It's Dinky's birthday and her mother couldn't be happier, right? So why does she keep worrying about what the future might bring for her little Muffin?
It's Dinky's birthday, not only that this year she got her cutie mark, she's really growing up. Her mother couldn't be happier, right?
So why does Ditzy find herself feeling a little maudlin as she thinks about her daughter and what the future might bring. Could she be growing up to fast? Will there be a day when she doesn't need her mother any more? Could that day be just around the corner?
Ditzy Doo gave a yawn and stretched as she rolled out of bed. She glanced towards the window where the sun was just starting to inch over the horizon. Given that the autumn was almost over, this was actually later than she would rise on most days. But then, this was not a normal day; this was one of the most special days of the year. Today was her daughter’s birthday!
Ditzy smiled to herself. It only seemed like yesterday that Dinky was a tiny thing, not much bigger than her hoof. And now she was growing so fast; she’d even gotten her cutie mark a week or so ago. In a way, she found it a little saddening that her daughter was changing so quickly. Ditzy shook herself. She shouldn’t be thinking that way. She was proud of her daughter; she was so smart and mature, and now with her mark, she was almost a young mare. Well, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration.
Rubbing her eyes, she tottered out of her room and towards the bathroom. On the way she stopped and listened at her daughter's door. She heard the squeak of bed springs as the filly tossed and turned. Ditzy grinned at her daughter's excitement on her special day. She better not make her wait too long. Ditzy trotted off to the bathroom, splashed some water on her face, and prepared herself as quickly as she could. She and Dinky had a long day ahead of them; in fact, a long weekend. As always, she had gotten time off from work to spend with her daughter on her birthday. First they would unwrap the filly’s presents (and it was presents this year, as her finances has been good thanks to the reward for defeating Corona and the other occasions the Crown had called on her time), then she and her daughter would cook a special birthday breakfast together and spend the rest of the morning playing with her new toys. Then there was a special birthday party planned at Sugar Cube Corner; all of Dinky’s friends would be there, as well as many of Ditzy’s own. Trixie had been persuaded to put on a show, and by persuaded she meant the show mare had begged to be allowed to. Ditzy smiled at the recollection; you’d have thought it was Trixie’s own birthday. It was a shame her parents couldn’t make it, but she and Dinky were due to catch a train to Fillydelphia tomorrow to spend a few days with them, so that was almost as good. Carrot Top was even going to be tagging along on the journey to see her own family, it was odd to think the two of them had lived in the same city for years and never met, still it was a big city.
Having finished washing, Ditzy trotted off into the living room to collect Dinky’s presents from their hiding place. She was sure her daughter had known exactly where they were for weeks, but she - as obedient as always - had not even peeked in on them once. Well, maybe once or twice, the filly was only equine, but not more than that. With a grin, she picked up her daughter’s presents and balanced them on her back. Last of all was a simple envelope. Ditzy stared at it for a moment and the smile dropped from her face. What was she to do with it?
Each year in the days leading up to her daughter’s birthday, she received a similar envelope containing a postal order for a few dozen bits - hardly a princely sum - and nothing more. No note, no mention of who it was from. At first Ditzy though it might have been sent to her in error, if it weren’t for her name on the envelope. Then, at Dinky’s second birthday, she had noticed the stamp showed the envelope was from Fillydelphia, and had begun to suspect its source. It wasn’t until she joined the post office that she managed to trace the source in more detail; a much better part of town than her parents or anypony she knew lived - almost anypony. Each year she deposited the payment into an account in her daughter’s name, meaning to tell her about it when she was older. This year was different: the sum was higher, over a hundred bits, and for the first time there was a message, ‘To Dinky, from your Father’. It wasn’t signed. She knew her suspicions were correct; the cheque was from Castor Cut. But she still didn’t know what to do about it. She knew that the circumstances leading up to Dinky’s conception weren’t entirely Castor’s fault. Ditzy herself bore equal responsibility - she had destroyed Castor’s family, after all - but that didn’t mean his abandonment hadn’t hurt. It hurt more than she normally let on. What should she do? Dinky knew of her father now, but should she tell her daughter of the gifts? What did the message in the latest mean? Did Castor want to meet his daughter? How would Dinky react when she found her mother had been keeping secrets from her? Ditzy had been struggling with the dilemma since the letter arrived, and she seemed no closer to a solution. Take the letter to her daughter or hide it?
After dithering for a full five minutes, swinging this way and that, Ditzy returned the letter to her hiding place. As mature as she was, Dinky was still too young to deal with this; maybe next year, or the year after. Kicking herself for her cowardice, Ditzy headed towards her daughter’s bedroom. She plastered a smile on her face and opened the door.
“Morning, Muffin!” she cried. “Happy Birthday!”
“Morning, Momma!” cried Dinky, leaping excitedly from her bed and rushing over to nuzzle her mother. As Ditzy had expected, she had obviously been lying awake for some time.
“It’s your special day,” she said as she hugged her daughter tightly, before carefully lowering the presents onto the ground. “Do you want to see how big you’ve gotten this year?” she asked.
With some effort, the foal dragged her eyes away from the pile of gifts and towards the doorway. “Yes, Momma,” she said eagerly as she scampered over and stood next to the yellowing sheet of paper attached to the wall. On the chart were marks showing Dinky’s height at each of her previous birthdays, all the way back to when she was first born.
“Now stand still,” instructed Ditzy as her daughter stretched to seem as tall as she could. She smiled. Dinky was always excited about this, so any effect she might have on her own height cancelled itself out. She carefully drew a line on the chart at the position of her daughter’s horn, using a marker. She measured out the difference between last year and this one; it was more than a hoof. “You’re growing up so quickly now, Muffin. At this rate you'll be taller than me in a few years.” She was glad - her daughter had previously been a little small for her age and she had been worried that the diet she could provide wasn’t enough, but it seemed like Dinky had just been a little behind the curve.
