Necessary Love

by Zurock

Chapter 11: Departure

Time flew, though most happily.

As Twilight had anticipated, the first outings of Heartwood's ambassadors had been scheduled as short test runs: no more than a week. Though that depressing news came to light early on it didn't diminish anypony's enthusiasm. Poppy had her mind set on enjoying every moment of her trip, and James certainly had no thought to resist her. Since in the first two days the pair had indulged plenty of free exploration, the filly delighted in following the man's usual schedule for the rest of the week: time with one of his friends each day.

Monday brought the first snowfall of winter.

Poppy was enraptured by the local pegasi raining cold cotton on Ponyville. No such phenomenon had ever occurred back at her home, where weakened magic had always meant ponies couldn't perform such organized weather manipulation. On the walk to Sweet Apple Acres she lead the way eagerly, pulling the man along through the all-new, all-white town.

It was James' first opportunity to wear the winter clothes Rarity had fashioned for him. Poppy reveled at seeing him in them; she declared that he looked the same as before but more snug, and indeed the clothes borrowed the bulk of their design from his previous outfit. The color schemes matched, the shapes were the same, and even all the buttons and other functional bits were one-to-one. The three main differences were that the whole outfit was more woolly and insulated, it fit more tightly and was built thicker, and there were fuzzy collars that guarded his neck, wrists, and ankles. The same applied to the footwear: they looked like the old shoes but with higher cuffs and a little more boot packed into them.

The outfit did well keeping him warm at Sweet Apple Acres, and with no winter cold to bother them the man and filly spent a tremendous day there. Shoveling snow was more fun than a chore, other odd jobs were made more entertaining because the farm had become a winter wonderland (with plenty of snowbanks to goof off in!), and later they shared hot drinks near a crackling hearth while listening to an old mare's tales of days gone by. Afterwards, Applejack released them early so that they might enjoy the rest of their day however best pleased them.

Of everything that had happened, the only legitimate bit of trouble was that James' hands had been turned raw, red, and nearly frostbitten from all the outdoor work. Though some ponies in Ponyville wore soft, warm boots over their hooves during the wintertime, ponies in general powered through the cold easily enough without such conveniences. Thus, the concept of fingered gloves hadn't quite occurred to Rarity during her production of the man's winter outfit. For James' part he had eventually noticed the mistaken omission not long before the outfit had been completed, but he had been far too reluctant to have mentioned it to the seamstress; he had already exploited her generosity badly enough as it was.

So it was Poppy who spontaneously mentioned to Rarity that the man needed something to keep his graspy-hoof-thingies warm, much to his embarrassment and chagrin.

Tuesday was James' usual day at the Carousel Boutique, and the filly hadn't objected in the slightest when told of the day's plan. In the early morning they had left as soon as possible and had plowed through the snow-covered streets of Ponyville before they had been welcomed in warmly by the seamstress, and Rarity had quite anticipated their help; there were miracles to be made in her shop, and by goodness, every extra hoof and hand was needed! James had already intended to spend the whole day there, if possible, helping out, but he especially hoped for the chance to be useful to Rarity after the little Drypony had quickly blurted out his need for gloves; as soon as Rarity had heard it she had insisted right away that they make him some (and for no charge, of course!).

Unfortunately once they got to work it became obvious that the Drypony didn't have the faintest knack for tailoring or most of the skills that went into it. That didn't prove to be a serious setback, however; Rarity had dealt with helpers of a less-than-desirable quality plenty of times before, and as the graceful host she was she found uninsulting ways for Poppy to be productive. Mostly the nimble filly carried items about or held things up, which her acrobatic talents allowed her to do exceptionally well. She also acted as a cheerleader, instantly falling in love with every little item of clothing, complete or in progress, which Rarity showed to her, and she wasn't afraid to unleash her breathless praise at the slightest request for commentary.

And there were some fine works to show! The seamstress had nearly finished the first run of her special winter line of dresses; there were only a scant few more finishing touches needed. It very easily pleased her to grant Poppy sneak peeks of her almost-perfect product since the Drypony couldn't do anything but feed her ego with effusive lauding.

James worked at his assigned tasks with as much dedication as he could muster, though he still found the intricacies of dress-work to be a special kind of intolerable. This time it was worse than usual since the dresses were so near complete that they only needed 'a few minor refinements,' which seemed to be Rarity's codewords for 'random endless tweaks.' He couldn't begin to imagine what difference it made whether a decorative snowflake was an inch more to the left or to the right, but the very fashion-minded unicorn would go back and forth on such questions for many minutes before deciding. Then later she would spontaneously go back and change her mind, leading into another cycle of tweaks. If Monday froze the man's fingers from the winter cold then Tuesday had them on fire from all the fine needlework.

He focused on having Poppy's support, as well as on the fresh advice from Princess Celestia's latest letter. Together the two helped support his spirit through the whole ordeal. Not that he ever would have given up on the task; there wasn't a more noble cause than serving a pony as generous as Rarity! He HAD to repay her what was she owed, even if it meant enduring sweatshop hell.

