Chapters Bucky yawned as the sun came in through the window.
“Another day, another adventure.” He said sleepily.
He dragged himself out of bed and started tow walk down the stairs. Suddenly, he smelled something. Something good, and it could only be one thing. He ran down the stairs and set himself up at the table just as his mom pulled the apple pie out of the oven.
“Why, mornin' sugarcube. What brought you out of bed?” Applejack asked, looking at Bucky inquisitively.
“I couldn't sleep through such a fantastic pie, so I just had to rush on down to get a slice.” Bucky replied with a smile.
“Well, it's gonna need to cool down before anypony eats any of it, so I suggest you help out with the farm or go play with Orion and Peach. I'll let you know when you can eat the pie, I promise.” Applejack said, putting her hoof on her chest.
Bucky moped for a bit, but went outside to see if Bismarck and his Uncle needed any help.
“Nnope. I think we're pretty good here fer now. Sorry Bucky.” MacIntosh said.
“That's alright. I'll go and find Orion and Peach an see what they're up to.” Bucky said as he trotted off.
Orion and Peach were at the Sugarcube corner, waiting for some treats to be given to them. Bucky walked up to them and did their secret CMC handshake.
“So, what are we going to do?” Bucky asked.
“Well, we were going to get some treats and eat them a little later when we're bored, but...” Orion trailed off as he stepped up in the line a step.
“What he's trying to say is that we won't be available until later today. We're sorry Bucky, we want to play with you, but we don't want to lose our place in line.” Peach Cobbler said apologetically. “We'll come meet you at the farm as soon as we get our sweets okay?” Peach asked.
“Yeah, that sounds good. See you guys then.” Bucky said as he walked away, disappointed.
His head was hanging low the whole time he walked to the farm. He didn't know what he would do. His friends were busy and nopony needed help at the farm. He stepped into the kitchen and saw the pie, just sitting there. Bucky drooled and imagined himself eating it as he stepped closer to the pie.
“No. I promised ma mom I would wait until after it was done cooling, an that's exactly what I'm gonna do.” Bucky said to himself as he snapped back to reality and stepped away from the pie.
He went up to his room and sat on his bed. He didn't know what he was going to do until the pie was ready. He didn't see anyone as he came to the farm, but he pushed that thought away as the farm was huge and they were probably on another field. He went to his desk and began to think of another song.
“Bucky? Now where in the hay has that lil colt gone to?” He could hear his mom say to herself.
“I'm in here ma!” Bucky yelled from his room.
“There ya are! I been looking all over Ponyville fer you. We need you for something special downstairs.” She said as she stepped through the door to his room.
Bucky perked up at this. Bucky thought to himself that the pie must be ready and she was looking for him to tell him the great news. He walked down the stairs with his mom, but before he got to the bottom, she told him to close his eyes.
“Why's that?” Bucky asked.
“Oh, no reason. Just don't want ya to see what I did to the pie to make it look better than normal.” Applejack said as she put his hooves over his eyes.
Bucky slowly made his way down the last few steps and got to the floor of the kitchen.
“Okay, you can open yer eyes now sugarcube.” Applejack said, hiding giddiness in her voice.
“SURPRISE!” Orion, Peach, Bismarck, and everypony that he knew was there to celebrate for his birthday.
“Guys, what's happening? I thought my birthday was tomorrow.” Bucky said, still shocked.
“It is, but we saw how you were bored today, so we decided to throw a surprise party for you today!” Pinkie said from the back of the crowd.
Bucky began to laugh. He looked at his friends and family and saw it. The care that they all had for him, the care that they wouldn't even want him to be bored for one day.
“Adventures everyday. I guess it's true.” Bucky mumbled to himself.
“Ya know, this pie ain't gonna eat itself.” Applejack said, pointing at the apple pie from the morning.
Bucky went over to it, and sliced it up to different pieces for all his friends. He took the last piece, although not the biggest, a piece he could live with.
“An here ah thought you were gonna eat the whole thing in one bite.” Bismarck said, pie flinging out of his mouth.
“I couldn't do that. If you guys are gonna make me have a great day, I wanna do the same fer you guys.” Bucky said with a smile.
“Why that's very sweet of you Bucky. It's very good that you don't think in a selfish way.” Twilight said as she walked up to him for her piece of pie.
Bucky blushed at her saying this. She never really complemented anypony, so this was a big thing.
“You know, I think the princess would like to know how the town has been doing since the times I would write her letters. What do you say girls?” Twilight asked.
The other mares all agreed and got some ink, a quill, and paper.
“Too bad Spike isn't here, he would really be able to help with this.” Twilight said with a sigh.
