Post-Reception Stories

Chapters

Being Brave
Scootaloo's Flight School
Muffins
New Beginnings
The Perfect Pie
A Prince Charming of a Different Sorts
Opening

Being Brave

Fluttershy took a deep breath and stared at herself in the mirror. Today was the day. There was no more putting it off. Today was the day she walked out that door and said thank you. Today was the day she continued to be brave.

She exhaled loudly and double checked that her mane was in good condition. She made sure that all of the salad she had eaten for lunch was out of her teeth. She triple checked that her new horseshoes were clean.

She glanced over at Angel, who was staring at her impatiently.

"You know, maybe tomorrow is a better—"

Angel glared at her and shook his head vigorously. He was right. No more putting it off. Today was the day that she walked over to Sweet Apple Acres and thanked Big Mac for saving her when she fell off the cliff.

It was something that had been bothering her ever since the end of the war. She felt she hadn't been gracious enough once he had pulled her out of the river. Though really, how could she have been at the time? They were under attack, they had a nation to save. And now, she felt if she put it off any longer, not only would the guilt drive her insane, but it would just be so inappropriate to bring it up further down the road.

She hadn't had the time to do it during the first week after the war. She had been busy finding all of the animals, coaxing them out of their hideouts, telling them it was ok, the terrible changelings were gone. She volunteered at the hospital to help severely injured ponies who were having a hard time of coming out of the cocoons. She had just been too busy to see Big Mac that first week.

The second week was the week of the community mourning ceremony. It would have been inappropriate to talk to him then, when she and the whole town were mourning those who were lost, one of which was his dear grandmother. It was just too sad of a time to give thanks.

The third week was when construction had begun on repairing the town. Fluttershy herself had to fix a few major points in her cottage, some of which she still hadn't managed to finish—thankfully she didn't really need the stairs anyways, since she could fly... but it would be nice if she could fix them down the road—and her chicken coop had been completely destroyed somehow. Right now all of the chickens were sectioned off in her dining room.

She also knew that during the beginning of the third week, the Apple family had provided a personal, small funeral for Granny Smith themselves, in their backyard. Big Mac and Applejack had already buried her in her favorite little garden spot, but still hadn't had the time to say good-bye properly. Fluttershy and the rest of her friends had attended, as well as some other close friends of Applejack and some family members who had traveled out. Granny Smith had been a well loved old mare.

And then he needed another week to mourn and just collect his thoughts right? Big Mac and his family were busy rebuilding their farm and home. They had decided to completely start from the scratch with the house, since it had been so badly damaged, and that took a lot of work, effort and time. Fluttershy couldn't take him away from that, especially now when he was the official head of the family.

But enough was enough. It had been a whole month now since Chrysalis had been defeated, since he had dove off of that cliff to rescue her. Sure, he may not have exactly dove off of the cliff, as so much fell, but it was thought that had counted. He came over to rescue her. And he succeeded.

Fluttershy took a few more deep breaths and gave herself a few more internal pep-talks, and then finally headed for the door. She picked up the little envelope she had sitting neatly on the table by her front door, and slipped it into her saddlebag.

"Wish me luck, Angel," she said. Angel just rolled his eyes and gestured for her to leave. One more deep breath and she was out the door.

It was a beautiful, bright sunny day. Fluttershy smiled to herself as she left her cottage behind and crossed the little bridge that led up to it. The birds sang and chirped. She waved at ponies as she passed through town. Many were busy repairing their shops, some already completely fixed and selling products again. A soup stand was set up for those who still needed help for food.

As she got closer and closer to Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy's heart began to beat faster and faster. She could hear hammers and saws as she slowed and began to approach the property. There was the tinkling laughter of Apple Bloom somewhere in the distance, and the sound of a prominent Bronx accent.

Applejack was off to the side bucking apples from trees that hadn't suffered from the changelings. She smiled when she saw Fluttershy and waved at her. Fluttershy waved as well. As Applejack began to approach her, Fluttershy could see Big Mac further off, hammering on a piece of the porch of the new house. Her heart began to flutter.

"Hey there, Fluttershy! What brings you here?" Applejack asked cheerfully.

"Oh, hi Applejack," Fluttershy said, her eyes darting between Applejack and Big Mac, her heart rate picking up. "I, just... I was just... um... in the neighbourhood and..."

Big Mac stopped hammering and wiped his forehead. He turned and saw Fluttershy, and waved kindly. Fluttershy felt her cheeks grow red. Applejack looked glanced behind her towards her brother and then back to Fluttershy.

Oh no. She knows. She knows why I'm here.

Fluttershy had never admitted it to anypony—she had barely even admitted it to herself—that she had a bit of a crush on Big Mac. Really, what mare wouldn't? He was kind and strong, responsible and extremely friendly and helpful. And ever since he had saved her, her feelings had just escalated. Sometimes she felt they were getting out of control.

"You ok, Fluttershy?" Applejack asked cautiously, breaking Fluttershy from her thoughts.

"Oh, yes, um, of course," Fluttershy said. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm actually here to talk to Big McIntosh."

"Oh, well that's just dandy," Applejack said, "You want him to help you rebuild your chicken coop? I remember you sayin' somethin' about it last time we saw each other. I'm sure he wouldn't mind at all! Just go on over and talk to him, he don't bite."

Either Applejack hadn't seen Fluttershy's cheeks turn bright red, or she was the kindest friend in the world for not pointing it out and questioning it.

Fluttershy gave Applejack a shaky smile and inhaled loudly. She then slowly turned and made her way to the house. She hoped he wouldn't notice the way she was shaking, or the way that her wings were twitching. What if the breeze on the way over had messed up her mane? Or if one of her new shoes had gotten scuffed?

Now I'm just thinking like Rarity, Fluttershy thought, Though she does have good reason to worry, in these types of scenarios.

Big Mac had gone back to hammering in pieces of the new porch. Fluttershy quietly approached him. He didn't hear her come up. She cleared her throat quietly, and was surprised when he stopped and turned around. Usually nopony every heard her when she tried to get their attention, at least not on the first try!

She felt herself go still. Her heart seemed to stop and her brain seemed to cease working. Her mouth opened, but all that came out was a barely audible squeak.

"Hi Fluttershy," Big Mac said, after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"H-Hi," Fluttershy stuttered, "Big McIntosh."

"What brings you to the farm today?" he asked kindly.

This was it. This was the part she had been putting off for so long. All of the small talk leading up to the thanks she had been working on was ruined. He had just jumped right to the climax.

Be brave, said the voice in her head. She had changed the voice in her head to Twilight's voice, since it unnerved her still that it was Discord in the end who had saved them. It had all been a joke to him.

"I-I-I," Fluttershy said, stuttering terribly. She stopped, closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. "I came by to say thank you."

Big Mac blinked, a look of slight confusion on his face.

"For what?" he asked after a moment.

"For saving me from the river, the day I fell off of the bridge. When my wing was broken," Fluttershy said quietly. She tried her hardest to keep eye contact with him. He had told her not to be so shy and she was trying her hardest. If another shy pony said you were shy, you were shy.

"Oh," he said, laughing slightly, "There's no need to thank me, Fluttershy. But you're welcome."

"Oh, but I do want to thank you. It's just... it's just been on my mind a lot lately, and I just really felt like I needed to thank you properly. You saved my life," Fluttershy said, "Without you, I probably would have drowned. I'm not a very strong swimmer."

Big Mac just stared at her. It was making her feel uncomfortable and she broke eye contact. The hardest part was coming up. She was about to do something she had never done before. She wasn't sure why she had decided to tackle a huge chunk of bravery all at once, but now that she was here, she was going to go through with it.

