On the outskirts of the city that was Maretime Bay, a portal appeared from seemingly nowhere. From the portal emerged a tall, bulky unicorn mare with a lovely violet coat. Getting her bearings as the portal disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared, the unicorn stood up and blinked her emerald green eyes, taking in the sights around her. She had never been to Maretime Bay before. Heck, she currently didn't even know that's what the city was called. She just knew it was some place special, some place she had never been to before.
"Ah, so this is where you went, Comet," The unicorn mare smiled. "What a lovely little place you've chosen." And she began to trot away, making her way into the city proper. As she did so, she couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be some sort of festival going on. The whole city was decked out in colorful streamers, balloons, and bright banners. And there seemed to be lots of ponies trotting about, some talking amongst themselves or to each other. As such, none seemed to pay much attention to the admittedly strange unicorn in their presence.
For her part, Sunny Starscout had no idea anything was at all out of the ordinary. Yes, today was Maretime Bay Day, but right now she was focused primarily on two facts: One was that there didn't seem to be any signs of trouble anywhere, everypony was getting along with each other. And two was that her smoothie cart was busier than it normally was, because it seemed like everypony who was anypony wanted to experience Sunny's one of a kind smoothies.
Still, the earth pony was finding it to be quite the task just to keep up with the line of customers that didn't seem to be shrinking at all. For every pony she tended to, it seemed like two or three more took said pony's place and joined the line. So in between working the blenders in the back of her cart and returning to the front to greet customers (or hoof them their smoothies), she turned her attention briefly to her still relatively new friend Comet, who was working in the smoothie cart alongside her. "How are things, Comet?" She asked him.
Comet had to rub the tip of his forehead with a hoof, massaging his horn. "I think my horn's starting to ache from all the smoothies I'm blending." He complained.
Sunny blushed. "Sorry, Comet. It's usually not this bad. Even last Maretime Bay Day, the crowds weren't this big," She took a deep breath. "It's a good thing we have such bountiful harvests thanks to the earth pony magic. Without all those crops, I don't know how I'd ever keep up with the demand."
"Can we take a break soon?" Comet remarked as he briefly paused and pushed his glasses back into place. "At this rate, we're going to be making smoothies until the stars come out! Maybe even longer."
Sunny spoke sympathetically to her friend and co-worker. "Not too much longer, Comet. I promise. Hopefully, the crowds will start to thin out once Pipp's concert gets underway. There's no way my smoothies are a bigger draw than her singing." Then she turned back to the front and resumed greeting customers.
Imagine the surprise of Sunny when a very familiar bulky unicorn mare suddenly seemed to make her presence known as she approached the smoothie cart. Sunny had to blink and rub her eyes just to be sure she wasn't seeing things. Indeed, she wasn't. "Violet Frost?" She questioned even though she was certain the unicorn's identity could not be mistaken.
Violet beamed happily. "Hi, Sunny. Sorry to show up unannounced, but I just had to see the place you and your friends called home. It's such a lovely little town."
"Violet?!" The voice of Comet called as the auroracorn stopped what he had been doing and raced to the front of the smoothie cart! He almost fell back in surprise upon seeing the very pony he'd so often worked alongside back in Starlight Ridge (oh how long ago that now seemed).
Violet Frost nodded as her smile grew brighter and wider. "Long time no see, Comet! Did you miss me?"
Comet found himself astounded and at a loss for words. "How... but... I mean... there's no way you could've..."
The unicorn mare giggled. "I know, I know. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision. I can't even really explain it:" She briefly shut her eyes, recalling the events as if they had just happened. "All I know is that I started thinking about you, and how about I wished I could see where it was that you went when you went back with Sunny and the others," She opened her eyes as she finished. "Then this portal appeared, showing me a place I'd never seen before. And the next thing I knew: Poof!" She stretched her hooves outward. "Here I was."
Sunny found herself giggling in reply. "That's funny, that's kind of how my friends and I stumbled upon your village, Violet. It was a portal that appeared from out of nowhere," She briefly pondered. "I wonder if it's connected to that gem and the aurora?"
"Well, however it works, I'm glad it does," Violet happily proclaimed as she leaned towards the counter. "Oh, it's so good to see you again, Comet!" And she immediately asked. "So, this is where you're working now? As a smoothie chef?"
