//------------------------------// // Return to Moonville // Story: Dinky and the Blanks // by GrassAndClouds2 //------------------------------// Dinky waved as they all entered the Everfree forest. “Hey, Ruby! Ruby, over here!” “Aren’t you a little old for imaginary friends?” teased Lyra. Dinky giggled. “Ruby’s not imaginary. She’s really cool!” Ruby poked her head out of a tree. “Hi Dinky! Are these the Elements you talked about?” “Yep! They’re all here! This one’s the Element of Kindness, and my Momma, Ditzy!” Dinky gestured at her mother, who smiled and nodded kindly. Trixie grinned. “This is so weird. Dinky, you know we can’t see or hear any other pony around, right?” “Oh, uh, Ruby just asked me to tell her who you all are. Ruby, the blue mare there is Trixie, the Element of Magic! And that’s Lyra, Element of Loyalty, Carrot Top, Element of Generosity, Raindrops, Element of Honesty, and Miss Cherilee, Element of Laughter and my teacher!” Ruby was bouncing up and down on her hooves. “Wow, they look really cool! Which one’s the illusionist? And what’s that thing on Lyra’s back? Is Cherilee a good teacher?” She began poking her head into and through their saddlebags. “Are these fireworks?” she gasped after peering into Trixie’s. “That’s awesome!” “Yes! And Trixie’s going to be making the illusions we talked about,” said Dinky. “Right, Trixie?” Trixie swept her hat off and bowed at the woods. “Of course. The Great and Powerful Trixie can conjure any possible vision! Recreating a scene from the past is no trouble at all for a pony of her magical prowess and skill!” Raindrops groaned. “Trixie, if we have to stop every five minutes for you to brag, this’ll take a week.” “Hmph. The Great and Powerful Trixie has always disdained false modesty.” Ruby was giggling at the exchange. Dinky told Lyra, “Ruby wants to know about your lyre.” “Oh.” Lyra still seemed a little weirded out at talking to a pony that wasn’t there, but she took the lyre from her back. “This is my lyre… it’s a music instrument.” She strummed few notes with her magic. “See?” “It’s really pretty,” said Ruby. “I wish I could hear more…” “She really likes it,” said Dinky. “Thank you, Ruby.” “This is beyond weird,” murmured Trixie. Raindrops nudged her, hard, and she sighed. “Whatever. Let’s go rescue some monsters that want to eat us. Lead the way, Dinky.” Dinky nodded. “Ruby, we need to go back to Moonville now, to save all the ponies there.” “I’ll show you the way.” Ruby smiled. “Good luck. And thank you in advance. All of you.” It was easy to determine when they were in Moonville territory. One moment, it was mid-afternoon, and the next, it was an hour after sundown. “Okay, so I guess that part’s true too,” said Carrot Top, looking up at the sky. “Um. You know, I do have a question.” “What?” asked Trixie. “If you’re doing everything, why are the rest of us here?” “In case it doesn’t work,” said Ditzy. Dinky was riding low on Ditzy’s back, snuggling in for warmth. It was a cool night. “If the illusions don’t work, we’re going to use the magic of the Elements of Harmony.” “Oh. And… why can’t we just do that first, again?” “Because they might not work,” responded Lyra. “Maybe they can only be used against beings like Corona.” Ditzy nodded. “The Elements might help us fight Grey Hoof and his companions, but we don’t know if they’ll help us lift the curse – and that has to be our first priority.” Dinky hadn’t heard her mother speak in this tone before. It was still kind, but very… stern. Even more stern than when she, Dinky, had gotten in a fight with Scootaloo. Dinky smiled. The tone made her feel perfectly safe, even given where they were going. “My plan’ll work, Momma. I’m sure of it. They’re not bad ponies, they just need to see what they did.” “I hope so, dear.” Ruby stopped, and Dinky realized that she recognized this clearing. It was the one just outside Moonville, the one that Dinky herself had used to enter the first time. “It’s just around this bend,” she whispered. Trixie nodded. “Alright. The party’s probably in full swing by this point. We’ll need to grab their attention with a splashy entrance.” “…splashy?” Carrot Top asked. Trixie nodded at her saddlebags. “A few fireworks, some smoke clouds, and then we walk out of the mist. That’ll get them looking. I’ll cast a couple illusions of explosions, and—“ Dinky giggled. “What?” Trixie looked taken aback. “Don’t you like those things?” “Sure,” agreed Dinky. “But I think that might be, um… not the best way to do it?” Trixie opened her mouth to object, but Lyra said, “She’s