When The Days Seem Brighter [TheUmbrella]

[PonyHooves]

It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. Gerty Greetings had just said her goodbyes to her husband, Golden Heart. She watched him until, she could no longer see his figure in the distance. A gentle sigh escaped her mouth as she closed the door. Gerty Greetings hummed a little tune as she cleaned up the mess left over from breakfast. The day seemed to have got off to a great start. The earth pony had managed to avoid falling down the stairs and didn't break anything for a change. Just as she finished cleaning, she heard a loud knock at the door. Gerty headed over to the door and answered it.

"Hello mother... I'm here to deliver some letters for you and father. Speaking of which, is he in or did I miss him again?" Pixie Parcel spoke. The young winged mare, stood in the doorway wearing her saddle bags that were filled up with letters and packages.

"I'm sorry Pixie, your father left about ten minutes ago... But, I'll tell him you thought of him. I see your working hard today." Gerty replied. "Your just like you father. A hard worker!"

"Aww.. I can't believe I keep missing him. It seems like no matter how early I start work, he's always gone." Pixie Parcel sighed. She took three letters out of one of her saddle bags. Two of them were addressed to Gerty and one of them was adressed to Golden Heart. "I have to work hard. Pony folk rely on me to send them imporntant letters. Anyway, I best be off. Goodbye mother."

"Goodbye Pixie... Have a nice day." Gerty Greetings waved goodbye and watched as her daughter flew off out of sight. She Peaked out of her door way and smiled. It was ever so sunny. It was so nice that she decided to take a gentle stroll. Gerty Greetings took a few steps outside and inhaled the fresh air before trotting her way around peacefully at her own gentle pace.

[TheUmbrella]

Sitting on a dark red blanket with Fireworks & Firecrackers of all shapes, colors, & sizes in front of him Firework sighed. Wiping his forehead he smiled proudly looking at his set up. "I think this looks nice enough. I bet a lot of ponies will buy these from me!" Finally Firework was able to sit down, he'd been on his hooves all day now he just had to play the waiting game.

[PonyHooves]

Golden Heart had almost reached the clinic he worked at when he saw Firework and his display. "I remember you..." He spoke cheerfully. Have you got any sparklers? My wife loves them because they're not that dangerous."

Gerty Greetings happily wandered through the park. She sat under the shade of a tree and smiled.

[TheUmbrella]

"You're Golden Heart, right?" Firework stood as he greeted his friend. He gave him a welcoming smile then replied. "Yes, I have some green, reds, blues, & purples!" Firework gave a soft giggle. "You are right...they are a little less dangerous than Fireworks or Firecrackers"

Near by at the park, Amaranth was busy collecting flowers & replacing them with seeds so new ones could grow.

[PonyHooves]

"Yeah, that's right. I'll take two reds and two purples... She always said she loved those two colours." Golden Heart Replied with a smile. He was also wearing a saddle bag that contained his lunch and some money. "How much do I owe you?" He asked kindly.

Gerty had started to sing a little tune. She had a soft gentle singing voice, but it wasn't that loud. That's what made it impossible for her to be a singer. Her singing voice just wasn't strong enough. "The birds are chirping around me... The sun is shining so brightly... Everything seems to just be going the right way." She sung with a kind hearted melody. Gerty Greeting's stood up. She began to dance. She was in her own little world and wasn't looking where she was going. Gerty suddenly bumped into Amaranth. She fell to the ground with a thud. "Oh... I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." She apologised.

[TheUmbrella]

Scrunching his face in thought, Firework mumbled to himself softly. He didn't want to over price Golden Heart, especially after he helped him out of that big mess! Finally after a couple of minutes Firework hung his head, smiled, then lifted it to Golden Heart. "On the house" He said softly. "They're just cheap little Sparklers...you really helped me out back there-" Firework began shaking his head. "There is just no way I could put a price on that & our friendship!"