“Maybe we can put it in a kind of memory bin, you know, for when we want to remember the best of all things.” Fluttershy quietly suggested.
“Now that is a great idea.” Rainbow said. “Hold on for a second.” She dashed off and came back in 10 seconds.
She put down a box, one that had a magnificent beauty to it. Pinkie looked at it and was amazed how it could be so big, but Rainbow carried it with ease so it must be a feather chest.
“Whenever you're ready Bucky.” Twilight said, quill at the ready.
“Well, today I learned that it's always great to accept the best of things from the ponies closest to you and that it can surprise you sometimes. You also can be given seeds of doubt that will be dug back up from those closest to you.” Bucky said, looking over all the ponies present while giving his speech.
“And done. Rainbow, the chest please?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow opened the chest and let Twilight put the letter inside. She closed it and was about to fly off and put it in her Cloudsdale home again before Applejack stopped her.
“Ah think we should keep it somewhere we all can get it whenever we need it. Ti, do you know a spell to make the chest come whenever we need it?” Applejack asked.
“I could put a charm on it so it would come whenever I called it and it could go back to its original spot. I'll be right back.” Twilight said, teleporting to her house to find the charm.
She came back and put the charm on the top of the chest and gave each of the ponies in the house a piece that would call the chest whenever it was needed. The rest of the evening was spent enjoying delicious pie and celebrating an early party.
Peach ran up to Tempest in an excited fashion.
“Tempest! Are you going to show me how to do some of your big moves today? You promised you would.” Peach asked.
“Sorry squirt, but I gotta go help my mom move the storm clouds over Manehattan. I'll see if I'll be available tomorrow. Sorry.” Tempest apologized as he flew away.
Peach cobbler watched as he flew away and she floated on down tot he ground. She trotted over to the clubhouse to find the others playing hoofball.
“Hey guys, can I play?” Peach asked.
“Yeah, let's go get someone else to play so it's fair.” Bucky replied.
The three went to Sugarcube corner and found the twins and asked if they would want to play some hoofball with them.
“Yeah, of course we will.” Berry said with great ecstasy.
The group went to ask Andromeda if she would want to play or be referee.
“I think I can spare some time. I'm not doing anything important right now.” She said as she hurriedly stashed some papers in her drawers.
“Oh! We should see if Radiance will want to play, and same with Bismarck at this rate.” Orion exclaimed.
“I'll go get Flora then. Meet at the field?” Peach asked.
“Yeah, at the field.” Bucky replied.
The twins went to get the last two. Andromeda was busy setting up the boundaries, Peach was so happy that everyone was ready to play as she brought her sister to the big playing ground they all used when they were younger, but was still upset at how Tempest wasn't here to play with them. He had been busier and busier lately, and she wished she could get one day with him.
“Guess what guys, we got a few others.” Cherry yelled from the hill.
It started with the twins and Bismarck and Radiance, but soon, all of their parents were there, and the other ponies from Ponyville were ready to play, splitting themselves up into teams by themselves.
“What the hay happened? I thought you were just going to get Bismarck and Radiance.” Bucky said.
“Well, we were, but some of the other ponies heard and ask if they could join. Then all the others asked what the big crowd was for and they all decided to join in too.” Berry answered.
“This is great! This means we can all have fun.” Peach said.
She then remembered how her best friend wouldn't be at the game they had just made. She looked up in the sky, when something streaked by. She perked her ears up and looked up, scrunching her eyes to see what was in the light. She saw it again, a teal and rainbow streak flew through the sky.
“Tempest!” Peach yelled.
She flew up to try and intercept him, but missed him. She flew after the two and almost caught up when they turned around. She stopped herself as soon as she could and turned around to chase again.
“Tempest! Stop! I need to ask you something!” Peach yelled.
The rainbow trailing pony nudged the blue one and the two began to slow down. Peach flew up to Rainbow and Tempest and felt so proud that she was able to make the two most unstoppable ponies stop.
“Do you two want to play hoofball? We have a huge game set up and everything.” Peach asked the speeding pegasi.
Tempest and Rainbow looked at each other and nodded.
“Of course we can Peach. We'd be glad to.” Tempest said as the three of them slowed down even more and came down to the ground where the game was being set up.
“Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you had a lot playing.” Rainbow said, shocked at the crowd.
She trotted off to say hello to all the ponies she hadn't seen in a while.
“Well, it kind of came as a surprise to us too. This game is happening because you said you were busy Tempest, so I needed to find something else to do, and this is what you see.” Peach said, looking at Tempest with puppy eyes.