“Can I open my presents now, Momma?” asked Dinky excitedly, jumping up and down in place. Ditzy grinned. Her daughter might be patient for her age, but she was still a foal.
“Of course you can, dear. Just one at a time so we can keep track of where each of them came from and know who to thank.”
“Of course, Momma.” The foal bounded forwards and began to tear at the bright paper covering the largest of the boxes.
“That one’s from me,” said Ditzy. Her daughter lifted the lid off the box with her magic, accidentally crushing it in her excitement. Within, wrapped in paper, were four wheeled boots.
“Skates!” cried Dinky, trying on one of them.
“And a helmet and knee pads,” pointed out Ditzy. When her daughter had first mentioned she’d like skates, Ditzy had been worried that Dinky might hurt herself, but after a discussion with Heavy Roller she had managed to salve her fears.
“Thanks, Momma,” said Dinky hugging her mother before she turned to the next present.
“That’s from Miss Fluttershy,” pointed out Ditzy. She had hoped the yellow-coated pegasus would be able to make her daughter’s party, but the timid pony had locked up at the thought of being in such a crowded environment.
With a gasp of excitement, Dinky leapt over to the smaller box and began to carefully peel the wrapping off. “Now I don’t want you to feel disappointed if it’s not what you wanted,” warned Ditzy. Her daughter had been dropping hints all year that she wanted a puppy; she’d considered it, since she was sure Dinky would take good care of a pet, but their house was a bit small for most breeds.
If the small unicorn was disappointed, she hid it well as she lifted the lid to find it contained a number of plush animals - including a puppy, a chicken and a rabbit which looked like it was styled on Fluttershy’s pet Angel. “Oh, it’s so cute,” she said hugging the puppy doll while eying the chicken a little warily, “I’ll make sure to thank Miss Fluttershy next time I see her.”
Dinky continued through the other presents: a card from her grandparents (they would give her her actual present tomorrow), a game of Battleclouds from Silver Script, a warm winter scarf and a few books, including one from Twilight (Seventy Simple Spells for Striplings). It was a shame the unicorn couldn’t get to the party, but the library was supposed to be open and she couldn’t break her parole. Finally there was only a small box remaining.
“That’s another one from me,” said Ditzy. “I saw you eyeing it at the market.”
Opening the package, Dinky found it contained a white envelope tied up with a long pink ribbon. Biting her tongue in concentration, the filly carefully used her aura to undo the bow. “It’s beautiful,” she sighed, holding the silk in front of herself and running her muzzle along it, enjoying the feel.
“You did say you liked it. Hold still.” Ditzy took the ribbon in her hooves and carefully tied it into her daughter’s mane. It was a bit long and the ends stretched down almost to the ground, so she tucked them in a bit to make them look tidier. “There you go.”
Dink excitedly scampered over to her mirror and spun around a few times to try and get a good look. “It’s wonderful! Thanks, Momma.”
Dinky smiled and picked up the hastily discarded envelope. “You might want to look at this as well.” She pulled several pieces of paper out of it. “Tickets to the Cloudsdale Cloudiseum.”
“The Cloudiseum!?” gasped Dinky.
“Yes, I know how disappointed you were when we found out your vouchers didn’t cover it, and Miss Twilight can cast the cloud walking spell on you so you can wander around as much as you want.” She’d had the unicorn cast it several times on other ponies first and had made sure it would last for three days at a minimum, just to make sure of her daughter’s safety.
“Wow!” Dinky rushed over to hug her mother again. “This is the best birthday ever!”
“There’ll be more presents at your party, but I hope you’re hungry, Muffin, because it’s time to make our special birthday breakfast.”
Yelling in excitement, and skidding to avoid crashing into the door, Dinky galloped off towards the kitchen, the ends of her new ribbon flowing behind her. Ditzy smiled at her daughter’s joy, all bad thoughts forgotten for the moment, and followed her more sedately out of the room.
Things didn’t get any better than this.
Looked at objectively, the Doo family’s special birthday breakfast wasn’t really all that special. Pancakes topped with ice cream; certainly more than Ditzy could afford most weeks in her tighter years, but not excessive. However, Ditzy always felt it was more special because she and her daughter worked together to make it. Even when Dinky had been too small to do much, her mother had made sure she helped mix the batter. She felt it made them taste better, even if they were a little lumpy.
By the time Ditzy made it into the kitchen, her daughter had pulled out the stool which allowed her to reach the table, and was waiting, one leg already on it, ready to leap into action. Ditzy grinned at her daughter’s impatience; at the rate she was growing, she wouldn’t even need the stool in a few years.
She collected the various ingredients for the recipe and laid them out on the table while Dinky stood watching. “Ok, Muffin, start whisking the egg and milk while I heat up the butter.”
Taking great care, Dinky carefully lifted the egg (provided by Fluttershy) with her aura and tapped it against the side of the jug, biting her tongue in concentration. While lighting the stove, Ditzy kept an eye on Dinky (something her condition made a little easier). Her daughter’s magic had come on in leaps and bounds over the last year, but she still had several spare eggs in place in case of accidents. After a few trial taps she broke it and poured most of the content into the jug, before adding the milk and beginning to mix them with a whisk. She was a little too enthusiastic to start off with, and some of the mixture splashed on the counter, but not much.
Smiling, Ditzy watched the butter melt in the pan, and started to put on her mouth guard to pick it up. “Let me, Momma!” chirped Dinky. Before Ditzy could say anything, the pan was surrounded by a pink aura and moved smoothly to the jug, pouring its golden contents in before Dinky returned to her whisking.
