Your Human and You: Dinky and Locke

Chapters

Dinky and Locke
Something Under the Bed is Drooling!
Baking With Pinkie
Guardian Angel

Dinky and Locke

It was sunny in Ponyville, and the residents were out, making use of the warm, summer day. The beach was full of ponies, some relaxing on their beach towels, others swimming in the cool, refreshing water.

Sugarcube Corner had a steady stream of customers, ponies purchasing ice cream for their selves and their humans. They would gather by the fountain in the center of town, happily licking their frozen treat as the wind blew the spray from the fountain across the plaza, cooling the residents. Music from a small band playing in the gazebo drifted on the air, providing Ponyville with a happy melody by which to enjoy the day.

Foals raced through the town, laughing happily as they were chased by their friends, or by their humans. Ms. Cheerilee could be found sitting outside of one of the many cafes, going over her plans for the fall semester, waving happily to any parent or student who called out to her.

Applejack was tending to her stall, giving out a cold bottle of cider with every purchase. She was pretty sure that a certain rainbow maned pegasus had already made several purchases throughout the day, each time with a new and more elaborate disguise. She chuckled to herself with the knowledge that in a few minutes, she would get another reason to hold in her laughter as her horrible disguised friend fidgeted in line.

Birds were singing happily, flying through a blue sky that was dotted with a scattering of white, fluffy clouds.

Everyone was enjoying themselves, both human and pony alike…

...everyone, except one Ditzy Doo.

“Oh, come on! Just… ugh, I’m trying to… would you just hold still for one… ah, nuts.” Fighting to get through the bramble, Ditzy winced as the rough wood scraped against the underside of her belly. Carefully trying to avoid the thorns, the gray pegasus fought through the tangle of vines and roots, trying to keep her quarry in sight. With how gloomy it was within the borders of the Everfree, that task was easier said than done.

Her prey, a male human, was dancing around, just out of range of her hooves, wincing as his barefeet hit sharp rocks and twigs.

Ditzy had been flying over the trees of the Everfree Forest when she had happened to look down and saw a human wandering lost within the labyrinth of trees. Taking pity on the forlorn creature, the kind-hearted pegasus had flown down to assist the human, only to immediately get caught within the tangle of flora that made up the Everfree.

Silently cursing her troublesome eye condition, Ditzy grunted as she mustered her strength and pulled herself through the mess of vines and thorns. A particularly large thorn nicked her right flank, causing her to yelp. Gritting her teeth, she gave one final push, and was free.

Fluttering to the forest floor, she winced as the cut on her flank twinged when she put weight on her back legs. Ignoring the injury, she turned and gave the human a warm smile, “There, now then, let’s get you… no, wait!”

Turning, the human hurried off into the forest, crashing around the underbrush like a herd of elephants. Spreading her wings, Ditzy took to the air and flew after the fleeing biped, calling out for him to stop.

The pair raced through the forest, the human chased by the pony, for several minutes. As she flew after the human, Ditzy couldn’t help but feel extremely lucky that nothing bad had found them yet, considering how much noise the human was making. I thought humans were suppose to be agile, she mused as she watched the human stumble in front of her, arms pinwheeling to keep his balance.

Suddenly, the human dropped, and Ditzy inhaled sharply, believing that he had tripped, but that wasn’t the case. A second later, her eyes widened as she saw the large, rotten log that was suspended across the path.

The human had seen it approaching and had ducked under the log. Ditzy wasn’t as lucky and crashed headfirst into the rotten wood. She barreled through the log, tearing a hole in the rotten wood before she was suddenly jerked to a stop. Blinking, Ditzy squeaked, cheeks turning red, as she realized that her hips were now stuck within the log, leaving her hanging half-in, half-out of the rotten wood.

As she dangled there in an awkward position, face red, the sound of approaching footsteps reached her ears. Glancing up, she blinked when she saw the human standing a couple of footsteps in front of her. His head was cocked slightly to the side as he gazed at her, his eyes full of confusion and concern.

Scrunching up her face in a cute manner, Ditzy waved her forelegs through the air as she wiggled around, “Nuh… d-don’t just stand there; help me!”

The human stood there, staring at her for several more seconds before finally moving forward. Grabbing Ditzy’s forelegs, the human gave them a tug. As the human pulled on her forelegs, Ditzy beat her wings, and clenched the muscles in her flank, trying to squeeze her hips through the hole in the log.

As the two tried to work together, the old log creaked and groaned, but didn't give. Huffing, the human lifted up a leg and placed his barefoot against the side of the log. Screwing up his face, he gave one final, tremendous pull.

With a loud crack, and a shower of splintering wood, Ditzy popped free of the log. With a shout, both the pegasus and the human tumbled backwards, rolling off the path and down into a ditch.

The human landed on his back with a ‘oof’. The rest of the wind was knocked out of him when Ditzy collapsed onto his chest. Both just lay there, panting heavily, as they tried to catch their breath.

Somewhere, a crow cawed loudly, before flying off.

After several minutes, the human pushed himself up with a groan, causing Ditzy to tumble down his chest and land unceremoniously in the human’s lap. Maneuvering herself around, Ditzy sat up as well, and looked up at the human. Gold eyes met blue for a brief moment before a large smile spread across the pony’s muzzle.

“Hiya!” The human said nothing, only blinked down at the pony sitting happily in his lap, a look of bewilderment on his face. Now that he wasn’t running, Ditzy could finally get a good look at him.

The human was dressed in clothing similar to that of the other humans whose owners bought them something to wear: an old light brown shirt and dark brown pants. He also had, strangely enough, a dark gray hoodie tied around his waist. He had a shaggy mane of reddish-brown hair atop his head, as well as a scraggly beard, minus the mustache. A speckling of freckles covered his cheeks.

He looked down at Ditzy with deep blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in the gloom. Tilting his head to the side, the human chirped softly. This just caused Ditzy to giggle, her smile widening.

“What are you doing out here?” she asked, causing the human to tilt his head to the other side, which only caused her to laugh louder. “Where’s your owner?”

The human said nothing; he just sat there.

Somewhere nearby, something moved through the underbrush, snapping a branch underfoot. Ditzy glanced around, laughing nervously, “eheheh… let’s get back to Ponyville and see if we can’t find your owner, ‘kay?”

Once again, the human said nothing, but he did stand up, causing Ditzy to tumble to the ground with a squeak. Shaking the mane out of her face, Ditzy glanced up at the human, confused. He just stood there, looking down at her as if waiting for something.

Ditzy’s ear twitched as she got to her hooves, “What are you up to?” When she got no reply (because, once again, the human said nothing), Ditzy just shook her head, spread her wings and took to the air.

Hovering in front of the human, she let out a yelp as she felt something tug on her tail. Blushing, she glanced down to see that the human had grabbed a hold of it with his hand, and was looking at her expectantly. Ditzy blinked several times, before it dawned on her what the human was doing.

“Oh, okay,” she said, a smile spreading across her face. “Just follow me and we’ll get out of here in no time!”

Turning, Ditzy began to fly forward slowly. The human held onto her tail with an outstretched arm, following behind the pegasus as she flew along in front of him. With that, the pair made their way out of the underbrush and back onto the path. Slowly, they began the long trek back towards Ponyville; the human following the pegasus, who was humming happily to herself.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

“Well, Ms. Doo, everything appears to check out alright,” Nurse Redheart said, eyeing the clipboard in front of her. “A few minor cuts and bruises, nothing major. He’s definitely not malnourished, which is unfortunately common in abandoned humans. There are a couple of scars on his back and chest that we were worried about, but he shows no signs of aggression when we tested him for it. All-in-all, without doing a thorough check-up, he appears to be in fine condition, as far as we can tell.”

Lowering the clipboard, the nurse smiled at Ditzy, who was currently sitting onto the examination table. Beside her, also sitting on the table, was the human she had found in the Everfree Forest.

Once the pair had emerged from the forest, Ditzy had immediately taken the human to Ponyville General. Due to it being a slow day, Nurse Redheart had been with the pair within five minutes. A quick check-up had shown that the human was in good health, and extremely docile (especially considering that one incident where Redheart had accidentally stepped upon his ‘little friend’).