“Peach if you were always waiting on me, you could have just told me that I was holding you back. I need to tell you something too. I have been practicing some of my moves. With you asking me all the time, I didn't want you to laugh at me if I messed up.” Tempest said, hanging his head low in shame.
Peach put her hoof around his neck, with a caring touch. She looked him in the eyes.
'I wouldn't have laughed at you. You're my hero, so everything you do I consider to be amazing.” Peach said.
The two talked a bit longer about when they should meet to practice and perfect their talents, then went and joined opposite teams.
“You know, for the competition.” Peach said with a wink.
The game lasted until the sun started to set. Everypony was spent from the great day they all had. Peach and her friends were the most exhausted. They had spent the most time. They continued playing until the others had all left. Eventually it was only Tempest and Peach.
“So, just you and me.” Tempest said with a friendly sneer.
“Bring it on big shot.” Peach replied, ready to block his kick.
Tempest sent it sailing into the goal and peach was able to just stop it from going in.
“So it seems like you took my advice of how to spread your wings.” Tempest said, amazed at the block.
“Yep, and I also learned something else.” Peach said as she touched her charm to call the chest.
The chest appeared, and so did a quill and paper. She began to write down what she had learned, and then looked at Tempest, then began to write more.
“What are you writing?” Tempest asked, stepping closer to her.
“I'm writing how I learned that some ponies that don't exactly meet what you expected can sometimes lead to the best parts of your lives..” Peach replied, still scribbling.
“And how does that relate to what happened today?” Tempest asked, still walking closer.
“It is relevant to toady because even with you not being able to meet my schedule, I was able to have fun with my other friends. If you hadn't said you were busy today, I wouldn't have had the best day with ALL of my friends.” Peach said as she finished her letter and put it in the chest.
“I'm glad I could help you with all of my awesomeness. It was kind of expected after all.” Tempest said with a pose that showed him being a strong stallion.
“Oh stop it you.” Peach said as she put the ball in his goal. “Game set and match.”
The two put their wings on their backs as Tempest walked Peach home in the dark. The chest disappeared back to its resting place and the laughter could be heard from the town.
“Andromeda! I thought I told you to clean your room before I got back!” Twilight yelled from the doorway.
Andromeda popped up from her scrambled studies and looked around at the mess. She sighed as she saw what her mom was talking about. The books and papers she was writing on were all over the place.
“I'll get right on it mom, let me just finish this one sentence...” Andromeda said finishing what she was working on.
“Well don't forget, you still have to tell the princess what you learned in your classes this week.” Twilight reminded her as she walked away.
Andromeda scrambled to make her room look a little more desirable and then used her magic to put her bag on as she ran out the door. She dashed all the way to the train station and hopped on the train at the last minute before it left.
“What are you doing on the train Andromeda?” Radiance asked.
“Flora? I'm going to the princess to tell her what I've learned from my classes this week.” Andromeda replied, gasping for breath.
“Oh. I'm going to put on a show with Fancy Pants and his crew to show his new styles and some of my moms too.” Sh replied, tossing her mane behind her shoulder.
“That sounds like fun. I hope your mom isn't too stressed about the reviews she might get. You know how she can be sometimes...” Andromeda warned her unicorn friend.
“I know. I told her I would try my best but not too hard that I give a bad impression. Being with Fancy also helps me since he and my mother have known each other for the longest time.” Radiance said as she sat in an open seat.
Andromeda sat next to her and the two talked of fashion and magic and friendly stories until the train stopped in Canterlot. They both walked out and headed for their own places for the night.
“Shall we meet again sometime soon? Maybe the coffee shop?” Radiance asked \before they parted ways for the day.
“Sure. 11 in the morning?” Andromeda asked.
“Will do. See you then sweetie.” Radiance said as she walked to her elegant hotel.
Andromeda shook her head and laughed as she turned and went to the castle to put her own stuff away and to meet the princess for the first part of her report. She walked into the room and put her stuff on the ground and sighed. She didn't know why she felt so nervous, but she was definitely nervous about something. She decided to work on some of her other spells as she waited for her food to be brought to her room as it was almost dinner time.
“Why can a meeting never be easy. I know my mom was always nervous for a meeting, but I'm just a wreck.” Andromeda put her head down on her desk and fell asleep.
She had no idea she was so tired. She dreamed of going to the meeting and being graciously given a good grade for the report. She had half of what she was going to do written down, but needed help with the other half.
“That's it!” She said as she snapped awake and ran out the door and ran into the butler who was bringing her food.
“My apologies madam. I should have been more careful.” The butler said as he picked up the tray and put the plates and food back on.
“Excuse me sir, do you know where the Mareiot hotel is?” Andromeda asked.
“Why, if you just take a right from the corner down there, you'll be right there.” He said, putting the food on her table in the room.
