Chapters Applejack stepped into the bedroom, letting out a deep breath. “Howdy, Dash,” she said, trying not to show how much she wanted to cry. She lowered herself onto the bed beside Rainbow, wincing as her hips protested.
“Hey, AJ,” Rainbow said, her voice nearly a whisper but her lips quirking upward in her familiar smirk that Applejack loved. “Whatcha thinking?”
Applejack forced a smile. “Just how much I love you,” she said, the hitch in her breath giving her away.
Rainbow’s eyes softened. “Oh, AJ, don’t do this to yourself,” she pleaded. Her frail hoof reached over, and Applejack covered it with her own, feeling Rainbow’s soft fur. “I mean, seriously, it’s surprising I’ve lasted so long, what with all the crazy stuff I got up to back in the day,” she tried to joke.
Applejack smiled weakly back, but at least it was a real one. “Well, you ain’t much better now, are you, sugarcube?”
Rainbow grinned. “You know it,” she said wickedly, before sombering a bit. “Come on, don’t distract me, here. I’m trying to be serious!”
“Sorry, Dash,” Applejack said quietly. “I don’t - you know I hate - I mean -” she sighed in frustration. “Sorry,” she repeated.
Rainbow just looked at her. “I know it’s hard for you,” she said. “I mean, it’s not like it’s easy for me to just sit around all day waiting to die, watching what it does to you. It’s awful. But that’s just what it is.” She patted Applejack’s hoof sadly. “We always knew I’d probably die first. But you’re so strong; you can’t let this be the thing that breaks you. You’ve still got at least another decade in you. Please don’t waste it.”
Applejack focused on holding her tears back, even though she knew Rainbow wouldn’t judge her for them. “When we lost Granny, and Rarity, and Fluttershy, and Sugar Belle, those were all horrible. But I always had you with me. We always got through it together. I don’t know what to do without that.” Applejack’s voice was wobbly, but she stubbornly didn’t let her tears fall.
Rainbow closed her eyes, and Applejack could tell she was getting tired. But she started speaking before she could say anything about it. “We’re a great team, aren’t we?” she chuckled. “But you’re not alone. You’ve got so many ponies left who love you. Let them help you. Talk to them. Please. Promise me.” Rainbow didn’t usually plead like this, but then, she wasn’t usually dying.
Applejack nodded. “I hear you, sugarcube,” she murmured. “I won’t try to do this alone. And I won’t break. I won’t. I promise,” she finally said.
Rainbow nodded, satisfied, her eyes sliding shut. “Good. Carry that stubbornness to your deathbed, AJ.”
“Promise,” AJ repeated, whispering, and brushed a kiss on Rainbow’s head, smoothing strands of faded colors. She sat there for a few minutes longer, watching Rainbow fall asleep, listening to her breathe, before she got up and slowly ambled through the door, closing it softly.
She clomped her way down the hallway into the living room. Her exhausted eyes met Big Mac’s, and he opened his hooves. She leaned into his chest and finally let herself cry.
Stella and Esra (Year 2046)
Stella started at the sharp rapping of a hoof on her door. She glanced mournfully at the line her pencil had streaked across her notes, and stood up as she used her magic to open the door. Her father’s best friend and most trusted advisor, Esra, stood on the other side of the door. The zebra’s eyes were a bit red on the edges, and Stella thought she could see dried tears in the fur on their cheeks. “What happened?” she asked, alarmed.
Esra’s lips trembled. “Stella,” they choked out, and closed their eyes, tears leaking out from under their eyelids.
“Esra?” Stella said weakly, suddenly terrified. “What happened?” she asked again, moving toward them.
Esra’s breath caught, and they almost whispered, “Stell, your father’s dead.”
Stella stepped back. “What?” she said, her voice involuntarily quiet.
“I’m sorry,” Esra gasped. “I’m sorry,” they said, small sobs escaping.
Stella was crying now too, and she sat down hard on the floor. Esra sat down with her, and hugged her next to their body. “How did… how?” Stella tried to ask through her tears.
