//------------------------------// // In Which Ditzy Does a Bad Thing // Story: Exam Jitters // by GrassAndClouds2 //------------------------------// “Momma! Momma!” Ditzy awoke and, once again, found herself staring into her daughter’s big eyes. “Good morning, Muffin.” “You fell asleep on the couch again,” said Dinky. “Is your bed okay?” “It’s fine. I was just... tired,” managed Ditzy. “Did you have a good sleep?” Dinky nodded. “I dreamed that I was an awesome knight, and I was riding into battle on a puppy! And there was a real mean monster who wanted to eat everypony’s cakes, but I bopped him on the head with my wand and turned him into a nice pony! And then we had a party and ate lots of marshmallow cakes!.” She frowned. “When I woke up, though, my pillow was gone.” Ditzy helped Dinky find her pillow, which had fallen off her bed in the night and had somehow bounced under her bed. Then she took her daughter back into the living room and began fixing her a big breakfast. “Would you like pancakes today?” “Can I have waffles, please?” “Of course!” said Ditzy. “Do you like them better now?” “Well, I was talking to Apple Bloom and she said that pancakes were made with buttermilk. But she thinks that the only thing butter should be mixed with is apples, to make apple butter. So she asked all us foals to stop having buttermilk in solid air at Rarity's!” She paused. "What's solid air, and why does Rarity have it?" “Solidarity,” corrected Ditzy. “And that’s... not quite how buttermilk works.” Dinky looked confused. “It isn’t made by putting butter in a jug of milk?” Ditzy laughed and began to explain. By the time she was done, the waffles were ready, and the two enjoyed them with plenty of fresh maple syrup, powdered sugar, and a little bit of jam (which tended to wind up on their muzzles more than the waffles, but they were both fine with that). When they were done, Dinky’s gaze fell upon the living room table. “Oh! Did we get some good mail?” And she pointed to the letter that Cheerilee had left on the table, the one formally qualifing Dinky to take the admissions test to Sharpwhinny. Ditzy heard herself speaking before her mind caught up with her mouth. “Just some letters for your Momma, dearie. Nothing for you yesterday.” She made sure not to look at the qualification letter Cheerilee had given her, which lay quietly on the table. I don’t want to bother her about some big test she needs to take... not now, when she’s so happy. I’ll tell her tomorrow. “Phooey,” said Dinky. “I was hoping I’d get an invitation to a Pinkie Party.” She grinned. “Those are so much fun!” “Yes, she’s certainly very good at throwing parties.” Ditzy began to clean up the dishes. “How about later today, we go to Sugar Cube Corner and you can ask when her next one will be?” “YAY!” cheered Dinky. “Oh -- if there’s a party, we should invite Apple Bloom and Applejack too, for being so nice to me when it was raining.” “Yes, I was meaning to do something to thank them.” Ditzy thought. “We could bake them a big batch of fresh apple-cinnamon muffins... it's a bit hot today, but perhaps tomorrow. Would you like to help?” Dinky nodded eagerly. “I’ll do a great job! I promise!” “Now, remember, if you help me with the muffins, you can’t get sugar all over your nice clean coat.” “Momma!” laughed Dinky. “That only happened once. And it was a lot of fun! I looked like I’d been in the snow!” Later, Dinky scurried around and got ready to go outside, while Ditzy tidied up the room. The mail, including the letter from Sharpwhinny, went into a drawer in a desk near the front door, so it wouldn’t get messy. Ditzy looked at the drawer for a long moment, then nodded her head. She would tell Dinky about the application after the next day of school. There was no reason to inform her daughter that she might be asked to take a big test; not when she was looking forward to the bright new day of leisure with such eagerness. “Come on, Momma!” called Dinky. “If we don’t hurry, Pinkie Pie might eat all the muffins again! She did that once, remember?” Ditzy did; she’d helped quell the Great Foal Army (led, of course, by Scootaloo) that had besieged Sugar Cube Corner and demanded their daily dose of sugar. “Coming, Muffin!” Mother and daughter hurried out the door and went out into the day. *** The day passed uneventfully. There was no muffin shortage, Pinkie said her next party was scheduled for the weekend after next and would commemorate Vinyl Scratch’s next album, and Dinky wound up scampering around with Alula and Featherweight in the park. A few more foals joined them and they all decided to play Zombie Pony, which the zombies won without too much trouble. Dinky was actually the last Living Pony remaining, but her tail poked out of her hiding place and Zombie Scootaloo chased her down and tagged her. “Do zombies have to bathe?” wondered Dinky, as Ditzy led her home. “Of course they do. If they