“Is there anything else you need done while you’re here?” Nurse Redheart asked, a warm smile on her face. Tapping her hooves together, Ditzy glanced sideways at the human before looking back at Redheart.

“Is there a way I can try to find his owner?” she asked hopefully. “I would hate to think that somepony was missing him.” Redheart tapped her chin with a hoof, humming thoughtfully.

“There are ways,” she said, eyeing the human. “But I don’t think you will get any success with them.” Blinking, Ditzy gave the nurse a confused look.

“Why not?”

“You said you found him in the Everfree. That means that, unless he’s been traveling a long ways, he’s from the surrounding area,” Nurse Redheart explained. “Judging by the condition he’s in, I’d hazard a guess that he’s been wandering around for about a week, give or take a day or two. We have received no missing human notices within that time period, and judging by the lack of brand or collar, we have no way of knowing who his previous owner was. If they haven’t stepped forward by now, I highly doubt they will later.”

“So, what do we do?” Ditzy asked, concerned. She glanced back and forth between the nurse and the human. One was chewing on their bottom lip, giving the pegasus a thoughtful look. The other was trying to get the top of the goddamn cottonball container open so that they could get to the possibly delicious white fluffy treats inside.

Reaching up, Redheart gently pulled the container from the human’s grasp, before she spoke, “Well, since we can’t determine the poor dear’s owner, that means that he is currently up for grabs.”

Placing the container back on the countertop, she turned and gave Ditzy a large smile, “You want to adopt him?”

Blinking, Ditzy pointed at herself with a hoof, “Me?”

“You are the one who found him in the Everfree,” Nurse Redheart said with a nod. “And he does seem to like you. That means you get first pick of him.” Ditzy chewed on her hoof as she looked over at the human, who was still pouting about his treats being taken from him.

“Well, I am financially stable enough to get one,” she said slowly, playing over the idea in her head. “And I’m pretty sure Dinky would like to have a playmate for when I’m busy. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he’s really sweet and docile.”

“Not bad looking, either,” Redheart quipped, a small smirk on her face. Ditzy blushed, but didn’t let the remark faze her. Mulling it over for several more minutes, Ditzy finally shrugged and nodded her head.

“Sure, what the heck,” she said, turning to smile at Redheart. “I’ll do it.”

“Excellent!” Redheart said, smiling as she walked over to the closed door. Reaching up, she pulled a clipboard off of the rack located on the back of the door. Returning to the table, the nurse pulled the pen out from within her bun and gave it a click.

“Alright,” she said as she began to fill out the form. “There is just a few questions you need to answer before we allow you to take him home.

“Question one: do you want him to be neutered? It was clear from the examination that he hasn’t been neutered yet.”

“Does it benefit him in anyway?” Ditzy asked, cocking her head to the side. Redheart just shrugged.

“We tend to tell new owners to neuter their humans, as it tends to make them calmer and less aggressive. It also tends to prevent any territorial displays too. However, seeing how accepting he is now, that’s entirely up to you.” Ditzy scratched at her chin as she thought, before shaking her head.

“No,” she said. “Not right now. If he starts causing troubles later then I’ll consider it.”

“Okay,” Redheart said, checking something off on the clipboard. “If you ever change your mind, just bring him in and we’ll take care of it for free.

“Now, next question. Do you want him to be branded--”

“No.” Redheart blinked in surprise at the tone of Ditzy's voice. Ears splaying backwards slightly, she looked at Ditzy’s determined face and chuckled nervously. Glancing down at the clipboard, she marked it down on the form before looking back up.

“Last question before I can let you go. Do you have a name for him?”

“I was actually thinking about having Dinky name him,” Derpy said, giving Redheart a sheepish smile. Redheart returned the smile, nodding in understanding.

“That’s fine,” she said, tearing a page off of the form on the clipboard and handing it to Ditzy. “Just write down the name she decides upon on the form, and drop it back off sometime within the next week or so.” As Ditzy took the paper, Redheart clicked her pen again and tucked it back into her bun.

“Congratulations, Ms. Doo,” she said as she placed the clipboard back in the slot on the back of the door. “You just adopted a fine human.” Both ponies turned to look at the human in question.

Glancing up, he looked back and forth between the two ponies before humming contently as he opened his mouth, revealing that it was pack full of cotton balls. Redheart facehoofed. Ditzy just giggled.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

“Dinky! Muffin, I’m home,” Ditzy called as the front door to her house swung shut behind her. “And I brought you a surprise! I hope you like it," she said the last part mostly to herself. Beside her, the newly adopted human glanced around the living room, giving everything a curious once-over as he observed his new surroundings.

At Ditzy’s words, a loud squeal came from upstairs, followed by the sound of tiny hooves running across the floor. Seconds later, a small, grayish-violet unicorn filly with a light gold mane came bouncing down the stairs, a large smile on her face.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the young filly froze, her golden eyes widening as she looked up at the human that was standing before her. He gave the filly a curious look, chirping softly.

“...Mom?” the filly asked. She didn’t sound scared or nervous, just confused.

“Say hello to the newest member of our family, Dinky,” Ditzy chirped happily as she trotted over to her daughter and nuzzled the top of her head.

“You got a human?” Dinky asked, tilting her head to the side, allowing her mother the chance to nuzzle her ear. The human copied the filly, and the pair continued to stare at each other.

“Yup,” Ditzy said, continuing to happily nuzzle her daughter’s head.

“Where’d you get him?”

“Well, I found while I was flying out over the Everfree Forest. After I got him out, I took him to the hospital to get him checked out, and Nurse Redheart said that he was probably abandoned. Since he was open for adoption, I decided to adopt him for you.”

“You got him for me?” Dinky asked in awe, tilting her head to the other side. The human copied her, never taking his eyes off of the young filly. Dinky was silent for several minutes as she studied the human.

Smiling nervously, Ditzy stepped backward, shuffling her hooves, “D-do you like him? I-I know I didn’t ask you beforehand, b-but it was a spur of the moment thing and I…” The mare trailed off, fidgeting with her hooves. Her daughter's lack of reaction was start to make her uneasy.

Dinky tore her gaze from the human and stared up at her mother with a blank expression. Ditzy’s ears began to drop and her heart sank as her daughter continued to stare unblinkingly at her. I should have checked with Dinky first before I adopted him. I didn’t even know if she wanted a human in the first place. Oh, this was a horrible idea...

Suddenly, a large smile flashed across the filly’s face and she squealed loudly, “This. Is. Awesome!” Leaping forward, Dinky wrapped her hooves around the startled mare’s neck, giving her mother a big hug.

Or as big a hug as a small filly can give someone.

Ditzy just stood there, stunned, as her daughter clung to her. A smile slowly spread across the mare’s face, and she returned the hug, her heart swelling with joy.

Breaking the hug, Dinky jumped down and approached the human, the smile still on her face.

“What’s his name?” she asked as she bounced around the human. He just watched the happy filly, his head moving up and down in sync with her bounces. Ditzy couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. I guess I made the right decision. It looks like they’ll get along just fine, she thought before she spoke up.

“I was actually leaving that decision up to you.” Dinky’s eyes lit up, and she gasped.

“Really?!” Ditzy nodded, and the filly’s smile somehow grew larger. She clapped her hooves together, giggling uncontrollably.

“While you’re deciding upon a name, how about I start on some dinner?” Ditzy asked as she moved towards the kitchen. She paused before entering, and shot a glance back at the human and the filly. She hesitated, unsure whether or not to leave her daughter with a human she had just only met a few hours ago.

Remember the incident with Redheart and the human’s family jewels, however, set her mind at easy. If he won’t attack a pony for doing something like that, then I doubt he’ll hurt Dinky. Turning, Ditzy headed into the kitchen, humming softly to herself.

As her mother left, Dinky stared up at her new human in awe. The human just stared back at her, blinking occasionally, before suddenly sitting down on the carpet cross-legged. Dinky just continued to bounce in place, her smile still plastered on her face.

Eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore and with a happy squeal, she bounced into the human’s lap.

“Hi, mister human!” she said, placing her forelegs on his chest as she looked up at him. “My name’s Dinky!”

The human stared down at her for several seconds before a large smile spread across his face as well.

“Hi, Dinky. I’m Locke!”

Author's Note

So, yeah... this happened.

