A farewell to the frontier!
A Farewell to the Frontier!
For the first time since she had come to Appleloosa, Carrot Top sat outside her hovel, waiting for sunrise. She waited in her wheelchair, a warm cup of coffee between her hooves. As she closed her eyes and drank in its warmth, she found herself reminiscing on every morning, good and bad, that she had had here in Appleloosa. "This place has grown on me a little, I guess," she mused to herself, breathing in the bitter-cold air. "I'll miss it, just a little."
She carefully brought the steaming elixir to her lips. Black, strong, bitter. Feeling it's warmth energize her from the inside, Carrot Top left the cup on the floor and turned towards the apple orchards in the distance. "I'm going to do this, and I'm going to be happy in the end," she said with confidence. "Oh Celestia, I think I've cracked."
"I think you're just fine," came Derpy's sleepy voice. "Hey, Carrot Top, what are you doing up so early? It's not like you." She waited for Carrot Top by the doorway, rubbing her eyes with her fetlocks.
"O-oh! Good morning, Derpy. I-I just felt like it," Carrot Top answered back with a disarming wave of her hoof. "Derpy, you don't need to cook breakfast for me this morning. I have some errands to do." She quickly wheeling off towards the orchards, turning back only once to yell, "Don't wait up for me tonight, ok?" before disappearing from Derpy's view.
"Okay then!" Derpy yelled back and waving off in the distance. She was unsure if Carrot Top had actually heard her but continued to happily ebb back and forth with a idyllic smile. "She's more sparked than usual."
"So!" Dinky called out, startling her mother into flying through the roof of the hovel. "So, Carrot Top finally making her move on Braeburn?" she asked as her mother pulled herself out of the newly-created hole in the roof.
After a minute of flailing, Derpy clumsily dislodged herself and happily crashed into the floor. "You think so, Miss mature filly?"
"Well, yesterday, she seemed to be all happy and what not, and when is Carrot Top ever happy?"
"When she's surrounded by loving and caring friends?" Derpy answered while giving an imaginary, and much less ornery, Carrot Top a big hug.
"Besides that," Dinky groaned.
Derpy's eyes shrunk to dots as she yelled out, "When she's going googly for Braeburn!" She turned back to the doorway, looking off to where Carrot Top disappeared. "Well, whatever happens, I hope everypony will be happy and also everybuffalo!" She flapped her wings to lift herself back onto her hooves trotted over to the sink in the kitchen. "Well," she addressed Dinky, "since Carrot Top said not to worry about her, why don't you and I cook something together? I'll even tell you my secret ingredient so you can cook just like mama."
"I'm going to guess it's love." A huffy Dinky was hoisted into the air and placed on the counter by her mother. She gave Dinky a playful ruffle of her mane before turning back to the kitchen.
"Then if you know it, why don't you try making something, Miss mature filly?" Derpy egged her on.
"How hard is it to cook some muffins? I've seen you do it hundreds of times."
"Oh, it's not hard at all," Derpy chuckled as she combed through the cabinets and pantry for ingredients she could throw into a bowl. "Anypony, no, anyone, can make muffins, tasty ones too, but that doesn't mean anything."
Dinky stared at her mother with agitation, tapping her hooves on the counter. "Mom, try and make some sense right now, please," she groaned through clenched teeth.
"Well," Derpy started, already pouring ingredients into the bowl, "you could pour the batter into a mold, and then shove it in the oven, and serve them to your friends, and everyone will be happy and recall that it a few days later, but if you want to put love into your gifts you need to go the extra mile."
"You're still not making any sense," Dinky grumbled.
"Then cut these," Derpy interjected, placing a couple of apples and carrots next to Dinky.
"You're going to put both of these in the batter?" Dinky asked incredulously as she grabbed the hilt of the table-knife next to her with her hooves. "Are you sure these will taste good together?"
"Nope," Derpy answered with confidence. "But they're everyone's favourites. Maybe they will work together, maybe they won't, but you want to know what my favourite thing about muffins is?" Dinky gave a curious nod. "You can fill them with whatever you want and then hand them out to your friends. Raisins and chocolate chips, apples and carrots, even cheese! You can fill it with everyone’s favourite things and maybe, just maybe, it'll work!" She exploded with energy, almost knocking Dinky off her tail. "And then, you can put 'em in a basket and go giving them out to your friends and even strangers."
"I guess that sounds nice," Dinky mumbled, carefully cutting the apples and carrots into little bits.
"So then let's make some nice treats for all our friends," Derpy exclaimed with delight, "and fill it with our love for them all!"
"Say, mom, if you were to fill a muffin with some of moustache's favourite things, what would it be?"
"Beans and gin," Derpy said with an audible groan.
On the edge of town, in the wake of the rising sun, Little Strongheart sat lonely in the shadow of the welcome sign, drawing figures into the dirt mournfully. She drew four mares: one smaller than the others, one with wings, one with an apple on her head, and one with wild and curly hair. She drew a funny looking stallion with a ridiculous looking moustache. She drew a distant looking stallion, one whose eyes would never meet hers. "I have to go tell them all I'll be gone for awhile." A painful lump started forming within her. "It will not be so bad," she sighed to herself.
A gust of wind blew away her drawings. "Please, let that not be a sign." Little Strongheart pulled herself up and walked into Appleloosa, her mind hard at work to keep her from stampeding out of town and straight back to her camp.
"Little Strongheart?" came a familiar voice.
"Sheriff Silverstar?" Little Strongheart blurted back. She turned, and he was only a few feet away. "Uh, what brings you out here?"
"My job, it's your job too," Silverstar gruffed at her. "Mind telling me why you're late? It's not like you really."
