After the cake and other food came the dancing. The floor was cleared and Vinyl Scratch began to play music by various ponies that Ditzy had never heard of. At first the colts and fillies seemed to almost be almost magnetically attracted to the opposite sides of the dance floor, apparently unwilling to enter the no pony land between them, until finally the birthday filly managed to cross the divide and began to dance with Pip. Slowly the segregation broke down and the two groups started to intermingle, bouncing around on the dance floor. This, and three helpings of cake, turned out to be a bit much for Truffle Shuffle, and he had to rush from the room, returning a little later with his normally grey coat looking a little green. He had to sit quietly with his father for a bit while his stomach calmed down. Still, most of the foals seemed to be enjoying themselves.
“Dawww!” moaned Raindrops from next to Ditzy, resting her head on her hooves. Most of the element bearers were sitting around the remains of the cake, chatting with each other while the foals hopped around. “They make such a cute couple.” She nodded towards Dinky, who was just helping Pip to his hooves after the colt had been a bit too enthusiastic at his dancing.
Dinky gave her companion a glare. She knew her daughter was friends with the spotted colt, but they were still just foals; it wasn’t like they were going to get married tomorrow or anything. First Trixie and now Raindrops. Everypony was being ridiculous about this. “Raindrops, they’re both far too young to be thinking of each other like that.”
“I don’t know,” said Cheerilee. “You know, Sweetie Belle had that crush on me for a bit, and some of my other students act a little strangely around each other. Oh, it doesn’t mean much, but it is cute. Besides, I think I was about Dinky’s age when I had my first kiss. You know, I think it was even at my cute-ceañera party.” She nodded over at Big Mac, who was leaning against the opposite wall, watching his sister. “Of course, afterwards we both ran away giggling.” She smiled at the recollection.
Ditzy’s eyes crossed even more than normal. She couldn’t imagine the large red stallion giggling. She tried to stop imagining her daughter kissing a colt as well.
“This is the age that foals start to bond in that way, you know,” continued Cheerilee, starting to lecture. “Most of the relationships don’t last, but they start getting crushes, and it’ll only be a few more years before it gets to be a little more. I’m not looking forward to having to teach them about that sort of thing. It didn’t go so well when I tried it with Trixie.”
Ditzy’s ears drooped. The teacher was right, her daughter was going to start noticing colts or fillies soon enough, and everypony knew what that lead to...
“Are you alright?” asked Ditzy as her daughter staggered into her house.
“He... he...” stuttered Dinky before tears started to stream down her face. She ran forwards and buried her face into her mother’s mane. Ditzy wrapped her wings around her daughter as best she could; as an adult Dinky was slightly larger than her mother.
“What's wrong?” asked Ditzy quietly, gently rubbing her daughter’s back.
“I wanted to see him,” she sobbed. “He’d been so busy recently and I wanted it to be a surprise. I... I saw him, he and Sweetie Bell, they were...” She broke back down into a further river of tears.
A lance of rage pierced Ditzy’s soul at her daughter’s announcement. She’d kill him! How dare he do this to her daughter! “I’m sorry, I’m so very sorry,” she mumbled, still holding her daughter tightly and wishing there was something she could say that would make it alright.
“I love him!” cried Dinky. “I love him so much! And he... it hurts so bad!”
“I know it hurts, Muffin,” said Ditzy, gently rocking her daughter. “But he isn’t worth it. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but you’ll find somepony else. I’ll be here for you.”
“I don’t want anypony else,” yelled Dinky, weakly lashing out at her mother, her hooves gently bouncing off the pegasus’s side. “I want him! What did I do wrong? How can I change?”
“No!” cried Ditzy angrily, clutching her daughter by her shoulders and staring into her eyes. “This is not your fault! This is all him. You’ve done nothing wrong. Never say that!”
Sobbing, Dinky fell forwards into her mother’s arms again, as Ditzy gently ran her hooves through her daughter’s mane.
No! She couldn't let her daughter go through that sort of pain, she’d stop... she’d stop what? Stop her daughter ever falling in love? Stop her ever being happy, just because she might be sad later? If she was going to be sad later, then she should at least get to be happy now.
Ditzy sighed. She was just being silly now. Dinky was only a foal and Pip seemed a nice enough colt; what would come in the future would come in the future, and she’d be there for her daughter if she needed her. If.
“Are you alright?” asked Cheerilee. “You seem a bit down.”
“I’m fine, it’s just that Dinky’s birthday has me a little blue. She seems so grown up sometimes but I just want her to be my little filly again, so I can protect her from everything. I know it’s silly, but I don’t want her to change.”