"Oh!" Though he stumbled, Amaranth managed to keep his balance. Shaking his head he picked up his monocle which fell to the ground. "Think nothing of it" Amaranth smiled up at Gety. "Accidents happen, yes? Are you okay though. That was quite a hard bump"

[PonyHooves]

"Are you sure?" Golden Heart asked. "I really don't mind paying for them like any other pony would." He was being kind because he wanted Firework to make a profit. Golden Heart knew that it would be rewarding for the pegasus to have made a sale. Also, making his father proud would be an even bigger reward. Golden Heart thought that Firework deserved it.

"Oh I'm fine... I've had worse accidents." Gerty replied. "Oh and my husband told me to be careful before he left for work... It seems the harder I try, the more the accidents happen." She spoke quite thoughtfully. "Never mind that... I'm Gerty Greeting's."

[TheUmbrella]

"Well-" Firework stopped to think again, he nodded then smiled more. "Pay me whatever you want. Your choice!"

"I am Amaranth" The Stallion replied, he watched her for a moment before smiling. "It's because you're consternating too hard on not screwing up, you can't pay attention to your surroundings because your thought space is so taken up. Try not to think of it as much. Just enjoy your life"

[PonyHooves]

Golden Heart pulled four bits out of his saddle bag. He placed the coins out infront of Firework. "One bit for every sparkler... It seems fair and now you've earned some money."

"I never thought about it that way before." Gerty replied with a smile.

[TheUmbrella]

Picking the coins up with his mouth, Firework nodded to Golden Heart. After placing them in his bag he bowed to him. "Thank you so much, I really hope your family enjoys these...Especially Pixie!" Firework chuckled nervously.

"Sometimes the most obvious answer is right in front of us but, we never realize it" Amaranth told her. "It happened to me when I was younger, actually" While he spoke, he reached into his bags & pulled out some seeds, dug a hole with his hoof then planted them.

[PonyHooves]

"I'm sure she will... Well, I best be off to work now." Golden Heart said before placing the sparklers in his saddle bag. "Take care!" He called out a friendly farewell, before continuing on towards the clinic.

"I've been accident prone my entire life..." Gerty explained and then began to wonder. "So, what's your story?"

[TheUmbrella]

"Hm?" Looking up at Gerty, Amaranth chuckled softly & said. "It's rather simple, nothing amazing" He covered the hole with some dirt then stomped on it a bit. "I was young, foolish...Thought that Fireworks & Firecrackers would be my life's work" Amaranth sat down. "Because of that I got my mark much later than most. What I was supposed to be doing was right in front of me the whole time, I'd passed it up often...I was being quite selfish as well"

He gave a little sigh. "I wanted to help ponies by making them happy & I thought Fireworks would do that but, in reality I was just chasing my own dreams" Amaranth started to smile more. "...I really have my son to thank for setting me straight!"

[PonyHooves]

"It sounds like everypony learns something about themselves with the help of another." Gerty Greetings spoke as though she was deep in thought. "And even as we grow... We are forever learning something new about who we are and our place in the world." A butterfly landed on the tip of her ear. It stayed for a moment and then it flew away. "Its why I cherish every moment of every single day... Because I know that each day brings a new lesson about life."

Golden Heart arrived at the clinic. He clocked in, two minutes early. After putting his belongings in a locker, he put on his white doctor's jacket. He knocked his stethoscope of its hook with his tail and caught it around his neck; just where it was meant to be. Golden Heart then entered his office.

[TheUmbrella]

"It seems you are wiser than I am" Amaranth said softly, reaching over he gently patted Gerty's head with his hoof. "You seem like such a nice mare, I'm sure you'd be good friends with my wife. I wish you could meet her but she's out of town at the moment"

[PonyHooves]

"Then we shall meet when she is back..." Gerty said. "You can spend days wishing your time away... That's when time seems to run slowly. Yet if you try to hold onto every second of the day, it seems to just slip away too fast. Please, enjoy every day and she'll be back in no time."

