Midsummer Meetup

The sun bore down on the farm. Poppop poppitypop! The corn field was shaking. Poppoppapop! The cob’s kernels were baking. Pop!

A hedgerow glittered in the light. A gust of wind swept through, shhhhhhhh and all the leaves shimmered with rainbows.

An apple orchard stood in formation. Some of the trees were acting up. Kumquats and carrots dangled from their branches. Their boughs tinkled like chimes in the breeze and dropped chives on the ground.

All the grass had bloomed into a carpet of herbs and wild anthers. Butterflies with mirrors for wings sunbathed on the petals.

Ahhhh! came a scream on the wind. AHHHHH! and the insects scattered as three little ponies burst from the corn field popop! AHHAHA! They chased each other around the apple trees tinktinkle and their hooves kicked up a perfume of mint, thyme, lime.

"Tip! You’re it!" yelled the unicorn.

"No!" squeaked the pegasus.

"Scoot’s it! Scoot’s it!" and the race was on up the hedgerow. Shhhhhhhhh everything flickered disco ball as the ponies dodged and dived through shrub. Scootaloo was falling behind. She unfurled her wings and leapt and soared and crash landed into a bush. "Ow!" went the pegasus.

"Oof," went the bush.

Scootaloo jumped up. She ogled the bush. She poked it. It remained silent. "Hey!" Scoots looked up. The other two were watching her at a distance. "Are you okay?" asked the earth pony.

The pegasus looked at the bush. She grinned. "I found a funny plant! Come see, it talks!"

The unicorn looked sceptical.

The earth pony rushed forward going, "Where!? Where!?"

Scootaloo tapped her, "Tip you’re it!" and ran away giggling maniacally.

"That’s not fair!" squealed Applebloom. She looked to Sweetie Belle. The unicorn had dematerialized.

From beyond the shrub there came, "Na, na nana na you can’t catch us!"

Bloom tried to catch them until, "Fillies!"

They all stopped. Their ears swivelled toward, "Pinkie!"; "Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie Pie leapfrogged toward them through the corn like a living bouncy ball. The fillies galloped down to meet her, big smiles. Poppoppypop! The shuddering corn towered over them. They pranced on the spot as they waited.

They waited.

"Where’d she go?" asked Scootaloo.

"AHHHH!" Pinkie flew out of the corn and footy tackled them. The fillies screamed and squirmed as Pie cried, "I’m never letting you go!"

"No!"; "Nooo!"

"You’re never getting away!"

Bloom smiled up at her and said, "That’s okay."

Pinkie smiled back. She kissed Bloom on the head.

Scoots gasped, "Applebloom you sold us out!"

"Revenge!" squeaked Applebloom.

"What did I do?" asked Belle.

Bloom’s big sister called out from the house, "Hey! Where’d ya’ll run off to!?"

Pinkie yelled back "We’re having a group hug and eating popcorn!" The Pie leapt up and broke off a cob with a snap that turned into a boom! Popcorn explosion. The four of them screamed and ran around laughing, trying to catch the rain of kernels in their mouths. They caught most of it in their manes.

"Well ya’ll better save some room! Fluttershy brought lemonade!"

The fillies screeched, "lemonade!" and tore off.

The pink mare reared up and bellowed, "LEMONADE!" She charged and bowled the fillies over.

Sweetie Belle sipped at her third cup. She watched the magical kites in the sky. They danced on the wind and acted out plays. Bumprattle. "Hey!" Belle lifted up the tablecloth, "what’re you doing under there?"

The little foals giggled behind their hooves. One pushed another and they ran screaming between the benches.

"You’re crazy!" Scootaloo yelled after them. Belle and Bloom snickered.

The back garden was overrun with a fluffy rainbow of ponies. It was a din of happy reunions between rows of fold-out tables on the green.

"Hello? Um, would any of you like refills?" asked a yellow pegasus.