I'm just telling you all right now, this story is not going to have a major plot to it, so don't complain, 'kay? It's just for fun, nothing more.

Also, due to the fact that I'm focusing mostly on the original Your Human and You story, I'm not entirely sure when this story will update, but, just like the the original, I shall keep a progress meter on my main page.

Something Under the Bed is Drooling!

THUMP THUMP THUMP

Sighing heavily, Ditzy closed the book she had been reading and glanced up at the ceiling above her, a miffed look on her face. Placing the book on the small table beside the couch, the mare stood with a huff, ruffling her wings in the process. Above her, the thumping sound continued, reverberating throughout the small house like a drum.

THUMP THUMP THUMP

Making her way up the stairs, Ditzy grumbled quietly to herself, “How is it that that filly can run around all day long, and still have this much energy at night? I didn’t even give her any sugar today!”

THUMP THUMP THUMP

Walking down the hallway towards her daughter’s room, the pegasus paused briefly just outside of the closed door. Placing an ear against the wood, Ditzy could still hear the sound of something thumping around on the other side of the door. The muffled sound of giggling could also be heard.

THUMP THUMP THUMP

Slowly reaching out a hoof, Ditzy grabbed the door knob and turned it as quietly and as carefully as possible…

THUMP THUMP THUMP

...and flung the door open as quickly as she could.

As the light from the hall flooded into the darkened room, Ditzy could see that her daughter and her human were both tucked snugly into their bed, buried beneath the covers, exactly as she had left them only an hour ago.

Both of them were giving her the sweetest, most innocent looks the mare had ever seen. Nowhere in the room was there any evidence that either one had been up and about, making the thumping noise. Everything was as she had left it when she had tucked them in for the night.

Ditzy felt her eye twitch. Sighing, she closed her eyes and hung her head in defeat. I will never understand how they can do that. Lifting her head up, Ditzy glared at the pair currently occupying the bed in faux anger.

“What's all the noise coming from up here?” she asked, trying to sound as stern as possible, all while her heart was melting at the sight of her daughter snuggled happily up against her human. “Muffin, you're suppose to be asleep. You have school tomorrow.”

“It wasn’t me!” Dinky cried, sitting up in the bed, a hurt look on her face. As she looked at her mother, her lower lip began to tremble and she pointed a hoof at the human beside her. “It was Locke, mom! He was jumping on the bed! Honest!”

Ditzy immediately scrunched up her face, trying with all her might to hold in her laughter. Rolling her eyes, the mare huffed, trying to look angry, but failing horribly. No matter what it was, she could never be truly mad at her little muffin.

“Locke wasn’t jumping on the bed, honey,” Ditzy chided, a small smile finally working its way onto her muzzle. “Now please, go to sleep. I don’t want you tired for school tomorrow.”

“Awww, but mom~!” Dinky whined, falling back against the pillow and crossing her forelegs in a cute little pout.

“No buts, Muffin,” Ditzy said. “Now, go to sleep or no blueberry pancakes for breakfast.” Dinky stared at her mom in horror, her mouth agape. Slowly, tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes.

“N-no pancakes?” she whimpered, her ears splaying backwards. Ditzy just chuckled, shaking her head as she closed the bedroom door with a soft click. I swear, that filly is such a drama queen sometimes. And the stories she can come up with! Locke jumping on the bed...

Still chuckling to herself, Ditzy turned and headed back down the hall, fully intent on finishing one more chapter of her book before heading to bed herself. She just had to find out if the nerdy bookworm would be able to finally confess her feelings to that athletic pegasus she had her eye on.

After her mom left, Dinky just sat there in the darkness, pouting with her hooves crossed. After several seconds of silence, she glanced over at her human companion, giving him an adorable angry look.

“You were too jumping on the bed,” she grumbled hotly under her breath. Locke huffed, crossing his arms as well.

“Yeah, well, you were the one playing the bongos!” Uncrossing his arms, Locke reached a hand under the covers. Sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth, he rummaged around underneath the covers for several seconds before his face lit up.

Pulling out a small pair of bongos, the human place them on his lap before turning and giving Dinky a large smile. “So, you want to continue where we left off?” Dinky’s eyes widened in alarm and she waved her hooves in front of her frantically, shaking her head.

“Nonononononono,” she cried, ears splaying backwards. “There is no way I’m risking missing out on mom’s blueberry pancakes! You heard her; let’s just go to sleep.”

As Dinky snuggled down into the blankets, Locke ran a finger around the edge of one of the bongos, sulking.

“I don’t know why I have to go to bed now. I'm not the one that has school in the morning.”

“I can’t hear you~!” Dinky said, turning around so that her back was to her human.

“I said ‘I don’t know why I have to go to bed now. I'm not the one that has school in the morning’.”

“I’m not listening~!”

Locke gave the little unicorn an incredulous look before his eyes narrowed. “If you aren't listening, then how come you’re responding to what I’m saying?”

“I’m not,” Dinky huffed. “I’m fast asleep!”

“Muffin!” cried a muffled voice from downstairs. “Settle down and go to sleep!”

“...yes mommy.”

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

It was some time in the middle of the night that Dinky woke up. Blinking her eyes blearily, she looked around her darkened room, trying to find what it was that had awaken her from her sleep.

Moonlight streamed in through her bedroom window, illuminating the floor in the middle of her room. Her toys were scattered around the room, each lying where she had left them when she had finished playing with them.

Beside her, Locke was still asleep. The human's chest was rising and falling gently, and he was breathing softly. His feet were hanging off of the end of the bed, the blanket unable to cover them. Dinky snuggled up closer to her human as she continued to look around the room, the feeling of him pressed up against her helping with her feeling of uneasiness. Something was there; she was sure of it.

Tentatively, she leaned forward and glanced over the edge of her bed. She pulled back with a terrified squeak when she saw something slip back underneath her bed, hiding from view.

Fear coursing through her, the young unicorn hunkered down beside her human, trembling slightly. There was something under her bed! What if it’s a monster? What if it wanted to eat her up like a snack! If it ate her, she wouldn’t be able to have any blueberry pancakes!

Swallowing nervously, Dinky steeled herself and took another peek over the bed. There it was again! Something had just ducked back underneath her bed the minute she had looked down! Not only that, but something dark was leaking out from under her bed, flowing like water. Dinky’s heart began to race as she realized what it was.

She leaned back quickly, trying not to wet the bed. Raising a trembling hoof, Dinky shook her human, trying to wake him.

“Locke,” she whimpered. “Locke, w-wake up.” The human awoke, grunting as he stirred. Raising his head up, he gave Dinky a confused, tired look, blinking owlishly.

“Locke,” Dinky whispered, her ears splayed backwards. “Something under the bed is drooling.”

“...whazzat?”

“Something’s under the bed,” Dinky repeated urgently. “And it’s drooling!”

Locke looked at Dinky, blinking several times before his eyes slowly drifted towards the edge of the bed. Together, both of them leaned forward and glanced over the edge of the mattress.

The dark substance was still there, flowing like liquid. Locke’s eyes widened as he looked down at the wavering shadow that was emerging from beneath the bed. Beside him, Dinky retreated with a squeak at seeing the shadow, and she leaned up against Locke’s side, trembling.

“What do we do?” she whimpered pitifully. She had never had something like this happen before, and she was terrified.

“Make a run for the door?”

“No,” Dinky hissed, shaking her head. “It’ll get us the minute we get off the bed!” Locke chewed on his lip, still looking over the edge of the bed.

“Call for you mom?”

“No!” Dinky gasped, giving Locke a stunned look, the very thought terrifying her. “If she comes in here, the monster’s sure to get her!” There was a brief moment of silence before Locke straightened up, smiling.

“I know! Start tying the sheets together. We'll go out the window!”

“But how?” Dinky asked, gesturing to the window that was across the room. “There’s no way we could reach the window before the monster gets us.” Slowly, her eyes began to tear up, and she fell backwards onto her flank.

Locke watched the filly silently as she began to sniffle, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. Glancing back and forth from the filly to the side of the bed, Locke chewed on the inside of his cheek, thinking. Suddenly, he sat up straighter, swing his legs out over the edge of the bed.

Dinky gasped as he began to lower his legs towards the floor, “Locke, no!” Leaping forward, she wrapped her legs around his arm, clinging desperately to her human, trying futility to stop him.