don’t stay nice and clean, then the other zombies won’t want to play with them!” chirped Ditzy. It was a pleasant evening as well. Dinky regaled her mother with tales from the earlier zombie war over dinner that night, and the two went to bed without further ado. The next day, Ditzy woke up before her daughter -- she had slept uneasily, her dreams full of images of Dinky running around, fleeing some monster that she could never quite escape and that Ditzy couldn’t do anything about. The mailmare was able to put this out of her mind, though, and helped her daughter get ready for school. Dinky was soon scampering out the door, all smiles and laughter, and Ditzy followed her as far as the downstairs door. Then she picked up that day’s set of letters and began making her daily rounds. Time flew by, and before long, Ditzy found herself at home and waiting to hear the pitter-patter of Dinky’s hoofsteps. She’d be flying through the door at any moment, and Ditzy would be waiting -- to help her get out of her bags, to help her with her homework if need be, and to prepare something fun for dinner. Dinky told me once that she wanted to try making our own pasta. I’ve got flour, salt, and eggs, and I’m sure I could borrow the tools from Berry Punch. That could be fun. I don’t think there’s anything else to do-- Her gaze fell upon the drawer with the letter from Sharpwhinny in it. It was only for a moment, but Ditzy suddenly felt very cold. She shut her eyes and yanked her head away from the drawer, looking at the front door with a laser-tight focus. That’s not important. I am a mare waiting for her daughter to return from school. That is all. There is nothing else that matters right now; not that, not anything-- The door opened and Dinky raced in. “Hi Momma!” she said, shucking off her saddlebags as she ran into her mom’s embrace. “Are you all ready?” “Ready for what?” asked Ditzy. Okay -- she’s home. I should tell her now. It won’t be hard. Just say, ‘You have a shot at going to Sharpwhinny.’ That’s-- “Apple muffins!” Dinky said. “You said we could bake the Apples some delicious muffins in order to thank them for drying me out the other day!” She grinned. “I’ve been looking forward to it all day! I even got a fresh jar of cinnamon on the way home!” Her horn glowed, and a jar floated out of her saddlebag. “See?” “Of course,” said Ditzy, hugging Dinky tightly. “And now we -- agh!” The cinnamon jar burst, scattering spice all over the floor. Dinky blushed. “Oh no, I gripped it too hard again. I’m sorry...” “That’s alright, dear. You’ve got better telekinesis than me,” said Ditzy, hurrying to get a broom and dustpan. “...but you aren’t a unicorn.” Ditzy giggled and began to sweep up. “Why don’t we go back to the market and get some more cinnamon, then bake the muffins?” I can’t tell her now. It will take too long and the market will close. We’ll just head out and get some fresh cinnamon, and then I can tell her once we’re back home. And so they did, with Dinky riding Ditzy to the market and handling the purchase of the spice herself. They returned home and began getting ready to bake the muffins. Dinky grinned. “This is going to be so much fun!” “Yes, dear. It will.” Ditzy paused. Now's a bad time, when we’re getting all ready to bake like this. There’d be no point in distracting her. I’ll tell her once we finish baking and get all cleaned up. Then she’ll be ready to listen, and we can snack on some of the extra muffins while I tell her about her... about her great opportunity. Ditzy shut her eyes for a moment. Her great opportunity, which no good parent would ever deny their foal... “Momma! Look!” Dinky was balancing a measuring spoon on her muzzle. “I’m a circus pony!” Ditzy smiled, and went to help Dinky with the muffins. The letter lay in the drawer, forgotten. *** The next day was overcast and dreary. “Why does the weather patrol do this to us?” grumbled Trixie, as she sat with her friends in Berry’s Bar. “Who gains from having a bunch of clouds sitting up there and doing nothing?” “They need to get the old clouds out of the silo to get ready for a fresh shipment,” said Raindrops. “Rainbow Dash ordered too many.” “Figures,” said Trixie. “Who’d have thought she wouldn’t be paying attention.” Raindrops sighed. “It’s not really her fault. We got a bunch of clouds coming from the Everfree that regulations stated we had to collect and store, and the cloud order had already been placed. Couldn’t have seen that one coming.” Ditzy said nothing. She had slept badly. In her dreams, Dinky had wandered out of a big building and found herself in the jungle-like forest of Manehattan’s Central Park. She had wandered along, growing more and more frantic, but the prickly bushes and gnarled roots had given no response to her cries. Dinky had begun running, but hadn’t been able to get out of the woods, no matter which way she went or what she did. She had finally reached