//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: Ill Communication // by RK_Striker_JK_5 //------------------------------// My little pony, My little pony Ahh ahh ahh ahhh... My little pony Friendship never meant that much to me My little pony But you're all here and now I can see Stormy weather; Lots to share A musical bond; With love and care Teaching laughter; It's an easy feat, And magic makes it all complete! You have my little ponies How'd I ever make so many true friends? Dinky Doo hopped along the dirt path, bunnies in front of her and bunnies in back. The line came to an end in a small cluster near a tree stump, at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy stood next to the tree stump, clipboard resting on top and a pen clasped in her mouth. A basket of apples was placed next to the stump, snacks for later and for now. She waggled it back and forth, marking the clipboard and nodding with each bunny joining the group. It took several hops down the trail for Dinky to gather up all the bunnies, and her legs ached a bit even as she finished rounding up all the bunnies for the annual census. She walked over to the stump and sat down besides Fluttershy, stretching out her legs in front of her and waggling them. Fluttershy looked down at Dinky for a moment before returning to her writing. The bunnies all hopped to and fro in the little clearing, but after a few minutes Fluttershy dropped the pencil onto the clipboard. She walked away from the stump and waggled a wing at the bunnies. “Thank you all for participating;” she said, smiling at the bunnies. “I hope to see you all next year!” All but one of the bunnies hopped off, the remaining one instead walking up to Fluttershy's side. She looked down at him and extended a wing, patting him on the head. “Thank you very much, Angel,” she said, beaming. She looked to Dinky as the foal trotted over. “And thanks to you too, Dinky. The bunny census went off without a hitch!” Dinky giggled as Angel bent low at the waist, sweeping a foreleg out in front of him. “It was fun, Miss Fluttershy!” She looked at the last of the bunnies hopping out of sight. “There were a lot of little babies.” She reached a foreleg up and scratched right below her ear. “Where do they all come from?” Fluttershy's yellow coat turned a brilliant scarlet and her wings folded up, partially obscuring her head and face. “W-well I see it's a... bit...” “When I'm older, right?” Fluttershy merely nodded. Hunger gnawed at it. Exhaustion dulled its senses. How long since it had eaten? A minute? Two? Ten? Tiny wings carried the little parasprite forth in a zigzag pattern through the air, darting to and fro as it left home and ventured into... daylight. The sun hurt its eyes and it squinted. For a moment, the tiny bug almost flew back to home, but a sudden smell sent it hurtling along. Food, food food food! The thought repeated in its simple brain as it followed the scent. Eyes opened briefly, risking the sting of the sun for the sight of a large basket of apples. Within moments, it reached the basket. Jaws unhinged and it chomped out a large chunk of an apple, swallowing it whole. Within a half-second the rest of the apple was gone. The parasprite cooed in relief as a warm feeling settled over it. Eyelids fully shut as exhaustion finally overtook it and the bright-red parasprite settled down into the basket, wings folding tight against itself as sleep finally overtook it. Dinky's head shot around at the sound of a crunch from behind her. She looked around, but saw nothing more than the stump and the basket of apples. She looked to Fluttershy, but the pegasus had her wings folded up over her head. “Miss Fluttershy?” She held up a foreleg. “Are you all right?” Fluttershy's wings moved slightly and she peered out, backing up a few steps. Dinky followed her gaze to the path leading to Ponyville. Voices wafted through the air as two indistinct shapes appeared, quickly resolving themselves into Ditzy and Trixie, the former floating a half-meter above the ground and the latter trotting along with a box floating beside her. “So I think Pokey is wanting to use my desk to sharpen his horn,” Trixie said, rolling her eyes. A muffin coated with hot sauce floated up to her mouth and she took a bite out of it. Ditzy shrugged. “Better than your office window.” “Momma, Miss Trixie!” Dinky cried out, galloping forward. “I helped Miss Fluttershy with the bunny census and helped Angel with his little house because he had a lot of trash inside it!” She skidded to a halt right in front of the two mares, leaving tiny furrows in the dirt from her hooves. Ditzy floated down next to Dinky, wrapping her left wing around her daughter. Her left eye slid down and she smiled. “Did you have a good time helping Miss Fluttershy with her chores?” Dinky nodded. “Yeah, yeah! All the bunnies were there and I hopped along with them and Angel was really nice to me!” She stood up on her hind legs, wrapping her forelegs around her Momma's neck. Trixie grinned at the two, but it faded as she turned and saw Fluttershy with her