"Dinky! Your mother is here!"
Dinky heard Rarity's voice from upstairs, but it took a second to register. When it did, Dinky let Sweetie Belle's doll drop from her hooves and raced downstairs. Ditzy was just forcing the door closed behind her, sealing the room from the cold wind outside. Dinky ran to her and hugged her tightly, the coldness on her mother's coat soaking into her own.
"Dinky!" Ditzy wrapped her in a tight hug. "Sorry I'm a bit late, and on your first day here too." She turned to Rarity. "Sorry, they were short one pony over the east of town with storm control."
"That's quite alright." Rarity said. "She was a doll."
Ditzy smiled gratefully and looked down at her daughter. "Did you have fun?"
Dinky nodded. "We ate hayburgers!" Ditzy smiled and turned back to Rarity. Dinky listened as they started talking. Ditzy wanted to pay Rarity for watching her, but Rarity refused.
"Hey Dinky." Sweetie Belle had come down the stairs, and was now standing next to her. "Looks like they might be awhile. Want to draw?" She motioned to a small table against one wall.
"Yeah." Dinky answered, following her over.
"This is my special coloring table. Rarity set it up after I made a mess the other day on her project table." Sweetie Belle blushed when Dinky laughed. "I guess I'm sort of accident prone." She rubbed a hoof on the back of her head.
"That's ok. Last time I stayed at Sparkler's after school, I tripped and spilled jell-o all over her dog. He was green for hours."
This time it was Sweetie Belle's turn to laugh. "You know what? We've been in the same class since forever and I don't know if I've ever really talked to you."
"You were always so busy before. And ever since you guys formed the Cmc, you've stuck close together."
"I guess that's true. Still. You're pretty cool."
"Yeah. You too." Dinky said. She slowly levitated a few crayons over to her and grabbed the purple one.
Sweetie Belle took the green one and started to bring it across her paper using her magic. Dinky watched her before dropping her own crayon from her mouth, and trying to pick it up with her magic. She still struggled a lot, but she was able to pick it up. Getting it to draw a decent picture was another thing entirely. It looked like a kindergartner had drawn it. She huffed and dropped the crayon.
"Oh, are you done?" Sweetie Belle looked over at her picture. "It's so...artistic!" She hesitated a bit and sounded over enthusiastic.
Dinky blew a raspberry and looked at Sweetie Belle's. She had drawn Rarity's cat, Opal. "Yours is cool."
"Thanks!" Sweetie sounded proud.
"Your magic is super good too."
"What? I guess. Twilight says I'm doing great, but I have a long way to go."
"Twilight? Oh, You're still doing Twilight Time, huh?"
"Oh, um, yes." Sweetie stuttered a bit.
"It's ok. After what happened, no one really cares about it anymore."
"Really?" Sweetie let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Celestia. Your magic is better too though. Last year, you could barely even summon it to your horn, right?"
"Yeah, but I haven't made much improvement. It's harder when you don't have a unicorn around."
"Oh." Sweetie Belle looked over to where Ditzy was still talking to Rarity. Ditzy's wings were extended slightly to take in the heat from the room. "Yeah, I guess so."A grin spread across her face. "Why don't we practice together?!"
"What?" Dinky blinked.
"You'll be coming over everyday anyway. Maybe I can even talk to Twilight about it too." Sweetie's face took on a stern look. "That is, if you're really serious about this."
Dinky nodded slowly. "That would be so great! Oh, but do you think it would be alright after what happened?"
"If you really want to learn, then Twilight will be happy to help. We'll be learning together. It'll be fun."
Now filled with excitement, Dinky tried again to pick up the crayon. She had to try as hard as she could, and make Twilight know that she really wanted to learn. She struggled to keep the crayon still as she levitated it over the paper, a bead of sweat breaking out on her face. Slowly, she pressed it down and drug it across. The line was still shaky, but a small improvement from before. It just took more effort to do. She could definitely do this!