Comet somewhat sheepishly answered. "W-well, for now... yes. I'm... still trying to figure out what exactly I wanna do. There's practically an entire world I've never heard of or seen before. For now though, I'm happy just to live in Maretime Bay."
Violet nodded. "Maretime Bay sounds like a wonderful place."
Sunny Starscout nodded back. "It most certainly is. Even considering all the places I've been to and the things I've seen, Maretime Bay will always be home to me. There's always something new to see or do."
The auroracorn with a coat the same shade of purple as her name continued to smile even as she stepped aside. "Yeah? Well, I think I'm gonna go see what else I can see around here. I wouldn't want to interrupt you and Comet in the middle of your work."
But Sunny had an idea that had just come into her mind. "Nonsense, Violet. We were just thinking of taking a break, anyway. Comet and I will be more than happy to show you around."
Comet seemed to agree. "Yeah. Besides, my horn is really starting to hurt! I'm not used to using so much magic so often." And he again rubbed his forehead to emphasize his point.
So it was that, after giving another pony their smoothie, the earth pony mare with a lovely orange coat declared. "Sorry, everypony, my smoothie cart is closing down for lunch. You'll all have to come back later." And she immediately hung a "Closed" sign over her cart, before pulling down the shutters over the counter. A few customers groaned, but most trotted away with indifference, determined to explore other parts of the ongoing festival.
Beaming with joy from ear to ear, Sunny approached Violet and said to her! "You've come on the right day, Violet! Today just happens to be Maretime Bay Day! It's the celebration of Maretime Bay's founding, only now it doubles as a celebration for the three pony tribes being united."
Violet let out a gasp! "You mean there are ponies besides auroracorns? I thought they were just legends and stories."
Sunny Starscout giggled. "Oh, they're real alright. And they've all pitched in to make this the best Maretime Bay Day yet!" She took Violet by the hoof. "Come on, let Comet and I show you around!"
"Yeah! You've got to see what Maretime Bay has to offer, Violet! You're gonna love it as much as I do!" Comet eagerly proclaimed as he followed Sunny and Violet as they trotted off together.
Sunny and Comet led Violet through town, pushing and brushing past the crowd of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns who were all mingling and chatting with each other without a care in the world. All the while, breezes from the bay blew through from time to time, ensuring that the sunshine didn't make things too hot and uncomfortable.
Approaching a railing that looked out towards the vast bay itself, Sunny gestured a hoof as she pointed to a magnificent structure that had a vibrant, glowing rainbow beam shining through the top of it. "That's the Crystal Brighthouse," She said to Violet. "It's where my friends and I all live and hang out together. Well, I say we all live there, but Hitch actually lives and works at his office: He's the sheriff of Maretime Bay, you see."
"And he's really good at his job," Comet declared. "He keeps the peace around Maretime Bay, does all his own paperwork, and he's a dragon dad to boot," He let out a faint sigh of regret. "I can't help but feel lesser compared to him. He seems to have his whole life figured out."
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being who you are. You seem to be doing just fine for yourself, Comet," Violet reassured the stallion, before turning to Sunny and asking her. "Why do you call it a brighthouse? It looks like a lighthouse to me."
Sunny couldn't help but blush. "It was Pipp's idea to call it a brighthouse. The crystal part was added later, when we realized it would be a great place to store the unity crystals we found. In fact, the building that used to be there actually was a lighthouse. But it... kind of got destroyed when a certain somepony declared himself emperor in Hitch's absence."
"I said I was sorry!" A male sounding voice hollered out from the distance!
"Who was that?" Violet questioned, surprised by the sudden shout.
Comet faintly chuckled into a hoof. "Oh, nopony you really need to worry about. He's no danger to anypony, not even himself. Besides, he means well... most of the time."
Sunny Starscout, meanwhile, cleared her throat. "Well as I was saying before I was... interrupted," She briefly turned her gaze to a ways behind her, only to see no sign of anypony else. She spun back around. "There was an actual lighthouse where the Crystal Brighthouse now stands. It's where I lived with my dad when I was growing up, listening to his stories about his research," Her tone of voice briefly seemed to take on a somber, mournful tone. "Growing up, I wanted to be just like him and continue his research. But he passed away many years ago, and a lot of his research got lost or destroyed along with the lighthouse."