Scoots frantically shook her head going, "No! If I have any more I’ll pee myself!"

Belle choked on her lemonade.

Bloom pouted. "Fluttershy I’m hungry."

"Oh, um," Fluttershy looked up and down the table. It was covered with empty dishes. "Well, I’m not sure, but, I think everypony’s here now."

"Allllllllright ya’ll!" Applejack waved her stetson in the air, "everypony’s here!" A big cheer went up. Ponies clipclop clapped.

"Applejack!" Applebloom cried, "Is it sweet potato hunt now!"

All the little ones combusted, jumping, screaming, "Sweet potato hunt!"; "Potato hunt!" Everypony laughed.

Applejack threw up her forelegs, "It’s time for the sweet-"

"AHHHHHH!" shrieked the foals. They leapt from their parents in a tidal wave of fluff and scurried for the fields.

"Come on!" yelled Scootaloo, and the three fillies joined the race.

The ground was covered with purple creepers, leaves like lily pads. Ponies were throwing up dirt in sprays and showers. Belle, Bloom and Scoots galloped screaming through the deluge.

They found a spot for themselves. Snappitysnap the unicorn tore up the creeper’s roots. Riiip! the earth pony heaved back the sod. "There’s so many!" she screamed. There was more pink spud than soil.

The pegasus wrenched up a potato and fell back with a cry. She gasped, "Look at this one!" she held it up. It was as big as her head.

Sweetie Belle pawed at the dirt. She uncovered little knobbly tubers. She pushed them aside and dug deeper. Earthworms wriggled about in the black soil. It felt cool and moist on the frogs of her hooves. She came to compacted dirt. She scraped it back. Violet treasure glistened. She worked at the hole to make it wider.

"Woah! That’s the biggest potato ever!"

Belle looked up. Her friends were covered in dirt.

"I’ll get it out!" Bloom shouted. "I’m strong. I’m an earth pony." The earth pony heaved as hard as she could on the top of the spud. She shook with the effort.

Belle scratched her head and said, "I don’t see how you’d have the leverage." Bloom gave out, panting. "But maybe I could get it out with telekinesis, if I spun it."

Sweetie Belle’s horn began to sparkle. She focused on the sweet potato, felt her magic encapsulate it. She channelled. Her horn glowed.

"You can do it Belle!" Scootaloo cheered.

Belle took a deep breath of air. Took a deep breath of magic. Her horn shone brighter.

"I believe in you!" Applebloom yelled.

Belle felt pressure building up inside her head. Her ears started to whine. She lifted. She lifted. Her horn flared like a star. She grew lightheaded. Body tingling. Lifting. She was the sweet potato.

Her magic collapsed into an electromagnetic pulse.

A literally earth shattering BOOM! rolled over the farm. Everypony jumped and turned to see a plume of dirt.

The dust cleared.

A violet boulder stood.

Sweetie Belle tasted strawberries and cream. The healing potion was syrupy, bubbly on her tongue. She hummed contentedly.

"Oh Sweetie Belle," her sister hugged her tight, "I’m so relieved you’re okay." It rained kisses. "I love you so much."

Belle nuzzled her sister’s coat. "I love you too Rarity." The little unicorn could hear laughter and conversation, the tink clinks of cutlery and glass. She peeped.

They were in the back garden sitting at a table lined with happy fluffy rainbows. All the dishes were filled with desserts. There were glazed doughnut stacks, steaming apple pies, trifles and tarts, platters of profiteroles, cakes of cheese, chocolate and sponge. A jelly gateau wobbled and shook as it was passed from hoof to hoof. Bumblebees all buzzed around, they helped themselves to the lemon meringue and crème brulee, and fair’s fair, they had contributed their honey to the feast.

"ThatwasreallyimpressiveSweetieBellegoodjob!" blurted a purple unicorn.

Rarity bawked.

”’Good job’!? Twilight, she could have hurt herself!"