been here before, Trixie. We haven’t.” “Okay, what do you suggest?” “I’ll talk to them!” Dinky considered thoughtfully. “And ask them to listen to us. And… and maybe one firework.” Ditzy and Cherilee laughed, and Trixie looked a little happier. Dinky smiled. “Let’s go!” she cheered. Ruby waved at them as they passed, and Dinky waved back. “We’ll only leave once we rescue every pony in Moonville!” None of the Moonville ponies noticed them at first. They were, Dinky thought, too busy partying. She recognized the exact same tables and games as the last time she’d been in town, and if she wasn’t mistaken, the exact same ponies at each one. When Ruby said that they just repeated the same thing each day, she hadn’t been kidding. “Make sure to speak up,” said Miss Cherilee. She smiled encouragingly at Dinky. “Don’t worry, Ditzy” murmured Raindrops. “We won’t let anything happen to her.” Ditzy nodded a little, though she was obviously still tense. “Alright, dear… I guess it’s time.” She hadn’t wanted Dinky to do the talking, but the others had convinced her that there was a very important reason why it could only be Dinky. Still, she kept her wings lifted upwards, in a permanent embrace. Because, as Dinky knew, she would protect her daughter no matter what. Dinky hugged her and smiled from ear to ear. “Okay! Trixie!’ Trixie set off the one firework that they were using. It zipped up into the air and made a big explosion, covering the sky in a burst of light. The partying ponies froze, looked at it, then down – and saw Dinky and the Elements. Dinky stood up tall on her mother’s back and yelled, “HI!” Dinky, like most foals, could be very loud when she wanted to be. Her voice boomed across the village, and left silence in its wake. It was thus a few moments before the whispers and panicked mutterings began. “It’s that foal!” “The one that got away!” “She’s got friends!” “Get Grey Hoof! Now!” “We’re here to rescue you!” said Dinky. “To free you from your curse!” “We don’t need to be freed!” yelled Starlet. She scowled. “We’re fine the way we are!” A few others cheered agreement. Dinky tried to remember the tips that Cherilee had given her about public speaking. “You did a bad thing,” she said. “But that was a long time ago. If you admit what you did was wrong, and apologize real hard, you can escape Moonville!” “We don’t want to escape!” Starlet’s voice was tinged with desperation. “We like it here!” Some of the Moonville ponies cheered in assent, but not very many. “Grey Hoof hasn’t led us wrong yet,” said Starlet. She turned to the others. “Don’t be swayed by some dumb foal who doesn’t know a thing about the world.” “Grey Hoof said I couldn’t escape, but I did.” Dinky smiled. She could see that several of the ponies agreed with her, but just weren’t saying anything. “And he said that getting rid of Ruby would help things, but it didn’t! He’s wrong about all sorts of stuff!” Miss Cherilee hadn’t wanted Dinky to use the word ‘stuff,’ calling it ‘colloquial,’ but Dinky had insisted. She liked that word. “I’ll bet that he told you that Ruby would be fine when you got rid of her.” Her voice became a little more serious. “That’d she escape the forest and be okay, like all the others. But she wasn’t! And she died, and it was bad and—“ “Nothing was BAD!” The other ponies parted, and Grey Hoof stepped through. For one moment, he looked furious. But then it passed and he looked just as kind and happy as he’d been when Dinky had entered Moonville the other day. Grey Hoof turned to the Moonville ponies. “Fillies and gentlecolts, let it not be said that I doubt Dinky Doo’s sincerity.” He smiled easily. “Surely we can all remember when we were foals, how simple the world seemed then! How obvious it was to pick the right or wrong option. But, as all ponies – even us – we grew up and matured. We learned that things are not always as they seem from a… foalish perspective. Let us not criticize the innocence of young Doo here, but let us also not allow her naivety to supplant our wisdom.” “Ooh, he’s good,” whispered Trixie. “Very slick.” Dinky yelled, “It doesn’t matter that I’m just a little foal! You tried to kill me like you killed Ruby—“ “We did not kill her. Her death was a tragic accident… but her exile was necessary. She even understood it. She left voluntarily, my friends, to spare us the pain that comes with those marks. I am sure you all remember this. But, should you need more proof, simply examine these travelers. Observe how each of them is cursed save the foal. See the gray mare, for example.” Ditzy