved to circle around the other stallion, "Don't want the recruits to witness you getting turned into pony jelly?"

"My job is to train them so they don't get killed. That doesn't mean I'm going to put them at an unnecessary risk when some madpony comes busting in and starts threatening to throw a boulder at them."

Dinky felt a throb in her head from where the magic absorbed the impact of the rock. Shaking off the sense of dizziness, she looked around her. The shield was holding for the moment, and it was surrounded by debris including trees, branches, and rocks.

Step one: check the structure around me. Slowly, Dinky pulled the shield closer to her, shrinking it down in size. She watched the debris as it moved in and finally stopped. The shield shrunk a little more then vanished. Dinky let out a sigh as the space held instead of collapsing.

Step two: check self for injuries. The buzz in her head had faded, so there was no ache from that. There was an ache in her back from being thrown around, but it was minor. Nothing was broken, and there were no cuts or scrapes.

Step three would have been to get some place out of sight where no other ponies could see her, but that was already taken care of. Next would be getting into costume. That made her a little uncertain. Her new Mare-Do-Well costume was not ready.

She had finished sewing the main portion of the outfit, so there was something for her to wear. She even finished the hat. The problems were that the boots were still be worked on, the cape was not made, and the spells had yet to be worked into the outfit. The cape was more for a dramatic effect, so not having it was a minor issue. The lack of the boots and not having spells worked into the costume reduced the protection she had. That would mean a greater risk of injury, so she would have to be extra careful. A stallion made of stone that could throw boulders was probably not the best choice as a first opponent to confront without full protection.

No. No excuses. Start making them now and you'll keep making them. Ponies are in trouble and I'm going to do something about it. Closing her eyes and concentrating, she focused her magic. The dark blue aura of magic enveloped her horn and began to spread outward until encompassing her entire body. With effort and magic, Dinky teleported the costume directly onto her.

First she opened her eyes, and found that she could still see. Everything had a tinted color to it. That let her know that at the very least the mask was in place. Turning her head she gave her body a quick once over. Everything seemed to be in the proper spot on her.

Taking a slow breath, she cleared her mind and tried to picture the layout of the training grounds. She tried to figure out where she had last seen Stone Breaker and the best spot to be unnoticed until she was ready as well as not to bump into something or wind up impaled.

Once again she focused her magic and concentrated. This time, she teleported herself. With a burst of dark blue magic, she vanished from inside the rubble.

Strength Against Skill

Drill Sergeant Stonehoof let out a cough, spitting up broken teeth and small gobs of blood. His legs shook as he stood back up. Stonehoof looked at his opponent with one eye, the other swollen shut. There was a twitch of pain as something in his chest shifted.

Stone Breaker stood looking at at the injured soldier with solid white eyes. He gave one of his hooves a quick shake, flicking the red liquid from the gleaming white surface.

"The legendary Sergeant Stonehoof," the marble stallion said, "I must say that I am disappointed. The stories made you sound a lot tougher than this."

"Halt!" a voice called out. Both stallions turned, looking at the source. Five guards were flying down the sky in a v formation. The group landed, facing Stone Breaker. The one in the lead took a step forward, the others keeping their flanking position.

"By order of the Canterlot Guard," the leader stated, "You are under arrest. Stand down and come quietly or we will have to use physical force." Stone Breaker grinned.

"Physical force?" He said. "Do you mean something like... this?" He quickly reared up on his hind legs and brought his fore-hooves down hard on the ground, calling up two large rocks. The stallion turned around and gave to quick bucks with his hind legs, sending the stones hurtling forward.

A dark blue aura encompassed the rocks. As the pair separated, each veering off in a separate direction. The rocks moved passed the guards, leaving the group of five unharmed. The aura dropped from one of the rocks, letting it fall to the ground. The other looped back around, heading directly for the pony who had originally launched it.

Stone Breaker's white eyes went wide at the side of the rock flying at him. Before he could finish turning, the stone collided with him, shattering as it knocked the stallion off his hooves. He let out a snort of frustration as he got back up, looking around.

"Who did that?" he snarled out.

"This is your last warning," one of the guards repeated. "Stand down and surrender or we will resort to physical force."

"Please. A bunch of armored pigeons aren't going to scare me. Now where is the unicorn who tried to hit me with one of my own rocks?"

Standing not far from him was a pony in a strange outfit. Most of it was a dark purple color, including a hat. The figure wore a black mask cover its full face, blue lenses covering the eyes.