“You’re not being silly,” said Cheerilee, giving Ditzy a hug. “My first class graduated this summer, and, well, I sort of miss them.” Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “But I did my best for them and I’ve got to let them move on, to grow up by themselves. It’ll happen to all the foals, eventually.” She sighed and glanced at the dance floor where Pinkie was now setting up party games. She hung a large ponyata from the ceiling and had passed Dinky an almost comically large padded bat that the filly struggled to hold.
“Yeah,” mumbled Raindrops. “Snails is growing up too, and sometimes I miss when he was a little foal.”
“Sometimes I think she doesn’t really need me anymore,” said Ditzy. “She’s so good with her magic, she can make her own breakfast, go to and from school without me, and she’s got so many friends. Why does she need me?”
“Oh come on!” said Trixie. “You’re her mother! She’s always going to need you, she’ll... she’ll miss you when you’re not there.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Am I being too clingy, or am I forcing her to grow up to fast? I wish I was better at this.”
“Better!” exclaimed Raindrops. “You’re the second best mother I know. Dinky loves you and you love her. You need to stop worrying. She’s happy and healthy, she couldn’t have a better role model that you.”
Oh, thought Ditzy, if only that were true...
“Mom, I’ve got something to tell you,” announced Dinky nervously.
Ditzy looked up at her. She’d known something was wrong with her daughter all day. The filly - no, mare now, she supposed, although she’d always be her filly - had been quiet all night and had been pacing backwards and forwards, every so often stopping and almost saying something before starting the pacing again. It looked like she had finally worked up the nerve to say what was on her mind.
“I need to tell you something, and it’s sort of good and sort of bad but I need you to stay calm and listen to me.”
Ditzy nodded. This didn’t sound good, but she trusted her daughter. “Ok, tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Well, you know I’ve been hanging out with my friends in the evening for the last few months? Well I haven't, not all the time, I’ve been...” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I’ve been with Mr Silver.”
Mr Silver? Sterling Silver? thought Ditzy. What had she... what did she mean with... oh, no, not like this, not like mother, like daughter.
“He... he was fun and kind and... and I think I might be a little bit pregnant. I went to talk to him about the foal and Wandering Star was there and... and he doesn’t want anything to do with me.” Dinky blinked away the moisture beginning to form in her eyes. “And things are going to be alright, right? You did ok with me, right?” she begged.
No! Dinky was smart, so much smarter than she had been, thought Ditzy. She was never going to make the same mistakes as she had. She wasn’t being fair on her daughter, thinking of all the bad things that could happen; she was just being greedy. She had to let her daughter grow by herself, had to let her go and live her own life. No matter how hard it was, she had to learn to step aside. Hadn’t she learnt that when Dinky had a chance to go to Harshwinny’s?
Trying to put aside her worries, Ditzy turned to Carrot Top. “Are you all packed for the trip tomorrow?” she asked.
“Yep, and I’ve asked a few of the union farmers to keep an eye on my land. The last crop is in for this year, so there’s not much to do now. Thanks for inviting me along, I’ve been meaning to visit home for ages. I finally got the free time.”
“That’s ok, it’ll be nice to...”
“MOMMA!” came a sudden shriek from across the room. Dinky! Before she was even consciously aware of what was happening, Ditzy was in the air and halfway to the sound, her blood almost frozen in her veins. There lay Dinky, bawling her eyes out and clutching her head. Quick as she could, Ditzy grasped her child in her forelegs and drew her into a hug, whispering quiet reassurances.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” cried Sweetie Belle, looking almost as upset as Dinky, tears running from her eyes. “I was trying to hit the ponyata! I really was! My aura slipped and I hit Dinky on the horn! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do it!” she sobbed.
Ignoring the white unicorn for a moment, her heart beating a mile a minute, Ditzy examined her own child. She was still crying softly and had her face buried in her mother’s mane. Ditzy peeled back her daughter’s hair as gently as she could and carefully examined her horn. She almost collapsed from relief; she’d feared to see blood or the organ almost hanging off, but there was no sign of any damage. No crack or chip could be seen, although the flesh around the base was a little swollen. “There, there,” she said soothingly as her child’s sobs slowly subsided. “I don’t think there’s anything really wrong. You just got a bit of a bump.”
Finally Dinky raised her head, her tears slowing to a trickle. “Kiss it better?” she asked with a sniff.
With a smile Ditzy leant forwards and gently planted her lips on her daughter's forehead. “Always,” she said.
