Dinky's New Friends - Part 1


                                            >"And now class, we will be going over the early life of Starswirl the Bearded"

                                            >A few muffled groans are heard in the background amongst the clattering of Cheerilee's chalk striking the blackboard

                                            >"Please turn to chapter 12, section B. This will be on the upco-"

                                            >Before Cheerilee can finish her sentence the door bursts open and a gray mare comes crashing into the ground next to Cheerilee's desk

                                            >Everypony is in shock for a second but the majority of fillies and colts burst into laughter at the unexpected disturbance saving them from boredom

                                            >Dinky's mouth drops open as she watches her mom stumble around on the floor

                                            >"Excuse me ma'am, but I'm running a class here can you please explain yourself"

                                            >Cheerilee gives a stern look while tapping her hoof

                                            >"Ow...my head"

                                            >Derpy rubs her noggin as she stands up

                                            >"Oh, is that you Ms. Hooves? I thought you 'retired' from mail deliveries?"

                                            >"Oh Ms. Cheerilee I'm sorry! And this isn't mail for the school it's my daughter's lunch. She even made it herself but forgot to pack it"

                                            >Cheerilee takes a moment to absorb everything and gives Derpy a smile

                                            >"That was sweet of you Ms. Hooves, thank you. I wouldn't want one of my hard workers going hungry"

                                            >Derpy picks up the miraculously still intact lunch basket and carries it over to Dinky plopping it on her desk

                                            >With a warm smile Derpy greets Dinky

                                            >"Hi Muffin, you forgot this!"

                                            >Derpy nuzzles Dinky's face and then walks back to the front of class

                                            >Dinky is sat there embarrassed beyond belief, face red as a tomato. Some of her classmates give strange glances and a few are snickering

                                            >Completely oblivious to the ongoings of the school ponies, Derpy apologies again to Cheerilee and leaves the schoolhouse

                                            >"Alright, where were we..."

                                            >Cheerilee continues with her lesson while writing more notes on the board

                                            >Dinky is flustered over the scene that just played out

                                            >Ever since she got older she's been conscious about her mom out in public

                                            >Derpy is an outgoing pony and constantly embarrasses her

                                            >And of all places for Derpy to show up, at school

                                            >There is some whispering behind her but she doesn't pay it any mind, copying Cheerilee's notes in her journal instead

                                            >"...by that time Starswirl mastered the basics of aura magic and went on to advance the..."

                                            >Out of nowhere Dinky feels something moist hit the back of her head

                                            >It's a spitball

                                            >She turns around and sees a note on the floor next to her chair

                                            >Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon wave at her with a smirk

                                            >Dinky sighs and picks up the note. She knows these two are trouble but was always able to avoid their ire

                                            >She unfolds the paper

                                            :Hi Muffin! Meet us outside at lunch, we'll be next to the tree swing:

                                            >Dinky folds the paper up and gulps. She's not afraid, but knowing they have her in their sights after what happened with her mom has her uneasy

                                            >"And with that we are wrapped up with Starswirl for today"

                                            >Half of the class sighs in relief

                                            >"Lunch time! Everypony be back in 30 minutes."

                                            >Cheerilee winds up the alarm on her mechanical clock and then sits down at her desk. Chomping into a shiny red apple she turns the page of the Ponyville Post sitting on her desk

                                            >Pipsqueak walks over to Dinky

                                            >"You all right? 'at Devil Tiara wacked you wivv a wet one and 'er goon ran up wivv a note"

                                            >Dinky knows Pipsqueak has had his fair share of trouble with them in the past

                                            "Hi Pip, I'll be alright. I am going to meet them by the tree and see what they want"

                                            >"...I could go wivv ya if ya want"

                                            >It's obvious that Pipsqueak would rather do anything but what he just offered

                                            "I'm okay but thanks"

                                            >Dinky uses telekinesis on her lunch basket and brings it with her as she goes outside


                                            >Dinky heads over to the tree swing where Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are waiting

                                            >Diamond Tiara is sitting on the swing and eating a sandwich, Silver Spoon sitting down on a blanket next to her mixing up a salad

                                            >"Oh you came, good"

                                            >Diamond Tiara addresses Dinky with a grin and finishes the last bite of her sandwich

                                            "I got your note...what do you want?"

                                            >"Please make yourself comfortable and eat with us"

                                            >Silver Spoon taps on the blanket gesturing for Dinky to join

                                            >Reluctantly Dinky puts down her lunch basket and sits down

                                            >She takes off the cover and pulls out a sandwich

                                            >"So you made that all by yourself huh"

                                            >Diamond Tiara states with a smug look

                                            "Yes, is that a problem?"