"I apologize." Little Strongheart bowed respectfully, but also to hide her face from him. "I was outside town, being held up by something."
"Eh? Something dangerous outside?" Silverstar looked behind Little Strongheart, just out to the edge of Appleloosa. Nothing was there. "Anything?"
"Nothing like that," Little Strongheart began to tear up. "Silverstar! Have you seen Derpy?"
"N-no," Silverstar stumbled, moving his hoof to his hat as if to hide his eyes before speaking nervously. "I was going to try and see her later. She didn't turn in for work this morning too. So, I guess she's still at home."
"Then perhaps I should go see her first." It took all her strength to keep from collapsing to the ground in a fit of tears.
Braeburn threw his hooves against the bark of a tree. Three apples came falling into the basket at the tree's base. "I'm off my A-game this mornin'," he lamented as he sat down against the tree. He held his hooves close to a necklace of feathers around his neck, and he felt the warming effects almost instantly. "This really is a nifty little trinket."
"You're probably the only pony in Equestria, short of the Princesses, that has such a thing," said a cool and feminine voice. Carrot Top wheeled out from behind a tree, carrying with her an air of confidence and vigor. "So, how is your morning going, Braeburn? Bucking trees I see."
"It's my job out here, you know that," Braeburn groaned as he pulled himself up. "And, it isn't goin' too well to be honest. So, what brings you here, Carrot Top?" he asked, turning towards her with a downtrodden expression on his face.
"I want to talk to you about, well, you," she answered him sternly.
"Let me guess," Braeburn sighed, "you're goin' to try and convince me that I should settle down with a family, right?" Braeburn placed a hind hoof against the tree he was leaning against. Closing his eyes and feeling the tree out, he searched for the sweet spot every pony in his family learned to feel out like a sixth sense. He reared up and bucked the tree as hard as he could. Two apples fell down. There were still at least ten left. "Carrot Top, I know you want me to change and all, and I guess I do too..."
"Well, it's the thought that counts," Carrot Top sighed as she wheeled over to Braeburn's side. "You don't need to change in a day. I know that's just just not possible. I understand that."
"Thank you," Braeburn said with exhaustion.
"But," Carrot Top put her hoof around the phoenix feather necklace and pulled it off Braeburn in one snap. The mere act had left the stallion completely stunned. "There is something I do need you to do in a day, sorry," she said dryly.
"C-Carrot Top? Give that back!" Braeburn ordered her. She didn't listen.
"Not yet," Carrot Top answered him. "Braeburn, it's alright to like others."
"Are you goin' to try and do that psycho-analogy-mind freak stuff to me?" he snorted, anger flaring up. "I'll have you know us Apple ponies are notorious for being bull-headed and stubborn to a fault!"
"How fitting," Carrot Top mused as she placed the broken necklace in a heat-retardant sack. "I've learned this the agonizingly painful way, though. No need to restate the obvious."
"Can you stop playin' around!" Braeburn finally yelled. "Just give me back the dang necklace! This is downright terrible behaviour from you!"
Carrot Top looked at Braeburn inquisitively. "So, did I hit a nerve by taking this?"
"Why are you actin' all weird now!? Yes you hit a nerve!" Braeburn roared, his eyes narrowly focused on the backpack. "Did breaking your leg do something to your head?"
"Now that's a terrible way to get a mare," Carrot Top mumbled to herself. "I'm doing this for both our sake too."
"Speak louder, dang'it!" Braeburn huffed again. "Just what the hay are you trying to get from me now? Huh! I thought you said you understood!"
"It's because I understand that I have to do this."
"That sounds twisted in its own way!" he yelled, enraged and exasperated.
"A little," Carrot Top admitted. "Braeburn, I meant it when I said you don't need to change in a day, and if you want you don't have to. Nopony can force anything on you, but, because you're special to me, I want you to change for the better, and not just for me, but for yourself," she pleaded as she hugged the bag closer to her.
Braeburn spat behind him and shot Carrot Top an agitated look. "That's mighty pretentious of you..."
"Fine, I'm pretentious," Carrot Top shot back, also growing enraged with the moment, "but just listen to me for a bit at least!"
Braeburn eyed her, and she didn't flinch. Indeed, the more he stared at her, the more she seemed to overpower him. With nothing more he could do, he surrendered. "Fine," he sighed in defeat, "what is it?" He head fell low, heavy-hearted.
"Braeburn, would it be so bad to give love a shot?"
Braeburn's eyes shot wide open and he shuffled backwards.
Little Strongheart stood outside the hovel she had visited so many times before. She placed her hoof on the front door, ready to knock, but it just swung open from the slight touch. Inside, she found Derpy and Dinky waiting excitedly before the oven. "Good morning," she called out to them weakly.
"Hm!?" Derpy's ears perked up. She turned around and excitedly tackled Little Strongheart in a hug. "Little Strongheart!" she cried out happily. "I'm so sorry that the last time you saw me I was all gloomy! But not anymore. These hooves are made for walking, and that's what they'll do!"
"Mom, you're a pegasus," Dinky groaned.
"Oh yeah. Then these wings were made for flying!" Derpy took to the air instantly, still holding on to Little Strongheart tightly. "And that's just what they'll do!"
"I am very happy to hear your confusing metaphor, Derpy," Little Strongheart wheezed as she gasped for air. "You are truly most delightful when your spirits are high."
"Well, I'm not sure if they're that high yet, but I've got to do something important for me!" Derpy announced before realizing how blue her buffalo friend was. "Oops," she giggled as she gently floated down and let go of Little Strongheart. "Sorry. Are you okay?"
"I am fine," Little Strongheart gasped. "Derpy, are you going to miss Appleloosa?"