“Thank you sir.” She said, handing him a two bit tip.
She ran off and ended up in front of the hotel Radiance was staying at. She walked in and asked the front desk where her room was. She ran up the stairs to the second floor and knocked on her door.
“Andromeda? What are you doing here?” Radiance asked, astonished at how Andromeda had come all the way from the castle to see her.
“I need your help with something. You know how I have that meeting with the princess right?” Andromeda asked, huffing from this run.
“Well, yes. Why would you come to me for that though? I have nothing to offer you.” Radiance replied.
“You do. I need your help with speeches. I don't have much time until my forts meeting, so I need your help with getting me prepared for talking with her. This meeting is THE most important one of all, so can you give me some tips?” Andromeda asked.
“I could try and help, I didn't know I was that good at giving them.” Radiance replied, blushing from the praise.
They spent the next hour practicing etiquette and what to do during a speech and how to handle the different aspects. Andromeda left the hotel after thanking the beautiful mare for the help. She trotted over to the throne room and saw the princess laying on her throne.
“Why my pupil, you're early. Do you want to give your presentation early?” Celestia asked.
Okay, stay calm, remember everything that Radiance told you. Andromeda reminded herself.
She started how Radiance told her, by making a small chat related to what they were going to talk about. She then delved deeper and told her everything she had learned. The speech went well and before she realized it, she had finished. Everything she needed to and wanted to say was finished.
“That was quite the speech Andromeda, but I have to ask, how did you not feel pressured in any way?” Celestia asked her student.
“Well...” Andromeda perked up.
She called the chest from her charm and began to write what she was telling the princess.
“Today I learned that you can learn a lot of things from your friends. Some things are a hidden talent the other doesn't know of and that they really consider a natural thing. Some people have a certain take on things that will help you see the world differently. I wanted to have a serious time, but I learned some important things can be done by taking them lightly and slowly, at a good pace.” Andromeda finished the letter and put it in the chest.
“What is that supposed to be?” Celestia asked.
“It's a chest we have. Everytime we learn something, we'll write down what we learned and put it in their. Someday, all of us will look through and remember what happened.” Andromeda explained as she made the chest disappear.
“I think I know exactly who came up with that idea.” Celestia said as she looked out her window.
“It was indeed my moms idea. I think it's a great one.” Andromeda said.
“I think I would like to see some of these letters. Could I have a piece of a charm?” Celestia asked.
“I think we should let you have the control of it. I'll go tell my mom.” Andromeda said as she walked out of the room.
“What have you been doing Twilight? What have I missed over all these years?” Celestia asked herself as she looked up and around and remembered all the times with her student and her friends.
The trees shook as the apples fell into the basket. Bismarck sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. This apple season seemed to be a bit more work than before. He wished he could take a break at some points, but knew he needed to finish what he started.
“Bismarck, git back to work! We need to get all these apples harvested before they rot.” Applejack said, working a few trees away.
“Just taking a breather ma.” Bismarck said as he got back to bucking the apples.
Bismarck bucked a few more trees before he realized he was dreaming. He got up and looked out the window. All the trees were freshly picked from the day before. Hew as glad it was only a dream, he thought he was going to pass out from exhaustion from all the trees still left. He got up and put his hat on before he walked down the stairs to the kitchen of the Apple family house.
“Mornin' sugarcube. How'd you sleep?” Applejack asked as she made some haycakes.
“Well, I had a dream it was a big apple season and only me an you were bucking the apples and we had only covered a small portion. In other words, not all that good.” Bismarck replied as he grabbed a fresh stack of the morning delicacy.
He gobbled them down and put his plate in the sink before he walked outside. It was a crisp fall day, and he could see Bucky running over to the clubhouse. Bismarck laughed to himself as he walked to Ponyville. Bucky was always so excited to see his friends, just like Bismarck was when he was a little colt.
“Bismarck? What are you doing here? I thought you had some apples to buck.” Flora said from her art stand.
“Nope. They're all done. We finished them yesterday, thank goodness.” Bismarck replied as he walked over to the art stand.
“Oh. Well, if it's okay with you, would you mind helping me with something?” Flora asked shyly.
“Yeah. I can help with anything you need me to.” Bismarck answered.
“I need your help with painting something that I want to make for my mom, but it kind of requires two ponies to make.” Flora said.
“I'll see what I can do to help with it.” Bismarck said, walking around to the back of the stand.
Bismarck took the instruction from Flora and followed her to the spot where she would make the painting as he read the directions. He realized this would be a bit more difficult than he thought it would, but knew he couldn't let Flora do this all by herself.
