A dull thud was heard within Dinky Doo’s quaint room as the fifth book of the Moonflower series collided with the top of the fourth upon her nightstand. She sighed, the last line of the story still running through her mind.
And they both lived happily ever after.
Dinky sniffed as small tears formed around her eyes. Memories of all the highlights of the story started to come back to her: The hero’s first adventure, the reunion between with his childhood friend, the attack at the capital city, meeting the high king for the first time, training with the best knights that ever existed, falling in love with the flower mare, and defeating the evil overlord.
The filly slid off her bed and glanced at the nearby bookshelf. Her smile faded as her eyes scanned over the barren shelves. Dinky sighed and rambled to the end of the bed, looking over the toy box placed there. Opening the chest, colorful blocks and figurines rolled out. She constructed a pyramid from the colorful building blocks. She grabbed a nearby yellow pegasus, and made the tiny mare climb to the summit. Her head drooped low as she grumbled. The blocks exploded as she kicked the building down. Turning to the closet, she dug around inside, tossing about various articles of clothing and the odd toy in search of something, anything, that would keep her occupied.
Dinky sat down in front of her door, twiddling her hooves. Her eyes traced the floor boards, following the patterns in the wood. She breathed in deeply, her cheeks puffing out, and focused on the coo-coo clock on the wall. The minute hand moved a tick before the young girl gasped for air. Finally, she sat up, and walked out the door, down the stairs, and into the sitting room. A blonde-maned pegasus was sitting in a chair putting letters on a coffee table into different piles.
The mare turned her head towards Dinky, one of her eyes focusing on the filly whereas the other settled upon the rafters.
“What’s the matter, Muffin?” she asked, setting down the stack of letters.
“Momma, I’m bored.” Dinky sighed, sitting across from her mother at the table.
“Well, maybe you just need something to do. When my momma saw I was bored, she thought up things for me to do.” Ditzy rubbed her chin with her hoof.
“Like what?” Dinky tilted her head to the side.
“Hmmm...” Ditzy said, closing her eyes and thinking for a brief moment, “Oh! Chores! You could do some chores for me! Let’s see... your library books were due a week ago...” She scanned the ceiling and the floor at the same time. Her eyebrows furrowed as she ‘hrmm-ed.’
“...and I also ordered some muffins at Sugarcube Corner. It’s a shame they don’t deliver anymore,” Ditzy stated while frowning heavily.
“But Mommaaaaa, chores aren't fun!” Dinky pouted.
“It’s not so bad, Muffin. You’ll get to see Pinkie Pie! You know she’s never boring!” Ditzy said, floating over to her and wrapping a leg around the filly. Dinky dug at the floor a little and sighed.
“Okaaaay,” she moaned, dragging her hooves towards the front door.
“Be safe, Muffin!” her mother called as she walked out the door.
Dinky muttered hatefully about her situation. It was a twenty minute trot to Ponyville from her house, twenty five to Sugarcube Corner, and thirty minutes to the library. She knew because she counted two steps a second, which made one hundred and twenty steps per minute, and one thousand and eighty steps per half an hour. If anything, she knew her numbers.
Townsfolk were walking in every direction, going about their business. Dinky turned left at the first corner into the town limits. The branches of the tree-turned-library came into view. The usually green leaves were shriveled and brown. Small specks of a modified sprinkler system dotted every other branch. A fan was stuck out of the second story window. Dinky pushed open the door only to be greeted by a hot wave of air.
Dinky stepped inside, the heat only intensifying. As she did so, she saw a purple dragon lying on the floor nearby in front of a fan. Steam wafted from the tiny reptile as she approached. She cleared her throat, and poked him in the side. He shot to his feet, a claw at his forehead in some sort of salute.
“Welcome to the Books and Branches Library, how can I help you today?” Spike announced almost robotically. “Oh. Hey, Dinky,” the dragon spoke amiably as he noticed the small filly, relaxing his posture and losing the official tone of voice.
