Legacy of the Past

Dinky hummed a tune as she left the school and made her way into town. Today had been a good day, she had managed to get all her homework done and had managed to get the card completed just before school ended. She trotted through Ponyville, making her way to Sugarcube Corner. There, her secret project that she had spent all day yesterday working with Pinkie Pie was waiting for her. That, combined with the card, will make her mother so happy!

"This is gonna be the best Mother's Day ever!" She cheered, opening the front door...

...and stopped dead in her tracks. There, in the center of the Corner, was her mother, struggling to balance a whole bunch of boxes on her back and forehooves.

"Mom!" Dinky said, surprised. "What are you doing here!?"

Her mother turned her head and managed to smile.

"Oh hello, Dinky." She said. "How was school?"

"F-f-fine," The little filly said nervously, hiding her card. She glanced around and saw Pinkie place another box on top of the pile Ditzy was carrying, looking more then a little worried. Upon seeing the filly, she ran and grabbed her, placing both of them behind the counter.

"I'm so glad you're here, I was running out of stuff to keep your mother occupied!" The pink pony exclaimed, then spoke in a hushed whisper. "I wasn't expecting your mother's Muffin Sense to have spotted it."

"Muffin Sense!?" Dinky whispered back. "I thought you had a plan to keep her from knowing."

"And obviously disguising it as a cupcake didn't work." Pinkie replied.

"Uh, Pinkie?" Ditzy asked, her hind legs starting to quiver.

"Is it ready, at least?" Dinky asked. Pinkie nodded cheerfully, and passed a small box to the filly.

"Pinkie!" Ditzy called out, her legs giving under the weight. "I can't- AAH!"

Pinkie glanced up just in time to see Ditzy collapse.

"Wow, thanks a lot, Ditzy!" She said as she jumped over the counter. "You fixed my problem!"

"What problem?" The wall-eyed pegasus asked as she struggled to get up from the boxes. "You just gave me a whole bunch of boxes to carry when I came to give the Cakes a letter."

"Yep! and you fixed my problem!"

Ditzy opened her mouth to respond, then remembered she was talking to Pinkie Pie, and shut it. She glanced over at her daughter, who was trying to hide the box behind her.

"What's in the box?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Argh!" Pinkie cried out. "Curse you and your Muffin Sense!"

Ditzy sighed. "Pinkie, As much as I wish I could, I don't have a Muffin Sense."

"You can't hide it from me!" The pink mare pointed an accusing hoof. "You cannot deny the Muffin Sense existence!"

"Pinkie, if I had a Muffin Sense, wouldn't I have been able to know that those muffins you and Applejack had made weren't..." she shuddered. "...You know what I mean."

Pinkie nodded. "That's because the Muffin Sense hadn't fully manifested itself then."

For a moment, the three ponies stood in silence, Ditzy glaring at Pinkie, then sighing. She looked back at her daughter.

"My question still stands."

Dinky looked left and right nervously. "Uh, can't it wait until later?"

"Normally, I would be patient but considering Pinkie almost certainly has something to do with what's in the box and the fact that she made me carry a ridiculous number of them in a panic to keep it secret, I think I should find out what it is. Judging how Pinkie keeps mentioning the Muffin Sense, I'd assume it's a muffin for me, but why keep it so secretive?"

Dinky's mind was running with ideas on how to escape this predicament, she couldn't give it to her mother, not until the moment was just right. In the end, her mind settled on only one option. Run. Without a word, she dashed out of the Corner and ran through Ponyville, her mother was stunned for a second but quickly snapped out of it and pursued her daughter, wondering what had gotten into her little muffin's strange behaviour.

Dinky panted as she ran through the market, her smaller size contributing to moving past the large crowds, mostly of fillies with their mothers, browsing the different stalls. Her mother, on the other hoof, was having considerably more trouble. Eventually, Ditzy flew up above the crowd and spotted her daughter heading for the picnic area. Going into a dive, the wall-eyed pegasus landed just in front of her daughter, who skidded to a halt.

"Dinky..." She panted warningly. "What is going on? This isn't like you."

Dinky grew panicked. No! I was so close! If only I could just move around her... I have to get past her... Her thoughts desperately began to draw to the picnic spot she had set up and how she so desperately wanted to be there, not noticing her horn began glowing... *poof!* In a flash, she was gone.

Ditzy blinked in surprise at her daughter's sudden disappearance and worry began to take over as she began looking around frantically for her daughter.

"Muffin? Dinky?"

The pegasus turned around and saw her daughter standing on a checkered blanket in an empty field, rubbing her head woozily. Ditzy flew over to her daughter.

"Dinky, are you okay?" She asked as she checked her daughter's temperature and her body to see if there was anything wrong with her.

"I'm fine, mom, really." The filly answered, slightly embarrassed, then her eyes widened. "Mom... Did I just teleport?"

Ditzy blinked. "You... you did..."

She suddenly broke into a wide smile and grabbed her daughter in a hug.

"Oh Dinky, I'm so proud of you! You teleported! and at your age! That's my little muffin!"

