The bright, spring sun shown down on the remnants of a rainy day. Rain drops sparkled on the edges of leaves, before dripping down to the rich brown earth. A cool breeze wound its way through the various plants on its journey to the west.

Berry Punch wiped sweat from her brow. The day was nice, but the work she was doing was not.

"You doing alright, Berry Punch?" Roseluck's voice called from the other end of the lawn.

"Yeah, just dreaming about a shower after this."

Roseluck chuckled.

"Me and you both."

Berry Punch's house had been cleaned earlier in the year, and now Roseluck had finally convinced Berry Punch to tackle the sorry state of her front lawn. They were in the process of pulling weeds and trimming the hedges that served as the boundaries of the lawn.

As two worked they talked.

"So, your going to be gone the day of the art festival?"

Roseluck nodded.

"Yep. I have to attend to some business in Canterlot. My dad can't go, and my mother doesn't want to leave him with Tender Care. Not that she doesn't trust him, but he can be a bit of a..." Roseluck circled her hoof "...doormat. I'll be back around the afternoon, though. The event starts at one, right?"

Berry Punch confirmed it for her.

"Perfect! Then I won't miss it for the world." She pecked Berry Punch on her cheek.

Berry Punch blushed. She still wasn't used to the affection. Roseluck teased her about it, and took every chance she could get to remind her how much she cared. It was a kind of unconditional love she didn't understand coming from a romantic partner. She was learning to enjoy it more as the days passed.

Roseluck hummed to herself as she worked.

"Are you going to show me what your working on for the festival?"

Berry Punch made a motion of sealing her lips.

"Darn."

"Sorry, Rose, it's a surprise."

Roseluck pretended to pout.

"I see how it is."

Berry Punch played into her mood.

"Come on, Roseluck, it's not personal."

Roseluck's expression broke out into a smile.

"What happened to 'Rose'?"

Now Berry Punch was on the backhoof.

"I, um, it sorta slipped out." Berry Punch blushed again. How's she so good at that?

Roseluck bumped her affectionately. "Well, I like it."

Feeling her confidence trickle back, Berry Punch replied, "Okay, Rose, what type of flowers were you thinking of planting here?"

Roseluck smirked.

"It's a surprise." She winked at her. "Don't worry, it's not personal."

Now it was Berry Punch's turn to fake pout.

"Are you going to show me at least?"

"Of course." Berry Punch followed her marefriend out to a large cart. Roseluck had parked it there when she arrived earlier in the day. Berry Punch had assumed it was for the tools they were using throughout the day, but she was proven wrong when Roseluck uncovered the tarp and revealed lines of carefully curated flowers.

As Berry Punch looked over the amount of them, she felt a little overwhelmed. Her Jade flower was manageable, but this seemed like a lot. Roseluck caught on to her uncertainty.

"Don't worry, they're low maintenance for the most part. I'll teach you how to take care of them, and help out whenever you're unsure, okay?"

"Works for me. Is this going to be similar to how we worked with the Jade flower?"

"No earthpony magic this time. I've already carefully tended to this batch, all they need is soil, water, and sunlight. The only work we'll be doing is planting them. Ready?"

Berry Punch took one last look over the flowers before she nodded.

The two mares got to work unloading the flowers and placing them around the front lawn. Roseluck directed the effort. She had a vision for how she wanted to array the flowers, and Berry Punch trusted her enough to let her decide. The work was repetitive and tiring, but worth it in the end.

They looked over the finished lawn in satisfaction. It was unrecognizable from its previous unruly state. Flowers outlined the cleaned off stones leading up to the porch. Canterbury bells, waxflowers, calla lillies, and others now decorated the front lawn.

Roseluck went over each of them and explained how to take care of them. Berry Punch did her best to commit the knowledge to memory, but had a feeling she would need a refresher in the future.

"Thanks, Rose. You didn't have to do all this."

"I did. I love you, remember?"

Berry Punch leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. The gesture was uncommon for her, and she felt a little uncertain about the action, but she wanted to return Roseluck's love in kind.

"I do. It's hard to forget with you."

The two leaned against one another, tails entwined as they looked over their hard work with satisfaction. The future looked bright.

Papers were stacked on the desk. Each one was indexed and dated. The mare sitting at the desk was putting the finishing touches on an envelope. She eyed the address critically. Nothing seemed out of place. She sat back in her chair. There was only a couple days left.

She picked up a ticket and looked it over. This had been perhaps the umpteenth time she had done so. Ponyville. The ticked was dated to a couple days from now. She placed it down.

"Soon things will be normal again. As they should have been."

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait! I had to take time to put this last section of the story together. There won't be a long wait between chapters this time. Expect a new chapter tomorrow. That's a Pinkie Promise! As usual, comment any corrections or thoughts down below (if you spotted a lot of mistakes, feel free to DM me the list!)