“Can you stand right there?” Flora asked Bismarck.
Bismarck stood right in front of the town hall like she said. He put on the pose and tried to hold it as long as possible.
“Bismarck, can you help me with something?” Bismarck heard from the clouds.
He looked up and saw Tempest hiding behind the roof of the old structure.
“Sure pal. What is it ya need?” Bismarck asked, still holding his pose.
“I need you to try and help me hide something.” Tempest replied.
Bismarck never liked to hide things from others, but he knew Tempest did too, so it must be important.
“What is it ya need hiding?” Bismarck asked.
Tempest came out from behind the building and Bismarck saw exactly what it was. Tempest's tail had been cut off from working with the lightning clouds. One must have gone off and struck his tail, burning it off.
“Sure thing bud, let me just finish this art fer Flora here.” Bismarck told Tempest as he still held the pose.
“Alright, finished. You can stop now Bismarck.” Flora told him as she turned the painting around to show him.
As always, Flora had made a beautiful piece of art and walked away to put it in her stand. Bismarck then turned around and told Tempest to get to the Everfree forest as soon as possible, giving him a piece of a branch and giving it blue dye.
“Thanks, see you there.” Tempest said as he flew to the forest entrance and holding the branch so it looked like a tail in the high speed flight.
Bismarck ran to the forest as fast as possible before he was stopped by Radiance.
“Bismarck, could you be a dear and help me with something?” The beautiful mare asked.
“Let me go to the forest and ah'll be right back.” Bismarck replied.
He got to the forest and told Tempest where he could find Zecora at this time so she could make a tail growing potion.
“Man am I glad you know all this. Thanks again Bismarck!” Tempest said as he walked into the dark forest.
Bismarck dashed over to the Carousel Boutique to find Radiance in a dress that sparkled like the sun.
“I'm going to need you to snap a few pictures of this please. Take some advice from my mother too since she knows a bit about photography.” Radiance instructed Bismarck as Rarity began to tell him beginner details about getting pictures.
After about 2 hours of photos, Bismarck left and headed on back home. He saw the trees were beginning to grow blooms again. He got to the house and saw something he would never expect, his mom sleeping on the couch.
“Mom? Are you sleeping?” Bismarck whispered.
Applejack half opened her green eyes and looked at him with exhaustion all over her body.
“Well, ah was before you came along.” AJ replied with a smile. “What have you been doing all this time?” She asked, stretching her arms as she got up.
“Ah've been helping everypony as much as possible. Ah'm so tired, but ah don't know what to do to relax.” Bismarck said as he followed his mom into the barn.
“Sometimes, you need to take a break from somethings.” Applejack said.
Bismarck got a great idea. He ran out of the barn, thanking his mom for the help, and ran over to the spa.
“Ah'd like a relaxing treatment please.” Bismarck told the receptionist.
She gave him a quizzical look, but called the other two and they brought him to the bench to give him a full treatment. Bismarck almost instantly fell asleep from the relaxing massage. Hew woke up a little while later and felt like a whole new pony. He thanked the spa workers for their expertise and walked out. He walked home and saw his mom in her usual 'I told you so' pose.
“What changed fer you today sugarcube?” She asked.
Bismarck called the chest. “Today, I learned about how it's great to help others out, but it can also be a great help to yourself and others when you have time to relax. This also leads to showing that some people that have gone through the same situation as you can give you some big help, especially when they are family.” Bismarck finished as he gave his mom a big hug as the chest disappeared.
“Good, now hold that pose for a bit longer sweetie.” Rarity told her daughter.
Radiance grumbled to herself but held the beautiful, yet painful, pose for her mother. The last picture was taken and Radiance immediately stopped the pose and stood normally.
“How many more do we have mom? I'm getting kind of tired.” Radiance said.
“Oh, only about 10 more. You can make it through that right?” Rarity asked.
Radiance groaned and went to the dressing room to get the next outfit ready. She took off the first one, but stopped before she got the next one on.
“Mother? Could I go and ask Flora something? I promise I'll be right back.” Radiance asked her mom from behind the curtain.
“I guess that's okay. Just be back before it gets too late.” Rarity replied.
Radiance walked calmly out the door, but started to run as soon as she knew her mom couldn't see her, she hated when she ran. Radiance began to ask around the town if they had seen Flora anywhere since she wasn't at the art stand today. She eventually found her at her mothers cottage.
“Flora, I need your help.” Radiance said as she took a deep breathe and composed herself.
“W-what do you need help with?” Flora asked, peeking her head out tentatively.
“I need your help with some photo shoots. I know you don't like them, but we have so many outfits and I know they would look and sell better if they were on you.” Radiance explained.