                                            >Dinky surprises herself by how combatant her response came out

                                            >Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara look at each other for a moment and then giggle

                                            >"You've got spunk, I'll give you that"

                                            >Diamond Tiara gets off the swing and walks over to the picnic blanket

                                            >Dinky puts down her half eaten sandwich and looks up at Diamond Tiara who's next to her now

                                            >Dinky feels a little scared but isn't going to back down

                                            >"Want to be our friend?"

                                            >Baffled at the change of topic, Dinky pauses a moment before replying

                                            "U-um...sure?"

                                            >Silver Spoon chips in

                                            >"We could use another filly with a backbone in our crew, whaddya say"

                                            >Diamond Tiara gives an approving nod

                                            "Yeah, I would like that...I thought you were calling me out here to make fun of me or something"

                                            >Dinky blushes and looks away from the two other fillies

                                            >"Us? We would never. I think it's cute that your mom calls you muffin. Isn't that right Silver Spoon?"

                                            >She nods and giggles

                                            "Okay. Then we're friends?"

                                            >"Friends"

                                            >Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon pull in for a team hoof bump

                                            >With a little smile on her face Dinky hoofs them back

                                            >After finishing up their lunch they head back to the classroom

                                            >Dinky takes her seat and Pipsqueak gives her an inquisitive glance

                                            >She gives him a smile and he just shrugs

                                            >"Alright class, lunch is over. Next we will be reviewing some quadratic equations in your Maregebra II book, please turn to page..."

                                            >Dinky's mind starts drifting off at the thought of having new friends. Aside from Pipsqueak she doesn't really talk that much to the other ponies

                                            >She's always been a bit more introverted, basically the opposite of her mother

                                            >"Who can solve for Y? Any volunteers?"

                                            >Dinky glances up and realizes she hasn't been paying attention

                                            >"Ooh, me! Me!"

                                            >Apple Bloom raises her hoof in excitement

                                            >Cheerilee looks around the room and sets her gaze on Dinky as though she knows Dinky was drifting off

                                            >Dinky freezes up and gives an awkward smile while trying not to look obvious. Cheerilee just smirks at her and points at Apple Bloom

                                            >"Alright you're up!"

                                            >A couple lessons later and the school bell rings, audible noises of relief are heard around the room

                                            >"Class dismissed!"

                                            >Fillies and colts alike make haste and leave the schoolhouse


                                            >"Cya tomorrow new friend"

                                            >Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon wave at Dinky as they leave in the opposite direction

                                            >Dinky waves back garnering a concerned glance from Pipsqueak

                                            >"Oi, what's fis about being friends?"

                                            >He walks up alongside Dinky on the road

                                            >Dinky sighs

                                            "You heard right, apparently I'm their friend now. Which isn't a bad thing right?"

                                            >"Well..'at Diamond can be right mean but I s'pose Silver Spoon ain't all bad..."

                                            >Pipsqueak blushes as he mentions Silver Spoon's name

                                            "Oh, I see"

                                            >Dinky giggles as she notices but doesn't pry

                                            >They enjoy the cool autumn breeze while taking in the view of all the orange and yellow leaves as the sun sets behind them


                                            "I'm home"

                                            >Dinky announces casually as she shuts the door behind her

                                            "Mom?"

                                            >Dinky walks in the kitchen and puts her bag down, she can smell something good in the oven

                                            >"Boo!"

                                            >Dinky yelps and jumps in the air

                                            >Derpy comes up from behind her laughing

                                            "What the hay mom!"

                                            >Dinky frowns as she recovers from the fright

                                            >"Sorry muffin but I couldn't resist. Also, language"

                                            >Derpy nuzzles into Dinky, as she normally does when she gets home from school

                                            >Dinky nuzzles her back

                                            "It's fine, I know how much you love Nightmare Night. And I'm not a little filly anymore"

                                            >Dinky says this as she looks at all the decorations that were put up over a month in advance

                                            "What's that in the oven? It smells great"

                                            >Derpy smiles at the compliment

                                            >"It's Anon's favorite, vegetable pot pie. It will be done soon"

                                            "Yum! I'm going to put my stuff away and then I'll help you set the table"

                                            >Dinky heads to her room and unpacks her books, sorting the ones she will need for homework later


                                            >As she's setting the table the door opens

                                            >"Welcome home sweetie"

                                            >Derpy greets her husband with a more intimate nuzzle followed up with a little kiss

                                            >"Derpy...dear"

                                            >He takes off his jacket and puts down his delivery satchel

                                            >"How was work?"