"A-Anyways," she said, as she reached into her saddle bag and pulled out the envelope, "I wanted to t-thank you by inviting you t-to a play. It's in the next town over, and despite everything that happened in Equestria, they're still putting it on. I guess they're doing it to move things back to normal. They put on a play every year, and it always has to do something about nature and the environment, and it's one of the things I look forward to for most of the year. It's set outdoors, and there are tables and they provide appetizers and d-drinks. I-I have a ticket here, i-if you're interested."

Big Mac didn't say anything. He looked down at the envelope and then back at Fluttershy. Had she spoken too fast? She knew she had sped up rapidly after saying she was inviting him somewhere. She had just essentially asked him out and now she felt like she was completely exposed, like he could look inside her, see her feelings for him. Like she was raw and open. It was the most terrifying feeling in the world, possibly worse than the changelings.

Why isn't he saying anything? He doesn't want to go. He's not interested. He just doesn't know how to put me down politely. I can't believe this.

Big Mac opened his mouth to say something, when Applejack called him from afar. He looked over Fluttershy's shoulder and Fluttershy turned as well. She could see Applejack in the distance, talking to a yellow unicorn with a red mane. Applejack was gesturing for Big Mac to come over.

Fluttershy turned back to Big Mac. He had a slight frown on his face, his gaze still over at his sister.

"Y-you know what, I'll just leave this here for you and you can think about it later," Fluttershy said quickly, her heart beating. She willed herself not to cry in front of him. He had rejected her. "I-It's for two nights for now, so, you know, just... just t-think about it and I-I-I-I'll see you there maybe."

She dropped the envelope, jumped into the air and began to fly away before he could respond. Her voice had cracked and she had begun to cry in front of him. And she cried all the way home.

Two days later, Fluttershy was getting ready to head out to the play. She tried not to think about whether or not Big Mac would show up. It was an event that she had enjoyed by herself for the past couple of years and there was no reason that she couldn't enjoy it alone this time.

She braided her long mane and then twisted it up on her head. She pinned a flower in it and tried to smile at herself in the mirror. She had gone to the spa earlier with Rarity, and her coat was shiny and clean, and she donned her new shoes again. She wrapped a small, pretty pink cape around her shoulders and left her cottage early for the play. She liked to browse the shops in the nearby town while they were still open (provided that any were repaired enough to be open at the time).

Usually she walked to the town, which took an hour, but today she flew. Having her wing broken reminded her just how much her wings were a part of her body, and she started to feel guilty that she didn't use them often enough. Nowadays she tried to fly more often.

As the sun began to set, she made her way to the makeshift little theatre that the town had set up. As the usher began to show her to her table, she stopped in her tracks and her heart rate picked up. Sitting at her table, a bouquet of flowers place on top, was a red stallion.

Big Mac stood from the table as he saw Fluttershy approaching. He wasn't dressed fancy, but his mane was combed back and he didn't have his yoke on. Fluttershy thought she saw his cheeks redden as she got closer, but it was hard to tell.

"Y-you came," Fluttershy stuttered.

"Eeeyup," he responded.

"Y-you wanted to come to the play with me?" she asked, still in disbelief.

"Eeeyup," he said.

"You... you weren't rejecting me?"

"Nope," he said, "I'm sorry for not respondin' to you right away. Applejack had some sudden business come up and needed my attention. I went by your cottage earlier today to see if you wanted to walk over together, but you had already left."

"You came over? To... to pick me up?" Fluttershy asked, as she sat at the table.

"Isn't that what you do on a date?" he asked.

Fluttershy felt her cheeks, if not her whole body, turn bright red. She smiled at Big Mac, a big, genuine smile, not her usual shy one.

"Eeeyup," she said.

Scootaloo's Flight School

"It's finally ready," Rainbow Dash said, as she stepped back, a smile on her face. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and stared at her accomplishment. Finally, it was done.

It was two months after the changeling war. Two months after rebuilding Ponyville and Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash had helped in both aspects. Her house had amazingly been relatively untouched. She only spent a day on her own house for repairs, and spent the rest of her time elsewhere, helping any other pony she could.

During the second week there was a community burials. Rainbow Dash had attended both Ponyville's and Cloudsdale. Because the fight against the changelings had been kept alive the longest in Cloudsdale, there were more names on the Cloudsdale monolith. Fluttershy had gone to the Cloudsdale memorial as well.

But also near the end of that second week, there had been another burial Rainbow Dash had gone to. Granny Smith's funeral happened a few days after this one. But this one, this first personal burial Rainbow Dash had attended in her list of burials, was for a small filly. A feisty blank flank pegasus who looked up to Rainbow Dash dearly. A small filly, who when knocked out a window at Canterlot. couldn't fly to save herself, because her wings didn't work properly.

Scootaloo's funeral had been small and intimate. Her parents and some extended family had attended. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo's best friends, and their older sisters Applejack and Rarity had come along to pay their respects. The rest of the Mane 6 came as well. Cheerilee and some classmates. Some Cloudsdale fillies who were pen pals with the Ponyville pegasus. The mayor, who tried to be at every personal funeral for all of the Ponyville citizens, was there as well.

Rainbow Dash has been quiet throughout the entire ceremony. Her friends, aside from Rarity and Applejack, who had been busy consoling their sisters, kept glancing over at Rainbow Dash, as though they were waiting for a reaction. A reaction like she had given in Zecora's hut, when she first heard of the filly's death.

But Rainbow Dash remained quiet and poised. She wasn't good at dealing with emotions, so she usually just tucked them away, into a place where they wouldn't hurt her. She put up a wall and paid her respects quietly.

After the funeral, Rarity had invited everyone over to her place for some tea and coffee. Rainbow Dash politely declined, stating she wanted to be on her own.

She flew home and lay in bed. And then she cried.

Rainbow Dash was an only child. Her parents traveled the world frequently, so she rarely saw them (though she had received a letter that they were ok. They were out of Equestria at the time of the attack, and were coming home as soon as they could to see her). Scootaloo had been like an adopted sister to her. They were closer together than ponies realized. There were many times when Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle planned events with their big sisters, and Applejack would always tell Rainbow Dash to tag along and be Scootaloo's partner. And every time, Scootaloo was always happy and excited to see her. Always eager and hanging on her every word.

And now, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel as though she had taken Scootaloo's company and charm for granted. Because the way Rainbow Dash worshipped the Wonderbolts, was just like how Scootaloo worshipped Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash wondered if the Wonderbolts would miss Rainbow Dash if she had died.

Rainbow Dash paused on that thought for a moment. When at the victory feast in Canterlot, Rainbow Dash had asked about the Wonderbolts. Since the battle had only really been two long days, she hadn't really thought of them, since there was so much going on. Plus, she figured if they were around, they would have made themselves known and helped in the battle. Celestia said that the Wonderbolts had been trapped in special cocoons like Cadance had, and they had been stored in the caves underground the palace. Since the caves were so big, and they had been looking for an entrance into the palace at the time, Rainbow Dash and her friends hadn't seen them when they were down there.

If anything had ever happened to the Wonderbolts, there would always be the Wonderbolt Academy to remember them by.

"I wish there was something I could do, so that Scootaloo would be remembered," Rainbow Dash had thought with a heavy sigh. She never knew that the filly couldn't fly. She had suspected it, because she had never seen Scootaloo fly, and she was at the age when pegasi first started to learn, but she had never asked the filly about it. She wondered how many other little filly and colt pegasi couldn't fly.

And that was when the idea hit her. The same night as Scootaloo's funeral. As the idea began to formulate in her mind, Rainbow Dash had jumped out of bed, grabbed a pen and piece of paper, and had begun to plan out her idea.

