//------------------------------// // pond // Story: Gentle Red // by Collins4112 //------------------------------// A/N: I would like to thank all the reveiwers for giving me insipration to contiue this story. I would also like to thank my beta reader BlackRoseRaven. Please read and relax. We continue our story the next morning. Ditzy’s eyes cracked open. Her head was pounding with a moderate headache. The toasty early air crept into the room with a smell of morning, Not many ponies got up eariler than Ditzy besides the Apple family and Fluttershy to keep her animals. She had to start delivering mail early in order to finish before Dinky came home from school. Ditzy pulled herself from the warm comfort of her bed. She trotted out to her small but functional kitchen. She opened a cabinet and opened a packet of mini muffins that laid inside. I sure do love muffins. Ditzy ate about half the packet and put the rest on a plate with a note that read, "I hope you like these muffins my Little Muffin." She also wrote a smiley face below the note. She felt satisfied with herself as she trotted outside. She only had to go one building down because she lived right next to the post office. She slid the mail bag over her head to rest on her shoulder. Its familiar weight tugged at her gently. She trotted out into the day, feeling it warming her being. She looked up to see the earliest risers in the pegasus weather team kicking away the fluffy white clouds that had gathered over night. The first stop on Ditzy's route was her own house. She rummaged around in her mail bag finding her small pile of mail. She looked through her letters. Most of the mail was junk but one she had received was the same letter she dreaded every month: the bill. She slowly opened the letter and looked at the amount of bits due. She cringed at the number. Well at least we'll have enough to buy food. Ditzy walked along delivering mail to the correct houses (for the most part) quickly until her bag emptied out. She then trotted had to trot all the way back to the post office. _______ As she arrived back at the post office to add more mail to her bag, she was greeted by three young fillies. One was a yellowish earth pony, another a white unicorn and the last one was an orange pegasus. "Howdy, miss Ditzy!" The yellow one said with an accent very close to Big Macintosh's. "Uh, hello, I'm sorry but I don't think I know you." Ditzy said. They all took a step closer to her and she took a step back. "I'm Scootaloo." The orange pegasus said. She had a crazed look in her eyes. "I'm Sweetie Belle!" Said the white unicorn with the strange purplish mane. "Ah'm Applebloom and we're..." The yellow earth pony announced. They all took a deep breath. "THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" They all yelled in unison. Ditzy couldn't help but laugh at the strangeness of it all even though the yelling didn't help her headache. "Shouldn't you girls be heading off to school?" Ditzy asked, thinking that this was usually the time Dinky headed off to school. "It's Saturday." Scootaloo said. "So anyway, we thought we could get our cutie marks by helping you deliver the mail." Ditzy hadn't even noticed they didn't have their cutie marks. "Well, I don't know. It's a lot of work and if the mail isn't delivered right I get yelled at." Celestia knows how often that happens. "Please! We can help pull the mail or something," Sweetie Belle said. They all looked up at her with big eyes. "Alright, alright! When I run out of mail you go back to the post office to get more, sound fair?" Ditzy asked. The fillies gathered into a huddle whispering among themselves. "It’s a deal!" Applebloom held a hoof. Ditzy cautiously took it. She hoped she wouldn't regret this. _______ Ditzy walked her route delivering more mail. She felt like it was going well. With the fillies help she was making very good time. She really did enjoy her job; it gave her insight into the lives of other ponies. She could tell what ponies were like from what mail they received, how much mail, and what type of magazines they were subscribed to. Ditzy was quickly reaching the end of her route which meant she would be done for the day. "Alright girls, I'm gonna need a new bag of mail soon." Ditzy commanded; the three fillies knew the drill. They nodded and galloped off to retrieve more mail. She opened the mailbox of Sweet Apple Acres. She slid the mail inside