"Wha-But she did hurt herself. She had a magic surge.-Anyway," her horn flashed pop. A jam heaped scone teleported onto her upraised hoof. "I brought scones and twenty seven and a half different kinds of fruit preserve, exotic stuff-mostly."

"Sweetie Belle!"; "Belle!" Belle looked to see Scoots cantering up with a loaded plate.

"Are you okay now!?" asked the little pegasus.

"Yeah, I’m okay," Belle replied.

"Yay!" Scoots hopped up besides her friend and gave her a hug. They both giggled happily.

"Belle!" Applebloom was walking slowly toward them, balancing a precarious cairn of desserts on her back, "we got this for you!"

Sweetie Belle laughed, "What the hay!? It’s so much!"

Applebloom laughed too. The cairn tipped over. The fillies gasped.

Twilight caught it with her magic. There were sighs of relief. "I think I’ll just set this down here," she chuckled, and the floating sweets restacked themselves on the table.

"Thankyou Twilight," Rarity said.

"Thankyou Twilight," the fillies echoed.

Twilight put her scone on top of the cairn, the finishing touch. She smiled at it. "I doubt the structural integrity of this."

Applebloom squeezed in beside Belle and swiped an eclair. She bit into it. Custard burst out everywhere. The fillies screamed and laughed.

Rarity grimaced at it all in her mane. "That would be one of Pinkie Pie’s," she muttered, and smiled.

"Hey Twilight!" Applejack called out, "could ya’ please help me with this doohicky!?"

"Ohyeahsure!"

Sweetie Belle turned around to watch Twilight go.

A violet spud loomed amongst the flower beds. The Apples were busily excavating it, cutting off barn door sized potato wedges with team driven bandsaws. Ponies were pouring kegs of olive oil into a bejewelled vat at its base. Twilight was gesticulating at the different kinds of gems. Applejack nodded and looked confused.

Belle gawped. "Did I do that?"

Scootaloo squeaked and spoke with her mouth full, "Yeah! Yeah! It wash reawy scawy!"

Bloom yelled, "Boom!"

Sweetie Belle ate the scone crunchcrumble as she watched the Apples work. Twenty seven and a half flavours fought each other on her tongue.

A rainbow maned pegasus ambled up with a waffle in her mouth.

Belle smiled. "Hi Rainbow Dash."

Scoots and Bloom spun around and cried, "Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow Dash nodded at them and pulled the waffle further into her mouth with each chew like a conveyor belt. She proffered a bowl of chocolate balls and mumbled, "You should try Bon Bon’s bonbons."

They each took a hooful of Bon Bon’s bonbons. The balls were all filled with different rocky roads and Scootaloo chipped her tooth on a pebble.

Sweetie Belle dipped a danish into a saucer of vanilla bean paste and watched the kites. They swooped around the blue sky and shape shifted between props and ponies. They told a soundless story about a mare on the moon.

Belle spotted a bird far, far above. It was gliding down to land. She watched the bird grow as she ate her pastry. It was a big bird. She wondered if it was an eagle.

The eagle glinted off the sun.

Sweetie Belle stopped chewing. The eagle was too big. Huge metal eagle. Belle poked her sister going, "HeyRarityRarityRarity."

Rarity looked down to see Belle pointing up. She looked up.

The metal eagle was as big as a house.

"What is that?" Rarity breathed. Belle shook her head.

Scoots and Bloom saw it. They jumped up and down on the bench screaming, "Woah! Woah! Woah! Look up! Look up!"

Ponies started to look up. Conversation became exclamation, "It’s so big!"; "Is it a bird!?"; "Will it hit us!?" The volume rose as the eagle dived toward them. It was as big as the whole farm.

Rainbow Dash gave a shout and flew up to meet it. Scootaloo laughed. Applebloom cried. Sweetie Belle watched.

Twilight leapt onto the table and yelled, "Every unicorn needs to work together to push up the bird!"