Locke patted the top of Dinky’s head gently, smiling nervously at the unicorn.

“Don’t worry, Dinks. I’ve got this.” Swallowing thickly, Locke closed his eyes, grimacing as he slowly lowered his feet to the floor. After several seconds where nothing happen, he cracked an eye open and glanced at his feet. Dinky could hear her heart pounding in her ears, and she prayed desperately that nothing bad would happen to her friend.

Pushing himself up off of the bed, Locke stood perfectly still for several seconds before slowly kneeling down beside the bed. Reaching out with a shaking hand, Locke grabbed a hold of the bed’s dust ruffle. Pausing, he glanced up at Dinky, who was peeking over the side of the bed, her forehead furrowed with worry.

Locke’s expression hardened, and with a quick pull, he yanked the dust ruffle up and glanced quickly under the bed.

Dinky held her breath for several seconds as Locke looked under the bed, before she inched closer to the side of the bed.

“See anything?” she asked tentatively, trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible. Locke just shook his head, still looking under the bed.

“Nothing. No monsters here.”

“Are you sure?” Locke was silent for several seconds before he laid down completely on the carpet. Wiggling around, he slid himself forward, heading under the mattress.

Dinky squeaked in alarm as her friend disappeared underneath her bed. She danced nervously on her hooves, chewing on her bottom lip. Seconds felt like hours as she waited for her friend to emerge safely.

As Locke slid further under the bed, he glanced around. There was no sign of a monster anywhere, but he had to be sure; he couldn’t let anything get Dinky. It was extremely dark under the bed, the only light coming from the moonlight that could slip underneath the dust ruffle.

When he was fully underneath the bed, he looked around again, a small smile playing across his face. Still no monsters. Whatever had been down here seemed to have left.

Locke paused in his search as something caught his eye. Cocking his head to the side, he reached out and picked up the strange object in between his finger and thumb. He studied the object closely, unsure of what to make of it.

It looked similar to the delicious white fluffy treats that the white pony had kept in the nearly impenetrable container located inside the room that smelled too clean. Squeezing the object in between his finger and thumb, Locke continued to muse.

It was as fluffy as the delicious white fluffy treats. It had the same texture as the delicious white fluffy treats. It was about the same size as the delicious white fluffy treats.

Locke’s eyes lit up, and a smile slowly spread across his face as he stared at the gray unknown fluffy thing held in between his fingers.

...could it be as tasty as the delicious white fluffy treats?

Trying to hold in his glee, Locke slowly lifted the gray object up and popped it in his mouth. He froze, his eyes widening as his brain slowly registered what was in his mouth.

Suddenly, Locke began to retch, spitting out the disgusting gray fluffy horror. Sticking out his tongue, he tried to scrape it off on his shirt, desperately trying to get the taste out of his mouth. Locke wasn’t sure what that gray fluffy abomination was, but he knew what it wasn’t, and that was delicious.

Glaring at the fluff, Locke hissed at it before turning and sticking his head back out from beneath the bed. Glancing up, he saw Dinky giving him a worried look as she chewed on her bottom lip. He gave the filly a comforting smile, and shook his head.

“No monsters under here! It must have run off. We can get back to sleep.”

“B-but, what if it comes back?” Dinky asked nervously, glancing around her room as if expecting to find the monster standing in the corner of her room, watching her.

The smile slid off of Locke’s face, and he looked up at Dinky with a blank expression, blinking owlishly. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he pulled a hand out from under the bed.

“Hand me one of the pillows, will ya?” Picking up a pillow in her mouth, Dinky carried it over to the edge of the bed and dropped it down into Locke’s waiting hand. As he pulled the pillow underneath the bed, the filly gave him a confused look, “What are you doing?” Locke just smiled up at her, his tired eyes sparkling in the darkness.

“There will be no room for a monster underneath the bed if there is a human there already! You stay up there and get some sleep. I’ll sleep down here tonight so that the monster can’t return.”

“Are you sure?” Dinky asked, pawing at the edge of the mattress. "It doesn't look very comfortable down there."

“Positive!” Giving her human a grateful look, Dinky smiled weakly.

“T-thanks, Locke.”

“Any time, Dinks.” Pulling his head back under the bed, Dinky listened as the human moved around, getting as comfortable as possible beneath the bed. Plodding to the foot of the bed, the filly glanced over the end. She giggled to herself as she saw Locke’s feet poking out from under the bed, his toes wiggling.

Turning, she made her way back up the bed and slipped under the covers, snuggling into the warm blankets. Without her human, the bed wasn't as warm, and felt empty. She missed her sleeping companion, although she could still hear Locke breathing below her, and the sound seemed to calm the little unicorn as her eyelids slowly began to droop. Even though her human was no longer in the bed with her, he was still there, protecting her from the monster that had been under her bed.

Dinky yawned, her pink tongue poking out of her mouth as she tried to get comfortable. As she drifted back off to sleep, a smile slowly spread across her face. From somewhere below her, Locke’s gentle snoring began to fill the room, lulling the filly into a pleasant, fitful sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

Things were not going according to plan, of that Luna was sure. The night had started out the same as any other: she had met with her sister, lifted her moon into the night sky, made sure that she had left a… surprise for Blueblood in his dreams, and had begun her nightly watch of the slumbering ponies of Equestria.

She had been keeping vigilant watch over the dreams of her subjects, entering a nightmare here and there to help calm the ponies and return them to their pleasant dreams.

Everything had been going perfectly fine…

...until she had decided to pay a visit to this particular small household in Ponyville.

The young unicorn filly had been having a strange dream, and she could sense that it could possibly evolve into a nightmare. Luna had decided to nip that particular calamity in the butt before it could form. However, it turned out that she had pumped too much dream magic into the filly, and the result was that, instead of fixing the dream, Luna had forced the filly awake.

Panicking and not wanting to alarm the filly, or have her scream and awaken the human sleeping in the bed with her, Luna had done the first thing she could think of. She turned herself into shadow and slipped beneath the filly’s bed.

Not her best decision, but Luna didn't do well under pressure; her experience at Nightmare Night could attest to that. Hopefully Twilight Sparkle would get her flank over that particular upset soon. Tia had returned the human, and Luna had said she was sorry...

She had planned on remaining there, beneath the bed, and waiting for the filly to drift off back to sleep, but that plan was scrapped the instant the filly had caught sight of the shadow of her flank sticking out before Luna could squeeze it beneath the bed.

Curse those sugary treats that the chefs down in the kitchen make! I should have known better than to have eaten them; I mean, just look at Tia’s flanks!

After a few, Luna thought she was in the clear, until she heard the filly speak, “Locke, something under the bed is drooling.”

Luna had scrunched up her face in confusion at the filly’s words. What in the blue moon is she talking about? Glancing behind her, Luna’s shadowy eyes had widened when she saw that her mane and tail were wafting out from under the bed. In the gloom of the darkened room, and to the imagination of a scared filly, they would have looked like a puddle of drool.

Cursing her luck, Luna had quickly pulled her traitorous tail and mane back under the bed.

It was too late, however, as the human had apparently already woken up. He had gotten up and slide under the bed with her. Luckily for the Lunar Princess, she had been in shadow form and had blended in with the darkness beneath the bed, preventing the human from seeing her.

Being in shadow form, however, didn’t prevent the human from crawling on top of her. She had been forced to lie there as the human had rooted around, searching for the “monster”. How the filly had trained the human to do this, Luna wasn’t sure, but all she could do at the moment was lie still and pray that she didn’t reveal herself. The last thing she needed was for the human to attack her, and to have to explain to the filly’s parents what she was doing in their daughter’s bedroom.

She had about gagged when the human had eaten the dust bunny he had found beneath the bed. It had gotten even worse when the human had then spat the dust bunny out and it had landed on her cheek. She had to bite her lip hard to prevent herself whimpering in disgust.

The worst part was that her forelegs were currently trapped beneath the human’s torso, so she couldn’t brush the dusty bunny off. She couldn’t use her magic either, without revealing her presence.

She had given silent thanks when the human had begun to slid back out from beneath the bed, but it had turned to confusion when he had returned with a pillow. She watched in horror as he had laid the pillow down, gotten comfortable, and fallen asleep…

...right on top of her!