raised her head. And then, as if to show that she was not afraid of, or even concerned, with their thoughts, she turned a little so they could all see her flank. “Remember what Mitta was telling us last night? About the foal’s mother, with a ‘cutie mark’ of bubbles. Bubbles symbolizing laughter and flight. But look at her eyes, and you can clearly see the effect of this mark. She appears half blind – and note the bruise on her front left hoof.” Grey Hoof shook his head. “Her blindness has made her clumsy, no doubt. Pitiful.” Dinky’s eyes widened. That was mean, even for Grey Hoof. Chasing her was one thing, but he was making fun of his mother’s eyes, and that wasn’t fair. They were really pretty eyes, and she had to say something to defend her mom, and— Cherilee caught Dinky’s glance and shook her head quietly. Right. She’d told her that, no matter what, Dinky had to stay calm and not get mad at Grey Hoof. That was really important. It was hard, but Dinky could do it. Ditzy inclined her head slightly, but didn’t say anything. Grey Hoof laughed. “And look at the others. There, the one with the carrot curse mark. Observe the dirt around her hooves, those faint lines on her face. Unusual for one so young, unheard of in our village, but every bit the mark of a poor and unstable farmer, frantically tilling the earth to eke out one more day’s harvest.” His head shifted. “Or the one with the instrument. I can see at a glance that she’s in equally difficult straits, with a precarious job, few opportunities to make money, and stuck with archaic and old-fashioned music – ah, look how she blushes! It is as good as a confession. But we have no such problems here, precisely because we have no curse marks. And, as for the one with the hat—“ Trixie smiled. “What?” “One look at her and I can see she is a vain and self-centered egomaniac with no concern for the feelings of others. A common showmare of no value whatever. Such an attitude is common in the outside world, but not here.” Grey Hoof grinned. “You can try to bluff us, with your talk of how sad our lot is, but none of your faults escape my eyes!” “So?” Trixie shrugged, as if Grey Hoof’s insults didn’t matter. “What, you think that’s special?” She grinned. “So you can cold-read. Big deal. I can do it too. I can name the job of every pony in this town with a glance.” Grey Hoof smiled easily. “Filly, you are two hundred years my junior. I can see with age what youth misses.” To the Moonville ponies, “You see again that I see and understand what others don’t. That my leadership is preferable to their—“ “Alright, let’s go.” Trixie began pointing a hoof at random ponies in the crowd. “Farmer. Healer. Musician. Carpenter. Painter. Mechanic.” The crowd began to murmur. The blue mare seemed to be getting all her predictions right. “What, you never told them how easy this was?” Trixie laughed. “You predicted that a pony with a carrot cutie mark was a farmer, and that a farmer might be poor and have to work hard. You guessed that a pony with a lyre might be a musician and that some ponies don’t like lyre music. Amazing – and wrong, by the way, Lyra’s concerts sell out, but anyway. The pony with the amazing cloak and hat, you said likes being the center of attention. And you brilliantly observed that Ditzy Doo, our best mailmare and the kindest pony in town, has strabismus.” Trixie’s voice grew scornful. “You’re not some all-knowing guru. You’re nothing special.” “But – but that doesn’t make up for the simple fact that you ponies, you ostensible saviors, are far more flawed than us!” Grey Hoof stabbed a hoof at one of the two ponies he hadn’t discussed yet. “See the purple mare. See—“ Cherilee trotted forwards a few steps. “Yes?” “Note how frazzled her tail is. How her mane hasn’t been combed in two days. This is the mark, my friends, of an exhausted, run-down pony. See what they wish to bring you back to. In our land, we have no need for exhaustion! We—“ Cherilee began to laugh. Grey Hoof paused, clearly not expecting this reaction. Dinky grinned. “Yes, I guess I do get a little run-down sometimes,” said Cherilee. “I’m a teacher, see, and sometimes my little ponies tire me out. But I’m working on improving, on getting a better work-life balance.” She laughed again. “But that’s what you can’t do, and we can! Ponies outside Moonville can grow and change, and can better themselves. But you all have to stay exactly the same. Isn’t there anything about yourself, Mr. Hoof, that you’d like to improve if given the chance?” “Nothing!” was Grey Hoof’s immediate, flustered