“I can't right now Radiance. I'm a bit busy with something at the moment.” Flora said, then a loud crash was heard from the kitchen.
Flora ran to the kitchen to fix whatever had just broke and came rushing back to the door.
“I can see if I can help with your problem, and then you can help me out.” Radiance suggested.
“Th-that could work.” Flora said as she opened the door a bit wider.
Radiance walked through and saw the problem Flora had. The animals were all running around and going ballistic.
“Where's your mom? Shouldn't she be able to handle this?” Radiance said in a distressed tone.
“She has to help the birds get their notes right for Celestias birthday in Canterlot right now. I said I would be able to handle this, but I guess I couldn't.” Flora said in a dejected tone.
“Nonsense, we always think we can do something, but it just doesn't happen for some reason.” Radiance said as she reassured her bestest friend.
Flora sniffed and looked up at Radiance and smiled. She was glad she had such a strong friends as Radiance. The two did their best to corral their animals into their pens and make them happier.
“We did it, and in such a fast time too.” Flora said.
“Now we have to go to my place and help my mom out. You ready for this?” Radiance asked.
“As ready as I'll ever be.” Flora replied.
The two walked down the road to the boutique with a bit of a skip in their step. When they got their, they saw a busy Rarity making another dress for the shoot.
“Oh, you're back. And you brought Flora with you.” Rarity said as she looked up from her work.
“I was thinking maybe Flora could try on some dresses for the shoot. Some of the styles aren't really going to match me and I know Flora has it in her to model, just like her mom did.” Radiance said as she nudged Flora in a friendly manner.
The two put on a dress and Radiance instantly knew from the dress that Flora had on that she made it look about ten times better. The two of them also made it go by faster and they were done before they even knew it.
“Well, that was fun girls. I sure hope we can do this again sometime.” Rarity said, putting her camera away.
Radiance then gave a look to Flora and touched her charm. The chest came almost instantly.
“Why, dahling, what are you doing? Did you learn something from today?” Rarity asked as she got back to work on the dress she was working on before.
“Today, I learned that asking a small favor from a friend can sometimes lead to a big help for you both. Even if you have no idea what to do and just listen to your friend for some help, you can learn a lot form just that bit and feel like a hero by helping in a way that matters the most. It's even better when it's someone close to you that needs help, since they are the ones that have the biggest reward and feeling when you do help them.” Radiance wrote in her elegant writing.
She rolled up the letter and put it in the chest before it disappeared. She gave Flora a big hug and thanked her for the help she had given.
“I should be thanking you. You really saved me with the animals in the cottage.” Flora said, giving a hug back to the beautiful mare.
The two separated and laughed as they reminded themselves of great memories when they were kids as they headed to Sugarcube Corner.
Orion ran as fast as he could. He got to the tree first, as usual.
“I win.” He said, a little out of breath.
Bucky came trailing up behind him, huffing. He then perked up and looked into the tree with a quizzical look.
“What is it?” Orion asked as he turned and faced the tree.
The two stared at the tree for a good while, something strange rustling around.
“BOO!” Peach yelled as she jumped from the tree.
The two colts screamed and fell back while Peach laughed.
'You two should have seen your faces! That was priceless!” Peach said, wiping a tear from her eye and giggling.
“You might be able to scare us, but at least we'd be able to outrun you.” Orion said, standing tall.
“Except that I had been in the tree after I had finished the race and waited for you guys to finish.” Peach said coming down.
The two spent a while talking about what they should next before settling on getting some lunch.
“Should we go to the Cafe?” Bucky asked.
“I wanted to go to Sugarcube, but that sounds a bit better.” Orion said, burying his desire for sweets and candy for food.
The three laughed and played as they walked to Ponyville. They came across others and said hello before they saw that the Cafe was closed.
“Does anypony know where else we can go?” Peach asked.
“We can go to the Marketplace or get something from my place. My ma is always cooking something good when she's not bucking apples.” Bucky said.
Orion still wanted to go to Sugarcube corner, but didn't want to sound annoying by constantly suggesting it. He walked along with his friends as they found the Marketplace stand that gave quick lunches. They ordered their selections and quickly got away from the big crowd of other ponies.
'This is really good. I can see why our parents don't go here often.” Peach said as she shook the last few bits she had in her pocket.
Orion wolfed down his food and threw away his trash. When he got back, he saw his friends were ready to go and they walked over to the well known candy store.
“Look at the line. It's huge!” Bucky said pointing at all the ponies spilling out of the building.
Orion groaned. He then got a brilliant plan.
“Let's see if we can help the Pies and the Cakes with all these orders. Maybe then we can get some extra if we're super helpful.” Orion suggested.