"Dinky. Come on, let's go home." Ditzy's voice made her lose her concentration, and she dropped the crayon. Her mother was crossing the room towards her.
"Alright." Dinky got up, and after a quick look at the shaky line she had made, she followed Ditzy to the door. They said their good-byes and went outside into the cold.
The sun was still up, but Celestia was lowering it earlier and earlier every day. The nights were getting longer, which meant that they would be walking home in the dark soon. Even now, the shadows were creeping up the buildings, and the town was dyed in a yellow light as the sun started to set.
"Did you really have fun?" Ditzy broke the silence as they trudged along. "I know I didn't exactly give you a choice yesterday." She had her left wing slightly open, shielding Dinky from the wind.
"It's alright." Dinky's eyes were bright. "Sweetie Belle says that she's going to talk to Twilight and see if she can help me with my magic! She says we can practice together!"
Ditzy smiled, but her face wasn't as bright as before. She started to shift her wings, but stopped. "That's great. I'm glad someone will be teaching you."
Dinky hesitated for a moment. "I-is that alright?" Her voice grew quieter. "I'm sorry that you can't help me."
"It's perfectly fine. I'm not a unicorn, so there's no way I'd be able with that anyway." She lightly bumped Dinky. "Besides, I still get to do everything else. I still get the number one job of being your mom, and no magic teacher can beat that." Dinky smiled. "Hey. You want some hot chocolate when we get home?"
"With extra marshmallows?"
"With extra marshmallows."
"Yay!" Dinky shivered a little thinking of the warmth by their fireplace.
"We're going to have to break out the scarves." Ditzy said, tugging Dinky a little closer to protect her from the cold. Dinky didn't answer. She snuggled in close to her mom, relishing in her warmth as they continued home through the ever darkening town.
Back at the boutique, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were sitting in the kitchen having tea.
"What do you think?" Rarity said after setting her cup lightly in its saucer. "Do you think this foalsitting will work out? I offered to do this for Ditzy, and so far it is working out great but I don't want to put too much pressure on you to become friends with Dinky. It would make it easier, however, if you two got along."
Sweetie Belle took a sip of her own. "I really like Dinky. She's cool, and I want to talk to Twilight and see if she can join us for Twilight Time." Sweetie lowered her head a bit, unsure. "You think that will be ok with her don't you. Dinky seemed really excited about learning magic."
Rarity took another sip, contemplating her answer and her friend. "I think that Twilight will initially be fine with it, but we'll have to just wait and see how it turns out in the long run. In order for this to work out, Dinky needs to be dedicated to learning."
Sweetie nodded. "I guess that's the best I can hope for. Oh, and Dinky doesn't have her cutie mark, which means that maybe she can join the Cmc on some of our adventures!"
"Good?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Just don't get her involved in one of your schemes that you know you shouldn't be doing. You three can be a bit reckless at times." She glanced at the clock. "And now it's just about your bedtime. Finish up your tea, and we'll both get some sleep."
Sweetie Belle groaned. "Already?"
"Yes, already." Rarity watched Sweetie gulp down her tea. "And get used to it. The days will only be getting shorter." Sweetie groaned again, setting her cup down. "Here let me get that." Rarity levitated both cups up.
"No, I want to get it!" Sweetie stopped her, and after a long look, Rarity took a deep breath and set Sweetie's cup back down. Sweetie Belle focused on the cup, and it levitated up to float next to Rarity's. Rarity led the way with her magic to the sink and carefully set hers down. Sweetie followed, if not quite as neatly, and set hers into the sink as well. "Yeah, I did it!"
"Good job Sweetie." Rarity congratulated her. "Now, up the stairs." She pointed with her hoof, and followed suit as Sweetie, with a bit of groaning, climbed them.
Yay a second chapter! I tried to extend this chapter out more, but I only managed to make it about as long as the first.
Also, no romance yet, but I swear it's coming!
Thanks for reading!