The bird’s shadow engulfed them. Screaming foals, glowing horns. The metal eagle passed over them like the sky falling. The sun came out. The sky fell CRASHSNAP! The ground tremored, dishes danced on the table.

The eagle had landed.

The ponies trod over a mat of kernels and stalks. The popping cornfield was smithereens. They followed a great gash in the earth. The hedgerow had been crushed into underbrush. Iridescent leaves tumbled through the air.

Fluttershy trotted up beside an orange earth pony. "Are you okay Applejack?" she asked her.

Applejack looked around. She huffed. "Popcorn’s only an annual, Shy." AJ stopped and hugged her friend, "what matters is nopony got hurt."

"Hey!" called Dash from on high, "the bird’s hurt! It snapped its wing in half!" Ponies gasped and broke into gallops.

The mirror butterflies were in disarray. The metal eagle had skidded to a stop in wildflower plains. It lay at an angle, one of its wings jutting up into the sky.

Rarity stood back and took in the spectacle. "Uh, mares!?" she called out to the others, "Are we sure we have enough healing potion!?"

From somewhere behind the eagle’s body Fluttershy cried, "I can’t find its mouth!"

Pinkie screamed, "Suppository!"

A knot of ponies chattered worriedly at the site of the break. The eagle’s wing was hollow. Twilight stuck her head inside. Smooth rope hung severed. Darkness stretched off.

Applejack cringed. "Twilight, you might be hurtin’ it."

Twilight spoke into the cavernous space, "I don’t think it’s alive-" Alive I don’t think its alive don’t think its alive alive I don’t thi…

On the other side of the bird the fillies were giggling. They were pulling faces at their warped reflections in a shiny black lens. The eagle’s belly was covered in them.

Twilight ran her hoof over the wing’s surface. It was a blue gridwork as smooth as glass, and yet it was warm to touch. Big fans were set at intervals along the wing’s leading edge.

"Excuse me, um, Twilight?"

"Huh?" Twilight turned around. Fluttershy was peeking out at her from behind her mane. The unicorn frowned and asked, "Are you okay Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy glanced back toward the break in the hedgerow. She leaned in close and whispered, "Those bushes are watching us."

Twilight saw them. Three dull shrubs amongst the glittering underbrush. "Uh, well, maybe they’re just shy," the unicorn suggested.

The bushes stood up and started walking towards them.

"Oh," went Twilight, "Um, uh-"

"NEW PONIES!" shrieked Pinkie Pie as she dashed to meet the bushes.

"Pinkie slow down!" shouted Twilight as she raced to catch up. The bushes raised black instruments. Rainbow Dash shot overhead.

Pie leapt screaming and tackled a bush. They both fell back onto the wildflowers. "Hi my name’s Pinkie Pie what’s yours!?" The pink mare grinned down at big small eyes.

The three bushes barked nonsense at each other. One of them stuck the mouthpiece of its instrument in Pie’s face. She blew into it as hard as she could but she couldn’t produce a note.

"Hey!" yelled Dash as she landed, "Is that your super huge bird!? It nearly squashed us!"

"Wait!" Twilight ran up panting, "We need to be civil Rainbow-Oh wow you’re really tall!" A bush loomed over her.

"Hello aliens, my name is Sweetie Belle," Squeaked a little unicorn.

"Aliens?" Twilight spluttered, "They’re not-What?-"

"My name is Applebloom!"

Scoots hugged one of the bush’s legs and chirped, “I’m Scootaloo!" The bush looked down at her. She smiled up at it. The bush lowered its instrument and petted the little pony. Scoots hummed happily.

"I like aliens!" Bloom announced.

"Yeah!" Belle seconded.

"Me too!" Pie agreed. She giggled as her alien rolled her off itself. It stood up and the three of them rumbled gibberish amongst themselves. One of them gestured at Sweetie Belle.