"Oh..." Violet blinked in surprise and stepped back a bit, uncertain of what to say.
The earth pony mare replied. "It's okay: You didn't know. And talking about it makes it easier, it helps me remember the good times we had before he got sick. Not a day goes by where I don't miss him, though. That's one thing Comet and I have in common," She slowly began to smile again as she changed the subject. "That's actually kind of what led me to my smoothie cart. There used to be a smoothie shop my dad would always take me to, and once he got sick and couldn't go to work I had to start finding work so we wouldn't lose our house. When the smoothie shop went out of business shortly after my dad well... you know, I took it upon myself to carry on its legacy. It's the one job I knew I could always fall back on whenever trying to continue Dad's work didn't pan out."
"And if it wasn't for that cart, I never would've found out just how powerful my magic can be. Or how great it is at working blenders for smoothies," Comet pointed out to Violet. "Since then, I've more or less been helping Sunny with the cart as often as I can. I've even tried a hoof at making a few of my smoothies, and they turned out pretty good."
Violet Frost began to smile again ever so faintly. "That brighthouse certainly sounds like an interesting location. I know we never had anything even remotely like it back in Starlight Ridge."
"How have things been in the village? Is everypony still having fun and staying happy?" Comet asked in a tone of voice equally parts hopeful and concerned.
The bulky mare nodded and answered affirmatively. "You bet we are. We all miss you though, Comet."
"W-well," The auroracorn stallion seemed to blush and stutter. "I... don't exactly know how I'm supposed to send you letters. It sounds like the only way to access the village is through portals that come and go at will."
"Maybe we can look into that some time," Sunny proposed. "That sounds like a mystery that would be right up Zipp's alley."
"Did somepony mention a mystery?" The familiar voice of Zipp called out from above, right before the pegasus mare swooped down and landed in front of Sunny, Comet, and Violet in dramatic fashion. "Oh, I never get tired of that!" She happily proclaimed! Yet once her eyes fell upon Violet Frost, she couldn't resist gasping as her eyes went wide! "No way! Violet Frost?!"
"The one and only!" Violet happily proclaimed.
Zipp immediately approached the bulky mare and began to question her at length. "How in the wide world of Equestria did you get here?! What have you been up to all this time?! Is something wrong back in Starlight Ridge that made you come seek us for help?!"
Violet Frost chuckled. "Oh no, it's nothing like that. I honestly can't really explain the how and why. I just know that I'm here because a portal appeared that led me to Maretime Bay. It was the strangest thing: It was here one moment and gone the next."
Zipp put a hoof to her chin. "Hm, how very interesting. I might just have to investigate that at some point. There must be a reason why portals appear when they do and lead to where they lead. Since the Opaline case was solved, I've been itching for a good mystery to give my brain a workout. And this talk about portals sounds like it's just the sort of brain teaser I've been looking for."
Just then, however, who should come trotting up on the scene but Hitch himself? He was wearing a brown ten gallon hat, and had a shiny new badge pinned to his chest. Bouncing up and down on his back was none other than Sparky, the baby dragon giggling happily as he rode around on the pony he saw as his father. "Hey, Deputy Zipp, you're supposed to be watching the skies for me. That was the deal: Remember?"
"Sorry, Hitch... I mean Sheriff Hitch," Zipp hastily corrected. "But a certain somepony I wasn't expecting showed up, and I just had to ask some questions."
"What do you mea-" Hitch began, only to be cut off as his eyes fell upon the very form of Violet Frost herself and went wide as a result!
The pegasus mare faintly remarked. "That's about what I expected."
The sheriff was slow to recover. "Er... uh... welcome to Maretime Bay, Violet Frost. We are honored by your presence, especially on Maretime Bay Day of all days."
"Hey, I didn't know I was such a big deal or that today was so important," Violet insisted with a smile and a wink. "I just saw an opportunity and took it. So now I'm going to make the most of it, for however long I stay."
"We were just showing Violet around a little." Sunny explained to Hitch.
Hitch then not so subtly prodded. "And when did you find the time to be doing that, Sunny?" As he spoke, the sheriff gestured a hoof to the large line of ponies forming outside the still currently closed down smoothie cart.
