Bows, Arrows and Thermite Don't Mix
“All right, who’s left?” asked Miss Cheerilee as she stood on the tip of her hooves and looked to the far end of the classroom. Her smile—which had hours ago been happy and beaming—was now strained at the edges as she stared at the two remaining ponies, her gaze flickering to the wall-mounted clock.
At Dinky’s side, Archer waved a blue wing in the air, whooshing it back and forth, creating a breeze of air in the stifling room. “I’m next, Miss!” she boldly declared before hopping out of her seat. Bending down, the filly picked a grocery bag from within her saddlebags then trotted across the room.
Fillies and colts stared at her prancing by, then sighed as they fanned themselves with folded pieces of paper.
In her own seat, Dinky shifted nervously, biting her lower lip even as thick beads of sweat cascaded out of her blonde mane and onto her forehead. It wasn’t the intense, greenhouse-like heat that was getting to her: it was the simple fact that she was going to present next.
With a stomp and thump, Archer spun around and faced the crowd of students, a beaming smile twisting across her face. “So,” she loudly began. “For Show Don’t Tell, I brought this!” Her wing shot into the bag and rummaged about within while she bit her tongue. They all watched in rising anticipation until, finally, she removed an arrow.
Diamond Tiara, one of the many who had been excited a moment ago, harrumphed. “Saw that coming,” she murmured to Silver Spoon, loud enough that the snide remark carried through the room.
They’re so mean, Dinky thought before tearing her attention away and focusing on her friend.
“Right, like Diamond What’s-Her-Face so... kindly volunteered, this is an arrow.” Archer presented the object to all, fiddling with its length and making it twirl around, its sharp point whistling as it sliced the air. “I would have brought the entire bow,” she explained, her habitual half-smile appearing, “but it’s illegal to carry a weapon through the town.”
Some of the colts oohed and ahhed before Miss Cheerilee stepped around her desk and patiently sat down beside Archer. “And I thank you for that, Archer. Now, would you tell us a little more about what you brought? It’s very interesting.”
The blue filly nodded. “Uh-huh. An arrow’s made up of four parts.” She spun it again, this time pointing the back towards the class. “That little slit’s the nock, where you put the string. And this feathery bit’s the fletching.”
Silver Spoon barked a laugh. “So complicated; it’s a wonder you can handle it at all.”
Archer shot a glare at the filly, then carried on. “This part at the end’s the pile. It’s the business end and it’s, uh, sorta pointy. And the long bit here’s the shaft.”
At his end of the room, Snails snorted and giggled until Miss Cheerilee coughed and gave him the evil eye.
Archer fumbled from side to side, her blue face turning an unfortunate shade of purple. A cruel grin crossed Diamond Tiara’s face. “That’s it? Wow, can we ask questions yet?”
The teacher intervened. “If Archer is done, yes; you can ask her some questions.”
“All right, so, um, Archer, where did you fletch all that archery equipment?” Diamond Tiara asked, snickering at her own humour. A few others caught on and joined in with the laughter.
In her seat, Dinky furrowed her brows. I don’t get it, why’re they laughing?
“Oh, very funny, Diamond.” Archer met the jokester with a firm glare as her feathers ruffled. “Knock it off, alright?”
Silver Spoon smiled mischievously. “Are you telling us to nock it off? Did we say something bad? You’re quivering with anger!”
Miss Cheerilee rolled her eyes, but the shadow of a smile twitched at the edges of her lips. “Okay kids, calm down,” she said over the din of laughing foals. “Archer, you did a great presentation, thank you.”
The filly nodded and began to walk back to her seat only to stop beside Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, both of whom were sitting in the front row. She glared daggers at them, the sharp-tipped arrow still spinning in the grasp of her wingtips.
They swallowed hard, smiled sheepishly, then waved at her. “Uh-huh, that’s right,” the pegasus growled before moving on. Her hoofsteps sounded across the room for a moment until she slid into her seat.
Dinky smiled tentatively at her new friend, and, to her great wonder and awe, the pegasus filly smirked back. The joy was short-lived, however, as Miss Cheerilee scoured the class for anypony who had yet to go up until her gaze landed on the less-than-excited Dinky.
“Ah, Dinky Hooves. I believe it’s your turn, and you’re last, fina—great!” the teacher said, smiling at the shivering filly.
