Exam Jitters

by GrassAndClouds2

In Which Dinky Gets Rained On

Ditzy pressed her head to the wall and wracked her brain for Dinky's location. Her daughter had told her where she'd be going and who she'd be with, and she had to remember it quickly. Every second she delayed was another second in which Dinky was caught out in the rain.

I woke up... I ate breakfast... Dinky was saying what her plans were... but what were they? I was so out of it I barely heard her the first time! Ditzy had been focusing on wolfing down her meal; she'd paid as much attention to her daughter as she could but it was still all a blur. She thought as hard as she could, but all she could remember was how good the orange juice and strawberries had tasted.

Where would she go? Who would she be with? But she found no answer to those questions. Dinky was friends with almost every foal in town. She could have gone looking for bugs with Snips and Snails in any one of a dozen wooded areas, or she could be playing on the Apple's farm with Apple Bloom, or getting covered in chocolate with Twist, or even helping Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon pick out new dresses at Rarity's boutique. She could be anywhere, with anypony.

Ditzy raced to her closet and grabbed two sets of raingear -- one for her, and one for her Muffin. Barely pausing to lock her door, she bolted down the stairs and dashed into the streets of Ponyville. Thunder boomed overhead, but she didn't let that stop her.

She had to find her daughter.

***

Pipsqueak's parents had showed up to take Pip home at about six, but that was okay with Dinky. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had begun playing marbles (Scootaloo having hurried to a toy store right after school to buy more), and Dinky had helped referee as they battled it out. It was a long battle with plenty of rules decisions that had to be made, ranging from whether it was okay to bounce your shooter before it hit a marble, to whether it counted if you banked a marble off the referee's muzzle. (Dinky rather emphatically ruled 'no' to that last one).

Heavy Roller had arrived at half-past six and had taken Scootaloo home (the pegsus's protests that she was just about to win back all her marbles notwithstanding). That left Sweetie and Dinky, and they had chased each other around and talked about the other foals in the class. Sweetie Belle had eagerly chatted about Truffle Shuffle's schoolyard crush on Silver Spoon and how the latter mare was planning to string him along to try to get some presents out of him, and about Twist working hard at trying to come up with a candy so good that her mother wouldn't feel any need to try to improve it, and about Scootaloo's adventures at some kind of rock-climbing camp that had an ex-Wonderbolt as a scoutmaster. Dinky had more fun chasing Sweetie around than gossiping, but both activities were fun enough, and Sweetie seemed to like having another pony to listen to her ("Scootaloo doesn't care about this stuff," she had said, "And Rarity's too busy in her shop. But you're a really good listener.") And so they spent another half hour of fun.

Shortly before seven, Rarity had arrived, apologizing for her tardiness and telling Sweetie Belle that they had to hurry home and get washed up because, in her continuing efforts to 'culture' her sister, they would be attending a small classical recital that night at Filthy Rich's house. Sweetie's Belle offer to attend one of Vinyl Scratch's concerts instead was rejected, and the white-coated filly began to leave with her sister.

"Are you sure you don't want to come back to town, dear?" Rarity asked her. "I only ask because it's supposed to start raining in a few minutes." She nodded up at the sky. "The weather patrol's been preparing the storm all day."

Dinky thought for a moment. "I asked Momma to pick me up here," she said at last. "If I left, she wouldn't know where to find me. Thank you, though!"

"Aren't you worried you'll get wet?"

Dinky shook her head. "Momma's great. She'll be here before the rain comes!" She grinned. "I told her I liked splashing in puddles, so maybe she'll come right as it starts to rain and we can splash home together!"

"Ooh!" said Sweetie Belle. "Ooh! Rarity, can we do that?"

"No! Of course not, and--" Rarity caught herself. "I mean, no disrespect to you, Dinky, if you and your mother enjoy that sort of thing. But if Sweetie Belle and I get messy, we'll take too long cleaning up before the concert, and it would be a terrible faux pas to arrive late."

