A Terrible, Wonderful, Living Dream

Chapters

Relax
Companions
Homecoming
Homecoming, Part II
What a... Welcome?

Relax

Author's Note

Hey everyone! I somehow managed to pick up TEN FOLLOWERS! :pinkiegasp: So, in honor of that, Chapter Two is being revealed! This one's a bit of a shorter chapter, but I hope you all love it! (Please note, there will be some "updates" to this one. There are a few people helping me sort out minor issues, grammar, etc.) But if you see anything when you read that needs adjustment, PLEASE inform me! I can't make this great without a little bit of help from my readers! So please read and review! If I get something helpful or a lot of views, then I'll set up the next chapter before long!
Enjoy! :twilightsmile:

Relax

“Woah...” Estrella breathed as they came into the town square and her eye was caught by a giant marbled castle up on the Canterlot Mountain, which seemed to shimmer in the afternoon sunlight. Tall peaks glinted the sun's rays, making them look like beacons of hope, though they also appeared cold like the stone it was made of.

Rarity came up beside Estrella after calling a farewell to somepony behind them and followed her gaze up to the castle. “Amazing, isn't it?” she asked, her voice betraying just how much she adored the brilliant castle. Now, she seemed more calm than before, but it was a tense calm of trying not to become overly excited. “That's the castle if the sister princesses, Celestia and Luna. There's a few small things I would do to make their home truly spectacular, but it's honestly amazing already! There's strong guards at every door, but once they let you in, it's incredible! There's marble towers, ponies milling about, brilliantly decorated sashes on the walls and absolutely beautiful panned glass windows that stretched high up the walls, depicting incredible worlds of the past and many -in my friend Rainbow Dash's words- 'epic moments in history'. Oh darling, don't even get me strted on the thrown room! It's absolutely fabulous! Everything in there is quite the sight to see, as you would expect. Royalty deserves no less! And I just love going there and seeing the princesses. They're always so regal and beautiful, but they're always willing to talk to us normal ponies! Er, normal being a relative term.” Rarity giggled as her horn lit up as if to show off and say she was a par of or above the 'normal' pony. “She'll talk to anyone and I just love her generosity! She's kind beyond measure!” Rarity sighed a bit then as her magic faded away, but soon perked up. “Well, here we are then!” Rarity trotted further into town square and Estrella followed, though her attention was still on the castle at the moment, making her a little too focused on that rather than right in front of her. She ended up crashing into Rarity, who had stopped by the rotunda in the middle of the square. She looked back at Estrella, who returned a sheepish smile and a quick apology.

Rarity smiled back at her and said, “No worries dearie, I know what it can be like when first hearing of a magnificent palace like that. Imagine actually being inside and seeing it all for yourself! Though I'm sure you will at some point, seeing as you have a connection to Celestia herself. I actually did the same thing you just did when Twilight first brought us all to the castle to meet with the princesses. Twilight wasn't quite so understanding then when I did it, but then again, we were trying to save the world back then, and I wasn't exactly paying as much attention as I should have been.” With a shrug and haughty toss of her head, Rarity seemed to just blow off the major memo Estrella hadn't caught quite yet and started trotting around the rotunda-like building in the middle of the square, “Well then, we are here to see Celestia, so let's go find her. I've never known her to miss a meeting. I bet she's right around the corner! Er, circle. You know what I mean.” Rarity laughed jovially at her little slip, but let it brush off just as easy.

The two ponies went around the rotunda to the other side of the square to find it mostly empty. There were ponies along the edges of the square that were looking in, mostly with a wide-eyed stare and some slack jaws. Estrella followed their gazes to the center where two ponies stood facing each other in a deep conversation. One appeared to be a smaller unicorn looking up to a much larger pegasus, but detail beyond that was difficult to pick out. The sun was right behind the taller of the two, making seeing anything of them rather difficult.

Ignoring the small crowd that obviously revered the at least one of two ponies in the middle, Rarity walked out with a more regal and smooth movement to her step, leaving Estrella to hesitate before following shyly after, neck bent and head down as they walked down the seemingly elongated and well-worn path. Several gazes shifted to them, making her already nervousness at everything new, worse. In an attempt to ignore their intense gazes, Estrella turned her attention to the two ahead of her and her guide, and found that they appeared to be talking, but neither could make out anything they were saying from their current distance. As she and Rarity got closer, she started making out words here and there, along with better descriptions of the ponies. Finally, she made out a phrase, which turned out to be almost the end of the conversation.

“...and then he stopped, just like that.” The purple unicorn with streaks in her mane and tail and an odd star patterned cutie mark said, recounting the end of her tale from the adventurous morning. Her gaze spoke of her worry of whatever she was speaking of, but also of reverence towards her companion.

The much taller entity – of which now Estrella could also see a large horn glinting off the sunlight like the spires of her own castle and an equally bright sun cutie mark – tilted her beautifully stark-white head, making her delicately flowing ethereal rainbow mane sway lazily in some unfelt wind. Her expression at first appeared calm, but underneath showed a hint of worry and much thought. Thought that only many, many years of knowledge, practice, learning, and living life could create, and yet this sun god looked as young as any pony, despite the size difference. For the moment Estrella lingered on said princess's expression, Celestia brought a hoof under her chin, though it quickly went back down as she spoke. “It is very strange indeed... I may have to look into this more, but for now, be glad he... somewhat listened to you and your friends. I appreciate you updating me on Discord's actions. For now, keep an eye on him for me, though I will check in on him whenever I am able to do such.”

“Thank you, Celestia, and I will.” The lavender unicorn bowed to the princess as she spoke. As she rode once more, she noticed the new arrivals within the area and even cast a smile their way. She then stepped to the side, letting them come forward to speak with Celestia, but not without noticing the newcomer.

Rarity stepped forward and spoke up the moment she got a chance. “Princess Celestia, I brought you your honored guest, just like you asked me to. Thank you again for the honor! You were right about the cloak, though the colors certainly don't match for her. They work on you, but you see what I mean.”

Celestia laughed softly and said, “Thank you Rarity. I will keep that in mind next time I have a visitor. And thank you for showing her here. Estrella?”

Estrella couldn't help a small shiver as Celestia's gaze fell on her. Though it was warm and welcoming, it was still a princess before her, as she had figured out by now. Estrella took a few tentative steps forward to the spot Rarity had occupied a moment ago, but had left to go stand by the purple unicorn. “Yes, Princess?”

“Please, Celestia is just fine.” Celestia returned with a bright smile. “I trust you had an easy time getting here?”

“Y-yes, the train ride was much smoother than I thought it'd be and Rarity's a very welcoming guide.” Estrella replied a bit hastily. In her mind, she felt niceness was only a front for when something was wanted, but what could a princess want from her? Her thoughts were stalled as Celestia spoke again.

“Wonderful. I am glad you enjoyed your journey. And Estrella, you really don't have to be nervous around me. I'm not going to hurt you, or ask something of you that you don't want to do. I'm not that kind of pony.”

Estrella looked up at Celestia, this time, getting a closer look at her kind, truthful eyes. There was a moment of stillness between them in which Estrella felt some of her worry just melting away and a small bond of trust beginning to form. She even offered a small smile back. “I know. I'm not used to not having to worry about everything yet, I guess.”

“Not to worry. With any luck, you'll settle in soon and it'll be like you've always been a part of Ponyville, if you choose to stay, that is.”

“Thank you, Prin- er, Celestia.”

“You are welcome.” At this time, Celestia cast a momentary glance to the watching audience. Some ponies backed away, most looked at the ground, and a few ran off all together. Celestia smiled slightly and leaned down a bit, lowering her voice just enough that the four of them were all that heard her speak. “And don't worry about the matter we spoke about in our last correspondence. It's being cleared up as we speak.”

Estrella went a little pale for a moment, then took a deep breath to regain herself. “Th-thank you, Celestia. That means a lot to me. And everything. You're doing so much for me and you don't really even know me.”

“I don't need to.” Celestia said as she stood her full height once more and stepped closer to Estrella until they were close enough to look like a pair of old friends catching up on a long-shared past. “You have a good heart, Estrella. I'm sure that with a little time and some new friends, you'll be just fine, and those moving jitters will pass by. And speaking of new friends...” Her smile turned a bit too sweet as she looked at Twilight and Rarity, who had been listening and now had a million questions, but both stood taller as Celestia looked at them. “...Would you two be kind enough to help her get settled into Ponyville and make a few friends to get her started? I know how great you are at that.”

“Of course Celestia!” Twilight responded as soon as she unfroze from trying to look like she hadn't been listening.

“Thank you Twilight. I'll be sure to check on Discord. Estrella, do you know how to get to your new home?”

“I think so, Prin-Celestia. Sorry, again.” she muttered the last bit of her sentence for her slip up once more.

“Quite alright. I understand. If you need help, it's not far from Twilight's home. It's the new house that just went up.”

“The one they put in one of the hollow trees like mine?” Twilight asked, referring to her library home which resided in a tree.

“Yes. Help Estrella there if she needs it please.”

“Sure thing Celestia. Is that everything?”

“I believe so. Is there anything else you have to report?”

“Um, Celestia?” Estrella called softly as she started to undo her cloak. “Here's your cloak back. Thank you for letting me use it.”

“I am Glad you enjoyed it.” Celestia said as her horn glowed and she took the cloak in her magic. It was then neatly folded and hovered in the air near her flank, ready for Celestia's take of leave, but neither of the unicorns in the room were paying any mind to the adept magic usage. Instead, they found themselves staring at Estrella's cutie mark, which was revealed now with the cloak off and depicted what looked like a pale yellow, unmarked, faceless pony with a white mane and tail similar to Celestia's falling, shown by white slashes underneath that looked like speed lines. However, their moment of staring at Estrella when she wasn't looking at them was cut short and they were brought back to reality as Celestia spoke once more, even if it wasn't to them. “I look forward to seeing you again, and feel free to come by the castle or send a letter if you find you need something or just someone to talk to, alright?”

Estrella nodded, feeling a bit more relieved now that she had returned the cloak. She looked at the other two, Twilight and Rarity, and started towards them to greet and head out, but was stopped one final time by Celestia, who leaned down and whispered just to her, “And don't worry. Twilight's group of friends are safe, but you only have to reveal as much as you want to. It's your past and your choice what to do with it.”

Estrella shivered softly as if she had become a part of some promise she didn't want to be in relation with, but shook it off as she nodded to Celestia and said, “I understand. Thank you.” before she went to tentatively join Rarity and Twilight. She offered a smile at them, attempting to be friendly, and they smiled back at her. Without saying much, the three of them turned in unison and waved as Celestia took to the skies and arched off back towards her castle in the mountains. Now, just the three of them were left to find out what was past town square and their meeting with Celestia. With Rarity on her left and Twilight on her right, Estrella felt a little boxed in, but in a good way, almost like some sort of protective shield. Once Celestia was little more than a speck, Rarity and Twilight both gave huge sighs of relief.

“Man, I always feel like I'm being tested when I talk to her!” Twilight said as she wiped a hoof over her brow.

“Probably because you're always taking a test of some sort with her.” Rarity returned with a dramatic throw of her hair to settle herself. “I, on the other hoof, always feel like I am sitting right next to my one and only, simply greatest role model in all of Equestria, but next to her I really have to shine to be given even the tiniest hint of notice by others! She is simply overbearing at times! But in a god way, don't get me wrong.”

Estrella quickly looked between the two unicorns, confused. “You two seemed so calm a minute ago. Why such a change?”

“It's just what we've gotten used to.” Twilight explained lightly and with a smile, back to her usual self. “She's my teacher, so I do often take tests with her, but I look up to her so I feel like every day is a test.”

“Teacher?” Estrella asked as she tilted her head a little. “You mean she is actually teaching you-”

“Everything there is to know about magic, yes!” Twilight finished for her. “And I'm learning the magic of friendship along the way.”

“That's where we come in.” Rarity interjected. “I and four others consist of her main friend group, the 'Mane Six' if you will, and together, we all learn the magic of friendship and hold strong through the trials and tribulations we experience! Then we can pass that on to others. It's come in quite handy, you know.”

“Sounds... cliche.” Estrella returned. Twilight and Rarity both shared a look, then started laughing.

Once they settled down, Rarity cleared her throat and said, “Yes, I suppose it does, but it's real. It's gotten us out of more scraps than I can count!”

“Let's see, there was-”

“Don't even start Twilight. That was a rhetorical statement.”

Twilight paused a moment, then gave a sheepish smile. “Oh... Well, guess I'm still learning some stuff. Speaking of learning, who's your friend?”

Rarity perked up at that and laid a hoof on Estrella's shoulder before saying in a sweet voice, “This here is Estrella! She just came to Ponyville today and from what I gather from in there, by Celestia's power too! Oh, and this is Twilight Sparkle, by the way. You'll learn a lot about her if you spend any sort of time in this town. Librarian, savior, best friend, magical prodigy, you name it and she's done it!”

“Nice to meet you, Twilight. I'm nothing special like all that, and all I did was ride the train here.” Estrella returned nervously.

“Not many ponies have Celestia send someone to meet them and then get to meet with her directly! I know that at least this is my first time getting to do such a thing for her.”

“Really? So why'd you come to Ponyville, Estrella?” Twilight asked.