the central lake, but a monster within had surged up and grabbed her, dragging her into the depths. Ditzy could barely hear her squealing in fear and horror. And then she’d awoken. At least it’s Sparkler’s day to watch Dinky, Ditzy thought. I don’t know what I’d do if-- “... Ditzy? Equestria to Ditzy?” Lyra grinned. “You awake in there?” “Oh, yes...” Ditzy shook her head, as if to clear it. “Sorry. I had some bad dreams last night.” “Hmm.” Cheerilee tapped her muzzle. “Normal bad dreams, or evil-monster-messing-with-you bad dreams?” “... I’d guess the former.” Cheerilee nodded. “Well, if they keep up, or more of us get them, we should ask Luna to look into it. It could attack all of us if we aren't careful.” “Bah.” Trixie laughed. “Nopony would dare mess with my dreams. Entering the head of the Great and Powerful Trixie? I’d thrash them.” “Or frighten them,” commented Raindrops. “Yeah. I wouldn’t want to enter your head,” added Lyra. “Hey!” Ditzy laughed. “I don’t think it’s that serious. But thank you for the advice, Cheerilee.” Cheerilee nodded. “Oh -- Ditzy. Any decision on you-know-what?” The mailmare felt a cold sweat break out on the back of her neck. “Sharpwhinny, right?” she asked. “Not yet. Why?” Cheerilee blinked. “Er... curiosity, really. I just wanted to know if Dinky had decided whether or not to take the test yet.” “She hasn’t decided,” said Ditzy. It was true. “I want her to have time to make the decision... I don’t want to rush anything.” "Dinky qualified for Sharpwhinny?" asked Trixie. "Well, congrats!" The others chimed in congratulations as well. Ditzy smiled as best she could and said nothing in response. “Who else is eligible from Ponyville?” asked Raindrops. Cheerilee shook her head. “Sorry. I had to submit the names of the top students in my class, and I can’t tell ponies who’s on that list. If a foal or a parent wants to say they were on it, that’s different, but it can’t come from me. I take confidentiality about those things really seriously." Raindrops nodded. "Okay, no sweat." “Sharpwhinny Academy...?” Trixie whistled. “That’s a tough school to get into. I couldn’t even get into it.” “Did Twilight?” asked Lyra. “She could have. I think she went straight into Luna’s Academy, though.” The showmare shrugged. “Actually, a lot of students at the Academy spent some time at Sharpwhinny. It’s a great prep school.” “I heard that ponies who attend there can get jobs or careers in any field they want,” said Ditzy. “I mean, that’s probably an exaggeration...” “Oh, no. Seriously, it’s one of the best schools in the country. If Dinky can get in... well, she won’t be learning magic from me anymore, so that’s a downgrade, but in every other subject, she’ll be working with experts in the fields. It’d be fantastic for her.” “Of course,” said Lyra, “Dinky would have to go away. Are you able to let her go?” Ditzy paused. “I... I want what’s best for her,” she insisted. “If it’s better that she study, and learn, and become a great scholar, of course I couldn’t stand in her way. What kind of mother could?” She left the cafe soon afterwards and went home. Sparkler and Dinky arrived a few minutes later, and they had a dinner together. Ditzy thought of bringing up the letter then, but she decided it wasn’t the right time. Dinky had limited time with her half-sister, after all. She wouldn’t like wasting it on something that didn’t involve her at all. Sparkler left, but then Dinky was tired, and Ditzy put her to bed early. She cleaned up, made some tea, and sat on the sofa. She sat there for quite a long while. *** The next day, Ditzy’s dreams were bad, but she was getting used to that. She bid her daughter goodbye mechanically, and performed her postal duties in the same way. It was hard for her to think, somehow. All she could think of was the letter, and what it could mean for Dinky. It could mean her ascending to great heights, becoming a pillar of Equestrian society. Or it could mean her coming to some horrible end in a Manehattan ditch. She didn’t know which was more likely. All she knew was that, should her daughter pass the test and go to Sharpwhinny, she would be utterly powerless to influence it. The others, she could tell, knew something was up. Lyra had seemed puzzled by Ditzy’s reluctance to talk about the application; Ditzy gathered that Twist had been one of the other few foals that Cheerilee had recommended, and Bonbon was already working with Pinkie to throw her a party after taking the test. Snails was probably right out of the running, but Raindrops had also asked her why Dinky hadn’t talked to Cheerilee yet. “Cheerilee said there's nothing she can do to help the applicants prepare for the test,” Raindrops had said, “But Dinky’s usually more decisive than this. Is she stuck on whether or not she wants to leave home?” Ditzy had shrugged, said that she didn’t want to pressure her daughter, and made her getaway. By the time