So the two white-coated unicorns left, and Dinky sat by a big rock and looked at the flowers. She knew that her mother liked daisies best, and had hoped that there would be some in the area, but they all seemed to be dandelions, sunflowers, and a few buffalobur. But that wasn't a big deal. Dinky had saved a few bits up, and decided that, the next time she was alone in town, she'd go to the flower stall and buy a half-dozen daisies for dinner. That would make her Momma happy, and of course, she had the very best mother in all the world, so it was good that she be as happy as possible. And besides, Dinky liked daisies too, so she'd get an especially delicious dinner that night. And--

Her thoughts were interrupted by a few peals of thunder. Dinky looked up in confusion. Already? But Momma--

And then it began to rain.

***

"Please, open the door!" Ditzy called as she knocked frantically.

There was no response from within the house, though a peal of thunder sounded overhead. Ditzy looked up and immediately regretted it as she got a facefull of rain. Water was pouring down, filling the small depressions in the ground and turning the lawn around her into a muddy mess. Ditzy's hooves were already soaked. But none of that mattered; she had to find her daughter.

She knocked three more times, kicking the door as hard as she could. "Trixie! Trixie, open up! This is important!" But there was no response from the Residency.

Is she out of town now? But she offered to look after Dinky, so she didn't have any trips planned. I don't have time...

With one final futile knock, Ditzy turned and began to run further through the residential district. She ached to fly, but knew that it was a bad idea. She risked crashing into things when she flew normally; between the dim lighting and her haste, she'd be more likely to put somepony in the hospital (possibly herself) than find her daughter if she took off while in town.

Carrot Top's farm is far away, Trixie's not answering, Lyra's over in the market district... Raindrops! Her house is nearby, she might be able to help, and Snails might know where Dinky is! Ditzy splashed through a large puddle as she raced towards the large structure that housed her friend, her parents, and her sister. Please be around...

The door opened at the third knock, with Snails poking his little head outside. "Hi Miss Doo!" he almost yelled. "What's going on?"

"Snails -- do you know where Dinky is? This is very important." Ditzy tried to peer past him into the dark house. "Is she with you?"

"No, Snips and I went right to the creek after school to look for bugs. We didn't see her."

"Is your sister home?"

Snails shook her head. "It's a rainstorm. She'll be out dancing in the water somewhere -- wait, no. She went with a bunch of the other Elements to one of the Farmer's Union farms." Snails nodded. "They were going to get you, but Trixie said you were real sleepy so they didn't."

Rats... so I can't find her either... "Do you have any idea at all where Dinky might be?"

Snails tilted his head and thought for a long moment. "She was playing with Twist and Scootaloo at recess," he said at last. "Maybe with them?"

"Do you know where they are?"

Another long pause. "Twist said she'd be helping her sister with the candy store today." Snails dropped his voice and loudly whispered, "I think she wants to try Bonbon's new candy before the rest of us get some--"

"Thank you Snails! Bye!" Ditzy was already running back out into the streets.

***

Dinky ducked under a tree, but it was little use. The leaves were soon soaked through, and water began spattering off her head. In moments, she was totally soaked.

"Hey!" she called up to the sky. "I'm still down here! Stoppit!" But the sky didn't hear her. It just continued to rain, the water running in rivulets through her coat before reaching the ground. Further cries proved similarly useless.

Dinky hunched up as best she could, wondering what had happened to her mothe.r Maybes he'd been more tired than she'd thought, or maybe Corona or another monster had popped up and forced her to go off and save the world. There might even be another foal in trouble that Ditzy had been asked to help rescue; maybe Snails had finally gotten that mail-order Ursa baby or something. That made sense, although it didn't make Dinky any drier.

In the meantime, the foal had to figure out what to do. Truth be told, she didn't mind the rain, and she enjoyed splashing in big puddles and getting totally soaked -- it made the inevitable shower or bubble bath a lot nicer. However, rain was nicest when she knew that she could always run home and get dry after being sufficiently rained on. It was a lot less pleasant when she was at the edge of town, unsure whether to stay or leave, and many minutes away from anything resembling a roof or an umbrella.