Now she was stuck there, trapped beneath the human, underneath the bed. She couldn’t slid out from under him; the spell wouldn’t let her. She couldn’t revert to her normal form, as there wasn’t enough room under the bed for both her AND the human, and that would definitely reveal her presence. She couldn’t teleport, as the human was currently touching her and would come with her if she tried.

So, Luna was stuck there, musing on how things weren’t going according to plan.

Let's see she mused to herself. It’s currently three in the morning. If I remember correctly, school usually starts around eight-thirty, so the filly should be… getting up around... seven...

Luna resisted the urge to groan aloud as she realized that the filly and human wouldn’t be getting up before the sunrise, and she couldn’t lower the moon without using her magic.

I’m never going to hear the end of this from Tia. This is worse than the time she told me it was now customary to greet nobles by french kissing them. Luna shivered at the memory, causing the human to stir, grumbling as he shifted in his sleep.

Grumbling silently to herself, Luna tried to make herself comfortable as she attempted to think up an excuse for her sister. As idea after idea ran through her head, the other two inhabitants of the room sleep soundly, each dreaming happy dreams.

...

...Shouldn't have had that monster gulp super soda before I left the castle.

Author's Note

Because you guys and gals got this story featured within 24 hours... I decided to try and get you another chapter out as quickly as possible. That, and I hit a dead spot with Your Human and You and needed to work on something else. Not only did I manage to write this out within an hour, but I have cured myself of my writer's block for the original story.

Baking With Pinkie

“I’m so boooooored~!” Dinky whined, lying across the couch on her back, her head dangling upside down over the edge of the cushion. It was Saturday, which meant that there was no school today, and Dinky was bored out of her little mind.

Ditzy peered over the top of her book at her daughter, watching the filly kick her hooves lazily in the air. After several seconds, the mare just chuckled softly and shook her head before returning her attention back to her book.

“Mom, there’s nothing to do!” Dinky complained, turning to look at her mother, who, from the little filly’s perspective, was currently sitting on the ceiling.

Ditzy hummed thoughtfully as she turned a page, not looking up, “I’m sure you can find something to do, muffin.”

Dinky fell silent for several seconds, her face scrunched up cutely as she tried to think of something to do.

“Can I set fire to my mattress?” she asked, glancing over at her mother.

“No, dear,” Ditzy said calmly, still not looking up from her book.

“Can I ride my wagon on the roof?”

“No, dear,” Ditzy said again, picking up a mug of coffee sitting on the table beside her and sipping it.

Dinky fell silent again, rubbing her chin with a hoof as she thought. Finally, she looked over at her mother and asked, “...can I have a cookie?”

Ditzy’s golden eyes flicked up and she glanced over at her daughter. “...No.”

Dinky’s ears splayed back and she crossed her forelegs, pouting. Ditzy returned to her book, smiling softly. Silence fell over the room for several minutes before Dinky sighed loudly.

“There’s nothing to do!” she cried suddenly, throwing her hooves into the air.

“Well,” Ditzy said, turning a page before glancing back up at her daughter. “It’s a beautiful sunny day outside. You could always go outside and play with Locke.”

Dinky glanced over at the human in question.

On the other side of the room, Locke was spinning slowly in small circles, trying to scratch an itch on his shoulder blade that he just couldn’t reach, goddamn it! Dinky giggled as she watched him, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth, his face scrunched up in concentration. Eventually, he simply elected to rub his back against the wall, chirping happily as he did so.

“But, mom,” Dinky said, tearing her gaze away from Locke and looking back at her mother, “there’s nothing to do outside!”

Ditzy hummed as she continued to read.

“I guess you could always go upstairs and do your homework--”

SLAM

Jerking in surprise, Ditzy looked up and gazed around the room, only to find herself all alone. Glancing at the front door, she saw that the wreath of grey feathers hanging from it was swinging wildly.

Chuckling to herself, Ditzy shook her head and returned to her book. “Works every time.”

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

“So, what are we going to do today, Dinks?” Locke clung to the back of Dinky’s red wagon as it shot down the street, pushed along by Dinky’s magic.

At such a young age, the unicorn didn’t have much magic, but then again, it didn’t take much to move the wagon along. She had just enough that she could cruise around town without much trouble, and she happily used that to her advantage.

“Not sure, Locke,” Dinky replied from between the human’s legs. She clung to the wagon's handle, using it to steer as the pair zipped down the road. “But whatever it is, it’s gonna be better than doing homework!” The filly stuck out her tongue, making a disgusted face at the thought of the horrid assignment that Ms. Cheerilee had handed out Friday afternoon.

The pair reached the marketplace, which was rather busy considering it was nearing lunch time. Whipping around the corner, the filly and human almost took out Roseluck, who was walking in the opposite direction.

The flower pony quickly dived to the side, narrowly avoiding getting run over by the red wagon. Her dive, however, caused her to crash into a nearby stall, spilling its contents all over the ground.

“MY CABBAGES!”

“Sorry!” Dinky called back over her shoulder, not slowing down as she drove her wagon through the crowd. As she zipped along, the filly glanced back at Locke.

“Hey, Locke, I’ve got a question for you.” The human clung gamely onto the wagon, his knuckles white as he tried to remain inside the ride. His stomach was doing backflips as ponies and other humans whipped by in a blur.

“What’s that?”

“Do you believe in life after death? You know, reincarnation?” Dinky asked, glancing back again. While she was distracted, she nearly took out a pony couple that was walking side by side. They managed to avoid the collision by jumping into the marketplace’s fountain.

As the cries of ‘my leg’ faded quickly, Locke swallowed, his eyes wide.

“W-why the sudden interest?”

“I don’t know,” Dinky said with a shrug. “Just something that I was wondering about.” Locke flinched as the pair nearly took out an apple stand, the orange mare behind it shaking a hoof at them as they flew past.

“Less wondering, more steering, okay?”

Dinky fell silent, returning her attention to steering her wagon. She was able to weave her way around the rest of the ponies and humans, only nearly wiping out on six different occasions by the time she reached the other side of the marketplace.

Ignoring the shouts of the ponies left behind in the dust, the wagon continued off down the road until Dinky suddenly brought it to a screeching halt. As Locke waited for his stomach to catch back up with the rest of his body, the filly stared up at the window of Sugarcube Corner with wide eyes.

As she gazed at the assorted sweeties and goodies displayed in the window, a smile slowly spread across her face, “Locke, I know what we’re going to do today!”

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

Pinkie Pie was hopping along the road, humming happily to herself. She had just been to Applejack’s farm to place an order with Big McIntosh for some apples for Mrs. Cake. The party pony could almost feel her mouth beginning to water at the thought of the apple pie the Cakes were going to make with the Apple family’s scrumptious apples.

Skipping her way along, Pinkie couldn’t help but smile to herself as the sun shone down upon her. Of course, she was always smiling, but that didn’t matter. One could never smile too much, or too wide, in Pinkie’s opinion.

Rounding the corner that lead to Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie took several hops before she froze in midair, her signature smile vanishing from her face. Her eyes went wide and she leaned her head back, inhaling sharply as she stared down at the horrific sight before her.

Somepony had left a cupcake on the ground!

She remained like that for several seconds, floating in the air as she stared down at the cupcake, before the pink pony slowly began to float to the ground. The minute her hooves touched down, she trotted forward towards the abandoned treat.

“Oh, you poor, poor thing,” she murmured softly to the cupcake, trying to comfort it. “How could anypony do this to you? Shhhh, it’s gonna be okay. Auntie Pinkie's here for you.” Reaching forward, Pinkie made to pick up the cupcake.

Her hoof was inches from the sugary treat when it suddenly jerked away. Leaping up, the cupcake flew through the air before tumbling to the ground several feet away. Pinkie’s head whipped around and she stared at the cupcake in confusion, her hoof still hanging in midair.

Lowering her hoof, Pinkie tentatively approached the cupcake again, walking slowly as to not spook it. Crouching down, she reached out a hoof again, cooing softly, “It’s okay, little guy. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Just like before, when her hoof was a few inches from making contact, the cupcake jumped again, tumbling down the road away from Pinkie.

Pinkie’s head jerked up and she glared at the cupcake, her eyes narrowing. Stalking forward, she growled threateningly, “I. Am going. To help you!”