Twilight stepped forward and cleared her throat. The bushes turned and looked at her. The purple unicorn pointed at herself and stated, "Twilight Sparkle." She pointed at an alien.

A moment passed before the alien made a noise of epiphany. It pointed a claw at itself and grumbled, "Adam Field"

Twilight did a happy tappy little dance and cried out, "Adee Feel!" she turned to her friends and twittered, "This one’s name is Adee Feel!"

"Adee."; "Adee Feel?" The sounds felt strange in their mouths. For some reason the other two aliens were laughing.

All the rest of the ponies were gathering around, babbling excitedly. Foals shouted questions and poked the alien’s funny long feet.

"Well hi there Adee Feel, my name’s applejack!" the earth pony shook Adee’s paw enthusiastically. "All us here are havin’ a midsummer meetup and if you and your friends wanna join us we’d be right happy to have ya’ll with us!"

Everypony cheered for that. Immediately there was a procession of introductions. The other two bush’s names were Mart Fisher and Atray Fasskezz.

Rarity asked Fasskezz, "Shall you be playing for us Atray?" and reached to touch his instrument. Atray pulled it up out of her reach. "Oh."

"Atray and the bush band!" screamed Pinkie Pie, "Celebrity musicians from outer Space!" the foals were all laughing and clopping their hooves, "Fries up!" The pink mare bounded off over the smashed popcorn field. The little ones raced after her. Everypony else followed.

Twilight Sparkle gestured for the three aliens to come along.

Adee jibbered to the others and shrugged.

Atray disagreed. He produced a stalked brick from out of his leaves and whacked it against his paw. He jabbed a talon toward the metal eagle.

Feel pointed at Twilight and asked a rhetorical question.

Mart stepped in. He turned and made a wide gesture encompassing the wildflower plains. He extrapolated in baritone, pointing after the ponies.

Atray checked his wrist and acquiesced. Adee motioned for Sparkle to lead the way.

Ca-plonkssssss. Mart watched the slab of sweet potato sink beneath the bubbling oil. AJ was grating pink rock salt over the steaming vat. Foals were given herbs picked from the garden. They threw sprigs up into the air and it showered down like confetti.

Fisher knelt and was attacked with fluffy cuddles. He blew somepony’s mane out of his mouth and studied the fryer’s gems. A latticework of rubies glowed with an inner fire. An emerald flashed and the red stones went dull.

Mart scribbled notes with a blunt pen that didn’t need a blotter. Twilight watched entranced as swirls of ink dried instantaneously onto the parchment.

Atray went from table to table handing out lollipops. Rainbow Dash took one and sucked on it. She frowned and tugged on the alien’s foliage. "What the hay? This tastes like nothing!" Fasskezz looked down at her for a moment. He snatched back Dash’s lollipop. "What the buck!?" she squeaked. Atray dropped it into a vial with a lid that corkscrewed on. He jotted something on the label and walked off. "Well I didn’t want your stupid candy anyway!" Rainbow Dash yelled after him.

"I dunno," Pinkie chirped around her lollipop, "I think it tastes pretty good."

Adee was busy taking samples. "Mmmm," he moaned, and ladled up another spoonful of chocolate moose. A mare looked very pleased with herself. The next dish was slid in front of the alien. The fillies giggled at Feel as he tried to speak through a mouthful of pancakes and brandy butter. He stuck up his back claw and nodded. A strawberry tart was offered. Adee made a wait, wait, gesture with his paw, inhaled a lamington, and pointed at Sweetie Belle.

The little unicorn did her best to sit still as Adee drew a picture of her. Scoots and Bloom peeked over the alien’s shoulders. Feel looked funny cramped onto the pony sized bench. Belle tried not to snicker.

Applejack came a’ hollering, "Friiies up!"

A goldenbrown flagstone was lowered onto the tabletop. Everypony crammed together on the benches and bubbled with anticipation.