Sunny blushed anew with embarrassment. "Guess I'm gonna have to cut the tour a little short. Ponies really want their smoothies it seems," But then a thought struck her and she said aloud. "Wait a minute, Comet. Why don't you take over and lead Violet's tour from here?"
At that Comet stuttered and stumbled, his legs starting to shake. "W-what?! M-me?! A-are you sure that's a good idea, Sunny?! I... I mean... I should go with you back to the smoothie cart."
"You needed the break more than I did, Comet," The earth pony insisted as she waved a hoof. "I'll be fine, I promise. Violet came here specifically to see you. The least you can do in return is show her around. You've been around Maretime Bay long enough to know where everything is."
The glasses wearing stallion swallowed hard, trying to fight back the nervous sweat. "If you say so, Sunny."
"Relax, Comet," Sunny smiled as she began to trot away. "Just be yourself and you'll have nothing to fear. I'll try to catch up with you later: Maybe in time for Pipp's concert. See you then." And soon, she was out of sight.
Zipp unfolded her wings only a few seconds later. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm on duty. For the rest of the festival, I'm Hitch's deputy. So it's my job to keep watching the skies." And she quickly took off, flying high until she was obscured by clouds.
"See you around, Comet," Hitch said with a smile as he too departed. "I need to make sure there aren't any disturbances going on elsewhere." And the sheriff strolled away, Sparky continuing to ride on his back. Just like that, Comet was alone with Violet.
The auroracorn stallion tried his best to pluck up courage. "C-come on, Violet. Let me... show you around the rest of Maretime Bay." And he led his fellow auroracorn away as best he could.
Slowly but surely, Comet felt his anxiety start to leave him as he took Violet all through Maretime Bay, showing off whatever he felt was worth pointing out.
Then, up ahead, the two auroracorns happened to spot what appeared to be a fairly large booth of sorts. Parked next to it was a scooter with several boxes stacked on either side of it, and a helmet hanging from the handlebars. Within the booth itself was none other than Izzy, hard at work on another crafting project that she was making entirely out of broken, rusty, or otherwise neglected and forgotten pieces of metal from the boxes. Even though she had the aid of her horn, she seemed to be very hooves on in her approach, moving all about as her creation took shape before everypony's eyes.
"Here you are!" Izzy said at last, beaming with pride as she floated over her crafted creation to an earth pony filly in the crowd accompanied by two other fillies. "It's your own unicycled umbrella: Perfect for a rainy day, or just keeping the sun off your face."
The earth pony filly excitedly exclaimed and kicked her back legs in joy! "Oh thank you, Izzy! This is so amazing!" And she ran off, holding the umbrella tightly with her hooves.
Izzy was about to start work on another crafting project, when she happened to spot Comet and Violet Frost walking past nearby. She waved a hoof and whistled, calling out to them. If she was at all surprised to see Violet Frost, she didn't show it outwardly as she just cheerfully greeted. "Hi Comet, Hi Violet. Enjoying the show?"
"Oh, you do this all the time?" Violet questioned.
Izzy nodded. "Yup! Unicycling is how I got my cutie mark, after all. And ever since I fixed up that old scooter, I've been taking my crafting tools with me wherever I go. You never known when a unicycling emergency will present itself, so I gotta be prepared."
"That's Izzy for you, Violet," Comet stated with a smile. "She just seems to have a knack for knowing about things like these. There's just something about her that feels... different, in a good way."
The unicorn mare with a pretty pink coat nodded back. "Uh-huh. That's who I am: Always have been and always will be!" She playfully swished her tail before asking. "Want me to unicycle something for you, Comet? Or what about you, Violet?"
The glasses wearing stallion hesitantly replied. "I... think I'm good. I-I wouldn't want to distract you from your very important work."
With a bright smile, Izzy just said. "Well, if you ever change your mind, just let me know." And then she went back to working on her crafting projects, tuning out all other distractions as she remained laser focused on the task before her.
Soon afterward, after pushing past thick crowds that were starting to amass near the center of the festival (more specifically to a magnificent stage), Comet brought Violet before a simple brick building with a flashing neon-sign that had currently been switched off. "You've never seen anything like this before, Violet!" He happily and excitedly told her as he gestured a hoof in dramatic fanfare. "This is none other than Mane Melody: It's a mane styling salon, a karaoke bar, and just an all around nice place to hang out and relax. Everypony who's everypony comes here. They have some truly one of a kind treatments."