                                            >"It was alright, the deliveries went fine. Enough about work though because I'm starving and it smells amazing in here"

                                            "Hi dad"

                                            >Dinky greets Anon as he enters the kitchen. Her real father died in a factory accident when she was just a foal and doesn't remember much

                                            >Ever since Dinky was a young filly, Anon has been in her life as her step-father. He's a hard working earth pony who's been there for the both of them when things were tough

                                            >"Hey there kid, I see you're mom's little helper today"

                                            "Actually I just got back from school and am just setting the table"

                                            >"Still helping"

                                            >With a warm smile Anon gives her a pat on the head

                                            >"And done!"

                                            >Derpy places the pie at the center of the table and everypony takes a seat

                                            >Anon doesn't need any prodding and cuts a few pieces of pie and serves them out

                                            >Anon stuffs his face, as does Derpy

                                            "So...I made new friends today at school"

                                            >Anon finishes a mouthful of doughy vegetables and rinses it down with cider

                                            >"That's great Dinky, it's important to have friends at your age"

                                            >Derpy nods merrily as she continues to munch

                                            >Dinky smiles and goes back to her creamy slice

                                            >Anon is first to clear his plate, well technically his second plate

                                            >"That was delicious honey"

                                            >He gets up and kisses Derpy on the forehead

                                            >"mhmm"

                                            >Mouth still full and crumbs on cheek Derpy responds to the best of her ability

                                            >Anon starts cleaning up his area and takes his plate over to the sink

                                            "Don't worry about that dad I'll clean up"

                                            >"Thanks champ. I'll start getting the bath ready Derpy"

                                            >Now finished her last bite, Derpy wipes off her face

                                            >"Remember to add extra bubbles!"

                                            >"Yes ma'am"

                                            >Anon heads to the bathroom while Derpy and Dinky get all the dishes over to the sink

                                            "I can take it from here mom"

                                            >Derpy smiles

                                            >"Alright muffin, tell your new friends I said Hi"

                                            >Dinky blushes for a moment

                                            "Uh... sure. Goodnight mom"

                                            >Derpy pecks her on the cheek and giddily trots off


                                            >Dinky finishes scrubbing the plates, briefly washes up herself and then walks to her room

                                            >She levitates her Maregebra II textbook along with a notepad over to her bed where she lays down

                                            >She opens her book to where she left off in class

                                            >It doesn't take long before she starts to get chilly so she slides under the blanket

                                            >Now that it's deep into autumn the nights have been getting colder

                                            >A hot bath right about now sounds majestic but she's on a schedule where she gets her bath in the morning and her parents get the bath at night

                                            >Dinky zones out from her studies as her mind drifts off thinking about tomorrow

                                            >She hasn't really thought about making friends, especially not with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon

                                            >The closest pony she has to a friend is Pip but they aren't official friends. Or are they? Dinky shrugs at the thought as she returns to her studies

                                            >Still feeling a bit restless she uses the time to review everything she had planned, and more

                                            >She eventually yawns and passes out


                                            >"...-in...-ke up"

                                            >Dinky's blurry eyes start to open as she feels something on her nose

                                            >"Muffin, wake up"

                                            >Derpy boops Dinky lightly several times until Dinky hops out of bed

                                            >Dinky looks at her alarm clock that she forgot to set and panics

                                            "Oh no!"

                                            >She scrambles around the room packing her saddlebag with books and other accessories

                                            >Derpy's eyes swirl around watching her go

                                            >"Were you up late studying? I found you sleeping in your book"

                                            >Dinky ignores her mom's commentary as she darts out of the room

                                            >Heading into the kitchen she grabs a piece of jelly toast that was sitting on a plate

                                            >"Hey, that was mine!"

                                            >Disregarding Anon's objection she heads out the front door and quickly trots off to school

                                            >Anon sighs and puts another piece of bread in the toaster


                                            >Dinky bursts open the door to the schoolhouse

                                            "I made it..."

                                            >The room is silent as everyone stares at the out of breath filly

                                            >Cheerilee gives Dinky a stern look

                                            >"And your late, please take your seat"

                                            >With a reddened face Dinky hurries over to her desk

                                            >Diamond Tiara grins and gives her a nod

                                            >"As I was saying...after homeroom activities we will be heading into town to help the Mayor's office prepare for Nightmare Night"

                                            >Cheering can be heard around the classroom

                                            >She shushes the room but smiles as she continues

                                            >"And we have a half day so you have plenty of time to get home and get your costumes ready, I can't wait to see them later!"

                                            >More cheering

                                            >"Yay!"

                                            >Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon give each other a high hoof

                                            >After the excitement dies down Cheerilee finishes up homeroom and gets the class ready for departure


                                            To be continued...