Ditzy smiled as the sun crested the mountains. Dew on the ground, and not a cloud in the sky… This was going to be a good day.
She hummed while loop-de-looping through the cool morning air. The mare placed a few letters in the next mailbox, and continued towards the markets.
Eventually she stopped in front of the sprawling centre. Displays to the left and right were in various stages of setup as Ditzy flew through the maze of stalls.
“Hmm… We had strawberry yesterday, and…“, she shuddered, “carrot… last Friday”. As she gazed at the stalls, she thought about which muffins to cook today. On the left came a friendly face.
“Howdy, Miss Ditzy” Applebloom said, flashing a large grin at the pegasus. Flying upside down and browsing the Apple family wares, Ditzy replied “Hi Applebloom”, shooting her own smile back.
“Apples would be good, we haven’t had them in a while” she thought, scanning the myriad of apples and apple treats before her.
Righting herself, Ditzy pointed at a group of apples. “Just three, please. Those should do nicely”, Ditzy said, as she opened her saddle-bags and pulled some bits out.
Applebloom expertly flicked the apples into Ditzy's bags. “That'll be four bits” said the young filly, eagerly looking up at the older pony. Ditzy chuckled and placed the bits on the old wooden counter.
She looped in the air, getting some more sunshine. After storing the bits safely, Applebloom asked “Thanks Miss Ditzy, watcha’ using these apples for?”
“I’m cooking some apple muffins for Dinky; she should be waking up soon” The mailmare replied, grinning from ear to ear. “You sure get up early for a young filly; are you always out here market mornings?” She asked.
“When Applejack lets me. I just have to get my school bags ready first” Applebloom said, and pulled her saddle bags out from under the stall to make the point.
Ditzy paused in thought for a second. She dipped her head into her saddle bags and produced a mouthful of letters. Placing them on the counter, she smiled and said “Here's your mail. That's one destination I can cross off early!”
“Thanks Miss Ditzy” came the reply, before Applebloom grabbed the various letters. The two waved a hoof at each other as the mailmare looped away.
Ditzy followed the road out and passed a few other ponies. Idle chit-chat and greetings were passed, the mailmare knowing almost everypony in town.
Dropping off mail here and there, she eventually landed in front of her house. The pastel pinks and blues contrasted her own coat. “…Though I might have to repaint soon, it’s starting to peel” she noted, as the old house was starting to show signs of wear-and-tear.
She looked to the top-left window. Hearing the tell-tale sounds of sleeping, she passed the small garden and trotted inside.
As she set down the saddle bags, Ditzy lightly lifted into the air and skimmed up the stairs — ending up in front of Dinky's door.
Quietly pushing it open, she fluttered into the room and relished the peaceful look on Dinky's face.
“Muffin~” Ditzy said in her sing-song voice, gently coaxing the foal from her slumber. She lowered her head and lightly said “Muffin~ Time to get up”.
A loud buzzing filled the room, and prompted both mother and daughter's eyes to snap open. Dinky bolted upright, hand moving to turn off the alarm when- *crack*
Ditzy and her filly rubbed their foreheads.
“Muffin… I told you I would be here this morning” Ditzy said, and a touch of annoyance creeped through her voice. Dinky continued to rub her head, before gingerly turned off the bedside alarm. “Heh, sorry mom. I forgot… At least it wasn’t the horn this time…”
Ditzy looked down at her filly, and a small smile crossed her face. “Don’t worry about it, muffin. Come on, I was just about to cook breakfast”. Dinky's eyes lit up as she asked “Ooh, ooh, what is it? What is it?”
Ditzy looked down at her foal. Both their faces were a grin as she replied “Apple muffins”.
Dinky put on a mock worried look and said “Muffins? You can't eat me!”, as she put her hooves to either side of her face.
Despite hearing the joke many times before, Ditzy laughed. “Of course not, little muffin. Now you get ready and I’ll make breakfast”.
Dinky practically jumped out of bed, sheets flying every which way. Ditzy smiled. She left her filly to get ready and flew down to the kitchen.
Ditzy took the apples out of her bags and placed them on the marble counter. Getting a few other ingredients, she whipped the batter together in a flash and poured it into a baking tray.
Dinky bounded down the stairs, her saddle bags filled to the brim with books and pencils of all sorts. “Are they done yet?” she asked, as she set the bag next to the front door.
“Not yet” came the reply, as Dinky walked into the kitchen and saw her mother grinning. “Just a few more minutes, muffin” she continued, as her filly half–mock pouted.
After a second, Dinky's face changed back to a grin. “Okay!” she beamed.
Dinky and Ditzy started setting the table, this being a well-practiced morning routine for both of them. Ditzy looked up as Dinky flattened out the light yellow tablecloth, pastel flowers dotting the spread.
She smiled, smelling the almost-ready muffins. “Today is a good day”, Ditzy said to herself.
*crash*
Ditzy jumped, before placing it as the well-known sound of glass shattering. Looking over at her filly, she sighed and said “Just a moment, Dinky”.
Walking past the stairs, she arrived in the living room. Looking across the floor, she saw the all too familiar glittering of glass splayed across the room. Her eyes rested upon an object in the centre of the mess, a crumpled white piece of paper.
Lifting off, she hovered over and grabbed it. Unfurling the paper, she dropped the cold, grey stone it was wrapped around.
She read the word “Derpy” and paused for a second, before tearing the note in two.
Ditzy spent a few moment composing herself, and let the pieces drop to the ground.
She wiped her eyes and put on a grin, before floating back into the kitchen.
Dinky watched her mother enter, a small frown on the foal’s face.
“Ah… the muffins are… done” Ditzy said, in a well-practiced sing-song tone.
“Mom…” Dinky said, taking on a more motherly tone.
“Y… yes muffin?” Ditzy replied, and looked to her filly.
“Mom… was it another rock?” Dinky asked, prompting her mother to lower her head. Trotting over, Dinky saw her mother’s grin drop and looked into her eyes.
“Wh… I…” Ditzy tried to talk, eyes tearing up, and looked at her foal. She held out a minute before sinking into her foal’s arms and crying.
Dinky tried to wrap her arms around in a hug and simply stayed still for a few minutes, nuzzling the larger pony.
After a few minutes, she heard her mother winding down.
Dinky was the first to speak, “Mom… are you feeling better?”, continuing with the motherly attitude and patting her mother's back.
“I… I'm sorry, muffin… for ma-“ Ditzy began, before being interrupted. “It's fine. I always tell you it's fine” Dinky said, burying her face in her mother's neck.
After a few moments, Ditzy sniffled, wiping her eyes again. “Do you… want to go to the park after school?” she asked. Dinky grinned up at her mother and said “Yeah!”
Ditzy laughed and pulled Dinky into another hug, before letting her set into the muffins in front of her.
The older pony smiled, watching her young filly before digging into her own breakfast.
