Mean Fillies
"Oh, don't you just feel so bad for Dinky?" Diamond Tiara's sarcastic voice makes its way all the way across the playground to me, making me huddle even farther into the corner.
"Totally. I heard that her mom got stuck in a mailbox yesterday. Again." Silver Spoon makes sure I hear every word, even across the playground. "I don't even think she cares about anything but muffins."
"Ugh, if I were Dinky, I would just die of embarrassment. I don't even want to know what she thinks of Derpy Hooves. I mean, how can anyone stand having a mom that wierd?"
I feel a tear trace down my cheek, and Twist comes over to my corner, awkwardly patting me on the head.
"It'th OK, Dinky. They'll thtop when they realithe how awesome and thpethial you are." Twist means well, but sometimes she just misses the point. "Want a thugar cube? They always cheer me right up."
"Thanks, Twist," I whisper as I take the sugar cube from her out-stretched hoof. "I think I'll go home early. I-I, um, I don't feel so good."
"Do you want me to walk you home?" Twist asks sympathetically.
I duck my head, embarrassed by how loud she's talking. "No thanks, Twist. I can get home on my own. Just tell Miss Cheerilee I had a stomach ache, OK?"
"OK. Bye Dinky Doo!" Twist yells after me. I end up running out of the playground. The eyes of the other ponies seem to stab into my flank as I run, fighting back tears, to the safety of my home.
I don't stop running until I've made it all the way to my bedroom. I don't want anyone to see me, not even my own mother, as I let loose my own recreation of Equestria's largest waterfall. Too many thoughts fly through my head. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's stabbing comments against my (admittedly slightly loopy, but still very sweet) mother echo through my mind, crossing out and covering up all other coherent thought. I roll onto my back and mull over what they said. What if they're right? I ask myself. What if all Mama cares about is muffins? What if she doesn't love me? A small quiet part of me insists that it can't be true, but the thought is buried under a thousand others, all dark and gloomy and full of sadness and heaviness. Mama always tells me that those silly fillies at school can't hurt me, that I have to stay strong, but what if she's wrong? They can hurt me, and they have. What if Mama is just a crazy old mailmare who doesn't know a pony from a pumpkin? What if she isn't even my Mama? Now my thoughts have gotten all tangled up, and new, impossible fears surface a dozen a minute. I know most of them are absolutely ridiculous, but it's too late to turn back now. I've burrowed myself deep into my little hole of self-pity, and there's no coming out now.
I glance at the clock on the wall. I don't think it's right, none of our clocks are, but it's worth a shot. Just then the clock in the Ponyville town square chimes 4 o'clock. 4 o'clock? that's like an hour after I usually get home from school, and Mama's usually home when I come back. I suddenly feel hungry, so I go to the kitchen to find a snack. A note is pinned onto the refrigerator.
Dear Dinky,
I have to spend some extra time at the weather factory because I accidentally spilled a bunch of mail in Rainbow Falls. I'll be bak for dinner.
hugs,
Mama
I sigh, wishing she would come home sooner. Oh, well. I open the fridge. Nothing but muffins, as usual. I take my usual chocolate chip one and nibble on it half-heartedly. I go back to my room and curl up on my bed, sulking.
"Rise and Shine, my little Muffin!" I wake with a start. Did I really sleep all afternoon and all night?
"G'morning, Mama," I say groggily. "Wha' time's it?"
"Breakfast time, silly!" Mama kisses my sleep-tangled mane, and I rub my horn, trying to remember the day before. Oh, yes. I fled school in embarrassment, probably creating even more reason to tease me today, and spent the afternoon worrying if Mama loved me or not.
I slide out of bed, put my books in my saddlebag, and go out to the kitchen. Mama is standing with her back to me, cooking something, and, judging from the smoke, it isn't muffins.
"M-mama?" I ask hesitantly. "The other kids at school were teasing me yesterday. Th-they said you didn't love me."