Eventually Rarity tried to convince her two guests to leave, but not out of any disdain for their work; she was only trying to free them up so that they might enjoy the rest of their day together. Plainly the man adored sweet Poppy, and she had the generosity of heart to want to encourage that. Moreover, try as he might have, the man hadn't been able to hide his antipathy for her chosen line of work. She had long ago picked on it, though of course being a lady she had never taken umbrage and had always been truly thankful of his continued loyal assistance to her despite his buried discontent. It was a fitting reward, she thought, to not treat him like a slave chained up inside her boutique.

James, feeling his debt but reluctant to voice it, tried to justify sticking around with several flimsy half-excuses. Poppy thought his odd behavior was comically silly, and it gave her plenty to laugh about. Rarity meanwhile was far from foul when she declared that she'd take no arguments on the matter.

"You have your new gloves, your new little friend, and a new beautiful winter out in Ponyville! Go and enjoy it!"

Finally the man conceded once her multiple kindly refusals to every objection became too heavy to bear. The two guests left, Poppy exuberantly and James quietly, and Rarity was left to finish her work and ponder over how strangely resistant the man sometimes was to her charity.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all passed without much undesired commotion. There was a day of guided caretaking with the infinite animals that lived at Fluttershy's cottage, a day of seasonal baking at Sugarcube Corner, and a day of palling around with Rainbow Dash doing 'whatever' (while ostensibly monitoring the snowclouds). The time spent with Fluttershy's animals had been especially enlightening for Poppy since the Dryponies were in the process of rebuilding their hurt relationship with the animals of Dryearth forest. Likewise, Rainbow Dash had a personality that was inspiring to most little ponies and it made Poppy's Friday feel like a day with a celebrity.

But a strange atmosphere had settled upon the Thursday at Sugarcube Corner.

James hadn't been able to place his finger on it. Maybe his mind had been tricked by his recent conversations with Twilight about Pinkie Pie, or maybe Poppy's lovable personality had given him a disorienting high, but whatever it was something unrecognizable had enveloped Pinkie Pie. All the trappings of her usual character had been there: the smiles, the giggles, the party favors, the jokes, the non sequiturs, the odd references for the apparent benefit of an invisible audience, and the like. But within her bouncy voice – behind her every spoken word – had been a dull echo; a blunt resounding on her bubbly curves.

She had been unusually distant, always keeping Poppy between herself and the man all throughout their long session of baking tasty treats. It had been more than physical too; almost overzealously she had encouraged James and the filly to work closely together while she had stayed back and watched. Anytime he had incidentally glanced at her James had noticed something funny (in an un-Pinkie-like way) going on with her eyes.

Something had been swimming in them, darting about in the darkness, avoiding the light.

Despite all the boundless fun Poppy had been having creating a zoo of cookies, the pink pony had let them go early. A few orders of cakes had to be delivered around town and she had suggested the three of them split into two groups to do so, with herself in the lonely group. At the last moment, just as they had been departing, she had said that they shouldn't bother returning and instead that they should, "Enjoy the rest of this fantastically friendly day together! With your friends!"

---

And then it was Saturday. Sweet and sorrowful Saturday.

In the bottom of her travel satchel, stuffed under all of the miscellanea she had brought, Poppy kept the ticket for her return train trip. Her entire time in Ponyville she had kept it pushed down where it might not have been seen or thought about until it had to be. The departure time written upon it was a miserable ten o'clock in the morning.

All throughout breakfast the young Drypony was diligently gracious. She never complained about her time being up, but instead she made the meal run extra long by reciting to her hosts all of the wonderful things she had experienced which she planned to share with everypony else once she got back home.

James, bright but silent, listened to her intently the whole time.

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy waited at the train station, all of them hiding from the winter cold by standing much closer to the building than to the resting train. Fortunately it wasn't a scheduled day for snowfall, but all the previous showers had left large piles of packed snow clumped up around the station platform. The morning sun gave at least enough bare warmth that the long row of icicles on the overhang were releasing a steady stream of plinking drips. Still, everypony had donned a small thing or two in order to battle the airy chill: a long scarf on Rainbow Dash, a tight-fitting hat topped with a precious pom-pom on Pinkie Pie, some comfortably fuzzy boots on Applejack, and Fluttershy in particular was bundled up in hat and scarf to the point that it almost hid a lovely necklace which she mysteriously wore.

They all had agreed to meet for Poppy's departure, and for more than simple politeness. Twilight had put in a special request that they all be present. She had mentioned something about wanting to deliver them some news afterwards.

"Cold don't bother me much," the frustrated Applejack asserted, "but I think I wish I hadn't gotten here so dang early. What's taking'em so long?" She puffed a breath which came out solid, and she watched it dissolve away into a dozen thin wisps.

Fluttershy quietly responded, "Oh, well, they have to be here soon. The train is going to leave on schedule with or without little Poppy."

Rainbow Dash grinned, eager with anticipation.

"Well," she leapt in front of the farm pony, "if you're cold then there's nothing like a little activity to warm yourself up! How does a snowball fight sound to you?" She lurched forward, wound up and ready, and she challenged, "I bet I could tag you five times before you even get me once!"