She picked up a hoof, then set it down again. If she stayed, she'd keep getting wetter and colder, and that didn't sound like much fun. But if she left, her Momma wouldn't know where to look for her. What if she came to this spot, didn't find Dinky, and thought something had happened to her? Dinky would rather eat Bonbon's mother's asparagus-flavored candy bars than scare her Momma. Maybe, she concluded, she should just wait.

But her Momma wouldn't want Dinky to be soaked and unhappy either. She'd want Dinky to be warm and dry -- if not at home, at some other safe place. But if Dinky left, her mother wouldn't find her. She might search all night for her daughter, getting soaked and unhappy herself. So what was Dinky to do?

Stuck in the quandary, Dinky looked back at the road in hopes of seeing her mother -- but there was no sign of her. She frowned to herself. I want to leave, but I don't have any way of telling Momma where to find me. She'll get nervous and worried, and...

As she thought, her gaze fell across the dirt path. Few ponies came to this part of Ponyville; it was past Sweet Apple Acres and there was nothing there but the hoofball court and some gently rolling hills. As such, the path wasn't paved, or even covered in cobblestones. It was just dirt when dry, and mud when wet.

If I stepped in that, I'd probably make a big hoofprint, Dinky thought.

She smiled to herself, then ran at the path and hopped into its center. In moments, there was a huge muddy pit in the center. Dinky paused, letting the rain wash over her and clean some of the spattered mud off, before making another big hop. She advanced a bit further down the path, and made another muddy hole.

Momma just needs to follow the pits! Then she'll find me! Dinky grinned. Plus, I get to make really big splashes! Yay!

Cheered up, Dinky continued hopping back to town.

***

"Oh, no, Dinky didn't go home with me." Twist's face was covered with chocolate, and taffy was stuck all over her mane. "I've been here all afternoon, working on making candy." She offered Dinky a candy cane. "Want to try one?"

Ditzy shook her head, not having the bandwidth to politely decline. "Bonbon?" she called. "Are you there?"

A few moments later, the candymare trotted up to the front door. "Hey Ditzy. What's up?"

"Dinky's caught out in the rain. I don't know where she is." Ditzy's teeth were beginning to chatter from the rain; it was spring, but the rain had been stored in a cool silo and was rather cold. "I'm trying to find her."

"I'll get my raincoat. I can help."

"Where's Lyra?"

"The other Elements went to help Carrot Top with some Farmer's Union thing. I think they needed to monitor one of the irrigation systems to make sure it didn't back up in the rain."

Ditzy could have groaned. Every farm in Ponyville except for Sweet Apple Acres was part of the Union. The other Elements could be almost anywhere by this point.

"I would have gone," continued Bonbon, "But I had to mind the shop." Bonbon was tugging on her raincoat. "But if Dinky's missing and you don't know who she's with or where she is, I--"

Twist smiled. "Oh! I know who Dinky was with."

Ditzy stared for a moment. "Why didn't you tell me?" she managed.

"You didn't ask," said Twist, in a tone of complete innocence. "You asked if she was here, and she wasn't."

Bonbon, fortunately, interceded for Ditzy. "Alright -- who is she with, Twist?"

"Scootaloo said she and Dinky and Sweetie and Pipsqueak were going to play together after school!" Twist nodded. "I wanted to, but I also wanted to finish this candy, and--"

Bonbon shushed Twist. "I'll help you find her, Ditzy."

Ditzy tried to think of the right thing to do. It was hard; her mind was full of images of Dinky being swept out to sea, even though she knew there was no ocean within any reasonable distance from Ponyville. "Bonbon," she said at last, "I hate to ask this of you, but could you wait at my place for a while? If Dinky comes home while I'm out looking for her, I don't want her to be locked out." She wanted a companion to go with her, but she also couldn't help but think of Dinky wandering the darkened streets of Ponyville, locked out of her own house, with nowhere to go and no shelter from the pouring rain...

Don't be stupid! Ponies would take her in. She could knock on any door in town and get shelter.