With the destruction done to Ponyville, there had been some houses and shops that could not be restored, that had to be redone from scratch. All of these plans had to be approved of by the mayor. Four days after Scootaloo's funeral (Granny Smith's funeral had been in between), Rainbow Dash waited in line with other ponies with building plans. When it was her turn with the mayor, she excitedly told her about her plans and held her breath as she waited for a response.

The mayor had slowly smiled and handed back Rainbow Dash's plans as she said, "I think it's a wonderful idea. The foals could use something to look forward to. This will be a lot of fun for them."

Rainbow Dash had then enlisted the help of her friends. She knew all of them still had to repair their own houses, but they all agreed that they would help when they had the chance.

"This is the spot," Rainbow Dash proudly showed them a week after her idea had formulated. It was a well sized plot of land not too far from the schoolhouse. Trees separated the two buildings, and Rainbow Dash had enough room on her plot for both a small building and a medium size play field.

Three weeks after Scootaloo's funeral, Rainbow Dash began handing out fliers to all of the houses that had foals. Twilight had made up the flyers and Rainbow Dash couldn't have been happier with them. They read:

SCOOTALOO'S FLIGHT SCHOOL

A RECREATIONAL CLUB FOR ANY FILLY OR COLT WHO WISHES TO LEARN HOW TO FLY. ALL TYPES OF PONIES WELCOME! UNICORN, EARTH AND PEGASUS!

OPENS IN 5 WEEKS. TWO TIME SLOTS AVAILABLE.

PLEASE FILL OUT THE FOLLOWING FORM TO ENROLE, AND SEND IT TO RAINBOWDASH AT THE

FOLLOWING ADDRESS

The flyers were bright orange and purple, and each had a logo by the name of the school depicting the head of Scootaloo.

Within a few days, all of the time slots were full and Rainbow Dash's mail had been overloaded. With Twilight's help again, she carefully organized all of the filled out forms and then brought a stack of them to Rarity's boutique. Much like Rainbow Dash had seen Scootaloo and her friends sport CMC capes, she wanted her students to have something of the same. And so Rarity had agreed to make capes for her school. The caps too were Orange on the outside and lined on the inside with purple. Scootaloo's colors. On the sides of the capes that were for unicorns or earth foals, there were pinned on wings. For pegasus foals, there were holes so their wings could fit through.

From then, there was just the matter of building the building and getting other various equipment. Applejack and Big Mac were the biggest help when it came to raising the walls of the small school Rainbow Dash had planned out. She had then done most of the interior building herself, since Applejack and Big Mac still had an entire farm to rebuild. Though about a month after the changeling war, Applejack explained how they now had additional hands at the farm, and so she showed up to help more often during the last few weeks of the building.

And now, finally, two months later, the entire project was done. Rainbow Dash admired her work, gave a nod of her head and then flew home. Tomorrow was the first day of flight school, and she wanted to make sure she was ready for it.

The next day, Rainbow Dash got up bright and early. She had a big breakfast and then flew to the school. Her friends met her there shortly after.

Twilight had all of the papers and had created an attendance list for Rainbow Dash.

"This is your official clipboard and everything," Twilight said, as she handed it to Rainbow Dash proudly.

Applejack and Fluttershy had each brought trays of snacks. Rarity came bearing boxes of capes.

"I even had time to make some of these," she said proudly. She pulled out a set of small goggles. "There's enough for each student, plus a few extras, just as there are extra capes."

"These are awesome Rarity! What a great idea!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Don't thank me; it was Sweetie Belle's idea. She was my model for the capes, and she said that goggles would be cool," Rarity said.

Pinkie Pie showed up last with a bunch of random supplies. Blinkie and Inkie helped her carry everything over. They had a box of helmets, a box of big balloons, and a wagon of baskets. The sisters then began an assembly line, putting together the small, mini hot-air balloons.

"This is going to be so good Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said with excitement, "I'm so proud of you for doing this!"

"When is the other pegasus getting here?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, it's on a volunteer basis. But I think Derpy is coming by today," Rainbow Dash said. She figured that with twenty foals in each class, she should have at least three adult pegasi to supervise the class. Fluttershy had volunteered her time for every class that was on Saturdays. Rainbow Dash had received an overwhelming amount of volunteers who said they wanted to help. There was another schedule in Twilight's organized folder that showed with volunteers were coming on which day.

After an hour or so of setting up, Derpy arrived and so did the first of the foals. Rainbow Dash sat at the welcome table inside the small schoolhouse she had built, and checked of each foal as they came. She wanted to really get to know them. She wanted to learn all of their names. Fluttershy and Derpy were handing out the capes. Applejack and Pinkie Pie (who had also brought a load of cupcakes) were supervising the snack tables.

The schoolhouse had a small foyer, were foals could leave their coats or other accessories, and were Rainbow Dash had set up the welcome table. The school room itself was quite small, with pillows on the floors for the foals to sit on. She didn't expect to use the schoolhouse very often, but figured it might come in handy on rainy or bad weather days.

Finally, when all of the signed up foals for the day had arrived, Rainbow Dash went into the schoolroom and began writing on the board.

"I'd like to start off our first lesson by telling you about a special filly," Rainbow Dash said, "The filly that this school is named after. Many of you might know already who she was. Her name was Scootaloo. She was a pegasus filly. And she died in Canterlot during the changeling war."

Rainbow Dash stopped for a moment, her voice catching slightly in her throat. She continued on.

"Even though she was a pegasus, Scootaloo couldn't fly. And so now, today, I am here to teach all of you to fly. It was Scootaloo's dream to fly. And we're going to keep her dream, and spirit, alive," Rainbow Dash said.

The group of foals hoof stomped and cheered. Rainbow Dash then led the group outside, where Fluttershy and Derpy were waiting. They began handing out the goggles.

A small obstacle course had been set up, both on the ground and in the sky.

"Now, the first key to being a good flyer, is being a good jumper. Jumping is the first step of flying. And everypony can jump!" Rainbow Dash said. She did a little jump in the air, and the foals copied her. She jumped higher and so did they.

"That second that you're in the air, before you fall back down when you jump, that's flying. Just because some of you may not have wings, doesn't mean you can't fly. Because sometimes, even with wings, some ponies can't fly," Rainbow Dash said.

She continued to jump around with the foals, and then began to show them the ground obstacle course. Sometimes she would help lift up the unicorn or earth ponies, and pretend that they were flying over the obstacle beams. Fluttershy and Derpy flew with the pegasus foals through the air course.

Near the end of the lesson, Rainbow Dash led the group around to the back of the schoolhouse, where the small air balloons were waiting. The foals got all excited and began whispering happily. Fluttershy and Derpy handed out helmets to the foals. There were two stationary, big air balloons, for unicorn and earth foals who wanted to go in the air, but were nervous about zooming around. There were about a dozen or so mini air balloons for individual or group pairings. The balloons were all strung together in a line of four. At the end of each row, there was a harness for one of the adult pegasi.

As Fluttershy and Derpy harnessed themselves into their air balloon strings and began to fly around at a moderate speed, the foals in the air balloons behind them or pegasus foals beside them cheering with delight, Rainbow Dash stood back and smiled. Her school was a success. She glanced back at the schoolhouse, her eyes on Scootaloo's name hung over the entrance.

"Come on Rainbow Dash! Let's go fly!" said an earth colt in the front balloon, a big smile on his face.

"You got it," Rainbow Dash said.

And as she flew in the air, the balloons trailing behind her, she knew that Scootaloo's spirit was flying with her.

Muffins

Derpy stood at her kitchen counter, her face twisted in concentration. Various ingredients were strewn across the countertop, and flour was everywhere. In her mane, on her wings, on the floor, on the walls. A recipe book was propped up against the wall, the spine of the book practically broken, the pages overly creased. She vigorously rolled the dough out, the rolling pin between her hooves, and then knead the dough back together as the book instructed. She thought it was sort of pointless to roll it out first, but she did as the book told her so.