"Ugh, for the last time, no, Rainbow! I'm not in the mood!" Applejack cast her angry grimace to the side.

"You're just SCARED!" the pegasus pressed her juvenile taunt in.

The farm pony unleashed a coarse, grumpy, incredibly tired harrumph. Somewhere under her breath she moaned to herself, "Had it up to here with that pony's knicker-knotted, sore-saddled, razzer-frazzer..."

"Alright, alright. Chill, Applejack," laughed Rainbow Dash, "I'll give you the pleasure of losing to me another time."

She stepped away and openly invited the rest of her friends, "So, how about it? Anypony in for a little snowball action?" Her face turned towards the most likely candidate. "Pinkie?"

The pink pony's mind was somewhere else. Her eyes had their normal sparkle and her voice had its normal squeak, but she stared blindly ahead and spoke in oddly floppy words, "They'll be here. Friends don't let friends be late for trains."

Something murky snuck over her briefly.

"... And they're friends..."

"I-... what?" Rainbow Dash dribbled from her hanging jaw.

"Huh?" Pinkie hiccuped.

"What are you talking about?"

"Friends."

The pegasus raised her voice, belting with unnecessary slowness and enunciation, "EQUESTRIA TO PINKIE: DO YOU WANT TO HAVE A SNOWBALL FIGHT?"

"A friend-ball fight?"

"I-... Whatever."

Rainbow Dash shook her head harshly, admitting defeat. Immediately she moved on, but she sunk with dismal expectation.

"Fluttershy?" she offered.

In a soft, simple reply, "Um... No."

Cheerful salutations sliced across the air.

Everypony turned to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders charging towards the station. The energetic fillies bounded up onto the station platform, kicking off sticky clusters of snow as they came. Like one fumbling, twelve-legged creature they slid to a stop, and they heaved a unified sigh of relief to discover that the train was still there waiting to depart. They hadn't missed the goodbye.

"Hey, sis!" Applejack gave her little sister a fast, familiar hug in greeting. "Glad to see you were able to round up your little friends in time!" She turned to Sweetie Belle and asked, "Rarity couldn't trot her way down here with y'all?"

"She'll be here any minute," the young unicorn reported. "She was just preparing-... Well... you'll see when she gets here."

"Oh boy. If it ain't always the same," the farm pony grunted a laugh.

Nopony had to wait long to see Sweetie Belle's prophecy fulfilled. After hardly more than three extra minutes of shooting the breeze, Rarity appeared.

She trotted in at her own pace, carrying pride and dignity with her. It was such a bold and bright walk that she was seen coming a mile away, but of course that had been her intention all along. Knowing that all her friends would be gathered in one place she had decided to use the opportunity to unveil the latest child of her genius.

She came styled in one of her new winter dresses.

The dress blended right into the snow-coated streets of Ponyville, being made of icy blue tones and unstained shades of white. A serrated collar behind her head stood tall, the spikes like upturned icicles. The ends of the skirt were the same, cut into teeth of frost. Along her body the length of the dress was bedazzled with beautiful artificial snowflakes, put together like a puzzle; they glimmered the same as crystallized snow under a clear winter sunrise. On her chest, drawing center attention just beneath her radiant face, was a larger snowflake sewn within the fabric of the dress, six-pointed and built from coldly-shining trimmings. Yet another snowflake sat atop her head in front of her horn; the centerpiece of a thin metal tiara. The final detail was a set of short slippers on her hooves, all also bearing a snowflake. This time the winter symbols were part of the slippers' stiff tongues which reached up in front of her hooves.

Gracefully the modeling dressmaker strode up onto the station platform. She made sure to take wide steps back and forth, swinging her neck and hips with extra flourishes to give her darling design the show it deserved. The excited gasps of admiration all of her friends produced only encouraged her to take an extra walk down the runway before returning.

"So, what do you think?" she asked at last after she came to a final stop (striking a flashy pose, of course). "Surely it'll get my name mentioned in Pony Stylewatch. Or, dare I say it, it might find me a place on the cover of Graceful Gale's G Magazine as the sensation of the season!"

All the glowing comments poured out of her friends at once.

"Oh, it's so gorgeous!" Fluttershy crooned.

"That's the friendliest dress I've ever seen!" Pinkie Pie chirped, though her emphases were lodged in strange places.

Applejack chuckled supportively, "It sure is a pretty thing, Rarity! Fits this weather like cinnamon on apple pie! But don'tcha think you're maybe getting a little ahead of yourself with all that starry-eyed dreamin'?"

"Nonsense," the seamstress replied. "The first batch of this line already had a tremendous number of orders before they were even finished, and some of them were rather BIG names in the fashion world!" Her nose rose up with confidence, she leveled a regal hoof onto her chest, and boldly she forecasted, "Just you wait and see! Once those divas and fashionistas get a look at my dresses, word will spread. Soon, ponies in every snowy corner of Equestria will request – nay, DEMAND – that they too be allowed the privilege of wearing one of the finest garments the winter world has ever seen! Everywhere they will cry that they want a dress from my line! From Rarity's Winter Glory!"

She positively tingled.