"Who in Equestria are you supposed to be?" Stone Breaker asked. The costumed pony continued to stare, saying nothing.

The pegasus guard on the far left took to the air and flew at the at the large stone pony. Stone Breaker turned to see the guard quickly approaching. The stone pony pulled his head back then thrust it forward hard, slamming his forehead into the guard's. There was a loud crack as the pegasus dropped to the ground, eyes spinning from the impact. Stone Breaker leaned down, clamping his teeth onto the guard's armor at the neck slot. He then lifted the stunned pegasus and threw him at the other guards. Two moved in the way, catching the stunned ally.

A strange sound caught Stone Breaker's attention. He turned in time to see what looked like a hat flying at him. It struck the side of the stallions head, sending a strange feeling through it. It did not actually cause pain, but it did feel unpleasant. He turned his head with the impact, looking away.

Drill Sergeant Stonehoof had moved closer to the intruding stallion, watching him. As the hat struck Stone Breaker, the stone pony turned toward the sergeant. The sergeant lashed out, slamming one of his hooves into Stone Breaker's jaw. The impact sent burst of pain through Stonehoof's leg, but did cause the stone pony to tilt his head back for a second.

Two of the still conscious guards took to the air and flew at Stone Breaker. Each took a different side, circling around to come at the stone pony from two different directions. The duo turned in mid-air and bucked with a back hoof. Both struck the stallion at the same time, the hooves landing on two different sides of his head. The impact sent a flash of pain through his head, causing him to stumble.

Stonehoof capitalized on the moment. Moving he used both his legs to give Stone Breaker a hard buck in the flank. The impact threw the stallion off-balance, nearly knocking him into a sitting position.

As Stone Breaker tried to recover, the two guards moved to attack again. One slowed down, shifting to a different angle. The first hit Stone Breaker in the cheek, enough to turn his head enough for the strike from the second.

"ENOUGH!" Stone Breaker roared. Rearing and bucking, the stallion slammed all four hooves hard into the ground. The area cratered and sank in. Rocks and clumps of soil burst up. The impact knocked the drill sergeant off his hooves and sent him tumbling backwards. The explosion of rock and dirt struck the two guards, spinning them through the air, off-balance.

With the three ponies stunned, Stone Breaker lunged forward, tackling one of the guards. With the pegasus on the ground, the stone pony lifted one hoof and brought it down hard. There was a loud crack and a scream as one of the wings was stomped on. The stone stallion then went after the stunned sergeant. Moving closer, Stone Breaker readied to kick Stonehoof in the ribs. He kicked out.

And missed. Stone Breaker blinked as he realized that the drill sergeant was no longer in the spot he was a second ago. Quickly looking around, the stone pony caught sight of his target, now ten feet away with the masked pony standing in between.

"How did you do that?" Stone Breaker asked. He let out a snort. "Doesn't matter. None of you can stop me anyways." Once again he slammed a hoof into the ground, making a large stone pop up. With a quick kick, he bucked it right for the masked mare.

An aura of blue magic quickly encompassed the flying stone. As it continue to move, the large rock shifted to one side. it picked up speed as it moved orbiting around the masked pony before launching back at the pony that had sent it flying to begin with.

Stone Breaker reached out with a hoof and hit the stone as it came at him. The impact caused the stone to shatter and sent the pony skidding back.

"Fine," he snorted. "No more rocks." He started to move forward, eyes narrowing as he stared. "I guess I'll just have to buck you myself." He then started to run at the costumed character.

The masked pony turned and ran. It easily kept ahead of the Stone Breaker, occasionally stopping long enough to turn back and look. Seeing the stone stallion still in pursuit, the masked pony would continue to run.

The two of them ran toward the obstacle course. Neither of them used the obstacles properly. Reaching the crawl with barbed-wire, the masked pony hopped from pylon to pylon while Stone Breaker simple walked through. At the agility section, he simple kicked the rings aside after they had intentionally been walked on. The masked pony went around the climbing wall while Stone Breaker simple smashed it down.

The chase led to a mud pit. The proper action would be to jump and grab a rope to swing across. Instead the masked pony jumped into the mud, sinking in until just an inch was between the mess and the pony's barrel. It moved as quickly as it could, wading through the mud and toward the other side.