For a second, both of Mama's eyes focus on me. Then the left one slips away, staring off into the distance. She flutters over to me and wraps her hooves and her wings around me, enveloping me in a double hug.
"And... you believed them?" Tears glisten in her eyes. I look down, suddenly ashamed, and stare at my hooves.
I-I'm sorry, Mama. It's just... Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon said that all you care about is muffins. They said you were crazy and couldn't do your job and..." I trail off, tears running down my cheeks.
"Those silly little fillies," Mama mutters angrily. "I'll have to tell Miss Cheerilee about this."
"No!" I say frantically. "If they think I ran crying to you, Mama, they'll just tease me more!"
"Alright," she says doubtfully. "But you're staying home today. Cheerilee says you went home with a fever yesterday."
I smile inwardly at that. Twist kept her promise. "OK, Mama. But what about you? don't you have mail to deliver?"
"Nope. Today's my day off, remember? I'm going to show you that there is more to life than mean fillies who make you feel bad."
"I want to show you one of my favourite places as a filly. We have to fly to get there, so I'll have to carry you.OK?" Mama already knows I don't mind. I love to fly, even if it's only possible when Mama carries me. I used to want wings when I grew up, but now I know that's impossible. I'll just have to enjoy views from the sky from either high mountains, or hot air balloons.
We go outside and Mama picks me up and flaps her wing as hard as she can. She makes me use the walking-on-clouds spell Twilight taught me, just in case, but I know she'll never drop me.
We fly high over Cloudsdale, and Celestia's sun warms my skin as we pass high over any clouds that might block its light. Mama flies on and on, until I can't even see the Pegasus town as more than a speck in the distance. Finally she skids to a halt on a puff of cloud, overlooking a beautiful canyon full of rainbows.
"This is where they get the stuff in the Rainbow Room back at they weather factory," she says matter-of-factly. "Rainbow Dash showed it to me when we were fillies. She may be the coolest, toughest flyer in Cloudsdale and on the way to becoming a Wonderbolt, but that pegasus has a heart of gold. She was always standing up for fillies like Fluttershy and me in flight school. We got teased a lot, but when Rainbow seemed to like us, the others followed suit and decided we weren't so bad." Mama picks me up again, and we fly down into the canyon. The air shimmers with color, and rainbow pools shine in iridescent splendour. "Rainbow Dash and I used to come here and swim whenever either of us had a hard day." She walks over to a steamy, green-blue-purple pond and dips in a hoof. "This one is the nicest for swimming. It's the perfect temperature."
I follow her and dip my own hoof into the shallows. The liquid color has a creamy, smooth texture and, true to Mama's word, it is a soothing, not-quite-hot temperature. We wade in, and I notice that it smells like wildflowers.
We spend what feels like hours in that pool, talking, laughing, or just relaxing, enjoying the peace and quiet of it all. But eventually, Mama says it's time to go, we have to get something to eat.
Mama flies us back to Ponyville, and for the first time all day, I realize how hungry I am. The sun is just beginning to set, and the sky is soft pink with orange clouds, and just a hint of purple night creeping out around the edges. It's as beautiful as the Rainbow Canyon, maybe more so, because it's home. Mama and I walk the rest of the way home in silence. We have a quiet dinner at home, and afterwards I tiptoe up to my room, where I find my favourite book and bring it back downstairs with me, like I did when I was little.
"Daring Do? you haven't read those since you were just a little filly." Mama smiles gently. "Shall we read it together?"
I nod and open the book to my favourite chapter. We take turns reading until it gets too dark to see the writing.
Mama looks at the always-wrong clock and says, smiling, "2 o'clock? It's time little fillies your age got to bed. Especially ones who have to go to school in the morning."
Mama follows me upstairs and tucks me into bed. She kisses my cheek and says, "Goodnight Dinky. I love you more than all the muffins in the world. Always remember that."
I snarl myself into my favourite sleeping position and close my eyes.
"I know, Mama. I love you, too."
