Chapter 1: The Magic Muffin
By Midnight Quill
Ditzy Doo carefully hung her mailbag on the rack. She smiled at the worn out fabric and muffin buckle, remembering when it was given to her.
It was the end of her third week of training and her boss was testing her. Ditzy remembered being scared stiff waiting for her test results. If she passed, she would become Ponyville’s newest mailmare; but if she failed, she would not get the job.
It was hard to getting a job in Equestria back then. Especially for a pegasus who was kicked out of Flight School for being accident prone. They told her she was a danger to herself and others because of her eye condition, and advised her to find a new home on the ground where she would not have to worry about falling. It hurt, but she left Cloudsdale and began wandering around looking for a new home. She visited Canterlot, but could not get a job because the nobles said she was too common. In Manehatten, they told her she was not qualified enough and needed to finish Flight School for any hope for a position. Even in Appleoosa, they said (very politely) she was too large a hazard to live in a pioneer town. She eventually made her way to Ponyville and discovered two fellow classmates that who disappeared a few years before, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. They helped her get her hoof in the door for a job in the local post office.
When the test results came in, she was told her flying was not coordinated and her flying skill was a little under what they were looking for. But because she was able to remember her entire route after the first day, did all of her deliveries way faster than they thought possible, and did not lose a single piece of mail the entire time she got the job. To congratulate her, her new boss gave her the official mailbag and a custom made buckle (compliments of the Carosuel Couture).
It has been almost ten years since that day. With a sigh, Ditzy turned and walked to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and sighed again. It was almost empty… Even though she loved her job as a mailmare, it just didn’t pay enough bits for a single mare to raise her little foal and have a lot of extra to spare. This month’s finances were running a little low because of another school trip to New Yoke’s art exhibits.
It was a struggle, but she going to make sure Dinky enjoyed every minute of her education. If she had to go hungry a few times to see that happen, Ditzy would happily take a few hungry days.
Closing the fridge, she left the kitchen and sat down on the living room coach. She picked up one of the books Rainbow Dash insisted she read; ‘Daring Doo and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone’. Ditzy chuckled, remembering when she first brought the book home. Dinky asked if Daring Doo was a relative to them because her last name was Doo too. Ditzy slowly shook her head, grinning widely. She focused both her eyes onto the book and began to read.
After a few hours, Ditzy closed the book and placed it onto the coffee table. She relaxed her eyes, letting them go off on their own again.
“Daring Doo is such an awesome pegasus…” she sighed. “I really wish I could be like her…”
“Well why can’t you?” somepony asked.
With a gasp, Ditzy jumped off the coach and quickly looked around. “Where are you? Who are you? What do you want?” she asked desperately. She was tired from another long day at work, and she doubted she would be able to fight off an intruder. She slowly moved toward the front door, preparing to run.
“Oh, don’t be frightened Ditzy. I mean you no harm,” the voice said.
Ditzy saw movement from the corner of one of her eyes. She jumped and focused on… the wall? It was rippling, and a shape slowly emerged. The shape molded itself into the head of a pony with an antler and a horn, a large tooth was sticking out of its smiling mouth. Slowly, its eyes opened, revealing two bright red eyes.
“What are you… how do you know my name?” Ditzy whimpered as she backed away from the creature in her wall.
It chuckled. “I know more than just your name Ditzy,” it said, “What would you say if I were to tell you all the answers to your problems is right here…” Underneath the head, a clawed hand extended out of the wall. It was clutching a golden bag with bubbles printed on the front. “Inside this little bag.”
Ditzy stopped backing away and stared at the bag. “Hey… is that my-“
“Yes it is, Ditzy. It has your cutie mark on it, because this is only for you,” the voice said. “Go on, have a look.” It opened the bag and set it on the floor.
Curiosity began to overcome her fear of the creature. She cautiously crept closer to the bag. When she was close enough, she bit down on the tip of the bag and dragged it away. When she reached the other side of the room, she took a glance inside the bag. It was a delicious looking yellow muffing, its odor rising out of the bag making her drool.
“There is more magic in that one pastry than the rest of the world put together. Its magic could even be more powerful than Celestia herself.”
Ditzy was confused. How can this muffin be more powerful than the Princess? “What is it?” she asked.
The creature’s jaw dropped in shock. It’s eyes narrowed and focused on Ditzy. “It is a muffin… what else does it look like? It obviously isn’t a cake…”
“No no… what flavor is it?” Ditzy replied, tilting her head to the side. “What kind of muffin is more powerful than the Princess?”
The creature blinked. “Oh, it really is not what flavor it is, but what it is made from,” it said with a smile. “The finest quality sun rays and moon beams mixed together in the skull of an Ursa Major with a cup of rainbow from the original rainbow spring. Carefully stirred during the winter solstice with the feather of a Pegasus, baked with the fire of an elder dragon during a solar eclipse, and cooled with the natural snow from the Everfree forest. Lastly topped off with a sprinkle of Stardust to give it the beautiful golden color you see.” Ditzy’s eyes widened hearing the unique ingredients used to make the muffin. “I’ve heard it tastes like banana nut.” The creature laughed.