“Um, well first off my name's actually Little Star. I just prefer Estrella. As for coming here, I uh...” Estrella paused a moment as her mind immediately tried to come up with a lie out of old habit, but Celestia's words rang in her head. She could trust these ponies. But still, how much was she willing to give? After a moment of debate, she returned with what she felt was a 'safe' statement. “I used to live in not such a great place. I sent Celestia a letter once, never thinking she would actually receive it, and had asked what it was like being around ponies who cared about her. I was shocked to say the least when she not only returned my letter, but offered to pay for my coming here and spend at least a year here!”

“Wow, talk about a lucky break! And a whole year at that too! Its actually a little like my story, except for she brought me here to be her student rather than to get me away from a bad situation.” Twilight said a moment before her curiosity had her start spitting out one question after another. “What kind of place was it you came from? What happened there that was so bad you had to leave? What was the thing Celestia's clearing up for you? And mmf-” Twilight's string of questions was broken off by Rarity's hoof in her mouth, effectively muffling anything she was saying. “Slow down Twilight, even I couldn't follow that! One at a time.” Rarity then removed her hoof from her friend's mouth, though she shook it, a momentary expression of disgust crossing her features and she shook it to rid herself of the slobber. Twilight wiped her mouth on her hoof before saying, “Right. So, did you catch any of that, Estrella?”

“If you don't mind her asking.” Rarity added in. “We get it if you'd rather not share. I'm sure after whatever you went through, it'll take sometime before you're ready to talk about it.”

“Um, yeah.” Estrella said. She had caught most of it, but each one just made her want to shut down. “I'd rather not answer though. Sorry.”

“No worries dearie!” Rarity said, though she sent a glare Twilight's way.

Twilight's disappointment quickly turned to a faked smile. She understood, but still wished she could have learned more of this land she didn't know of yet. “Yes, it's perfectly alright. We get it. Even if you never want to talk about it, but if you ever do, we'll be here for you.”

Estrella blinked a few times before letting out a small sigh of relief. “Thank you for understanding. I've... never had that before.”

“Really? That's absurd!” Twilight twirled her hoof around like she was trying to think of some specific number. “Everyone has understanding, but there are very few ponies who don't use it and to have several all in one place-”

“What Twilight is trying to say is that she's glad you're out of wherever you came from.” Rarity interjected once more, simplifying her friend's ramble for Estrella. “Now, how about we go and introduce you to our other friends? Then we can head to your new home and help you get settled in!”

“That sounds wonderful, actually.” Estrella smiled at the thought of meeting ponies she could trust and get to know some of the town while they were at it.

“Wonderful! Off we go then! Think Fluttershy's not busy, Twi?”

“It's after feeding time so she should be free.” Twilight said as she and Rarity trotted out of the castle, leaving a momentarily frozen Estrella behind. “Feeding time?” she muttered, only loud enough that the others could just barely hear.

“Yeah, Fluttershy takes care of pretty much all the animals around here. She's incredibly sweet and shy though so don't feel bad if she doesn't warm up to you right away.” Twilight said over her shoulder before she paused, seeing Estrella stopped, and asked, “Hey, are you alright?”

“Oh. Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just didn't expect that.” Estrella gave a shaky smile and a sigh of relief as the feeding time they mentioned was nothing like the one she knew. She then trotted to catch up with Rarity and Twilight and the three of them talked all the way to their friend Fluttershy's house, telling Estrella stories of different things they had done with Fluttershy, including hilarious and even some of the more embarrassing moments that made Estrella laugh and sometimes go, “Really?” or “Wow!” or use some such other exclamation of surprise. Though she didn't have any stories she wanted to share with them, she couldn't help feeling more relaxed now that they shared a bit of their lives and laughs with her.

All too soon, they were actually at Fluttershy's house, which stopped the conversation for the moment as they trotted up and knocked on the door.

Companions

Author's Note

Sorry for taking forever on this one everyone. College got hard. :facehoof:
But anyway, just did a 1AM proofread so either it's terrible or wonderful. Either way, enjoy. :heart:

Companions

True to her nature, albeit one she hadn't been true to in a long time and only seemed to be sparked after her little trip into the fruit punch lava lake, she once more let her curious gaze wander about the property, taking in all the sights. Even from the front of the cute little house, she could see many creatures and habitats sprinkled all around. There was a fence line and around the yard, from which she could see burrows, bunnies, mice, trees with squirrels and any number of birds in them, and from the back she could hear calls from many other creatures, all of which seemed generally happy. A little lizard or iguana – Estrella wasn't sure which – ran past them with a toy clutched in its mouth and a mouse ran after it, the two seemingly playing. Estrella spun in a slow circle, looking all around, her jaw slowly falling slack as she watched everything going on, though all the different animals that were watching their group unnerved her.

She was quickly pulled from her trance as Twilight knocked on Fluttershy's door and called, “Hey Fluttershy, we have a new friend for you to meet!” They waited for a few quiet moments, then Twilight gave Rarity an odd look. “Strange. She's usually quick to answer.”

They waited for a few more moments before Rarity said, “Perhaps she's out back, playing with some creature and can't hear us.”

“You may be right.” Twilight said with her usual smile. “Let's head on back and see if we can't find her.”

Rarity nodded in agreement, her mane hardly shifting with the action. She and Twilight turned and went through a gate in the fence and into Fluttershy's yard. Estrella stopped though, memories of her going to some place she shouldn't have and the repercussions returning to the forefront of her memory, making her shudder and step away from the gate. Rarity noticed Estrella wasn't following them and came back, a worried expression on her face. “Dear? Are you alright?”

Estrella lowered her head a bit as she tried to shake off the memories. “A-are you sure we're allowed to just walk in like this? It's her home, after all.”

“Fluttershy gives all her close friends free passes into her home.” Twilight explained as she started to come back as well. “She says we're welcome any time we want to come by. I'm sure she's fine with us coming in. It's okay Estrella.” She added the last bit reassuringly, understanding a little of what it was like for people to barge into her house. Pinkie did it to her all the time and no matter how Twilight asked, she still just came in, though sometimes it unreal where she appeared from. Once, Twilight had locked her home up tight because she didn't want to be disturbed while reading an ancient text on how tribal ponies lived in the past, and yet somehow only an hour into the book, she had the bright voice of Pinkie Pie over her shoulder squealing, “Oooh! A dusty old book! How much dust do you think it's gotten over the years Twilight?” Needless to say, she had screamed at the sudden intrusion. They had conversed after she had calmed down again and Pinkie eventually – and I mean EVENTUALLY – left, but that was a story for another time.

Estrella flicked her ears back for a moment as she debated, then she slowly walked through the gate. Rarity closed it behind her and the slam of the wood made her jump. Twilight's reassuring smile turned a bit more saddened as she saw how jumpy Estrella was when she was outside of her usual comfort zone, strained as it was from being in an all-new place. Twilight walked close to Estrella as they went around the house, hoping to make her feel a bit more comfortable, and Rarity did the same on the other side. As they walked around the house, Estrella watched all the different animals getting along completely. There was a flamingo who offered its catch to a Persian cat, a squirrel who climbed a tree to get nuts for its mousy friend, that lizard playing with now three mice, bunnies playing tag with a snake, a bear sleeping with a doe, and so much more. It was like nothing ever had to be mean here, no fight for survival and even basic rules of nature were transcended or just plain ignored. “What... is this place?” Estrella asked to nobody in particular.

“This is Fluttershy's garden.” Rarity answered unheeded. “Like we said before, she's an animal lover and all the animals love her back. She takes care of them so they never have to worry.”

“Never?” Estrella asked, though she knew the answer already. “There's no fighting. Predator and prey are acting as if there was never any bad blood between them. They're sharing food, bed space, even playing games together!”

“It's because they never have to worry. Fluttershy takes care of them all so they never have to worry about food or a place to sleep. They don't have to fight for space and each are loved unconditionally.” Twilight said as she looked out to the crowd of animals. At some point, the three of them had stopped to watch the animals enjoying themselves in relaxed bliss under the bright afternoon sun. Many of then were relaxing or playing, but all seemed content just to live carefree. Some even ran past the group, including one very prominently colored vixen. She stopped in front of Estrella, her sharply angular face watching her, the dark red coat and shining white underbelly creating another sharp, but beautiful contrast. A moment later, a mallard tackled the vixen and the two scurried off, deep in their game. Estrella smiled at the two playing, wishing she could do the same without worry or care.

Amongst all the creatures running around, a flash of yellowish hair similar to the gold strands that sparkled in her own caught Estrella's attention. It was only a flash as something zipped between the trees, then again as it went from the trees to the pond, ducking under the clear surface but it dove down so the angle was wrong for her to see what exactly she had seen. She couldn't help watching the little pond for awhile though, hoping to see the little creature resurface so she could see what it was. She had seen creatures of similar color before, but for some reason this one made her want to see it again.

Before the creature could resurface again, eyes popped up from the mud between the pond and the group, startling Estrella from her attentive watch. She squeaked in surprise, then quickly bit off her noise and pressed her ears back against her head when Twilight and Rarity looked at her. She shyly ducked her head and said, “I-I'm not... I wasn't expecting eyes to pop out of nowhere.” she muttered a little, making it hard to hear.

Twilight tilted her head a little, having heard even as her friend had mumbled, then looked to where there were now several sets of eyes. A moment later, a couple of frogs jumped out of the mud and shook themselves off, revealing their green skin. Twilight laughed softly and said, “It's just some mud frogs. They're harmless.”

“They're staring at me.” Estrella whispered as she backed against the wall of the house.

“You're somepony new.” Rarity said with an all too bright tone. “They're just curious is all. They won't touch you, filthy as they are.” She practically glared at the frogs, to which some glared back but most didn't care since they knew Rarity's aversion to mud. She shuddered softly and said, “Let's move on. They will get to know you eventually but right now, we have somepony to meet!” With that, she started off again towards the back of the house, trotting high to further distance herself from the mud. Twilight followed after with Estrella not far behind. As they walked, Twilight got a bit ahead of Rarity and as they came close to the corner, Twilight stopped. As Rarity came up beside her, Twilight held a hoof out to stop her. Rarity gave her an odd look and started to ask, “Twilight, what is this ab-” Twilight shoved a hoof in Rarity's mouth to silence her.

Estrella came up behind her and before Twilight could explain, a voice drifted over, or more accurately, the muffled sounds of someone trying desperately not to cry. Twilight and Rarity looked at each other, not sure who it was coming from, then the tattered, western-accented voice came. “I just dun know what it is I'm suppose ta do, Flutters. I just d-don't know.”

Another, much softer voice came next, which Estrella assumed was the Fluttershy they had come to see. “There there, Applejack, it'll be alright. I'm sure, given time, everything will work out.”

“But how long will it take?” the one now identified as Applejack returned, tears evident in her voice. “I can't just wait around fer somepony to notice! That's why I came to you. I had to tell somepony.”

There was a moment of silence as Applejack broke down, then seemed to righten herself as Fluttershy spoke up again. “I'm glad you came here Applejack. You know I won't tell a soul until you're ready, but I'm afraid there's not much I can do. This isn't something I'm good at.”

Applejack sighed and said, “I know. But... it helps just being able to talk about it, y'know?”

“Yes. I understand.” Fluttershy returned, her voice reflecting a smile. “Why don't I go make a quick batch of lemonade for us? We can talk some more if you think it'll help. Maybe between the two of us we can figure something out. Maybe, if you want, we could talk to Rarity.”

“Lemonade sounds great, thanks, but Rarity will take it too far.” Applejack returned, her voice stronger now that she had some time to gather herself again. Rarity gave Twilight a look of confusion and curiosity, her name being brought up making the already interesting conversation even more fascinating.

“Oh, well, this is her area of expertise.” Fluttershy said.

“Sort of. Her style is just a bit too... fancy for what I'm dealing with.” Applejack said, making Rarity snort a little, though not loud enough to be heard.

“Oh Applejack... Don't worry, we'll figure something out. I'll be right back. Angel, why don't you keep her company?”

Though Rarity, Twilight, and Estrella couldn't see the little rabbit salute Fluttershy and jump up on the table to sit in front of Applejack, they could hear her tense laugh before she said, “Hey there little feller. How's life been treating you?”

Twilight turned to Rarity and Estrella then, glancing at them both before whispering, “Follow my lead.” She put on a big grin then and started trotting out, “Fluttershy? Hey Fluttershy, you home?”

Rarity put on a smile of her own, though hers looked completely fake as she followed Twilight. The two rounded the corner of the house and Estrella followed more shyly behind, head low and ears back. She stepped onto the patio and saw a table in the center with chairs spread around, one of which an orange earth pony with blonde hair tied in a ponytail and a triple apple cutie mark was occupying, along with her hat, which sat on the table beside a little rabbit, Angel. Rarity practically beamed as she came around and said, “Why hello Applejack! I didn't expect to see you here! What are you doing here?” Twilight shot a quick glare to Rarity, trying to convey she was being too fake.

Applejack jumped in her seat as her friends came rounding the bend, but her surprise quickly turned to suspicion. “Uh... hi there Rare, Twi, and um...” Applejack tilted her head a little as she looked at Estrella, who met her gaze for just a second before looking down and shuffling where she stood.