Ditzy spat out the mouth guard and looked at her daughter reproachfully. “You should have told me before you did that.”
Dinky stopped for a moment, looking guilty. “Sorry Moma, I forgot.”
“No harm done, just remember next time, dear.” Ditzy turned and began to mix the remainder of the ingredients in a bowl. When she had done her daughter added the milk / egg / butter mix and began to beat the batter. Soon it was thick and smooth.
Ditzy turned back to the pan and made sure it was still hot and greased. “Be very careful now and ladle in a scoop,” she instructed. Her daughter complied and the dollop of batter began to hiss as it rose in the pan. Ditzy took a spatula in her mouth and prepared to turn the pancake.
“I can do that, Momma,” exclaimed Dinky.
“I don’t know, Muffin. The pan is very hot, I don’t want you to burn yourself.” She was always nervous about Dinky using the stove; it wasn’t the newest of models and she was scared enough of using it herself sometimes, given her poor depth perception, let alone risking her daughter.
“Don’t worry,” said Dinky, her horn glowing as she backed away from the stove. “I can do it from back here.”
“Alright then, but still be careful,” said Ditzy, putting down the spatula. To her surprise, rather than her daughter’s aura surrounding the implement, it instead covered the half-cooked pancake and flipped it over.
“There, Momma, all done safely.” Ditzy gave her daughter a pat on the head, although within her something felt a little off.
“Ok, that’s the first one, how many do you think you’ll want?” she asked.
The rest of the cooking went smoothly as Ditzy and her daughter sat down to eat a tall pile of pancakes lying between them. “Now, I’ve got ice cream to go with them,” explained Ditzy. “Or I’ve got an extra special treat for your special day.”
“Ooh! What is it?” asked Dinky her eyes wide.
With a smile Ditzy brought out her greatest treasure, a full jar of Zap apple jam. The magical condiment was normally well out of her price range, but a few weeks ago she had bumped into Big Macintosh Apple at the market, and he had revealed that one of the jars in the latest batch had gotten damaged and was thus unsellable. It only looked like a few chips to Ditzy, but what did she know? The red stallion had kindly offered to give her the jam for free, but she had insisted that she pay for it, and they had haggled for a few minutes until reaching a mutually agreeable, and still hugely discounted, price. As she’d left to continue her shopping, she’d noticed Mac pass the coins to Applebloom who vanished and returned a little later with ice-creams for not only herself, but Dinky and several of their friends as well. Come to think about it, she’d seen the handsome stallion around town more often since he’d rescued Dinky from those gangsters; he was often hanging around the post office or the school. She guessed he was making sure nothing happened to Dinky or his sister. She certainly felt safer when the muscular stallion was around.
“Wow, Momma,” cried Dinky, pulling Ditzy from her thoughts. “I’ve never tried it before, but Applebloom says Zap Apple jam is the best thing ever.”
“Then I guess we should try some and find out, shouldn’t we?” said Ditzy, spreading the jam over several of their pancakes. She’d never actually tried any herself either, but she had been told it was an experience. “There you go,” she said, passing the plate over to her daughter, who nibbled at the side of a pancake with a little trepidation.
“It makes my ‘ongue tingle,” announced Dinky. “It’s magic! It tastes like strawberries.” She took a second larger bite. “Oooh! Now it tastes like mint!”
Ditzy tried a mouthful and found that the magical jam changed flavour as she chewed; first like orange, then vanilla, then apple.
“Can I have another?” asked Dinky, looking up from her empty plate.
“Of course,” said Ditzy, pushing over another treat.
They finished their food quickly, and Ditzy put the dirty dishes in the sink. Normally she’d clean them straight away, but today she didn’t want to waste any time she could be spending with her daughter.
“So what now, Muffin?” asked Ditzy. Maybe they could try out the new Battleclouds game together, or start to read one of Dinky’s new books?
“Can I go and play with my new skates?” asked Dinky, already strapping on her helmet.
“Of course we can...” began Ditzy. It would be nice to spend some time with her daughter outside. Maybe they could go to the park.
“Great! I really want to show Scootaloo how fast I can go, and Applebloom will want to see my ribbon, and Alula will want to hear that I’m going to the Cloudiseum,” continued the pale-violet unicorn.
“You... you want to play with your friends? Now?” asked Ditzy, swallowing hard.
“Yes, I want to tell them all about the cool stuff I have. Can I, please? I’ll be back in time for the party.”
Ditzy fought to try and stop the disappointment showing on her face. Of course her daughter wanted to play with her friends rather than her mother. What foal wouldn’t? But she’d have all afternoon to do that at her party; now was supposed to be their time just for the two of them. But looking down at her daughter’s smiling face, she couldn’t say no; it was her birthday, after all. “Of course you can, dear,” replied Ditzy, trying to fit a smile to her face. “Just make sure you’re back in time to get ready for your party.”
“Thanks Momma,” cried Dinky as she rushed towards the door, the box of skates on her back.
“Just remember your scarf. It’s cold out.” She cried, causing her daughter to pause and grab the knitted garment in her mouth before she went careening down the stairs.
Ditzy stood still for a moment, looking around her suddenly quiet house and at the pile of dishes in the sink. She guessed she should make a start on them, then. She sighed. It was only to be expected that Dinky would like to spend time with her friends, now that she was growing up; her special talent was making friends, after all. At least they had gotten to make breakfast together... only they hadn’t, had they? Dinky had done almost all of the work; it was only her paranoia about the stove which had stopped her daughter doing everything. Given another year, would she have any need for her mother’s help in cooking at all?
Soon she wouldn’t need her mother for anything...