"Of course I'll miss Appleloosa!" Derpy yelled out for all of Appleloosa to hear. "There are so many good ponies here! I mean, who wouldn't miss them?"
"Ahem," Dinky cleared her throat.
"And Little Strongheart's out here too! Right, Dinky! We'll miss her, right!" Derpy yelled to the back of the hovel, certain her message was getting through for once.
"Well, yeah," Dinky admitted. "You're probably the least annoying being here."
"But, you'll be able to visit whenever you want, won't you?" Little Strongheart pointed out solemnly.
"Yeah, I can, but it won't be the same as my time living here, no matter how much I wish." Derpy floated over to Little Strongheart and touched her hooves. "Little Strongheart, are you okay?"
"Tonight," she started, beginning to tear up, "my tribe is going to begin our ceremonial stampede. We will be gone for a year." Like something painful opening within her, tears unknowingly crept out of her, landing on the floor in a somber puddle of emotions. "I will not be able to visit Appleloosa. I will be too far. I am going to miss you all and everyone here as well."
Derpy wrapped up Little Strongheart in another, much softer, embrace. "Little Strongheart, on the day you return, I promise I'll be there," she soothingly told her. "I'll make sure the first thing you see is my googly face, I promise."
"That is a comforting thought," Little Strongheart sobbed. "You are too good a friend."
"It's the least I can do." Derpy grinned to her irreplaceable friend. "Want to help me and Dinky make some muffins?"
"That would be lovely, but I need to go and try to tell the others about my departure."
"You want me to come with you?" Derpy offered with a warming smile. "If you're leaving tonight, than I don't want to spend a second away from you so that we can remember these moments while we wait to see each other again when we finally greet you when you come back!"
"That would be nicer than I can imagine," Little Strongheart answered her. "Thank you for your friendship, Derpy. You have helped me make some of my most precious memories."
"And mine too!" Derpy finally teared up.
With her first of many partings out of the way, Little Strongheart mentally sifted through her list. "I guess Carrot Top would be next? I'm sure she will be happy to have her rival for Braeburn out of the way," she jested painfully.
"Actually, she's out catching herself a Braeburn," Dinky answered her. "So, uh, yeah. I guess she would have Braeburn all to herself for at least a while."
"Oh," Little Strongheart choked. "I-I see. I am happy for her then, even if it does not seem that way." Little Strongheart looked like she was dying inside, ready to collapse and disappear through the cracks of her own splintering emotions.
"It's alright to be sad." Derpy placed a hoof on her back.
"No!" Little Strongheart blurted. "I mean, no as in I am fine. Carrot Top is a good friend that I honestly wish happiness for, and all I ever want is for Braeburn to be happy," she stammered on, not looking anyone in the eye. "If they make each other happy, then no matter what, in the end, I'll be fine. We promised each other that."
"Little Strongheart?"
"I want them to be happy," Little Strongheart teared up. "What could I do? He doesn't look at me, and I'm just going to disappear. He will forget about me in due time, and will find his happiness, and that will eventually make me happy. If I just disappear, it might be for the best."
"Don't say that," Derpy tried to argue.
"I-it's alright. Eventually I will stop being sad. Time heals all wounds as they say, right?" she asked, even more-so pleaded.
Silverstar gazed over the bushel of apples, agitated and confused. "Miss Apple Bumpkin," he called back to the store clerk. "You're a mare, right?"
"Gee, Silverstar," Apple Bumpkin groaned, "you've gone and swept me off my hooves. I'm falling madly in love with you. Take me away so I can leave behind my meager existence and live a rich fulfilling life of raising our moustached daughters." She couldn't infuse anymore sarcasm into her statement even if she had all the powers of the spirit of Discord to aid her.
"That's a yes, right?" Silverstar asked like a buffoon.
"Silverstar, I'd show you but I wouldn't want to be arrested for indecent exposure," she scowled at him, wanting to make him feel as uncomfortable as he made her.
"Okay, you've made your point," Silverstar grouched at her, one of his eyes twitching. "Just, what kind of apples do mares like? Apples are supposed to be your family's thing, right?"
"Trouble with the marefriend?" Apple Bumpkin guess as she leaned over her counter to examine Silverstar closer. His face only looked agitated, and directed at her. "Just the other day you and Derpy were like two peas in a pod. Don't know what she sees in you. I think she's too good for you."
"And I wonder why we don't talk more," Silverstar mumbled. "Okay, are you gonna stop insulting me so you can start swindling me anytime soon?"
"Well, it depends on a lot of things," Apple Bumpkin started. "You have Red Delicious apples for when you've gotten in a fight because you didn't talk things out very well. You have Honeycrisp apples for when you've gone and done something stupid like drink yourself half to death. Gala apples are especially used in the makeup process. Something about the world 'gala' mares like— oh! And Braeburn apples for when you've just gone and been a big dummy."
"I imagine those are in high demand," Silverstar said with a toneless voice.
"I'm just telling you what I know from a long line of ponies before me," Apple Bumpkin sang innocently. Within seconds, her counter was covered in Red Delicious, Gala and Braeburn apples. "Huh, no Honeycrisp?"
"Haven't touched the stuff," Silverstar chided at her, his moustache failing to hide a snide smile directed at her, but she responded with a playful punch, something he didn't expect.
"I always hate it when you show up with that nasty whisky breath," she commented. "In celebration, I'll give you a little discount. Twenty-five bits."
"Twenty-five! What kind of discount is that!?" Silverstar roared with flabbergasted fury. "You're trying to put me in the poor house!"
"Silverstar," Apple Bumpkin laughed, "from what I know of your living conditions, you're already there. Sleeping in your own office with a can of beans for comfort."
"Beans don't offer much comfort. Fine," he grumbled. "Take your blood-bits, you thieving varmint." He removed his hat and shook the bits out of it.