“That's Estrella.” Twilight said, helping cover Estrella's moment of shyness. Twilight was quickly learning that Estrella wasn't one to start a conversation, but would entertain it once she was a part of it.

“Well howdy there.” Applejack said with a smile, though the rabbit sitting on the table had his arms crossed as if he knew the others had been there longer than they acted. “The name's Applejack. I work at Sweet Apple Acres with my family.”

“She's been a friend of ours for a very long time.” Rarity added.

“Nice to meet you.” Estrella said, giving a shy smile similar to the one Fluttershy sometimes gave when she was embarrassed-shy and raising her head a little, ears now forward. “My name's actually Little Star, but I prefer Estrella.”

“Huh. Well, I like it.” Applejack said with a genuine smile. “So where ya from?”

“Applejack, you might-” Twilight started, but was cut off by Estrella replying.

“You wouldn't know the place. It's quite a ways from here and not many ponies know about it. Honestly, I was never able to pronounce the town's name, which is no help. It was a nice little town though. The ponies, not so much at times, but it rained a lot so it was a little difficult to be happy, unlike here. I've yet to see a pony sorry to be here.”

“Other than when we first met.” Rarity said.

“Er, yeah, excluding that.” Estrella said with a small laugh.

Twilight and Applejack exchanged a look, then Applejack asked, “Whaddaya mean?”

“The little matter with Discord this morning sent some ponies running for the train. We just about crashed into some of the poor ponies.” Rarity supplied.

“Oh. Well that was – hopefully – a one-time thing, so no worries.” Applejack said.

“I hope you didn't get caught in that mess, Estrella.” Twilight said. “That would leave quite the first impression.”

Estrella was silent for a moment, not sure how to respond, but was spared by Rarity saying, “Oh no, I kept her away from it as much as possible. Speaking of things not quite in their place, Applejack, you ignored my question.”

“I did?” Applejack asked, not quite remembering what she had missed.

“Yes. I asked why you were here.” Rarity repeated.

“Oh. Well I uh...” Applejack stuttered, only to be saved as Fluttershy came out.

“I got the lemonade. Is Angel being-” Fluttershy paused as she saw everyone, then gave a shy smile. “Oh, I didn't realize you were here. I'm sorry, I'll go get more glasses.”

“Don't worry Fluttershy, I'll get them. There's someone here you need to meet.” Twilight said with a smile as she glanced at Estrella, who had tilted her head as she watched the yellow pegasus with pink mane and tail and triple butterfly cutie mark, who was carrying a tray with a pitcher of lemonade and two glasses.

Fluttershy set the tray on the table and settled on the ground, tucking her wings against her sides. “Um, h-hello.”

“Hi.” Estrella said in returned as she stepped a bit closer, head still low but higher than before. “My name's Little Star, but I prefer Estrella.”

Fluttershy smiled a little. “Estrella? That's a pretty name. Sounds like it's from the Espoñians. Have you been to Espoñy?”

Estrella blinked in surprise. “You know of it?” she asked, surprise evident in her voice.

Fluttershy blushed a little and hid behind her mane as she said, “I uh, have never been there myself. I only know of it b-because there's a couple species of animals that only live there. I've heard its a lovely little place, once you get there. I've heard awful things about the path there though.”

Estrella simply stared at Fluttershy for what felt like a small eternity, mouth half open and eyes wide in shock. Eventually, she shook her head as if resetting her mind to work again. She looked a bit more kindly at Fluttershy before saying, “Sorry for staring. I didn't think anyone would ever have heard of it.”

“Well now why's that, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, curious herself.

Estrella looked to Applejack and said, “Like Fluttershy said, the road there is harsh. It's like that specifically because ponies there don't like outsiders. But how do you know about the language, Fluttershy?” she asked as she turned back to Fluttershy, her head tilted.

Fluttershy gave a small eep as she was put on the spot again, though she quickly recovered and said, “Many of the indigenous creatures there are named in the language, and the basic words are similar to general Italunge, though that's about all that's similar. I've picked up some Italunge here and there and I know stellina means Little Star.” Fluttershy explained, seemingly a little less shy now that she was reciting information.

“Wow, impressive.” Estrella breathed just as Twilight came back, levitating several glasses. She looked at the group as she set the glasses on the table and switched to levitating the lemonade pitcher and filling the glasses before she said, “I got the glasses... Now what did I miss?”

“Oh, just find'n out that Flutters here knows about a place nobody else knows about AND another language!” Applejack said before she started filling Twilight in on the conversation so far, though Fluttershy blushed and explained she only knew a few words of a similar language and not the language itself.

Once she was done, the entire group was sitting around the table and sipping on their lemonade and Twilight's eye was twitching. “So. That's what I've been missing. Heh.” She gave a wavering grin, showing she was practically dying trying not to ask a million questions.

Eventually, Estrella sighed. “How about this Twilight. One question about my past for now and I'll tell you when I'm ready for another.”

“And please do keep them simple.” Rarity added in. “Not all of us can understand what you're asking on a normal basis!”

“And give her the option to pass.” Applejack added. “Three max at a time if she has to pass them all and no repeat questions.”

“Will that be all the more you say? I'm actually curious myself.” Fluttershy asked quietly, but Estrella heard and shook her head.

“I may say more here and there if it fits the time and place. And I guess I could extend the option to all of you.” Estrella said in reply, giving a small smile to everyone. “So far, that all sounds alright to me. What do you think Twilight?”

Estrella turned to Twilight, only for her smile to disappear as she saw Twilight's almost manic grin. “Do you really mean it? Fantastic! Oh, now I have to think of the perfect question! Um, do you think you could give me a minute? You won't decide not to have a question by then, right?”

Estrella shuddered softly, then took a deep breath before saying, “N-no, the option will still be open. I'll let you think about it.”

“Great!” Twilight said a moment before she drifted off into whatever landscape she went to when she was deep in thought.

Fluttershy sighed softly while Rarity rolled her eyes, but Applejack decided to speak up. “So uh, can we use a question while waiting on Twi?”

“Uh, s-sure.” Estrella said. Though she winced a little as she stuttered. Without a word though, Fluttershy gave her a smile that to anyone else would have been her shy self but to Estrella, there were reassuring qualities.

“Alright then, I suppose I'll go first.” Applejack said, the question she wanted already on her lips. “If the road is so dangerous, then how'd you get to Ponyville? And why, if I might add.”

“Short answer is Celestia.” Estrella returned. She tilted her head up and looked towards the sky as she began recounting her short tale. “Long answer... Basically I wasn't in the best of homes, which is the why, and I had sent a letter to Celestia asking what it was like in places other than where I was at and told her a little about where I was. She and Luna were the only ones I heard of from outside my town, but last I heard Luna was captured in the moon so I sent a letter to Celestia. I never expected a reply, and what she said shocked me even more. She offered to pay for my transportation to Ponyville to experience a new life for myself. She's even given me a house to stay at! So, she sent some unicorns to get me away from the village, which is actually only near Espoñy, not Espoñy itself. We're even more secluded than that, so we got through the pass and from there, I took several different trains and eventually made it to Ponyville. That's... pretty much it. The trip itself wasn't the most memorable. Or, rather I'd prefer not to remember it. But anyway, I get a year here free and then after that, Celestia said I can decide what I want to do from there.”

“Wow.” Applejack breathed. “Well, even without knowing the details, that's amazing. And quite lucky for you, I'd say. Celestia is big-name and though she always tries to return letters she gets, to offer you all that?”

“Applejack!” Rarity said with a glare. “Celestia is the most kind and generous pony ever! How could you think she wouldn't help?”

“Rarity, I just mean she always has something going on. It wouldn't be easy for her to arrange all that.”

“Oh, well, I suppose you have a point Applejack...” Rarity conceded. “But still. Anyway, it's my turn then. So, Estrella,” Rarity said as she leaned on the table, putting her full attention on Estrella, which made her squirm a little on her seat. “Mine's not really a question, but I simply must know! What's the fashion style of this... Espoñy?”

Estrella tilted her head a little, not quite understanding. “Fashion style?”

Rarity's eyes widened until they looked like saucers. “WHAT!? You don't know about fashion! Oh my, somebody get this girl a dress, ASAP! Fashion is a way of life and you've never lived it!?” Rarity wavered a little in her seat, looking as though she were about to faint. Both Applejack and Fluttershy were quick to brace their hooves against her to keep her over dramatics in line and to keep her from falling over.

Fluttershy was calmly stroking Rarity's beautiful lavender mane while Applejack was the first to speak up once they had gotten Rarity to stabilize. “What Rarity means is what were the clothes you wore? Usually for special occasions and the like.”

Estrella straightened her head from where she had been giving Rarity a worried, tilted look and almost sighed in relief. “Sorry, my vocabulary is pretty small. I missed out on a lot of lessons when I was younger. Anyway, we may have a... limited er, fashion, as you put it, in comparison to what I've seen so far. We almost never had a reason to wear something fancy other than tribal clothes at the celebrations of spring, where we use leaves, clay adornments, and trinkets we or family members have collected to which we use to feel closer to our homes and as thanks for surviving the winter. We have very harsh winters. And the fall one isn't really fashion. We basically smash colorful berries and paint each other before we dance into the night. There's a lot more to both celebrations than that but I'm one of the younger members so I didn't get a chance to learn the intricacies. Other than that, we use skins to survive the winter but that's it.”

Fluttershy gave a squeak as Estrella mentioned skins, but said nothing.

Rarity, on the other hoof, shuddered visibly, though she seemed to have recovered enough because then she said, “Well, it's um... something. I'll take a look at your wardrobe and see what I can do. What er... skins, did you use?” she forced a smile, figuring that skins, while not her taste, could be fashionable in some countries.

“I used one from my father. Sometimes my mother's as well when it was really cold, but hers was a bit small for me. The ponies I was living with used ones some of the elders gave them, since they both had older siblings who got their parent's skins.” Estrella said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Everyone's wide eyes and slacked jaws obviously said otherwise. Even Twilight was watching her with a look somewhere between disgust and absolute flabbergasted shock. This time, Rarity fainted completely and nopony caught her as she fell limp in her chair, although Fluttershy, the one of the group who hadn't reacted much to the statement, did jump as her friend hit the floor. Estrella winced as she fell, then shyly said, “Isn't somepony going to wake her?”

After several more moments of stunned silence, again minus Fluttershy who lightly nudged Rarity in attempts to get her to stir, the others finally shook themselves from their frozen states and helped coax Rarity awake. Of course, the first thing she said was, “Oh my, what a terrible dream! I dreamed that- wait, why are you all staring at me?”

“If yer going to say something about Estrella's... strange fashion statement, don't bother. It wasn't a dream.” Applejack said as she helped her friend up while Fluttershy put a glass of lemonade in her hooves. Rarity took it though the shock had returned to her face. She stared at the lemonade before looking up at Estrella again, her already white fur seeming even paler now.

Estrella gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry Rarity. Er, everyone. I thought it was normal. I suppose you have gentler winters here and access to better materials. Although, I always saw it as a way to get close to the parents I never knew. They both died a long time ago but the elders kept their skins for me. Helped me through a lot of harsh winters.”

Rarity's eye was twitching and it took her several long seconds to recover. Eventually, she took a deep breath and a sip of her lemonade, then used her magic to set it on the table. “Scratch what I said earlier about looking through your current wardrobe. We're going to give you a completely new one.”

“Um, to be quite honest... I let everything behind when I came to Ponyville.” Estrella said in reply as she stared at her own glass of lemonade. “Everything. All I had was Celestia's cloak and that was just so my escorts would know who I was. I wanted to escape everything, so I left everything.”

“Oh dear, that's terrible.” Fluttershy practically whispered. “Not even anything from your parents?”

“Like I said, I never knew them so there wasn't much of a connection. The only family I had were the elders and even they didn't care much what happened to me.” Estrella sighed softly and took a sip of her drink, letting the cool flavor wash over her.

“That's the most terrible thing I've ever heard!” Rarity exclaimed. “Don't worry darling, we'll get you a full stock of new dresses to make you feel fabulous and forget all your troubles! I'll ask Pinkie Pie to hold off your welcome-to-Ponyville party a little while so I have time to make you the perfect dress for that night.”

“Speaking of Pinkie, she and Dash still need to meet her.” Applejack added.

“Yes, of course dear. They will soon. Pinkie should be at the Sugarcube Corner like usual and Twilight can send Dash a message to meet us there. Twilight?”

“Hm?” she asked, her mind off on trying to think of her question still.

“Twi, hello! Earth to Twilight!” Applejack called before waving a hoof in front of Twilight's face, to which she finally snapped attention to. “Hey Twi, thanks for returning to us. Any chance you could send a message to Dash and get her to come to Sugarcube Corner so she and Pinkie can meet Estrella?”

“Sure thing.” Twilight smiled and her horn glowed. She closed her eyes and a moment later, a beam of purple light shot into the sky. Then, Twilight opened her eyes and said, “Dash should be receiving her message in about 5.293 seconds. I estimate she'll be at the shop in about 2.7986 minutes afterward, sooner if she catches a tailwind.”

“Oh we have more time than that.” Rarity said as she shook her hoof. “Dash will linger wherever she is for at least another fifteen minutes before she gets flying.”