Ditzy looked around her small house. Everything was perfectly spotless and in place; not a speck of dust to be seen, perfect. She sighed. No need to clean, then. Normally that would eat up an hour or so, maybe a little longer; she had a touch of arthritis in her wings nowadays which made reaching the higher shelves a bit of a challenge. She looked around for something to do. Maybe she could make some tea? No she’d drunk all she reasonably could today. She glanced out the window; the sun was still low in the sky, and almost the whole long, empty, lonely day stretched out in front of her. She shook herself. No, not lonely, not today, today was a special day, Dinky was visiting today, they could go for a walk, talk, like they used to. She glanced up at the clock, its pendulum splitting infinity into smaller and smaller chunks. Her daughter was a bit late, but she would never leave her old mother hanging... would she?
There was a knock at the door and Ditzy almost jumped, a grin spread across her lined face. She was just being silly, this must be Dinky now. She trotted over to the door and swung it open to reveal her daughter. No longer was Dinky the little ball of purple fur she’d been in her youth; now a beautiful, strong mare in her prime, a wife, a mother, an important diplomat, thought Ditzy with pride.
“Hi, Mum,” said Dinky nervously, rubbing a hoof on the back of her head.
“Good to see you, dear,” cried Ditzy with barely concealed joy. She leant forwards and gave her daughter a nuzzle; the younger mare felt a little stiff to the touch. “Let me get my shawl and we can go for a walk. How are the twins? It’s been ages since I last saw them, how are they doing at school?”
“Er, they graduated last year, Mum. Silver’s joined his father's company and Hawk works up at Golden Harvest. Look, I’m sorry, but there’s been a bit of a mix up.”
The blood ran cold in Ditzy’s veins. This was a special day. Please, let nothing be wrong. “Mix up?”
“Something’s come up at work. I’m sorry I... I can’t stay. The princess needs me back. Maybe we can reschedule for next month? Or the month after? Maybe Hearth’s Warming?”
“Oh,” mumbled Ditzy, her head drooping. “I understand, you’re a busy mare. I’m.. I’m sure we can do this some when else. I’ll find something to do.” She glanced around the house. Spotless.
Ditzy shook herself. She was just being silly. Her daughter wouldn’t abandon her. She still needed her.
But less than she used to, whispered a dark part of her.
She was proud that her daughter was so independent and strong, she replied, but maybe she did miss it a little where her daughter needed her to chase away the monsters under her bed or to sing her to sleep.
Maybe she should see this as a good thing? She’d have more time to herself. Maybe she could take up a hobby? Bowling, athletics, she’d made the relay team at school. She might even have time to start dating again; certain recent events had shown her how her life could be with a stallion in it. She should look on the positive side of her daughter’s independence.
Trying to shake herself out of her melancholy, Ditzy made her way to nearby Sugarcube Corner to start to set up her daughter’s party. Mr Cake was helping Pinkie put up a number of decorations around the function room, while his increasingly rotund wife was still serving at the counter downstairs. It was still a few months until the Cakes’ foal was due, but Mrs Cake was already larger than Ditzy remembered herself being when she was carrying Dinky. In the function room, Trixie had somehow managed to get her mobile stage into the building and was preparing for her big show later on; opposite her, Vinyl Scratch was setting up her deck for the disco. The two seemed to be competing for the award for the most noise made when setting up for a party. So far, Pinkie’s party cannon was winning.
This was going to be the biggest birthday party her daughter had ever had, thought Ditzy as she started to arrange plates of food on the buffet table. Normally she couldn’t afford anything so lavish, but so many ponies around the town had volunteered to help. Ditzy felt so honoured that so much of the town loved her daughter. Still, not only was it her birthday; as she had recently gotten her mark, it was her cute-ceañera as well, and that deserved something special.
Ditzy glanced out of the window to see her daughter and a herd of her friends rushing through the streets. Dinky seemed to be enjoying her new skates, apparently locked in a race with Scootaloo. The latter was on her scooter while Dinky, on her skates, was being pulled along by a large white dog, a Great Ponynees, far bigger than even the largest of the foals. Ditzy would normally be worried, but she recognised the dog as Parcel, Silver Script’s loyal companion, and the likely source of Dinky’s recent interest in owning a puppy. The saddlebags on the dog were empty, so it looked like he and Silver had finished their rounds and her boss had let the dog frolic with the foals for a while. In fact, yes, there was her boss, trotting along at a more reasonable pace following the foals. It was odd to think that he was probably the most important male figure in Dinky’s life. The thought brought her back to Castor’s letter and she tried to bury it again. Watching the children play, Ditzy could see why her daughter would rather spend her time with them than her. She tried her best, but she was far less entertaining. She sighed for a moment. Why did things have to change? She remembered when her daughter had loved to spend her time with her.
“This is gonna be a great party,” said Pearl, Sweetie Belle’s mother, breaking Ditzy’s train of thought.
“Huh? Sorry?” asked Ditzy.
“I said, this is gonna be a great party. You alright?” She continued in her nasal accent, “You look a bit out of it.”
“Sorry, I was just thinking,” Ditzy looked up at the older unicorn. Pearl had been a great source of advice for Ditzy as long as she’d been living in Ponyville. The older mare had raised two unicorn fillies, after all. “Do you ever feel like you wish Sweetie Belle would stop growing up?” she asked.
“Oh, all the time,” laughed the pink coated mare. “I remember when me and Magnum were her whole world. Now it’s always Scootaloo this, Rumble that. You can’t keep them in your apron strings all their life. They’re not babies for ever, I’m afraid.”
“I know, and maybe it’s wrong of me, but I just wish it would all slow down for a while. I miss it when Dinky was my little filly. Why can’t things go back to that?”