"Very good," Apple Bumpkin squealed as she took the bits and started counting them. "You know, if you can satisfy my curiosity, what made you want to get on that high horse to begin with? I just never took you for her type."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Silverstar narrowed his stern eyes on her.
"She's all carefree, bubbly, not a serious bone in her body unless her filly is involved. Kinda just breezes through life for better or for worse. I imagine you more for the type to get all gussied in a dress and corset and put on heavy eyeliner, you know what I mean? One of those 'frontier belles' types."
"Simply put, you're wrong about that," Silverstar chuckled as he started shoving the apples into a bag. "I just like her, and that's all there is to it."
"That's a lame answer," Apple Bumpkin sighed. "C'mon, there's got to be a more interesting answer than that."
"Nope," Silverstar laughed at her. She was so naive, he thought. "Try falling in love someday. I'm sure it will make as much sense to you as it does to me."
"I won't understand a thing," Apple Bumpkin argued as she slid back five bits to Silverstar.
"Exactly," Silverstar laughed. "Some things in life don't make sense, like her."
The bell at the doorway rang, and in stepped Little Strongheart and Derpy. Little Strongheart looked like she was falling apart with only Derpy left to support her. "Good afternoon," she greeted them weakly.
"Little Strongheart, are you okay?" Silverstar asked in astonishment. "What happened to you?"
"I just came to say that... tonight, my tribe will begin our ceremonial stampede." She couldn't even lift herself to meet their gaze. "I'll be gone for a year and will miss you both dearly," she said, monotonous and morosely with a few tears in her eyes. She wondered if this would become routine with her partings; she would just break down.
A hoof reached out to her, pulling her chin up to meet with Silverstar, who looked at her sternly. "You're coming back, right?" he asked her. She nodded feebly. "Then that's all that should matter. Just be sure to take care of yourself so you come back to us, no matter what, y'hear?"
"You don't want me to disappear?" Little Strongheart choked up.
"Why would I ever want that?" Silverstar shot back in disgust. "You're one of the finest beings I've ever met, and if anypony would ever want you to disappear, then I'll be sure to talk to them with my hooves."
"Very mature, and very macho. Who're you trying to impress, hmm?" Apple Bumpkin dryly commented from behind, much to Silverstar's chagrin. "But anyway, I'm going to miss you too, Little Strongheart," Apple Bumpkin sighed as she drooped down over her table. "Nopony in this room wants you to up and disappear."
"Nopony in this room," Little Strongheart sighed. "But—"
"You're thinking of Braeburn, aren't you?" Silverstar said quickly. Little Strongheart, again, nodded feebly. "Listen, that kid isn't sure what he wants, and he's finally coming around to see that. Don't mistake his stupidity for being cold. He's just a kid, just like you. So get these stupid ideas out of your head too. You got friends here, right? We're friends, right? Friends," he paused for a moment, clumsily choosing words, "don't want friends to disappear. If you don't come back, then I'm going to have to tear up the desert looking for you."
"Yes, we are friends," Little Strongheart repeated deliberately. "Derpy, you can let go of me now."
Derpy slowly lowered herself to allow Little Strongheart to dislodge herself from her. "Feeling strong again?"
"Little," Little Strongheart replied.
"That warms my heart to hear." Derpy turned to Silverstar and waved a wing. "You, we need to talk. Alone!"
"Yeah, gotcha," Silverstar nodded as he followed her outside.
Derpy lead Silverstar out behind the Apple-Mart store, her heart pounding away inside her as she searched her mind for the words she needed to say to him. When they were behind the store, with not a single pony in sight. She opened her mouth and said, "Well, aren't you all cool now?" She mentally scolded herself for such a thoughtless sentence and Silverstar looked at her inquisitively. "Well, what I mean is, whatever happened to ‘I'm bad with my emotions’, hm?"
"Miss Derpy, that hasn't changed in the slightest, as much as I wish it had. What I did for Little Strongheart wasn't emotions. It was, how can I put it? Camaraderie."
"Friendship," she corrected him.
"Yeah, friendship," he said with a dry chuckle. "I can't vocalize my emotions really well, but when I see a friend that's down like she was I'm going to try and pull them up."
"And what about yesterday? When I was down?" Derpy asked, not vindictively, but curiously.
"Miss Derpy, please understand that I was hurtin' too... No!" He shook himself. "My behaviour was downright inexcusable and I was horrible. I would understand if," a single tear rolled down his face, "if you never want to see me again."
Derpy drifted closer to Silverstar, much to his surprise as he nearly jumped back. "Silverstar, it's alright if you felt hurt too."
"I want to be a better stallion than that," he grunted.
"You're already better," Derpy sighed as she wrapped a wing over him. "And I want to try us being a couple again, even if I do have to move back to Ponyville. And, to be honest, I still have no idea what I'm doing or going to do or anything, but I know I like you, because you did something special for me no other pony did."
"Miss Derpy, nothing would make me happier," he whispered to her solemnly. "But, that doesn't change the fact that we're going to be miles apart."
"So you don't want to try?" she asked him. "If you don't want to try then I'll just flutter off. I won't force you."
"Miss Derpy, let's try. At least this way, I'll have no regrets."
"I won't have any regrets too," Derpy replied back as they embraced each other.
"Here," Apple Bumpkin groaned as she slammed down a large burlap sack stuffed to the brim with apples. "Take this on the road with you and every time you bite into one of these it better remind you to visit here the moment you step back on Appleloosan soil, do you hear me?!" she practically shouted at Little Strongheart. "These are free, for you. Got it?"