“Well, um... I, uh,” she stammered, feeling the eyes of all on her. One pair in particular seemed to grab her attention and keep it.
“Go on,” mouthed Rumble. “It’ll be cool, I’m sure.”
Within her, the filly’s heart swelled, then began to quake like a princess staring at cake. A cake made of a hundred conflicting emotional layers that she couldn’t begin to name. And it tasted like raspberries.
“Uh, Dinky,” Archer whispered. “You should probably, you know, get on up?”
The words snapped her out of the reverie, and in a rush of clumsy limbs and near-tumbles, she reached into her bags and levitated out a large box, one that rattled and thumped as she hurriedly carried it across the room and to the teacher’s side.
“Well, um...” she began, then froze as the class stared at her.
Miss Cheerilee caught on to her nervousness, gently touching her shoulder. Her warm hoof sent a comforting tingle down the filly’s side. “Just show us what you brought; it’s not hard.”
“Well, right.... So, I sorta really like a lot of things, but I decided that maybe this would be the most interesting one to show to you guys.” She popped open the box, and out of it floated three beakers and a metallic plate atop a support rack, one made of bent clothes hangers.
Diamond Tiara leaned over her bench and stared at the assortment of glass vials. “That’s interesting: a bunch of glass with sand in it. It’s so wonderful,” she said, voice dripping with venom.
“That’s enough, Diamond Tiara,” Miss Cheerilee said. “Sit back down and let Dinky present her... things.”
Hoof trembling, Dinky touched the vials one at a time. “Well, um, I really like chemistry, because I read a lot of books about it as a... younger filly, and used to imagine that I was doing things with chemicals for my stuffed animals.”
A few ponies giggled at her, the laughter whipping at her emotions. Still, she pressed ahead. “My Mommy bought me a set to try things last year, and I guess she made some parts herself. And I really enjoy it. So I thought I could do an experiment today with you guys,” she said, her hoof tracing along the grooves of the wooden floor.
“I’m sure we’d love that,” Miss Cheerilee said.
“All right. Well, I have oxidized iron filaments and powdered aluminum here.” She levitated the two bottles, one filled with shavings of rust, the other a shiny, silver-coloured sand. “And we mix it in the iron bowl....” The two solids tinked into the plate while everypony watched, either with wide eyes or a detached curiosity.
The teacher coughed lightly. “Have you done this before, Dinky?”
The filly nodded, even as her horn glowed and a tiny, translucent sphere appeared around the plate. “Yeah, some things like this. But never this recipe. Now, I just need a spark to set off the reaction...”
“Oh? And what’s the recipe called, exactly?” Miss Cheerilee asked.
“Thermite.”
[Author’s Note: Do NOT try that recipe at home. Really. You have to be A+ certifiably stupid to do that. Don’t. The only advantage would be your clearance from the gene pool.]
“I didn’t mean to do that.”
Archer reached out with a wing, the afternoon breeze playing with her multitude of feathers as she touched her friend’s shoulders. “Ah, don’t worry, it was awesome!”
Dinky glanced at the blue filly, the joy the simple friendly touch would have usually given her overshadowed by her grief. “Archer, I melted a hole through the floor.”
“It was warm in there; now there’s going to be more venti-vent... more air going around.”
She shifted her attention ahead to the streets of Ponyville, then at the countryside beyond the town. The two were alone beside the schoolhouse, the others having left minutes ago while Miss Cheerilee forced Dinky to clean the mess. Or what little of it she could clean.
The other foals had all left, running along and to wherever they wished to play on the suddenly-short school day. Archer, though, stayed behind,waiting for the little unicorn. “I really scared Silver Spoon too....” she said, tears threatening to well up once more.
Archer snorted a laugh. “Yeah, that was sweet; did you see their manes? Teach them to laugh at us!” She hummed, then looked at Dinky. “Wait, why’d you only mention Silver?”
“Well, there was pee all over the underneath of her chair,” Dinky began to say.
Archer guffawed, twisting over her side as she clutched her chest and laughed like a madmare, rolling from side to side and even crying a little. “She, she... did that... ‘cause you scared her? It’s awesome!”
Dinky’s face reddened. “No, it’s not nice. It’s really embarrassing for her... we shouldn’t tell anypony, or it might hurt her feelings.”
