//------------------------------// // Good Morning Ponyville // Story: Special Delivery // by ILurvTrixie //------------------------------// As the sun rose above the horizon to proclaim the start of the day, life began to stir. Everywhere, little ponies; and indeed some decidedly less little ponies; roused themselves from slumber. Some hard working farmers and bakers had already turned themselves to the pursuit of their chosen field, and simply smiled as the warm light from the east rose to greet them. But within the warm confines of a home in Ponyville, a pegasus mare of grey had just started to rouse. Her wings flicked gently in the wan orange light penetrating the curtains. Her eyes tensed, then cracked open, revealing the yellow eyes underneath. She pushed herself up with her hooves, yawning as she stretched out her wings. With a slight crack she stretched out her back legs as well, finally walking herself out of bed as her eyes started to roll around, contemplating the world with separate paths. She approached her window, staring through the threadbare curtains which acted as a backup alarm. She couldn't help but smile at the warm scene of Ponyville; lightly distorted; gently stirring in the soup of warm orange colors, the few ponies active at this hour once again turned to their pursuits. She watched as the two separate images of the town resolved themselves familiarly. The distant orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, where Big Mac and Applejack were already at work. The smoke that rose from Sugarcube Corner showed they were already hard at work baking. And— Wait. Backup...? Baking...? Her eyes widened in surprise as her wings popped up to lend aid in her rapid escape. She was gonna be late for breakfast at this rate! She turned from the window, and started to the door as her eyes circled around. Off to her left, by the bed, she spotted the culprit and sent a partial glare in its direction. Of course her attention being split this way had familiar results, as one of her forelegs tried going left as the other continued straight. With a startled squeak the pegasus faceplanted, sending her cutie-marked flank of a set of bubbles tumbling over her head. Derpy shook her head as she finished her accidental cartwheel, landing seated on her haunches. She brushed the blonde mane out of her face as she turned to fix her alarm clock with a narrow glare. With a quick decision she approached the alarm, checking it over. The time showed it to be a little before sunrise, which was obviously incorrect. Derpy sighed, tapping the clock with a hoof. It had probably gotten damaged during her last attempt to silence it. She had to admit, she had a slight talent in regards to fragility. Or perhaps destruction, although that one made less sense connected to her cutie mark. Still, the alarm should've— Even though she was half expecting it, she jumped back with a squeak of fear as the alarm started ringing right in front of her. She stumbled back into a corner of her bed, which shook with the slight impact of her hoof. She winced as the bed rattled, and all four legs collapsed. She breathed a frustrated sigh, silencing the alarm with a hoof. Getting the bed repaired was probably going to be another 40 bits, maybe less if Mr. Woodwork was in a good mood. But for now, she needed to get started baking muffins. It wouldn't do to let Dinky get to school hungry. With one last glare at the failing alarm clock, Derpy headed out of her room. "Pssst." A little purplish-grey unicorn filly stirred slightly within her cocoon of pillows and blankets. She had burrowed herself down with the ever increasing chance that morning was coming, hiding herself from the penetrating rays of the day star. "Pssssssst!" But now some brutal, evil, wicked force was conspiring to penetrate the sanctity of her fortress of sleepitude! "Dinky." The force knew her name! This called for drastic measures! The creature must be released! With a careful sweep of her hoof, Dinky tossed the Mighty Lord Ursinator at the dark force of evil! "Oh hello Mr. Bear, did you want to eat Dinky's muffin?" Muffin? A pair of yellow eyes risked a view of the outside world from the shadowy confines of the fortress. "Why yes, it does have hay bacon. And sun-dried cranberries. You're quite good at this Mr. Bear." Why that traitor! That