“Hi, Spike. Do you know where Twilight is? I have some overdue books.” Dinky patted her saddlebags with a hoof.
“She’s upstairs working on something about the heat, but I can take care of the books for you. I am her number one assistant, after all,” Spike replied, putting his claws on his hips and puffing out his chest slightly. “C’mon, the logbook is right over here,” he said, leading her to a rather large book in the corner of the room which was sitting on a low pedestal.
“Let’s see... your mom checked those out, right? Hmm... aha! Doo, Ditzy. Oh, ‘The Moonflower’, parts one through five. That was two weeks ago. Alright... overdue charge is...” Spike paused, his eyes rolled up into his head and his clawed finger made pencil like movements in the air. “Three bits!” He smiled, turning to Dinky.
Dinky nodded, and turned to open her saddlebag. Dinky’s eyes closed shut. Muscles flexed in her face, outlined in shadow by a purple glow emanating from her horn. Slowly but surely, the books and bits floated out of her bag and onto the desk next to the logbook. She beamed after the act was finished.
“Wow, Dinky, have you been practicing? Last time you could only lift the bits,” Spike noted, gathering up the items in his scaled arms.
“When I can...” Dinky answered, blushing slightly.
“Well good job!” Spike praised, placing the books on the shelf.
“Yeah... oh! Do you have any new books?” Dinky asked, hoping for a boredom curing tale that would last her a week.
“Yeah, a new shipment from Canterlot arrived just yesterday. Let me see... I’ve got some cooking books, a new animal reference guide for Fluttershy, the latest version of Dungeons and Demons... and that’s about it,” Spike said while looking through a small cardboard box.
“Dungeons and Demons? What’s that?” Dinky inquired, her head cocked to the side.
“It’s a roleplaying game,” Spike replied, pulling out the thick tome. The cover art depicted knightly ponies facing off with a huge fiery beast on top of a narrow bridge above a chasm. Dinky took ahold of it and began flipping through the pages. Pictures illustrated countless heroes and creatures, each unique and distinct from its predecessor. From a simple soldier to a powerful magician, the images seemed to leap straight from the page. Her eyes darted up and down lists upon lists of magical items, weapons and barding... and magic spells that she bet even Twilight couldn’t cast. Flipping back to the beginning, her eyes met a tab listing things needed to play and frowned.
“You need this, a Dungeon Master’s Guide and a Bestiary for all the players? Plus all those dice?” Dinky asked.
“From what I heard, you can get by with only one pony with the Dungeon Master’s Guide and the Bestiary, but you still need this book and the dice.”
“Do you know anypony who plays this in town?” Dinky asked.
“Not really, every time we get one of these, the ‘Name’ field is always an ‘X’ instead. That and it’s fairly new outside of Canterlot,” Spike admitted. Suddenly, a huge bang resounded throughout the library. A couple of chunks of ice and snow began tumbling down the stairs. As the deluge continued, it was followed by a cool breeze.
“I’m OK!” Twilight’s voice echoed in the library. A pregnant pause filled the air.
“I hear it is fun once you get started,” Spike mentioned.
“Yeah, but I don't think just sitting around in one room with five other ponies is very fun. I think I’ll pass. Thanks anyway, Spike,” Dinky said, passing him the rulebook. She slowly turned toward the door.
“Well, are you sure there’s nothing else you wanted to read?”
Dinky gazed around the library shelves, lazily drifting from one title to another. “I think I’ve been through every book I like in here, Spike. If there’s nothing new, then I doubt there’s a book in here that’s up my alley.”
“OK... well, maybe Twilight could find something for you... just have to wait for her to finish that air conditioning spell. Hope she hurries up, it’s getting unbearable in here,” Spike said, fanning himself with a claw.
Another large bang erupted from upstairs. Large thuds emanated from the stairs as a huge cube of ice slid to the floor, with Twilight encased up to her neck within it.