evening rolled around, Dinky could clearly tell that something was wrong with Ditzy. She’d looked sad too once she realized this. “Did I do something, Momma?” she had asked. “No!” Ditzy’s reply was automatic. “No, of course not! You are the best, most precious little Muffin I could ever have.” She had gathered her daughter into a big hug. “It’s... it’s Mommy stuff, dear. It has nothing to do with you.” “Can’t I help?” asked Dinky, with her big, sad eyes. “Even a little?” Ditzy hadn’t known what to say. She had cradled her daughter until the food was ready, and then they’d eaten, played a half-hearted game of cards, and gone to bed. The fourth day of the week was sunny again, but it didn’t cheer Ditzy up. She had tossed and turned all night, winding up in a tangle of covers and pillows that eventually flopped off the bed and rolled under the window. I can’t keep going like this, she thought. I have to... I have to tell Dinky. I have to. Only a horrible mother would keep this a secret. “Momma?” Ditzy crawled out of her blankets and made her way to the door. “Yes, Muffin?” she managed. Dinky was looking at her. “I think you’re unhappy,” she said. “Do you want me to get Miss Trixie or Miss Cheerilee?” Ditzy wondered if other mothers were so transparent to their children. “No... no, it’s okay. Come on, Dearie.” She took a deep breath. “I have something to tell you.” Dinky looked confused, but followed Ditzy to the kitchen table. Ditzy sat down and faced Dinky. As best she could, she fixed a smile on her face. “Dinky,” she said. “Do you know what the Sharpwhinny Academy is?” “It’s a really good school up in Manehattan,” said Dinky promptly. “Miss Twilight was telling us all about it the other day. She said that only the very best foals get to go there, but then they learn so much that they know almost everything!” She paused. “Why?” “Well... I got a letter in the mail.” Ditzy stretched her smile even wider. “They’re going to let you take a test to see if you can go! If you pass the test, you’ll get to go to Manehattan and study there!” Dinky was staring at Ditzy’s face, seeming perturbed by her weirdly forced smile. “Um... that’s good, right?” “Oh, of course -- if you want to do it, I’ll support you completely.” Ditzy’s face hurt. “If you attend, you’ll get to move all the way to Manehattan and you can stay with really smart ponies and you won’t have to come back here for three months at a time!” She paused. Where did that come from? No -- I can’t be trying to influence Dinky here. “I mean, you’ll get to stay there for as long as you want and study really hard!” Dinky still seemed puzzled. “Study really hard?” she repeated. “Well, yes, I’ve heard it’s a very difficult school, so you’ll probably need to study and work a lot harder than at home -- but if you want to do that, I’ll support you completely. Because you’re my little Muffin, and I want you to be happy. Even if I won’t see--” She cut herself off again. “I mean, even if you’re really far away.” “What’s Manehattan like?” asked Dinky. “Well, uh, I haven’t been there myself, but it’s got... you know. Buildings, and factories... ports... streets...” Ditzy tried to make herself mention things Dinky might like, such as museums and the big park and Coneigh Island, but the words wouldn’t come. Besides, everything she said was, technically, true. “Not a lot of trees on the streets though. It’s not like Ponyville, and it’s kind of gray, but the ponies there like it.” “Would I know anypony there?” “I don’t think so, but... but I’m sure you could make all new friends if you tried!” said Ditzy. Her mouth seemed to be completely disconnected from her mind at this point; it operated on its own. “And I’m sure you wouldn’t miss your friends in Ponyville too much if you only saw them every three months.” Dinky paused. “Um... Momma?” “Yes, Muffin?” “Do you not want me to go?” “It’s not about what I want!” Ditzy’s smile was stretching her face. “It’s about what you want. It’s your life, and you need to decide which choice works better for you. Whatever choice you make, I’ll support you every step of the way! If you want to leave your mother behind and go to a city miles and miles away -- that's fine with me! As long as it makes you happy.” Dinky sat silently for a few moments, looking at her mother. “Well?” asked Ditzy. “Um... I think I understand, Momma. I’ll decide today.” Dinky bowed her head. “Good. I love you, my Muffin.” Ditzy hugged Dinky very tightly. “Now, hurry on off to school! You’ve got a great big day ahead of you!” When Dinky was gone, Ditzy sat still for several more minutes, smiling at nothing. I told her. I was scrupulously honest. I did my duty as a mother. Now... now it’s up to Dinky. And, again, she almost believed it. *** The week ended, and the morning of the test was bright and sunny. Trixie yawned as she stumbled out of her residency. As a general rule, she did not like to get up