the old metal mailbox. She decided to wait for the fillies there. As she stood she heard hoof steps coming towards her. She turned to see who was coming. It was the familar large workhorse. "Hello Big Macintosh." Ditzy said. She felt butterflies in her stomach when she saw his signature half smile. "Howdy, nice to see you here," He said as he reached into the mailbox to retrieve his mail. He causally looked through the letters. "It sure is nice. How are things on the farm?" It was the only thing she could think to say. She was getting nervous standing here next to him but he didn't seem to notice. "Lots of work needs to be done." He said. He didn't look too interested in conversation. Ditzy felt relief as she saw the three little fillies coming back with a mail bag. The three little fillies galloped right up to Ditzy. "Howdy, big brother!" Applebloom addressed Big Macintosh and Big Macintosh nuzzled his baby sister. Ditzy almost facehoofed how did I not see that Applebloom, Big Macintosh! Scootaloo handed the mail bag to Ditzy. Ditzy looked into the bag and said, "It’s empty?" "Yeah, we thought we could deliver the mail on the way here, save us all time!" Sweetie Belle looked proud that the crusaders could deliver mail. "You delivered it to the correct houses, right?" Ditzy questioned. It didn't reassure her when the three fillies looked confused. "You mean they weren’t already in order?" Applebloom asked. Ditzy's eyes dilated. She slung the bag over her shoulder and galloped of to town at full speed. __________ "DERPY!" A lot of ponies were yelling at her now. None of the mail the Crusaders had delivered ended up at the correct house. She had to go to each pony and explain why their mail wasn't at their house and why someone else had their mail. The longer this went on the more wall-eyed Ditzy became. The more wall-eye she became the more klutzy she became which made ponies even more mad at her. They called her stupid and incompetent. She managed after a long while to get the mail back to the correct ponies. She lowered her head to the ground, ears flat on her head. Her blond mane was messed up from the frantic work. She trotted slowly back to her home. Maybe they are right, I am stupid. She trotted into her home. Dinky was eating the muffins that Ditzy had placed on the table for her. She looked up at her mother in concern. "Mommy, are you alright?" Dinky went over and hugged Ditzy's foreleg. Ditzy responded, "Of course, Muffin, but how about you run along and play with Twist?" "Okay Mommy." Dinky said in a caring tone. She shouldn't have to worry about her mother. Ditzy thought to herself. Dinky finished off the last muffin, hugged her mother good bye, and went to go find her friend. Ditzy heaved out a sob once she was sure her daughter was gone. She began to cry, something she hadn't done in a while. She sobbed for a long time until she heard a knock on the door. She slowly got up and went anwser the door. She opened the door to see a very annoyed looking Big Macintosh, the three offending fillies standing right in front of him. "What do y'all say?" His voice was deep with authority. The three fillies cringed at the sound of his voice. "We're sorry Ditzy." The three said in unison. Big Macintosh eyed them as they walked away in shame. "Ah'm very sorry Ditzy. Don't y'all worry none they will think before acting next time. Applebloom won't be forgetting this for a while." Big Macintosh said gently as he noticed Ditzy had been obviously crying. "I should have thought before I said yes. I guess I'm just stupid like that." Ditzy said sadly. Big Macintosh put a hoof down hard. "Y'all arn't stupid!" He said clearly, "Ah'm sorry for raising my voice but y'all arn't stupid." Ditzy blushed slightly. "Thank you." She said in a small voice. "Here, let me make it up to y'all, would y'all like to have lunch today?" Big Macintosh asked. She couldn't see it but his face was getting warm. "Thank you for the offer, but I should wait for Dinky and her friend." Dinky said. She wanted to go with him but she had to wait for Dinky. "Well, invite them too, plenty of food." Big Mac suggested. Ditzy considered this before finally agreeing. "Alright." Ditzy said at a loss for more words. "Great, Ah'll be back around noon." Big Mac said with some excitement in his voice. He turned himself around and trotted away. _______ Ditzy walked next to Big Macintosh who was wearing saddle bags. She