Twilight gained a thoughtful look, then seemed to have a moment of realization. “You're probably right, Rare.”

“And 'sides, it's Fluttershy's turn.” Applejack said as everyone looked to Fluttershy, who gave an “Eep,” and ducked her head to hide under her mane.

Estrella couldn't help a small laugh, though what she didn't notice was a dash of blonde that had shot under the table when everyone was watching Fluttershy. Nobody did, other than Angel, who had dozed off at some point during the questions but awoke when he heard the small clicking of tiny nails on the cement patio. He looked underneath the table, but again, nobody paid any mind as they were all looking at Fluttershy. Eventually, she peeked out and said, “Um... C-can I hold off a little bit too?”

“Oh Flutters, don't be scared of the answer. I think – or at least hope – we have already experienced the brunt of this discussion.” Rarity said reassuringly, though she still looked pretty shaken up herself.

In that instant, a little blonde paw reached up and touched Estrella's upper leg. In that same instant, Estrella jumped so fast a teleporting unicorn would have been envious. A loud scream ripped its way from her throat and followed her as she pressed herself up against the wall of Fluttershy's house. Her breaths came fast and her eyes were wide as dinner plates before she saw the elongated, almost golden form come running up to her, a curious, playful expression on its adorable little face. It stood on its back feet then and reached out its little clawed paw, not quite touching but definitely asking for Estrella to return its touch. All around the two of them, the other ponies and Angel grinned, trying not to laugh at the display rivaling Twilight's jumpiness after hours of being stressed to the limit.

Fluttershy was the first to keep her laughter down and trot over to join Estrella and the newcomer. “Estrella, meet Terice. He's a golden mink. Very rare. And it seems he's taken a liking to you.” Fluttershy giggled a little and said, “Why don't you say hello?”

Estrella hesitated, but her breathing slowly relaxed back to a normal pace and her eyes returned to normal size. She also came down from where she had pressed her back against the wall and stood normally, albeit a bit shakily from her launch attack on the wall. She then bent her forelegs until she was face level with Terice. He then in turn let his arms drop, but still stood on his back legs, the bend in his back keeping him from standing completely straight but at this level, he was perfectly sized to see Estrella. She then gave a very soft, “Hello?” to which he squeaked cheerfully and placed his front paws on her nose before he licked the spot between her eyes. Estrella laughed a little and went cross-eyed, watching him. “Well then, aren't you a curious little bugger. And so cute too. Sorry I screamed at you, but you scared me like that. I wasn't expecting something to touch me.”

To that, Terice chittered and in an instant, had ran around Estrella, digging into her long mane and playing with the bright golden strands. Estrella gasped and jumped back, going still as he wrapped himself around her neck to rest on her shoulders as he played. “F-Fluttershy, you're the animal expert. What's he doing?”

Fluttershy giggled and said, “Don't worry, he won't hurt you. He's just playing.” Fluttershy then rubbed his little head with her hoof and he gave more happy chatters while Fluttershy continued. “He doesn't do that with many creatures. In fact, I think Sinsi is his only playmate. He's usually quite shy and scared of others. Poor dear was abandoned when he was little and never quite got over it.”

Estrella shivered as Terice's little paws played with her mane, leaving a very strange sensation after the hairs he tugged. “Who's Sinsi?” Estrella asked after a little while, though she felt her heart leap out to the little creature with a parental history similar to hers, despite the very different lives lived up until this point.

“Sinsi is a fox. A vixen to be precise. She's a little older than him and he looks up to her. The two are the best of friends. I wonder where she is, actually. Usually they're inseparable.”

As if on cue, Angel started making a little squeaking noise, then pointed to the bushes once he had everyone's attention. The others tilted their heads, not quite understanding, and Angel rolled his eyes. He hopped down from the table then and went over, pulling a branch back to show the form of the red and white fox that had stopped to stare at Estrella earlier. The moment she was revealed, however, she burrowed her way further into the bushes. Angel would have none of it though, so he buried his way in after her. The bushes rustled violently and a few yips could be heard, but then Angel came out, dragging the little vixen by the tail behind him. Angel dragged her all the way onto the patio before he finally let go and came over to Fluttershy, rubbing against her leg with a smile. She hugged him while Sinsi shook her pelt out indignantly and licked her tail a few times, fixing where Angel had ruffled her fur before she spun and sat, giving Estrella a steely but not unkind stare.

From her mane, Terice's head popped out and he squeaked at her. Her eyes shimmered a little, but she was not so easily persuaded into play when she was watching and calculating.

Fluttershy smiled and said, “That's Sinsi. Don't let her cool outside scare you. She's nothing but a teddy bear on the inside. Soft and sweet once you get to know her.”

Estrella nodded, though kept the movement small as she still had a Terice on her shoulders and she wasn't sure how to react to that. She kept her gaze on the little vixen, finding her shocking colors striking and beautiful. “Hello there, Sinsi. Are you going to say hello, too?”

Sinsi tilted her head, as if thinking it over, before she gave this adorable little yip and padded closer to the little group. She didn't quite touch them, but her proximity made Estrella smile. She could tell right away Sinsi wasn't so much touchy-feely like her friend Terice was, but just having her close and accept her made her happy. From her neck, Terice reached down and playfully tugged on Sinsi's ear, to which she yipped and playfully batted at his paw. The two played for a little bit while Estrella watched and the others just sat silently, seeing something happening that she couldn't.

Soon, Fluttershy giggled again, breaking Estrella out of her trance. “Estrella, I think I have my question for you.”

“You do?” Estrella asked, glancing up at Fluttershy, still with a smile gracing her lips.

“Yup. My question is... is... Will you take these two as your pets?”

The smile instantly vanished from Estrella's face and she froze, only to unfreeze as Sinsi placed one paw on Estrella's leg so she could get closer to Terice and play with him. “I-I couldn't.” Estrella replied eventually. “I don't know the first thing about animals, let alone how to take care of two!”

“I'll help you. I'll show you how and then come by every day to help you.” Fluttershy said with a true, warm, expecting smile.

“Th-that's not fair. It's not even about my past!”

“Nobody said it had to be about your past.”

“Uh, actually she did sugarcube.” Applejack added, ever the honest one even when it went against what Fluttershy was trying to say.

“Oh, well it doesn't matter.” Fluttershy said, a spark of determination entering her gentle gaze. “I'd rather you grow and make friends then be stuck with the past, Estrella. Come on, it'll be one of the most amazing things ever and they'll be such a comfort on lonely days! I'm never lonely with Angel around.” As if to emphasize, she wrapped Angel up in a giant hug, to which he squirmed at first, then shrugged his shoulders and hugged her back.

“I love having Spike around.” Twilight said. “Granted, he's more than just a pet, but he's still always there for me. And I have Owlowscious too.”

“I have my little kittykins Opal at home.” Rarity added with a near squeal at the mention of her beloved Persian.

“An' I have Winona, my collie out on the farm.” Applejack added with a smile.

“Pinkie Pie has Gummy, her baby alligator, and Rainbow Dash has Tank the tortoise.” Fluttershy said. “We've all had our highs and lows with our pets, but we're all better for having them and love them with all our hearts. It would be a great thing for you to have a pet! And two's even better because then, you always can have someone you need nearby.”

Estrella hesitated again, still unsure. She opened her mouth a few times and closed it again before she looked at the two who had stopped playing and were now just looking at her as if begging her to say yes. Estrella couldn't help smiling at the two, then caught herself smiling. She laughed softly and brought a hoof up to rub Terice's head like Fluttershy had earlier and he leaned into it, even closing his eyes as he enjoyed the head rub. After a moment, Estrella finally relented. “Oh... alright. But you're gonna have to help me a lot! I don't want these two suffering because of my lack of understanding in how to care for them.”

“Yay!” Fluttershy whisper/cheered. The others cheered as well and gave Estrella congrats on her new pets. Fluttershy was instantly into care mode and started telling Estrella everything she'd need to do to get her home ready for its new arrivals and what she needed to do for both of them every day for feeding, care, and everything else. Estrella went a little pale at everything she would have to remember, but Fluttershy promised that she would help them every step of the way. Then, Fluttershy went inside and soon, was hauling two big bags of food out. Her little legs struggled a little more than usual to carry both her and the large bags of food out, but she eventually got them out and set them on the patio with a light thud. “These should tide you over for a month, at least. Careful though. They're not light.”

To that, the others started laughing. Once they settled down again, Twilight got up from her seat and said, “Here, let me carry them. My magic makes it a lot more convenient.”

“Let me take one, Twi. Honestly, you shouldn't be carrying them both.” Applejack said as she got down as well. “And I'm used to heavy lift'n so it's no trouble.”

“Well then, you all are so sweet!” Rarity said as she got down as well. “And perfect timing too. It's about time we head over to Sugarcube Corner and see Pinkie and Rainbow.”

“Leaving already?” Estrella asked, her face falling a bit.

“Don't worry, you're free to come here whenever you like.” Fluttershy said as she set Angel down. “Rarity's right though, it's time we start going that way.”

With everyone agreed, the group, now with a few new members, left Fluttershy's home and started out to where Estrella would finally meet the last two of the group of friends.

Homecoming

Author's Note

So here we go again! We've been pretty serious up until this point, minus the fun fruit punch lava lake and all that went with it, but now we get a heaping dose of laughter! Perfect offset, don't you think?

I apologize for this one being a day late. Yesterday was my birthday and when I promised to publish this but I didn't get the time I thought I would to publish. I had one heck of a birthday this year!

Thanks for waiting everyone, and I hope you love it. Don't forget to review after you love! Also, with this chapter, we break 23k words! :pinkiegasp: Been awhile since I hit that number on something I've been willing to publish.

Enjoy~

Homecoming

As the group made their way through town, Estrella was looking around at everything, as she should to learn about the new place that would be her home for the next year. She watched homes with ponies living their lives out, families and friends enjoying their time together, a barbecue, and of course shops with customers coming in and out with a wide variety of purchases. Even the restaurants were busy today and overall, everyone seemed to be having a marvelous time, despite the early morning commotion. Foals ran by, laughing and chasing each other like it was all there was to life, just goofing off and being foals. Estrella couldn't help smiling at the little tykes that went rushing by and having the time of their young lives.

At some point, the others, mainly Rarity and Twilight, started pointing out places they knew and thought Estrella might like. They wandered past a bread shop where the smell of warm bread wafted over them. Estrella closed her eyes as she inhaled, the warm scent so delicious. “I've never smelled bread that good before.”

“Well you've got a lot ta learn then.” Applejack said with a pointed hoof in her direction. “Ponyville is famous for its zucchini bread. We'll have to take you inside fer a try!”

“Sorry AJ, but not today.” Twilight said with an apologetic look but an authoritative tone. “Much as I would love to go in and have some as well, there's someplace we need to be.”

Applejack laughed softly as she returned to walking. “Yeah, yer right, sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for!” Twilight said reassuringly as they passed the shop. “Any pony would want to go in. And we will, just not today.”

“Oh! And there's the jewelry shop!” Rarity pointed out with enthusiasm. “They have the best rough gems for use if you know how to talk to them.”

“And Spike loves the shavings he gets from there. He's my little dragon helper. The owners just love him too.” Twilight added.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “I'm not much of one for anything shiny like that, but hey, if that's yer thing.”

Estrella laughed softly and said, “Something else new to see one of these days.”

“What?” Rarity asked, her voice rising a pitch as her wide eyes turned to Estrella. “Oh you poor thing! Not even knowing the beautiful joys of gems!”

“Um, actually Rarity, I know of gems. Just not the cut versions. We usually just clean them up but don't really cut or change them or anything. The whole gem is precious to us, why take some of it away? Other than when we sometimes break them to share with somepony. I've always loved the crackle of a split gem. The light always dances so beautifully in them, like little light shows that's never quite the same and always amazing. Especially the gold ones. They're my favorites, though I've never owned one myself. Er, topaz, I think?”

Rarity tilted her head, then said, “Yes. Well I suppose I see what you mean. Actually, the way you describe it, that sounds like it could be the perfect addition to a dress! And ooh, there's a very special birthday coming up! I wonder if-”

“Whose birthday?” Twilight asked eagerly, cutting Rarity off.

Rarity gave an unladylike snort and raised her head. “Only one of the most important birthdays ever! Princess Luna's is next week!”

To that, Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy all stopped dead in their tracks, their faces frozen in stunned expressions. Applejack was the first to recover with a shake of her head and a, “Well how d'ya like that!”

Twilight returned to reality a moment later with a shake of her head as well. “I can't believe it's almost the Princess's birthday! How did I not know of this?!”

“Well, uh, not many ponies really think of the Princesses aging since they've lived so long.” Fluttershy said, though with her small voice it was difficult to hear. “I wouldn't imaging they'd think of it either after having so many.”

“Fluttershy's got a point.” Applejack cut in. “I don't think they've even told anypony when their birthdays are. Come to think of it, how do you know, Rarity?”

Rarity tossed her head, making her mane bounce and shimmer in the light. “Simple deductive reasoning! She's been smiling a lot more than usual, her stars have shown much brighter lately, and...”

“Aaand?” Applejack prompted, hearing the slight hesitation in Rarity's voice.