Lunging forward, Pinkie made to trap the cupcake beneath her hooves, but it dodged nimbly away. The sugary treat scuttled down the road, the party pony in hot pursuit.

“Will. You. Hold. Still.” Pinkie grunted as she hopped along, trying futile to pin the elusive treat. The cupcake didn’t listen, however, and just continued its journey down the road.

Eventually, the cupcake came to rest outside of Sugarcube Corner. With a bound, Pinkie landed in front of it. She glared down at the offending treat, her teeth bared. The cupcake just sat there, looking tasty.

“Alright, mister,” the party pony said, leaning down till she was eye level with the cupcake. “This is your last chance. Come quietly, or prepare to be consumed!” Pinkie lifted her hoof to grab the cupcake. The minute her hoof left the ground, the cupcake jumped. Pinkie was ready for this, however, and she leapt after the cupcake…

...and smashed face first into the wall of Sugarcube Corner.

She slowly slid down the side of the building, a goofy smile on her face as little cupcakes dancing around her head.

Above her, perched on the roof of the baker, Locke and Dinky looked down at the dazed pony.

“Do you think she’s okay?” Dinky twisted the reel of the fishing rod, giving the line some slack and lowering the cupcake back to the ground.

“Of course she is,” she said, chewing on her lip in concentration. “It’s Pinkie Pie!” Sticking out her tongue, the filly’s eyes narrowed as she dangled the cupcake in front of the party pony.

“Besides, it’s not my fault she likes cupcakes as much as mom loves muffins.” Dinky’s eyes widened suddenly, and she jerked the fishing rod up quickly.

WHAM

“And mom did tell us to go find something to do,” the filly continued as she lowered the cupcake again. A few seconds later, she jerked the fishing rod up again…

WHAM

...and the building shook again. As she lowered the cupcake for a third time, she turned and smirked at Locke, “I didn’t see you complaining when we did it to the veterinarian.”

“Yeah, well, she deserved it.” Locke lay on his stomach, peering over the edge of the roof.

“Besides,” Dinky said. “If anypony can appreciate a good prank, it’s PinkiiIIIEEEEE PIEEEEEEAYH!!!!” Dinky screamed as the line of the fishing rod suddenly went taunt. With a jerk, it pulled her forward the edge of building. Her hooves scraped against the shingles as she scrambled to remain on the roof.

It was useless gesture, however, and with a squeak of dismay, Dinky was yanked off the roof and into open air. As she tumbled through the air, she was dimly aware of something wrapping itself around her body. Closing her eyes, she waited for the impact.

Several seconds later, she landed with a thud on something surprisingly squishy. She heard a low groan, and the ground beneath her vibrated. Opening her eyes, Dinky looked down and blinked in surprise. Beneath her, Locke gazed up at the sky, his eyes rolling in his head and Dinky sat upon his stomach. She realized with a start that Locke had jumped off the roof after her, catching her in midair and cushioning her fall.

“Where did you two come from?” Glancing over, Dinky saw Pinkie sitting there, a large smile on her face as she chewed happily. The string dangling from her mouth told Dinky the fate of the cupcake.

Pinkie continued chewing, eyeing the prone pair as she waited for an answer.

“W-well, you see…” Dinky began, her ears splaying backwards. Her eyes darted back and forth as she tried to quickly come up with an excuse. Pinkie watched the filly fidget nervously for a few seconds before her eyes widened and she gasped loudly, the string falling from her mouth, now devoid of sugary treat.

“Were you two chasing that cupcake too?!” Dinky just stared blankly up at Pinkie, blinking occasionally.

“...wat?”

“And I just ate it without knowing!” Pinkie continued, oblivious to the filly's confusion “Oh, I’m such a terrible pony! You probably hate me now!” Pinkie’s ears splayed back, and her eyes began to tear up as she looked down at the filly.

“Now you’ll never want to go to any of my parties ever again.” The party pony sat there, her lower lip trembling as a confused Dinky and dazed Locke tried to figure out what to say (or in Locke’s case, figure out why the birdies wouldn’t leave him alone).

Suddenly, Pinkie perked up and her frown transformed into a smile as her tears disappeared.

“I know,” she cheered happily, clapping her hooves together. “I’ll make it up to you by showing you how to make your own cupcakes! Then you’ll like me again and come to my parties!”

“...wat?” That was all Dinky could get out before both her and Locke were immediately pulled into Sugarcube Corner by the energetic pink pony.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

Dinky and Locke glanced around at the bakery’s kitchen, trying to figure out how they got there. One minute they were in the alleyway outside Sugarcube Corner, then there was a whirlwind of pink, sugar, and laughter, and the next thing they knew, they were standing in the kitchen with aprons and chef’s hats on their heads.

Dinky looked up at Locke, and cocked her head to the side, “...wat?”

Locke just shrugged, glancing around the kitchen in wonder. They both jumped in surprise as Pinkie suddenly popped up from behind the kitchen’s island, a large smile on her face, her own chef's hat askew upon her head.

“Everpony loves cupcakes, right?” she asked, glancing between the two. “Well, today I’m going to show you how to make your own!”

Giggling, Pinkie pulled out a rolled up tablecloth. Placing it on the island, she gave it a flick of her wrist. It unrolled, revealing a bunch of ingredients hidden inside.

As Dinky read some of the labels on the ingredients, her face scrunched up in confusion. There was Moon Rock Salt, Cloud Mist, Sense of Joy, Nods, Sweeps, Beeps, Deeps, Sneeps, Reeps, Winks, Memories, Laughter, Lightning, Volcano Spice, Father’s Pride, Mountain Air, Needle Eyes, Smiles, Love, Salt, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Arsenic, and a large jar with a strange red substance in it, whose label simple read ‘RD’.

And that was to just name a few.

“Okay,” Pinkie chirped, snapping Dinky out of her daze. She looked up from the ingredients, giving Pinkie a baffled look. Pinkie just looked down at her and smiled.

“To save time, I’ve already gathered all the ingredients we'll need. Now, remember: the hardest part about this is gonna be finding an angel and then making it cry.” As she spoke, Pinkie picked up one of the ingredients: a thin bottle filled with a light blue liquid.

As Dinky and Locke watched, jaws agape, Pinkie began to throw a bunch of the ingredients into a large bowl, rambling off a list of things they need to do in order to make their own cupcakes. In between instructions, Pinkie hummed happily to herself, bobbing her head from side to side.

Once she had all the ingredient she wanted into the bowl, Pinkie pulled a large mixer out from beneath the island. Placing it on the counter, Pinkie then pulled out a pair of safety goggles and hearing protection and put them on.

Grabbing the pull starter on the side of the mixer in her teeth, Pinkie yanked her head back, pulling on it hard. With a roar and a puff of smoke, the mixer whirled to life. Dinky and Locke quickly covered their ears, scrunching up their faces in pain at the loud noise.

As Pinkie mixed, she looked over at the pair.

“Now, remember,” she said, shouting to be heard over the engine of her industrial mixer. “If you are going to be making Choco-Explosion Cupcakes, you wanna go ahead and add two dashes of an autumn breeze, and half a human’s shriek!”

Shutting off her mixer, Pinkie quickly poured the cake mix into a couple of cupcake pans. When she finished doing that, she turned and cranked the knobs on the oven all the way around. With a loud ‘whoomph’, the oven sprang to life.

Grabbing the cupcake pans, Pinkie cracked the oven’s door open and tossed them inside, quickly closing the door as flames leapt out of the oven. She stood there, whistling happily for several seconds before she grabbed a pair of oven mitts. Flinging the door open, Pinkie plunged into the ensuing eruption of fire and heat. She emerged, slightly singed, with the cupcake pans in her hooves. Slamming the oven door shut with her flank, she placed the smoking pans onto the heat-resistant countertop.

Fling off the oven mitts, the party pony turned and gave Dinky and Locke a large smile, “And we are done!”

The pair stood there, their mouths on the ground as they stared at Pinkie in awe and horror. Dinky blinked several times as her young mind tried to process what she had just seen. Little did she know that her mind would never be able to understand what it had just witnessed; greater minds than hers had tried and failed.