[TheUmbrella]

"I have my son to look after, he usually takes my mind off it with his... strange energy." Standing, Amaranth stretched a little then sighed. "He ran into some Pegasi yesterday & broke his glasses. Luckily, because he's done this many times before hand, we got him several extra pair. I really don't know why he can't pay attention when he flies"

[PonyHooves]

The sound of beating wings caught Gerty's attention. She looked up to the sky to see her daughter dodging trees gracefully. "Pixie what are you doing?"

"I've finished work for the day mother... My saddle bags are empty. Now I'm free!" Pixie Parcel cheered. She gently landed beside her mother. She was sweating heavily after all of her hard work.

"Pixe Parcel, did you do more than your share of the work load again? You look more tired than I've ever seen you." Gerty spoke with worry in her tone.

"Stop worrying mother... One of the postal workers was off sick, so I offered to take his route as well as my own. It wasn't that much more." Pixie Parcel explained. She suddenly fell over. Her wings were flat out on the ground.

[TheUmbrella]

Watching them Amaranth couldn't help but feel worried for the filly. He was quiet for a moment until it finally hit him; he recognized her! "Ah...You are Pixie, correct?" He asked with a gentle tone. "You probably remember my son, Firework"

[PonyHooves]

"You got that right..." Pixie Parcel said. She tried to stand up, but she fell over again in her haste to redeem her composure. Pixie was still trying to catch her breath. "He sure acted very apologetic... But he was nice." She spoke through her heavy breathing.

"Pixie... I think you must have caught what's going around at work... Your as weak as a newbron foal." Gerty spoke with concern in her tone. "I'll get you to your father's clinic... Just to be on the safe side."

"I'm fine... I'm... Just a little worn out..." Pixie panted for air. "I don't... Want to miss a single... Day of work..."

[TheUmbrella]

"Let me carry you on my back again, Pixie. I'll take you." Amaranth offered, approaching Pixie he bent down a bit.

[PonyHooves]

"Your being so kind Amaranth... Sometimes it's hard to give up work or even take a day of rest. But even though you live you in Cloudsdale Pixie, your still my daughter and I have a right to worry about you." Gerty spoke kindly.

Pixie Parcel gave in. She accepted Amaranth's offer. With what little strength she had, Pixie Parcel made it onto the stallion's back.

"I'll lead the way..." Gerty said. "I know the clinic inside out because of the number of times I've been."

[TheUmbrella]

Nodding, Amaranth followed Gerty at an even pace so not to drop or make Pixie sick. "My son is a hard worker himself. I can understand how you feel in a way, to top it off he can be a bit..." He paused to think of the right word. "Absent minded, yes."

[PonyHooves]

Gerty saw the clinic up ahead. She continued walking at a gentle pace, so that Amaranth could keep up.

"Work... Is my... Life..." Pixie Parcel panted. "I love delivering letters... And... Parcels..."

[TheUmbrella]

"I am sure you do but you need to not bring harm to yourself while doing it. If you put yourself out of commission then you will not be able to do the thing you love & all those ponies will go without letters or parcels. Think about it, child" Amaranth said with a soft, fatherly tone. He didn't mean to be rude or hurtful.

[PonyHooves]

That one word, 'child', was enough to make Pixie snap out of anger. "Child! Child! I'm a fully grown mare... I'm old enough to have a foal of my own! Why else would I live on my own in the clouds when my mother and father live down in Ponyville?" She coughed a little bit before she continued on. "Sure, I've only just left my filly years, but by no means am I a child!"

"You hit a touchy subject with her there... She takes her age as serious as her job." Gerty muttered in a low tone to Amaranth.

After a few seconds of being in a fuming rage, Pixie Parcel calmed down. "And I had no choice but to do it... No pony wanted to deliver on those streets... It's a tough pony job and the toughest got sick." She coughed a few more times afterwards.