But what if the ponies aren't home, like Trixie? What if they don't hear her? What if--

Bonbon cut off her thoughts. "No problem. I think Lyra still has those communicators Trixie made for the Gala. As long as you stay within the town limits, they should work fine. If Dinky shows up, I'll contact you."

"Thank you." Ditzy felt weak. "I need to find Scootaloo."

Bonbon rooted around in a drawer until she located the communicator crystals. She passed one to Ditzy. "Go. And let me know if you need anything else--"

Ditzy was already running into the night.

***

SPLASH

Dinky grinned as she beat her personal record, causing the water to spray up and touch the very tip of her horn. At this rate, she would easily be the best splasher in Equestria. If they ever had a contest, she'd be sure to win first prize!

The path had led her through the Apples' back gate and into the orchard. The leaves on the trees provided some protection from the rain, but not enough to keep Dinky from getting any wetter than she already was. Then again, the foal wasn't sure that was possible at that point. She was thoroughly soaked.

It occurred to her, briefly, that Pinkie Pie had once warned her that she shouldn't get too wet because she was an incredibly sweet foal, and sweetness meant sugar, and sugar dissolved in the rain. But Dinky didn't think she was dissolving yet, so that probably wasn't an issue. Besides, even if she dissolve, she knew her Momma could fix her. Momma could fix anything.

I should find out what dissolving means, she decided. Maybe it means popping. Scootaloo told me once that Night Guards could make bad ponies pop. She shuddered. It sounded painful to go 'pop.' But her Momma could probably fix it anyway.

She slipped as she hopped and went splashing down, getting a facefull of mud that she immediately began to cough out. Shaking her head, she tried to rub off some of the excess mud, but her hooves were so muddy that it was futile. "Yuck!" she managed. "Stupid mud!"

The mud did not answer.

Dinky wondered what her friends would do in this situation. Most of them would probably be splashing around in it, just like her. A few, like Diamond Tiara, would have scampered for cover as soon as they could. (Diamond Tiara, Dinky knew, had once angrily complained that rain was bad and they should get rid of it because it messed up her mane and tail. Apple Bloom had tried to explain that rain was needed for crops, but Diamond Tiara had just said that Ponyville could just buy crops from places that didn't have ponies as important as her. Cheerilee had been forced to intervene before the foals began fighting over Ponyville's import/export priorities.) But none of them were with her, and so she couldn't ask them for advice.

I hope I'm doing the right thing, she thought. It was hard, sometimes, to know what the right thing was. Miss Cheerilee said that was okay because she was still a foal, and for the most part, Dinky agreed. But it was tough now, because doing the wrong thing might make her Momma scared or upset, and Dinky didn't want to do that. If she--

Dinky rounded an apple tree, and Miss Applejack's home came into view. The foal grinned and aimed towards it as she hopped along. She knew that Miss Applejack had been mean to Dame Carrot Top once, but Carrot Top had said that was just a one-time thing and that Miss Applejack was a really good pony who cared a lot for the ponies of the town. Besides, Apple Bloom had nothing but good things to say about her sister. She would surely be willing to take Dinky in.

With a smile on her face, Dinky shook off a little more mud and continued on. Soon she'd be inside, and then she could wait for her mother.

Everything was going to be alright.

***

Scootaloo had told Ditzy where she had been playing with Dinky. Ditzy had raced off immediately thereafter, without even pausing to say goodbye. She charged towards the edge of town, and then, as the buildings fell away behind her, she soared into the air.

Come on, come on! she thought. Her wings flapped as hard as they could. Why did I never train to fly faster? I should have been practicing! Dinky could be scared and crying, or stuck in a sinkhole, or... or anything!

Her mind wracked with worry, Dinky flew as rapidly as she could. She almost clipped the ground a few times, but she was past caring. All that mattered was finding her Muffin, who had been out alone in the rain for so long and was probably wondering where her mother was and why she was so late, and all the other things she'd have every right to wonder. Dinky, please, hold on a little longer. I'm coming...

Finally, at long last, the hoofball field came into view. Dinky soared towards it, eyes scanning as quickly as she could. It hurt to focus both eyes in one position, but she managed to look over the entire length of the field. No inch was left unexamined.