response. But Dinky could see that her teacher’s words had an effect on almost all the others. Cherilee nodded to Dinky, who moved to the next part of the plan. “You said you’re never wrong?” she challenged Grey Hoof. “When it comes to leading this town, no. I have made every decision correctly” “Even about Ruby? You said that she was okay with leaving?” “She was very mature about it. She understood how vital it was. When she left, it was with sadness, but also pride – pride in making the right choice.” Dinky shrugged. “Okay. Let’s see.” The sky flashed, and then went black. There were murmurs from the audience, and Raindrops hissed, “Trixie, hurry it up!” “Working on it! I’d like to see you do this!” Trixie’s horn glowed a bright blue. “Come on, come on…” And then, in the sky, was an image of the Moonville town square. It was during a party, a party exactly like the one they were standing at. The tables and games were in the exact same places. And ponies were happily milling around. It looked really nice, Dinky thought. It was a spectacular illusion. “Stop them!” yelled Grey Hoof, but none of the ponies were listening. They were staring in fascination. Even Grey Hoof himself seemed unable to move. Ditzy nudged her, and Dinky realized that it was time for her to talk again. “Ruby told me that she was really enjoying the party.” A pony who looked pretty much like Ruby appeared – Dinky had done her best to describe her to Trixie, and felt that she had gotten it mostly right – and began running around, happily eating the sweets and playing games. “She was having a great time. She told me that she felt like every single pony in town was her friend. “But then, one of her friends lost something.” Another pony ran in from the ‘left’ side of the illusion. “He was going to give a present to his marefriend, but he’d dropped it somewhere. He knew that she was good at finding things, so he begged her for help.” Dinky heard music behind her. Lyra was playing her lyre. The music – it was carnival music, sounding just like the sort Dinky had heard at the party the other night -- seemed to wash over Dinky and get into her voice, which sounded even more powerful than before. It also seemed to be almost entrancing the other ponies, drawing them deeper into the illusion. She grinned. Trixie’s magic was amazing, but Lyra had some cool spells too. The foal continued. “So Ruby looked all over, and eventually she found it!” The illusion of Ruby looked into a well, grinned, and then bent down and plucked a glowing fire ruby out of it. “And then, something magical happened.” Ruby’s flank flashed, and then a little magnifying glass appeared. “Ruby was too excited to notice, though. She ran right off to go find her friend and give the jewel back. Her friend took it, but then he noticed the mark on her flank.” Lyra began playing a different piece – something more tense and scary. The Moonville ponies shivered. “The pony yelled that she was cursed! Instantly, all the other ponies fled from her! She almost began to cry right then.” The fictitious Ruby looked down, hair drooping. “But she didn’t. Instead, she ran to get the pony in charge, a pony named Grey Hoof. She thought that, as he was so smart and wise, he must know of some cure for the curse.” The picture of Ruby ran to a picture of Grey Hoof, this one looking exactly like the real one. The fake Grey Hoof took one look at Ruby and jumped back. He didn’t look like a wise leader coming to a difficult decision. He looked terrified. “Grey Hoof immediately ordered Ruby thrown out of town, as quickly as possible! Ruby did cry then, and she begged, but there wasn’t anything she could do!” The music was getting faster, and Dinky found herself talking faster with it. “They threw her out right there and they said they’d throw stones at her if she came back! And when she tried, they did!” The illusory Ruby fled, crying, as the townsfolk hurled rocks at her. “Even her best friends joined in!” A few of the ponies in the audience groaned, and at least one was crying. Dinky was starting to feel bad for them. Nevertheless, she had to keep going. “But even though her friends and neighbors had kicked her out, she didn’t rush to escape the forest as soon as she could. She still believed that the others would change their minds in time. So she went to sleep on the side of the path and hoped that, in the morning, they would see things differently.” The music calmed, moving towards a pleasant and hopeful theme. “But.” And now the music was picking up speed again, faster and almost