“You’re so soft,” Archer said as she rolled around and came to all fours. They locked eyes for a moment, then the pegasus spoke on, “Okay, fine. But if they come at us again, I’m putting it under her filthy snout.”
“Well, alright.” Is this what it’s like, having a friend? she wondered. I sorta like it. A lot.
Above them, a few stray clouds blotted out the intense fall sun, then skimmed ahead, calling their attention to the early hour. “Now what?” Archer asked. “Should we... I don’t know, go to my place? Or something.”
“I-I-I... that’d be wonderful!” she said, her energy and vigour returning in full force. “I’ve never been to a friend’s house before! Oh, maybe you could come to my place one day, and meet Mom, and Lenore.”
The filly began to walk along the grassy path, hooves lightly tickled by the stray leaves that crackled as she stepped upon them. “You can keep listing things off, or you can come with me,” Archer said, shrugging with her wings.
Dinky blinked at her, then giggled before skipping to her side. “I’m coming!”
As two, they made their way down towards the town in relative silence, only the bustle of the faraway foals playing and the occasional cheer or gleeful laughter from within the town itself. She wanted to be there, yet she had a friend now, and that entailed certain responsibilities. She hummed. “Um, Archer?”
“Yeah?”
“What are friends supposed to do?”
The blue filly stared at her for a moment, then kept looking at where she was heading. “I... don’t know, I guess. Look out for each other, maybe?”
Dinky nodded solemnly. “But, that’s it?”
“No, no. There’s more. A lot more. Like, it’s... um. Sorta like accepting somepony, being close to them because you want to be close to them because you like them because they like you back.” She furrowed her brows and blinked a few times. “I think it’s... um, that thing where you’re really tough about a thing...”
“Endurance?”
“Yeah, it’s that too. ‘Cause nopony’s perfect and so your friend won’t be. You need to be able to be a friend even if the pony you’re friends with isn’t acting their best.” Archer huffed and puffed out her chest, proud of her explanation.
Dinky nodded, slowly absorbing the information. How can I be her friend? she wondered. I need to be the best friend. Ever. Side by side, the pair trotted around Ponyville, following the long and winding path as they basked in the glowing sun. A cart was parked in the centre of the street, a big red stallion glaring at it while the fillies circumvented him and began to descend a long hill.
Two ponies were walking along the same path as they: a pearly-white unicorn filly and a gangly beige pegasus colt whose wing was wrapped around the filly’s back, tenderly hugging her. Dinky stared at the couple as she trotted by, her focus shifting until she looked at the road ahead. “I guess love is sorta like friendship,” she said.
Archer rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. “Nuh-uh, I don’t want none of that lovey-dovey stuff. A friend or two, I don’t mind, but I’ll never get anywhere with my archery if I don’t focus on it. It’s an art, you know?”
“Well, okay,” Dinky said, watching the couple over her shoulder. A warm gust swirled by, lifting her mane and making it play across the wind. With it came the sounds of foals shouting and cheering.
They paused, slowing to a halt and searching around for the school children that were making the noise, the hair on the back of their necks rising and their eyes widening in childish expectation. It sounded like fun.
Out of a side road sandwiched between two homes came Rumble, panting and laughing at the same time before half a dozen foals charged out after him, some tagging him with glee while others chased him down and bore him to the ground. “Okay, okay, you guys win!” he shouted between giggles, shifting about until he stood on all fours.
The group dispersed as if on cue to mill around and chat. Rumble swept a hoof across his chest, brushing off some dust and dirt while he amicably chatted with a few colts.
Dinky swallowed hard, the presence of so many happy foals, all of them friends and playmates, set her on edge, an edge that she crossed with finality as Rumble’s purple eyes stared a hole into her soul.
“Dinky! Archer!” the colt said, ears perking and a quick grin spreading across his features. “What are you two up to?” he asked, abandoning his friends with a wave of his wing to trot up to them.
“Oh, we were just heading over to my place,” Archer said, “I was going to show Dinky my bows and all that.”
The colt looked at her, impressed. “Wow, sounds awesome! You’ll have to show me sometime. But, uh, if you guys want, we’re about to play a quick game of hide and seek. wanna join?”
“I-I’d love that!” Dinky said breathlessly, then looked at the blue filly beside her. “But I can't.... I promised Archer that we’d go to her house today, and I can never break a promise; I want to be a good friend.”