Violet eyed the brick facade with wide eyed wonder. The outside alone seemed impressive, and peering in through a window revealed the magnificent decoration within: Lovely shades of blue and pastel pink, and lush red carpeting strewn across the floors.
Just then, the door above the saloon opened. Out strolled a pegasus stallion with golden wings that shone and glistened in the sunlight, and accompanying him was an earth pony mare with a reddish-pink mane cut short that revealed that she did not appear to have ears. The pegasus stallion smiled. "Doing a little window shopping, or were you thinking of ordering a mane styling? Jazz and I were just about to close up shop for the day."
"Right, Rocky," Jazz said in reply. "After all, we don't wanna miss Pipp's big concert. She said she's been working on a brand new song just for the occasion."
"Oh, I'm good," Violet Frost replied and stepped back, gesturing a hoof to the glasses wearing stallion beside her. "Comet's just showing me around while he's on a break from work. Maretime Bay is quite fascinating."
Rocky nodded. "It certainly is. Jazz and I are so glad we get to live and work here. Between the two of us, we practically run Mane Melody. Pipp mostly just stops by to pitch ideas for new products and treatments, or when she needs to find inspiration for new content on her channel. Still, this was her idea."
Comet quickly whispered. "It's all online. It's a very big deal from what I can gather. Pipp's pretty much a celebrity. And she's a princess to boot."
"Not just a princess, the princess!" Jazz proudly proclaimed. "No offense to Zipp, but Pipp is by far the more outgoing and popular of the royal siblings. Zipp seems to avoid the spotlight, whereas Pipp has no problems basking in it."
"She also loves to give out free makeovers to new friends!" The glasses wearing stallion pointed out to Violet. "She insisted on giving me one soon after I came to live in Maretime Bay," He blushed. "I'm glad you weren't here to see that. It was embarrassing."
Rocky chuckled. "Oh come now, you didn't look that bad. And Pipp apologized afterward for getting carried away. You know she meant well."
"Yeah, but I think I'm happy with the way I look right now." Comet declared and hastily led Violet away before any more talk of makeovers or other such treatments could ensue. He didn't want any ideas to be planted in anypony's heads.
Violet and Comet then returned to the festival itself, arriving back in the center of it all just as the crowds seemed to huddle around the stage. Yet despite the size, the crowd was unusually silent and reserved, almost as if they were waiting for something.
Suddenly, Comet felt himself quite literally bump into somepony else. He turned around fast and found himself face to face with a unicorn mare with a two toned purple and reddish mane and tail. It took him but a second to realize that it was Misty, the one friend of his he'd yet to meet until now.
Misty was quick to apologize. "Oh, sorry, Comet. I didn't see you there: Honest," She gave off a nervous laugh. "I just got done giving my dad a tour of the Crystal Brighthouse. I really wanted him to see that new room I found, the one I have all to myself."
"No no, it's my fault," Comet insisted on apologizing. "I should've been paying more attention. I've just been kind of... distracted, I guess. You see, I was-"
But there was no need for the glasses wearing stallion to say anything further. Misty quickly spotted the auroracorn standing next to him, and when she did so it was her turn to look surprised! "-Violet Frost?! How and why did you come here?!"
"Through a portal. It just appeared in the village all of a sudden as I was thinking about Comet," Violet explained. "So I went through it, and the next thing I knew: Here I was in Maretime Bay. Comet's been showing me around ever since."
Misty massaged the back of her neck with a hoof. "I hope you're not here to tell us Allura's causing you trouble again. We haven't really seen her since Comet came back with us. It's like she just disappeared."
"Oh, don't worry, I'm not in any danger or anything," Violet Frost insisted with a sincere smile. "It's been my pleasure to see all that Maretime Bay has to offer. And it looks like I came on the right day: Maretime Bay Day."
"Were you thinking of moving here full time?" Misty pondered with concern. "I'm sure Comet would love to have you here."
The bulky auroracorn mare replied after thinking it over for a moment. "Nah, I really don't plan to stay for much longer here. I can't exactly leave my village unannounced and have everypony wondering where I went. I'm just glad I got the chance to see the place Comet calls home. But don't worry about me: I'm sure I'll find my way back to Starlight Ridge sooner or later," She then blinked her eyes as she scanned the crowd, surprised to find a tall, grey coated unicorn stallion sitting next to a pegasus mare wearing a crown, while two pegasi ponies wearing suits of armor stood guard nearby. "Say, who are those ponies? They seem important."