She laughed, the happiness overtaking her. Then she noticed Dinky wasn't focusing on hugging back, but keeping the box from being damaged. Ditzy let go and, remembering why she was where she was, looked at the box suspiciously. But Dinky's worried face was gone, replaced by a happy smile, and brought the box closer in front of her mother's face, along with an envelope.

"Happy Mother's Day, mom!" Dinky cheered and Ditzy mentally slapped herself. She knew it was Mother's Day and should've been able to put two and two together.

"I see now..." She said, taking the package. "Thanks so much, Dinky!" She looked closely at the picnic blanket and saw that the corners were pegged down.

"Did you really set this all up?"

"Yep!" Dinky exclaimed. "Open the envelope, open the envelope!"

Ditzy laughed. "Alright, alright, let's see what's in here..."

She opened the envelope with an expertise gained from years of practice and pulled out a small letter...

In our vast world, the lives of ponies are flashes of lights, all are lost among each other's light. But to me there is one light that burns brighter than all others, your light, mother. Happy Mother's Day, mom!

A tear fell down Ditzy's cheek as she sniffled.

"Mom?" Dinky asked, concerned. In a blur, Ditzy grabbed her daughter and gave her the biggest hug she could.

"Thank you so much, Dinky!" She said.

"You're welcome!" Her daughter replied, this time returning the hug. "But you should thank Ms. Cheerilee too, she helped me with some of the words. Oh! and be sure to thank Pinkie too, she helped me with..."

She gestured to the small box placed next to Ditzy, her smile growing. "...that."

Ditzy slowly let go of her daughter and looked at the simple package. Slowly putting a hoof on it, she paused, mentally bracing herself for whatever was in there, and opened the box. Inside was a large muffin, golden save for a white circle at the top. Ditzy stared at it in awe, it looked so delicious and it was bigger then her hoof!

Dinky looked at her mother enthusiastically. "Go on," she said. "Take a bite!"

"I'm almost afraid to..." The wall-eyed pegasus muttered as she lifted it up and stared at it, her mouth watering. She opened her mouth wide and took a big bite, and her tongue exploded as multiple flavours overwhelmed her. Banana, pumpkin, raisin, oatmeal and... white chocolate that felt warm and melted instantly in her mouth, and the texture.... Wide-eyed, she fell back, her wings splayed out, her forehooves delicately holding the most delicious muffin she had ever tasted.

"Like it?" Dinky asked, fully knowing the answer.

"mmmmmmm..." Was all her mother answered as she took another, smaller bite, and savoured the flavour more, closing her eyes.

"I spent all day yesterday working on it, Pinkie helped with supplies and making it sure it cooked properly in the oven. But the idea and the ingredients were all from me! I call it..." The little filly jumped in the air as she yelled out its name. "...the SUPER MUFFIN!"

Super Muffin... Ditzy managed to think despite the absolute perfection of the muffin she was eating. It very much earns that title...

She opened her eyes when she felt something nuzzling her cheek and, seeing her daughter, closed her eyes again and returned the nuzzle.

"Happy Mother's Day, mom." Dinky Doo said.

"Thank you so much, Muffin." Her mother replied. "This is absolutely, positively, undeniably, the best. Mother's Day. Ever."

"Yay!"

She glanced down at the Super Muffin and a thought crossed her mind. "You said you made this yesterday? Why is the chocolate still warm?"

"Oh, Twilight Sparkle cast a spell so the chocolate was always warm."

"Twilight had a hand in making this too?"

Suddenly, in a nearby house, a window burst open, and a wide-eyed, mint-green unicorn stood at the sill, looking around frantically. "Did somepony say hand!?"

Ditzy, seeing her from the picnic, sighed, and called out. "Sorry, Lyra, it was just me..."

"Awww..." Lyra, disappointed, closed the window and sulked off to another part of her house.

Dinky giggled and her mother smiled.

"I guess I have three ponies to thank, Ms.Cheerilee, Pinkie and Twilight. That was very nice of them to help you with this. Did you say thanks?"

Dinky nodded. "Of course! I said it bunches and bunches of times!"

Ditzy smiled, and gave her daughter a light kiss on her cheek. "You're the best daughter a mother could ever hope for."

"You're the best mom a filly could have."

The family sat there, admiring the view and sharing the Super Muffin with each other as the sun began setting. They remained where they were as the stars appeared and the moon rose. Soon, Ditzy sighed, hating herself for what she was about to say next.

"We should go..."

"Aww, do we have to?" Her daughter protested.

"Unfortunately, yes. It's a school day for you and I have work-"

Her face paled when she realized she still had letters to deliver and that they were long overdue. "Oops..."

"What?"

Ditzy thought it over. Well... I've never been late with deliveries before, and since it is Mother's Day and that my daughter prepared the two best things in the universe... I'm sure nobody will mind... "It's nothing." She said, getting up.

She didn't want this perfect moment to end, and her daughter didn't as well, but she knew it was over, one way or another. Staring at the stars always caused her old memories to come back and remind her who she was. She picked Dinky up and placed her on her back. Flapping her wings, she took off in the air, heading for her house. Unknown to the two of them, an extra star appeared in the sky, growing brighter and brighter...