"I thank you!" Little Strongheart tried to shout back with enthusiasm to match Apple Bumpkin. "Even if they spoil, I shall bite into these knowing that they were a gift from a great friend."
"Well, if they spoil you don't have to."
"I understand!" Little Strongheart shouted again.
"W-what's got you so energized all of a sudden?"
"Silverstar," Little Strongheart answered. "I still feel my heart in pain because I still like Braeburn, but Silverstar reminded me that even if he does forget about me, their are still ponies here that care about me. Truth be told, I feel silly for forgetting that."
"I guess that pony can say smart things when he needs to," Apple Bumpkin chuckled.
"Sheriff Silverstar is one of the wisest ponies I have met here in Appleloosa," Little Strongheart retorted. Apple Bumpkin couldn't help but stifle a laugh in response.
"Hi, Carrot Top!" came Derpy's loud and bubbly voice.
Little Strongheart glanced out the doorway, and there Carrot Top was, sitting on a metal chair with wheels. "What on earth?" Little Strongheart bleated as she rushed out the doorway. "Carrot Top, what happened to you!" Little Strongheart called out to her.
"Huh?" Carrot Top turned to see who called her, and nearly froze up. "Crud," she croaked.
"What happened to you!?" Little Strongheart asked with worry. "You have been fused to a chair and some kind of white monster is eating your leg!"
"Of course, that's what happened," Carrot Top sighed before recomposing herself. "The monster is a cast, and the chair is to help me move. I injured myself, when I fell down a hole with Braeburn the other day."
"Oh?" Little Strongheart asked.
"I fell down a hole with Braeburn, and he helped me out and to a hospital."
"Oh, so this happened while you were with Braeburn," Little Strongheart sighed. She almost fell back down into her emotional maelstrom, but the presence of her friends reminded her that, no matter what, there were those that cared for her here, even if they weren't Braeburn. "Carrot Top," she called to her again more resolutely. "I am happy for you!"
"Huh?" Carrot Top stumbled as she wheeled herself backwards. "I'm glad to know, I guess. But, I'll see you later and all? Have a good day! Bye-bye!" She started wheeling herself off to escape, and bumped right into Derpy.
"So, did you get Braeburn yet?" Derpy asked.
"Dangit you're going to ruin everything, "Carrot Top cursed as she backed up and shot off around Derpy.
"Bye, Carrot Top!" Derpy waved away to her. "I wonder what's got her in such a hurry?"
"I didn't get to tell her I'm leaving, or properly congratulate her," Little Strongheart sighed, but she took a deep breath and shook away her anxieties. She put on a face of determination and scratched the ground with a hoof. "I-I am going to get her, and I'm going to give her a proper farewell, because she is a precious friend!"
"That's really good for you?" Apple Bumpkin guessed. "Little Strongheart, what are you going on about?"
"I am going to be honest!" Little Strongheart yelled again before jumping forward and stampeding out the doorway.
"Well, she's sure fired up," Silverstar noted. "So, Miss Derpy, shall we be on our way?"
"Nope," Derpy responded as she and Apple Bumpkin locked their hooves around his shoulders and started dragging him off, following Little Strongheart's earth-rending trail.
Braeburn waited at the outskirts of of Appleloosa, tapping a hoof nervously. "What am I doing?" he agonized to himself. "I don't need to do anything. She said so herself." Was he telling himself truths or excuses, he wondered; making a point, or running away. Such a fine and hard line to see. "I'm... happy, right?"
"Braeburn, would it be so bad to give love a shot?"
Braeburn's eyes shot wide open and he shuffled backwards. "Why are you asking me these things!?"
"Because I want you to prove something to me!" Carrot Top stated with unshakable resolution. "Prove to me that anypony, no, any one, can find happiness!"
"I'm perfectly happy," Braeburn retorted uneasily.
"Stop lying! If you were happy, then you wouldn't have acted the way you did before! If you were happy you wouldn't have said the things you said! You’re not happy, just scared, but I can't blame you for that because I'm the same way: scared. Maybe we're scared of different things, but the results are the same: two unhappy ponies."
"Carrot Top, what's gotten into you?" Braeburn had never seen her like this. She was like a fire, burning brightly and fiercely, but her base was almost all ash now.
"I'm trying to prove something to myself, and I'm using you to prove it. I'm sorry about that."
"I'm going to let down my guard now, huh?" he asked himself. The young colt in his mind kept telling himself it was a bad idea, that it was only going to end painfully. What was he? Mr. Appleloosa. The town personality, only because he had to sacrifice his childhood to build that town that locked him up. "I'm not ready for this!" he cried out loud, but a familiar sound perked up his ears: wheels against the dirt. A certain level of wheezing. He looked in the direction, and there was Carrot Top wheeling up to him as fast as she could.
"She's coming!" Carrot Top shouted as she left a cloud of dust behind her.
"What? Carrot Top! Who's coming?" Braeburn gawked.
Carrot Top swiveled to the side, and behind her was Little Strongheart. Braeburn instantly tensed up.
"Carrot Top!" Little Strongheart yelled out. "I have something to tell you!"
Carrot Top, wheeling herself faster than she could ever gallop by sheer force of will, rolled past Braeburn, stopping to a skidding halt just behind him.
"Carrot Top! Braeburn." Her voice trailed off as Little Strongheart also came to a stop in front of them. Here they were, together. "I'm glad you're both here," her heart skipped a beat and she nearly forgot to breath. "I can tell you both together how happy I am... for," she became deftly quiet, trying desperately to get out the last few honest but painful words.
It was now or never, Carrot Top thought as she raised her only good back hoof and bucked Braeburn forward. He stumbled forward, barely stopping an inch away from her face.
"Little Strongheart," he said weakly, his eyes growing into large and trembling saucers. Painful words were struggling to stay within him.