"Hehe, well, sugarplum, I really hope it all goes like that," the farm pony said honestly.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, yes, thank you!" Rarity bathed in all the compliments still coming her way from her impressed friends. A smidgen too haughty perhaps, but the feelings certainly weren't undeserved.

Eventually the excitement calmed some.

"Ah, well, perhaps the most immediate reward for all the hard work is the chance to at last take a BREAK," Rarity sighed with latent exhaustion. "I can hardly remember a time when these dresses weren't hanging over me. Now at least it'll be a few short weeks before I even have to THINK about a follow up line, thank goodness. 'All work and no play,' as it goes."

Tiny voices in the back her head kicked her with a few admonishing reminders.

"And of course," she declared loudly, lest it go unrecognized, "the same respite has been earned by everypony who so generously helped me complete my lovely dresses! Without their amazing support things never would have been finished in such a timely fashion, after all."

Fluttershy still was enthralled by the magnificent dress, and she couldn't help herself against extolling, "Wow, Rarity, I really love it. The snowflakes are such an incredible touch." With subtle eagerness she inched forward, and a timid hope spilled out of her, "Do you think, um, maybe I could get one of your dresses?"

"Why Fluttershy, darling, of course you can have one!" the happy dressmaker exclaimed. "More than enough were made! Some to fill the orders, some for show, some for sale at the boutique... and a few extra to give away to JUST the right ponies."

To make absolutely clear her meaning she gently tapped her close friend, pressing a hoof over the yellow pony's scarf. But from under the surface of the fabric came a funny sensation; a feeling of a buried treasure chest being struck.

"Hello, what's this?"

Gently Rarity pushed the folds of the scarf out of the way, revealing underneath a necklace which made her breathlessly gasp with delight. It captured her eyes, reeling them in close, and her hoof was magnetized to it. She tickled the jewelry like it was a precious child.

"Oh my! Fluttershy, dear, this is gorgeous! It looks quite stunning on you! Wherever did you get this?"

Hanging around the pegasus' neck was a thin chain of small silver links which held fast to an equally shining silver setting. Inside, blue as the warm ocean depths, firmly rested an enviable sapphire carved in the simple shape of a heart. It was in fact the very same necklace she had bought a week earlier and had attempted to give to the lovelorn P.V. so that he might have won back the heart of his beloved Star Glitter.

Not that the gift had been necessary; P.V. had left it by the wayside and succeeded without it. Afterwards Fluttershy had made a brief effort to have located the original vendor and returned the necklace. However a certain wishful whimsy had overcome her during her search and she had instead decided to have kept the item for herself. On some mornings over the past week she had put it on and taken long looks at herself in the mirror; on other mornings, not.

It had again been on a thin whim that she had worn it to the train station this morning, but she had very intentionally tucked it into the scarf.

Tender red flushed across the yellow pony's cheeks. She tried to elaborate discreetly, "It was a gift for-"

"A gift?!" Rarity shot up in gleeful surprise.

All at once she was taken over by enchanted thoughts and romantic empathy. She swiveled herself around so that she stood alongside her friend, and she leaned in with her indulgent whispers.

"Lucky girl! Oh, do tell, do tell! Who's the charming pony who gave it to you? Is he handsome? Oh! Does he perhaps have a handsome friend?"

Fluttershy's tiny shame over having kept the silly trinket ballooned into mammoth embarrassment because of the unicorn's very particular implications.

"N-N-No, Rarity! I-It's not like that!"

"Oh my! A secret admirer then, is it?" the other pony steered herself further off course.

Visions of valiant shadows sending their love from the dark raced through her head, her attention entirely taken by the tales her entranced imagination was spawning. Her own fantasies sprawled out as fast-paced, fanciful babbling.

"How mysterious! Any hints to his identity? Did he leave the necklace for you on your door to find one day? Have there been folded notes tucked here and there at the places you frequent; secret treasures of a shy romance for you to discover? You pick one up, its paper still fresh and crisp from the single bend he gave it before having left it there, because of course he only had room for one crease if he didn't want to smudge the lines and lines of heart-melting prose he left for you – and only you – within! And as you carefully lift it open to peek at his heavenly oath of devotion, your nostrils just barely grasp the very last whiff of his scent left behind inside; your closet touch to that pony prince who is so near and yet so far away!"

All throughout Rarity's rant Fluttershy tried to interrupt, but her breezy little half-word whispers just hadn't been able to make a dent in the unicorn's wall of words. Her steady slide backwards into greater embarrassment hadn't helped either.

Finally Rarity ran out of breath, spilling out in her final wheeze, "Oh, to have a dedicated pony desiring you enough to do these things! How I envy you, dear!"

"Rarity...," the meek pegasus broke through in the brief interval of silence, "... I bought it."

"You-...?"

Grating gears ground hard in the seamstress's head.

"My goodness, Fluttershy!" she exclaimed, beyond impressed if still slightly confused. "I had absolutely no idea that you were that BOLD! Giving the chase? Buying such a stunning trinket to woo a pony who's taken your fancy? I never imagined! Well done!"

