~ Believe in your dreams and eventually they become reality. ~
“...Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Please give a warm welcome to our new Ponyville Beauty Contest princess, Dinky Doo!”
The young filly smiled and inclined her head graciously to the roaring crowd of eager ponies as she trotted down the walkway, her gown shimmering in the spotlight which followed her. Ponies on all sides gazed up in admiration as they cheered for her and clapped their hooves for her. A chant spread throughout the crowd, “Dinky! Dinky! Dinky!”
“Dinky! Hey can you hear me?”
Startled by her mother’s voice breaking through her daydreaming, Dinky knocked her forehead sharply against the window. “OW!” She rubbed her raw forehead with a hoof as she reluctantly looked away from the dress in the store window to face her Mother. “What is it, Mum?”
The cross-eyed mare raised her eyebrows at her daughter. “Dreaming about the beauty contest again, hm?” With an affectionate smile, Derpy picked up her filly’s saddle off the sidewalk and placed it on Dinky’s back. “You know dear, there’s no fee to enter the contest. Perhaps you should consider it. Give it some thought and at least you’ll have something to think about while you work.” She dug her hoof into her own saddlebag and pulled out three shiny bits, then placed them into Dinky’s bag. “On your way back, dear, can you buy me some more ingredients to make our muffins?”
Dinky looked at the dress then back to her Mom. "Course, Mum..."Mournfully, she looked out to the road towards path that led to the market, and then turned to face her Mother. “Thanks for the encouragement, Mum, but I’d just end up looking plain silly.”
Derpy patted her daughter on the head, swiping away a cloud of dust from her mane. “Now, Dinky beauty is not judged by the garments you wear alone or by how much dust you’re covered in. The crowd would love you for being you, and who you are is what’s important,” her mother replied. She waved a hoof in the direction of the gravel-filled road. “Now go on,Miss Roma will be waiting for you, and remember to be back before dark, deary.”
“Thanks, Mum. I’ll be home before dusk.” Dinky turned and walked down the gravel path leading to the tomato stand, but stopped for a moment. She looked down at her patched-up jacket, already layered in dust from her daily chores at her home and sighed. “Nopony would set hoof in a beauty contest looking like this.”
~♥~
There it was... The dress of her dreams. Dinky froze before the store window, just as she did every day when she passed the Carousel Boutique on her way to the market. It certainly is beautiful, she mused. Full, rich material cascaded out into a skirt, while crystals lined the swirling hem. Shining emeralds sparkled at the neckline, curving into a small floral pattern at each shoulder.
If she had that dress, she could be in the beauty contest, win the adoration of ponies, gain adoring fans and be invited to the Gala next year as an esteemed guest at one of the Royal’s request! The dress sparkled under a small spotlight, making it seem all the more extravagant. Almost every day for the past year, she had passed this particular dress on her way to Miss Roma’s tomato stand, each day growing more and more attached to it.
With the thought of wearing such a beautiful piece of clothing, the filly sighed as she turned away from her contest-winning dress, trudging to work with her bags on her back and her head in the clouds. That dress cost more bits than she had ever seen in her life. It would, like winning The Beauty Contest, have to remain a dream inside a young filly’s head.
~♥~
The sun was setting when Roma’s started to close up. Very few ponies wandered the streets of Ponyville this late into the evening, after all, it was almost dinner time. Dinky stacked the last of the empty baskets at the back of the tent-like stand. She sighed. It had been a busy day. That was the third rush this week! She’d be surprised if they would have any tomatoes left to sell tomorrow.
A tan earth pony with a curly brown mane walked up beside Dinky. “Thanks for all your help today, Dinky! You are quite the salespony.” She gave a light laugh. “Why, I bet you’d put me out of business if you put up you own tomato stand!”
Dinky giggled at the thought of opening up a vegetable stand. Or were tomatoes a fruit? She couldn’t remember. “Thanks, Miss Roma, but I doubt it. Besides, I want to be a princess when I grow up!”