“Spike, get a chisel,” she ordered nonchalantly. Dinky slowly backed up from the two, making her way towards the door. She sighed, closed her eyes and opened the door.
-----------------------------------
The door to the arcane tower swung inward as the young adventurer passed through. The dragon assistant waved a farewell as books flapped around like birds, sorting themselves by subject and title.
Ignoring the shouts and bargaining attempts of the merchants around her, the adventurer trotted out into the marketplace .There was little she required here; her destination was elsewhere. She sighed as she thought of the precious tomes she’d been unable to find.
“Ugh... now what?” Dinky muttered to herself. Many of the books her reading level had been put in her finished ‘pile’, and she’d been hoping that a new book or two would have been able to pique her imagination. A bookless bag and a bored mind followed her on the way to Sugarcube Corner.
Her mind wandered back to the Dungeons and Demons book. ‘That looked like a fun game... but it would take ages to set up! And all those rules!’ Dinky thought and frowned. ‘It was probably a grown up’s book anyway. Only old people put limits on what you can do in fantasy. No fun at all.’ She ranted in her head. ‘Why couldn’t you dream something up and just live it? Why did you have to roll dice or check a book to see if you were able to do something?’
An idea flickered in her mind.
She was Dinky - some might think of her as a mere unicorn filly, but no! She was an apprentice mage, student and daughter of the mysterious seer, Ditzy Doo!
A smile spread across her face as she began to truly let her imagination run wild, changing the plain scenery that surrounded her.
Her eyes cast about the town of Ponyville: a safe haven surrounded by plains and rolling hills that were filled with all kinds of monsters and evil creatures. It was here she would find the greatest magical catalyst known to ponykind, as she had been tasked by her mother: muffins! It was a dangerous endeavor, but Dinky was just the sort of adventurer for the job!
The young mage reached the highly-decorated building she was looking for: Sugarcube Corner. The pink bak-- uh, the item shop was bustling with ponies, all looking to buy and sell their goods. Some came away with bottles of cherry... cherry... healing potions, while others restored their mana power with mugs of potion that looked suspiciously like grape juice.
As she looked about, she was suddenly accosted by a terrible beast! It towered over her, poised in a threatening stance, its horns only making it appear taller than it actually was.
“Stand your ground or I will pound!” the monster threatened.
Dinky gasped, her eyes shrinking to the tiniest of slits. Who was this evil being to stand between her and the muffins her mother required?
“Stand aside, you foul ruffian!” she challenged it.
“Wait in line, or pay your fine!” It retorted. Dinky growled and stomped her hoof. No one talked to her like that!
“I gave you a chance!” she said. “Now feel my wrath!” Her horn glowed as she attacked the monster.
“Oh my goodness!” Dinky blinked as Mrs. Cake rushed forward and hugged her. Behind the portly mare, a cardboard cutout of Iron Will gently smoldered, the tip of one of its horns ignited by a spark from the young unicorn’s horn. Rhyming retorts continued to pour out of the enchanted voice box. “Are you alright, Dinky?”
“I’m fine, Mrs. Cake!” Dinky said brightly.
“I knew we shouldn’t have put that there... Mr. Will really isn’t the most foal-friendly individual out there.” Mrs. Cake frowned at the cutout, which her husband was currently trying to extinguish. “Although, please try not to set fire to anything else if it startles you, okay, dearie?”
“Sure thing!” she replied. The young mage cursed at her ineptitude; it had only been an illusion! She’d cast a Flare spell for nothing!
“Now, I know a hungry filly when I see one,” the mare smiled. “What were you here for?”
“Well I was on a ques -- uh, I was sent here to pick up the muffins Momma ordered.” Dinky replied, nodding. The foul sorcerer must have been about here somewhere. Dinky resolved herself, but the task at hand was more important than an evil trickster.