"B-Braeburn?" Little Strongheart piped up, slowly turning up to him. She was paralyzed as she looked into Braeburn's fearful eyes.
"L-Little Strongheart," Braeburn said again, struggling against years of doubts and fears that were trying to pull him away from this scene. The hesitant thoughts in his head were louder than ever as he thought of the various lonely nights he spent in the cold; memories that betrayed him, convincing him that those lonely nights were what were best for him. "Little Strongheart, I... I... I'm not good at this!"
Derpy, Dinky, Silverstar and Apple Bumpkin watched anxiously from a distance, waiting for the words to come spilling out of his mouth. "W-what's going on?" Derpy nearly screamed, clamping her entire head shut with her hooves as Dinky jumped on her back to try and get a better view. "What's he going to say? The anticipation is killing me. Dinky, hold me."
"C'mon, kid, impress me and prove that you ain't just a kid," Silverstar whispered to himself. His usual stoicness had melted to anticipation long ago, the bristles of his moustache twitching nervously from side to side.
"What?" Apple Bumpkin blurted. "You don't mean? Do you really think?"
"Little Strongheart, I!" Braeburn yelled awkwardly as her doe eyes stared at him with such ferocity he nearly forgot to breathe. They never blinked, never veered, never flinched. All on him; her eyes were all on him. "I!"
"You!?" Little Strongheart yelled just as awkwardly and nervously.
"I!" he blurted loudly.
"You!" she blurted awkwardly.
"I have something to say and I forgot!" Braeburn blundered in horror.
"You did too!?" Little Strongheart screamed in woe.
Carrot Top had to suppress the urge to cry. Was it all going to end here like this?
"You can do it, Braeburn!" came one bubbly voice from behind them. Carrot Top turned around, shocked out of her mind, and there was Derpy. She had crawled out of the shadows and was buzzing in the air with Dinky on her head. "You can say it!"
"Kid!" Silverstar hollered next. "Get your act together! Give her your honest feelings!"
"Brother, time to grow up!" Apple Bumpkin called next. "Get yourself some love!"
Carrot Top's eyes nearly popped out of her head, but she caught herself before passing out. Instead, she turned around. "Braeburn! Tell her how you feel!"
"I... Little Strongheart," Braeburn turned back to her. She looked ready to run into the closest wall, just as nervous as he was, and in that moment something broke away in Braeburn's mind. "Little Strongheart, I like you."
Three words that change thousands of lives everywhere; powerful words we all wait to here. Little Strongheart, who has given her words before now stood with the same weight on her back, ready to crush her if; crush her if she were alone, but Braeburn was here this time. "I... like you too!"
"Yeah. I know. I'm sorry," Braeburn apologized as he held out his hoof to Little Strongheart. "I've been scared for a long time and I didn't know what to do. So, I just tried to ignore it. I was just," he paused, his chest full of pain, "afraid. But, I've gotta try and change that now."
Little Strongheart didn't take his hoof. "I'm so happy, but it makes what I have to say so much harder," she sobbed. "I have to go with my tribe on our stampede. I will leave you for a year, and," she nearly broke down in tears, "I am so sorry!" She cried. "I have only let you down."
Carrot Top sat fully paralyzed in horror. "No," she feebly whimpered.
"Then, I'll wait for you to come back," Braeburn finally answered her, his hoof still out to her. "I mean, it actually feels like I'm running away again. Like, I can go back to how I was, but I don't want to." He took one long breath to the air around him, and then exhaled some of his fears away: just the first of thousands. "I want to like you, because I do like you, and— and shoot, I sound dumb."
"I want to like you because I like you too!" Little Strongheart cried as she took his hoof. "I am scared, that you'll forget me if I disappear but I know you won't! I was scared because you were acting distant to me, but now I know how you truly feel."
"I'm so sorry. Please, forgive me!" Braeburn nearly begged, almost dropping to the floor. "I was scared, and still am."
"I am too," Little Strongheart admitted.
"Yeah, I think I realized as much."
"Now plant one on her!" Derpy called out to them. "I'll cover my filly's eyes!"
"M-mom!" Dinky screamed back, flustered.
"D-Derpy!" Braeburn grew flustered, but then he looked into her face. He kneeled down, and kissed her cheek. "Is this fine for now?"
Little Strongheart knelt up and kissed Braeburn's cheek. "If this is fine."
"It's perfectly fine."
"Anticlimactic," Derpy groaned.
Carrot Top was beside herself, and a tear rolled down her side as she stared at the awkward new couple: she couldn't remember the last time she felt so genuinely happy. "They did it," she squealed to herself. "They did it!"
"Carrot Top," came Braeburn's voice. Carrot Top looked up and found the devilishly handsome colt just an inch away from her. He planted a kiss on her cheek.
Carrot Top turned redder than an apple as she floundered backwards. "D-don't kiss me! Kiss her! Her!"
"You're incredible, you know that?" Braeburn spoke sincerely. "So, did I prove anything to you?"
"Y-yah," she stammered. "I should also apologize for putting you on the spot like this."
"It was good for me," Braeburn sighed heavily. "Painful, but good."
"I do not understand what's going on," Little Strongheart commented. "Carrot Top, did you make a bet of some kind?"
"I did," Carrot Top laughed. "I bet on Braeburn here, and I won!"
"So, think you can find your own happiness now?" Braeburn asked her.
"Yes, I think I can. I know I can." Carrot Top rolled her head back and bathed in the warm light of the sun. "I'm going to find my happiness no matter what even if it takes me a hundred years, and when I find it I'm going to hold onto that fool until I stop crying!" she said with unrivaled determination. "So you two better stay together so I can invite you to my wedding!"