Misty blushed bright red. "Oh, that's my dad. And... uh... the pony next to him is Queen Haven. It's not exactly a secret that they're... romantically involved. But they insist on treating it like it's just a formal thing and nothing out of the ordinary. It's ridiculous that they make everypony play along with it. It's not the end of the world if a unicorn and a pegasus are together nowadays."
Just then, a spotlight shone on the stage. And out strolled a pastel pink pudgy pegasus (Comet and Misty knew who she was). "Hello, everypony!" She greeted, briefly flying around and basking in the crowd's adoration. Then she swooped down as the spotlight continued to shine brightly. With a microphone clutched firmly in one hoof, her voice easily carried over the entire length of the crowd. "Thank you for all coming! And now, it is my great pleasure to wrap up the best Maretime Bay Day of all time with the moment you've all been waiting for: The debut of my brand new song 'Let's Make Our Mark'!" And after gesturing for the crowd to quiet down, she began to sing.
When Pipp's song had ended, the whole crowd burst into thunderous, spontaneous applause that echoed everywhere! For her part, Pipp just bowed and accepted the crowd's praise with humility. Yet she still seemed to enjoy every minute of it.
And afterward, Pipp was overjoyed to meet Violet Frost face to face backstage! "Oh my hoofness! Having you in the audience made things even better, Violet!" She happily exclaimed! "I'm so honored you came to Maretime Bay today."
"Well, I'm just glad to be here," Violet Frost insisted. "I see why you all love it so much. It truly is a place unlike anywhere else that I've ever heard of. I'd say Comet's lucky to live here with friends like you."
Pipp nodded back. "Don't we know it? Ever since we defeated Opaline and met you and Comet, it feels like things have been looking up for us every day."
With a smile, Violet extended a hoof out to Pipp, then said. "Well, I had fun today. And I hope I can come back some other time to see even more of Maretime Bay than I already saw. But, I probably should start thinking of how I'm going to get back. My village is probably starting to worry about me, and I wouldn't blame them."
"How are you even going to get back? Do you even know how?" Pipp pondered with concern.
Violet briefly seemed to contemplate that problem, before replying with what seemed like indifference. "Well, I'm sure I'll find a portal or something. It seemed like the one that led me here showed up right when I was starting to really think about Maretime Bay and Comet. So maybe it can work the same way in reverse."
Almost as if on cue, a large, glowing blue circle suddenly appeared, making everypony present blink and rub their eyes just to be sure they weren't somehow seeing things.
Violet Frost smiled upon seeing that the circle was still there, and what was shown on the other side of it. "Well, I believe that's exactly what I was looking for: My way back to Starlight Ridge."
Comet was surprised to see Violet go trotting towards it so willingly. "So that's it, you're leaving again?"
"Sorry, Comet," Violet apologized. "I can't just abandon Starlight Ridge. It's been my home for so long, I can't imagine leaving it for good: Not even for a place as incredible as Maretime Bay," Then she offered. "Would you like to come back home with me? It seems like we might be able to visit Maretime Bay again more often than we think."
But Comet shook his head from side to side, rejecting the proposal. "Thanks, but I think I'm good staying here in Maretime Bay with my friends."
"Well, if you ever change your mind, Comet, I'll always have a place for you back in Starlight Ridge." Violet Frost insisted. Then the bulky auroracorn stepped through the portal to Starlight Ridge, and in the blink of an eye it disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. But not before all could see that Violet had made it safely back to her village.
The glasses wearing stallion, for his part, just smiled. A warm and fuzzy feeling was forming inside his heart, knowing that he would never truly be away from Violet for long. If he wanted to, it seemed there would be a way to visit her or for her to visit him.
Author's Note
Even if G5 itself is wrapping up still, I'll probably still at least occasionally write stories for it. I mean hey, I've been continuing to write for FiM despite how many years have already passed since its conclusion, so why should I let the lack of official G5 content stop me?
The stuff involving Sunny's smoothie cart is my way of trying to attach significance to what basically became her character post "A New Generation".