The other two agreed and they ran into the candy store, finding Berry and Cherry scrambling to keep up with all the customers.
“Hey guys. What do you need? We're a bit busy at the moment...” Berry said as he ran into the back room for a wheat bar.
“We were wondering if we could help you guys out.” Peach replied.
“That would be wonderful. We need somepony at the register and at least one of you in the back to grab some of the candy.” Cherry said, placing Bucky at the register and throwing the other two in the back.
The line died down quickly after that. The five of them served the last customer and high hooved after she left.
“We did it! We served them all in the fastest time ever!” The twins yelled.
Orion looked in the back and saw the shelves were completely empty. He sighed as he followed Peach and Bucky out the door after talking with the twins for a while.
“All I want is one sweet. That's all I want. Why does it have to be so hard?” Orion said as he kicked a stone on the pathway.
“We could always ask my aunts friend Twist if she could make something quickly.” Bucky said.
Orion reluctantly agreed and they walked to the mares house. They heard her talking as they got closer and saw her just as she was walking back into her house. They ran up to the door and knocked. Twist came to the door almost instantly.
“That can I thelp you thith?” Twist asked, lisp coming into full effect.
“We were wondering if we could have some sweets made for us?” Orion asked politely.
“I'm thorry guyth, I'm really buthy right now. Theck back tomorrow, I'll be ready then.” She said as she closed the door.
Orion groaned and stomped on the ground.
“All I want is to have one sweet thing to have! Is that too much to ask for?” He said loudly.
“Hey, calm down there Orion. I promise we'll find something to satisfy that sweet tooth of your. Let's go check my house.” Bucky told Orion, putting his arm around him.
They walked to Sweet Apple Acres and smelled a great smell. They smelled the best of apple pies from the recipe that had been handed down for generations.
“See, I told you she would be making something.” Bucky said in a matter of fact way.
When they walked in the kitchen, they knew something was up when they saw the pies taking over the family room and dining room. They walked into the kitchen and saw Applejack working her tail off.
“Watcha need sugarcube? I need to get back to these pies for Appleloosa. They have a shortage of pies for the bison this year.” Applejack said as she grabbed a pie out of the oven and put a new one in.
“That's just it Miss Applejack. We would like to know if we could have a pie to eat.” Orion asked.
“Ah'm sorry, but no can do. I'm already behind as it is and I need to work hard until these pies are all done.” Applejack said, hurrying to make more pies.
Again, Orion and the CMCs walked out and stopped before getting far.
“I'm out of ideas guys. I don't know what to do. I just wanted to have something sweet to eat, but I see that everyone's either busy or is out of stock. I think I'll just go home and have dinner.” Orion said, realizing how late it was already.
He said goodbye to his friends and walked to his house. He glumly opened the door and was shocked to see what was before his eyes. He saw a gift basket of treats labeled for him on the table.
“Hello? Anypony there?” Orion called out as he walked to the gift basket and read the note.
It said he would be alone for a while and that he was not to eat the candy in the basket until his parents were home Orion groaned and decided to peek inside instead. He saw wheat bars and hay savers and grass gummies. He licked his lips at all the delicacy’s inside, but held himself from eating them all.
“I've got to leave them be. I can't let mom and dad think I'm selfish.” Orion said as he walked upstairs to do some homework.
He worked hard and before he realized it, they were home. He could hear them talking until they saw the basket. They peeked inside and gasped.
“Orion? Can you come down here?” Twilight asked.
“Sure thing mom.” Orion replied as he walked down the stairs.
He could see his mom and dad very confused.
“What's wrong?” Orion asked.
“The problem is this basket. Do you know what it's for?” His dad asked.
“For me, right?” Orion braced for impact.
“Yes, and we want to know why you didn't eat any of it.” Twilight asked.
Orion opened his eyes at this. He looked back at them and saw that they were serious.
“I didn't eat them because their was a note on the table to not eat them until you guys got home.” Orion explained.
“That note said you could eat them before we got home.” Twilight said, rereading the paper.
Orion guessed he had been in such a rush that he read the note wrong. He called the chest from the charm.
“Why did you call the chest?” Andromeda asked.
Orion got the quill ready.
“Today I learned how when you try hard at something, the answer can always be in the place that you won't think it will be. When you get so down about something, don't stop until you've checked every last corner, and not just the big places. If you've been put in a bad mood from this, don't let it affect what you do or other things, keep your spirits high, you'll eventually get what you want.” Orion wrote the last word and put the contents back in the trunk and closed it.
The trunk began to disappear, but not before a note fell from it. Twilight picked it up and read it out loud.