“Sounds like somepony’s feeling a little broody! Magnum got like that when Rarity started to get a bit more independent. He begged me for another foal, and, well, that stallion can be quite persuasive when he sets his mind to it. I think he was hoping for a colt.” She looked over at her husband, who was discussing something with Mr Cake that apparently required very involved hoof gestures. “Maybe you should think about getting yourself a stallion.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Ditzy, shuffling her hooves. “I’ve thought about dating but I don’t really have the time, and, well, I don’t think anypony’s interested.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. Maybe you should put yourself out there a bit - you never know who’ll turn up. Apple?” she asked, levitating a large red fruit form a basket left open for the guests.
“Um, thanks,” said Ditzy, not sure about the non sequitur. She took a bite out of the fruit. It was sweet.
“Maybe you could get used to eating apple more often,” suggested Pearl, waggling her eyebrows. She paused as if waiting for a response, only to get a bemused stare from Ditzy. “Anyway,” she continued, “You think it’s bad now? Wait a few more years, your daughter won’t want anything to do with you. Too embarrassing. Rarity used to love watching hoofball with her father or playing dress up with me. Then suddenly overnight, ‘That sport is for barbarians!’ and ‘Do you have something a little less... tacky, mother?’” said Pearl, imitating her daughter’s affected accent. She looked down at her pink blouse and white sweat pants. “Tacky! These are classic. Anyway, it’s a rule. They hit puberty and suddenly they want nothing to do with you. You’ve just got to live with it.”
Ditzy felt a little shaken. Surely Pearl was joking? She could understand Rarity being embarrassed by her parents; the fashionista was rather high strung, although basically a nice pony. But surely Dinky would never be like that. After all, Ditzy hadn’t acted that way around her parents... oh, she had, she remembered being mortified when her father had picked her up from a friend’s party and referred to her as his Itzy Ditzy Bear. Of course Dinky would be embarrassed of her when she grew up...
“How about this, Muffin?” said Ditzy, propping a wide brimmed hat onto her head. “How does this look?”
Her daughter stood several lengths away from her, apparently trying to pretend she had never seen the older mare before in her life. If she stood up straight, the young mare would be almost her mother's height by now - not that she often did, since slouching seemed to come naturally to her. “Mooomm!” she moaned. “Nopony wears hats any more! That was like so last week! And don’t call me Muffin.” She looked back and forth suspiciously. “Somepony I know might hear.”
“Well I like it, and it’s not very expensive. I might treat myself.” Ditzy examined herself in the mirror, tipping the hat to a rakish angle.
“Whatever!” mumbled Dinky, nosing about in basket containing a number of false beards that all the fillies seemed to be wearing nowadays.
A pair of teen mares wandered by through the market, talking animatedly to each other. One had a neat pointy beard attached to her face, while the other had an untidy bush of hair. Dinky quickly slipped behind a nearby manequin to avoid detection.
Ditzy passed a number of bits over to the sales assistant and took her daughter by the hoof. “Come on, let’s head to Sugar Cube Corner. I’ll get you an ice-cream.”
“Sugar Cube is like nowhere now, everypony who’s anypony goes to Carbohydrate Hexahedron Intersection instead,” the younger mare complained, dragging her hooves.
“Hey, Dinky!” came a cry as a young grey-coated pegasus stallion wearing a fashionable powdered wig floated across the market place.
“Oh, H.. Hi, Rumble,” muttered Dinky, shyly flipping her mane over her face.
“You busy?” he asked. “Me, Snips and ‘Bloom were going to hang out at the lake.”
“I’d love to!” said Dinky, turning away from her mother.
“Don’t worry,” said Pearl with a grin. “It’s not as bad as you think. Even Rarity shows she still loves me. You should see the dress she made for my last birthday, she’s so very talented. Not really my style but beautiful, I just need to find the right time to wear it.”
Ditzy nodded, trying to look happy. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. Dinky loves me.”
“That’s the spirit. Plus, it can be fun to make your daughter squirm some times,” she said with a grin.
After setting up the food, Ditzy went out to collect her daughter and get her ready for her party. She gave the filly a bath so she looked her best. Her daughter was excited and wanted to get back to her friends as quickly as possible. It was a shame; Ditzy remembered when bath night was a special event. Dinky used to love splashing around in the tub, and they both got squeaky clean even if the bathroom ended up a mess. Dinky wanted to wear her skates back to the party, but Ditzy told her that they would be too dangerous to use in the crowded room. The purple filly had pouted a bit but had eventually agreed. She seemed to be more wilful than she used to be, thought Ditzy.
The two of them only just made it back to Sugar Cube Corner ahead of their guests. Soon foals were rushing about, bouncing off of each other while the various adults were gathering around the walls in small groups, chatting while keeping an eye on their offspring.
She and Dinky made their way through the crowd, accepting presents and good wishes as they went and offering thanks and hugs in return. Ditzy was glad her daughter was so happy, but she couldn’t help but think that it might be better if the party was smaller - something that gave her more time with her daughter while she still had the chance. She tried to drive away the thought; she was being clingy, just like she had been when her daughter was taking the test for Harshwinny academy. She had lots of time left with her daughter… if she still wanted her.
“Uh, hullo,” came a voice in a Trottingham accent. Ditzy turned to see Pip approaching. He was scratching uncomfortably in a suit and his mane had been slicked back. “Sorry I’m late, Dinky. Me Mam made we wear me good clothes.”
“Pip!” cried Dinky, rushing over to the colt. She came to a stop in front of him nervously, before giving him a quick nuzzle and pulling away, both of them blushing. Ditzy frowned a little. She didn’t think her daughter had done that before. Another way she seemed to be growing up, and rather too quickly in her opinion.
“Um, I got you a present.” The small foal reached into his saddlebags and brought out a gift-wrapped shape.