Esra understood, thankfully. “There was a train accident,” they said carefully. “I don’t know exactly how it happened, but the train caught fire and crashed. They’re saying most of the- the deaths are from smoke inhalation, but some are from impact.” They swallowed hard. “Nine ponies died, Stella. And seventeen more were injured. Some still might die. They believe Peri died from internal bleeding after they impacted with the wall in the crash. But it could also have been from smoke inhalation.” They shrugged heavily. “There’s just no way to be sure yet.”
“Oh,” Stella said quietly, trying to take in that information without breaking into sobs again. It didn’t seem fair, that she’d lost her biological parents in a fire, and now Peri too. “Did, I mean, um, what do we do now?”
Esra turned their face away. “There’s going to be a funeral, of course,” they said. “There will need to be preparations for that. And then there’s the matter of your coronation.” The zebra looked back at Stella, their features carefully serious. “Stell, ponies are going to be mad. You are the first non-alicorn to ever be ruler of Equestria. Ponies won’t like it. They’re going to say hurtful things about you, and I need you to be prepared.”
Stella gulped. She knew she was sensitive, and she’d always had a hard time with criticism. But… “I’ll try my best,” she said, trying to be brave. “And, I mean, you’ll be here, right?”
Esra pulled her into another hug. “Of course,” they said. “I will be here for as long as I can be. Stella, you are my daughter, if you want to be, regardless of anything like legality or relation. I love you.” They kissed the top of Stella’s head. “I love you,” they repeated, whispering.
Stella’s eyes welled up again. “I love you, Esra,” she choked out. “And you are my parent as much as Dad was. You’ve always been there for me, and for Dad.” She stopped talking, tears leaking out again. “I miss him already,” she whispered.
“Me too,” Esra said, standing up. Stella followed suit. “I’ll leave you alone for the rest of today, if you want,” Esra said. “You could come out for food later if you want, but I won’t force you. Is that okay, or would you rather not be alone right now?”
“No, that’s fine,” Stella said, her voice still rough. “I’d like some time alone.”
Esra nodded. “See you later, then,” they said softly, and left, shutting the door quietly behind them.
Fluttershy and Rarity (Year 1166)
“Oh, darling, isn’t it beautiful?” Rarity asked, staring up at her newest boutique. The front wall was a sea green, with ocean blue trim, and the sign at the top proclaimed “Rarity’s Carousel” in deep purple lettering. The window display showed a pony mannequin wearing a pale yellow jumper, so soft looking that one just wanted to reach through the window and stroke it, but it also had a hippogriff mannequin wearing a simple, silky blue evening gown, like something out of a historical novel.
“It’s gorgeous, Rarity,” Fluttershy said softly, giving her friend a fond look. “But I hope you aren’t planning to ask me to run this one. I still haven’t quite recovered from the Manehattan fiasco.” She giggled a bit and Rarity laughed with her.
“No, no, of course not, darling. To be honest, I just wanted somepony with me today. This is my second boutique outside of Equestria! So exciting, don’t you think, dear?”
Fluttershy looked inside. A mailpony had arrived just ten minutes ago with boxes upon boxes of clothes, some for ponies, but most were made for hippogriffs. Rarity had worked for months with hippogriff designers and recruited dozens of different hippogriffs to model for her, so she could create the clothes to fill all those boxes. It was an entirely new style for her, and she’d been extremely excited about this project for over a year now. To see it finally coming to life was incredible.
“It is a very exciting day,” Fluttershy agreed. “But, um, it does seem to be pretty busy here. I… don’t think you would have been alone without me.” She looked through the window at Rarity's two store managers who’d be running this boutique, her old friend Pistachio and a young, excitable hippogriff named Sea Star, and at the bustle of activity around them. Pistachio was sorting the clothes from the boxes, Sea Star was blowing her pale green hair out of her face nervously, bringing Pistachio the needed clothes racks from the storage room, and, once they were full, pushing them to their proper places in the store. Another hippogriff, Rarity’s new sales associate for the store, was flying near the ceiling, adjusting the light fixtures.