fluffy bear had surrendered before the deliciousness that was muffins! Dinky scrunched up her face, trying to mount some sort of counter offensive. Her mind clicked over quickly before settling on the most logical response. "Hey! That's my muffin!" Nopony could argue with that. Derpy smiled at her daughter. "Are you sure? I mean you're all the way over there, and Mr Bear is riiiiight here." Dinky huffed. "Awww momma, I don't wanna get up!" Derpy laughed. "And I don't wanna work, but you've got school, and I've got to work, so it's time to rise and shine my little muffin." She gently leaned over the bed and nuzzled Dinky, who put up the barest of resistances. "Aww but momma." Dinky giggled happily. "Don't you argue with me." Derpy replied with a return giggle. "Now get up. You still need to freshen up, unless you want me to preen you." Dinky squeaked and took off for the bathroom. She'd been preened once for doubting that threat worked on a non-pegasus and it had tickled like nopony's business! Dinky started with brushing her teeth, so the shower would have time to warm up. In the mirror she watched as her mother smoothed out the bed, and gently returned Mr. Bear on top with her wings. She loved her mom. Dinky munched her muffin gleefully as she walked. It was still a bit early for school, but she liked taking the longer way around Ponyville. Through the market, past Sugarcube Corner, around the back of the library; nopony with any sense risked getting caught by one of Twilight's lectures when they had to be somewhere; skirting the edge of the park, then on to— "Hey Blank Flanks!" School. And the familiar territorial shrieking of the Diamondus Tiaradactyl.The pink earth pony filly with light blue eyes and purple and white mane glared at her opposition, looking for signs of weakness to exploit. At her side the symbiotic Silverus Spoonicus favored the targets of the moment with a vicious smile, the grey earth pony filly with purple eyes, glasses, and light grey hair simply waiting for her moment to strike. "Leave us alone Tiara." A white unicorn filly with green eyes and pink and purple mane stood her ground. A Sweetum Bellum! "Yeah, why don't ya go get ready fer class or somethin'?" The yellow earth pony filly with a red mane, orange eyes, and a big red bow on her head struggled to keep their third member from zipping forward. An... Applebloomasaurus? "Yeah! Before I make you leave!" The orange pegasus filly bared her teeth at her opponents, her magenta mane in its usual windswept state as her purple eyes swapped from one opponent to the other in quick succession. A Scoota...a Scootaloo. Darnit. Dinky frowned trying to think of some way to work with the name, but drew a complete blank. She missed the last part of the exchange as the two terrible fillies finished mocking the Cutie Mark Crusaders and headed into the classroom. Seeing the path clearing, Dinky walked up, as Scootaloo collapsed to the ground with a groan. "Morning girls!" "Mornin' Dinky." Applebloom gave her a nod. "Morning!" Sweetie Belle chirped cheerfully at the unicorn filly. Dinky frowned as she turned to the sulking Scootaloo. "Your name's too hard, Scoots!" "Wha-?" Scootlaoo blinked at Dinky with a confused expression. "Oh, morning Dinky. Why's my name too hard?" "I was trying to do like monstery names. Like Diamondus Tiaradactyl." The orange pegasus snorted with a smile as Dinky continued. "But your name just doesn't work!" Sweetie put a hoof to her chin. "How about a Scootasaurus?" "Nah, I already used that for Applebloom." "Applebloomasaurus? Ah guess both Scoots and Ah got the weird names to work with." Dinky shrugged, and nodded, taking a finishing bite of her muffin. "So what's DT's thing today?" Scootaloo grumbled as she returned to her feet. "That we might not pass the test today 'cause of all our crusading." "It probably wouldn't hurt for you to study now and then, Scoots," Sweetie Belle admonished. Dinky's yellow eyes widened. "There's a test today? Good thing muffins are brain food!" "You say muffins are an every kind of food, Dinky." Scootaloo grinned. "But if you've got another muffin for trade..." "Well, my momma makes the best muffins, so of course they're the best kind of any food." Dinky happily reached into her saddlebag, showing off two muffins. "I got another hay bacon and cranberry, and