"Here ya’ go Sweetie B," AJ handed Belle a wooden mallet, "your spud, your smash!"

The filly brought the hammer up high with a gleam in her eye. She swung it down crying, "heeeya!" and the slab cracked! With an eruption of savoury steam.

Clipclopclipclop, "Yay!"; "Yeah!" everypony cheered even as the free for all began.

The little foals sprung their ambush. They popped up from under the table in a flash and pulled down crispy chunks. The unicorns snapped up loose fragments with their telekinesis. Twilight cackled as she sniped their fries out of the air.

The aliens were caught in the crossfire. They ducked as pegasi strafed the table and snatched what they could. Earth ponies wrestled each other out of the way. The fillies squealed and laughed as they chased after the chips.

AJ and Pie were grappling over the crown piece. Adee stood up. He was a mountain amongst the melee. Fisher and Fasskezz motioned at him to stop!, stop!

The mountain grinned. He reached down with long forelegs and tore away the sweet potato crown.

The mares were aghast.

"The alien’s got the crown!" somepony shouted, and Feel ran screaming as the fluffy horde descended upon him.

Mart put his head in his paws and smiled.

Atray checked his wrist. He scanned his surroundings. On the other side of the back garden a yellow pegasus was looking after all the littlest of little foals.

Fluttershy cooed at the newborn she had cradled in her forelegs. It peeped at her. A shadow fell over them. The pegasus looked up. "Oh, hello um, Atray… Fezzkass?" she whispered. André Vásquez nodded. He squatted down and pointed at one of her wings. "Oh,” Shy breathed, and unfurled it. The alien studied her feathers, felt out her bones, and wrote things down in a pocket book.

Fluttershy slowly relaxed. She felt like she was getting a massage.Shy watched the hands on Fezzkass’s timepiece tick ‘round and around and around. The newborn peeped at Atray. He gently booped it on the nose. The newborn sniffled and smiled.

There was another, “Friiies up!” and another, and another after that. Ponies were crashing. They law sprawled out in piles on the grass.

Mart caught Applejack between rounds. She was huffing and puffing and grinning. He pointed at her and then at the house, a question. AJ puzzled it out.

She showed Fisher around her home. He had to duck through all the doorways. The tour got hung up in the kitchen. The big bush had become preoccupied with her kettle. He held it up and marvelled at its ruby baseplate. Applejack coughed to mask her laughing.

Mart looked down at her and gestured between himself and the household appliance. "Oh, sure," AJ cringed a little as she said, "you can have it."

The shadows were growing long. Rainbow Dash sat in the shade of a rose bed. She breathed the evening’s coolness. Dash felt pleasantly spent from chasing Adee around the farm, so she didn’t really mind that he was peering into her mouth and drawing her teeth.

Feel caught her eyes. He was smiling. She smiled back. Adee put down his sketchbook. He ran his paws through her rainbow mane. Dash got all her energy back.

"Okay everypony!" Twilight waved a camera in the air, "who wants to be in this year’s picture!?"

Everypony did. They all squashed together to fit into the frame, youngest at the front, aliens at the back. "What’s the word!?" they yelled, "What’s the word!?" they chattered.

Pie shouted over the din, "The word’s aliens!" Ponies whooped and laughed.

Twilight floated the camera up in front of them all and went, "Sayyyy aliens!"

"ALIENS!"

The camera’s opal flashed with a poof and a puff of smoke. Everypony cheered and embraced.

And then it was time to say goodbye. The back garden murmured with farewells hushed and heartfelt. Close knit groups cuddled and cried.

Twilight went around hoofing out color polaroids and soft words. She cantered up to her newest friends. "Hi Adee, hi Atray, hi mart." The three of them were collapsed on a bench. They looked at her wearily, all hugged out. Sparkle held out the stack of photos, "Do you want your copies?" she sang.

They each took one and looked at it.

Feel smiled sadly.