Rarity looked at Fluttershy, her bright smile dimming slightly for a second. “Yes, well, that's true, I suppose.” She looked back through the window. “No, you’re right, I certainly wouldn’t have been alone had you not agreed to come. But I wanted… Well, not that I don’t love Pistachio, but I just wanted somepony very special to me to be here for this. And you know as well as I do that Twilight is way too busy to come, and it’s the middle of Zap Apple Harvest, so Applejack and Rainbow are out of the question, and Pinkie has her kid and the bakery to manage, and I really wanted at least one of my best friends here with me.” She looked slightly embarrassed with herself, turning her face away from Fluttershy.
“Oh, Rarity,” Fluttershy extended a wing over Rarity’s back, pulling her closer in comfort. “You know the rest of the girls would have come if they could have. We all love you, Rare.”
“Oh, I know that,” Rarity waved a hoof in dismissal, but she blinked quite hard a couple of times, and gave a small sniffle. “But, you know darling, for all my dreams of romance when we were young, I haven’t ended up having much experience in that department. A few small flings and one year long relationship is all I’ve got in my pocket. And I’m okay with being alone, but sometimes I still just wish…” She looked down, blinking rapidly. “But anyway, the point is that you girls are the loves of my life. You five are the most important ponies in the world to me, except perhaps Sweetie Belle. And I’m really happy you could be here for this.”
Fluttershy had tears in her eyes, and she brought Rarity into a full hug without a word. “Rarity . You are an incredible pony, and you deserve all the love I can give you and more.”
“Oh, darling, thank you,” Rarity giggled, wiping the smudged mascara under her eyes. “Truly, you are the kindest pony I’ve ever met.”
Fluttershy blushed a bit.
“I mean it,” Rarity said. “And I’m sorry to cut this conversation short, but I really should go in and help them. There’s a lot to do before the opening tomorrow.”
“Oh, of course,” Fluttershy said. “I’ll try to help too.”
“Thank you very much, darling, but we will manage just fine. I want you to have fun. You should go see the city! It’s been, what, a decade since you were here last? You should explore. We’ll probably be here until sundown, so you can always come back later. And we’ll go out for dinner this evening, right? I know this absolutely marvelous little place down that road a ways,” she said, pointing to the left. “It’s a Saddle Arabian restaurant, you’ll love it.”
Fluttershy smiled. “That does sound delicious. I’ll be back in a few hours then. Good luck!”
“Have fun!” Rarity called back, already halfway through the door. Fluttershy watched the door shut with a thud, and then she started towards the ocean, planning to relax a bit on the beach before sundown.
Argyle and Snow Drift (Year 3139)
“Argyle,” Snow Drift called, hardly believing what she was seeing.
“What’d you find, love?” Argyle asked excitedly, trotting over to see her halfway into a cave, staring in awe. “Wow,” he whispered, as transfixed as she was at the treasure trove inside. She could see jewels upon jewels, but also books and other odds and ends, sculptures and stacks of what looked like feathers. Everything looked old, covered with thin layers of dirt and dust. “Is this?” Argyle asked. “Did you find-?”
“An abandoned dragon hoard?” she finished, breathless. “Maybe.” They walked carefully deeper into the cave, picking their way around gems and trinkets. Not for the first time, Snow wished desperately that her wings weren’t useless. She stopped at the stack of feathers and saw that they were actually quills, that would have been used for ink writing hundreds of years ago. She saw a few that looked like the feathers from the wild turkeys that lived in the woods she grew up in. There was one very prominent peacock feather, a couple that looked like brown owl feathers, and even a few that looked like they’d come from ponies.
She moved on to a large, messy pile of what seemed to be a collection of random objects. There were a few more quills in here, ones that looked like they’d been used to the point where they were falling apart. She picked up a small wooden figurine of a yellow pegasus with a light pink mane and tail, and noticed a similar one of an white unicorn with a purple mane and tail off to the side of the pile. She set them aside and started looking for more that might match. After a few minutes, she’d collected four more figures, a pink earth pony, a blue pegasus, a purple unicorn with wings, and an orange earth pony. She carefully carried them outside and set them in their wagon on top of the quills she’d piled beside Argyle’s stacks of books.