“And... Celestia may have... asked me to make a dress for her sister.” Rarity ducked her head, hiding a little behind a raised hoof as she gave a nervous laugh. “And of course I asked what for to make sure I knew what kind of design to use and she said for her birthday.” Rarity grinned brightly at the memory, then her gaze became distant as she was lost in her own little world. “I was over the moon! So to speak. I have to make it a dress worthy of the princess, and I think with a little sparkle from your gem idea, I can make her truly stand out!” Rarity practically squealed in glee of the idea. “And of course, I'll make all of you dresses as well. I have the idea for each and have started some of them so it shouldn't take too long. It'll be the best birthday – gown wise – ever! And perfectly befit the princesses! Don't tell Celestia, but I'm making a little something for her as well. But you can't tell her or anyone who might!” Rarity's tone suddenly turned sharp as she looked at everyone, her gaze surprisingly scary for her usually bright demeanor.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Twilight recited as she crossed her heart, pretended to fly with her hooves, then stuck her hoof in her -closed- eye, grinning all the while. “I promise I won't tell a soul I don't trust to keep this secret. For now anyway.”

Rarity squealed and said, “Thanks Twilight! You're free to tell everyone after they've seen Luna and Celestia in their dresses. And the rest of you?” She turned her gaze to the rest of them, her gaze now calmer but still borderline frightening. Together, Applejack and Fluttershy recited the same promise, then they all looked at Estrella, even Terice and Sinsi, who had, to the best of their ability, copied Fluttershy.

Estrella tensed and looked at them all, lowering her head and pinning her ears back. “I haven't even been here a day yet and I'm already expected to keep a secret?” she asked, her voice trembling a little.

Rarity softened her expression and came up to Estrella, whereupon she laid a hoof on her friend's shoulder. “It's okay Estrella. We're not asking anything big. It's not so much a secret as just promising you'll pretend you don't know about the dresses.”

Twilight smiled and came up to, though she just stayed close while she said, “You're not expected to do anything. We won't make you do anything you're uncomfortable with and we promise nothing will happen because of this one little secret, alright?”

“You're safe with us, Sugarcube.” Applejack said as she came up on Estrella's other side, Fluttershy not far behind her.

Estrella looked at them all each in turn, even Terice and Sinsi, her face showing she was still unsure, but she eventually took a deep breath and said, “How does it go again?”

Rarity seemed to light up and then slowly started showing Estrella how to do the promise. Estrella followed along, her words still hesitant as she repeated them and copied Rarity's actions. Once that was done, Estrella sighed, glad to have it over with. Terice clapped his little paws, his nails making a small clicking sound, which made Estrella laugh a little at the cuteness of it. Soon, the group was back on the road to the cupcake shop.

Although, it wasn't long before Twilight stopped them again and said, “Hey girls, look up ahead. I think that's Estrella's new house!” She lifted a hoof and pointed down the road to a little ways past her own house to a much smaller house, which was also set inside a tree that had gone hollow with age. It was a bit straighter than Twilight's and was overall smaller, but with the small flower beds set outside and the brightly colored foliage set amongst factory items like bright yellow curtains that could be seen in a window that appeared to lead into a kitchen, and a balcony jutting out from the second floor, it all came together to look much homier than expected.

Estrella couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her even from just seeing the outside. “That's... my house?” Disbelief colored her voice, making her even quieter than usual. Her wide eyes scanned the house over and over, flickering a little as she took it all in.

“Yup, all yours.” Twilight said as she held her head – and the bag wrapped in her magic – high and trotted over to Estrella's house. “You're going to love living in a tree, Estrella! I will warn that sometimes you'll hear little groans, but it's just the tree shifting about. It's nothing you have to worry about, not for a long time at least.”

“Dang Sugarcube, looks like yer gonna have quite the shed!” Applejack said as she trotted past, the bag on her back bumping Estrella though she didn't quite snap out of it until fluttershy laid a hoof on her shoulder. They exchanged a slightly nervous look before they joined the others. Together, they met up at the front door and though it looked like Rarity was eager to head inside, Twilight stopped in front of the door to say, “We should probably wait to go inside until Pinkie and Rainbow can see it too. Is that alright Estrella?”

“But Twiiiliiight!” Rarity whined. “We simply MUST go inside! This is a new house, after all. Completely untouched by style and set in a factory-made setup! It needs a homey touch only the owner can give and I want to help her find the perfect additions to make it splendid! This will be her home for the next year, after all!”

Twilight laughed a little, as did Terice, and soon Applejack joined in. “Uh, Rare, -snort- Twilight's right. Much as I wanna see it too, it wouldn't be fair to the others.” Applejack snorted again, then cleared her throat to hide it.

Rarity looked sternly at them for a moment, then sighed in defeat. “Oh, I suppose. Fine, we can come back.”

Estrella giggled softly, almost in a delayed reaction, having not been sure if it was okay to laugh or not. “I gotta admit though, that was a little funny. Your reaction.”

Rarity blinked, then tossed her head, looking down on Estrella as if trying to hold her dignity. “That, my dear, was a little rub-off from my vast knowledge of acting. I sometimes overdo my reactions, as you must on stage.”

Estrella nodded, still smiling though she had quit laughing with the others. “On the other hoof, Rarity, I'd love for you to help me get my house in order.”

Rarity seemed to pause for a moment, Estrela's words not quite homing in for a second. Then, Rarity broke out in a huge grin. “Oh why Estrella! That's wonderful! Thank you so much, you won't regret it! Nopony ever does, by the end.” She tossed her head again then, posing for some unseen audience. Then, to Twilight again, she asked, “Anyway, Twilight, why did we come here for if we can't go inside yet?”

“I just figured we could drop off the bags.” Twilight said as she opened the door. Then, without looking in, she guided the bag of pet food inside with her magic, laying it down on the floor inside the entryway. Then, she took the bag off Applejack's back and set it atop the other one before closing the door again. “There, we technically haven't looked in yet and we don't have to carry the bags through town anymore either.” Twilight said proudly, her smile showing a little smugness.

“Great then, let's head to Sugarcube Corner.” Applejack said with a smile before turning and heading back along the street, ever the eager one to just get things done.

Fluttershy and Twilight followed after, then Rarity and Estrella shortly after. Soon, the group was heading down the road once more. It wasn't long before the conversation was struck up again, mentioning places they saw and memories of crazy things they did in or near whatever place they had mentioned. The group of five – seven including Sinsi and Terice – looked like any group of friends laughing and talking as they wandered through town, reminiscing and bringing a new friend into their circle.

~ ~ ~

Both all too soon and after what felt like a forever-long walk, they came to a street with a little shop that had a giant cupcake sign hanging from the side and painted in the window. The others were still talking, going back and fourth in the conversation and finishing each other's thoughts like they had done just about everything together. They did seem like they all had been friends for a very long time, based on what Estrella had seen so far today. As they started to pass a brightly colored shop that looked like a giant pile of sweets in its own rights though, she hesitated. “Hey girls... Isn't this the cupcake shop? Er, Sugarcube Corner?” she asked as she sat in front of the window, looking at the shelves inside that were filled with brightly colored sweets that instantly made her mouth water. She couldn't help leaning in until her nose touched the glass and a small area fogged from her hot breath even though it was already a nice day out.

She then felt a soft breeze as Twilight teleported to her side, her body suddenly coming into existence and pushing the air around herself. Soon, her voice joined the moving air. “Oh, yes, my mistake. We nearly passed right by it! I guess we're all just a little eager to show you- uh, Estrella?” Twilight tilted her head, only just noticing how Estrella's gaze was flicking about the sweets. She laid her hoof on Estrella's shoulder and Estrella in turned snapped to attention, facing Twilight so quickly Terice nearly fell off her shoulders. Sinsi, in turn, started giving this bark-like yap as if to reprimand Estrella, to which she muttered an apology. Twilight stepped back a little as Sinsi glared at Estrella, then turned her head away, instead looking at Terice, who started clicking his little claws and chattering away with her.

“Uh... right.” Twilight muttered as she watched the two before looking up at Estrlla again. “Sorry for startling you, but yes, this is the cupcake shop Pinkie works at. Rainbow Dash should be here too. Let's head on in.” Twilight gave a warm smile before she – followed by the other girls – went on in.

As the door opened, a little bell chimed, signaling their entrance into the store. It rang incessantly as they all walked in one by one, hoofsteps clicking on the tile floor, until everyone was inside and the door could finally close and end the berating bell. Once inside, Estrella found herself enjoying the multiple pungent aromas commonplace to the store and looking around at all the seemingly randomly decorated sweets once more before something Rarity said – some sort of hello Estrella had completely missed – brought her attention up to the counter at the front of the little shop. From there, she saw a a very bright pink mop of hair bouncing around behind the counter before, all of a sudden, the lighter but still vibrant pink owner of the mane jumped out. She had a smile so big it was a wonder her ears weren't sucked in, but in a way, her eyes sure were. They showed a very pretty aqua color, which shimmered in her delight. Her voice though was almost too bright to stand. “Ohmygosh hiya girls!” She spoke so fast and high-pitched, it was almost impossible to make out what she was saying. Before Estrella even realized, she had jumped over the counter, legs turning like they were attached to a super-powered motor, and dashed almost as fast as a teleportation spell to come to a stock-still stop right in front of Estrella, who stood on the side of the group. Estrella jumped back a little, once more nearly dislodging Terice but this time Sinsi didn't even bother because she, too, had jumped back at Pinkie's sudden appearance. If it was at all possible, that grin grew even wider as the one Estrella guessed was Pinkie Pie leaned in, bright eyes widening, taking in Estrella's startled look as if it was the most normal thing ever.

Estrella, on the other hoof, was growing more and more uneasy by the pony's stare. She cleared her throat, never looking away, then in a voice almost as small as Fluttershy's muttered, “Uh, hi?”

In an instant, Pinkie was squealing happily and bouncing around the group, going up past head height as she jumped but landed for hardly an instant before she was back up again, revolving around the group like a bouncy ball on a string with one heck of a kick-start. Soon, her squeal turned into a string of words, which could be guesstimated as something resembling, “Ohmygosh a new friend! I've never seen you before! I have to get decorating for your welcome party! When's your birthday? I gotta know so I can surprise you when it comes! But now that you know it'll have to be an extra-special surprise! OHMYGOSH a new friend!!!”

As Pinkie squealed again, Estrella couldn't help a slight smile that was breaking out. “H-hey, you're Pinkie Pie, right?”

“Uh-huh! Bestest party-pony and cupcake-maker around!” Pinkie said, her voice coming from right beside Estrella's ear this time. She jumped then and spun just as Pinkie bounced back up, having somehow hung from the roof to speak that time. “And what's YOUR name?” she called again, this time from the counter top where it looked like she was starting to bake a cake, moving to get ingredients and stir it all up as if her tail was on fire and only finishing the cake would put it out.

“Estrella.” She said with a bit more confidence this time, that small smile of hers widening. “So you're a party pony?”

“You'll never meet another quite like Pinkie!” Pinkie said as she stood on her front hooves, sticking her rump – and cutie mark – high in the air, showing off the three differently colored balloons, one yellow and two blue like her eyes, while still somehow stirring the bowl using her tail. To that, Estrella laughed softly.

She was then cut off from saying anything else when Twilight spoke up. “Pinkie, do you think you could wait on the preparations for Estrella's party?”

Almost instantly, Pinkie stopped what she was doing and pure sorrow colored her eyes. To Estrella's surprise, her puffy mane and tail collapsed, going completely straight, making her look like sad pound puppies that there was absolutely no way under any heavenly sky you would go home without it. Her lower lip quivered as she said, “No party? B-but... why Twilight? Why?” She looked about to cry when Rarity jumped in in an attempt to keep the peace.

“Pinkie, we're not saying no party, just give us another day or two. I know how fast you work but I simply cannot get ideas AND make a dress in so little time! And I want to give Estrella a true entrance to the festivities made specifically for her! There's simply no other feasible way to have a party without the party princess having a dramatic flare!” Rarity supplied her own dramatic sigh. “To think, going to your first real party without going all out, what a shame!”

“All-out?” Pinkie said as her mane and tail regained its poof faster than a balloon pump. “Well, I suppose I could wait a bit longer. Then I could make it an even bigger bash! We can invite the entire town!”

“Uh, Sugarcube, you might not want to go that far.” Applejack added. “Estrella's coming from a very small place where she knew very few ponies. That many all at once and expecting her to socialize may be a bit much to ask.”

Pinkie frowned for a moment, then sprung back into her smile. “Alright! It'll still be special though! Just think! Ponies and lights and streamers and bubbles and happy happy happy smiles all around!” By this time, she was bouncing again and Estrella couldn't help the smile that spread over her face.

“Is she okay?” she whispered to Twilight, who shrugged and said,

“We really don't know. I think the sugar got to her a long time ago.”

To that, Estrella laughed a little and said, “I like her.” Then, as if on cue, Pinkie jumped right over Estrella, who ducked on instinct but the pink pony's flamboyant personality was beginning to make her want to bounce too.

So she did.

Following after Pinkie, she found herself jumpong only about half the pony's height, but it was enough. Estrella started laughing – a real, true laugh like when she went swimming in the fruit punch lava lake – which just made everypony stop and gawk at her and Pinkie. Luckily, it was just the friends in the shop, but nopony had expected Estrella to start jumping with Pinkie – including Pinkie herself. She had stopped mid-jump, hovering in the air for a second as Estrella crashed into her, sending them both to the floor. In the resulting pile of tangled limbs, the two started laughing again as if this was all they ever knew. Soon, the two of them were disentangling themselves and getting back on their feet.