And Dinky was not there.

Feeling like her heart was doing cartwheels in her chest, Ditzy dropped to the ground in exhaustion. She was terrified, yet she couldn't move. She didn't know what to do next. Get ponies to help her in town? Maybe she should have done that already; maybe Dinky would have been found by now if she'd tried harder to get helpers -- but if she'd delayed to do that, Dinky might have wandered even further away. Or should she continue off into the distance, leaving Ponyville and examining the fields and hills to the north? Dinky could be in a tiny cave, scared, terrified, maybe dealing with mean animal like a snake? Or should she go back towards town? Dinky might have sought shelter in the apple orchard. Or--

Ditzy's eyes fell upon the muddy hoofprints.

They had almost, but not quite, been washed away by the rain. There was one on the path right before her, and another on the way back to town. She saw a third, then a fourth. They were heading towards Applejack's farm.

That path was probably hard before the rain -- those hoofprints had to be left after it started. That must be Dinky!

Ditzy raced along the path, following the hoofprints towards, and then into, Sweet Apple Acres. For a few terrifying moments she lost the track, but then she caught a small tuft of fur that had been snagged on a tree and was able to find it again. She wound through the trees, calling Dinky's name frantically. She wanted to run around every tree to check for her daughter, but she forced herself to keep following the trail. The hoofprints were getting deeper and less washed out; she was closing in. If she could make it a little further--

There. They stopped at Applejack's front door. She was at it in an instance and began hammering on it.

The door opened. Applejack took one look at her, then nodded her head. "She's in the living room--" the mare began.

Ditzy blasted right past her and into the room Applejack was pointing at. Apple Bloom was there, sitting in front of a roaring fireplace and toasting marshmallows. And there, right next to Apple Bloom, wrapped in a fluffy towel and holding a stick of marshmallows of her own, was her daughter.

"Dinky!" she gasped.

Dinky turned and brightened immediately. "Momma!"

Ditzy felt herself hurling forwards, and she seized her daughter in a massive hug. She knew she was getting her foal wet and muddy again, but she didn't care. She wrapped her legs and wings around Dinky and fell on her back, hugging her daughter close so that nothing could ever separate them. Dinky, for her part, didn't seem to mind the mud. She just nuzzled into her mother and hugged her back.

"I'm so sorry!" gasped Ditzy. "I'm so -- it was--"

"It's okay," said Dinky. "I had a lot of fun, and Miss Applejack was really nice to me! She said I could stay over until the rain stopped, and maybe even sleep over if it kept going all night! And Mr. Macintosh went into town to find you, and--"

Ditzy hugged Dinky even closer, cutting off her words. "I'm so sorry," she repeated. "I love you so much, but..."

"Momma, it's okay," Dinky managed.

"Are you sure?" Ditzy released Dinky so that the mare could crawl up and look into her eyes.

Dinky nodded. "Although... maybe I could use another hug?"

Ditzy smiled and obeyed.

Comments

[DreadedCandiru2]

And now let the panic begin in earnest. Hmmmm.....If Twilight is in town, perhaps she can help...by being a cautionary example so horrifying, Ditzy will agree that maybe she's overdoing the overprotective mother thing.

[RainbowDoubleDash]

The one big problem I have with this is...Dinky walks to school. The school in Ponyville is shown to be at the edge of town, while Dinky's home above the post office is basically in its center.

The point is it just seems weird that Dinky would need to be picked up at all, instead of just knowing to go home before it gets dark.

Same with all the foals, for that matter - Tales of Ponyville mentioned Dinky joining a small herd of foals walking to school, and the only reason why the foals didn't walk home in that episode was because of the rain. And certainly the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the show seem to be rather free-range ponies, rarely needing to be picked up or dropped off anywhere.

Sake of the story, I know, but it's just this niggling thing in the back of my head that is going to keep bugging me throughout. It was brought up a few times when you were brainstorming this, and I'm kind of let-down that you didn't find a workaround.