“Oh right, Pinkie just put them on the cooling rack. They should be ready now.” The older mare ushered the filly indoors.
Three balloons flew past the foal’s face as she entered. The pink pony dashed from table to table, filling orders and humming a nameless tune.
“HEY! Dinky, you're here to pick up your mom’s order? That's new, you usually don’t do that... in fact, I think this is the first time you’ve picked up an order from us,” The pink party pony gasped loudly. “You know what this calls for?!” Pinkie rambled on excitedly. Dinky winced inwardly.
“A PARTY!” She pulled a disco ball from the ceiling tiles. Streamers fell nearly everywhere save for the pastries. A banner rolled down from the same ceiling tiles stating ‘Dinky’s First Order Pick-up Party’.
“Pinkie, are you sure now is a great time...?” Mrs. Cake asked, glancing at the other customers.
“It’s your first order, hurray, hurray!” The pink pony began to sing.
“Pinkie...” Mr. Cake raised a hoof to cover his face.
“And it’s happening today, today!”
“Pinkie!”
“Congrats on this new foray, foray!”
“PINKIE!”
“Huh?”
“The order...”
“OH! Right right right. Here you are. Two assorted baker’s dozen of muffins!” The party planner hastily said, putting the muffins in a picnic basket. She then put a slice of pie on top of the basket.
“Cherry! My favorite!” Dinky exclaimed, biting a chunk out almost immediately.
“So, why did you set the cutout on fire, Dinky?” Pinkie asked.
“It attukd mah!” Dinky answered, her mouth still full of the cherry flavored treat.
“What a meanie! Why’d he do that?”
“He was a troll and I had to fight him to get the muffins. I’m a wizard, you know.” Dinky puffed out her chest.
“Oh oh oh! Can I be a wizard too?” Pinkie asked, bouncing up and down behind the counter in excitement. “No no, wait. I want to be a warrior!” She then pulled a horned helmet and a battle axe out from under the counter.
Dinky’s eyes went wide at the sight of the battle axe. ‘How did Pinkie do that?’
“I have that stuff stashed all over Ponyville, in case of a warrior emergency,” Pinkie stated with a grin. Dinky’s head tilted to the side.
“Pinkie, do you know where a wizard could get some help? I’m supposed to gather... loot, I think it’s called.” The filly took another bite of the pie as the perky pink pony beamed at her.
“Oh, I can do that! Whenever you find anything on your adventures, you can bring it to me and I can get you something for it!” Pinkie replied, nodding furiously. Dinky beamed and picked up the picnic basket.
“I better get this to Momma, she gets a bit antsy without her fix,” Dinky excused herself.
“See you later!” Pinkie bounced up and down, waving all the while. Dinky waved back, and started trotting towards the door. The cutout of Iron Will stared at Dinky with its unmoving eyes.
“This isn’t over, little filly.” It drew its thumb across the nape of its neck. Dinky’s eyes furrowed at the threat.
“Next time, there won't be a next time,” she fired back. The local authorities put themselves in between the two, discouraging either of them from further violating the law with a brawl in the streets. Dinky, not wanting to stoop to becoming criminal scum, left the scene.
The homes and businesses of Ponyville petered out of view as Dinky headed down the long road. Finally, an abrupt end of the line of buildings appeared as she continued to follow the road to her home.
The grass blew in waves as the wind caressed the rolling hills. The beaten dirt road wound through the hills, taking the path of least resistance. Birds fluttered overhead, while the butterflies danced about the flowers along the pathways. A thatched roof poked over the horizon. Dinky’s home was in sight.
The simple roof belied the magnificence of the seer’s abode. A vast garden of glowing herbs and plants sprouted from the earth. A scarecrow would occasionally move to chase off a wayward bird.
The bifurcated door parted as Dinky approached. Several multi-colored bubbles drifted from the portal. Charms, trinkets and talismans littered the shelves and available tables. A hooded and cloaked figure stood in the kitchen.