Freshly baked muffins covered every other surface of the kitchen. The smell filled the room and Derpy stopped, and took in a big breath. She then put the rolling pin down and stared out the window towards the rising sun.

Three months had gone by since the changeling war had ended. Ponyville was mostly rebuilt, as was Cloudsdale. Derpy lived on the outskirts of both towns, somewhere neatly between the two. Derpy herself had preferred living in Ponyville, but her sister, Muffin, liked Cloudsdale better. So they had settled in the house between the two. The house was in a tree, partway in the sky, but close to the ground. Derpy's father had built it, when Muffin was very young, and right before the accident that had caused him to pass away. Then it was just Derpy and Muffin.

Derpy would fly Muffin to school early in the morning everyday, where she would be let in early because of her sister's work schedule. Then Derpy would continue on her day by delivering mail to the citizens of Ponyville, and sometimes Cloudsdale. Then she would fly back, pick up Muffin, and the two would go home together.

But for the past three months, there had been no flying together. No dropping Muffin off at school, no picking her up after. There was no Muffin any more. Derpy was alone.

Muffin's name had been recorded with those missing from Cloudsdale, since that is where she had gone to school. The little filly, though she had originally been in Ponyville the time of the attack, was deemed missing, and therefore, declared dead. Her body never showed up. Nopony had found her. She was just... gone.

A small tear rolled down Derpy's cheek as she thought about it. She was used to being made fun of by other ponies. She was a little slow at times, she knew, and a lot of times she wouldn't understand other ponies' jokes. She was sure many of them were at her expense. Muffin was the one pony who accepted and loved her just the way she was. And now, she was gone.

Although the situation was sad, Derpy tried not to despair. Her sister had been one of the most optimistic, cheerful and friendly fillies she had ever known. And that was something that she had passed onto Derpy, during their time living together. Just the two of them. Many ponies thought that Rainbow Dash was Derpy's biggest hero, but in fact her biggest hero had been Muffin. The little filly that she had been allowed to name.

She remembered being so excited when her mother told Derpy she was going to be a big sister, that she was going to be a role model for some young filly or colt. Derpy was going to be a role model. She had never felt happier.

And now, though the circumstances were grave, a small part of Derpy knew that wherever Muffin was, dead or alive, she was safe and happy, and she was thinking of Derpy. And really, as long as Muffin was happy, so was Derpy.

There was a sudden knock at the door. Derpy moved away from her thoughts and walked towards the door. She pulled it open and smiled.

"Hi Rain-bow Dash! Hi Flut-tershy!" Derpy said.

"Hi Derpy! We're here to help bake and bring muffins to Scootaloo's Flight School," Rainbow Dash said with a smile. Derpy stepped back and let her new friends enter. Muffin may be gone, but the happy feeling she always emitted was left behind. And that is what Derpy needed most.

Derpy led the two pegasi into the kitchen. Rainbow Dash began to pack up the already baked muffins, while Fluttershy began to tidy the kitchen. Derpy smiled and walked back to where her dough sat, waiting for her. She picked up the rolling pin and began humming to herself as she rolled out the dough.

Muffins always made her happy.

New Beginnings

The past month had been hard. In some ways, Applejack thought it was even harder than when her parents had passed away. Back then, Applejack had just been a little filly, only a few years younger than Apple Bloom was now. While she understood what death was, there was some part of her that still didn't grasp it quite properly. So for a long time during her life, it just felt like her parents were away on a trip. Apple Bloom had never known them. Big Mac had taken it hard, but had coped well. And as time went on, Granny Smith became their only known parent, the one who was always looking after them. And now she was gone.

There were many ponies suffering from what had happened during the war. Many ponies who had lost lives and lost loved ones. Applejack had seen all of the other tormented, grieving faces at the community funeral. Granny Smith was mentioned among the names. It was even harder for Apple Bloom, who had not only lost her grandmother, the only parent she'd ever known, but one of her best friends as well.

After the community funeral, the Apples had held an intimate funeral of friends and family for Granny Smith. All of Applejack's friends had come, and so did almost all of her relatives from around Equestria. None of the other relatives of the Apple family had suffered, like Granny Smith.

Once the intimate funeral was over, Applejack had wandered around the next few days in a sort of haze. She didn't know what to do or what to say, to anyone about anything. Her heart too much. It was silly, since she had so many friends, and many of her relatives had stuck around to help repair the farm, but Applejack felt so alone.

It had taken her a week to snap back to reality and press on. Big Mac had taken up a lot of the slack in the meantime. He was now head of Sweet Apple Acres, and while he was quiet and shy, he knew his more outgoing younger sister wasn't up to snuff, that she needed time to herself. Big Mac and other relatives rebuilt the barn and the house. By the time Applejack came back to reality, the only thing left was to fix the orchards.

Babs Seed had stayed with them since the funeral. Apple Bloom needed someone to take her mind off of Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle was over almost every day as well. Eventually, as a month since the war began to roll around, most of the extended Apple family had gone back to their homes.

Applejack had greatly appreciated her extended family's help, especially since she had zoned out for a lot of the rebuilding. But part of her wished that they could have stayed. Not just for the familiarity and the company, but because now that they were one pony short, the work on the farm was suddenly overbearing. Sure, Granny Smith hadn't really helped out in the orchards, since her body could no longer bare the consistent hard labour, but she helped out in all other aspects. She did all of the household chores, made all of the meals. And now without her, Applejack began to notice that there were times when she and Big Mac would come into the house after a long day of fixing up the orchard, only to realize that now they had to make dinner. They had to clean the house. Apple Bloom tried to help out as much as she could, but they were also training her for work on the farm.

The main point was that the Apple family needed help. They needed at least one extra pair of hooves around the farm. Even if they did put Apple Bloom on household duties, she was still in school. Applejack toyed with the idea of asking her friends for help, but they wouldn't be able to come every day, especially not with Rainbow Dash starting up a new recreational activity group for the fillies and colts in town. And then strange enough, almost a day to the first month after the short war, help arrived.

Applejack was bucking apples from trees that hadn't suffered from the changelings. There weren't many trees that had survived their wrath, but some of them still had apples growing on them, and once they had planted all of the new tree saplings and seeds, it was time to get down whatever apples they could salvage. Plus zap-apple season was coming up soon and they had to prepare for that.

There was the steady hammering of Big Mac fixing up their new porch on their renovated house. Apple Bloom and Babs Seed were playing a few rows down from Applejack. Something caught Applejack's eye to the left and she was surprised to see Fluttershy approaching the farm.

"Hey there, Fluttershy! What brings you here?" Applejack asked cheerfully. Since the death of her grandmother, Applejack became very thankful that all of her friends had survived the war, and now whenever she saw them, she couldn't help but feel happy.

"Oh, hi Applejack," Fluttershy said. Her eyes glanced at something behind Applejack. "I, just... I was just... um... in the neighbourhood and..."

Applejack stared at Fluttershy waiting for an answer. She turned her head to see what the shy pegasus was looking at, but all that was behind them further up the road was Big Mac. He had stopped hammering and had waved. Applejack turned back to Fluttershy.

"You ok, Fluttershy?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh, yes, um, of course," Fluttershy said. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm actually here to talk to Big McIntosh."

Fluttershy's cheeks reddened. She nodded and walked towards Big Mac. Applejack stared after her friend for a minute, a small smile on her face. She had always thought that Fluttershy would be a good match for her brother, but never dared bring up the subject to either of them, since they were both so shy. But after Big Mac had dove off the broken bridge to save Fluttershy, Applejack had wondered when something might spring between them.