The flustered Fluttershy dropped her head a notch, slid her eyes away, and handed out a heavy hum at the impossible implication.

For her part Rarity quickly understood that she had gotten SOMETHING wrong. Her hoof came up and innocently tapped upon her chin, again and again and again. In the end she had to speak her way out of her befuddlement.

"Though... traditionally... one gives the gift to the pony whom they are trying to court... So why are you wearing-...? Unless... they asked you to wear it...? ... Oh dear, why does this all not sound right?"

"I bought it for somepony else to use as a gift but they didn't need it, so I kept it," Fluttershy admitted ruefully, dropping her tiny words down to the floor.

"Oooooh. Ahem. Well... I see now."

Quite obviously she had pressed her friend into an uncomfortable place, and the unicorn froze up, mortified. Her absolute disaster of a faux pas wasn't just an egregiously poor mark upon her own ladyhood but also an insult to refined and classy ladies everywhere! Not to mention that this was poor Fluttershy, a dear friend. This needed to be fixed, with equal parts apology and redress!

And then lightning struck.

"I'm so very sorry for my confusion, darling," Rarity said, coming up with shining integrity and remarkable warmth. "I was so stuck because it honestly hadn't surprised me to have heard that you had caught somepony's eye. I know it will happen sooner or later."

Still splashed with red, but cooling with content, the pegasus brought her face back up.

"Thanks, Rarity," she accepted with a tiny smile.

"Oh, quite my pleasure I assure you!"

As good and as solid as the fast reconciliation felt, Fluttershy still could have used a little bit more.

Somewhat unguarded, but warm and open, Rarity said, "There's no shame in having kept the silly thing, dear. It really does look quite striking on you."

An ounce of her magic lifted the necklace so that it laid over the pegasus' scarf instead of under it.

"There's no need to hide it."

Some more of Fluttershy's red melted away, revealing a bigger smile.

"Oh, that's so much better, darling," Rarity hummed, gentle and pleased. After a moment of thought she snickered softly to herself and then shared with her friend, "And really, the truth about admirers, secret or not-so-secret, is that not all of them are-"

"HEY EVERYPONY!"

Spike's loud greeting arrived first, followed by the dragon himself, rushing ahead of Twilight, James, and Poppy.

Pleasant salutations were thrown about everywhere, all at once, as the arrivals climbed onto the station platform and merged with the group already there. Basketfuls of hello's were needed for everypony to welcome everypony; with ease they were going to use up their whole supply of greetings for the month.

Spike only offered a few quick ones before he was brought to a hard stop in front of the pony whom he found the most lovely.

"Wow, Rarity," he blushed, "You look beautiful! Er, I mean, your finished dress looks... beautiful... on you!"

Giggling, she replied, "Spike, don't be so superfluous! You've seen it before already! Still... that was a very sweet thing to say." She leaned down a gave him a generous peck on the cheek. "Thank you."

The dragon took a tumble into a blissful wonderland, his claw rubbing his blessed cheek and its now ruby red scales.

Poppy bounced with excitement, and the travel satchel which hung over her whipped about as she pranced.

"Ahh! You all came to my goodbye thing!" she shouted.

"Of course we did," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. "Had to see you off, kid."

Pinkie spouted a blithe, "Uh-huh. Nothing like a friendly goodbye! For friends!"

"Hey, Poppy!" Apple Bloom beckoned, equal echoes coming her comrades. The three fillies pulled together tightly, forming a line which blocked something behind them from view.

The lively Drypony brought herself before them, still bobbing in place. She was already beyond happy to simply see them, but the fact that they obviously had a surprise for her shot her ten times over the moon.

"We're really glad to have met you," Sweetie Belle said.

"And we're really sad to see you go so soon," added Scootaloo.

"So that made it a right scramble to get this together in time, but...," Apple Bloom chirped, before giving her two fellows a sly glance and a nod.

They all turned about, away from Poppy. They wriggled and writhed, fussing with their surprise, and all the while they whispered a fast argument amongst themselves.

"You hold here."

"No, you take that side."

"Grab it like this."

"Not that way!"

"Come on, this isn't that hard!"

"Hurry up!"

At last they came back around, announcing in unison, "TA-DA!"

Held up in their hooves and mouths was a crimson cape, the emblem of the Cutie Mark Crusaders sewn prominently onto it.

Scootaloo beamed, "An official Crusaders cape for an official honorary crusader!"

Poppy squealed. Her satchel fell from her as she surged forward and crashed into her new cape and her friends. The gift crinkled between the filly-hug-pile.

Eventually they unlinked themselves, and the Drypony showered thanks upon the crusaders as well as infinite promises to take extra special care of their gift. She smoothed out some of the fresh creases and then, with a flick of her neck, nimbly cast it up into the air such that it fell perfectly over her back. The others helped her tie it on, and she stood merry and tall as a true crusader.

Suddenly the train's whistle sang a single note song. Sharp and clear, the tune had no urgency. But it was a warning.

Twilight said, "That wasn't the 'all aboard,' but the train will be leaving quite soon."

Poppy understood. Her vaulting excitement squeezed aside to make some small room for just a little bit of sober seriousness, needed for the farewells ahead.