"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Little Strongheart answered for them. "May the spirits guide you on the path to true love."
"Yeah." Carrot Top sighed. "It's all at ease now."
The sun began to set as Carrot Top lay on the roof of the hovel with Derpy next to her. "I can't believe I've never done this before. This feels so nice," she cooly moaned as she felt all her tensions melt away. "What could feel nicer?"
"A cloud?" Derpy answered her. "Maybe I should grab you one?"
"No," Carrot Top quickly answered. "So, what are you doing up here with me rather than over there with the others?" She pointed over the Silverstar, Apple Bumpkin, Braeburn and Little Strongheart throwing a little going away party for the buffalo.
"I'm waiting for you," Derpy giggled. "You can't get down from here without me. You did invite them over, why not join in?"
"I guess I can't postpone it much longer," Carrot Top sighed. "Alright, let me down from here."
Derpy wrapped her hooves around Carrot Top and slowly fluttered her down to the party where everyone was waiting. She let her down slowly, giving Little Strongheart a chance to support Carrot Top. "Braeburn told me what you did for him," she happily remarked. "I must ask, why did you do this for me?"
"What, you don't think this was all actually for myself?" Carrot Top laughed. "Have I ever given off the idea that I was selfless?"
"Yes?" Little Strongheart chirped.
"Oh," Carrot Top sighed. "A mare's mind moves in mysterious ways."
"Now you sound as confusing as Derpy."
"Oh Celestia, you're right," Carrot Top groaned. But she felt a pair of strong hooves wrap around her.
"I will miss you too, my good friend," Little Strongheart told her.
"I'll miss you too. I'll be here with Derpy the moment you come back, and I'll make sure we're the second ponies you see," Carrot Top answered her. "Now let go, you're crushing me."
"I'm sorry," she giggled. She gently helped Carrot Top down and then turned out to where she knew her tribe waited. "Well, it's time for me to go."
"I'll be waiting," Braeburn told her. "And when you come back, I promise I'll be ready to try us being a couple, so I hope you'll be ready to deal with my stubbornness... and pains..."
"I will return, and I'll stampede through the pains with my own stubbornness."
"That was incredibly cheesy," Apple Bumpkin gagged.
"Wait!" Dinky screamed as she came barreling out of the backdoor of the hovel, struggling to magically hold onto a basket of muffins. "Mom and I made these this morning! Muffins! We made them with everyone in mind, you have to try at least one!"
"One last treat, of course." Little Strongheart gladly took one of the muffins out of the basket and devoured it in a single bite. "Apples and carrots," she commented, spewing out a few crumbs before swallowing. "It's not half-bad."
"That's great to hear," Dinky squealed with delight.
Little Strongheart watched her friends and loved ones our over the basket and begin devouring the treats. "Take care, everypony."
"Take care, Little Strongheart!" they all responded back at once.
Little Strongheart turned, with no hesitations left to hold her back. She stampeded off, back to her tribe, with all the knowledge of the wonderful friends she's made waiting for her to come back, and Braeburn. There was nothing left to do but go, free from the thoughts and miseries that held her down.
The whistle of the train rang loud across the train-station in Appleloosa. Three days after Little Strongheart had left, it was now Carrot Top, Derpy and Dinky's turn to leave the frontier and return home. "It's been a crazy ride," Carrot Top commented. "Time to get off, I suppose."
"Derpy," Silverstar started, holding onto her hooves. "I'll be waiting, and when you come back, I'll be ready to try us being a couple, so I hope you'll be ready to deal with my stubbornness," he paused awkwardly, "and pains."
"Why do I get the feelin'," Braeburn snorted with an annoyed expression, "that you’re making fun of somepony."
"I will return," Derpy continued, cutting off Braeburn, "and I'll stampede through the pains with my own stubbornness."
"You all are worse than hickory-smoked horse-apples!" Braeburn yelled. "I go and be all honest with my feelings and this happens."
"We only do it because we care about you," Silverstar chuckled.
"You girls take care." Apple Bumpkin smiled at them. "It's going to be so much more boring around here without another mare to talk to."
"I'll write to you!" Derpy exclaimed. "So never feel lonely!"
"Shucks, I was just kidding, but thanks."
Another train whistle.
"It's leaving soon," Carrot Top commented somewhat saddened. "We have to part ways soon."
"Wait!" Dinky cried out as she stumbled up to Silverstar. "Here." She held out a muffin.
"For me?" Silverstar asked incredulously as he held the muffin between his hooves. "Thank you, Dinky." Feeling all the warmth and care the filly put into the treat, he gladly bit into it and instantly regretted it. "What is in this thing!?" he coughed as he began hacking up the crumbs.
"W-what!? But I put your favourite treats in it: beans and gin," Dinky flusteredly wailed as she tried to help up the paralyzed officer.
"I'm never eating beans and gin again," Silverstar croaked.
"Good," Derpy responded as she kissed him on the nose. "Take care of yourself, ok?"
"I will," Silverstar gladly groaned. "Miss Derpy, I love you."
"Silverstar, I love you too."
The third whistle came.
"We have to go!" Carrot Top cried. "And, I'm not sure I want to!" Derpy began pushing her into the train.
"Think of the expenses. We can't afford to move," Derpy agonized as she got Carrot Top into the train-cart.
"Everypony!" Carrot Top yelled as loud as she could. "Everypony, thank you so much for everything! I'll miss you all!"
"We'll miss you too!" Braeburn called back.
"Don't be a stranger around here," Silverstar added.
"Go find yourself your own knucklehead!" Apple Bumpkin called lastly.
The train motors began to start. The doors closed. This floor began to rumble. This was it. "Thank you, everypony. And, thank you, Derpy, for being the bestest friend anypony could ever ask for. If it wasn't for you, I don't know where I would be now."
