The Empathy Between Mothers
Author's Note
This was unexpected, but somewhat inspired by the events of my day.
Dedicated to the Memory of Zoey Wood, who passed away today leaving behind a baby girl. Thank you for reminding me of what's really important.
Enjoy.
What Matters Most
Cupcake was a well known baker in Ponyville. She ran Sugarcube Corner alongside her husband Carrot, and Almost-Daughter Pinkie Pie. She was a baker, a business mare, a purveyor of sweets and baked goods, but above all these things she was a mother. Her Daughter Pumpkin Cake and son Pound Cake were the joys of her life. She adored them like she had never adored somepony before- even her own husband. She was happy and content with her lot in life- and why shouldn’t she be? She had a beautiful home, a thriving business, happy customers, and her family was perfect.
The one issue she always seemed to have with her life was time. She was speeding along so fast, juggling so many ponies and duties in her life that she often didn’t have time to slow down and appreciate the little things. Her life was a race with no finish line, it seemed. She never felt like she could rest. If the business didn’t need her attention, her children did, if not her children, her husband, if not her husband then the chores- and on and on and on.
Today was a rare day for Cupcake. She wasn’t at home or downstairs in the bakery- she was out in the marketplace going shopping, and without any of her family. Carrot had promised to run Sugarcube Corner, and Pinkie had volunteered to foalsit. For once, she wasn’t under a time limit to get back to her shop, and she didn’t have to worry about fussy babies or a hyperactive Pinkie Pie. She could take her time and simply enjoy it.
She took a whiff of some of the apples in the Apple’s cart. Sweet smelling, fragrant and delicious. She never had time to appreciate things like that when she was putting together Apple Pies for the shop. She had to focus on getting the recipe exactly right, not the scent of the apples she used. She grabbed a bushel of them, and paid Big Mac for them, before moving on to Strawberry Sunrise’s strawberries. Selecting the ones she wanted, and paying just a bit extra to have one to eat on her own, she bit into a delicious and juicy strawberry, savoring the sweet succulent taste. It was rare she got to enjoy them as they were, instead of having them baked into a strawberry rhubarb pie, and rarer still that she could savor what she ate. Usually she ate in a rush because of her long list of things to do.
Apples, strawberries, some lemons, and some cherries filled her saddlebags soon enough. All the things she needed to get from the market for their “piestravaganza” as Pinkie was calling it. A week-long sale on their fruit pies meant a lot of happy customers and many sales, but for her it just meant a lot of extra work to keep up with demand. This was likely all the time she would get to herself for at least a week, and she intended to savor it. Deciding she could spare a bit of time before going home, she went out from the market and toward the park.
She marveled at the blue hue of the sky, and the flowers on the street as she made her way there. And when she arrived, She saw Granny Smith sitting on a park bench. She smiled, and decided to go over and say hello.
“Hello Granny Smith.” She greeted with a smile.
Granny Smith turned to her slowly, and smiled just as gradually. “Well howdy do there, Mrs. Cake.” She said.
“I saw Big Mac when I was shopping in the market. The harvest is looking beautiful this year.” She smiled.
“Thank ya kindly.” She said. “Always nice ta see the Apples making ponies happy.”
Cupcake took a seat on the bench. “What are you doing out here today? Were you helping out Big Mac earlier?”
“Oh, nothin’ like that. My grandson can handle ‘imself. I’m out here to remember.”
“Remember?” Mrs. Cake asked, confused.
Granny Smith nodded solemnly. “It was Bright Mac’s birthday today. My little colt would be fifty today.”
Mrs. Cake felt a sharp pang of sympathy for her. “I’m so sorry. Would you like to be alone?”
Granny Smith shook her head. “No. It’s nice to have some company. ‘Specially from somepony who knew him. I don’t tell my grandfoals about coming here today because much as I’d like to help ‘em, I need to take some time to remember him in my own way.”
She nodded. “Do you have a favorite memory of him?”
Granny Smith chuckled. “Oh, you shouldn’t ask an old gal like me about favorite memories or you might get a story that lasts till yer my age!”
Cupcake laughed in turn. “I’d like to know, though.”
Granny Smith smiled fondly. “Bright Mac gave me a lot of good memories over the years, but Probably my favorite one was just before the Apple Family Reunion of many moons ago! Bright Mac was five years old, and I was teachin’ him to make apple fritters. He was a curious little feller, always askin’ me questions about everythin’. Now, you might think a colt that curious would ask how fritters are cooked. Not my little appleseed. He figured they must need to go in the oven, but he wasn’t allowed ta touch it, so he set all them fritters outside to cook in the sunlight. When I asked him where they were, and he pointed out the door, I came on out to see the animals eatin’ ‘em. Never laughed so hard in my life!” She chuckled.
Cupcake laughed along with her. “Reminds me of Pound and Pumpkin dumping flour on themselves.”
“Those memories are the best ones you’ll have. Take it from me, Cupcake, they last you a lifetime.” Granny Smith said wisely. “The little things like that are what you’ll miss the most.”
Mrs. Cake felt her heart break at those words. Ever since having Pound and Pumpkin she was aware that time was fleeting and children grew up so fast. She’d felt pangs in her heart when her children outgrew certain outfits or toys, and was very aware that someday she would miss this, but to imagine how Granny Smith felt now was crushing. She’d seen so many firsts with her son, and was hoping to see many more, but his life was cut short before he could. All the moments Granny Smith was cheated out of- seeing her son be a father to his children, seeing if she might have more grandchildren, seeing him grow to take care of her the way she’d cared for him- all of that was ended by one tragic accident. Just like that, three children were without their parents, and a mother was without her son.
It can be over so fast…
Cupcake placed her hoof over Granny Smith’s, suddenly choked up with emotion. “Your son is still watching over them, and you.”
Granny Smith sighed. “I know. But it just ain’t right. Mother’s ain’t supposed to bury their foals.”
Cupcake had to swallow hard to get past the lump in their throat. “No, they’re not.”
Granny Smith turned to her, suddenly, looking her in the eye. “You listen ‘ere, Cupcake. You got a lotta life ahead of ya, and yer babies got their whole lives ahead a them. You learn from an old mare who’s got a lifetime of memories more than you do now. Keep yer babies close to ya. Enjoy every minute with yer family. I hope what happened to me never happens ta anypony else, but if it does, you need ta know: Don’t miss a minute with yer family. Hold yer babies close to ya, and tell the ones you love you love ‘em, ‘Cause you don’t know when the last time you’ll get ta say it is.”
Cupcake’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I will. I promise.”
Granny Smith shed a tear herself. “Never forget what’s most important.”
“I won’t.” She resolved firmly. She and Granny Smith shared an embrace filled with the things mothers shared with one another, spoken and unspoken, before it ended. “I’m going to give my family a hug and tell them I love them.” She said.
Granny Smith smiled. “Good fer you, darlin’.”
“And so you know, I still remember your son, and think of him often.”
Granny Smith’s eyes brightened with the threat of tears, but this time they were happy ones. “Thank ya, Cupcake.”
“Thank you, Granny Smith.”
The mares shared a wave goodbye, before Cupcake headed straight home, kissed her husband and babies, and gave Pinkie a big hug, and told them all how much she loved them. Never again would she lose sight of what was truly important.