wings over her head. Angel stood by her, forelegs crossed and his right foot tapping the ground. She rolled her eyes and stepped back. “I'll be over here,” she muttered, box of muffins trailing behind her as she trotted a few meters back. Ditzy and Dinky walked up to Fluttershy. The yellow-coated pegasus slowly lowered her wings as they approached. “Sorry,” she whispered, voice barely carrying over the gentle breeze. “I-I know Trixie's not that bad, and she saved Equestria and all. I just...” Her cheeks turned scarlet once more and she seemed to shrink down into her own torso. Ditzy smiled at her friend. “It's fine. So, did you and Dinky have a good day?” Fluttershy's head peeked out a bit. “It was,” she said, a small smile beginning to form on her mouth. “The bunny census is all finished for another year. And Angel got his house cleaned out properly.” She turned and looked over her shoulder at the stump and basket of apples. “I have your payment and a basket of apples for you, for your extra hard work today.” Dinky walked around to Fluttershy and her face scrunched in concentration. The basket wobbled a bit, but floated up and over, landing in front of Ditzy. Three silver coins on the clipboard also floated up, jangling while they were levitated to Ditzy's saddlebag and inside. Ditzy patted her daughter on the head, smiling at the improvement her daughter had shown in levitation. “Good work, muffin.” She looked to Trixie, but her gaze went far down the path back to Ponyville, to the blue unicorn idling away with a box of muffins. One eye went to Fluttershy, the rest of Ditzy's head following. “Thanks, Fluttershy, but Trixie's over there and...” She trailed off as her fellow pegasus merely nodded. “Okay, have a good day and see you Monday.” She knelt down, grabbed the basket with her mouth and trotted off. Dinky threw her forelegs around Fluttershy's neck. “See you next week!” she said before turning and trotting off to her mother's side. She paused, turned around and waved at Fluttershy, who raised a foreleg and waved back. Ditzy and Dinky reached Trixie as the box floated up to her muzzle and the lid opened. “Thowwy,” Ditzy said, causing Trixie to jump a half-meter in the air and the box to jerk about in midair. “I wasn't eating any muffins!” Trixie blurted out. Her head shot from Ditzy to the box, then to Dinky. Her face turned a brilliant scarlet as a leaf blew by in the wind. Her mouth turned up in a wide, forced smile. “So...” Ditzy glanced at the box, still floating but a little higher in the air. “So?” she repeated, a sly grin on her muzzle. Silence reigned between the two. Dinky looked from her mother to her magic teacher, then back. “Was the muffin good, Miss Trixie?” she finally asked, canting her head to the side. Trixie's head shot over, her cape fluttering out behind her. The box suddenly floated down and two muffins were levitated out, one to Ditzy and one to Dinky. “It was a good muffin,” she finally said. She looked to Ditzy and the basket still clenched in her teeth. “I'll take that for you,” she said somewhat sheepishly, grabbing hold of the basket of apples with her magic and gently floating it out of her mouth. She looked to Fluttershy, then down the path that led to back to the Ponyville Post Office and the Doo's apartment above. “So, lunch?” Ditzy merely smiled at Trixie before the three began trotting off back, the basket and box floating right behind them. She looked to Trixie as she ate her muffin, savoring each bite. “Ready for next week?” she asked. One eye drifted to Dinky. “I mean after what happened with-” “I assure you, Dinky's safety at the show is foremost in my mind!” Trixie interrupted. She held up a hoof and some light coalesced around it. “It's just some simple sleight-of-hoof and illusions. Nothing else, Ditzy. You made sure of that when we talked about Dinky assisting me.” She looked down at the young unicorn. “Besides, if that happened, who else would be the Great and Powerful Trixie's assistant?” She stood up straight, gesticulating wildly with her forelegs. “Only the best can assist Trixie as she puts on the most amazing magic show ever seen by pony eyes!” She dropped back to all four hooves. “Besides, I've got too much else on my plate, with getting Carrot Top and the other farmers organized and other details for the Eventime Festival.” She rolled her eyes. “So much to do, so little time. For all his wanting to rip a hole in the fabric of the universe, Pokey really is great.” She suddenly eyed Ditzy and leaned in close. “Just don't tell him that, okay?” Ditzy nodded. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” she recited. “I just hope everything gets all smoothed out in time.” One eye drifted up, in the direction of the sun blazing overhead. “You know...” Trixie's mouth formed a thin line. “I know, and I assure you, Ditzy, barring something major, the Eventime Festival should go off without a hitch!” She tilted her head to the side. “I just doomed us, didn't I.” Ditzy merely nodded, finishing off her muffin as the three continued walking back to Ponyville.