//------------------------------//
// Dinky 
// Story: The Element of Friendship 
// by The Derpy Doctor 
//------------------------------//

        	I am Dinky. I am the daughter of Derpy. I am a Unicorn girl filly that doesn’t have her cutie mark yet. I am not stupid and neither is my mom. We live as happily as possible, and today, I have more reason than ever to make sure that that statement is enforced. Today I will attempt to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I can find my true talent with them and I will make friends. I will have friends that don’t ever make fun of any pony. I will have friends that find me useful and don’t think that my mom or I am stupid. I will have the friends that I want to have. I can be the mare that I find myself to be.
“Hey scootaloo,” I said as she passed me sitting under the tree. I was shy and didn’t know if she would accept me into the Crusader’s club.
“Hi Dinky,” she said back, “are you ready for the ceremony today?”
This was good this means that she accepted me. I tried to respond, but I just replied what I was thinking only without much mind so it came out like: “I think accept… me.”
“That’s okay,” she responded. Obviously having Rainbow Dash as her mentor has paid off and helped her to Be smooth at talking to any pony as if they were just as cool as her. She continued: “not every pony can have the gift of speech in front of peers that appreciate you as much as us.”
“You do?”
“Dinky, why do ask so? You have been hanging around us and telling meaningful jokes ever since we met. Let me help you. We have an honest Applejack that helps us in our group: and that’s Applebloom. We’ve got a rainbow dash that besides every pony’s best efforts is awesome beyond compare: that’s me (again that was Rainbow Dash’s good work). Then we have a generous Rarity that gives us advice helps us to act mature: and that’s Sweetie Bell. We do not have anyone that could be the raw equivalent of a Pinkie Pie. There has to a link in our group that doesn’t exactly fit in as a regular citizen, but fits in even better due to her charm and whimsy. That’s you. You are our Pinkie Pie, and you cannot be taken from our group as of one hour from now.”
“Come with me, Dinky I will show you to our clubhouse.”
After a long walk, we reached the edge of the apple orchard, and after an even longer walk through the trees and branches of the orchard (as well as a sneaking crawl through a small portion of the south orchard still infested with fruit bats) We arrived at the finest clubhouse a filly could make.
“Who made this?” I said excitedly.
“Applebloom made it. She worked her hardest as we were finding things to get our cutie marks.”
“She sure did a good job.” I whimpered rubbing my right hoof against my left and shying my head away from Scootaloo. I wondered if they would really accept me. Any pony before has never accepted me. Besides the doctor and my mom that is: they have accepted me. They find me a better pony than my mind thought. If Applebloom could do all of this in one day, and still not have her cutie mark, then how could my talents ever be up to their standards? I thought this word-for-word.
“Snap out of it, Dinky. You can never be a part of a group that your mind never sees itself a part of. C’mon the others are waiting for us.” The last seven words were very playful. She had the effect with that sentence to get me off my short depression and to walk briskly with her to the clubhouse. The ceremony of induction will begin soon. I was more motivated than ever to be a part of a club that I would be accepted in.


Scootaloo banged on the drums in the corner of the clubhouse. Sweetie Belle read an exceedingly long paper that spelled out all of my duties as a member (which was mostly composed of clever alternatives to the word “friend”). Meanwhile Applebloom just sat next to me and observed the scene.
Finally, Sweetie Belle finished the long scroll of parchment with the words “Congratulations Dinky!” then she threw a robe lined with gold silk on my back with uncanny accuracy considering her positioning and distance from me. “Welcome to the crusader’s club!” All at once they shouted (still uncanny how they manage to say the same thing at the same time).
I am a crusader now. I have friends. Friends that I can stand up for, Stand behind, friends that I can trust and friends that I have common interest with or even friends in the first place. I can’t explain the glorious feeling that came from having friends. Just like Princess Twilight.
“Let’s celebrate!” merely seconds after the clothing hit my back Scootaloo had already suggested a party. “…And there’s only one way to celebrate here in Ponyville.” She didn’t conclude her statement. We all knew the one way to celebrate anything in Ponyville. We needed no reminders.



Pinkie already brought the Party when we got to Sugar Cube Corner. That’s the only way to celebrate in Ponyville by the way. You go to Sugar Cube Corner and enjoy a desert. Maybe if you are having a celebration that Pinkie finds worthy of a party (which is almost always) she will bring the party. On this occasion, Pinkie had put up several balloons, chairs, cakes, Ice cream and cupcakes for everyone. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and my mom: Derpy had also come to attend. They were sitting at the bar waiting for us drinking punch that must have come from nowhere (there was none on the counter in a bowl) and were already smiling down to us.
“Well if it isn’t all four of the cutie mark crusaders,” Applejack cheered in a voice even happier than usual. That was the only voice that was heard clearly after that. The rest of the time was about an hour of chatter and music and eating that all meshed together to make almost nothing heard. Occasionally, I would hear people congratulating me on being a crusader. I would hear Twilight talking to Sweetie Belle about magic. I would hear Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash talking it up. If I listened close enough, I could hear Fluttershy mutter about some animal trapped. She would say the word Trapped as though it were trapped forever. She only said this to herself, but she was very concerned. I waited for the chatter to calm before I went to talk to Twilight about something very close to me.

The Chatter did calm, but that was about an hour later after everyone had finished eating and talking about as much as possible. I went 	to Twilight and asked her about the books in her library. When I brought them up she turned and said:
“Sure, I would love to talk about books, do you want to borrow one?”
I replied with fast nod of the head before she showed me away from the party, unseen.
She had been taking me to see her books ever since I first took interest in them at the swap meet to the north of Ponyville. As we walked, she pointed out different books that I hadn’t read that she strongly recommended for me. Those are the books that tell the stories that I am obliged to. I read the books that tell stories of ponies that stood against a fate that stood unconquerable. The ones where the hero never seems to stand a chance, but out of courage stands against the darkness and stands alone. They give me hope. They tell me that even though there is so much darkness in the world, and so much grief and pain and suffering that there will always be one to stand for the light. The light may be thin, the darkness may be cruel, but even the smallest hero can bring the darkness down.
Twilight stopped me at the library and opened the door for me. “So which of my suggestions do you want to take home and borrow?” she asked politely.
“I want the one about the filly unicorn that can’t use her magic yet,” I called excitedly referring to the suggestions that Twilight had given me on the way over.
“I thought that you would choose that one.” She grabbed a book off of the shelf with her magic and held it out for me to take it with mine.
This was pretty much the last sociable time I spent all night. The whole rest of it was spent with my head in the book while the princess and I walked.
Twilight took me back the to party, where I met with my mom.
“Dinky,” she exclaimed.
“Yes, mom?”
“We need to go home now, it’s getting really dark.”
I was upset at this, because I knew I had to stop reading my book in order for me to go to sleep.
“Okay,” I said a little more tired and regretful of my position when I was still reading the book twilight gave me. Fortunately, I could use magic at a young age. I could turn the pages using magic just like Twilight. All I had to do was walk to my house and read as much as possible before I get there. This was sound. I could do it.
I soon found that after reading two pages I had arrived at my house with a small bump on my head from tripping and falling on a rock. I am never going to walk and read at the same time again.
I was welcomed inside to the best smell: warm sheets. Right now, napping couldn’t be any easier. I just started into my bed and found the sheets wrapped cozily around me before I closed my eyes and didn’t open them for hours.