“Bubble bubble, toil and trouble... what was the rest of that? Something about magic being born in the kitchen.” The mare stirred the contents of her cauldron.
“Oh great seer, I have completed your task.” The mageling bowed.
“What?”
“Sorry momma, I’m playing pretend. I meant I got the muffins like you ask--” A grey blur sped across Dinky’s saddle bags, which suddenly became light. The muffin basket was in Ditzy’s possession. Two muffins disappeared into her mouth, one in each cheek, making her look like a chipmunk getting ready to hibernate.
“Momma, you should really eat one at a time. At least take the wrappers off.” Dinky winced.
“Mughin, I aghedy knogh howh tou...” She swallowed the muffins with a loud gulp. “Eat my muffins. Did you have fun?” The filly’s mother asked, smiling cheerfully. Dinky grinned and nodded her head.
“I did on the way back! Can I go play outside? Pretty please?” Dinky asked, emphasized with a hop.
“Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes. Be back by then, okay?” Ditzy advised her.
“Okay!” Dinky started towards the door, but then rushed into her room upstairs.
Her chamber was simply adorned: comfy, warm bed sheets were laid on her cushy bed and a poorly locked chest was located at the foot of the bed. She looked at her enchanted cape, which lay discarded on the floor. With a quick whip, she shook the dust from it and equipped it. Her matching wizard’s cap lay on her dresser. Slipping it on, she felt well defended against the world.
She stopped herself. Spells, while powerful, may fail her. She needed a weapon. Proceeding down the hall, she opened the door to her family’s humble armory. A stave, inscribed with a simple magic circle at the head. Look out, world; Dinky, Magician Extraordinaire is upon you.
The sound of a little filly faceplanting into the ground could be heard in the whole house.
“I told you not to run in the house or you’d trip,” Ditzy scolded playfully. The broomstick clattered onto the floor next to Dinky’s nightcap. Her cape fashioned from her Train Town Towel had caught her hoof and caused her to fall. The little unicorn stood up and dusted herself off.
The backyard, now the ‘training ground’, was our heroine’s next destination. Equipment was scattered about from failed attempts of finding her adventurer’s talents. One of her mother’s animated scarecrows stood still in the center equipped with shoddy wooden armor and a switch for a sword.
She levitated her staff and readied herself in a fighting stance. Her horn lit up in a light purple glow. A blinding flash of light burst forth. Nothing happened. The spell fell apart in sparks and fizzy pops. Her mana was depleted and the scarecrow was unharmed.
Her foe stood unafraid and made no move to strike the filly. Dinky felt taunted by the scarecrow’s motionless behavior. Our heroine decided to try and cast her spell again, which unsurprisingly, had the same result.
Again, the silent assailant remained still, the only part of him moving were a few bits of his clothes every time the wind blew. Without any more mana, and two failed spells, Dinky came to the conclusion that maybe a change of strategy would be clever. She felt the weight of the family staff in her magical grasp and thought that it would be heavy enough to cause some damage. She swung her staff multiple times at the scarecrow, happy with each hit that connected.
“This is what you get for messing with the great heroine, Dinky Doo!” The scarecrow moved a bit with every hit, but no real damage was done. After a while Dinky stopped swinging her staff, but her enemy still stood in front of her, impassive and unfazed.
“You’re supposed to be fainted on the floor now!” Dinky told the scarecrow. But he remained silent. Dinky took his silence as a taunt, a way of saying ‘You’re not worth my time’ and she went into a berserker state. “You big meanie, I’m going to teach you some manners!”
With those words, Dinky swung her staff one more time, but in her rage she did it harder than before. With a loud thump the scarecrow bent backwards, finally reacting to a hit from our small heroine.
“Hah! That’ll teach you.” Dinky was proud of herself for defeating the scarecrow, but the fight was not over yet. What the little adventurer didn’t know was that the scarecrow had decided to return her attack. He bent towards the small filly and smacked her hard in the head, then returned to his usual position.