raspberry cream! What about you?" Scootaloo checked her own saddlebags. "Yeah, she makes pretty awesome muffins. I've got a lily and mayo sandwich, water, and some potato chips. Say, how does your mom do it?" "What do you mean?" "Ah'd never expect you to eat lilies, Scoots." Applebloom dug into her own bags. "Ah think what Scoots means is that yer mom's workin' all the time. She ain't got a special somepony or a housemate or sibling or granny or nothin'. Ah got some apple fritters, apple-butter sandwich, and some apple juice." Scootaloo nodded as Sweetie Belle checked for her own lunch. "Yeah, she's gotta work pretty hard. And she doesn't even have another pony to help with the work. I mean, I guess that's okay when you're just taking care of yourself like Rainbow Dash does, but it always seems like your mom's working everywhere." "Well, she does break things a lot... But then again so do you guys." Dinky giggled, as the two crusaders rolled their eyes. Sweetie Belle tallied her lunch items with a smile. "What about that other pony she's around with a lot? Time Turner?" She happily pulled out her lunch. "I've got a marshmallow fluff sandwich, a milk box, and homemade brownies!" The other three fillies stared in vague horror at the black charcoal lump that was being passed off as brownies. Dinky was about to respond when the previously mentioned pony rushed up to her, glancing around in a mild panic. "Dinky! Hello! Good to see you! What day is it?" Dinky favored the light brown earth pony with darker brown mane, sky blue eyes, and an hourglass for a cutie mark with a cool expression. "Wednesday?" "More specifically." He turned an incredibly strained smile on the group of fillies. Dinky rolled her eyes. Of course. "It's the 26th. Of March. Three years after Nightmare Moon." "Good! Good! Excellent. If I see you later today, remember not to tell me you saw me. I've got to go. Got something to do out in the Everfree. Say hi to your mom for me." With that he took off at a gallop. Dinky blew out a frustrated sigh. "Yeah. He's... Um... A little weird?" The Crusaders nodded in quiet agreement. Dinky quietly began picking from the available options, settling on some apple fritters, the milk box, and the lily sandwich. "I don't think my mom really has time to go looking for a special somepony anyway. She's always gotta work." The Crusaders considered their counter offer, torn between sweet and savory muffins. Sweetie Belle perked up. "Maybe she could marry a prince? The big Canterlot wedding was great, and Shining and Cadence looked so happy!" "Isn't the only prince around Blueblood?" Applebloom frowned. Scootaloo made a face. "Even I've heard about how much of a jerk that guy was. Ugh." Dinky sighed. "Would be nice, but I'm not gonna set my momma up with a jerk just because he's a prince." Sweetie considered a moment longer, and smiled. "How about we do half of each muffin? I call raspberry cream for my share." Scootaloo nodded. "Sounds good. I just wanted the hay bacon and cranberry anyway. It's too bad the prince isn't as nice as the princesses are." Applebloom smiled. "Yeah, but Ah think every mare'd wanna marry that kinda prince. And Ah'm fine with the third left." Dinky gasped in a manner reminiscent of a certain pink party pony. "You guys! What about the princesses!" The Crusaders blinked blankly. Scootaloo finally spoke up. "What?" "What if my momma married one of the princesses?" Dinky smiled cheerfully as she split up the muffins. The Crusaders split up their spoils before each putting a hoof to their chin. "Hmmmm," they chorused. "I don't see any problems with it." Scootaloo shrugged. "Well, they'd have to go on some dates or somethin' and be special someponies before they get married." Applebloom nodded. "But how would you get your mom to be special someponies with a princess, Dinky? You just said she's working all the time." Sweetie Belle's wisdom poleaxed Dinky's optimistic smile. It re-surged scant moments later. "I guess I've got to figure this out for her then!" The fillies looked up as the school bell started to ring. Scootaloo's eyes widened in horror as she threw a desperate glance at her share of the muffin bounty. "Brain food don't fail me now!" With sheer effort she downed the delicious treat in two bites and scurried after her classmates into the classroom.