“Oh, come on,” Archer groaned. “My bows won’t disappear. We can have a bit of fun, then look at them later.”
The unicorn filly began to prance on the spot, hooves rhythmically beating the ground as she spun a quick circle, then stopped in front of Rumble, face flushed and panting for all she was worth. “Thank you so, so much!”
He shrugged. “No problem. My brother said that you should always have more friends if you want to drill through life and shoot for the heavens! Plus, it’s thanks to your, uh, experiment that we got half the day off.” Without further ado, he turned around and made his way downhill to the others. “Okay everypony,” he said, immediately grabbing all their attention. “How about some hide and seek?”
Dinky leaned over to Archer and murmured, “How do you play that game?”
Archer’s wing collided with her face with a clear and audible smack. “You hide, and hope to Celestia, Luna, and Princess Twilight Sparkle that nopony finds you. Then you trot back out after a few minutes; it’s easy.”
“I’m up for a game,” said one filly.
“Who’s it?” asked another.
A cruel and mischievous grin crossed Rumble’s lips. “Ten...”
Everypony skipped a beat.
“Nine...”
“Scatter!” screamed a few foals before galloping off in every direction and trailing thick plumes of dust and dirt behind them. Rumble smiled and sat down, bowing his head to the ground and closing his eyes. Over him stretched the barest hint of a shadow from the woods across the road. The air was warm, but not stifling.
“What’s going on?” Dinky asked naively, watching foals jump into bushes or scamper off around the corner of houses.
“Don’t just stand there, run!” Archer screamed, sprinting away.
“Eight!”
Okay, a hiding place, a hiding place, Dinky thought while looking around. Every tree and bush she looked at had eyes peeking out of them or tails spilling out. Giggles poured out from behind boulders and some foals were charging behind the nearby buildings as if their flanks were on fire.
“Seven...”
Oh no, this is bad! Biting her lower lip, the filly began to tremble, so much so that she failed to notice the tremendous roaring of cart wheels on uneven ground behind her. Blinking, Dinky looked behind her at the suddenly massive form of a full apple-cart barreling downhill towards her.
Apples fell off and were promptly crushed by the huge wheels. Across from it, Big Macintosh was galloping, legs kicking out as he tried to catch up with his precious cargo-turned-filly-killing-weapon.
She screamed, her piercing wail doing nothing against the cart. I’m going to die?! she wondered as the vehicle accelerated. Dinky closed her eyes and cringed.
Something hit her.
Something soft and warm and soothing brushed against her entire body as she was lifted into the air. Opening her eyes, Dinky looked up at Rumble’s face, one set and determined without a hint of fear. He just wanted to save me. Her heart swelled, even as her own fear began to dissipate under the colt’s firm grasp. Slowly, she took in a deep breath and savoured his aroma, one of early spring, earthworms, sweat and Daring Do Mane Shampoo.
They landed in a roll. Rumble’s shoulder slammed into the ground, eliciting a groan from the colt as he tumbled and kept Dinky close to himself, cushioning her from the impact.
Where she had stood seconds ago, the cart flew by with a cacophony of bumps and thumps, a wide-eyed Big Macintosh in tow. Dinky lay astride Rumble, trying her best to catch her breath and regain her senses as the colt slid out from beneath her and stood, wincing as he put some weight on his shoulder. “You okay?” he asked.
“I-I... thank you,” she whispered, face reddening from more than just the adrenaline rush and exhilaration.
“Just doing my duty,” he answered, grinning down at her before helping her up.
They both looked like a sorry mess as the other foals ran out of their hiding places and came to gawk. With them followed a chorus of “Are you okay”s and “Did you see that?”s. Amongst them was Archer, who zipped to Dinky’s side and leaned over her.
“You okay? Did you die? Break something?” the filly asked, shifting from one forehoof to another as she nearly trampled her friend.
Dinky smiled at her, cheeks puffing out. “I’m okay,” she said before turning her attention to Rumble. “Are you okay?” she began to ask, but her minuscule voice was drowned out by the surging foals.
The colt grinned at them, then lifted a hoof, motioning for silence. After a beat, they quelled their voices, but their excitement was still palpable. “I found you, and you, and you...” he began pointing from one foal to another, his grin widening as momentary despair crossed their features. He laughed, cutting his own tagging off. “That was the shortest game of hide and seek, ever!”