“I'm so glad that you all have been keeping record of all these amazing journeys you all have had. It's been a pleasure to read some of them. Signed, Princess Celestia.” Twilight looked up with a blank expression on her face after reading the signature.
She looked at her husband and then at Andromeda.
“I might have told the princess that she could read the letters anytime she wanted to.” Andromeda said, backing up.
“It's okay. I was just a bit worried that she was somepony we didn't know. I wish you had told me though.” Twilight said, embracing her children, with their father hugging them all. “I love you all so much.” She said.
They spent the rest of the night sharing Orions sweets and having a great time as a family.
“Cherry? Can you get me a sprinkle frosted cupcake please?” Pinkie asked her daughter as she got up and grabbed the cake and put it on the counter.
“Here you go mom, fresh from the shelf.” Cherry said with her cheesy smile.
“Thank you sweetie.” Pinkie said, handing the covered sweet over to the customer.
Cherry walked back to the table with her brother sitting, bored. The two continued to play paper hoofball before Berry groaned in agony.
“I'm so bored! Isn't their anything we can do?” Berry asked as he kicked the paper to Cherrys side of the table.
“Well, nopony needs a delivery and they all are already doing something. So no, there is nothing to do now.” Cherry replied, getting another goal with her kick.
Berry gave her a look that made her put a nervous smile on. Berry walked away from the table and went outside.
“I'm going to go for a walk. I'll be back... sometime.” Berry said as he walked off.
Cherry picked up the paper ball and put it in the center of the table.
“I think I'm going to head out too mom. Should I be back by a certain time?” Cherry asked before walking out the door.
“As long as you get back before dark.” Pinkie replied from the backroom.
Cherry nodded and walked out the door. Berry was right, everypony was doing something, whether it was business, fun, or just relaxing. She sighed as she got to the Apple farm and saw the family working hard, either bucking apples or fixing the structures, or just normal farming duties.
“Hiya Cherry. You need something?” Applejack asked from the fence.
“Just trying to find something to do.” Cherry replied, walking closer to the strong mare.
“Help is always accepted here at the farm. Do you know how to buck or feed animals?” Applejack asked as she opened the gate to the farm.
“Sort of.” Cherry said as she walked in.
Cherry was reminded of how to feed the pigs and how to buck some apples. She was satisfied until her legs began to hurt. She left for a while, but not before saying goodbye to the hard working ponies.
“That was fun. I wonder if Fluttershy needs any help.” Cherry asked herself as she trotted off to the quiet cottage.
Cherry knocked and found Fluttershy around the back after a while. She walked around and saw her herding the chickens for feeding time.
“Do you need any help Fluttershy? Feeding the chickens? Angels treats?” Cherry asked, trying not to surprise the gentle mare.
Fluttershy still had a little jump when she was asked the question, but turned around and answered that she was fine. Cherry said that it was okay and walked off to see if Tempest needed any cheering on for his training.
“Heya Tempest. Need a crowd to cheer you on?” Cherry yelled up to the blue flash of a stallion.
“Sorry Cherry, but I'm trying to help Peach get a better hang of her wings, and she doesn't really focus when others are cheering her on.” Tempest replied as he flew by slowly.
“Okay. Let me know if you need any help.” Cherry said as she trotted away.
No pony needed her help. She was very confused at this as Applejack needed help, but why didn't anyone else need her help. They were busy making things or-
“That's it!” Cherry said. “They must be planning a party for me helping them all the time!” Cherry said to herself.
Her hooves began to shake then. She must have gathered some Pinkie sense, but had never had hooves shaking before. She tried her best to run to Sugarcube Corner as fast as she could. She burst through the door but only found Derpy being handed a box of Lemon Muffin Surprises.
“Oh. You're back early.” Pinkie said as she took Derpys change.
“Isn't there a party being planned? I had a shaking in my hooves.” Cherry said as she looked around the corner.
“Oh you silly filly, a shaking in the hooves means that your brother is going to be running from Radiance.” Pinkie said as she opened the door just in time for the pink stallion to dive through.
“Don't be using my dyes to make new colors! You don't know what happens when you do!” Radiance yelled, with splotches of colors in her mane.
Cherry then realized a great thing of her family. She touched the charm to call the chest and writing utensils.
“Today was the day I learned that even if one thinks they can be extremely helpful, some others can handle their own problems. Even if you think you can help, you need to realize where you can or can't help. Being with your loved ones might not always be fun, but it will always mean the most.” Cherry said as she wrote what had happened that day.
She put the letter in the chest and let it fade as she brought her mom and brother in for a group hug.
“I love you guys. I want to be with you guys as long as we can.” Cherry said as she squeezed.