Later, when the two had thoroughly picked through the hoard, and their wagon was filled to bursting, they marked the cave on their map, and carefully carried their new treasures home, promising to return another time. “I can’t wait to tell my parents about all this stuff,” she said. “They’ll love it!” Maira and Ice were still quite adventurous all these years later, especially now that their daughter didn’t live with them anymore.
“They’re definitely going to be excited that we found all this,” Argyle agreed. “By the way, I found this interesting crystal in the cave, Snow. It’s got magical residue all over it. I think you might want to have a closer look at it later,” Argyle said. Snow nodded in excitement. She loved crystals and rocks, and she loved Argyle for knowing she loved them. She gave her wings a little flap of happiness and settled one across Argyle’s back, to show her appreciation. Argyle smiled. “Love you, too,” he said.
Maira and Sunny (Year 3164)
Maira sat alone at the dining table in an empty house, the loss of Ice still raw even after a year. She ran a hoof over an indent in the table, made by Snow when she was still just a baby. She’d been gone for 19 years now, never got a chance to see her own baby grow. Maira’s eyes watered. Snow and Argyle used to bring little Sunny over to visit her and Ice often, but after she had died, Argyle moved over to Maretime Bay with Sunny.
A loud boom startled Maira from her thoughts. She jolted to her hooves, wincing when pain shot down her back legs. She trotted out the door, into the yard, staring at the rainbow shooting its way across the sky. It was something that shouldn’t be possible, something that almost certainly wasn’t occurring naturally. When the rainbow reached her, she felt something tingle in her body, unnaturally warm, and her hooves almost felt like they were burning. She stamped them up and down, a bit panicked, and a flower shot up out of the ground, a small orange lily, followed by two more larger ones. The burning in her hooves faded, and she stared at the flowers in disbelief. “No,” she said out loud. “Someone couldn’t have possibly brought it back. Not after so long.” But the evidence was in front of her.
She rushed back inside, looking around at the decades of memories inside. She knew if she left, she might not ever come back. But this was a mystery begging to be solved, and Ice wouldn’t want her to leave it alone. So she packed a saddlebag with some food, a map, and a few of Ice’s hoof made stuffed animals, shoved Ice’s old hat on her head, and left the house she’d lived in for 56 years.
Later, as she was trudging along an overgrown path on the way to Maretime Bay, she had some regrets. “Maybe, this was not… the best idea,” she huffed. But she did feel stronger now than she had before, and even though the occasional flowers and vines that popped up under her hooves were annoying, they reminded her of her mission.
A couple days later, she finally spotted Maretime Bay’s buildings ahead. She sighed in relief, tucking her map back into her saddlebag, and putting a little more spring in her step. She walked into the town, trying to ignore the stares of the ponies wondering who she was. She found the lighthouse that Argyle said he’d be living in at the edge of town, and she knocked on the door. She shifted on her hooves, suddenly very tired, feeling all her years, now that she’d reached her destination. But she wasn’t done yet. He steeled herself as the door opened.
A yellow earth pony who was definitely not Argyle or Sunny opened the door.
“Um, hi,” she said, and then wanted to kick herself. She hadn’t had to talk to anypony new in decades.
“Who are you?” the yellow pony asked.
“Uh, I’m Maira,” she said. “I’m looking for Argyle Starshine? He told me he lived here?”
The yellow pony looked shocked. “Oh, uh, Argyle’s been dead for about six years now. His daughter Sunny lives here, though.”
Maira’s heart squeezed. “Oh. Um, may I speak to Sunny, then, please?” she asked.
The yellow pony narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, before likely deciding that an old, slightly dirty and tired mare didn’t pose much of a threat. “Sure, uh, come in, I guess,” he ushered her inside. “My name’s Hitch, it’s, uh, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well,” she returned.