Dinky wasted no time stripping it of its wrappings and levitating it in front of her. “Don Roc... Rocinante?” she read.
“It’s about this old stallion who goes about fighting all these cool monsters but it’s actually all pretend, like we do. Me Da read it for me and it was really cool.” His eyes zipped between Dinky and Ditzy. “But you’re really good at reading so you can probably read it yourself.”
“I’ll help you with any long words,” said Ditzy. Dinky was smart for her age, but she would probably still need help. She was surprised by the gift; she had expected the colt to bring something more piratical given his usual interests.
“Thanks, Pip,” said Dinky, giving her friend a hug.
“I’ll take this over to the gift table,” offered Ditzy, “while you talk to your friends.”
“Thanks, Momma,” said Dinky, placing the book on her mother’s back.
Ditzy trotted over to the table near the back of the hall. Near the front were the gifts from her fellow element bearers; an extra-large basket of chocolates from Lyra and Bon Bon, a bottle of homemade shampoo from Carrot Top, the strange contraption Cheerilee called a Xiǎomǎguó hoof trap, and a large illustrated book of fairy stories from Raindrops. Only Trixie’s gift was missing; the representative had promised it would be revealed before the end of the party.
Ditzy added the new book to the stack Dinky had already obtained from her various friends, both foals and adults; including Pokey (Prancy Doo and the Missing Mirror), Sweetie Belle (Little Mares) and Scootaloo (“I saw Rainbow Dash and she was reading this series called Daring Do, and your last name is Doo, and it's so close, and here's the first book, it's so AWESOME”). Even more gifts were scattered around; a carved dragon figure from Firelock, sweets from Twist and Truffle Shuffle, honey from Snails (“My bee friends made it for me”), a homemade cup with Dinky’s new cutie mark on it from Alula, records from Pina Colada and Bee Bop, an extra birthday cake from Pinkie (“I had a spare, in case of birthday cake emergencies!”), a beautiful dress from Rarity, a box of homemade apple fritters from Applebloom, oddly a necklace from Diamond Tiara similar to the one Dinky had given her mother for her last birthday, and even a hoof written voucher for a free mane cut from Snips (Ditzy appreciated the gesture but gently shoved that one to the back of the pile).
“That’s quite a haul,” noted Cheerilee. She and Trixie were standing guard on the treasures.
“Yes, it’s good that Dinky has so many generous friends. It’s just a shame I can’t afford to get her more than I did.”
“You get her plenty, it’s not like she needs that many toys and things. She’s just happy to be with other foals.”
Yes, thought Ditzy, Dinky was happy with her fellow foals. She didn’t need her mother to entertain her any more.
“Hey! Don Rocinante!” cried Trixie, running a hoof gently over the cover of the book. “Who got her this?”
“Pip, the brown spotted colt over there,” said Ditzy, pointing out the boy.
“Huh, he’s certainly got taste. This book got me through a lot,” muttered Trixie. “Not many foals appreciate it.”
“He’s a nice colt,” said Cheerilee with a little pride. “A little too easily distracted sometimes, but very imaginative. You should read some of his stories, once the spellings have been fixed, anyway. He seems to get on with Dinky really well,” she said nudging Ditzy.
The grey mare scowled a little. “I don’t think Dinky’s old enough to be getting on really well with any colt.”
“Well, I think they’re cute,” said Trixie.
Both other mares turned to stare at her. “Who are you and what have you done with Trixie?” asked Cheerilee.
“Don’t look at me like that! They’re obviously really good friends, and they’re only foals! You don’t have to bring anything icky into it!”
Before Ditzy could agree with Trixie, there was an excited cry from behind her. “Momma, look!” She turned to see her daughter making her way across the room, pulling a young pink coated mare behind her. “Look what Sparkler got me! Aren't they pretty!” The foal held up something small and shiny in her aura.
Ditzy leaned closer to get a better look. Dinky was holding a pair of earrings; each was a purple gem cut in the shape of a star. They were exquisite. “They’re lovely, have you thanked your sister for them?”
“Thank you, Sparkler,” said Dinky.
“That’s all right, Dinks,” said Sparkler, ruffling her sister’s mane with her hoof. “Now we just need to get your ears pierced. Maybe we could talk to Nurse Redheart, or maybe Pokey could help?” she pointed over to the blue stallion.
“P... P... Pierced!” stammered Ditzy, her wings suddenly shooting out as she stepped protectively in front of her daughter. “N...No, she’s too young!” Nopony was going to stick a needle through her baby while she drew breath!
“Hey, Mom,” came an excited cry followed by a rattling sound.
Ditzy sighed a little as her daughter rushed over towards her. She remembered when it was just an earring… now this. “Evening Dinky,” she said.
“I just got it finished, what do you think of this?”
It had started with an earring, and one was still there, a little bigger than the first but still an earring. On her left ear, anyway. Three silver rings graced the right. Then there were the others; the large iron ring through her nostrils was the most noticeable, along with the smaller ones in her eyelids. The studs in her lips stood out as well, until you saw the forked tongue anyway. The gold rings digging into grooves carved in her horn were almost tasteful by comparison. The rings and hooks on her body were less noticeable, really; the others, which were still jangling even after she’d come to a stop next to her mother, were almost invisible unless you made a more intimate examination. Of course, even beyond the piercings Dinky would stand out in a crowd; her mane was greased up in a Zebrican style and dyed almost every colour possible apart from her natural blonde, while her tail was cut to a short stub but just as vibrantly coloured. However, it was none of the above that the young mare was proud of at this moment. It was her latest tattoo. A minotaur tradition, tattoos were rare in Equestria; they could be covered by your coat, unless you shaved off sections, which Dinky had. It was the biggest - but by no way the first - the unicorn had had done, and covered a good chunk of her back. Black gothic script flowed from shoulder blade to shoulder blade, proclaiming ‘Thrash Metaill Lives!”. Below it was a picture of a golden guitar with a full-colour image of a devilish stallion reclining against it.