Stone Breaker stepped in as well, sinking in to his shoulders. The stallion stopped a moment, looking at the mud around him. With a snort he started to move, grunting as he pushed through the thick mass. Pushing his way through, he continued his pursuit.

The masked pony stopped and faced the stone stallion. A magic aura encompassed the hat, revealing a horn glowing with the same color.

Seeing the pony already casting a spell caused Stone Breaker to grin. If the masked pony was already busy with a spell, he figured that there would not be enough time to finish it and stop him. It gave him an opening to strike. Stone Breaker reared up and slammed his fore-legs into the ground as hard as he could.

There was a thick wet noise as his hooves sank into the mud. No rocks of any size managed to burst up from the ground. The impact caused a shockwave to pass through the mud, spreading out from the stallion before moving back into place. The effort had caused the stallion to sink deeper into the ground, being buried up to his neck.

A bubble shield popped up around the masked pony as the stallion slammed down. It rode the shock wave of the attack to the edge, rolling with the energy. At the edge of the mud pool, the pony dropped the shield and climbed out. It turned to look at Stone Breaker.

The stallion let out a snort of frustration and glared at the masked pony. The glare disappeared, his eyes going wide as he looked down at the mud surrounding him.

"I'm stuck! I can't move." He turned to glare at the masked pony again. "What did you do to me?"

The masked pony said nothing, just staring. Stone Breaker could swear he saw a smirk somewhere under that mask. The pony's horn started glowing once again. The magic struck the mud encompassing the stone stallion, turning it rock hard. It did not stop until the entire pit was dry and solid. As the magic faded, the masked pony gave one last look at Stone Breaker, then turned and left.

With no other option, Stone Breaker stayed where he was until more guards arrived.

Wins and Losses

Dinky let out a sigh, adjusting the ice pack currently resting on her head. She tossed the newspaper aside, glaring at the headline: Canterlot Cracked! Pony Prison Break-Out!

It seemed that while Mare-Do-Well was busy battling Stone Breaker, there had been an attack on the Canterlot dungeons. A small number of the prisoners escaped and several guards were injured. There were even two killed. Most of the town guard were attempting to prevent the escape and curb any rioting. It was the reason more had not escaped. It was also why there was so little assistance against Stone Breaker.

Dinky felt a twinge of back pain and adjusted the ice pack there. Her fight with the strange stone stallion had gone easier than she expected. Well, for her at least. It bothered her that Stonehoof and two guards were currently in the hospital with injuries. Made her wish she could have moved faster than she had. At the very least, she should have been able to prevent one guard from having a broken wing.

She had been lucky. Nothing was broken, just a headache from overexertion with her magic and a sore back (maybe some bruising) from being thrown around. Both could easily be explained by being hit by a boulder and getting trapped in rubble until the guards managed to rescue her.

A golden aura encompassed the paper, lifting it from where it landed. Princess Celestia walked into the room, taking the paper with her as she walked around the table to her seat.

"Good morning Dinky," Celestia said as she walked by. "Aren't you usually on your way to training by now?"

"It was cancelled," the unicorn responded. "Official notification and everything. Between the damage to the yard and injuries of Drill Sergeant Stonehoof, guard training has been discontinued for the summer."

"That seems to cancel most of your summer plans as well."

"Some," Dinky admitted, "not all. Wind Tunnel is supposed to come by later with the material for the cape. With the extra free time, I can work to put protective spells into the fabric earlier." She winced. "I mean, once I feel better. Then maybe I can help catch the ponies that escaped."

"I believe you have a lovely opportunity to relax," Celestia said. "I suggest that you take some time off." The tone she used indicated that it was not a suggestion. "Perhaps you should take a week and spend it in Ponyville to recuperate and reconnect with your old friends."

"Do I actually have a choice in the matter?"

"I could easily make it an order, but I would prefer not to. You have been pushing yourself quite hard, which I am proud of you for, and working to reach your full potential. The problem is that you have taken very little time to relax and enjoy yourself. You have to keep a balance in your life between work and fun."

"Alright," Dinky conceded. "Carrot Top would probably be happy to see me, and I could probably spend some time with Ruby."

"Wonderful." The Princess stood up. "I have to get going. Quite a busy day ahead."

Dinky watched her go then turned back to the table. Reaching out with her magic, she picked the paper up and looked at it again. She was tempted to crumple it up and toss it. Or fire. She could set it on fire and burn it. Instead she just tossed it aside.