smiled as Dinky and Twist ran around them playing tag. She was glad her daughter had made a good friend. Big Macintosh didn't say much, she was glad for that; she wasn't in a talking mood. They walked along the road passing a few other ponies on the way. They came up on a pond that had a nice view of Sweet Apple Acers. "This is the spot." Big Macintosh said as he pulled a picnic blanket from his bag. "It has a nice view." Ditzy said looking over the rows and rows of apple trees. "Eeyup." He said, and that was all he needed to say as he began to take prepared food out of his bag. There were hay and flower sandwiches and apple based treats. Say something clever! Ditzy yelled at herself, "That looks great." "Thank you ah made this myself." Big Macintosh said with a bit of pride. They sat themselves down and watched the two fillies play. "Hey, Big Macintosh come over here!" Dinky called. Big Macintosh stood and trotted over to the two young fillies waiting by the edge of the pond. Ditzy watched as Big Macintosh made his way slowly to the two waiting fillies. He lowered his head so they could talk to them. He smiled and nodded. The two fillies climbed on to his back. Ditzy was wondering what was going on but found out soon enough. Big Macintosh loaded his weight on to his forelegs, then using his back legs he flung the filllies into the water. Ditzy gasped as she saw her daughter go at least 3 yards into the air. Both fillies laughed as they arced into the pond. The fillies’ heads popped up out of the water, "That was awesome!" Twist yelled. Ditzy trotted over to Big Macintosh. He raised an eyebrow and flashed her a grin. "Y'all want to go for a swim?" Ditzy shook her head, "No." To her suprise Big Macintosh wrapped a leg around her then he rolled himself and Ditzy into the pond. As they surfaced her eyes went wall eyed for a moment and she spat water into his face. "What you do that for?" Ditzy asked with a laugh. "Ah don't know, Ah guess I just slipped." He said with a sly smile. She splashed him. He splashed back but his splash was a lot larger. They had a short splash war but Macintosh was overwhelmed when Dinky and Twist joined in. They all joined together against him. They swam around for a bit. Big Macintosh pulled himelf out of the water. Ditzy admired his wet body for a moment but then caught herself and blushed. "Alright everypony! Eat up!" Big Macintosh bellowed. They all ate happily. Dinky tried to recall some jokes but failed. They all chuckled at them anyway. After they finished eating, Big Macintosh picked up the picnic blanket and put it back in his bag. The fillies ran around for a bit as Big Macintosh and Ditzy watched. "Thank you, Big Macintosh." Ditzy said and she really meant it. He turned his head towards her. "Thank y'all for coming along. Ah would have felt mighty guilty because of my baby sister and all." Big Macintosh said gently. "It wasn't your fault but thank you for the lunch." Ditzy slid a little closer to Big Macintosh. "Well, can y'all do me a favor?" Big Macintosh asked. "Sure, what do you need?" Ditzy asked a little confused. Big Macintosh took a deep breath, "Would y'all let me take ya out to dinner sometime?" Ditzy went wall-eyed. She almost fainted. Did he just ask me to go on a... Da...date? "What?" She asked blankly. "Y'all arn't gonna make this easy on me? Would y'all like to go on a date?" Big Macintosh had a sheepish smile on his face. His sandy orange mane blew along with the breeze. Say yes dang it! She screamed inside, "Y...yes." She felt herself getting light headed. Her heart raced and had butterflies in her stomach. She refocused her eyes on the large stallion. He had a concerned look on his face. "Um how would Monday at seven sound?" He asked. Ditzy didn't know but he was just a nervous as her. "That sounds great." Ditzy said slowly. She was still a bit shocked. She hadn't even realized he noticed her in that way. Ditzy blushed. Twist and Dinky got tired of playing and walked up to Big Macintosh and Ditzy. "Twist needs to be heading home mom." "Okay, Muffin, we'll take her home. Thanks for lunch Macintosh, see ya later." Ditzy said quickly taking the two fillies with her. All she could think was, I have a date with Big Macintosh! A/N: Thank you all for reading. Reviews keep this story going and I realy appreciate it. As always if you have any idea, suggestions, or fixes I'd love to hear them or feel free to contact me.