Fireflies

by Lavaman

Rating: everyone
Tags: Dinky Hooves, Derpy Hooves, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 1544

A One Shot on the beauty of Equestrian summer evenings.

On a warm, summer evening, Derpy and her daughter decide that it's a perfect evening to have a muffin picnic...

Published 2013-03-03 20:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-03 20:20:01 UTC

A Muffin Picnic

The sky was turning into an array of many beautiful oranges, reds, and pinks, indicating that night would be coming soon on the warm, summer night that had been bestowed upon all the ponies. The sun was already touching the horizon, making its descent into its bed of clouds so that it may sleep, and then the moon take its place in the sky yet again.

Meanwhile, in a cozy little cottage near the heart of Ponyville, lived a pegasus and her unicorn daughter. We all have come to know and adore the small family as Derpy and Dinky Hooves. These two ponies loved each other very, very much, possibly even more than the baked treats they consumed almost on a never-ending basis. The baked treats were know as muffins, and there was an aroma of the goodies always wafting from the open windows of the house, as Derpy and Dinky would spend almost all their time baking muffins and then eating them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

While the two would usually be getting ready to retire to their soft beds after a long day of hard work at either school or the post office respectively, today was different. It was Saturday, and both ponies hadn't done a single thing besides bake a few muffins. They would usually make more, but they had run short of flour and were unable to make a tenth batch. So, Derpy came up with an idea as to how they should spend the rest of their evening.

She walked up to Dinky who was lying on the couch reading one of her favorite books.

"Dinky," said Derpy with a voice so caring and soft as silk.

"Yes mom?"

"Since we don't have much else to do today, what do you say we spend our evening with a little picnic under in our favorite spot?" Derpy said with a smile upon her face.

The little filly lit up with immense joy at the very thought of it. She jumped off of the sofa and began to bound around the house screaming "We're gonna have a picnic!" While the prospect of a picnic to most ponies isn't so exciting, it is quite amazing and wonderful to Dinky. First of all, she enjoyed spending time with her mother in any way possibly. Whether it be baking muffins or do the most menial of tasks. Second of all, they were going to be having a picnic in their favorite spot; under a large, shady Weeping Willow beside a large pond teeming with an array of fish, amphibians, and insects.

Beautiful though the place was, this wasn't the main reason Dinky adored the spot so much. Almost everything worth noting in her and her mom's memories had happened there. The most treasured and magical of all of their memories, especially to Derpy, was when she gave birth to her daughter.

Dinky finally stopped bouncing off the walls in excitement, and helped her mother prepare the picnic, which would naturally consist of an assortment of muffins, ranging from blueberry to chocolate. Derpy fetched their picnic blanket and basket from a closet, and set them both on the table, while Dinky opened up the pantry and got all the muffins they had baked earlier that day. They then placed all the muffins in a haphazard pile on top of the blanket, wrapped it up nice and tight, and then deposited it gently inside the basket.

Derpy picked up the basket's handles in her mouth, and walked outside into the pleasant evening air, with Dinky following right by her side as usual. While most pegasi would fly to get to their destination quicker, Derpy didn't, as she couldn't coordinate her wings very well, making it difficult not to bump into every solid object in sight. But she didn't mind, as it allowed her to be by her daughter's side at all times, and Dinky thought the same.

There were few ponies out on the streets, as most had already gone home to their families to eat a delicious supper after one long day of playing outside. The only ones still out were those who were sticking around to watch the sunset and capture it and all its beauty in a single snapshot, which is impossible, as anything as beautiful as a sunset can never be seen the same way again through a photograph.

The two had to walk a long way so that they could get to their Favorite Spot, as it was quite a good distance between it and the outskirts of Ponyville. But, to the two ponies, it didn't matter how long it took to get there, as long as they were together and were about to happily eat muffins.

Finally, after a long, silent walk, they had arrived at their destination. The limbs of the willow swayed in the small breeze that kept the temperature comfortable, and most of the animals had settled down in their little nests and homes strewn throughout the place, making it quiet except for the occasional chatter from some frogs who were emerging to enjoy the moonlight.

As Derpy spread the blanket below the willow, the sun was already half-way into the horizon, and the moon was just beginning to peek its rocky head into the heavens. Stars were beginning to emerge ever so slightly out of the darkening sky, but still hard to make out as the sun seemed to be trying in vain to cover their delightful twinkle.

Soon, the two had everything set up to enjoy the sunset and eat their mouthwatering confections. As Derpy quickly gobbled two up since she can barely control herself around the pastries, Dinky took her time and savored the flavor of the treats her mother made every so perfectly.

After only about a minute, the sun had finally immersed itself in its cloudy bed, and the moon now reigned King of the Sky for another twelve hours, with his starry subjects to tend to his every whim of making the heavens a beautiful thing to gaze upon, and they all did a good job at it. The sky was so clear tonight that possibly ever star in the entire universe was visible. When the two ponies looked up, their mouths opened in awe, and some bits of muffin fell out of Derpy's.

"It's very beautiful tonight..." said Dinky, still gazing up at the stars.

"You know, my Little Muffin, each of those stars are a giant firefly working for Princess Luna. It's their job to make the night sky extremely pleasing to gaze at, and they do a good job."

Dinky simply looked down and laughed happily at her mom, and reached over to give her mother a big hug. Dinky looked at her and said "I love you."

"I love you too, my Little Muffin." responded Derpy, and she put her wing around the body of her daughter as they both lay there upon the blanket eating their muffins, sharing laughs and smiles, and snuggling with each other.

After only thirty minutes, the two had consumed all of the muffins, and were debating on if they should leave so that they may rest and have another wonderful day tomorrow. A big yawn from the Dinky answered the question as "yes". The two helped each other gather their belongings and put them in the basket, and they were beginning to walk back home.

Dinky looked back at the pond one last time before they left, when all of a sudden,

"Fireflies!" exclaimed Dinky, who ran back towards the pond in glee.

Derpy turned around to see, and she was in awe for a second time that very night. While most fireflies they saw would just buzz around flashing their behinds on and off constantly, what they saw must have been quite a rare spectacle. Just over the water, there appeared to be ten million fireflies dancing around in a rhythmical pattern, and constantly changed their formation from circles to squares or to practically anything that existed. Not only that, but they shined their lights in a sort of rhythm as well, making a gorgeous display of lights and shapes for only the ponies to see.

"H... how is this possible?" laughed Dinky.

"It doesn't matter how it's happening, Dinky. What matters is that it is happening, and us and us alone are the only ones to enjoy it."

The spectacle of the light show only supported Dinky's thinking that everything magical happens at the Favorite Spot. She wished that she could go there all the time, but the two are usually so busy with mailing letters and packages, school work, or baking muffins. But right now, it didn't matter to the filly; nothing else mattered to the filly at that moment but the fact she was watching the fireflies perform a show for her and her beloved mother.

It is rumored that even today, on warm summer nights when the moon is full and all the stars are clear in the sky, that millions of fireflies perform a splendid show for anypony who watches. And every time it happens, you can always see a gray-coated pegasus with a light purple-coated unicorn in her arms.