If she was going to visit Ponyville, it would be a good idea to let her friends know so that they would be ready for her. She was basically waiting around for Wind Tunnel as it was anyway. Decided, Dinky headed to her room and wrote two letters; one to Ruby and another to Carrot Top.

With that done, Dinky was uncertain what to do with herself until Wind Tunnel arrived. There were no classes for her to need to study for since it was summer. She was supposed to be in guard training, but that was cancelled after yesterday. She tried reading, but could not really concentrate on it. The Mare-Do-Well costume had already been cleaned of the mud and just needed the cape and boots. The cape was what she was specifically waiting on at the moment. She was waiting on a some pieces for the boots as well, but that was a different matter.

Dinky laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She kept pushing the thought of the dungeon break out from her mind. After all, there was nothing she could do about it. She was busy elsewhere. Using her magic, she picked up Bubbles and floated the puppy above her. She hummed to herself as she played with the stuffed dog. The amusement lasted only a few minutes. She let out a groan of boredom as she waited.

"Dinky?" Wind Tunnel called out from the doorway. "I didn't think you'd be here already."

"You're here," she called out with relief. "Training's been cancelled for the rest of the summer and I have no idea what to do today. I'm sooooo bored." The young mare rolled over, looking at him. "Do you have it?"

"Yeah." Wind Tunnel opened his saddlebag, pulling out a large piece of black cloth. "I don't know if it still works though."

Dinky reached out with her hooves and took the fabric, looking at it. It had been an idea that Wind Tunnel had after he first got his cutie mark. Dinky had even helped him with it. Unfortunately, they could not get it to work how the pegasus had wanted it to.

"Well there's one way to find out," the mare responded. She took the fabric and put it around her neck as she would a cape. Her horn began to glow as she conjured her magic. The unicorn then concentrated the energy into the cape. As the magic engulfed the fabric, it shifted and moved, shaping itself into a shape similar to wings or a glider.

"Ready?" she asked.

"For what?"

"To catch me if it doesn't work." Dinky ran for the balcony, hearing the pegasus let out a yelp of surprise as he realized what she was up to. The unicorn jumped up onto the banister and leaped off, pushing herself into the air.

There was a moment of weightlessness as the momentum of her jump came to an end. As gravity began to try and pull the pony down, the wing-shaped fabric caught air. It did not let her actually fly, but it did let her glide. Instead of falling straight down toward the ground, she moved forward, slowly dropping further and further down toward the grass below. Less than a foot from landing, Dinky dispersed the magic, letting the cape turn back to normal as she dropped the last bit.

As soon as her hooves hit the ground, Dinky stumbled before falling forward. Unable to catch herself, she hit the dirt with her face. There was a burst of pain as her nose slammed into the ground, sending a shock through her neck and skull. It caused her headache to come back stronger and her back to hurt anew. The rest of her body collapsed shortly after.

"Are you okay?" Wind Tunnel asked as he moved to land beside her.

"I'm dead," Dinky groaned out. "Just go ahead and bury me right here."

"Well the gliding worked fine. Looks like you just need to learn how to land."

"Should be helpful if I need to land running." She lifted her head, spitting out some dirt. "Maybe add some more shock absorption to the boots if I need to land at a full stop."

"Well we should probably drop this conversation," Wind Tunnel said with a grin. "After all, we don't want to... run it into the ground." The pegasus laughed at his own joke, but the laughter turned into a cry of pain as he got smacked in the foreleg.

Moving On

Everything was packed up and ready. Dinky looked around the room one more time. It all seemed so different now.

For most of her life, this room in Canterlot had been her home. Although more like a second home would be more accurate. Her first home was still the farmhouse back in Ponyville. Still, this is where she had lived most of her life. Where she slept, studied, and worked hard for something she could not help but think was crazy.

Now it was done and she was moving on. She had graduated from the Academy for Gifted Unicorns and was now going out in the world. Some day another pony would move into here and be the next student to one of the princesses. Today, it was full of boxes that she had packed and a couple of bags. The boxes would be set in storage until a place to move into was found. The bags would be coming with her.

Checking the clock, she found it was about time for her to get going actually. Grabbing her bags, she left. The young mare walked through the castle, looking around at it all as she went. Dinky could still remember how big it all seemed when she first arrived. She thought it would be impossible to know where anything could be and take forever to get there. After more than a decade, there were still places she had not explored.