Most joined in the laughter while a few sore losers huffed and kicked at the ground playfully. “It wasn’t really fair,” he conceded,” so.... Ten...”
They ran, screaming and laughing while they scurried off and tried to find new hiding places.
Rumble turned his deep, violet eyes onto Dinky, causing blood to flood her ears as her heart beat erratically. The analytical part of her young mind wondered if she had suffered from a concussion; the emotional part wanted a bigger one. “Are you really okay?” he asked, this time keeping his voice to a concerned whisper.
Dinky nodded, biting her lower lip as she turned her attention away, her voice stolen while her mind reeled. Why am I feeling like this? “Well, I’m okay... are you?”
He waved her off. “I’m fine. Still, I think it might be best that you gals head home and relax for a bit. Wouldn’t want to see you hurt yourself, and I know that Archer will make sure you’re all right.” He blushed. “At least, I-I think that’s what my brother would say.”
“Ah, don’t worry one bit; I’ll watch over her,” Archer said, stretching her wings behind her as she spoke. “Nothing to worry about. And I think you’re at about three.”
Rumble smiled, glanced at Dinky again, and with a subtle blush, spun around. “Two!”
The colt ran off, shouted the last number, then set about his search for the other foals. Dinky watched him go, then sighed. “I like him,” she said factually.
“Uh-huh, he’s nice enough.... So, wanna come to my place?” Archer asked, trying to be cool about it while her wings beat excitedly behind her, betraying her true feelings.
“Well, yeah, that sounds like fun, I guess.” And I promised. Mommy made me swear never to break a promise.
They began down the hill, Dinky paying attention to the playing foals as they made their way around Big Macintosh's crashed cart and into the town proper. The sounds of those behind them were absorbed by the soft, pastel-coloured walls of the houses, only to be replaced by the hubbub of adults and the occasional laugh. The sun was weak on their backs as they flitted by the shadows cast by the buildings, always moving ahead with Archer leading the way with a quick step.
“Almost there!” she chimed over her shoulder, taking a sharp turn and avoiding a crowd of older ponies that occupied the centre road.
Dinky kept looking around her, absorbing as much as she could of the scenery and the town. She had been here before, many times, but always with the presence of her mother nearby, shielding and protecting her. Now, she was alone, facing the big bad town all on her lonesome, like a big filly.
No, she reminded herself. She wasn’t alone. Ahead of her, Archer’s tail twitched, trying to rid herself of some of the oppressive heat. She had a friend; nothing could be bad now. Except maybe losing that friend. “So,” she began, trying to spark a conversation, “will your parents mind that I came over?”
“Nah, my mom works in Baltimare, my dad in Las Pegasus. Ponyville’s sorta the middle ground for them. But it still means that I spend a lot of time alone.”
“Oh.” Dinky tried to imagine living on her own without Mommy.
“Here we are!” Archer said, gesturing ahead with her wings.
Separated from its neighbouring homes by a sizable yard was a two-story house. Taller than it was large, the building practically jutted out of the row of houses with its white and blue paint. Around it was a tall fence that a few birds had chosen as a perch.
“Come on,” the blue filly said before charging to the front door and twisting it with a wingtip. The door clicked open and Archer trotted in, brushing her hooves on the rough carpet in the inner entrance. “It’s not much, I guess,” she said as Dinky followed.
“Oh no, it’s really pretty,” the unicorn replied, taking in the room with a wide-eyed elation. She had made a friend. And was in that friend’s house in less than a week!
Every wall was covered in pictures of exotic places or hoof-painted scenery, yet not one of them was an image of the family that lived there. Wood trimmed everything, including the well-worn furniture and the homely bits of decoration.
“Are you thirsty?” Archer asked as she trotted deeper into the home, hooves tapping on the marble floor of the nearby kitchen.
“Um, not really.”
“Aww, come on, some apple juice? Water? Sunny P?” she asked from the other room, the sound of glass tinking against glass ringing out.
“Well, I guess some water wouldn’t hurt.”
“One glass, coming right up! Then we can go out back and I’ll show you my shed.” She returned, a tray with two cups precariously balanced on her back, wings touching it lightly every time it tipped.
Dinky focused on one of the cups, levitating it with just a tiny exertion of her strength. “All right. I can’t wait to see,” she said before taking a sip of the cold liquid, allowing it to seep down her throat and soften the day’s heat and her fierce blush.
