Time and Masks

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

After Class Aftermath

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Neither did I," Dinky added.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Comments

[Luckyfanisaac]

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

Neither did he Dinky.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KFQQVEd5LoM