out of control – and as menacing as a monster. “In the night, a monster approached. A kelpie, which loved nothing more than the taste of foal. It grabbed her and it ran with her and it took her to the water pit and—“ “STOP!” Dinky blinked. The image froze, the fake Ruby frozen inches from the surface of the water. It was Three Leaf. “Alright. We get it, alright! We were wrong! We – we forgot, because it’s been so long, but we were wrong! We did a terrible thing!” “No! No!” cried Grey Hoof. “Stop saying that!” “It’s true! Just admit you’re wrong, for once in your life!” “NEVER!” Grey Hoof scowled. “GET THEM!” A few ponies moved to attack – but only a few. Grey Hoof looked horrified that so few did so. “What are you waiting for?” “No - -don’t attack them! They said they could help us!” yelled Three Leaf. Three of Grey Hoof’s followers raced at Dinky. But then Lyra moved in front of them. Her horn glowed as she strummed a few chords, and even from behind, the sheer volume almost knocked Dinky off Ditzy. The ponies charging them were blasted backwards. “Watch out!” It was Carrot Top, ducking as one of the Moonville ponies moved to grab at Dinky from behind. Raindrops, standing between the kelpie and Ditzy, turned around and bucked the attacker over onto one side. The attacker groaned, and seemed unable to get up. “Nope,” said Raindrops. Grey Hoof roared. “Fine! Once again, I will lead you to safety.” He began to run at the Ponyville ponies. The illusion vanished to reveal a sunny sky – it was high noon. Grey Hoof and the others were in their kelpie forms immediately. “I will protect you! Because I am your leader, and I lead!” His eyes flashed. “I wasn’t wrong to drive out Ruby! I will prove it to you NOW!” He charged. Dinky could only watch. Grey Hoof raced at them. Lyra tried to hit him with another chord, but Grey Hoof leapt high into the air and seemed to dodge it. When he landed, he kicked a big rock squarely at Lyra. “Hey!” Lyra couldn’t dodge in time. She brought up her lyre to block, and did, but the rock smashed into the strings and split them. “No!” Ditzy began to flap her wings and fly into the air as Raindrops and Carrot Top hurried to get between them and Grey Hoof. Grey Hoof grinned as Raindrops approached. “Buck him!” yelled Trixie. “Woo!” Raindrops grumbled something, but continued approaching the kelpie. Dinky tensed, bracing herself to see Grey Hoof get kicked, but Grey Hoof just smiled. Carrot Top managed to arrive just before Grey Hoof. She turned and began to buck at him, but Grey Hoof nimbly skipped out of the way, dodged, and slammed into Carrot Top from the side. Carrot Top yelled as Grey Hoof began to drag her across the ground. “Help! I’m stuck!” Carrot Top’s additional weight didn’t seem to be bothering Grey Hoof at all, who sped directly at Raindrops. Raindrops turned and reared back to buck at Grey Hoof, but as Grey Hoof moved into range, he swiveled suddenly to put Carrot Top between them. “No! Stop!” yelled Carrot Top as Raindrops began to kick at her. Raindrops checked the buck, but Grey Hoof jerked his body, released his hold on Carrot Top, and sent her flying into Raindrops. The two ponies yelled as they collided and fell over, and a moment later, Grey Hoof easily vaulted over them ton run at Dinky and Ditzy. “No!” Ditzy flapped harder. Dinky held on tight. They were in the air, surely they were too high for Grey Hoof to hit them. She just had to hang on and her mother would protect her. But Grey Hoof was smart. He jumped onto the nearest available surface, which happened to be Cherilee’s back. And then he made a flying leap towards them. He only got close enough to bite her mother’s tail, but it was enough. He bit and held tight as they began to fall. “NO!” Ditzy cried out as they fell to the ground. Grey Hoof snapped his neck back, shaking Ditzy. Dinky screamed as she slipped, and then felt herself hit the ground – she and Ditzy had both crashed. “Momma, help!” But before Ditzy could do anything, Grey Hoof seized Dinky and flipped her onto his back. Dinky felt that weird ‘settling’ sensation around her hooves, and realized that she was stuck fast. “Help me! Help!” “Dinky! Dinky!” Ditzy began flying after them, but Grey Hoof was far faster. “MOMMA!” Grey Hoof laughed, and only ran all the faster. Dinky craned her head around, but saw that Grey Hoof was outdistancing the pursuing Elements. By the time they reached the back gate, the Elements were out of sight. And then they were gone, into the Everfree forest, and far away from sight or sound of any other pony.