The scarecrow’s counter attack sent Dinky reeling. Struggling to keep her balance, she braced herself on a nearby fence post. She attempted to face the foe, but it seemed that the wooden sentinel outclassed her. The magic had failed, and then her staff had only brought retribution.
Dinky steeled herself for another attack, unsure of the outcome but determined to emerge the victor. Raising her staff, she rushed the scarecrow, shouting out her best war cry.
“Muffin! Dinner’s ready!”
Her mother’s call broke Dinky’s concentration, causing her to trip over her own hooves.
Her mentor’s voice reached out to her, telling her that she must save her efforts on this foe for another time. There was much else to do, and the hero’s skills were required elsewhere. She pulled up short from the stoic enemy, dusting herself off.
“You got lucky. This time,” Dinky threatened her foe.
The young filly pranced inside, humming a tune as she made her way to the dinner table. One pony was sitting at the table already, a unicorn with a pink coat and a purple mane with violet highlights. Her three diamond cutie mark became visible as she shifted in her chair. Half buried in a mountain of school books. The older unicorn gnawed on a particularly tough loaf of bread as she flipped through her textbook. Dinky reared up behind the purple mare. Over her shoulder the little filly could see the book her sister was reading, a giant wall of text filled the page she was on.
“Hey!” Dinky shouted suddenly. The purple mare lurched upward. She started coughing and chugging down a glass of water.
“Geeze, Munchkin, you nearly killed me there.” The mare gasped for air.
“Silly Sparkler, that’s not how you say Muffin!” Dinky poked her sister in the side.
“Oh yeah? How do you say my real name?” she shot back.
“Star! Easy!” Dinky answered.
“And the first part is?” Star asked, rotating her hoof.
“Mentest… Ammemutet umm Amenithest… shut up!” Dinky shouted. Star giggled at her little sister. Ditzy, who was across the table, narrowed her eyes in their general direction. The elder sister rolled her eyes. Dinky harrumphed and moved on to open seat at the table.
Dinky’s plate was at the end of the table with a step stool chair. Garlic mixed in with parmesan cheese melted over lasagna. On a second plate there were three fried hay bacon strips. Dinky began licking her lips at the delicious feast before her. She picked up her spork and immediately, yet messily, started digging in.
“Now Dinky, what are you supposed to say before you eat food given to you?” Ditzy chided her daughter. Dinky stopped with a glob of pasta hanging from her mouth. Slurping it in, she looked up at her mother.
“Ruba dub dub! Thanks for the grub!” She sing-songed, beaming at her mother.
“Close enough.” Ditzy smiled, giggling.
Dinky’s mentor provided her with the nourishment she needed to recover from the mighty battles she had been pitted in. Though she may have come away from it beaten, she was not broken. Her indomitable will pushing her towards future victory against the forces of evil. The events of the day had tired our heroine and so she decided to retreat to her quarters for the day.
A good night’s sleep was sure to help her regain her strength so that she could finally defeat the wooden enemy waiting outside. The unmoving face seemed to smirk at her through the windows of her mentor’s fortress as she walked through the vast halls towards the stairs leading to her dwelling.
Once in her room, Dinky took some time to admire it. It wasn’t much of a room, more like a small loft. The house itself didn’t look very special to an outsider, but appearances are often deceptive. It was bigger on the inside than it looked from the outside. This was one of the many spells Dinky never really understood.
Dinky took off her cape and wizard’s hat and hung them in the closet, and then she cautiously placed the staff in a glass display case. For safe keeping.
Lying on her bed, Dinky thought about her day. Recounting the battle with the troll made her legs start wiggling. She reached for her nightstand, finding it bare. No novel lay ready to read her to sleep. The corners of her mouth rose. She made up her own story on the go today, she could do the same tonight. She fell asleep, already planning new adventures for the next day.