Once they were up, Pinkie said, “Wowzers! I've NEVER met another pony who likes to bounce with me!”

Estrella only laughed and returned with, “I never thought I'd do that either. But, I guess your enthusiasm is infectious! I can't get near the height you can though!”

“Takes practice.” Pinkie said with a wink.

Then, before the two could get into a real conversation, Twilight spoke up. “This is all great girls, I'm happy you're getting along but, where's Rainbow Dash? She was suppose to be here.”

“Oh!” Pinkie said as she tilted her head a little, her face scrunched up as she tried to remember something. “She told me to tell you she um... um... what was it now?” she rubbed a hoof under her chin, thinking hard until finally, her face lit up as she remembered. “Oh yeah! She said she was going to take a nap outside! She's probably laying on a cloud waiting for us! Let's go!”

Pinkie was off again, bouncing out the door with that giant grin of hers. The little bell chimed furiously again as everyone followed after her, making a mass exodus from Sugarcube Corner. Terice walked with Sinsi now (after evacuating Estrella's shoulders just before the jumping parade) as they walked along the side of the group near Estrella. Terice ended up slipping through the door like a slippery slinky, to which Sinsi gave a little rumble similar to a laugh. Soon, the two were playing and tumbling around on the street.

Once everyone was outside, they all spread out a little, scanning the skies for Rainbow Dash. Applejack even started calling for her, and Rarity soon joined in. Fluttershy did too, but nobody really noticed, other than Estrella. She smiled a little, thinking that it always seemed that only shy ponies noticed other shy ponies. With that thought, Estrella trotted over to Fluttershy and said, “So, this Rainbow Dash is a pegasus then?”

“Mm-hm.” Fluttershy said softly as she turned to Estrella. “She's this really pretty aqua color with a rainbow mane and tail and has a rainbow thunderbolt cutie mark. She's one of the fastest pegasi alive, and she makes sure everypony knows it. She made the sonic rainboom legend real even while at the same time, showing me a life outside of the bullies that used to pick on me all the time.”

Estrella blinked, not expecting Fluttershy to say so much, though at the same time something was tugging at her memory by the pegasus' description. “Wow, she sure seems like a big deal around here. I hate to ask, but what's a sonic rainboom?”

“Only the most awesome thing ever!” From above the group, a strong, almost masculine voice rang out, already with a note of arrogance to it. Everypony looked up to where the voice came from, but only a streak of blue and rainbow was left behind. Following the streak left behind, the voice came again from to the left of Sugarcube corner, where another trail was left, but no owner yet. “It's when I go super super fast, flying like nopony ever has before until BOOM!” Now the voice came from the street opposite Sugarcube Corner where an aqua pegasus mare now stood, one hoof raised and a smirk playing on her lips, her entire body radiating confidence. Quite the opposite of Fluttershy. “I make legends real, baby. Remember that.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and Fluttershy giggled softly, Rarity just looked bored, Applejack seemed immune to emotion for the moment and just looked irritated, and Pinkie was distracted with plans of the upcoming party, while Estrella, now at the front of the group with Fluttershy, found herself trying hard not to laugh.

Rainbow's haughty demeanor diminished into something resembling confusion, her smile fading and hoof falling a little. “Hey, are you laughing? At me?” Estrella snorted and dipped her head, covering her muzzle with a hoof as she fought fiercely not to laugh but memories of the pegasus yelling at a rainbow were making it awfully hard not to just roll, and now- “What's so funny?” Dash asked with a glare and snort. She stood hunched down with her wings spread, looking like she was about to tackle Estrella. “Why you little- Stop that! I'm warning you!”

By this time, Estrella was really struggling and some of her laughs were slipping out, bright and awkward all at the same time, like some twisted nasally version of her true laugh. Between laughs, she managed to squeak out, “I c-can't!” Through all this, the others were just standing back and watching now, wondering what exactly what was going on.

Rainbow snorted again and scratched the ground with her hoof, her face now twisted in an angry snarl. “Alright, you asked for it!” She narrowed her eyes and in that instant, charged at Estrella.

In that same instant, Twilight's horn lit up and a field of lavender magic latched on to Rainbow's tail, making her snap back as her forward momentum was harshly stopped. Rainbow snapped back and immediately started fighting her bonds, her momentary rage now aimed everywhere rather than just at Estrella, who had fallen backwards with hooves shaking in the air and was now laughing outright now as if she would never stop.

“What did I miss?” Pinkie asked with a tilted head as she finally snapped back to the present to find a very angry Rainbow being held back by Twilight's magic and Estrella absolutely rolling with laughter.

“Lemme at her! LET ME AT HER!” Rainbow continued to scream, getting the attention of passing ponies who were minding their own business when they saw the scene. There were several reactions, the most common being wide eyes and curious, sly glances that weren't nearly as subtle as the owner of those looks imagined.

Applejack at least had the decency to look embarrassed at the scene, but the others seemed to either not notice the mini fiasco or thought it was a normal occurance. Even Sinsi knew to keep out of it, but Terice had the bright idea to jump in, playfully throwing his tiny fists at Rainbow. She went down to his level and snorted angrily at him, which made him jump and scurry off back to Sinsi's side, who wrapped her fluffy tail protectively around him. Rarity, however, was getting quite fed up of the entire scene very quickly. “Alright, both of you, calm yourselves! Have the decency to act appropriately, I mean really! You are in the middle of town!”

“She started it!” Rainbow yelled as she stood, snorting after her little outburst.

Estrella, still laughing, eventually rolled to her feet. She cleared her throat, attempting to calm the fit of laughter, but only with some success. Once that was done, she looked at Dash straight in the eye and said, “Sorry Dash. I *snort* couldn't help remembering the l-last time I saw you!”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head, still peeved but also curious now. “You've seen me before? When? At a show, I presume?”

Estrella snorted again, then outright said, “Go home Rainbow, you're drunk!”

Everyone behind Estrella gasped, the collective sound stilling everything, each with their own thoughts towards Estrella. Rude, untrue, jumps to conclusions, just plain mean, and many other things went through the minds of the group, along with a general confusion and shock, all except Rainbow Dash herself. She was still for several moments, gears turning in her self-loaded mind for several long, silent moments before she started to smile. Then, she laughed a little. Soon she was laughing almost as hard as Estrella was a minute ago. “You saw that? Oh Celestia, I didn't think anyone would! It was just too perfect!”

“Whaaat?” Everypony behind Estrella said, shock and confusion still clear in the voices. At some point, Twilight's magic had faded and Rainbow Dash had been freed. As Estrella turned to them all, Rainbow came up beside her and wrapped a leg around her shoulders. “This kid's alright! I think I like her!”

Estrella giggled a little as Rainbow's soft mane brushed her face. It was a nice feeling. Reminded her of a time a long time ago. Just a feeling, not really a memory, but she liked it, being near somepony she didn't have to worry about being hurt by... other than maybe a too-strong hug. She could feel muscled corded under that smooth expanse of skin, betraying her cute but slightly manly outer appearance.

“Hold on, back it up.” Applejack started, only to be cut off by Twilight.

“Explanation please?” she asked, though she looked a bit frayed and very confused.

Rainbow laughed again and said, “During that whole thing with Discord this morning, I had been flying around and when I saw a rainbow that was all kinds of twisted and weird-looking. I yelled at it to go home because it was drunk! Somehow, Estrella musta overheard! I wanted somepony to see it. It was hilarious and awesome!” Rainbow laughed again while everyone else seemed to relax a little more, but Rainbow wasn't done quite yet. “I gotta ask though. How'd you see that? It was in the middle of that mess!”

Estrella hesitated a moment, but she had guessed that would come up. As cover, she said, “It was a rainbow. They aren't exactly short. I could see it through an alleyway when I was on my way to town square this morning.”

“You went there? No way! Celestia was there this morning! Did you run into her?”

Estrella laughed again and said, “I think it's time to catch you up.”

“Oh boy, this is gonna be good!” Rainbow said as she laid down, grinning face in her hooves, ready to hear what all she had missed that day.

Soon, Rarity started the tale with help from Estrella, and before long Twilight jumped in as well. Soon, Applejack's voice and commentary was added to the mix. Fluttershy's was technically there too, but she didn't really say much. By then, Estrella had pretty much dropped out as well, letting the other ponies take over the tale. Eventually, they got Pinkie Pie to join in as well, and though they had been laughing throughout at different experiences, they laughed the hardest then, not including the scene that had just unfolded. Estrella was glad they all could laugh like this, but she also noticed that a lot was left out. Granted, part of it was her fault, like not mentioning anything to do with her trip down the soapy sidewalk, but others weren't. Like Rarity and Twilight didn't say anything about what they had overheard with Applejack and Fluttershy, nopony mentioned the dresses, although Luna's birthday was brought up, and other things were left out but the rest was mostly little details.

Eventually, they all caught up to present time, and Rainbow looked a little stunned, but she hid it behind a grin. “Woah, talk about quite the first day, and now you get to meet me! Let me get a good look atcha, kid.”

Estrella laughed and stood so Rainbow could look at her. “Actually, the name's Little Star, not 'kid'. I prefer Estrella though.”

“Yeah yeah, I just call everypony that.” Rainbow said as she took flight and flew around Estrella, giving her a scrutinizing once-over. She ran her hooves through Estrella's mane, letting it fall through and the gold streaks play in the light. “I like your mane. It's cool, though it could be about ten percent cooler.”

To that, Rainbow got an angry little chitter from Terice, who slunk over and jumped onto Estrella's shoulders before curling into her hair as if saying it was perfect for him. Rainbow simply rolled her eyes and kept looking over Estrella. After a moment, Rainbow paused as she saw Estrella's flank. She poked Estrella's cutie mark before saying, “Hey, what's with your cutie mark? It's weird.”

Estrella looked at her flank as if suddenly realizing she even had one. “Oh. Um, actually... I don't know.”

“Whaaat?” She got another collective gasp from a group, but this time it was from everyone.

Estrella gave a sheepish look and dipped her head a little before explaining. “I'm sorry, I should say I don't remember rather. That would be more accurate.” She paused a moment and sighed softly before taking a deep breath and staring into her explanation. “As far as what I've been told, I had been chasing after and trying to find a foal that had wandered away from town when I slipped down a hill and hit my head on a rock. I was out for about four days and the past two months were a complete blank to me after I woke up. They said my mark had appeared sometime when I was asleep. I've wondered what it meant since then. I had some awfully strange dreams when I was out, so maybe it was something like I'm a dream follower? But it'll never get me anywhere but down another hill? Or... something like that. I honestly don't know.” Estrella said softly. She had accepted it a long time ago, but now she found herself explaining it again anyways.

“May I?” Twilight asked as she walked up to Estrella, who simply turned so Twilight could get a better look. She couldn't help the small twinge of excitement at getting to take a close look at the mark she noticed earlier but was too afraid to ask about since it could have been a sensitive nerve she might have plucked at. She narrowed her eyes as she scanned the cutie mark of what appeared to be a falling yellow pony, but what was disturbing was the hoof over what looked like a faceless head and body shape that resembled somepony she felt she knew, but couldn't quite place. The long mane and tail should have been indicators, but the white color wasn't right and threw off the thought Twilight was grasping at. It was definitely a falling pony, the speedlines made it so, but as to a meaning, she was coming up with a pure blank. Eventually, she sighed and stepped back, shaking her head. “I'm sorry Estrella, but I have no idea.”

“Maybe the Princesses would know!” Pinkie Pie said all too eagerly. “They have seen a lot of them so maybe they'll know! Or at least have an idea!”

“I think Pinkie's actually right on this one.” Rainbow said, though she looked a bit confused. “Huh. Not something I thought I'd say today.”

“Oh come now Dash, it happens sometimes!” Rarity said with a toss of her elegant head.

“Problem is understand'n her.” Applejack said.

“What's that suppose to mean!? Pinkie asked suddenly, looking ticked but at the same time, looking ready to laugh.

“Pinkie, you talk so fast sometimes we can't understand a word of what you say.” Twilight eluded.

Pinkie looked thoughtful for a moment, then giggled, all sour mood replaced by her grin. “Oh yeah, that makes sense!”

Everyone seemed to give a collective sigh of relief, then Rarity spoke up again, this time standing tall and grinning excitedly. “Well then, now that Estrella's been properly introduced, can we please go back and take a look at her soon-to-be-fabulous house? Pretty please?” she flashed those pretty eyelashes hopefully at everyone before they all started laughing.

“All right, all right, we hear you Rarity. It's technically up to Estrella though. She should decide if we're all invited to her house.” Twilight said with a thoughtful wave of her hoof.

Everyone turned to Estrella then, who smiled reassuringly and said, “To my house we go then!”

“Yee-haw! Let's go and break it in!” Applejack said with a rear before she started trotting that way.

“Oh how fabulous!” Rarity exclaimed as she started trotting that was as well. “And we simply must stop by my shop on the way to pick up some color swatches so I can compare to the tree's color! Gotta make sure I blend in with the natural color, or else it will just look tacky! And honestly, who would want that?”