“A princess you say? Now, how are you going to pull that off, deary?”
Dinky beamed a bright smile. “Well, I’m going to wear a beautiful dress that is at Miss Rarity’s store, and then I’ll enter the beauty contest. I’ll win and be a princess with a tiara and flowers and everything!” Suddenly, she sighed. “But that dress, I’ll never have that dress.”
Roma frowned. “Why not?”
“It’s too expensive! It’s like fifty-six bits!”
Pausing for a moment, Roma reached into her saddlebag, pulling out her bits bag and placing it in front of Dinky. “Now I want you to take those bits and buy that dress. Dinky, your dream is beautiful, and I bet you would look amazing in that dress!”
Dinky stared at the bits bag and looked up at the earth pony, mouth agape. “B-but Miss Roma, I can’t take your money!”
“It’s not my money if you earned it, and you’ve earned every bit! Now, you better hurry along before the shop closes.” Roma placed the bag into the filly’s left saddlebag with the muffin ingredients.
Dinky’s face lit up. “Thank you so much, Miss Roma!” Bounding towards the Boutique, she called over her shoulder, “THANK YOU!”
~♥~
There it was. She could see the store, its lights still on and no closing sign on the front door. She ran towards the front of the door, passing by the window she had stared at longingly for almost a year. She raced inside, stopping when she heard a small chime from above her head. She noticed a fancy unicorn sitting at her desk, drawing something. She walked up to the unicorn. “Um, miss Rarity?”
The unicorn jumped at hearing her name, dropping her pencil in the process. “Oh! I’m sorry darling, I didn’t hear you come in. I had such an inspiration and I simply had to draw it out. Was there something you needed?”
Dinky beamed as she turned to face the window holding the dress that would soon be hers. “Yes, I would lik-” She stopped short. The window was... empty. All that was left was the mannequin that held the missing dress. She frowned, panicked. “Where’s the dress in the window, the sparkly one?”
Rarity picked up a small piece of fabric from the ground and placed it on her desk. “That one was bought earlier today, I believe a young filly with her father purchased the item.” Rarity looked at the dismayed filly. “I can make another if you wish, although it will take a long period of time. Unfortunately, that was a mix of diamonds and emeralds and is very hard to do.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll come back another day. Maybe I’ll find something else, thanks anyway.” Dinky rushed out the door, fresh tears streaming down her face. Without that dress, she couldn’t enter the beauty contest. She choked back a sob, now she would never be a princess.
~♥~
“Oh good, Dinky, you’re home. I was beginning to worry,” her mother called from the kitchen as Dinky pushed open the front door, tossing her saddlebags onto the floor, bit bag and ingredients still inside. “Come on in, dear, I have a small gift for you.”
The filly sadly shuffled to the kitchen... and stopped short. “Oh Mother,” she gasped. “It’s beautiful!” There, hanging up against the far wall, was a lovely gown, made of rich green cloth. Soft, flowing sleeves spilled out from the sides, falling down until they mingled with the smooth lines of the swishing skirt. There were no fancy sparkling jewels, but at the center of the dress was a carefully embroidered rose, its petals disappearing into the pattern at the waistline. It was strikingly elegant in its simplicity.
Derpy chuckled as she lifted the dress to put it on Dinky. “I’ve been working on it for quite a while, so I’ll be glad to get it off my hooves. Now, I don’t expect to find you daydreaming around the house anymore! You’ve got a tiara to win!” She beamed at her daughter.
Dinky grinned in return and twirled around, spinning the dress, and causing it to float elegantly around her, feeling it’s smooth material glide over her fur. Dinky stopped and gave Derpy a heartwarming hug. “Thank you so much!” she said brightly, releasing her mother. She looked out the cracked window at the starry night sky stretching over Ponyville. “Ponyville Beauty contest, here I come!”
