It was a beautiful day in the world of Equestria. Throughout the land, the sun shone bright and all the animals had come out to play. In a remote village, the citizens of Ponyville were all out enjoying the beautiful weather. Some were setting up stands to sell products for their businesses, others were walking through the park whilst young fillies and colts frolicked and played with their friends.

One certain pony however was still lying fast asleep in bed.

"Mum, come on, get up, you're gonna be late again." A young sounding voice emerged from a small purple-grey unicorn filly with a blonde mane and tail.

"Just five more minutes."

Dinky Hooves rolled her eyes. "No mum, now, it's nine o clock."

The greyish mare sleeping in the bed shot up, her blonde mane sticking out at all angles. Her amber eyes focused in different directions. "Nine o clock? Well why didn't you say so Dinks?" Derpy Hooves rolled out of bed and teetered into the bathroom.

Dinky stifled a grin; this was a normal morning for her and her mum. Her mum was quite different from the other ponies. Her eyes were always looking in different directions, and she could be quite the clumsy pony. But Dinky wouldn't change her for the world. She lived at home in Ponyville with Derpy and her big sister Sparkler. Sparkler was a beautiful pink unicorn with a short purple mane and tail. Her cutie mark was three clear diamonds, a talent at gem crafting that Dinky was almost jealous of. She walked over to her room and peeked her head round the corner. Sparkler was stood in front of a mirror, levitating a brush which she was carefully running through her mane.

"Mum awake?"

"Yeah, I just managed to get her up."

The two sisters shared a giggle. Sparkler set the brush down and levitated some saddlebags over her back.

"Well I gotta get going; I'm helping Rarity at the boutique today with some gems for her outfits. I'll see you later." She bent down and gave Dinky a nuzzle before heading out the door. Dinky trotted back into the living room to see her mum dashing around.

"Uh, lost something mum?"

"Have you seen my mailbag anywhere?"

Dinky bit her bottom lip before bursting out laughing. "It's on your back mummy!"

Derpy swung round and blushed. "Oh so it is. Hehe. I'd be losing my wings if they weren't attached to my body!"

Derpy worked as Ponyville's mail mare. Whilst she sometimes got the mail muddled up, she took her job seriously and did well at it. She lowered herself down to ground level.

"Well I gotta be off! You be a good girl ok?"

Dinky wrapped Derpy in a hug. "I will mummy."

Derpy kissed her forehead. "There's a good girl, I'll see you soon."

Dinky sat and watched her mum fly away till she was out of sight. She then shut the front door and wandered back into the living room.

She sat for a while, pondering what to do. She'd had fun before playing with Sparkler's make up, but her sister wasn't too impressed when she got home. She wandered into the kitchen and instantly noticed the mess. Whilst Derpy may have been an incredible muffin maker, she was terrible at tidying up. A thought hit her.

"I should clean the kitchen for her, she'd be so proud!" She exclaimed, to nopony in particular. She easily located some cleaning supplies in a cupboard under the sink and set to work.

First she wiped all the work surfaces till they so clean that Dinky could see her face in them. Then she washed up some trays and pots and put them away in their correct places. Dinky knew the kitchen well; she'd often sit and watch her mum making muffins. She then proceeded to mop the floor.

'Mummy will be so happy!' she mused to herself.

After that she looked around, wondering what else she could clean. Her attention was drawn to the large oven that her mum used for cooking. It was bigger than an average oven, even big enough to fit a small pony in, so that Derpy could cook several things at once. Making sure it was turned off, Dinky stuck her head inside.

"Sure is dirty in here." She poked at a burnt bit on one of the shelves. "A nice clean oven is just what mummy needs!" Grabbing a couple of cloths and a scrubbing brush, she carefully climbed inside. She could stand up inside and clear the top of the oven with about two to three inches from her horn. The door shut behind her, but she took no notice, she could just open it again when she was done. What Dinky didn't hear was the click of a latch.

"Wow this black stuff is hard to get off." Raising herself to her back two hooves, she scrubbed harder against the wall of the oven. She moved round and continued scrubbing but felt a sharp pain enter the bottom of one of her hooves. Stumbling, she hit the side of the oven, causing it to give out a large creaking sound. She sat down and looked at the bottom of her foot. Thankfully it was only minor; she had just stepped on a stub on one of the shelves. As she stood up the oven gave another groan like sound and Dinky could hear what sounded something like gears churning.

'This doesn't sound healthy, maybe I should leave it till mummy gets home.' she thought. She went to the door and pressed against it. Nothing. She pushed again, but it still wouldn't open. A slight sweat began to form on her brow. Looking through the misty oven door, she could make out that the latch had fallen down. She turned around and bucked it using all the strength in her back legs, but it still didn't budge. She sat down.

"Great. Looks like I'm stuck here till mummy gets home."

She lifted a hoof to her head and wiped off a bit of sweat.

"Is it me, or is it getting hot in here?"