The others laughed and soon, they were all heading back towards that side of town, all of them striking up their own little conversations within the group. They were quite the parade, but it was one Estrella was glad to be in. She couldn't remember having ever laughed this much in a single day. While it had been scary, meeting so many new ponies and already experiencing so many new things, it had also been wonderful. She was growing as a pony and learning so many things, all while actually feeling safe.

This was only the beginning though, and everypony knew it. There was so much still to discover! Good and bad experiences were both in her future, but she felt that with this group and, since she chose to think of it this way, her past was like a sort of training for her future. And now, she was ready to take on this new world and find her own place in it like everypony else had. She would make this work, with their help and support, she decided on no uncertain terms.

“I can do this.” She whispered to herself.

“Did you say something? Pinkie Pie asked.

“Oh, nothing important.” Estrella said with a smile. “Now, as you were saying?”

“Oh yeah! The Grand Galloping Gala, the bestest party of all, where...” Pinkie continued to tell her tale and Estrella hung onto to every word, treasuring this new memory in the making. It may not be the strongest of memories, but it was one of the many from this year she was going to try with all her might to keep for as long as she possibly could.

Homecoming, Part II

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

What a... Welcome?

Author's Note

Hey everyone! pikammd here, but you can call me pika. This is my first-ever MLP Fanfic, and it's placed somewhere between Discord being "reformed" and Twilight getting her wings, as you can probably tell. This is actually a "challengefic", meaning I'm still pretty new to the MLP universe, but I have a friend who is obsessed with it. I got an idea, it's been rattling around for awhile, and so I started writing and am planning on surprising her with it. However, as I said, I don't know much about MLP. So I could REALLY use some help! I have 7 chapters basically ready for reviews and help would be much appreciated!
The cover image is Estrella, made her myself. <3
Also, I apologize if there's any rule or some such thing I have missed out on. I read them all, but it's an awful lot to remember for the first time. Please tell me if I messed up so I can fix it ASAP!
So, all in all please bear with me and give me a little boost to make this the best fanfic I can make it! Thanks!
~ pikammd

What a... Welcome?

“Psssshhhhhrrrrrt.” Mid-afternoon quiet pony bustle was interrupted by wheels coming to a halt with a screech and a sigh as the brightly colored train came rolling to a stop at the station. Steam rose into the clear afternoon air as a shrill whistle alerted all to its arrival, right on time at three PM like it did every day. Soon, there were smiling ponies of every color stepping off and on to the Ponyville Station's main platform. From there, many gathered their suitcases and headed off with bright smiles and homey dreams to spend their day with friends, meet with the princesses, do some shopping, or just enjoy some time in the quaint little town many called home.

One such pony, however, stepped off the train without a smile. Her slightly too-wide, bright gold eyes took in everything around her, as if searching for something or someone. Though she tried to keep a calm demeanor, her searching and constant flicking of her light azure ears showed her nerves. From under her much darker, midnight blue mane with a white streak going from her forehead and radiating out to cover the tips of her loosely curled, spit bangs and down until it curled around the tips of her shoulder-length, curled, split mane, and several small strands of gold sprinkled about so it looked like a tail left behind after a comet flew through a night sky, the celestial blue of her coat could be seen, showing that middle blue that came right after the brilliant pinks and golds of a sunset sky and before the darker blue that allowed the stars of the night sky to shine through. Her ear tips and muzzle showed a slightly more faded blue though, making for a bit of a strange, but cute look. From under her mane spilled the bright pink traveling cloak she wore, which came with the princess's emblem on the flank and came down to cover her own flank and cutie mark, though not so much as to cover her hooves and slightly lighter colored feathering.

That feathering and cloak stirred up then and a startled yelp escaped the newest pony to Ponyville as, all of a sudden, a bright orange pegasus with a storm cloud cutie mark came flying by the train station and met up with a bright yellow unicorn, the two of them squealing in delight as they met up in a giant hug, both of them nearly falling over at seeing each other again after who knows how long. The blue earth pony watched as the two of them hugged like nothing in the world was wrong and like nothing could be better than seeing each other's faces, though the one the pegasus had startled knew better. She had seen what happens when careless ponies got caught in something they never should have been a part of and knew what it was like to believe there was honestly nothing better out there other than what little sunlight came in through a sheltered cell of a home. She quickly shook her head then, telling herself there was better out there, and she was about to discover it, thanks to a charitable offering, symbolized by cloak she was wearing.

She then turned to look around the crowd once more when she suddenly gave a startled yelp and jumped back as she ran into one of the uniformed train service unicorns, who turned to her and smiled before saying, “Hello miss. Do you want me to take your bags?”

The blue earth pony looked down to the other's green uniform, as if afraid to meet his teal eyes. Her higher pitched voice came much quieter than his as she responded with a shy, “N-no thanks. I don't have any. My things were brought here last week.”

“Is there anything else I can help with then?” he asked, her shy demeanor not bothering him in the least.

She thought for a minute before saying, “I uh, am looking for someone. She's-”

“Darling! THERE you are!” came a very bright but mature voice. “Celestia was right, you are easy to spot with that bright cloak of hers, though I can tell you right now that is SO not your color! Perhaps a more pale lavender would complement your coat better...” The luminescent white unicorn with purple mane and tail and triple blue diamond cutie mark trailed off in thought for a moment before coming back and added, “I'm Rarity, by the way. I was asked by the princess herself to show you to town square to meet her! Imagine that, Celestia herself! Asked me a favor!” The unicorn, now named Rarity, cleared her throat and blushed a little. “Anyway, I'm not sure who you are, but if she asked for you then you must be important. What's your name, anyway?”

The starlight blue earth pony sighed and gave off a small but real smile, her worries melting away, along with the service pony that had exited while Rarity was speaking. “My name's Little Star, but please call me Estrella. And I'm really not that special. I'm just amazed how nice Celestia is being, letting me-”

“Up-bup-bup! Celestia is incredibly kind to every pony she meets! There's no reason to be incredulous, but I suppose you'll figure that out more once you get to know her a little. Come now! We must go meet her right away! Can't keep the princess waiting, now can we?” Rarity giggled and flipped her hair before she turned and started prancing off the train's platform, leaving Estrella a little behind before she caught up, her hoofsteps much less bouncy than Rarity's.

The two ponies left the train station, but only a few steps into town, they heard a scream rise up. Both of them stopped dead in their tracks, ears pricked, bodies stiff, and eyes wide. A moment later, a deeper, male pony's voice rose up from closer to the edge. “DISCORD! Discord's turned to evil again! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

Estrella remained rigid, one eye twitching a little at the thought of something trying to destroy Ponyville, her one escape from everything she knew, but in front of her, Rarity gave a loud sigh of contempt. “Oh no, not again! I just got the marshmallow out of my hair from last time! Ugh Celestia, sometimes you're TOO nice, letting him have even just an hour to be all... chaotic.” With her whining over with, she turned to Estrella and said, “Don't worry, my friends and I will have this cleaned up in a jiffy. Sounds like it's mostly on the west side of town, so stay away from that part of town until it's cleaned up. Head straight on in and you'll find town square. I'll meet you there after we get Discord to settle down.” Rarity rolled her eyes and turned without even waiting for Estrella's reply, charged into town, mane and tail flying behind her like a beautiful painting in a museum, or magazine.

Within moments, she vanished, leaving a stock-still Estrella standing there, still frozen in fear. A terrible laughter sounded from inside town and Estrella shivered at the sound of it, malicious and joyful all at the same time. That shiver, however, was enough to unfreeze her. With tentative steps and a million images of absolute destruction crossing her mind's eye at an unbearable pace, Estrella started to make her way into town. She looked around at the normal-seeming little town, unsure quite what she'd find though she headed strait like she was told. All the little brick houses seemed perfectly normal and quaint, even cute looking. One had smoke rising from a chimney and a sign out front that said fresh bread, and a wonderful smell was coming from it. Estrella took a moment to look inside, but the little shop appeared deserted. Estrella tilted her head a little before she continued on her way. She walked a bit faster until she slipped into a trot. Every house and little business she passed by seemed abandoned and the more and more she saw this, the more nervous she became.

Just as she was about to turn back and return to the train station to wait for someone to find her and lead her back to either Rarity or town square, she found her hoof slipping on a slab of the sidewalk. With a choked scream of surprise, she found herself sliding across the path to the other side, landing on her face on the cement walkway. For a moment, she stayed there, stunned. At least until her tail fell into her face and she blew it off with an annoyed snort. Estrella righted herself back onto her hooves then and turned to examine the sidewalk, not noticing as her cloak fell off and onto the path beside her. The piece of sidewalk looked normal to her, but when she tested it with her hoof, she found it slippery and even a little squishy, like soap. She gave it a strange look of confusion, then curiously sniffed it. She immediately got a whiff of lavender bubbles and shook her head at the misplaced scent.

“What in Celestia's name...” she muttered as she tried it again, still not quite comprehending what she was seeing. The part she had slipped on broke into a T- shaped intersection, the strait path being the one with solid, normal cement on either side. Estrella then looked down the other available path, seeing a bright orange color on the other side of the curved alleyway, but the curve made her window of view very small. Estrella swallowed hard and closed her eyes, muttering, “This is not real, I shouldn't do this.” A moment later, she peeked out, seeing the orange again. Estrella sighed then and carefully started walking down the slippery sidewalk, trying her best to keep her balance as she went on to discover whatever was around the bend. Back behind her, the princess's emblem on the bright pink cloak faded in the growing distance, leaving a reminder of where Estrella should have gone rather than where she was going.

At some point, Estrella started watching her hooves as she tried not to slip on the slippery sidewalk, though she was fighting a losing battle. She had managed to almost get to the bend in the road when somepony else screamed and Estrella's head snapped up. In that same instant, her hooves slid from underneath her and after a moment of comical flying hooves, she fell on her rear and screamed as she slid down the soapy sidewalk. Practically flying and leaving a trail of suds and bubbles behind her, Estrella rocketed down many unnatural twists and turns, going around an upside-down floating ice cream cone the size of a skyscraper and eyeballs with wings and many other suspicious, unpleasant nightmare-inducing things while she herself rode the wild roller coaster of a sidewalk, she finally came to a stop, though it wasn't quite the stop she wanted. At some point, she had closed her eyes, but when she felt herself stop she clenched her teeth and tentatively peeked out...

...only to scream again as she found herself several feet above what looked like a boiling lava pit. In that instant, she never wished more for wings as she plummeted down to the frothy surface of the pit. She fell through one of the bigger bubbles, popping it as she fell through. Her scream now silenced as she hit the lava. Estrella cringed, waiting for the pain and utter end she knew was coming, but when it didn't come and she only felt the rush of a pleasant warmth, she once more tentatively looked out into the red lake she had fallen into. All around, she saw nothing, but from below, bubbles were rising from what looked like little bamboo spouts that were bouncing to some unheard music.

With a confused look, Estrella watched as one swelled and then let loose a huge bubble right below her. It quickly rose and lifted her up to the surface, rising her high enough that she could see all of the fantastical scene around her. Many houses had been replaced with strange things like giant flower pots and strange statues that looked like a mix between an alien spider and a candy corn. What houses still were houses were warped and twisted into looking like scrap metal with the windows and doors bent into crooked faces, some smiling, some not, and some not of this world. The trees seemed normal enough, though most of their leaves had turned into rainbow disks that looked a little like...

Seashells? Estrella's jaw practically dropped into the lake as the leaves opened up, revealing rainbow-colored clams with what looked like star fragments inside instead of pearls. Some took flight then as if their shells were wings, creating little rainbows in the light as they passed by a real rainbow in the sky, though it was twisted and bent like it was a drunk rainbow. Those little star fragments fell and turned into snow, some of it landing in Estrella's open mouth. She quickly closed it and gave a startled look as she tasted not water, but cotton candy. “What the-” she started, but the moment she spoke, the bubble she was laying on shuddered and popped, dumping her back into the red lake.

This time, she remembered to swim up and as she caught a breath of air, she looked around the lake once more. She took a small sip of the liquid and her confused look turned to shock. “Punch? A lava fruit punch lake? WHAT?” she spoke louder and her voice hit a new high pitch as she swished her legs in the pond, making little bubbles of her own as she stayed afloat. Estrella spun fast in the lake, once more looking around at the fluffy pink and tangerine clouds in the sky and the strange homes all around, only then noticing the duck boat with green feathers swimming on its own and what looked like a dog with the back half of an elk running after a blue and pink tiger and many other strange, unexplainable things. Estrella took it all in, her brain running on overdrive until it seemed she just couldn't make sense of any of it.

So she didn't. A small grin spread across her face, then a wider one, and then a sharp, carefree laugh that grew and grew. Soon, she jumped up and splashed back down in the fruit punch lake and started swimming on her back, realizing that all this chaos wasn't such a bad thing after all. In fact, it went against everything she knew and also, against everything she was trying to get away from. She whooped and laughed as she played in the lake, not even noticing as a blue pegasus with rainbow mane and tail flew by overhead, kicking away the clouds and yelling angrily at the rainbow, “Go home, Rainbow! You're drunk!” before flying on at incredible speeds back the way she'd come.