She gave the three crusaders her best goodbye and the group of fillies again collapsed into a hug. Afterwards she bounced before everypony else one by one, and she gave them equally adoring hugs and wishes.

"Goodbye, Miss Rarity! Thanks for everything! Your dress is really pretty!" "Bye, Miss Fluttershy! Say goodbye to all your little friends for me! When I get back I'm going to ask if I can work with the animal ponies at Hamestown sometimes!" "Oh, goodbye, Miss Applejack! I'm gonna find somewhere nice to plant those apple seeds you gave me!"

And so on.

When she went to hug Pinkie Pie she was slightly surprised to be hugged first instead.

The pink pony pulled Poppy against her chest and squeezed her forelegs tightly. She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against the top of the smaller pony's purple mane, soft at first but then harder, and harder, and harder.

"Hehehe, goodbye to you too, Miss Pinkie! It really was a lot of fun! And thank you for the candy!"

"Bye-bye, friend..."

Poppy went to let go only to find that she couldn't; the other pony's grasp simply grew stronger. It never quite became painfully uncomfortable but the Drypony felt the space for her breaths shrinking and shrinking as the embrace overextended itself.

"Uh... Miss Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie's limbs started to shake. She held so tightly that it was like she was trying to squeeze something out of Poppy in the hope that a fraction of it might have splashed onto herself. She was trying to rub some of the little pony into herself.

Finally the great constriction started to unwind, very slowly peeling away tension until the Drypony was fully released. The smile Pinkie Pie held onto stayed true, but it wasn't quite bright. Something ill crept behind it.

And then Poppy came to the last farewell. The one for whom she had originally come so far to see.

Instead of skipping gaily towards the man like she had done towards all of the others, she only stepped nearer one cautious hoof at a time. Sadness was clothed over with soft courage. It was the long-foreseen end of a happy day at the amusement park. She had maturity enough to know when the park absolutely HAD to close, and it wasn't a problem for her to cherish the memories which had been made. What made her slow and weak was that she didn't have words which felt good enough to make the goodbye as special as it deserved to be.

And neither did James. Even when she stopped right in front of him and very nearly started to babble only to come up hesitantly short, he never offered to start their last exchange.

Twilight paid careful attention to him.

Poppy had brought out of the man something previously unseen; something miraculously wonderful. Certainly the friendship he had made with the Drypony was his most deeply felt experience since he had first arrived in Equestria.

So... how would he now respond to what had always been inevitable? The little pony HAD to depart, and thus this first big joy of his now would also share with his first big separation since the permanent physical separation from his past. It wasn't a pleasant thing to ask of him after how sharply his tragedy had pierced him. But if he wanted to truly recover then he would need to exercise his ability to love, in ALL ways good and bad. This was a test he would have had to take sooner or later.

The student of friendship didn't anticipate any sort of problem. Her prediction was supported by her observations of James: expected sorrow floated in the air around him, but there were no signs of unreadiness; no quivers lacking control.

Poppy still struggled to say anything at all, again and again coming within a hair's breadth of an opening whisper before she halted abruptly. Always one to have been clumsy with her words, her head suddenly lifted when a alternate solution came to her; one which allowed her to speak clearly with her talented body instead of her inadequate mouth.

Wordlessly she popped into the air, right into the man, nearly spilling him over with the unexpected action. She latched her forelegs around the fuzzy collar about his neck, pressed her cheek to his, and filled her final hug with all the special love she had in her.

Once James steadied himself he didn't wait to respond in kind, holding her softly in his arms.

She murmured, "I hope this is a good goodbye."

"This is a GREAT goodbye," he answered, tensing his arms around her to emphasize his chosen word. As he snuggled the side of face against her cheek he added, "I think maybe the BEST way to say anything important is with a hug."

The simple sweetness of his comment drew a giggle out of her and she abandoned all of her tiny worries. Opened, she savored the rest of their embrace without reserve.

After it had gone on long, but never too long, she pulled her grinning, bright-eyed face back to look at him.

"This time I'm going to try and write you a lot of letters," she vowed. "I mean it!"

"Well, guess I need to get a lot more diligent with the mailbox then, don't I?"

"Heehee, yeah!"

But though she giggled a smile, a faint glistening came into her eyes and she dipped them down at the man's chest.

Particularly quiet, she asked, "So... we're going to see each other again, right?"

He met her forehead-to-forehead, drawing her face up enough so that they could nuzzle noses.

"You bet. Maybe a trip to Hamestown. Or maybe you'll have some ambassadorial duties again; we've already learned that there's always more of Ponyville to see. We'll figure something out. That's a promise."

There was a short pause, then a tickling thought came to him and he uttered, "No scrunchie this time."

Poppy laughed, recalling their last promise. Again he had a way of speaking to her which filled her with wholesome confidence, and she understood what he had meant. They were beyond needing frilly bows to wrap their promises.

But the simple mention of it also triggered a different memory in the Drypony. A slippery old detail which for the longest time had be delicately hanging from a thread in her mind finally dropped.

"Ah! I almost forgot!"