[GrassAndClouds2]

2985199: That's school, though. They have to be at a certain place by a certain time. This is a game the foals are enjoying, so they'd probably play for hours and hours if they could get away with it. So their parents come to pick them up when its time for them to do other things, rather than relying on them to say, 'oh, it's six, I gotta go home.'
(It's also not dark yet, or it wouldn't be if it wasn't raining. It would be one thing if the foals knew to go home before dark, but I think it's unlikely that Scootaloo, for instance, will remember 'I need to be home by 7:00' on a bright fall evening, esp. as we've never seen her wearing a watch that I recall. So her dad goes to get her.)
But when I was a kid, for example, I walked on my own to school -- but when I was at a friend's house, my parents came to pick me up when it was time to go home.

Now, Dinky probably could technically get home on her own at this point, but she's a bit flustered (due to the rain, and having Silly Foal Syndrome like all the others), and Ditzy is in a state of panic and not thinking straight. So Dinky settles on going to AJ's, and Ditzy tears all over town hunting for her.

[RainbowDoubleDash]

2985217
Well, given the Lunaverse's tech level, it's not like watches are likely to be very common anyway, and everypony will probably just go by the position of the Sun or Moon in the sky and it being pretty much a given that if you agree to meet somepony somewhere at some time, you've both basically got a +/- half hour or so thing before you can be said to be "running late."

Anyway. The story is probably gonna be just fine, it's just that I'm gonna be reading it with a "fair enough, but this really shouldn't have been a problem" vibe. Conscious suspension of disbelief, basically.

[Spammy Pie]

Applejack had been mean to Dame Carrot Top once,

Pretty sure this is Dinky's thoughts we are in, and I find myself...doubting that she would remember to use a title that was only recently given to one of her mother's best friends in her own thoughts.

Also, Dinky is once again demonstrating that she is the most perfect child ever.

[Talon and Thorn]

To me this story is far more terrifying that say Crisis or Boast busted. Having a crazy Alcorn wanting to kill a bunch of ponies or a town being crushed by a giant star bear are fictional problems but loosing your child in the rain and you don't know what's happened to her and she could have drowned or fallen off a cliff or been eaten by a Grue! That's a real fear which I think we can all understand.

You continue to make the foals seem like real kids as well, Dinky could probably have left some sort of note (she probably has her school bag with her) but its more fun to spash in the mud and leave hoof prints even though they might wash away.

Dinky's cheerfulness all the way through made her just so sweet, I had a horrible feeling that at some point her cheerfulness would crack and she'd panic or start crying or something but luckily for my heart it never got to that.

Eagerly awaiting Derpy's completely understandable overreaction

[Bree R]

This is kind of weird still. It's nicely plotted but I'm kind of left feeling like Ditzy and Dinky need a few little more defects and that their relationship shouldn't be THIS perfect. There's a borderline between 'aww they're so sweet' and 'where's their own personalities'. That's not to say the writing is bad or the plot to come isn't going to be interesting it just seems a bit too picturesque and perfect a relationship. Could at least use a couple small problems that the two have.

[LeviTheBossGuy]

Bravo! U earn 10 mustaches!

[punzil504]

Perhaps the "perfect relationship" bit was played up a little bit because of the inevitable crash that's about to happen. Dinky's about to grow up a bit... and Ditzy's going to fight it at every opportunity, depending on how much she focuses on Dinky's "mistake" (Leaving the spot where she said she'd be), and ignores her own (oversleeping and failing to remember where she was supposed to meet Dinky).

Dinky's about to be introduced to Her Beloved Smother.

[Zap Apple Smash]

I've got to admit this didn't turn quite as bad for Dinky as I though it would. Don't get me wrong, if I was in Ditzy's position I would have been absolutely terrified and I think you conveyed the fear very well. I was actually scared that this would have been more physical harm. I think this worked a lot better though so well done.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

2994057 yeah. I was expecting it to be a bit... worse for her. But this is okay, too! Poor Dinky and poor Ditzy.

[TheGreatEater]

A few errors in this chapter.