“Isn’t it amazing!” Enthused, Dinky’s grin widened and her excited hops resulted in a crescendo of jangling.
“It’s... it’s very eye catching, dear,” said Ditzy, trying to keep her eyes on the daughter. They kept trying to look away from what she had become. “You look very different.”
“And I’ve got Sparkler to thank for it all!”
“Yes, I should thank your sister for all these... changes.”
“Calm down,” said Sparkler with a grin. “I was kidding, these are clip-ons.” She indicated the small clasp on the back of the earrings.
“Momma,” said Dinky, looking confused. “What’s pierced?”
“Oh, um, it’s a way that some older ponies wear earrings. They have holes poked in their ears to fit the earring through.”
“And not just ears,” noted Cheerilee, butting into the conversation. “Some... other... places...” She realised who her audience was and began to wither under Ditzy’s glare. “Um, never mind,” she said, slinking away in the crowd.
“That doesn’t sound very nice. Doesn’t it hurt?” said Dinky, shuddering slightly.
“Well yes, a little,” said Ditzy.
“But less than you’d think,” said Sparkler, batting at her own earrings.
“Are your ears pierced, Momma?”
Ditzy’s ears drooped, trying to hide the small holes in them. She’d gotten hers done not long before meeting Dinky’s father; they’d made her feel very mature and feminine at the time. Looking back, it all seemed so silly. Was that how her own mother had felt when she told her not to get them done? “Um, yes, but I was a lot older than you are when I got mine done.”
Thankfully, Dinky seemed to accept it. “Ok, Momma.”
Sparkler levitated the earrings over and gently clipped them onto Dinky’s ears, making them flop around for a moment. “Why don’t you show your friends your new present?” she suggested.
“Ok,” agreed Dinky, already rushing off into the crowd.
“Sorry about that,” said Sparkler, a little awkwardly. “It was a joke.”
“It’s ok. Thanks for coming,” said Ditzy a little ruefully.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. So,” said Sparkler, lowering her voice. “Did you get Dad’s letter?”
“Oh,” said Ditzy nervously. “You know about that?”
“Like you suggested, we’ve talked... well, written. I asked him to send something for Dinky’s birthday.”
“It was very generous, but the letter was a little... sparse.”
“Did you tell her?” said Sparkler seriously. She nodded towards Dinky, who was showing her earrings off to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who actually looked a little impressed.
“No, I’m... I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say. She knows who he is, but, well, what does he want? Does he want to see her? Now?”
Sparkler sighed. “I don’t think Dad knows what he wants. But if he asked, would you?”
“I think, I think...” Ditzy chewed at her lip for a moment. “Yes, I would. She should know her father.”
Sparkler seemed to relax a little. “That’s good. I’ll write to him and we’ll see. Maybe we could visit together?”
“Maybe,” said Ditzy, looking unsure.
“Look, sorry for bringing you down on Dinky’s special day, but I had to check, you know.”
“I do... I think.”
“Good. I’ll try to stop tempting your daughter to the dark side. No piercing until she’s older or you say so, right?”
“Right,” agreed Ditzy.
“Attention, foals of Ponyville!” announced the Great and Powerful Trixie, summoning all the guests to the front of her stage. “Foals of all ages,” she amended as Pinkie leapt over and positioned herself in the centre of the rapidly forming audience.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie has been charged with a most important Task by Princess Luna herself.” A small gasp went up from the crowd.
“I have been informed that a vast horde of fearsome Bushwoolies are even now approaching Ponyville!” Behind the blue mare, shadows of large hairy creatures seemed to form. From the back of the crowd there came a cry of ‘The horror! The horror!’ “But fear not, my little ponies! For I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, will protect you.” There was a flash of light and the shadowy creatures disappeared. “Still, this will be a major task even for the Great and Powerful Trixie, and I will need the help of all of you… and one in particular. I will need an assistant. I have heard there is a special filly in the audience, am I right?” Several of the crowd jumped up and down yelling ‘Me, me!’, including Snails who was apparently happy to be considered a filly if it meant he got to be Trixie’s assistant. Igniting her horn, Trixie swept a beam of light through the crowd, coming to a stop over Dinky. “Ah there she is, the Fantastic and Friendly Dinky Doo!”
Around her the crowd started to holler and stamp as Dinky made her way to the stage. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is glad to have you along, Dinky,” announced Trixie. “But our quest will take us through the whole world, from the deserts of the Mild West,” the temperature seemed to increase as a tumbleweed rolled across the stage, and an expanse of sand seemed to stretch out behind them, “To the snows of the Crystal Empire.” A thin layer of snow started to form on the stage. “You will need protection, and The Great and Powerful Trixie has just the thing.” Trixie gestured at the excited foal and there was a puff of smoke; when it cleared, Dinky was clothed in a short red cloak similar to Trixie’s but of a more practical cut. “This cloak is enchanted to keep you warm in the coldest environments and cool in the hottest of summers.”
“Thank you, Miss Trixie, I mean The Great and Powerful Trixie!” cried Dinky.
“Think nothing of it, young assistant. And one more thing...” With a flourish, Trixie produced a wand seemingly from nowhere, levitating the black stick topped at each end in white in front of the foal. “For protection, I give you this wand.” She gently tapped it on Dinky’s head and flowers sprouted from its end. “It has many secret powers.” She passed it over to the foal, who took it in her aura. “Use it wisely. Now, we do not have much time, for The Great and Powerful Trixie senses that the Bushwoolies are close.”