early, but this was different. Cheerilee had somehow finangled her into talking with the Sharpwhinny applicant parents, and she had to be ready for them. Granted, it would probably be a lot of hero-worship, which was always nice, but it still required a good breakfast and a few other chores to be completed before the applicants arrived. Hence her early-morning walk through Ponyville's streets. "If it were up to me," she mused, "Representatives wouldn't need to do all this paperwork. They could be trusted to do things on their own. After all, haven't I shown what I can do?" She paused. "That one time I ordered forty thousand of the same form notwithstanding. Besides that, I'm awesome at my job. And--" "Hello, Trixie!" Trixie waved at Cheerilee. "Hi!" She galloped over. "Getting ready?" "Yes!" Cheerilee grinned. "I've got a great speech planned on educational policy. Did you know that some ponies are pushing for standardized tests in our province? But I'm ready for them. I have all the facts and statistics--" "I... think they want to know about our heroics, not our politics." Trixie chuckled. "Although, if I had to, I could give a great speech on why the Greatest and most Powerful of Representatives deserve to be ennobled and given a province to govern--" "Okay, we can cut the politics." "That's what I thought." As they walked, they had to stop to let several foals scamper across the path. Scootaloo was wheeling about on her scooter, with Sweetie Belle, Snips, and Snails trailing. A few moments later, Pipsqueak chased after them, and with him was a familiar purple-coated unicorn foal. "Dinky!" said Cheerilee. "All ready for that test?" Dinky skidded to a stop. "Test? Oh... right." She looked down. "I'm not taking it, Miss Cheerilee." The two adults looked at each other in shock. "That's... um. Not what I would have expected." Cheerilee knelt down. "Do you not want to move to Manehattan?" "No, I'd like to try that... and if I didn't like it I could just quit the school and come back here." "Are you worried you wouldn't be able to keep up?" "No, it's not that..." "Would you miss your mother?" Dinky was silent for several moments. "I don't think Momma wants me to go." Trixie blinked. "Uh, what?" "She doesn't want me to go. I can tell she's been really upset, and when she told me about it, she made it sound really bad." Dinky bit her lip. "Like it's just factories and ports and ugly stuff and there's no fun shops or trees or friendly ponies." She paused again. "I don't think that's really true; I think Momma's just upset about me going and doesn't want me to take the test. But Momma looked really, really, really upset, like she was afraid I'd go and leave her behind. And Momma says that what makes knights good ponies is that they do good for others without thinking of themselves. If I went away just 'cause I thought it'd be good for me, and I made Momma really upset, I'd be a bad pony." "But--" began Cheerilee. “And you always told me I’d do great no matter where I was, so I figured, if I can stay here and keep Momma happy, I can go somewhere else later.” Dinky smiled, but the mares could see the hurt in her eyes. “That’s okay, right? I’m doing the right thing, aren’t I?” Neither Trixie nor Cheerilee could find anything to say. "Right?" Trixie knelt with Cheerilee. "What do you want, kiddo? Do you want to take the test?" “I mean... I think it’d be fun to try, but I don’t want to hurt Momma. She’s a really good Momma! She’s always there for me and she loves me and she’s generous and kind and loving and the best mother ever! I don’t want to do something that makes her cry or miss me!” Her eyes began to water. "I really wanted to try for it, but I can't be a bad pony and make my Momma sad--" Cheerilee hugged Dinky tightly. “Dinky -- it’s okay. You’re not going to make your mother sad. I guarantee it.” “Are you sure?” "We're sure. In fact, we're going to make extra-sure." Cheerilee rose. "Where are you going, Dinky?" "Scootaloo said that she was digging for treasure in the mud patch on the east side of town..." "Alright. Miss Trixie and I are going to talk with your mother. Stay at the mud patch, okay? We might come looking for you. But right now, we need to handle things." Dinky cautiously nodded, and slowly, over a period of several seconds, she managed a faint smile. “I think I can do that,” she said. “I’ll let you handle things, Miss Cheerilee and Miss Trixie." The two adults smiled as Dinky hurried off after Pipsqueak and the others. Then they looked at each other. "Do you want to talk to her, or should I?" "Let me go first." Trixie sighed. "She's still shook up from the rain--" "I don't care. This is inexcusable." "And you're perfect?" Trixie frowned. "We'll talk to her. We'll fix this." "Fix it how?" Cheerilee gestured at the sky. "The test is so soon--" "Then we'll be fast." And with that, Trixie began to lead the way towards Ditzy's apartment.