(Bat) Sirocca 2 - Morning

	Papa sets me down at the bottom of the stairs. I take in the beauty of our sunlit house, as I do every morning. The sun brightens the tan and white-trimmed walls, glints off the glass and metal decor of the living room to our right, and lights the kitchen up more than the beautiful mare that sits within.
	I lead papa into the kitchen, or rather, he follows me. Mama sits at the small breakfast island in the center of the room. I climb onto a stool beside her and peer at what she's drinking: a mug of orange-brown, steaming liquid; mango tea, by the looks of it. She looks over at me with a grin.
	"Finally ready?" She asks as I scoot her mug towards me. Papa takes it from me before I can bring it to my lips. I nod to mama as papa reminds me not to drink her tea.
	"She hasn't had breakfast yet, Speck." Papa says, placing the mug back in front of mama. She takes it between her hooves and smiles at it. I glance between them as mama looks up at papa and stares into his eyes. Papa walks to the cupboard, extracts a bowl, and scoops into a large jar of oatmeal. I watch mama watch him; her eyes portray every bit of love she has for him.
	"Mama?" I squeak out, breaking her trance. She takes a small sip of her tea before replying.
	"Yes, sweetie?" She inquires, her delicate hooves clutching her mug.
	"Where are we going today?" Papa sets a hot bowl of oatmeal in front of me. Bits of dried peaches litter it. I begin eating before papa places a spoon down. With my muzzle stuffed in the bowl, my ears catch mama's answer.
	"We're going into town. You know what today is, right?" I look up from the bowl, oatmeal coating and dripping from my muzzle.
	"Summer Sun Celebration?"
	"Nope."
	"Merry Moon Memorial?" I tilt my head. She shakes hers.
	"Hearth's Warming Eve?" A bird lands on the kitchen windowsill, its singing alerting me to the outside. I look out the window to a brown and orange landscape accented by a clear blue sky. It is definitely not Hearth's Warming Eve.
	"Your anniversary?" Papa shakes his head."
	"That's in the spring, kiddo. It was a few months ago." He says, chuckling a little bit. I feel my cheeks become warm with a blush.
	"I give up!" I exclaim, throwing my hooves up and slapping them down onto the table. The bowl of oatmeal, a casualty of my assault, topples over and, defeated, spills its contents over the table. Papa sighs, grabs a towel, and begins cleaning my mess up. I apologize to him before mama speaks again.
	"Today's the day we adopted you, two years ago." My jaw drops and my eyes go wide. I completely forgot!
	"I asked if you were ready, Sirocca." Papa says as he crosses his arms. I look up at him with the best puppy-dog eyes I can muster. He looks away and tries to hide his smile.
	"I thought you meant ready for breakfast!" I whine softly. Mama giggles at us, her hoof covering her mouth.
	"Alright, you two. Quit arguing." She looks over at me with a smile that could outshine the sun and melt the coldest ice. I admire my mama. She means so much to me. She's brave, fun, silly, kind, loving, caring; everything a mother should be. She takes another sip of her tea and clears her throat before speaking again.
	"Sirocca, sweetie. We're going down to Hollow Shades for the day to celebrate."
	"But the town is practically dead during the day!" I shout in debate. Hollow Shades is primarily inhabited by bat-ponies, which are primarily nocturnal. Mama and I are different though; we're diurnal, so we're awake during the day. I've asked papa about why we don't follow the same sleep pattern as most other bat-ponies. He says that, when he first met mama, she did sleep during the night, but over time, she started to stay awake during the day, just to be with him. Papa didn't have much of an answer for my case, but I don't remember ever sleeping during the day, except to take a nap. Then again, I don't remember much from before I was seven years old. I don't remember what my real parents look like, or where I'm really from, or how old I was when I arrived at the orphanage in Ponyville, or why I was there, or anything really. All I remember are a few spotty details from my time there, and then when mama and papa adopted me after being there for nearly a year. Papa thinks it might be "repressed memories." I think I just forgot because I progressively grew happier. It doesn't matter much to me, as long as I don't end up forgetting mama and papa.
	Mama's voice snaps me out of my thoughts as she speaks, "There's still plenty to do. They keep a lot of places open, mostly for tourists, but still! It's better than staying cooped up in the house all day."
	"So we're celebrating a huge milestone in our family's history with tourist attractions?" Papa asks in an incredibly disappointed tone. "We can go literally anywhere else. Fillydelphia, Manehattan, Canterlot. Canterlot! There's so much to do there, we could even stay the entire weekend!" He scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Even Ponyville would be a better choice."
	Mama beckons him toward her. She takes his face into her hooves and pulls him close so she can whisper in his ear. I can't hear what she's saying, but Papa smiles and nods. I lean close to try to listen, but they break apart before I can hear anything. I huff and grumble, but they both grin at me.
	"Come on, kiddo. Let's get you cleaned up and ready to go." Papa says as he picks me up. I fuss and kick as he carries me to the sink. I grumble when he wipes my muzzle with a wet rag. I dislike being treated like this, even though I know he's just trying to help me.
	Scrunching and wriggling my nose, I trot through the kitchen and into the foyer. Mama and papa follow me and open the front door. We all walk outside together. I look up at the clear blue sky as a chilly mountain wind blows over the land. Cherry blossom petals swirl all around us as they fall from their tree, and fly up in the wind. It's a breath-taking sight that I'm fortunate enough to see frequently.
	"On we go!" Mama shouts as she spreads her wings and takes to the sky. I spread my wings, but hesitate when I look over at papa. He nods and smiles, despite not being able to fly himself.
	"Go ahead." He says. I flap my wings and follow mama as papa walks beneath us, on our way to Hollow Shades.