She leaned in and smelled the heavenly aroma. Whoever this creature is, it can’t be that evil if it took so much time and effort to make a muffin like this. Ditzy relaxed and sat down on the floor. She took the muffin out of the bag and examined it.
It almost seemed to glow with a golden white color, and when the sun shined down on it she could see sparkles glittering off the top. It felt extremely light, like a feather, and it was softer than a marshmallow.
“Go on and try it,” the creature spoke smoothly, “I promise that when you do, marvelous things will happen; Things that you have only dreamed of.”
“What kind of things?” Ditzy asked eagerly.
“You will be given the power to give your little filly everything she will ever need. You both won’t have to worry about going hungry for a long time. Other ponies will quit calling you ‘Derpy’ and begin to respect you. You want all of these things, don’t you?”
Ditzy gazed down at the floor. It was true… she was laughed at a lot by the other ponies because of her eye condition and because she was clumsy. She didn’t mind it when Rainbow Dash called her Derpy because she knew Rainbow did it teasingly, but when the other ponies said it… it felt more like an insult. She didn’t like it, but she was not brave enough to tell them to stop. And even though she could deal with going hungry, it tore her up inside when she couldn’t get enough money to feed Dinky. Her little filly deserved to get a good meal every day, more so than she herself did.
Her belly grumbled loudly, causing her to blush. The creature in front of her smiled widely. “Go on, eat your fill.” It said.
Ditzy gazed down at the muffin for a few moments longer. She let out a sigh and placed the muffin back into the bag. “I am sorry, but if this muffin is as great as you say it is, I can’t eat it.” She looked at the creature. “Dinky deserves this more than I do.”
The creature grumbled, his eyes narrowing again. “The magic won’t work for anypony but you. That is why your cutie mark is on the bag and nopony’s else. If somepony besides you eats it, the magic will disappear forever and you will be able to do nothing to help your filly.” The claw extended out and opened the bag again. It took the muffin out and placed it in Ditzy’s hooves. “This muffin is a gift for you and you only. The magic cannot start until you take the first bite.”
Ditzy stared at the muffin for a few moments. “If it will only work for me, then I guess I have no choice.” She closed her eyes and took a big bite. Her mouth exploded with a spicy sweet flavor, and her eyes began to water. The flavor seemed to expand, enveloping her entire body. She heard laughing from somewhere but she could not focus on where. The flavor invaded all her senses until she could feel nothing else. Her vision faded to white as she lost consciousness.
thump thump thump
Ditzy’s eyes cracked open hearing somepony pounding on something.
thump thump thump
She rolled over and closed her eyes again. “Dinky, calm down and let me sleep,” she called out, “Mama likes her sleep on her days off.”
“Ditzy?” A muffled voice called, “Is that you? You were supposed to be at work two hours ago.”
Ditzy’s eyes burst open as she recognized the voice. “Boss!” she cried. She jumped up quickly flew toward the door. Unfortunately, her eyes didn’t have time to focus completely on where she was going, so she crashed just to the side of it.
“You ok Ditzy?” her boss called. “Listen, if you need the day off you can have it. You don’t need to push yourself.”
No no no… She couldn’t afford to take the day off. “Don’t worry boss! I am sorry for being so late, but I will work all the harder today to make up for it!” she called. Grabbing her mailbag, she quickly unlocked the door and leapt out.
Her boss wisely stepped to the side when he heard the door unlock and watched one of his best workers fly off. He chuckled as the watched her crazy uncontrolled flying pattern that somehow avoided every obstacle in her way. He glanced back at her apartment realizing she forgot to close the door again. As he reached for the door handle, he noticed the muffin lying on the floor.
“Just like you Ditzy, rushing to work so fast you forget your lunch again.” He placed the muffin into a nearby golden bag and trotted out the apartment. He closed the door and flew off to the post office.
Ditzy burst into the Post office making all of her co-workers jump in surprise. “I’m sorry I am late!” she cried out. “Where are my deliveries?”
None of her co-workers moved, they were all staring strangely at her. Ditzy would normally be curious why, but since she was in a hurry she ignored them and ran to her station. It was full of bright pink letters and a single brown package addressed to the public library. She quickly filled her mailbag and rushed out.
None of the other postal workers moved until the boss flew in holding a golden bag with bubbles printed on the front. He glanced around noticing the stillness. “What is going on here? Do I pay you to stare into space?” None of the workers flinched at hearing him yell. Curious, he walked up to a tall skinny white stallion and glared into his eyes. “What is wrong with you all today?”
The stallion gazed down at his boss. “Did you see Derpy today?” he said nervously.
“I would appreciate it if you would call her by her real name,” growled the boss. “And yes I did. She overslept and I woke her up. She rushed over here and I assume she is now on her rounds.” He glanced around at the office. Their expressions of shock and nervousness still planted on their faces.
“Did you get a good look at her boss?” the stallion asked.
“No, I didn’t, she flew by too fast,” The boss said feeling worry begin to creep into him. “Was something wrong with her?”
“Sir… she had a horn.” The stallion whispered.
[Author Notes: Ok, this story is just something fun that I thought about last week and I just had to write it. Any comments, critiques, and guesses on your part will be greatly appreciated. Who knows, if what you say sounds really good, it might be incorporated into the story! Hope you enjoy the ride!]