“I’m really sorry!” said Sweetie, looking up at Dinky. “I really didn’t mean to!”
“That’s ok,” hiccupped Dinky, her grip on her mother slowly weakening. “It was an accident.”
“Can I have a look?” asked Lyra, stepping out of the crowd of onlookers.
Dinky shook her head and tightened her grip around her mother. “It hurts!” she said.
“I might be able to make it feel better,” said the bard gently.
Dinky shook her head again.
“You can trust her, Muffin, she’ll help you,” said Dinky gently, trying to peel her daughter off of her leg while keeping a wing draped over her. Slowly Dinky began to relax and removed her grip from her mother.
“Does anypony have any ice?” asked Lyra.
“Here!” exclaimed Pinkie, leaping up from nowhere holding a pack of ice. “For ice emergencies!” she explained.
“Dinky, can you try and lift the bag with your magic?”
Dinky nodded and her horn flickered intermittently. “It hurts!” she whined.
“Just try for a little bit,” said Lyra encouragingly.
“I know you can do it Muffin,” said Ditzy.
Dinky screwed up her face and the bag hovered in the air for a few seconds. “That’s enough,” said Lyra. “That was very good, Dinky. I don’t think there’s any real harm done. There might be a bit of swelling and your magic might be a little off for a few days, but the ice should help with the worst of it. Horns are tough things; I got worse bumps when I was a foal.” She lifted the bag to the filly’s forehead.
“Thank you,” said Dinky, hugging her mother again.
“I’m sorry!” said Sweetie Bell again. She was being held in her own mother's forearms now.
“Accidents happen,” said Ditzy, feeling sorry for the upset filly as she carried her daughter away to the quiet of the side of the room.
As they left, the crowd of onlookers started to disperse. Ditzy watched as the foals returned to their games. Dinky remained quietly attached to her mother’s leg, draped in her wing. This almost feels nice, thought Dinky, being able to look after my daughter for a bit. Then she cut herself off. She should never feel good that her daughter had gotten hurt, even if it was only a little bump. She looked down at her daughter, cuddling in her arms. She knew from past experience that the foal could sometimes get a little clingy after she had a shock like this, but she would be right as rain after a night’s sleep. She noticed that her daughter's eyes kept flicking over to the crowd of foals now playing pin the tail on the pony. Dinky loved that game, yet she seemed content to stay with her mother for the moment. It would be nice to have just the two of them... No, she might want to, but it wasn’t best for her daughter. And when it came to her needs and her daughter’s, well, there was no competition, ever.
“Dinky,” said Ditzy with a trace of regret. She took the ice pack off her daughter’s head. “Would you like to play with your friends for a bit?”
The foal clutched her mother tighter and shook her head.
“Are you sure? Because it looks like they’re having a really good time over there.”
Dinky looked over at the game again. “I... I’d like to stay with you, Momma.”
“If you’re sure. Because you can spend all the time you ever want with me, but you only get one cute-ceañera. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on anything.”
“Well,” Dinky loosened her grip a bit, “Maybe I could go and watch them play? If you’ll come with me?”
“Of course, Muffin,” said Ditzy with a smile, leading her daughter over to the other foals. They watched as Snails staggered about with the sticky tail in his hoof, almost attaching it to Alula who cantered away giggling, before he ended up sticking it to the wall several foal lengths away from his target.
“Would you like a go, Dinky?” asked Sweetie Belle, trotting over nervously with her ears lowered, holding out another tail.
“Um...” the little filly looked back and forth between her mother and her friends.
“Why don’t you have a go?” suggested Ditzy. “I’ll be right here.”
“Ok,” said Dinky, slowly detaching herself from her mother and taking the tail from Sweetie, before allowing the unicorn to gently tie a blindfold around her head and spin her around. She staggered off towards the wall with the poster of the pony on it.
Ditzy watched on as her daughter quickly forgot her earlier owie. Dinky was happy and that was what mattered. As a mother, it was her responsibility to make sure she was there for her daughter when she needed her, and to step away when she didn’t. Maybe she would even have a little more time to herself now.
“Looks like they’re havin’ fun,” came a deep voice next to Ditzy.
“Yes,” she agreed, turning to Big Mac.
“I can’t believe how quickly time’s passed,” he said. “It seemed like just yesterday Apple Bloom was born. Now look at her.” He gestured at the herd of partying foals.
“Yeah, but you can’t turn back time, can you?”
“Nope, don’t s’pose ya can.”
“You just have to wait and see what the future holds,” concluded Ditzy.