Applejack turned back to her work and walked further into the orchard. She saw Sweetie Belle approach Apple Bloom and Babs, and the three of them ran off towards their clubhouse. Applejack hummed to herself slightly as she bucked apples. Another yellow pony caught her eye off to the left. At first she figured it was Fluttershy going back into town, but then she saw it was a tall stallion.

Applejack muttered something to herself and put her basket of apples on the ground. The stallion was heading towards the house. Applejack didn't want him to interrupt Fluttershy and her brother, so she cut him off.

"What are you doin' here?" Applejack asked, trying to be polite, but failing.

Flim jumped slightly, obviously not have having seen her. He took his hat off and held it in his hooves. His eyes looked serious. Applejack gave him a perplexed look, waiting for him to answer.

"Hi, Applejack," Flim said finally. His voice was quiet and a little grave sounding. "I'm not quite sure where to begin."

"From the beginning maybe?" Applejack asked.

"I don't remember much of what happened with the changelings, at least, not much after they scrambled me," Flim said, "but from what my brother has told me, we all worked together, and we won. It took him a couple of days to remember where he had left me, but apparently some of your friends helped him and they freed me. I've been in the hospital since then, and was just released a few days ago."

"Save me the pity story and tell me why you're here," Applejack said. Anger was beginning to boil inside her. All she could think of when she saw him was their stupid competition. Which made her think of Granny Smith. Which made her feel sad. It made her heartache.

"I wanted to come here and apologize," Flim said, "For our competition last year."

"Shouldn't your brother be here apologizin' as well?" Applejack snapped.

"Yes, I guess he should," Flim said quickly, "But it was mostly my fault. He was always more the brains behind the invention and I was the sales man. Yes, we always worked as a team, but the way I see, I pushed the stakes and I made the unfair deal. I threatened to put you and your family out of business, and for that I am deeply sorry."

Applejack stared long and hard at him, looking for any sign that it was a lie, a joke. After a few tense moments, she relaxed a little. He was telling the truth. She could tell. Being the Element of Honesty, she could tell when people were telling the truth better than others could.

"Well... you're forgiven, I guess," Applejack said. She turned to walk away when Flim spoke again.

"I'm not done. I...I heard about what happened to Granny Smith. I'm deeply sorry for your loss. She was a fiery old mare, and I liked her spunk," Flim said. Applejack froze in her tracks, unable to move. Tears began to well in her eyes. When she didn't say anything, Flim continued, "When I heard about what happened to her, I just... I just really felt more terrible about our competition."

Another moment of silence passed. Applejack slowly turned and faced him again, tears in her eyes.

"What I'm trying to say, why I'm here, is that I'm offering to help around the farm. With anything that you need," Flim said, "No tricks, no games, no cons. My brother and I don't have a real home. We'd like to stay here with your family—we'll sleep in the barn if you want us to—and we'd like to help. Be farmhooves."

Applejack looked over her shoulder. Fluttershy was still talking to Big Mac, but Applejack could see that he was looking towards her. She waved at him to come over.

"Let me see what my brother thinks. What kind of pay are you guys expectin'?" Applejack asked, a slight edge back in her voice. She could tell Flim was being sincere, but she still couldn't help but not trust him entirely. But they needed the help. They really did. And if both of the brothers came, that would be more than enough help. They could create a schedule, and everyone could take turns with the household chores.

"Whatever you think is fair," Flim said earnestly. Big Mac approached them.

"What's going on?" he asked. Applejack stared long and hard at Flim, the way he was holding his hat in respect, the way it made him look almost vulnerable. He was telling the truth. He wanted to help. He was looking for honest work. And they could give it to them.

Slowly, a small smile appeared on Applejack's face. While Flim had been out of it for most of the war, Flam hadn't. She had seen how they were in fact, decent stallions and that they could work for the benefit of others.

"We've just hired two helping hooves," Applejack said slowly. She extended her hoof and hesitantly, Flim shook it. "We'll figure out the pay and whatnot when your brother is here too. Where is he, by the way?"

"I think he's trying to ask one of your friends out on a date..." Flim said. Applejack wasn't sure why, but this made her laugh out loud. And she couldn't stop laughing.

Once she had gained control of herself again, she explained everything to Big Mac. Big Mac was faster to accept the offer than Applejack had been. Big Mac said that there was some damaged land where apples wouldn't grow any more, and they could build a small house for Flim and Flam there. The two of them began walking and talking of plans.

As Applejack watched them walk away, she couldn't help but feel happy. A little relieved even. She looked up to the sky, sure that Granny Smith was watching down at her from heaven, her parents at her side, proud that she had reached out and given the brothers a chance. And she didn't feel so alone any more.

The Perfect Pie

Part 1: Awakening

After the survivor feast in Canterlot, everypony headed home. The princesses provided their chariots for those headed back to Ponyville. Everyone was exhausted. All anypony wanted to do was go home and rest. But for many of those ponies, their homes had been destroyed. And with so many ponies to revive, there was no time for rest. Rest wouldn't come for a while.

Pinkie Pie, her sisters, and Rarity headed to the Pie rock farm. Pinkie Pie tried to tell Rarity that one of the royal unicorn guards could free her parents, but Rarity insisted that she do it, since it was Pinkie and her sisters that had initially saved her from the Diamond Dogs. Pinkie knew that all Rarity really wanted to do was go find Sweetie Belle, and go free their parents. She was grateful that her beautiful unicorn friend was taking the time to help her. Element of Generosity indeed.

Rarity respectfully left once Ma and Pa Pie were out of their cocoons. Pinkie and her sisters waited restlessly, as their parents lay peacefully on the floor. Pinkie prayed they would both wake up.

Slowly, Ma Pie began to stir. Pa Pie started shortly after, and before Pinkie knew it, her parents were blinking and rubbing their eyes, groggily looking around with slightly confused faces. Tears began to brim Pinkie's eyes.

"Mom? Dad?" she said softly.

Pinkie's father stood and helped up his wife. They looked at each of their daughters in disbelief.

"P-Pinkamina? Inka, Bellamina!" their father said.

Everyone seemed to move together at once and entered into a big, family group hug. They laughed and cried.

"What in Equestria happened?" Pa Pie asked, as they eventually broke up their hug.

"Equestria as attacked by changelings," Inkie explained.

"Those terrible black creatures that broke into here?" Ma Pie asked, a scowl on her face.

"Just how long ago was that?" Pa Pie asked.

"There's a lot to tell, Ma and Pa," Inkie said, "You were trapped in those cocoons for months. Pinkie—"

"Pinkamina," their mother interrupted. Pinkie forgot how much their mother hated nicknames. It was always full name or no name. It made Pinkie smile.

"Pinkamina," Inkie said, a slight annoyed tone in her voice, "was even in a cocoon, in Canterlot."

"You were in Canterlot when it happened? What were you doing in Canterlot?" Pa Pie asked. Pinkie nodded.

"Pa! You know that Pinkamina has connections in Canterlot, what with her saving Equestria all those times and such," Ma said, "She has an extensive social life."

Her parents knew about her being the Element of Laughter? Pinkie scratched her head for a moment. She recalled telling her parents about it in one of her recent letters, but since her parents never replied, she figured they didn't know or care. Laughter had nothing to do with rock farming.

"Canterlot was the site of the very first attack," Inkie explained, "The Changeling Queen was disguising herself and about to marry a stallion. Pinkamina was at the wedding."

"How in Equestria did you get out of the cocoon then? How did we get out?" Ma asked.

"My friend Twilight Sparkle woke up in her cocoon and freed me and the rest of my friends. The only ponies who can free others from the cocoons are unicorns. My friend Rarity came over and freed you two," Pinkie said.