~ ~ ~

Far on the other side of the affected area, six friends were showing down with one overly excited draconequus, who was resting perfectly comfortably on his upside-down silver throne as if he ruled everything. Which, for the moment, he did. In this area, at least.

“Discord, you need to stop this! Return everything to normal, now!” A lavender unicorn with a purple and pink mane and six-starred cutie mark piped up, a death glare in her eyes as she watched Discord floating above in his throne.

Discord rolled his eyes and gave a few tsks of disapproval before snapping his fingers and making a margarita appear in his paw. He swallowed down the glass like it was water, leaving the actual drink to disappear in smoke but not before he ate the olive on top, which actually looked more like an eyeball. His own, to be precise, as when he looked back at the group, one eye was just an empty socket. “Now Twilight, why would I do that? I still have forty more minutes of utter beautiful chaos!” He laughed that manic laugh of his again and just to prove his point, he snapped his fingers again and turned Twilight's horn into a watermelon.

She looked up at it with shock evident in her eyes for a moment before the weight started to pull her over. She flailed her back legs and fear flashed across her face as she slowly tipped, then fell flat on the ground, the watermelon too big for her to hold up on her small neck. She then glared up at Discord from where she lay and said, “Because you're not suppose to be playing your games inside Ponyville!”

Discord rolled his eyes, both of which were back now, and crossed his arms while he said, “Celestia never said where, only that I have an hour free to myself! I kept it to a small area, at least.”

“She never said 'cause you left before she could say anyth'n!” Another, western-accented voice piped up, this time from a candy apple orange earth pony with darker orange mane and tail and a cowboy hat sitting slanted on her head, who looked strong from her years working on the farm. She had the same glare as her friend Twilight as she helped her friend up.

“Thanks Applejack.” Twilight said as the two of them balanced her horn on their heads.

“Yeah! It's not fair to not let someone finish speaking!” A more shrill voice came from a pink pony with a triple balloon cutie mark and extremely flamboyant mane and tail.

“Pinkie's right.” Rarity said, keeping her composure though she stayed as far away from the chaos as she could. “And after all, I have yet to find one choice in this mess that actually looks good.”

“Not even the checkerboard tile statues?!” Pinkie called, her shrill voice becoming even higher pitched.

“Er, no hun, I don't even like those... hideous creations.”

Discord looked at them all like they were idiots, especially Pinkie. He snapped his fingers and a zipper appeared over her mouth, which quickly zipped shut, effectively stopping the unnecessary conversation. He then gave an over-exaggerated huff/groan and threw his arms wildly in the air as he returned with, “Well like I knew! I'm not exactly 'good' at this whole “friendship” stuff and when Celestia said I could have some time to be myself then I thought she meant it!”

“Maybe she did, but after this mess, I doubt she will again!” Yet another voice spoke up, this time coming from a tart and very annoyed blue pegasus with a lightning bolt cutie mark and striking rainbow mane and tail, who had returned from shouting at the drunken rainbow.

“She can't resist a plea for help, Dashie my dear. She wants to make everyone happy, and this is how she made me happy! C'mon now, it's fair! Give me my time to myself! Please?”

Everyone in the group simply glared at him as if he was insane for asking such a thing, all except one. Discord then turned to that one, a pale yellow pegasus with a flowing pink mane and tail and triple butterfly cutie mark. “What do you think, Fluttershy? Surely you see my part of it.”

Said pegasus, Fluttershy, gave a little 'meep' as she was put on the spot. She immediately hid behind her friends Twilight and Applejack, peeking out only enough to see Discord a little as she whispered, “Well, I um... I think you have a point, but um... so do we.”

Discord gave her a disappointed look and said, “Are you seriously saying my one hour after months of no chaos should be cut short? “

“N-no! Of course not, you've been good and earned it. Just... maybe next time you could do it somewhere else? Or, or give the ponies of this area a warning before you start? That way, they have time to stay or leave if they so choose and you get your time either way.”

“But Fluttershy, I can't warn them! That takes the surprise out of them when I come through and bring my chaos to every aspect of their lives!” Discord whined.

“But you're scaring your friends.” Fluttershy countered, her tiny voice speaking louder to Discord than anyone else's. He looked at her, his glare faltering as he saw her big eyes, bright with near-tears. His resolve quickly wavered and a few moments later he groaned, defeated. “Fine. Only because it's you, Fluttershy. How about this. I've hidden something in my chaos that doesn't quite belong. If one of you can find it, I'll revert everything back to normal and move my chaos to the outskirts of town.”

“And?” Twilight prompted.

Discord growled, then huffed and relented. “And... listen more closely to Celestia when asking for my time.”

“And?” Rainbow Dash said, still glaring at Discord.

“And I'll... do something to make it up to the ponies caught so helplessly in my chaos.”

“And?” Rarity said as she looked towards Pinkie Pie, trying to convey her message.

“Oh come on, at least give me some peace from her shrill voice!” Discord whined.

“Discord.” Fluttershy piped up, then squeaked and hid again as he groaned again.

“Fine!” Discord called as he snapped his fingers, opening Pinkie's mouth again and returning Twilight's horn to normal. “There, now go. I want to enjoy what little chaos I have left.” With that, he snapped his fingers again, this time vanishing, along with his throne, and leaving the six friends alone in the courtyard. They all looked at each other and, without even speaking, all ran off in different directions to see what Discord had hidden that didn't fit and could stop his hour of chaos early.

~ ~ ~

Well above everything, Discord sat in his throne once more, grumbling about his rotten turn of luck while he fed himself grapes from the vine that appeared at his command. “Why must those ponies get in the way of everything? And why does Fluttershy have such an affect on me like that? Are friends always like this? I mean, granted they are nice, most of the time, but still! One hour's all I asked! Ugh, what a sour day.” He looked down on his beautiful chaos then, enjoying it while he could. He couldn't help the grin that spread over his face as he watched it all and laughed at the ponies who tried and failed at their meager attempts to escape. One even got him rolling in laughter as he was caught in a web of luscious pink bubble gum with a giant spider with his own face to tease the trapped stallion. Discord watched the torture session with glee, knowing that nothing terrible would actually befall the stallion, other than possibly some serious mental scars. Nevertheless, Discord eventually released the poor boy and let him run off, only then to get trapped on his soapy sidewalks. Meanwhile, Discord was just absolutely rolling in the sky then at the poor unfortunate soul.

Eventually, he floated off, wings barely even moving as he looked around for another pony to tease and laugh at. Soon, he came across Estrella, who was still swimming in the lake with a big smile. For some reason, this infuriated Discord, who growled at her though she couldn't hear. “Well then, I'll give you something to smile about.” he muttered before he snapped his clawed fingers. Within moments, the little bamboo shoots at the bottom of the lake went into overdrive. They all started swelling up like the one did before and then all as one, released their giant bubbles. Then, all the large bubbles coagulated and came together as one absolutely massive bubble. It rose rapidly and then broke the surface of the lake, lifting Estrella up. She gained a confused look for a moment as she looked down and found herself sitting on a giant bubble, though a moment later that look was replaced with shock and then joy as the bubble popped and launched her high into the air.

She passed by Discord, who watched as she soared up until her form passed before the sun, eyes closed and a beautiful, blissful laugh escaped her small chest with vigor. The light from the sun glistened through her mane and tail, all the little single golden hairs lighting up like some sort of intricate dance nobody would ever really understand, but were blessed to see just once in their lives. Discord couldn't help it as his jaw dropped and he listened to her joyful laughter even as she started to fall once more, the sun leaving her mane and tail but now showing her cutie mark, being a strange, dim, glossless yellow pony with a straight white mane and tail falling with a hoof over its faceless head with no mark of any sort on its body and white speed lines showing under it in a V pattern, showing its descent, much like Estrella's. An instant before she hit the punch, which would literally feel like a punch from the height she was falling from, Discord snapped out of it and then snapped his fingers, instantly transporting the duck boat underneath Estrella. It let out a loud quack as she hit it, but it did its job and softened her descent.

Estrella let out an "Oof!” as she hit the duck boat, but once she lifted her wet bangs out of her eyes, she laughed again and rubbed the duck's head as if apologizing for landing on it, though her bright grin said she had enjoyed every second of it.

Up above, Discord simply watched her, his face twisted in confusion and awe. “She liked it. No, she loved it! Who is this pony? What-” His muttering was interrupted as he got a signal that Twilight and her friends had found the item he had left that didn't belong and he groaned. “Found it already? That was quicker than I expected.” With that, he snapped his fingers and appeared behind the group, who were staring up at a giant statue of Celestia, though that wasn't the out of place thing so much since it did have changeling wings, a lion tail, and a grin even a mother couldn't love.

What was the thing he mentioned was at the bottom of the statue, where Fluttershy was sitting, looking at the small picture frame of her and Discord together back when they had first become friends. Discord sighed and said, “Well, you found it. Guess I'm done for today.” With that, he snapped his clawed fingers one more time, reverting everything in town back to its normal self, no harm done.

The group looked at him then, a little surprised at everything going back to normal so quickly.

Twilight was the first to speak up. “Thank you, Discord. We'll be sure to tell Celestia you moved to the edge of town.”

“No need. I'm done for now.” Discord said, shocking everybody.

It took a moment, but eventually, Rainbow spoke up. “Woah woah woah, the lord of chaos is, is ... giving up? Just like that?”

“I've had my fill, Dashie dear.” Discord said, an irate note in his voice as he regarded her.

“Really?” Applejack asked, skepticism heavy in her voice.

“Yes, really! I am done. Is that so horrible? Or would you prefer me to finish my remaining half hour?”

“No!” They all cried at once, making Discord give them all an angry glare.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy had picked up the picture frame and fluttered over. She then handed it off to Discord with a small smile. “I think what they mean is it's a good thing to know when you're done. We appreciate you stopping. And thanks.”

Discord took the picture with a smaller grumble, unable to stay mad at Fluttershy. “Thanks for what?”

“For this.” Fluttershy said, motioning to the picture. “You really can be a great friend.”

Discord hesitated a moment, the rubbed the back of his neck as he fought a small blush. “W-well I uh... Yes, of course I am, dearest Fluttershy! And... Thanks for reminding me.” He finished with a small smile, which grew as Fluttershy gave him a hug.

“HUGS!” Pinkie Pie yelled as she joined in the hug, earning a small glare from Discord, but then the others laughed and started joining in until they had a giant group hug going. Soon, they were all smiling and laughing. Eventually, they all pulled away.

Once more, Twilight was the first to speak. “I should report back to Celestia and tell her what's happened.”

“I should start on apologizing to the other ponies.” Discord said, earning himself a surprised look from most everyone, especially Rainbow Dash. She started to say something, which would probably be crude and anger inducing, but then Applejack put a hoof out and stopped her from saying what was on her mind. Rainbow Dash huffed and crossed her front legs, but kept her yap shut.

“Well, thank you all dears, but I have important business to attend to.” Rarity said suddenly and very quickly, a bit of nerves coloring her voice. “Ta-ta everyone! See you all as soon as I can!” With that surprising speed of hers, she was off, leaving everyone wondering exactly what she was doing, but they didn't question it, knowing it was difficult to get a coherent thought out of Rarity when she got like this.

~ ~ ~

Back at the middle of Discord's chaos, Estrella had been enjoying herself more than she ever had before when the duck boat beneath her suddenly disappeared and she was dunked in icy water. She gasped and quickly climbed out of the freezing fountain in one of the squares and simply sat there for a moment, the fountain and duck swimming in it making even less sense than the soap sidewalk and fruit punch lava lake. In an instant, it felt like reality had simply crashed down on her and all the joy she experience vanished as if it never happened, other than that memory she would forever keep.

After the shock of the sudden change wore off, she shook her entire body so she would dry and, without letting herself think about what just happened, she started wandering the now normal streets, trying to find her way to the castle. Somehow, she ended up back on the street where she had left her cloak and her wonderful adventure begun, but now it only stood as a sad reminder that it was over. Turning the corner and seeing it there, she tilted her head a little and looked at her own flank in confusion. “Now when did I lose that?” she muttered before she trotted over and put it back on, securely strapping it on.

Only a moment later, Rarity burst from the corner as well. Even though it looked like she had been running for some time, not a single hair was out of place. She cleared her throat and controlled her breathing before trotting up to Estrella's side and saying, “Sorry that took so long. I hope you didn't get too lost.”

Estrella smiled a little and said, “I'm fine, you weren't gone that long.”

“Oh good, I'd hate to ruin your first day here in the first ten, er, fifteen minutes, give or take?” Rarity then gave a too-wide grin, making Estrella laugh softly.

“If anything, you've made it better.”

This seemed to be just what Rarity wanted to hear and she gave a sigh of relief. “Good. Now, let's get you to that meeting.”

Rarity started off at a trot and this time, Estrella had no trouble keeping up. The two headed through town, occasionally stopping as Rarity said hello to a friend or pointed out an interesting shop to Estrella. She even managed to get Estrella to laugh a little on their way and tell Rarity a little of her first impressions of Ponyville, though she made sure to skip the time she spent on the soap sidewalk and in the pool, which had turned out to be a fountain. Sometime during their travels, Rarity also promised to give a full tour to Estrella someday soon after she had settled in a bit and there wasn't a princess expecting their arrival, to which Estrella thanked her greatly for.