Nonchalantly, Archer led Dinky deeper into the house and along a corridor, one that ended in a pair of French doors that gave her a clear view of the fenced-in backyard. With a swipe of her forehoof, the filly swung the door open and hopped out, looking behind her expectantly.
Dinky followed, eyes wandering around the thin-but-long yard and to the far end where a shed stood, one with two bulls-eyes freshly painted on its side. The filly headed to the little building, hooves trailing in the slightly long grass and swished along underhoof. A wind blew by, gentle and caressing in the warmth of the fall day. Dinky sighed contentedly and followed along.
With a nudge, the door to the shed opened up. Archer backed away, beaming proudly before gesturing for Dinky to look in.
She obliged.
Within, dozens of bows lined the walls. All of them were hooked in perfect rows from smallest to largest. Highly accurate weapons that radiated power and danger changed to simpler wooden bows that could have belonged in the Hearth’s Warming Eve play.
Across the other wall were thousands of arrows of different lengths, all of them sticking out of bins, fletched end first. “Whoa!” Dinky said, as her jaw slackened. “There’re so many, and they’re so shiny!” She turned to her new friend. “How’d you get all of these?”
“My mom and dad buy me gifts when they can’t be around. You know, to make up for lost time and all that. They know that I love bows so...”
“That’s nice,” Dinky said, looking at the collection again. “The only gifts I ever get are hoof-made. But I like them.”
Archer swallowed, shifting her gaze away before returning with a beaming smile. “Oh, do you want to try one?”
Dinky bit her lower lip. “Well, I couldn’t. I might break something, and I don’t know how.”
“Oh, don’t be silly!” The pegasus hopped into the shed and trotted along the row, skipping from one to another and occasionally humming. Finally, she shifted her weight to her haunches and picked one with her mouth, then grabbed some arrows with her wing tips. “Ghom hon, I’ll shhow yoush!” she said through her filled mouth.
The pair marched towards Archer’s house, only stopping when they were a decent distance from the side of the shed. Archer gently laid the bow on the ground. “All right! So, let’s get to it,” she said with a voice full of energy while she strung the device. “I’ll fire a round or two, then show you how to do it, all right?”
Dinky nodded, her face contorted in a massive grin.
Archer hopped over the bow, then bent over and picked it up. With one forehoof set in the circular grip, she lifted the long, potentially lethal bow and hefted it up. She stood, her hind legs firmly planted in the grassy ground with the bow—the same height as she—poised to fire.
Smoothly, and as if she had all the time in Equestria, Archer fitted an arrow, sliding the nock into place as her breathing became even, serene. Her purple eyes narrowed, focusing solely on the distant target.
The wind blew on, carrying her sapphire blue mane with it as each individual hair glinted in the sun’s light.
Dinky held her breath, waiting for that tense moment where the filly—her friend—would fire.
“Dinky Doo Hooves!” said a very familiar voice in a very familiar tone, one that cracked down on the filly like a whip.
She swallowed hard and looked up while Archer twitched and let loose the arrow, missing the shed and thunking in the fence wall with a solid blow.
Above them floated Derpy Hooves, the grey mare holding both forehooves on her haunches as she scowled down at her daughter. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
Uh-oh... “I was.... Well, I was just playing with Archer,” she said, making herself seem as small as possible while the mare descended.
“You were playing? After almost burning the school house down?” she accused upon landing with a huff. Her glare shifted to Archer, sizing the filly up with a quick glance. “And who’s this?”
“It’s... it’s just Archer... she’s a friend,” Dinky whined.
“I don’t want to hear it,” Derpy said, her forehoof thumping the ground. “You have a lot of explaining to do, missy. I got to the school and found you gone. Not to mention the hole in the floor.” Dinky winced.
In a flash, the grey mare was on her, hugging Dinky as tightly as she could, the scent of muffins and mom wafting from her. “Oh, I was so worried!” she cried out, squeezing harder.
Archer looked at them, blinking dumbly as she lowered her bow to the ground.
“Don’t ever do that again!” the mare said, tears stinging her eyes.
“Oh, um, okay, Mommy,” Dinky said, patting her mother’s back as the mare began to let go.
Sniffling away some tears, the mare looked at her daughter. “Let’s get going; you should be home by now.”