It wasn’t too long before even the most sugar powered foals started to run down. Slowly, one by one, the tuckered out children were taken away by their parents and the party began to wind down. Ditzy offered to help tidy up once she had gotten Dinky to bed, but the Cakes and her friends would have none of that. She was a little unsure how to get the pile of Dinky’s presents home, but Big Mac volunteered his services and rather impressively lifted the whole pile onto his back along with the now snoozing form of his sister, and the two adults slowly trotted back towards the post office.
“Momma,” asked Dinky from her mother’s back. “Can we *yawn* fly home, please?”
“Well, I don’t know, Muffin. I don’t want to leave Mr Macintosh behind.”
“Oh, don’t worry none about me, I think the birthday filly deserves a last treat. I can drop these all over at your place when I get there,” said Mac.
“Please Momma!” begged Dinky.
“Oh, very well,” said Ditzy, stretching her wings. To be honest, she wasn’t sure how much longer she would be able to fly with her daughter, the rate she was growing. A little stab of regret struck at her heart. Maybe she should have done it more often while she could. Breathing deeply, Ditzy began to gallop forward, flapping her wings. For a moment she didn’t think she’d make it, but then her hooves left the ground and she swooped into the sky, her daughter’s clinging to her while whooping with delight. Ditzy couldn’t help but grin.
Luckily the flight was only a short one and Ditzy set down at her house only a few minutes later, her wings already aching. “There we are, Muffin, all home again.”
“Thanks *yawn* Momma,” said Dinky, hugging her mother.
Ditzy checked the clock. It was still quite early, but they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow and more excitement on the way. “I think it’s bed time for you.”
“Ok, Momma,” said Dinky, trotting a little unsteadily towards the bathroom.
“Do you need any help?” asked Ditzy.
“I can do it all by myself,” replied Dinky. “I’m a big filly now!”
Yes, she probably could, thought Ditzy. She was a very mature filly, most of the time. She felt a little pride. Her daughter was exactly where she needed to be. Whatever the future might hold, she was sure her daughter would be ready for it.
It didn’t take long for Dinky to get herself ready for bed and for her mother to tuck her in. Ditzy thought about reading a chapter from one of her daughter’s new books, but the filly’s eyelids were already drooping.
“Good night, Muffin,” whispered Ditzy as she covered the jar of glow worms by her daughter’s bed. Dinky might be growing up, but she still needed her mother sometimes, and she knew that their bond would remain strong.
No matter how far apart they were...
“No!” said Dinky angrily.
“No?” asked Ditzy, confused.
“No, you shouldn’t have to understand. No, you shouldn’t live out here by yourself. I’m not going to take no for an answer this time, Mum. Come live with us, the kids would love to see you all the time.”
“But I don’t want to be a bother,” said Ditzy, looking down.
“You’re not a bother, Mum,” said Dinky fiercely, hugging the old pegasus tightly. “You’re my mother and I love you. You’ll always be part of my life.”
No matter how different they might seem...
“I’d love to!” said Dinky turning towards Rumble. ”But I’m hanging out with Mom today! She’s terminally uncool but she’s my mom, you know what it’s like!”
“Sure,” agreed Rumble. “See you tomorrow.”
“‘k,” agreed Dinky watching the pegasus fly off.
“You could have gone with your friend, Muffin,” said Ditzy, “I don’t mind.”
“I can hang with my friends anytime, Mom, but you’re special.” She glanced around to see if anyone was looking and gave her mother a nuzzle. “Now, you mentioned ice cream? Can we at least get a cool flavour?”
No matter how much she might change...
“Aw, don’t worry, Mom,” said the pierced pony. “I’m the same filly on the inside, you know.” She leant forwards with a faint jingling and hugged her mother.
Despite the rings that dug into her sides, Ditzy knew it was true, and hugged her beautiful, unique, daughter back.
No matter the pain...
“Tha... Thanks Momma,” cried Dinky as her sobs quietened. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’d do fine by yourself, Muffin, but you don’t have to try. I’ll always be here, through thick and thin, the good times and the bad. I’m your mother. I’ll always be here for you.”
No matter what happened...
Ditzy stood there frozen for a moment, then rushed forwards and embraced her quivering daughter. “Everything’s going to be alright,” she promised. “That foal will always be surrounded by love, regardless of what the father does. Look how well you turned out.”
“Thanks, Mom,” cried Dinky, holding her mother tight.
“Love you, Momma,” muttered the drowsy foal, wrapping her forearms around her mother's neck.
“I love you too, my filly,” replied Ditzy, giving her daughter a kiss on her forehead. “My little mare.”