“Please sit down,” Hitch said, ushering her to a couch, and she did so gratefully. “I’ll get you some water and call down Sunny.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded and left her there, the door to the sitting room left open behind him. “Sunny!” she heard him yell up the stairs. “There’s somepony here to talk to you, get down here.” He came back after a minute with three glasses of water on a tray, held carefully with one hoof. “Sunny will be down in a moment,” he said, holding the tray out to her.
“Thanks,” Maira said again, feeling vaguely robotic as, almost in slow motion, she carefully lifted a glass off the tray and a fully grown up version of the four year old Sunny she’d last seen 18 years ago came through the doorway. She didn’t drop her glass, thank the sun and moon, but her whole body seemed to go numb. “You look so much like your mother,” she said, her eyes watery and her voice a whisper.
Everypony froze.
“What?” Sunny whispered.
“What?!” Hitch yelled.
Maira stared at the two in silence, not knowing what to say.
“I think we’d better have a talk,” Sunny said.
“Okay,” she exhaled. “I’m Maira, and I came to ask why and how magic is back after so long. I thought Argyle might have had something to do with it, but…”
Sunny shook her head. “Dad’s been gone for six years, but Hitch and I actually were a part of that. And I want to know how you knew my mother.”
Maira smiled. “Then I think we can help each other quite well.” She held out her hoof and Sunny shook it. “Now, where should we begin?”
Esra and Peri (Year 2014)
Esra stamped their hooves on the doormat outside the shop. They were still quite unaccustomed to the cold winters in Canterlot, even after three years of living there. The bell above the door jingled as they walked inside, shutting out the cold behind them. Shivering, they took off their damp winter coat, hanging it on the hook in the back office. They set the drink carrier down on their desk, quickly picking up the hot tea and inhaling the steam.
Esra sighed as they took a long sip of the hot liquid, feeling the warmth spread through their bones. They took a moment to sip their tea and relax their muscles before they walked over to the window out front, flipping the sign to OPEN. They had an appointment at 10:00 and one at 2:00, but other than that, the day’s schedule was empty. It would likely be rather quiet, but after the commotion of the day before, Esra was glad for it.
By Esra’s 2:00 meeting, only five ponies, two griffons, and one zebra had been in, including the pony with the appointment. At 1:45, Esra tidied up their desk in preparation for the meeting, and at 1:57, the ruler of Equestria walked in the door.
“Uh, hello,” said the king, rather awkwardly. “I’m here for an appointment?”
Esra tapped their hoof on the floor, forcing themself to act natural. “Uhm, yes,” they said. “You’re marked down. If you’d come into the office with me?”
“Of course,” Periwinkle said, nodding.
“So, what are you here for, your majesty?” Esra asked, once they’d settled themselves into the cramped office.
“Uh, anxiety medication, mostly, and you don’t have to call me that.”
Esra looked at the king for a moment. “Well, alright, then, what should I call you?”
“Uh, just Periwinkle is good, I suppose.”
“If you insist,” Esra said, before turning back to business. “So, do you have a prescription, or do you need help finding good over the counter medicine?”
“I have a prescription, uh,” Periwinkle’s horn glowed, and a slightly crinkled sheet of paper appeared in the left corner of the ceiling. He floated it over to Esra with a sheepish look. “Here.”
“Thanks,” Esra said, inspecting it. “I actually do have this potion in the back right now, but it’s not always there, so you had good timing. Your dosage is two teaspoons a day, one in the morning and one at night, so I can give you the bottle I have in the back. That will just last you a week. After that, I can give you up to a month’s supply at a time, but no more.”
“That sounds good,” Periwinkle said. “Uh, when should I come back, then?”
“Well, what I’ll give you today won’t last more than seven days, so if you’d come back next Monday, that would probably be good. And from there, I can have it delivered, if you’d prefer, or you could continue to pick it up here every month.”
“Thank you, um, I think I’ll probably continue to pick it up myself, and I can come in on Monday, though not until late afternoon, are you still open then?”
“Yes, on weekdays I’m open until 4:30, so that should be fine, and I’ll put you down as a pickup customer, just remember you can change that at any time,” Esra said, penning the information into their notepad.