Fasskezz was somewhere else.

Fisher was hungry.

Twilight frowned. "Are you… Do you like it?" she asked.

Mart smiled and nodded. He pulled out the blunt pen. The purple unicorn eyed it. Fisher waggled the pen at her as he pointed at the camera hanging from her neck.

Twilight’s face lit up. "Do you want to trade?"

Mart smiled and nodded. They traded. Adee looked guilty.

Fisher stood up, magic kettle in his paw, magic camera around his neck. He rumbled something to the other two. They got up and stretched.

Sparkle looked up from her new ballpoint and asked them, "Are you leaving?"

Mart waved at her.

"Ohjustwaitaminute," Twilight blurted, "I’ll get the others." She raced off.

The three aliens just waited there for a minute. Atray tilted his copy of the picture toward Feel and Fisher. He asked them what it meant for the future. Neither of them had an answer.

A rainbow bamslammed into Adee. "Nopleasedon’tgoIdon’twantyoutogo!" cried Dash. Feel held onto the mare and stroked her mane.

The fillies scampered between their legs going, "Goodbye!"; "Bye aliens!"; "IloveyouIloveyou!"

"Atray!" Pinkie bounced up, sulking, "I wanted to hear your bush band play!-HA! That rhymes!" The pink mare jumped onto Mart. He stumbled, but this time he didn’t fall.

Applejack tipped her stetson at them. "Well, maybe ya’ll’ll play for us next year."

"Or tomorrow!" Pie shouted.

"Or tomorrow," AJ echoed, "ya’ll’re welcome back any time-"

"Any time!" Pinkie interjected. The fillies giggled.

"-it was a real treat havin’ you with us," Applejack finished, and smiled.

"And the shrub suits are definitely a look," Rarity added, smirking.

Atray fiddled with his wrist. He knelt down in front of Fluttershy and presented the timepiece to her.

Shy could see herself

in the glass.

Rarity sighed beside her. "Oh its so beautiful."

"That’s a small clock," pointed out Sparkle.

Fasskezz pressed it into Fluttershy’s hoof and gave her a hug. A weight lifted as Shy whispered, "Thankyou."

Adee tore a page out of his sketchbook and hoofed it to Rainbow Dash. She gaped at it. Feel had drawn a portrait of her, impossibly pretty, roses in her hair. Dash tried to kiss him bonk. Adee rubbed his nose.

Pinkie Pie fell down laughing.

"What!?"; "What happened!?" squeaked the fillies.

"N-Nothing," Rarity snickered.

Rainbow Dash was bereft until Feel pecked her on the lips. The fillies squealed and giggled. Dash kissed him back. He kissed her back.

Mart grabbed a hold of Adee’s shoulder. Feel grinned at him and made a joke. Fasskezz guffawed. The ponies joined in.

"What’re we laughin’ at?" AJ asked.

"I don’t know!" Pie replied.

Fisher waved at them all and started off. Atray gave Shy a pat on the head and followed. Adee and Dash looked at each other. They both recognised something.

She knew that she would see him again.

"Oh, yeahgoodbye," Twilight said distractedly. She’d gotten the pen’s casing off and was analysing its ink tube.

"Bye!"; "Bub-bye!" everypony farewelled. They watched their alien friends traipse back toward the break in the hedgerow. Adee, Atray and Mart waved them all one final goodbye before they stepped out of sight.

The ponies were silent for a moment. Pie turned to Dash and asked, "So when do you need the wedding cake by?"

Dash grinned through the laughter.

Applejack woke up before dawn. She had a breakfast of hay and black coffee. She stepped out into the new-morning chill. Something gleamed at her hooves. She looked down. There was a gold ingot on her doorstep. Lain atop it was a drawing of three bushes hugging an orange earth pony.

AJ went to the breach in the hedgerow and peered out over the wildflower plains.

The metal eagle was gone.

She looked above the sunrise.

And smiled.