"Now this," said Scootaloo, bending her muzzle down so she could flick her last marble, "Is going to be the greatest marble shot in Ponyville history! I'm gonna knock all ten of your marbles out of the circle!"
Dinky giggled. "But you haven't knocked even one of them out yet!"
"I was just lulling you into a false sense of security. And it worked!" Scootaloo grinned. "You feel secure! I can read it in your face!"
Dinky, for her part, considered her large pile of marbles, and Scootaloo's single remaining shooter. "Yes," she conceded. "I do."
A week had passed since the Sharpwhinny entrance exam. Dinky had been on pins and needles for a day or so, but her mother had persuaded her that being nervous wouldn't change the results, so she should do her best to relax. So she'd spent time with her friends, and gone to the park with her mother, and chased Angel Bunny around when Fluttershy had run into some difficulty getting him to take his medicine. It had been a good week.
"Dinky! My little muffin!"
Dinky turned to see her mother exiting the post office, with a mailmare's cap on her head, a fresh bag of mail at her side, and a big smile on her face. "Hi Momma! Did you have a good day so far?"
"Hey!" Scootaloo frowned. "I'm trying to concentrate!" She stuck out her tongue as she re-aimed her marble.
Ditzy nodded. "I'm having a wonderful day, dear." She smiled and looked down at the marbles. "That looks fun! Who's winning?"
"Me!" cheered Dinky, as Scootaloo fidgeted with her marble. "I've almost won!"
"Not yet, you haven't!" Scootaloo gave the marble a mighty flick of her muzzle. It bounced into the circle and hit one of the marbles there. Both rolled towards the edge of the circle... but stopped just short.
"My turn!" Dinky scampered over and prepared her own shooter. "Alright! I predict this marble knocks all the rest out!"
"I--" began Scootaloo.
"Miss Doo! Miss Doo!" Both foals and Ditzy turned to see Twist running up towards the group, dirt flying everywhere as she scurried towards the post office. Bonbon trotted after her at a more sedate pace, along with Sterling Silver and Silver Spoon. "Miss Doo!" cried Twist. "Did they really come today?"
"Did what?" asked Scootaloo.
"The Sharpwhinny admissions decisions," said Silver Spoon, a sour note in her voice. "The newspaper, like, said they were released yesterday and should have arrived today." She frowned. "They did arrive, right?"
Ditzy Doo smiled. "They might have--"
Dinky bounced up in the air like she'd been zapped by lightning, her marble falling from her mouth and bouncing away. (It did knock the other marbles out of the circle, to Scootaloo's consternation, but Dinky didn't even notice). "Ooh! Ooh! Momma, did the letter come? Can I see? Please please please?"
Ditzy giggled. "I'm not really supposed to go out of order on the rounds--"
All three foals crowded around her with pleading eyes, though Silver Spoon somehow managed to project a condescending air nonetheless. Ditzy grinned. "Well, if Postmaster Script is okay with it I might be able to make an exception..."
Silver Script stuck his head out of the post office. "Yeah, it's fine." He chuckled. "Foals these days. Always so impatient..."
Ditzy carefully opened her saddlebag and dug out the three letters. Dinky took hers as soon as her mother showed it to her and marveled at its thickness. Snails had told her before that thicker letters were better in these cases, because it took a lot more words to tell someone that they'd gotten in than it did to tell them to go away. She lifted it up with her telekinesis, carefully opened it, and read the first--
"WHAT?!" Silver Spoon's eyes blazed as she flung her letter down. "I didn't get in?! How could I not have gotten in?! This is unfair! This is rigged!"
Sterling blushed, looking embarrassed. "Ah... maybe we'd better head on home. Thank you for the letter, Miss Doo." And he began dragging his daughter home, even as she started ordering him to call the papers, the prosecutors, and the princess of Equestria. The foals could only watch as she was taken away.
"...um." Scootaloo blinked. "I guess it was harder than she thought."
"We should go too," said Bonbon. "Twist wanted to open this at home."
"Thank you, Miss Doo," said Twist, taking the letter and tucking it into her schoolbag. "Oh, I hope Dinky and I both get in. That would be so sweet!"
"Good luck!" said Dinky.
They left, and Dinky returned her focus to her own letter and began reading the first words: "Dear Miss Dinky Doo. We are sorry to inform you..." Her face fell, but she kept going. "...that you have not qualified for Sharpwhinny Academy..."
Ditzy was at her side in moments, gathering her daughter in a hug. "I'm sorry, dear."
Dinky sighed. "Aww, I really wanted to get in... but at least I tried." She recovered a bit of her cheer. "I'm really glad I tried. Even if I didn't get in."
"I'm glad you tried too."
The two embraced for a while before Scootaloo said, "Huh. That letter's really thick to tell you that you didn't get in. Were they just being wordy?"