Ditzy watched on, smiling, as Trixie lead Dinky and the audience on a magic journey all across the world, hunting down the magical ingredients needed to vanquish the Bushwoolies. The adventure was punctuated by various tricks and illusions carried out by Trixie, ably assisted by Dinky. Her daughter was great on stage, obviously enjoying being the centre of attention, but at the same time happy to call out to those in the audience for help, giving them a chance to shine as well. Dinky’s skill with magic was much greater than Ditzy had expected; Trixie and Twilight’s lessons seemed to be bearing fruit as the foal’s telekinesis was much more stable than even a few months ago, and she seemed to be able to almost effortlessly throw out firework spells when prompted by her mentor to scare off the ‘Bushwoolies’.
Finally the show came to an end, with the magic ingredients being used to change the shadowy creatures into much cuter furry creatures, which faded away as Dinky wished them farewell to the thunderous stamping of the crowd. As her reward, Trixie let the foal keep her new cloak and wand.
After the magic show came the cake. The Cakes had really outdone themselves this time. It was larger than the birthday filly herself, and decorated with her newly gained cutie mark picked out in vanilla icing. Ditzy felt like she was piling on the pounds just by looking at it, but judging by the amount of energy her daughter and her friends were using up rushing around the room, she didn’t think it would do her much harm to be treated just this once. She was just stepping up to help Dinky cut the cake when Lyra stepped forwards.
“Before we get on with this, do you mind if I give Dinky an extra present?” she asked. “I wrote a song for her and now seems a good time to sing it.”
“I’m sure Dinky would love to hear your song,” said Ditzy with a smile. It was very generous of Lyra to put in the extra effort for her daughter.
“Of course I would, Mummy,” agreed Dinky, looking up eagerly at Lyra.
Lyra reared and balanced expertly on her hind legs before lighting her horn and summoning her lyre to herself. She closed her eyes for a second and took adeep breath
She looks outside her window at the rising sun, Then she turns and cries her hello to her beloved Mum. Ditzy smiles back and together they start such a loving day Ditzy smiled down at her child who sat eyes wide entranced by the music. She eats her breakfast treat then saddles up her school bags and hears her momma say Hey Muffin, can you see how good it is today? You have friends all over town and everypony want to play Your heart is full of love and your smile, extra wide Your cutie mark shows me that your friendship will always shine!
Oh-oh-oh, Dinky Doo! All the town is friends with you. sang Lyra strumming her lyre You're the muffin of your mother’s heart, and we all love you too, Ah-ah-ah, Cutie! Tell me, how big can your heart be? It contains so much love for everypony.
She takes off from her home, towards the school down the road, and In just a single moment, she trots to a classmate A princess like child, with temperament so mild Alula smiled shyly as she was mentioned She cannot help but smile, their friendship is so great Then on into the town where two fillies Spoon and Crown Have faces marred with a frown, normally good friends, Diamond Tiara quickly glanced around to see that everyone was entranced by the singing before gently resting a leg across Silver Spoons back. An argument made them mad, seeing Dinky they are glad Her smile ends their sadness, of anger they are cleansed Though she's just a little pony, each colt and each filly Together and all on key sing for her a song
Oh-oh-oh, Dinky Doo! All the town is friends with you. You're the muffin of your mother’s heart, and we all love you too, Ah-ah-ah, Dinky! Tell me, how big can your heart be? It contains so much love for everypony.
You only just got your mark, it came with a spark continued Lyra her tone becoming more serious You saw what you could become. It may seem that your whole life is laid out in front of you And that couldn't be any more scary to you You saw a world full of adults no play time no fun Well that way you shouldn’t climb It may seem like your childhood is near its end Listen to what I say You've shouldn’t give up the foal inside, full of innocence. Don’t hurry to be adult, show your brilliance You've got a ways left to go, You’ve got plenty of time to grow
Oh-oh-oh, Dinky Doo! All the town is friends with you. The whole party took up the chorus, singing along with the music. You're the muffin of your mother’s heart, and we all love you too, Ah-ah-ah, Dinky! Tell me, how big can your heart be? It contains so much love for everypony. It contains so much love for everypony. Oh, you have so much love for everypony. Oh, you have so much love for everypony. Oh, you have so much love for everypony.
When the song finally came to an end, Dinky leapt forwards and threw her hooves around Lyra neck, almost unbalancing the mint unicorn.
“Thank you, thank you,” she babbled.
“Hey that’s all right kid,” gasped Lyra, once she managed to prise the excited filly from her windpipe. “You’re a very special filly.”
“I want one,” mumbled Bon Bon next to her marefriend, causing Lyra to choke for a moment. “I meant a song, it’s been ages since you wrote one for me. Why, what did you think I meant?” she said with a grin.
“Come on, Muffin, time to blow out your candles,” said Ditzy. Behind the cake, Trixie lit up her horn, and the cake burst into light as flames sprung from each of the candles. The illusionist seemed to have become more adept at fire magic, a new skill she had picked up during their adventures.
Dinky hopped over and took a deep breath before exhaling with all of her might. All the candles went out almost at once, to the cheering of the guests.
“Now, it’s time to cut the cake,” said Ditzy, somewhat muffled by the large knife in her mouth. She felt a tingle as Dinky gripped the blade with her aura.
“I can help you Momma,” she said. “I can use my magic.”
She probably could, thought Ditzy. She was very good with it - something else her daughter didn’t need her for. But it was still a sharp knife, and she couldn’t live with herself if something went wrong. “I’m sure you can, dear, but just to be safe, I’ll keep hold of it. Alright?”
“Ok, Momma,” agreed Dinky, gently guiding her mother’s aim as she sliced into the giant cake. She cut off a sizable chunk of it and began to pass slices out to all of her friends.
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.”