"How long ago was this Queen defeated?" Pa asked. The sisters looked at each other. Pinkie shrugged.

"Couple of hours ago," she said.

They all sat in silence, the events of the past hours on their minds. Pinkie closed her eyes for a moment, picturing everything she had just been through. It seemed like it had happened years ago, or that it had all been a dream.

"Well," Pa said, as he stretched, "this house ain't going to clean up itself."

Pinkie Pie couldn't help but laugh. She pulled her father into another big hug and then nodded her head. They then set to work on repairing their farm.

Part 2: Repairs

Over the next few weeks, Pinkie traveled back and forth between her family's rock farm and Ponyville. For the first few days, she had stayed with her family and had helped clean up all of the broken furniture her sisters had used to keep the front door closed. They dust out cobwebs and took down shredded old curtains. Soon the house was practically all bare and then her father set to work on building new furniture.

Pinkie Pie's dad was one of the handiest and craftiest ponies she knew. He could build anything—except anything "newfangled" as he put it—and always did so with precision and care. Sometimes his intricate details made Pinkie wonder why he had gone into the rock farming business instead of building and selling furniture.

While Pa was rebuilding furniture, Ma was sewing up a storm. She made rugs, curtains and blankets. The only rooms that hadn't been damaged were the sisters' room downstairs, and all of the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom.

That left Pinkie and her sisters to tend to the farm itself. Inkie had tried to convince her father that the rocks could wait until he and Ma could help too, but Pa insisted that they had to get things going if they wanted to catch up.

So, Inkie, Blinkie and Pinkie—on the days she wasn't in Ponyville—worked outside. First they cleared all of the fields of broken and cracked rocks. Then Inkie checked the schedule and said that they had to rotate the rocks in the south field and north-eastern field. The west field would be next, but not for a few more weeks.

It was exhausting work. Pinkie had forgotten how physically demanding the farming had been. Even though she was always full of energy, she found herself tiring before her sisters and needed more breaks than they did.

"You haven't farmed with us for years," Inkie said one day, as she brought Pinkie some lemonade, "Don't worry about it. You've been a great help."

"Thanks," Pinkie said, slightly out of breath. She took a long sip of the lemonade and rested her head against the tree she was under. It was now a full week and a half since the taking back of Equestria. The sun was shining brightly and Pinkie and her sisters were resting in the shade of a large tree on their property.

"What about your gems? When will we be farming down there?" Pinkie asked.

"Probably when Pa is ready to help with the rocks again, or until we finish our work with them," Inkie said, "Since he and Ma don't really approve of the gem business, it's not a priority for them. So we'll need to finish our 'proper' business with the rocks first."

"Didn't you say the money from the gem business goes towards helping with the rock farming?" Pinkie asked.

"Yes, most of it does, but Ma and Pa still don't like it. They like farming the boring, everyday rocks, not the nice, shiny, sparkly ones," Inkie said. Blinkie stomped out something. "Blinkie asks how your stay-home family in Ponyville is."

"Oh, the Cakes?"

The Cakes had been one of the more fortunate families in town. After Luna had awakened them, she had sent Mrs. Cake into the Everfree Forest to be with her twins, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Luna had also sent any other young fillies and colts to Zecora's hut, in case the war were to spread to Ponyville. And Mr. Cake had gone to Canterlot to fight, and had come home relatively unscathed.

Their business and home at Sugarcube Corner had also been one of the least suffered residences. Things had most been turned over, and aside from a bunch of mouldy cakes, all they really had to do was dust everything off and start baking.

"They've been providing free cakes and treats, and will continue to do so until Ponyville is officially back on its hooves," Pinkie said.

"That's so generous of them," Inkie said. Blinkie smiled.

Once the Cakes had learned that it was Pinkie who had freed the twins and sent them to safety, they couldn't stop thanking her enough. Pinkie explained that they were like little siblings to her, because really, the Cakes were her family too.

"I'm so lucky to have two such great families," Pinkie said.

"And who all survived," Inkie said quietly. Pinkie nodded gravely. She had just gone to Granny Smith's funeral at the Apples' farm. Her sisters had come with her.

"You know... you should invite the Cakes over," Inkie said.

"Over here? For dinner or something?" Pinkie asked.

Inkie nodded, "Yeah. I know Ma and Pa have met them briefly and stuff, but you're right. They're your family too. We should all do something together. We need something upbeat to get this changeling madness out of the air."

"You're right!" Pinkie said. She jumped up excitedly, "We could have a big luncheon! And there could be balloons and desserts and fun decorations! I could bring Gummy too!"

"Who's Gummy?" Inkie asked.

"I'm going to go ask Ma right now!" Pinkie said, too excited to have heard Inkie's question. She bounded off through the fields and into the house.

Part 3: Gems

The next week, Pa had finished with the furniture and had taken over the last bit of rock farming that had to be done.

"Helmet."

"Helmet," Pinkie repeated. Blinkie stomped.

"Lights on."

"Light on," Pinkie said, switching the light on her helmet on.

"Ok; let's go in," Inkie said.

Blinkie dropped down the rope first. Then she tugged on it two times to say that it was safe for her sisters to follow. Inkie climbed steadily down next, and then Pinkie swung her way down.

"Wheeeeeee!"

The cave was eerie. Even though light shone from the sun above, the cave had a dark feel about it. There were splinters from broken boxes everywhere, and a lump of something that smelled horrible off to one side.

"Poor Rarity," Pinkie said, "I can't imagine how terrified she must have been."

The boxes had of course been piled up by Rarity as a means to escape the cave. Pinkie glanced towards the smelly lump off to the left. She didn't doubt it was the Diamond Dog that had been down here. Inkie was on the same brainwave.

"Should we... move him or something?" she asked. She wrinkled her nose at the smell.

Inkie stomped out something and then began to move forward, inspecting the rest of the cave.

"Are you sure, Ink? That's kind of a gruesome job to do on your own," Inkie said. Blinkie shrugged, but didn't respond.

"What did she say?" Pinkie whispered.

"She said she would come down later and bury him," Inkie said. She sighed slightly, "She's always taking on the gruelling tasks."

They followed Blinkie as she surveyed the cave. Although she had dropped a grenade down here when they had saved Rarity, the cave was still stable. It hadn't collapsed, though it had been blown to a bigger size. Random piles of dirt were everywhere. Pinkie was surprised that the Diamond Dog hadn't been blown to smithereens. Blinkie stomped or something.

"We need to clear away all of the piles of dirt first; then we'll inspect our tunnels and see if we can find any more gems," Inkie said.

The work down here wasn't as laborious as the work with the rocks had been. Pinkie swept up the dirt into a large pile. Inkie would then fill a bucket with dirt, and Blinkie would pull it up the hole and put it into a wagon. Once the wagon was full, Blinkie would signal down that she'd be a minute and would go empty the pile of dirt on the farm somewhere where it was needed.

Once that was all done, they then inspected the tunnels that Blinkie and Inkie had created. They were still stable, and then they began to mine some of the gems found down there. Blinkie showed Pinkie a few of her explosive techniques. It was so cool to see her younger sister working with her element (when it didn't involve blowing up evil changelings). Pinkie could see how proud Blinkie was of her work.

And she finally got to see Inkie use her talent as well. Whenever they found a gem or a rare form of rock, Inkie would rattle on and on about its different properties, how much it was worth, what you could do with it. Sometimes she would keep some for her collection.

"It's so cool to see what you guys do," Pinkie said excitedly one day after mining. They had just climbed up the hole and were making their way back to the house, their faces dirty, Inkie carrying a small bag of gems.

Inkie smiled. "Thanks. It'd be nice to see what you do on a daily basis in Ponyville one day."