Confused, Dinky picked the letter back up and kept reading. "Though your score did not qualify you to attend the Academy, please note that you still performed very well. We wish to foster the development of all foals with such potential, as do many affiliated universities, academies, zoos, and museums..." She trailed off. "This goes on for a while."
Ditzy smiled and took the letter. "Let's see... oh! Oh, this is interesting..."
"What is it?" asked Dinky, with Scootaloo echoing a moment later.
"Well, even though you didn't qualify, you still performed very well. Well enough that some of the museums and other places affiliated with Sharpwhinny still want to help you grow into the best, smartest little pony you can be." Ditzy began to quote from the letter. "Of those who took the test but did not qualify for Sharpwhinny, 1,000 foals will be designated as Official Runners-Up. Such foals are entitled to discounts at participating museums, zoos, and other academic institutions throughout Equestria, as well as special programs the museums only offer to a few visitors at a time." Ditzy turned the page. "Most of the rest of this is listing the special programs. For example, the Canterlot Gem Museum lets Official Runners-Up watch actual gem polishings, and also lets them see some of the gems that aren't currently on public display. The Equestrian History Museum does special lectures with its field archeologists for the Runners-Up..."
"That sounds boring," said Scootaloo. "Uh... I mean, sorry Miss Doo. But Dinky, that sounds--"
Ditzy chuckled. "Oh, and the Trottingham Museum of Vehicular Transport lets Official Runners-Up try out some of their vehicles -- under close supervision, of course. Including a replica of what is thought to be the very first scooter!"
Scootaloo's mouth dropped. "Lucky!"
Dinky was smiling from ear to ear. "That sounds really fun! So the next time we're in another city, I can see a really fun museum and some special exhibits?"
"Yes!" Ditzy grinned. "Congratulations, my little muffin. This is a big honor."
Dinky hugged her mother tightly. "Thank you for letting me take the test, Momma. I love you."
"I love you too, dear."
***
"So in the end, nopony around here's gong to Sharpwhinny this year." Cheerilee sighed as she drank her glass of wine. "Oh well."
"Well, it's not all bad." Trixie took a swig of her bourbon. "I mean, if they went there, they wouldn't be here, and they couldn't learn from the greatest teacher of all. The Great and Powerful--"
Cheerilee raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, uh, the Brilliant and... Teacheriffic Cheerilee. That'd be a shame."
Ditzy chuckled as she drank her daffodil wine. "I'm proud of Dinky anyways. That Runners-Up thing looks like it will be a lot of fun."
"Tell me when you start going to the museums. I can help you pick out the best ones." Cheerilee smiled at a memory. "I mean, some of them sound good, but you sneak in a few minutes after closing and you find the curator licking salt in the break room and using a priceless Cavallian teaspoon to..." She trailed off as she noticed her friends looking at her. "What? I had an interesting life before I settled down."
Ditzy finished her drink. "Thank you again," she said. "For helping me. I was--"
"Don't worry about it," said Trixie, immediately. "We're friends. We help each other. You made the right call in the end, and that's all that matters."
Ditzy nodded slowly. "I'm still worried about Dinky," she said. "But I... if I forced her to live her life safely, just to please me, I'd be trading possible bad consequences for certain ones. Dinky's a great pony. She's going to grow up to do truly amazing things. And it's my job to support her and help her, not hold her back." She frowned. "I just hope I don't mess up again..."
"You're a good Mom," said Trixie. "You're the best one I've ever known. You'll do fine."
"And we'll be there to help you if you need it." Cheerilee draped a foreleg over Ditzy's shoulder. "What're friends for?"
Ditzy grinned. "Yeah... I guess you're right. I have the best friends in the world. And I can count on you." She smiled. "You're wonderful..."
"Aw, stop, you're making me all mushy." Trixie laughed and waved to Berry Punch. "Another round!"
"Actually, I need to go home. Sparkler's almost done with Dinky by now, and we've got some mother-daughter bonding to take care of." Ditzy rose. "See you tomorrow."
"Going to start looking at the museums?" asked Cheerilee, as Ditzy took out a few bits for her drinks.
"Not exactly..."
***
Ditzy walked in her front door to find Dinky standing there with a chef's hat that almost covered her entire head. "Hi Momma! Let's bake!"
The mailmare grinned and shut the door, then moved over to the counter and took down flour, salt, sugar, and a few other baking ingredients. "Of course," she said. "Now, I suppose we could just go to the Equestrian Baking Institute and try some of their food..."
"But ours will be better!" chirped Dinky, with the certainty of a foal who believed in her mother.
Ditzy smiled and helped Dinky onto the counter so she could reach the ingredients. "Of course they will. Now -- do you want to pour the flour?"
Dinky agreed, and in the end, she was right.
The muffins were absolutely delicious.