Tearing herself from James' arms she jumped down to the floor and rocketed over to her travel satchel. Opening the bag wide, she stuffed the whole front of her body inside. Items, those brought-with or recently gift-given, were flung out across the station platform as she rummaged aggressively for something buried deep at the bottom of her bag.

Moving past the short shock of her unexpected action, the man asked, "What did you almost forget?"

"Lady Willow had-, she had-, she said she wanted me to give you something," the filly replied quickly from inside the satchel. A few more items came flying out, including her train ticket which would have slipped away through the cracks of the platform if it wasn't for a fast, magical catch by Twilight. "She said-, she said that since we don't need it anymore you can have it. She said it was a momenty-, uh... a mimenta-, ah... a-... a momotoe-"

"A memento," Twilight assisted.

"Yeah, that!"

Whatever the filly had been looking for she apparently found; her foraging ceased and her tail excitedly shot up like a spike. Clicking her little hooves against the wood she wriggled backwards out of her satchel, and she turned about to proudly offer to James his small gift from the wise old mare of Heartwood.

It was a medallion.

Quite specifically it was the very same medallion that he, Twilight, and all the others had seen months back when they had first been prisoners of the Dryponies: a wooden base which held what looked like a blooming flower made of crimson crystals, all tied to a sturdy loop of string.

It dangled from Poppy's mouth, and there was a soft red light which beat out of the crystals as they faintly flickered from the filly's innate bodily magic. In the past the trinket's purpose had been to test individuals for the amount of accursed magic they put out; the Dryponies had held it close to suspects and read the strength of the light the crystals emitted. Because of their change of heart, animosity turning to tolerance and friendship, the simple medallion had no more functional use for the Dryponies; save perhaps appearing pretty or feeding sentimentality.

And the latter property certainly made it a reasonable gift for imparting a memory upon James.

The man reached down and took the medallion from the little Drypony, chuckling as he remembered the odd thing himself. When he held it up the gentle light which had been glowing inside the crystals swiftly faded away, exchanged for a starving darkness; a greedy black which pulsed within the red crystal flower. He only smirked some more as he playfully brought the trinket closer and further from himself at random, watching how the darkness strengthened and softened depending on how near to him the crystals were. Their silent screams of, 'This one has no magic!' quite amused him.

He then laid the medallion securely over his neck, setting it so that it rested upon the center of his breast.

"Thank you. And tell Willow Wise I said, 'Thank you.'"

"Uh huh!" Poppy promised with a bounce, pleased endlessly by how happy he had been to accept the gift.

Suddenly her bounding came to a fast stop, and a momentary thought contorted her face. She gave the man a look of genuine, earnest curiosity.

"Anything you want I should tell Broken Oak?"

The entire crowd levied queer glances at the filly's question. None of them knew the stony Drypony stallion all that well but, with everything that had happened between them and him, he didn't seem like he would have been interested in anything they had to say.

James certainly felt that way. In his own opinion it would have been supernaturally generous to say that he and Broken Oak had parted on neutral terms.

But the man also understood Poppy's desire to have some sort of message for the mighty pony. Broken Oak wasn't to her like the stallion was to Twilight and the others. To her he wasn't very different than the man: an adored friend, a role model, and somepony whom she loved to her fullest unquestionably. If the stallion had gone to Ponyville instead of her, well then she would have very much liked for him to have carried a message from everypony back for her.

And the opportunity awoke the mischievous devil inside of James. It whispered delightful, juicy things into his ear. He didn't know much about Broken Oak, especially in regards to how the stallion might have changed in the past two months, but there was ONE THING about him which Poppy had mentioned earlier...

... Something she had said about how, nowadays, instead of spending his days being a pushy brute and a hard bully, the brawny stallion sweated his time away quietly on the farm fields of Hamestown...

... Something about how he labored for hours under the sun, plowing and sowing and harvesting; doing the work of ten ponies at once with his huge body; grinding away every day until his muscles were soaking wet...

... All in front of an audience of swooning local mares.

The man had a message for Broken Oak. Oh, did he ever. One which left him struggling to contain a puckish smile.

Wishing not to share it with the others (they wouldn't understand), he bent his legs and crouched way down, waggling a finger to summon Poppy closer. When she trotted up to him he leaned daringly close and held her ear, twisting it into a cup over his mouth.

In secret confidence he whispered, "Tell him I said, 'Keep hitting that.'"

Poppy pulled back. Her mouth crunched with confusion, but her whole face was still turned up with glee. She had no idea what his message even meant but she sensed the silly humor he had conveyed it with. More importantly, the secrecy of it thrilled her. It was a game which she wanted to be a part of, even if she didn't understand.

If for no other reason than her fun trust in the man, she nodded that she would relay the message faithfully.

And James' hidden lament was that he wouldn't be there to see the stallion's face when she did.

The whistle of the train screamed once more, bearing more warning than before.

"Time's running short," Twilight spoke up once the blaring tweet died down. "Let's gather up all these things and get them back into your bag so you're ready. Oh, and you'll need this." She returned the nearly-lost ticket to Poppy with a crafty wink.