Pinkie stopped walking and began jumping excitedly on the spot.

"It would be nice, wouldn't it?" she said cheerfully, "We should do it! You guys should come to Ponyville with me when I go back tomorrow!"

"Ok," Inkie said. Blinkie smiled and nodded.

As they walked back to the house, Pinkie began excitedly plan all of the things they could do together. She loved spending this time with her sisters, catching up on all of the time they'd missed together. But as she got to the house and began to head for the shower, she paused, and thought to herself: What do I do on a daily basis?

Part 4: Song

"And that's Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie said with a jump.

She had just given her sisters a tour of the whole town, and they were once again standing in front of Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie walked inside. She explained to her sisters that she really didn't have a daily schedule like they did. Sometimes she helped the Cakes bake treats for their bakery. Sometimes she stood behind the till. Sometimes she helped ponies plan parties. Other days she hung out with her friends, or babysat the twins.

"So you just really do as you please?" Inkie asked. Pinkie nodded. Blinkie stomped out something. Inkie laughed.

"She said, 'and then there are the days that you save Equestria by being the Element of Laughter'," Inkie said. Pinkie laughed and Blinkie laughed silently.

"Pinkie!" Inkie suddenly said, "What is that?"

"Hmmmm?"

Pinkie turned to see what Inkie was pointing at. A small, green alligator was clamped onto Pinkie's tail.

"Oh! This is Gummy!" Pinkie said excitedly. She pried Gummy off of her tail and held him up to her sisters, "He's my pet!"

"He's... he's an alligator," Inkie said, somewhat uncertainly.

"Yup!" Pinkie said. Gummy smiled a toothless smile and didn't blink. "Have Ma and Pa ever let you guys have pets?"

Blinkie shook her head, but Inkie nodded hers. Pinkie cocked her head to the side, confused.

"I have a pet rock!" Inkie said excitedly, "Her name is Ignia and—"

Inkie stopped when she saw the look on Blinkie's face, which was of monotone bluntness. Blinkie rolled her eyes and shook her head. She then stomped something out.

"She is too a real pet!" Inkie said, "I've had her since... well, actually, since just after you left for Ponyville. I found her the same day I got my cutie mark! I knew she was something real special then. Ma and Pa said I could keep her if I took real good care of her!"

"That's so awesome!" Pinkie said. Although she slightly agreed with Blinkie—a rock wasn't a real pet—she wasn't about to crush her youngest sister's heart. "But have you guys ever had an animated pet before?"

"Oh," Inkie said, "No, we haven't. Ma and Pa don't really like animals."

Blinkie stomped out something.

"Blinkie's always wanted an animated pet though," Inkie said, "Ignia is too boring for her."

"You've always wanted a pet? What kind of pet? One that flies, crawls, runs, barks...? Feathers, fur, scales?" Pinkie asked in rapid mode. She then gasped loudly, "I KNOW! I know the perfect thing we can do! We can go find Blinkie a pet! And I know just the pony to help us!"

Before either of the sisters could protest or agree, Pinkie had lead them out of Sugarcube Corner and down the road. She jumped up and down gleefully, and continued to talk at a rapid pace about pets. Gummy had clamped back onto her tail.

They soon arrived at a quaint cottage just on the outskirts of Ponyville. As they approached the property, Pinkie Pie spotted Fluttershy and Big Mac near her chicken coop. Big Mac had a hammer in his mouth, and Fluttershy was holding up a piece of lumber. A can of unopened red paint lay beside them.

"Oh, hi Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy said. Pinkie saw her glance at Big Mac and blush slightly. Pinkie Pie smiled. She had been extremely happy when she heard of her friend's newfound romance. "Hi Inkie, Blinkie. What brings you three here today?"

"We're here to find a pet for Blinkie!" Pinkie Pie said. Fluttershy squeed with excitement. She carefully passed the piece of lumber to Big Mac, who proceeded to hammer it into place. Fluttershy began to talk rapidly—something very rare for her—like she had when Rainbow Dash came to her looking for a pet.

With some translation between Inkie and Blinkie, they narrowed down the list to an animal that could see in the dark. Blinkie wanted a pet that could see down in the caves with her, so that it could keep her company on days when Inkie didn't farm with her.

Finally, in the end, Blinkie chose a black owl. She explained that the owl could see in the dark, and it could fly up for help if something bad happened to Blinkie. After careful consideration, Blinkie named the owl Song.

"She says that her name is Song, because Song is to represent the voice that Blinkie has lost," Inkie said, as Blinkie stomped out her message. "Song is to be her new voice."

Part 5: The Perfect Pie

A month and a half after the terrible disaster, the rock farm was back in full swing. The house was complete and the farming was back on schedule. Ma and Pa Pie had been surprisingly accepting of Blinkie's new pet. Apparently Ma had a soft spot for owls.

The night had finally arrived when the Cakes came over to the Pies'. Ma had cooked a large roast for dinner, something she only ever did on rare occasions. Blinkie had helped make a special salad, and Ma had also baked a pie. Inkie and Pinkie set the table, while Pa had a fire going in the fireplace.

The Pies and Cakes had gotten along together better than Pinkie had hoped they would. Ma and Mrs. Cake swapped recipes for desserts, Mr. Cake and Pa talked business. Pinkie and her sisters cooed and played with the foals. Pinkie was pretty sure she had heard her mother say something about grandfoals when she took the time to fawn and coo over the twins herself.

Once the meal was over and all of the pleasantries had been exchanged, the Cakes bid farewell and made their way back to Ponyville. Pinkie sighed and reclined in her chair at the table, an empty plate of pie crumbs in front of her. She had forgotten how much she had loved her mother's pie. It was her favorite pie.

"That was such a nice meal," Pinkie said.

"The Cakes are such lovely ponies," Ma said, as she cleared the table. Pinkie yawned.

"I think I might go hit the hay," Pinkie said, "I'm so tired."

She stood up and stared to make her way to her sisters bedroom. She had been spending her nights on a spare mattress on the floor. Ma tapped Pinkie on the shoulder.

"Come; I have something for you," she said.

Pinkie followed her mother up the stairs and they stopped in front of the sisters old bedroom. Ma Pie pushed it open and Pinkie's heart warmed. She had forgotten what Inkie had told her when she had first come to the house during the war.

The room was painted a soft pink. Flowery curtains hung on the window, a matching quilt on the bed. A small freshly white painted dresser was in one corner, a vase of flowers on top. Gummy lay curled up on top of the bed. It was the most colorful room in the whole house.

"This is your room," Ma said, "for when you want to visit."

Pinkie Pie pulled her mother into a hug.

"Of course I'll want to visit," Pinkie said, "because this is my home."

Author's Note

Pinkie Pie's story sort of jumps around. I just wanted to show little snippets of her hanging out and bonding with her family, re-kindling the relationship between them.
Hope you enjoy.

A Prince Charming of a Different Sorts

Rarity carefully set the delicate fabric onto the filly-sized ponyquin and took a step back. The fabric barely hung on, only stitched together with a few pins. She thought to herself and jotted down a few notes onto her main design sheet. She then made a few adjustments to the garment and stepped back again. She smiled to herself. It was going to be perfect.

It was about a month after the whole changeling disaster had been dealt with. To Rarity, the whole thing felt like a bad dream. Everything had happened so fast, that sometimes it hadn't really seem to sink in. But it had happened. The changelings had taken over Equestria and many ponies had lost their lives. Rarity had been among some of the most fortunate; all of her family had survived.

For the first few days of the aftermath, Rarity had spent it all with her family. After she had freed her parents from their cocoons, she had decided to stay at their house for a few days. Together they had gone to the Everfree Forest to collect Sweetie Belle, and then they had been homebodies for a few days. Then the reality set in, and they emerged into Ponyville and began helping out in any way that they could.

