The clear, blue, cloudless skies of Ponyville taunted Rainbow Dash. Sweat pouring down her face, she wished there were some clouds to give her some shade. No matter, there were none, and she had training to get on with. Flying around in circles and doing her usual stunts, she saw a flash of magic at Carousel Boutique. Not that that bothered her, it was pretty normal, considering Rarity was a unicorn. But then she heard the scream, and she immediately flew towards the purple building at amazing speeds.
Fluttershy heard the scream, all the way from Ponyville. And there was only one pony who screamed like that. Rarity. She dropped Angel's food bowl and flew out of the door, slamming it shut, causing the whole cottage to tremble. She then flew over to Carousel Boutique.
Twilight Sparkle sighed as she put down her book. Rarity again. She better go check what it was though, in case she needed her help. Bookmarking her page, she called out. "Spike! I'll be back soon!" before teleporting over to Carousel Boutique.
Pinkie Pie was upstairs when her ear started twitching, along with her back itching. She frowned before she realized, her Pinkie Sense! She gasped as she rushed over to Carousel Boutique, immediately aware that Rarity acquired her attention.
Applejack wiped the sweat from her brow as she finished her current tree that she was booking. She looked over at Ponyville and saw a flash of magic from Carousel Boutique, when ponies suddenly started crowding around. She frowned as she realized that Rarity must have been in danger, and she dropped her apple baskets onto the ground, galloping as fast as she could to the fashonista's home.
Rarity screamed as there was a flash at carousel boutique. Everypony turned to look her way, mostly from her scream. Sudden flashes of magic were quite normal, now that Twilight was a princess. But Rarity's scream always meant that she was in distress. As the flash faded, Twilight teleported in, along with Rainbow Dash breaking down the door. The other 4 soon joined them.
"What happened?" Applejack was the first to break the silence. "Where is she?"
"I came in right after the flash disappeared," explained Twilight, "And she was gone."
Fluttershy gasped, "That's awful!"
"I don't know, but we need to find her, and get her back. Girls, go pack your bags. This might be quite a long trip."
Chapter one - Leaving home
The small orange pegasus wiped away her tears as she put down the jumped down from the bed and ran over to hug Rainbow Dash's fore hoof, causing the older mare to stumble and drop the saddle bags she was currently holding. She opened her mouth to scold her, but immediately closed it when she saw the younger mare sobbing into her hoof. She leaned down and gently stroked her mane, pulling her into a hug.
"Why do you have to go?!" cried Scootaloo, "It's not fair!" Rainbow Dash sighed and sadly laughed a bit to herself.
"I'll come back, squirt. It's not like I'm going away forever."
"But you don't know that! Y- you might... might..." The rest of her words were drowned in her cries of sorrow. They hugged one last time, before Rainbow Dash let go and put on her saddle bags.
"I'll miss you squirt." she smiled as she flew off, leaving Scootaloo standing there, staring after her longingly.
Fluttershy sighed as she gave Junebug the instructions once again.
"And remember to brush his fur at least 3 times a day, and feed him salad without any dressing, and-"
"I don't mean to interrupt here, but I think you have to go if you want to catch your train." said Junebug, grateful to have an excuse to stop the yellow pegasus mare from rambling anymore.
"Oh yes, of course! Thank you again, Junebug!" Fluttershy picked up her saddle bags and tossed them onto her back. "I'll be back soon Angel, don't worry!" She looked at her pet bunny once again, before galloping off to Ponyville Station.
Twilight Sparkle closed her saddle bags with her magic as she gently put them down on the ground. She looked at the little dragon, who was now crying.
"I'll be back Spike."
"P- promise?" he stuttered.
"Promise." she answered with alot more strength in her voice than she had expected. He nodded once as they quickly hugged, before Twilight leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead. And with that, she collected her things, and left.
Pinkie Pie left, her head hanging, as she headed towards the station. There was no one to see her off. At least she would be with her friends... All except one. She wondered what Rarity was doing at the moment, as her track of thought was interrupted by and abrupt hug from Mrs. Cupcake. She smiled. She hadn't expected them to come. Turning around, she saw Mr. Carrot Cake was there too. They quickly hugged as they wordlessly waved, and Pinkie Pie trotted off.
Applejack hugged her crying little sister, along with her older brother and her grandmother. She was most definitely going to miss them, but she would come back, she promised herself.
"We'll miss ya," said Granny Smith.
"Ah'll miss y'all too," answered Applejack. Although they were all sad, Applebloom was the only one crying. The other three of them didn't cry very often, and it wasn't because they didn't care. After her parent's death, Applejack learnt to make everything a bit less emotional. She gently pushed her younger sister away. "Ah'm sorry, but ah hafta go sugarcube." Applebloom looked up at her sister.
"You'll come back, right?"
"Ah will. Ah promise."
Applebloom nodded. "Bye, big sis."
She managed a small laugh, "It's not goodbye. Just 'til next time."
"'Til next time," Answered Big Mac. Applejack nodded and headed towards the door. She looked back one last time, waved, and left.
