Merry Christmas, My Little Muffin
Ditzy Doo awoke to the sound of her 4 year old filly, Dinky Doo, shouting from downstairs. She sat up and checked the time. 7:00 AM? Oh, Dinky. Always waking me up early for Christmas.
"Mommy, it's Christmas! Come downstairs!" shouted Dinky Doo. She had been waiting for her mommy to wake up since 5 in the morning. "Coming, muffin!" replied Ditzy. Dinky had always loved Christmas, and was always so excited because she would get usually lots of presents from her family. She didn't have any friends, because all the fillies at school would shun her because of her mother. Everypony in her school thought she was weird. Her teacher, Miss Cherilee was kind and understanding, and she was the only pony she could go to in school for help.
Ditzy got out of bed, and went down the stairs, her eyes meeting with her overly excited daughter's. She smiled at the golden eyed pinkish unicorn waiting eagerly for her mother. Just seeing her daughter so happy made Ditzy Doo smile, because if Dinky was happy, she was happy. She loved Dinky with all her heart, even trying to fly properly just for her little muffin. She didn't care about her wall-eye, only caring about making Dinky happy.
"Mommy, can we go outside?" Dinky asked, a cute little grin on her face. Ditzy could never resist that face. "Alright, sweetie." she replied, while chuckling.
"Mommy, look! I made a snow angel! Is it pretty?" asked Dinky, while getting up.
Ditzy looked at the pony-shaped angel in the snow. "It's beautiful, muffin!" said Ditzy, a wide grin on her face. Dinky responded with a smile. Even if she'd only been living in this world for 4 years, Dinky still had many precious memories with her mother.
Dinky knew this would be another memorable Christmas. Ponyville was filled with many carriages traveling across the road. The carriages always tried to get to their destinations quickly, in hopes of getting a tip. Today would be the first day she would ride in one. This Christmas, they would take a tour of the many places in and outside Ponyville, and Ditzy decided it would be best to travel by carriage and not by flying, because she knew it would be too dangerous.
"Dinky, get ready!" Ditzy said. "For what?" asked Dinky. It took her a few seconds to realize it. She gasped. She started jumping around like the cheerful pony she was. "Yaaaaay! This is gonna be so fun! I get to try riding a carriage and-"
Before she knew it, she was on the road.
There was a sharp pain in Dinky's chest. She flew backwards and landed hard on her back. "DINKY!" shouted Ditzy, as she ran towards her filly's injured and limp body.
Dinky opened her eyes. "M...Mommy? Is that... you?" she weakly asked. "I'm here for you! Let me bring you to the hospital!" Ditzy told her filly, panicked. She tried flying, but her wall eye was preventing her from flying straight. The other ponies watched in awe as Ditzy tried to fly. She could hear murmurs from the crowd. 'What happened?' and 'Why is that pegasus wobbly?' were some of the things she heard. She ignored them and started going faster and faster. She went too fast, and spun out of control. She slammed into the wall, cuts and bruises appearing on her right side. Her mane was messy, and so was her fur. She fell to the ground, writhing in pain. She tried getting up, but it was so painful.
'I have to do this.' Ditzy encouraged herself. 'For my little muffin!' All of a sudden, she zoomed past the building, towards the hospital, almost falling. She could not fly when she got to the hospital. Ditzy limped towards the entrance. "Help!" she yelled. Nothing. "Somepony, help me!" she shouted, louder this time. Then, she saw the a blurry image of 2 ponies dressed in white runing towards her.
Then darkness.
Dinky Doo awoke in the hospital. She felt dizzy and weak. 'Where am I?', she thought to herself. She could hear a beeping sound.
Dinky tried getting up, but felt a sharp pain in her chest. "AAGH!" she groaned. Suddenly, the door opened. Nurse Redheart stood in the doorway. "Dinky, you're awake! Thank Celestia you're alright," she said. "Where's Mommy?" asked Dinky, weakly. "Mommy's here, muffin!" shouted Ditzy Doo as she ran towards her injured daughter.
"Mommy...?" Dinky said, trying to sit up. Pain surged through the little filly's chest as she got up. "AGH!" shouted Dinky, on the verge of tears. "Dinky, don't move too much," Ditzy said, worried about what would happen to her daughter.
"Um, excuse me, Ms. Ditzy Doo, may I have a moment to speak with Dinky?" asked Nurse Redheart.
"Alright, nurse." Ditzy replied, walking out of the room and closing the door.
"Why is Mommy leaving?" asked Dinky. "Don't worry, your mommy will come back." Nurse Redheart reassured her. "Now Dinky, it is amazing that you survived the accident, but..." Nurse Redheart hesitated. "The injuries you suffered were very extreme. The truth is Dinky..." Nurse Redheart, again, hesitated. "You won't live much longer." said Nurse Redheart, a very sad look on her face.
"...But, Mommy said I would live reaaaaaaly long!" she told the nurse. Nurse Redheart's heart broke when she said this. Her innocence made telling her this a lot more painful. She sighed, then walked out of the room, calling Ditzy Doo.
"Dinky?" Ditzy said as she opened the door to Dinky's room. "Oh, hi mommy." Dinky responded, coughing between words. "The nurse said..." Ditzy's face was filled with sadness. "...you... have about a day to live." She cried while saying those last words. Her little muffin was going to die, and there was nothing she could do. She cried, not only because her one and only little muffin was dying, but also because she felt so useless, knowing that her daughter was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Mommy, you said I would live really long!" Dinky said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I know... It's just that... I didn't know this would happen..." Ditzy said, crying.
"Dinky, you know that I love you, and that nopony else will never be able to replace you in my heart. No matter what happens, I want you to stay strong, and always remember me, because you are my little muffin, and I am your loving mother. Nothing will ever change that. Even when you are gone, you'll still be here, in spirit." Ditzy told her dying filly. Dinky could only cry. "I have to go home for now, because the doctors said that I was cleared to go. See you tomorrow, muffin..." Ditzy said as she walked away, crying.
The following day, Ditzy went to see her daughter in the hospital.
When Ditzy opened the door, she saw that Dinky was in worse shape than yesterday. Her cheerful glow faded and she was now pale, but still breathing. Ditzy sat next to her, singing her a song Ditzy's mother taught her.
"Hush, now, my little filly
No need to fear
Your dearest loving mother
Is with you here
Sitting right beside you
Giving you a smile
Don't be scared, young one
I'll be here a while
Don't be scared, young one
I'll be here a while."
"Th-thank... you... Mommy..." said Dinky, her voice weak. "You're welcome, my little muffin..." Ditzy said in response. Ditzy held her daughter's hoof for the last time. "I... love you... Mommy..." Dinky said. Ditzy kissed her daughter on the forehead, then, as if on cue, all Ditzy heard was a long beep.
Her daughter's grip loosened. She was cold all over. Ditzy realized what had just happened:
Her little muffin was gone.
Ditzy flipped through her photo album. She saw Dinky's first day in Equestia. Her first manecut. Her first steps. Her very first day in the nursery. She saw the latest picture in the album.
Dinky's 4th Christmas.
Ditzy stared sadly at the picture. It was Dinky showing Ditzy her snow angel. She touched the picture and thought back to what she said yesterday.
"Dinky, you know that I love you, and that nopony else will never be able to replace you in my heart. No matter what happens, I want you to stay strong, and always remember me, because you are my little muffin, and I am your loving mother. Nothing will ever change that. Even when you are gone, you'll still be here, in spirit."
Ditzy whispered.
"Merry Christmas, my little muffin."
