Time and Masks

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

First Burst of Magic

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

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

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

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

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

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

"...Yeah..."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"No it's not."

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

"Stop it," Dinky growled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What did you do?!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Comments

[Luckyfanisaac]

Among them was a gray unicorn with bright yellow eyes and a blond mane and tail, Dinky Hooves.

Does this look grey to you....
img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110405002035/mlp/images/3/30/Dinky_Doo_id.png

Or are you colored blind.Its pink not grey.

[Chronos Cat]

6379104 Looks purple to me.