Rarity had donated many old dresses and skirts to those in Ponyville who had lost everything. Her dad helped rebuild some of the houses, a skill Rarity didn't know he had posses, and though her mother's cooking was terrible, she volunteered at a soup kitchen and generally made everypony there feel welcome.

Now, with Ponyville more or less back on its hooves, Rarity was working on a special project for her sister and her friends. Rarity spent as much time with Sweetie Belle as she could. The image of her sweet little sister trapped in the cocoon, reaching out towards her, was one that visited Rarity every night in her nightmares. Because of that, she never liked to let the filly out of her sight.

But Sweetie Belle spent most of her time at Sweet Apple Acres. She had lost a dear friend, Scootaloo, and she needed to be in the company of her other dearest friend, Apple Bloom. Plus, the farming filly had also lost her grandmother, and needed the company of her best friend. So Rarity would walk Sweetie Belle over to Sweet Apple Acres nearly every day. She would wave to Applejack, sometimes ask if she needed any help, but Applejack would usually turn her down. The earth pony wanted some space and Rarity would respect that.

Sweetie Belle had come to Rarity with the idea for the special project shortly after Scootaloo's funeral. Rarity told her that she would love to partake in the project, but she had to wait until Ponyville was more or less back to normal, because the other ponies needed her help first. Sweetie Belle had been understanding and excited about the project.

Sweetie Belle had designed the garments. She had carefully drawn the new little capes and colored them in. Then she had given Rarity the design and told her to take her time with them. They had to be absolutely perfect.

Sweetie Belle's idea had been for a newly designed cape for her CMC club. The capes were to be dedicated to Scootaloo and would be put together in her colors. Sweetie Belle still liked the sparkly golden fabric that she had used for their original CMC cape design, so Rarity kept that for the underside, and the front of the cape was purple, with "Cutie Mark Crusaders" in orange. The logo for their club had been improved by adding wings on either side of it to represent Scootaloo.

Rarity made one final adjustment on the model cape, before she began to sew it together. She still had two more to make after this one; one for Apple Bloom and one for her cousin, Babs Seed.

Just as she was about to do the last stitch, her doorbell rang. She stopped what she was doing and carefully set her glasses on a side table. She made her way to the front door, and was surprised at who she found on the other side.

"H-Hello," said Flam.

Rarity hadn't seen Flam since they had defeated Chrysalis. He had stayed briefly at the feast the princesses had held in Canterlot, and then he had headed off to find his brother and free him from the cocoon. Some nights, he visited her in her dreams, her mind replaying the first time he had saved her from the changelings.

"How are you?" he asked. He fidgeted with this hat in his hooves.

"I'm well, thank you. How are you? How is Flim?" Rarity asked.

"He is much better. Once I freed him from the cocoon, I had to take him back to Canterlot so that one of the alicorn princesses could unscramble him. There were quite a few other unicorns there also waiting to be unscrambled," he explained.

"I'm glad to hear he is alright," Rarity said. She hesitated. "What brings you here?"

"Well," Flam said. He seemed to get suddenly very nervous, "Well, Flim is over talking to your friend Applejack about getting work on their farm. And since we were in Ponyville—and might be staying in Ponyville—I thought I would come by to see you, and... and... and t-thought I might ask if you would like to go out sometime."

As Rarity got ready for her date, her mind was in a haze. She had hesitated slightly when accepting Flam's offer, but if she were honest with herself, she was extremely excited. Her heart had fluttered when she opened the door and he was standing there.

Flam wasn't what she ideally looked for in a stallion. He wasn't buff, and he wasn't rich or fashionable. He didn't come from the royal family. He was sort of scrawny, and usually she didn't go for stallions with mustaches (unless of course it was part of their fashion style). But he had saved her. More than once. And he wasn't the conpony she had originally thought he was when they first met at the cider competition. He was different.

And let's face it. She sort of had feelings for him. And she couldn't just ignore those. So she had to give this a chance, even if he was just an ordinary stallion.

They met at a quaint restaurant in Ponyville. Rarity had put her hair up and put on one of her latest ensembles. It wasn't an extravagant as her usual outfits, but it was elegant and chic. Flam had exchanged his striped vest for a black one, and he had left his hat at home. He pulled out Rarity's chair as they got to the table, and made sure she was seated before he sat down.

They chatted pleasantly through the appetizers. Flam inquired about Sweetie Belle, something which Rarity thought was very sweet. She assured him that she was ok, that except for the loss of one of her best friends, the whole thing just seemed like a bad dream to her. Rarity remembered how Flam offered to help Rarity get Sweetie out of the cocoon. It was just another way that he had saved her through the whole ordeal.

"So, how is working on Sweet Apple Acres?" Rarity asked.

"Well, it's only been a few days," Flam said, "But it's going really well. We just finished building a small house on the property for my brother and I to live in, and we've just finalized a schedule on how the chores and farming will go. I think it's going to work out really well."

"I think that it's so great that you and Flim are helping the Apple family," Rarity said. She smiled. It was just another thing that proved that they weren't the conponies they all originally thought they were.

Flam paid for the meal and offered to walk Rarity home. They walked closely together, the sun setting behind them, their shadows long and tall, mixing in front of them.

As they approached the Carousel Boutique, they started to slow.

"Maybe we can do this again sometime," Flam said quietly. Rarity smiled. She felt her cheeks redden slightly.

"I'd really like that. I had a wonderful time," she said.

And slowly, as Flam leaned in to kiss her goodnight, Rarity closed her eyes and smiled. Sure, he wasn't the prince charming she had always imagined she would end up with. But he was a prince charming of a different sorts. And a prince was still a prince.

Opening

The destruction caused by the changelings was overwhelming. Many ponies lost family, friends, and good neighbours. Not all those who had been captured in cocoons could be saved. Some ponies had lost too much energy and could not be revived. But thankfully, the majority of the ponies trapped within the pods were saved.

The first act of order was to free Canterlot. With Equestria's capital city running again, the nation could slowly move on and move forward. The next order of business was to free the rest of the ponies of Equestria. This task fell upon the princesses, and their unicorn guards. Within a week, all of those who could be saved were revived.

The second task was to bury and respect the dead. This happened a week after the ponies had been revived. The names of those who had passed on, or those who were presumed dead, were recorded. Each princess would make an appearance at a town or city's community burial. The first burial was in Canterlot. The second burial was in Ponyville. All three princesses attended.

Many familiar faces were mourned: Granny Smith, little Scootaloo, Zecora, to name a few. A new memorial site was found in Ponyville, and the plans for a grade mausoleum was created. The names were on a list, ready to be carved into the great structure once it was built.

The whole town attended the ceremony. Families clung together, friends cried on each other's shoulders. Some didn't show any emotion at all. The pain was too great.

Towns were rebuilt after the ceremonies of respect for the deceased. Everyone worked together. After what they had been through, there was no reason to bicker among one another. No reason for silly quarrels.

The only thing left to do was to just... live on. Move on. And thank the sun and moon every day, that they were still alive.

This is a look at what happened after the changeling war. A peek into the lives of the ponies who had fought during the battle, who had been trapped in cocoons, and who had suffered great losses from the changeling invasion.

This was their new life.

Author's Note

Another note to read before continuing on to the stories:
Some of the stories may overlap, so there may be times when a character mentions something that just happened, but you haven't officially read about it yet, or some things that only happen in the background. So please, wait and see how the other stories progress, and hold questions of "Well, when did this happen?" off until a few more short stories are posted, because some of them might answer your questions.
I also realize this might be potential for some spoilers of the short stories, but not all details will be provided in mentions of other things happening in the town at the time.