Dinky glanced at Archer, then at her mother, mind still on the brink of confusion while she took a moment to recuperate. “Okay.”
“Bye-bye, Arched Her,” Derpy said before dragging her daughter along and out of a side path through a well-oiled gate.
“Bye?” Archer called back as her friend was carried away. She watched Dinky leave with sadness, and, perhaps, envy.
Edited by:
These folks (can't say 'guys' anymore)
Stats
Page generated in 0.033 seconds
Total duration
703 users online
605,165 hits today, 1,822,946 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Why do you update when I'm at work????
I've got to go check passes on a gate now, so I'll come back later!!!!
Oh god.
I think Dinky has a future in crime, pulling thermite out of her hat in elementary school
also, there's kind of a huge space of nothing right down here at the end of the chapter...
At first I thought that Dinky was in trouble because she was playing with bows.
This is really good, I want to fav again!
How do you picture ponies using bows though? I have my own ideas for a story I'm planning, but I want other opinions to consider as well.
api.ning.com/files/z16IYKXPTisWcHN7LL6nA3ZuIIt48VmHf1lGDO5KgtRl4SSIEYs1H5hgQvS-ytDnaCYNIhQnouTbqD0goyIDlQHqAaKKaR4L/CelestiaSpitTake.png
Thermite is a filly's best friend.
This message approved by Twilight's Academy for Science Education
Adorableness everywhere, along with hints of more serious matters. It's like an extra-large cone of cotton candy full of little flecks of gemstones. Or something. I don't know. Point is, looking forward to more.
...but Thermite requires an extraordinary amount of heat to light up, usually an acetylene torch is needed
I see a high-explosives related cutie mark in Dinky's future.
Wow, Derpy is waaaaaay over protective
2163363
*Magic
2163363 Magic, much like SCIENCE!, solves every problem through the proper application of knowledge and creativity! And, since friendship IS magic, one can use the power of friendship to ignite thermite. Somehow.
Next show and tell is Uranium and Plutonium.
Great chapter, really sweet. And not wanting to sound technical (because I really don't know that well) but I'm pretty sure you should store bows unstrung. I've done a bit of archery with some powerful bows, and they are always stored unstrung. Just saying, there was no mention of stringing the bow. Other than that ickle little point, Great chapter! loved every word. Can't wait for the next one!
videos.onesite.com/212396/clips/x21lbwjlcnmub2xkagvhzhmuy29txzm0mdg5otc5x3zpzgvvlm1wnf8xxzeynda5oda5mtuuntc2mq==1.jpg
Being a bit of a pyromaniac, I've made thermite lots of times, its fun.
That said, its only stupid if your not safe about it or use it for a really stupid reason.
Well the next chapter can wait a tiny bit..... :D
I can't wait for the next chapter ! (I know this one only came out today but I love this story and loved the prequel
)
2163521
"tiny"
At my upload speed?
2163565 Huh no... One of my stories i am working one. I was working on chapter two for PPP then i saw you updated. So i decided to pause for a bit. I may not follow but i am a huge fan of this story.
Dinky the Scorch of this fic.
So wait, is Archer's full name Arched Her?
That...
I have to admit, even in pony standards that sounds weird to me...
2164233
What?
No, no. Derpy didn't hear the name properly, so she said that instead...
2163655
Cool! I appreciate it mate!
Commence read.
Glad to see more of this story.
2164252
Oh!
...
Okay then.
In Derpy's defense, causing property damage and running off are very acceptable reasons to be pissed off at Dinky. Apparently Thunderlane is a slightly toned down version of Kamina.
Thermite... and a bow...
destructoid.com//ul/245765-cryso.jpg
2164079
Do I detect a reference to Delta Squad from Star Wars: Republic Commando?
Loved the story, but umm, thermite has an ignition temperature of like, 3000 degrees. Plus, going from the pure ingredients to the finished product takes about 30 minutes of heating and stirring just to get the basic unrefined powder. As a gag it's great, but we're here to educate as well as entertain! So remember kids, if you want to play with thermite, make sure to buy some magnesium strips and an acetylene torch as well! Seriously though, don't play with thermite, a pile the size of a baseball will melt through the hood, engine block and front axel of a car, and a fair ways into the pavement.
Rumble is so cheesy.