“Thank you so much,” Periwinkle said, sounding relieved the meeting was over. He was quiet while Esra fetched the potion from their back room, and quiet while filling out the insurance paperwork. The bell jingled softly as he walked out, and Esra, still slightly shocked, watched through the frosted glass windows as he spread his wings and flew toward the castle.
Maira and Ice (Year 3108)
“Darling, you don’t have to leave,” Maira’s mother said, a bit desperately, her bewildered green eyes imploring Maira to stay.
Maira shook her head, blowing a strand of purple hair out of her face. “You’ve made it very clear I can’t live here with a pegasus. And I will not give him up,” she said firmly, staring her mother down. “I won’t be too far, and there’s already an old cottage out where we’re planning to live. Just needs a bit of fixing up.”
Her mother let out a small sob.
“Don’t worry, I’ll visit sometimes, even though I won’t be able to bring my husband with me,” Maira said, taking out her frustration on her mostly packed saddlebags.
“Darling, I just want you to be-”
“Safe? Happy?” Maira bites out. “I won’t be happy without Ice, and it isn’t safe here for him.” She threw her saddlebags on her back, adjusting them to avoid glaring. “We will not live in a place that will shame us for loving each other.”
Maira’s mother opened and closed her mouth a few times, searching for words and arguments that didn’t come. Maira let herself soften a little, and drew her mother into a hug. “I’m happy with him, Mom. He makes me so, so happy. I wish that could be enough for you.” She strengthened her walls again as she pulled away, unable to look her mother in the eye. “I’ll visit,” she said softly, and walked out the door.
—
Ice Winds picked at what was left of his food, avoiding his parents’ burning stares. The soft clinking of his spoon was the only noise in the room as he ate the last of his soup. Without an excuse to look down, he slowly made himself meet his parents’ eyes. The disappointment he saw made him flinch, his feathers twitching, but he didn’t move his gaze. “Would you say something, please?” he asked, hating how his voice came out nearly a whisper.
His parents exchanged glances. “You’re making a mistake,” his mother said, blunt as always. He’d always loved that about her, but he’d never imagined it would hurt so much.
“I don’t think I am,” he said, keeping his voice calm. “I believe my decision is what’s right for me and my future. And you’ve both always taught me to trust myself.”
“Well, yes, son, but I just don’t see how running off to the woods alone with some earth pony could help with your future,” his father tried.
“Her name is Maira,” Ice said sharply. He took a deep breath. “If we are going to have this conversation, we are going to have it frankly. Maira and I love each other. We are going to live together. It is no longer simpler to pretend she doesn’t exist, and I won’t allow you to.”
Ice’s mother’s expression hardened into something he could have gone his entire life without seeing. “Now, listen to me, son,” she said, her voice low and angry. “I don’t know what this mare has been teaching you, what you think you’ve learned, but your place is here, with your family, not with her.”
Ice reeled back. He almost didn’t recognize his mother like this. How could this pony - someone who’d been so caring and loving, who’d taught him math when he didn’t understand his teacher, and who’d read awful sappy romance books with him just so they could share something together - how could she be so terrible? He couldn’t wrap his mind around it, and he didn’t want to.
He looked at his mother’s awful, angry face, and at his father’s lowered eyes, and he pushed back his chair. “I hadn’t realized,” he said, fighting back the urge to cry. “That the ponies that raised me were capable of so much hatred. I know when- when I first met Maira, that as much as I tried not to, I believed things that were wrong and prejudiced and harmful. And I know Maira did too. And we’re ashamed of that, and we’re trying to be better, together. And I guess I just thought that you’d be able to believe your own son when I told you that we were wrong, and you’d try to be better too.”
Ice couldn’t make himself look at his parents as he sniffed and blinked rapidly, trying to stop his tears. “But I suppose that was too much to hope for,” he whispered, and all but ran out the door, scooping up his saddlebags on the way and throwing them on his back haphazardly. He slowed down once he got to the woods, let out the last of his tears, and steadily made his way towards his new home.