Two guards stood at one of the doors. She gave them a salute as she passed, smiling. Neither responded other than looking at her since they were on duty and were limited in their options. Satisfied, she continued on past them for the doors, leaving the castle. She would likely be back, but it would no longer be her home.

"Not staying around to see the new recruits?" a deep voiced called out, getting her attention.

"No, Drill Sergeant," she said in her normal voice. Her body shifted without her thinking, standing at attention as she straightened up. "I am actually heading for the station now. I have a train to catch."

"You know," Stonehoof said, "technically you never did complete the training program."

"Not my fault that it got cancelled." She started to walk along the path. The sergeant quickly fell in step beside her.

"I have to admit, this whole thing has been very strange. Never had a student of Celestia's, never had a foal, and then one day I end up with both, even if for only half the day. I have had a few recruits come back through once or twice, but it was rare. Next thing I know, seeing the same face again and again.

"It was all something I wasn't used to, but I'm glad to be a part of it. Watching you grow and develop, seeing you become a very skilled and competent soldier... It's a shame you aren't joining the guard proper. You could probably become a captain someday."

"Captain Dinky?" She shifted, seeming to think about it before shaking her head. "No. Doesn't sound very military. Besides, I'd probably have to prove myself to the troops."

"Only at first." He let out a sigh. "Look. I'm not normally the one for getting soft and sentimental. My job is to toughen ponies up so they can stand the hardships of combat or the tedium of guard duty. That being said... If I ever have a daughter, I hope she is a lot like you."

The comment made Dinky blush, smiling slightly.

"Now if you'll excuse me, Miss Hooves," the soldier stated, "I have preparations to make for a new class of recruits." With that he gave a salute of his own and turned to leave.

The young mare continued to walk toward the gates, turning her head to watch him leave. She gave one last smile before looking away. Dinky paused as she stopped at the gates, looking at it. Taking a deep breath, Dinky stepped forward and left the castle grounds.

The walk from the castle to the train station was quiet and peaceful. Well relatively speaking. After all it was the middle of the day and a weekend. There were a great many ponies out and about, enjoying the day. There was a hum of activity and conversations going on all around her.

As she reached the station, the intercom system came on, announcing the arrival of the train from Ponyville. Quickly, she made her way to the platform. There were very few other ponies waiting. The young mare shifted excitedly as she saw the train coming into view. She could barely contain herself as it came to a stop. Once she caught sight of her target, she ran.

"Ruby!" Dinky cried out as she approached the red unicorn. The two pressed against each other, nuzzling gently.

"How was the ride?"

"Fine," Ruby replied. "Got your ticket?"

"Yeah.... Are you sure about this? I mean you got accepted to one of the best educational hospitals in Manehattan. Wouldn't you rather go there instead of-" she stopped as a hoof covered her mouth.

"I'm sure." Ruby pulled her hoof away and began to walk. "I have put a lot of thought into this. I'm not going to lie, the chance to be with you is a large part of it. We've been dating for a year and known each other for so much longer. It will be nice to spend time with you for more than a week at most.

"Besides, I looked into it and asked around. The hospitals there are pretty busy. I can help a lot more ponies there than in Manehattan. It's not like I need to go to the best hospital to learn the best methods anyway. I mean I've been studying medicine for over a decade with one of the most intensive teachers in Equestria."

"That's true." Dinky began to chuckle. "I bet that you actually know more than some of the doctors who have been practicing for years."

"There's another reason." The red mare pointed a hoof at her lavender-gray friend. "You're going to need somepony to keep an eye on you. A pony that knows something about medicine and first aid. That way when you get hurt and need stitches, or bandages, or have a limb popped back into place, you don't have to go to the hospital and make some excuse."

"Awww," Dinky gushed. "That's the sweetest thing anypony has ever said." She fluttered her eyelids. "I had no idea you cared so much."

Ruby let out a noise that was a mix of annoyance and amusement. Before she could retort, the call for boarding was announced. At the sound, the pair ran to the platform as quick as they could. The two boarded quickly, finding seats in one of the back cars near the cargo hold. Dinky sat by the window, looking out through it, and Ruby pulled a book from one of her bags.

Slowly the train began to move. There was a slight lurch as it started to move forward. With it, Dinky Hooves and Ruby Pinch started to ride away. One part of their life was now being left behind and the two would soon be heading off to another part with new adventures.