Glancing over at Locke, the filly saw that he had given up trying to understand what was going on and was eyeing some of the ingredients, a hungry look on his face.

“Now,” Pinkie chirped as she picked up the pans. “It’s time for us to enjoy our delicious cupca – AH! I MADE GOLD AGAIN!!!” As Pinkie threw her hooves up in anger, Dinky stood up on her hind legs, placing her forelegs on the countertop as she tried to get a look at the pans.

Instead of cupcakes, burnt or otherwise, the pans were full with what looked like gold coins. As Pinkie raged about the failed dish, Dinky stared at the gold with a blank expression, blinking in confusion as she eyed the sparkling coins. That doesn't even make sense...

Sighing, she dropped down onto all fours, her hooves clicking against the linoleum floor. Pulling her chef’s hat off her head, Dinky tossed it on the ground, followed closely by her apron.

“Come on, Locke,” she said, heading for the door. “Let’s get out of here. It’s too strange for me.” Locke nodded, removing his cooking apparel as he followed after the filly.

As the bakery door closed behind them, they heard Pinkie cry out, “WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH ALL THIS GOLD?!”

Dinky just stood in front of the bakery, staring off into the distance. Locke glanced down at her, cocking his head to the side.

“Dinks, you alright?” The filly didn’t answer for several seconds.

“If anypony asks,” she finally said. “She was like that before we pranked her.”

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

The pair zoomed down the country road in Dinky’s wagon, heading for White Tail Woods. The sun was beginning to sink in the sky, and the air was starting to cool slightly as day slowly made way for night. Trying to get away from Pinkie, the pair decided to take a spin through White Tail Woods before heading home for the day.

As Dinky propelled the wagon along, she glanced back at her companion. Now that they weren’t in danger of crashing into a pony, human, or stand, Locke looked like he was actually beginning to enjoy the ride.

“I wish this wagon had some way to measure its speed, like the trains have,” Dinky called back to him. “That way we could know how fast we’re going.” Locke scratched his chin, looking thoughtful.

“Well, I suppose we could always just measure the road, time our journey, calculate our rate in hooves per minute, and convert that into miles per hour.”

“That sounds like math,” Dinky deadpanned.

“Um, yes…”

“Suddenly, I stopped caring,” Dinky said. The pair fell silent, choosing instead to enjoy the scenery as it flashed by.

As they rounded a bend in the path, the road took a sudden dip, causing the wagon to pick up speed. As the wagon rolled down the hill, Dinky spoke up.

“Hey, Locke?”

“Hmm?”

“How long do you think it is till bedtime?” The human looked around at the trees flashing passed, thinking.

“Oh, four or five hours, I imagine… why do you ask?”

“Do you think with any luck, mom will notice we’re missing by then?” Locke blinked at the question, glancing forward in confusion. It took his brain a second to realize what he was seeing, and when it did, the human’s eyes widened.

He barely had time to yelp before the wagon reached the end of the hill, launched into the air, and flew off the edge of a cliff.

Author's Note

The wind here is blowing at around sixty miles per hour, and I was feeling mediocre today, so I decided to write some more Dinky and Locke to try and cheer myself up. Hopefully my mood didn't affect the story in any negative ways.

Guardian Angel

“Ow…”

Dinky was miserable. She was more miserable than she had ever been in her short little life. Burs and thorns covered her small frame, digging into her with every step she took. She was wet, she was cold, and she was—without a doubt—hungry. Her stomach was growling every few seconds, reminding that she had missed dinner.

“Ow…”

Beside her, looking just as miserable and in a similar state, Locke limped along, suffering through his own discomfort in silence as he carried the broken wagon in his arms. His wet clothing clung to his body, slowly sapping the warmth from his bones. His bare feet were covered with scratches, and he was pretty sure that a couple of thorns had worked their way between his toes.

“Ow…”

CRACK-CA-BOOOOOOM!

High above the pair, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled as dark storm clouds raged. A deluge of water fell from the heavens, soaking the unfortunate souls below to the bone. The storm was unplanned, having rolled in shortly after the pair had extracted themselves from the massive briar patch, and at this point it was just adding insult to injury.

Around them, the tree waved back and forth, the creaking of their branches sounding like laughter to the upset filly.

Yes, without a doubt, Dinky was miserable...

...and that was before she found out that they were going the wrong way.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

The sun had long since set when the exhausted pair finally slogged their way back into town. It had taken them forever to find their way out of White Tail Woods. Due to the weather, combined with the growing darkness, the pair had gotten lost several times in the maze of trees and bushes. By the time they had finally managed to find the edge of the forest, Dinky’s hooves were killing her.

Wiping her soaked mane from her face with a muddied hoof, Dinky squinted, trying to see through the curtain of rain. Despite the fact that the White Tail Woods was only a five minute walk from the outskirts of Ponyville, it had taken the pair nearly half-an-hour to find their way back through the blinding rain.

After a few seconds of searching, Dinky managed to pick out the faint outline of the marketplace’s fountain in front of her. That meant that home was just a few more blocks away.

Dinky couldn’t work up the will to smile.

Glancing up at Locke, she motioned silently with her hoof, pointing down the road they needed to take. After a few seconds, the filly realized that Locke could barely see her, his soaked bangs hanging in front of his eyes, blocking the majority of his view. Sighing heavily, Dinky grabbed Locke’s pant leg in her mouth and began pulling him in the right direction, wincing as she got a mouthful of mud in the process.

The pair continued to limp along for several more minutes before their destination materialized in front of them through the gloom. Slowly trundling along the fence line, the pair headed towards the front door of their home. A lantern hung from a hook beside the front door, the flame inside having long since been extinguished by the rain. The curtains were drawn across the windows, a slim crack of light barely visible.

As Dinky pushed the front gate open, it squeaked loudly, although the noise was quickly drowned out by a crash of thunder. The gate barely finished swinging open before the front door burst open with a bang. Light immediately flooded the porch and front walkway, causing both filly and human to wince in pain at the sudden brightness. Blinking her eyes to try and clear her vision, Dinky glanced up at the now-open door.

Her mother stood in the doorway, a worried look on her face. Upon seeing the mud-covered duo, her golden eyes widened and she leapt forward with a flap of her wings.

Dinky barely had time to blink before her mother was upon her, sweeping her up into her hooves and nuzzling her head while whimpering, “Muffin! Where have you been?! I’ve been worried sick!”

Dinky hung her head, her little ears splaying backwards.

Not waiting for an answer, Ditzy placed her daughter upon her back, before gently grabbing Locke’s hand in her mouth, causing him to drop the broken wagon into the mud. Pulling the human along behind her, Ditzy quickly hurried the two into the dry house, closing the door behind them.

Ignoring the mud and water that was dripping from her foal and human, Ditzy pushed Locke up the stairs, guiding him towards the bathroom. He moved along with no protest, the carpet squishing beneath his feet.

Pushing the bathroom door open, Ditzy shoved the human through before following. She nudged Locke with her head, sitting him down on the edge of the tub. Once the human was situated, she placed Dinky down beside him. As the pair sat there, shivering, Ditzy rushed out of the room, only to return a few seconds later with a first-aid kit held in her mouth. She set it down on the toilet lid before turning back to the two miserable individuals.

Moving to stand in front of Dinky, Ditzy got to work. She ran her good eye over her foal before slowly picking the thorns and burrs off of the young unicorn. Dinky winced as each offender was pulled from her disheveled, mud-caked coat, small whimpers escaping her lips .

Giving her daughter an apologetic look, Ditzy pulled another thorn from her daughter’s coat and spat it into a small trash can she had placed beside the tub.

As the pegasus worked on her daughter, Locke sat still, looking just as miserable as his miniature partner in crime. Pulling his soaking sweater off of him, he dropped it into the tub before crossing his arms and shivering. His teeth chattered together noisily.

Ditzy paused in caring for her foal long enough to get the cold human a dry towel, wrapping it around his shoulders before returning her attention to Dinky, who, out of the two of them, looked the worse for wear.

Grabbing a particularly large burr on Dinky’s ear gingerly in her teeth, she gave it a quick pull and yanked it off.

Dinky flinched, her now-free ear flopping against her head.

“...owww,” she whimpered, rubbing the ear with a hoof.