In short order the travel satchel was repacked, a bit more evenly than before thanks to Twilight's organized help. Poppy donned the bag, sliding it on carefully so that it wouldn't scrunch her new Crusaders cape, and she held her ticket clenched between her teeth. She recited some more eager goodbyes as she took backwards steps away from the company of friends. When there was no room left for a slow retreat she at last turned around and boarded the train, handing her ticket in to the genteel stallion just inside. A few moments later one of the train's windows opened and her cheerful face popped out. Everypony gathered near, and for some final minutes more they stayed there and chatted with the filly, all in loving farewell remarks.

Eventually the very last warning whistle blew, this time backed by a professional cry of, "All aboard!"

The others backed away to safety and then, after an extra minute or so, a roar kicked up as the train engine sprung to life, puffing and chugging. The wheels rolled, gathering speed. The whistle screeched a farewell to Ponyville.

As the line of cars pulled away, Poppy gave big waves of her hoof out the window, calling jubilantly the whole way, "Goodbye! Goodbye! Thank you! Goodbye! See you again soon! Goodbye!"

And of course all the same was given back to her, with waving hooves and loud farewells reaching her for quite some distance as the train went.

Twilight kept a careful eye on James.

He shouted nothing to the departing Drypony. He only waved; one hand sat resting in his pocket, the other flowed back and forth gently, stretched high over his head. His eyes were dry too, though all was not perfect behind them.

And quite clearly she heard him give a burdened sigh.

While everypony else still shouted their best towards the shrinking train, Twilight slipped closer to the man and asked him privately, "Everything alright?"

He gave a brief silence followed by another dry sigh, and then while still watching the train he said thoughtfully, "It's-... it's nice to have something so..."

'Special'? 'Beautiful'? 'Meaningful'? 'Important'?

An empty, exasperated breath filled the gap left by the unknown word too important replace with a pale imitation.

"... something... to look forward to."

"To look forward-? Oh, you mean, seeing her again?"

Twilight gazed at the now-tiny train once more, thought, and then responded brightly back to him, "Yes. Yes, I agree. And it feels exactly how it's supposed to, right? She came... she went... and yet she's still here. Right there in your heart."

He hiccuped a suppressed laugh, forgiving her of her corniness if should would forgive him of his rude joy. But she wasn't wrong, and the ultimate truth in her words helped him swell with happiness.

"Yeah. Yeah, I suppose so."

"So it is, and so it always was with everypony in your life that you've ever cared about," the unicorn concluded affirmatively. Calm, she was uplifted by how the man – her friend – had tackled the whole experience from beginning to end. "If you ever doubted before because of your tragedy, now you have the proof before you: love endures. It's one of love's little secrets, taught to you by the incidental wisdom of a filly."

James mumbled, "... 'And a little child shall lead them.'"

"Hm?"

"I dunno," he shrugged, finally lowering his arm as the train had all but disappeared beyond the buildings ahead, visible only by its engine's rising plumes of smoke. A brown, bouncy, jubilant filly danced in his imagination. "I don't remember where that quote's from."

Silence came upon the group as they shifted closer to the walls of the station, but nopony departed. They waited in the chilly air, some of them shivering slightly now that their minds were free to notice the cold temperature again. All of them had eyes on Twilight, who couldn't hide her increasingly eager grin.

"So!" she called, "I'm glad everypony is here! I have something incredible I've been wanting to announce for awhile!"

"Boy howdy!" whistled Applejack, "It's about time, I say. You been droppin' hints on us about it all week!"

"Oh, yes. Time to spill the hay, dear," Rarity agreed. "You've been so very hush-hush and careful about it that it's got us all exceedingly curious."

Several of the others said the same in concert.

Twilight adopted a grandiose stance. Brimming with joy, her smile shot wide and her voice swelled with an inviting tone.

"Alright! It's been quite an autumn! Everypony's been working hard, whether that be on a farm, or sewing dresses, or... trying to make friends... and I think a GREAT way for us to kick off this new winter would be with a little bit of rest and relaxation away from all the cares of Ponyville."

The others looked at each other, twisting their heads, before they came back to her.

First drawing in one big breath, the long-held excitement came blasting out of Twilight like a freshly unclogged fire hose.

"Who here's up for an all-expense-paid tropical vacation?"

Author's Note:

"And a little child shall lead them," is a quote from the Bible, specifically Isaiah 11:6. However, in Biblical context, it comes from a section about the peace of Christ coming upon the world; e.g. the child leads all sorts of dangerous animals (lions, wolves, etc.) without fear of harm. James readily admits to not knowing the source in order to divorce the quote from its original context and instead let it stand on its own power, which is how you normally hear people use it nowadays: there's something that we so often accidentally lose or even purposefully abandon that many kids often hold on to so well.

Comments

[Nightmare]

Unleash the pinkamena

[JBL]

And then everyone declined and left Twilight on her own.

[Truthseeker]

Twas an excellent chapter my friend. Though Pinkie Pie was displaying some extremely worrying symptoms. I hope she and James come to some sort of reconciliation.

[DerpTape]

And here I always thought that quote was from Waterworld. . .