That was a but harsh of Derpy. Surely she'd be happy that her daughter is making friends?
Thermite? A school foal making thermite? And here comes the revolution!!!
2165490 Why yes yes you do.
I love this story.
Hoping for some more explanation on Archer's family...
2166906
Sev' was best pony. Then he died.
I like the angle you went with Dinky by making her some kind of super scientist. First it was thermite (burns at over 4,500°F, hot enough to melt titanium like butter, also if I remember correctly it can be held in thick containers because of how fast it expends its heat), what's next for Dinky a fusion reaction made out lawn mower parts? Skynet? Turning a gunned down police officer into a cyborg bad ass?
2167620
That was never confirmed
Fun to read chapter, like the occasional cameos of Sweetie and Feather, and enjoyed the thermite.
Rumble has a crush on Dinky
Dinky has a crush on Rumble
Dinky and Archer should talk to the CMC about what friends do
I can imagine it already.....
AB: Well Dinky, ah think friends are supposed to play with one another
Scoots: Not to mention quest for cutie marks!
AB: Scoots, Archer already has one
Scoots: Yeah, but Dinky doesn't!
AB: But why would she need to quest for her cutie mark, she would just be helpin
Scoots: Because, I said so,?
Sweetie steps aside from her two arguing friends
Yes we live at our homes, but we still meet up and share stories and then make each other feel better
Sweetie: Friends are there for you no matter what, no matter the problem
Dinky: But I thought you all lived at home?
Sweetie:
Dinky: How do you do that?
Sweetie: Well....
Later....
Featherweght walks in on Sweetie attempting to explain friendship to Dinky and Archer who has now began pretending to shoot a bow while AB and Scootaloo continue to argue about if when you gain your cutie mark, can you still crusade for them.
Feather: Hi guys....?
Sweetie: Hi Feather!
Feather: Hi Swee......
AB: Featherweight, tell Scootaloo you can still crusade for cutie marks after ya get one.
Scoots: No, tell Apple Bloom you can't!
Sweetie: Weren't you arguing for......
AB & Scoots: Come on Featherweight!
Feather: Ahhhummm, well I'm a Crusader now and I guess I would have to crusade
Scoots: Honorary Cutie Mark Crusader.......
Feather: so honorarily crusade I guess then?
As the rest restart their arguments/explanations Archer then throws up her hooves and yells "Aaaaaargggg!!!! Does it ever end!!!!??
My reaction to the Gurren Lagann reference:
“If you’re a guy, I'll turn gay for you! If you're a girl, then please for the love of God marry me!”
Genius work and can't wait for moar!
The Thermite experiment was amusing, at school they've had to be done on a brick in a fume cupboard, one of my teachers actually burned his hand once! A dangerous experiment if you don't know what you're doing
Rumble saying Dinky was so cute, can't wait to see what happens between them next 
2166308
The revolution is closer than you imagine:
1. They already have an underground propaganda printing and distribution centre (Foal Free Press).
2. They have ready access to military grade apple confectionery (Applebloom).
3. They have a special intelligence operative (Featherweight).
4. They have a sharpshooter who specialises in silent weapons (Archer).
5. Now they have a chemist and pyrotechnist.
Methinks Cheerilee has a secret agenda.
At his end of the room, Snails snorted and giggled until Miss Cheerilee coughed and gave him the evil eye.
oh dear baby jesus, did Snails just snicker about a "shaft"?
2175800
Yeah, pretty much.
Princess Twilight........ I keep forgetting about that. I am still not weather or not I like it that's for season for to decide. Anyway loving the story.
Wow I feel stupid......... for really "slaps face" ment four.
I literally "lol"ed, well done.
2175739 It's like the Ponified version of the CHERUB books
Oh god i couldn't help but think about "Hey Hey Hey stay out of my shed." When Archer said shed.
THERMITE!?! AS IN THERMITE THERMITE?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!? wo.
also wheres sparkler?
You know too much, I'm going to have to ask you come with me sir into the van.
Can't wait for the next update. ANy ETA on that by the way?
2276105>>2276105
After the next update on Steam Gears and Wings. Which I'm writing right now.
Probably by the 25th-ish. No guarantees though!
2276118 Awesome, I wasn't expecting a date for it. I was just un-subtly asking if you were still writing it
. But I understand that you're writing other stories, no rush 