“Sorry, muffin,” her mother cooed, wincing in sympathy at the young filly’s pain. “Just hold still. I’m almost done.”

Dinky grumbled to herself, only to yelp loudly as her mother pulled a particularly large thorn out of her flank. Blood began to flow from the wound, but Ditzy was there with a towel to dab it up.

“Maybe now you’ll learn to not go into the woods without an adult, hmmm?” she asked as she tossed the thorn into the trash.

“...but you go into the woods all the time by yourself,” Dinky grumbled under her breath.

Ditzy’s ears flicked, and she frowned at her foal.

“What was that?” she asked as she checked Dinky’s mane for any hidden intruders.

“But you go into the woods all the time by yourself,” Dinky said louder, not looking up. “You even found Locke in the woods!”

Ditzy paused, staring down at Dinky for a few seconds before sighing.

“Yes, muffin, that’s true, but that’s because mommy is an adult,” she said softly. Having had removed most of the debris from Dinky, she began to gently wipe the filly’s coat with another towel. As she worked, she continued in the same, soft tone. “I’m old enough to take care of myself if something happens. You’re too young to be on your own outside of town.”

“But Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo do it all the time,” Dinky whined, crossing her forelegs.

“That may be,” Ditzy said, “but they aren’t my foals. You’re my little filly, which means I’m responsible for you. As long as you live in my home, you need to follow my rules. At least until you’re old enough to look after yourself.”

“That’s not fair,” Dinky pouted. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” Her ears pressed against the back of her head, and she glared at the floor in front of her. “I wish I was older,” she muttered under her breath.

At those words, Ditzy paused, looking down at her daughter with a blank expression on her face. Slowly, the corners of her mouth began to perk up, and she gave the young unicorn a sad smile.

“Don’t be so quick to grow up, muffin,” she said softly, leaning forward to nuzzle the top of Dinky’s head. “You still have many years ahead of you to play with friends and have fun. Foalhood is short, maturity lasts a lifetime, but friends… they last for an eternity.”

Dinky’s ear flicked in response, but she continued to grumble quietly under her breath.

Shaking her head, Ditzy laughed quietly to herself as she draped the towel around Dinky, tucking the fluffy cloth snuggly around the filly. With that, she turned her attention to Locke, who had been sitting there patiently, staring off into the distance. Starting with his head, she began to pick the thorns and brambles from his hair and beard.

Locke sat motionless, only moving to wince whenever a particularly tangled burr was removed. He didn’t even fuss when she accidently nicked his cheek with a thorn.

Making a mental note to get him a treat later for his good behavior, Ditzy pulled back the towel from around Locke, only to drop it in shock a moment later. The side of the towel that had been pressed up against Locke’s arm was stained, the blue material now a deep crimson. Eyes widening in alarm, Ditzy quickly looked for the source of the bleeding.

Locke’s right hand and lower arm were covered in dozens of nicks and cuts. Countless thorns were stuck in the flesh as well, giving the limb a porcupine-like appearance. As Ditzy watched, a drop of blood slid down one of his fingers and dripped to the floor, where a small pool of blood was slowly forming on the bathroom tile.

Swallowing thickly, Ditzy stared at the injured hand in horrified fascination, transfixed by the sight. How she had missed the severity of the injury when she first wrapped the towel around Locke was beyond her.

If I had realized his arm was in this state sooner, I would have started with it first, she thought to herself. Honestly, she was surprised that Locke wasn’t growling in pain right now. He was definitely getting triple the treats after this, that was for sure.

However, that being said, she still couldn’t understand what had happened for Locke’s arm to be in a worse than the rest of him, or Dinky for that matter.

Pulling her eyes from the dripping wounds, she glanced over at Dinky, who was still wrapped within her towel. The filly was thankfully oblivious to the state of her friend’s arm, her gaze locked on the floor a few feet in front of her. Ditzy hoped that she could get Locke’s arm patched up before Dinky noticed. She didn’t want her filly seeing something like this.

Taking a deep breath, Ditzy lifted her wing to block Dinky’s view and returned her attention to Locke’s arm, only to do a double take and glance back at Dinky. Through the gap in the towels, she had a clear view of the filly’s chest and neck. She hadn’t realized it before, but upon giving it a second glance, Ditzy noticed something odd. Unlike the rest of her body, which was covered in scrapes and scratches, the area around Dinky’s chest were relatively untouched. This unsullied patch of fur extended around to her right side, almost as if something had wrapped around her, protecting her from the thorn bushes.

Slowly, Ditzy’s eyes drifted over to Locke’s arm, and they widened as she put two and two together. Reaching down with trembling hooves, she gingerly took a hold of Locke’s arm and began to carefully—tenderly—remove the thorns from the limb. Tears welled up in the corner of her eyes as she continued to pull thorn after thorn out of the human’s arm, each one feeling like a dagger to her heart. As each thorn feel into the wastebin, she winced at the soft ‘tink’, the same phrase repeating in her head.

tink

That could have been Dinky.

tink

That could have been Dinky.

tink

That could have been Dinky.

By the time she was pulling the last of the thorns out, the fur beneath her eyes were soaked with tears. Dropping the last thorn into the trash, Ditzy reached for the roll of bandages only to fumble them because her hooves were shaking too badly. She swallowed thickly, trying to calm herself. She started to bandaged Locke’s arm, but her hooves were still trembling so bad that she had to pause and collect herself.

Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths, only to squeak in alarm as a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a hug. She blinked and glanced up at Locke, who just tightened the hug—ignoring his still injured hand—and proceeded to nuzzle the top of her head.

Ditzy proceeded to break down and cry.

~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~

Tiptoeing through the darkened house, Ditzy made her way silently down the hallway towards Dinky’s room. It had been several hours since she had put her foal to bed, and she was headed to bed herself. There was one last thing she had to do first before that.

Gently pushing the door open, she poked her head inside and listen. Upon hearing the sound of Dinky’s gentle breathing, she opened the door a little further and slipped inside.

The gentle moonlight shining through the window provided enough light for Ditzy to see by, and she picked her way carefully through the sea of toys that covered the floor of the room. Reaching the bed, she carefully pulled back the sheets, only to blink in surprise upon seeing only the bandaged form of Dinky lying there. She had a homemade human doll clutched to her chest, and a content smile on her face.

The sight caused Ditzy’s heart to swell, and smile of her own worked it’s way across her muzzle, only to be replaced with a look of confusion. Where’s Locke? Glancing around the room, her frown grew when she didn’t see the human anywhere. Is he somewhere downstairs and I just missed him?

Ditzy lowered the blanket back over Dinky and had just turned to leave when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Glancing down, she blinked as she watched the dust ruffle flutter slightly.

“What the…?” she breathed before bending down and pulling the dust ruffle back. She stared blankly beneath the bed for a few seconds before a bemused look crossed her face.

“What are you doing under the bed?” she asked the sleeping form of Locke. The human was curled up on his stomach beneath the bed, a pillow under his head and left arm. A blanket was scrunched up behind him, pressed against the wall. His right arm, completely covered in bandages, was out stretched, as if he didn’t want to sleep on it. That was most likely the case, seeing how sore it probably was.

Staring at the sleeping human, Ditzy made a mental note to remember to talk to Dinky about this sleeping arrangement in the morning. For now, there was something she needed to do.

Lying down on her stomach, Ditzy crawled under the bed, being mindful to not wake Dinky up in the process. She wiggled back and forth until she was nose to nose with the sleeping form of Locke. A sad smile spread across her face as she watched him sleep, his breathing steady.

Slowly, Ditzy leaned forward and gently nuzzle Locke’s face with the tip of her muzzle.

“Thank you for looking after my muffin,” she breathed.

Locke stirred slightly in his sleep. His brow furrowed, and his left hand clenched into a fist before relaxing again.

Gently kissing Locke’s forehead, Ditzy gave him one last nuzzle before pulling herself out from under the bed. She kissed Dinky as well, making sure to tuck the blankets in around the foal, before silently making her way out of the room.

As the door to the bedroom closed, Dinky shifted slightly in her sleep. She unconsciously hugged the human doll tighter to her chest, humming happily as she continued to dream. Beneath the bed, Locke snuggled deeper into his pillow. The pair continued to sleep, each one waiting for the dawn of the new day, when they would be able to resume their adventures together.