"Carrot Top," Derpy began to sob. "Thank you for being such a good friend too!" Derpy tackled her down in one of the tightest hugs she could muster. "Thank you so much!"
"Derpy!" Carrot Top cried back.
"Carrot Top!" Derpy cried as well.
"These are supposed to be my role models?" Dinky sighed as she gave one last wave through the windows to her friends in Appleloosa. It was time to go back. "Let's go you two. You're making a scene."
You could join us instead," Derpy offered.
"Fine," Dinky sighed as she joined Derpy and Carrot Top on the floor. It was time to go back, and even though a part of each of them wished they could stay in Appleloosa, they knew where their home was. It was time to go back to Ponyville. They would hold each other the whole way through.
Some time later...
Carrot Top walked out of the doors of Sugarcube Corner with a box in her bags and sweet dreams in her mind. "Oh, how could I live for a whole year without this!" she squealed in delight. "Let's see, Derpy gets home at around six," she brought a hoof to her face, "so I have till then to eat it all and burn the evidence."
Life was, as strange as it felt, rapidly getting back into rhythm for her. She felt already back into her old routine, or at least mostly her old routine.
Carrot Top began humming to herself as she started on her path back home. "Oh, how could I have ever lived without my good old bed," she sighed to herself, paying little to no attention to where she was going. She bumped right into a completely unnoticeable grey unicorn stallion, sending a bag full of scrolls and another full of donuts flying everywhere. "My donuts!" Carrot Top screamed in terror.
"My scrolls!" the stallion screamed with horror. The two ponies began scrambling around the floor to pick up their personal items, only to meet together with a jelly-stained scroll lying over the last donut.
Carrot Top laughed nervously as she pulled the donut out from under the scroll. "Sorry," she replied awkwardly.
"Eh, it's alright, I guess," the stallion replied, downtrodden. "It was crud anyway. Nothing that would appease my editor."
"Hm?" Carrot Top pulled up the scroll up from the ground and tried to read over the purple stains. "Is this going to be a book?" she asked incredulously.
"Was going to be one," the stallion sighed. "Not anymore. It's just not good enough!"
"What are you trying to write about?" Carrot Top held the scroll back to the stallion.
"I was trying to write a story about life out on the frontier, but I just can't get it right."
"You know, maybe I can help," Carrot Top offered. "I used to live in Appleloosa."
"Really!?" The stallion took the jelly-stained scroll with his magic and stuffed it into his bag with little thought. "You don't mind if I ask you about what it was like?"
"No, not at all, Mr?"
"It's Written Script," he answered, slightly embarrassed. "And you are?"
"I'm Carrot Top," she answered wholeheartedly. "It's nice to meet you."
They walked off towards the park, sharing the box of donuts and each other's time.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Starwind Dood · 24k words · 31 1 · 3.5k views
- PegasisBrony · 4.1k words · 79 5 · 3.5k views
- Alexander · 45k words · 34 3 · 2.4k views
- deletethisaccountplease · 12k words · 38 11 · 1.8k views
- Gabriel LaVedier · 11k words · 47 6 · 2.3k views
- Cheezy805 · 38k words · 33 6 · 2k views
- ForeverFreelancer · 3.3k words · 50 2 · 2.4k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.529 seconds
Total duration
808 users online
825,170 hits today, 2,571,732 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
All right
Oh, you got extra points for making the ending canonical.
dawwww.
Blog post with some of my thoughts!
http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/119050/and-life-on-the-frontier-is-over-here-are-some-thoughts-and-a-clue-to-my-newest-project-because-there-are-some-things-in-life-you-just-do-i-think-i-heard-that-from-an-anime
Oh, Dinky.
Sequel hook?
I'm dying.
Hold on, I'm gonna write up a comment worth the time, but I need to stop feeling, first.
Yes.. Yes...So good
Yay i'm done with The Story! Now give me a sequel or some sort of Extra Story.
Such a cute ending!
I demand a sequel!!!!!
Please
Defeat...
2030760
Alright, so.
As you poured your long hours into writing this story, constructing a love triangle over the long months, I too have been fostering a secret love. For you!
i.imgur.com/mGjCh.gif
But seriously, of all adventure/slice-of-life/comedy/romances, I think this once wins out in more than one category. I have been tracking this story since the very beginning, and I don't even know how long ago that was, and every chapter has far exceeded my expectations. I remember seeing it for the very first time and thinking, "Oh hey, this story has Braeburn on the cover and it involves Carrot Top. This is sure to be adorable!" Now it was adorable, I cannot deny that, but my god I was not prepared for everything else that 'Life On the Frontier' entailed.
Something I always loved about your story was the underlying focus on friendship. Braeburn and Little Strongheart, and Carrot Top and Derpy, and everyone else, too, they were friends. Tensions ran high, and I was sad on more than one occasion, but I always knew that the love triangle was just an obstacle to get over. If anything went wrong, ever, then the ties each character had that would keep them together. It was the rock that could weather the storm, an anchor in the storm. Whispers of the heart are sweet nothings, yet it's the heart that really matters, in the end. That sort of thing. If anything, it was always hopeful, and hope and friendship are two virtues that I value dearly.
When it comes down to it, 'Life on the Frontier' was funny, and endearing, and uplifting all at once. The characters were so bright and compelling, and they never failed to brighten up each chapter. The dialogue was natural (though it really got cheesy in the last chapter) and it always made a lasting impact, and helped to paint a better picture of each character's unique personality. The scenery was dry and dusty, but appropriately so. Given, Appeloosa is dry and dusty, but the point is that the image you crafted was powerful. Imagining the frozen mountain-y ice caps came just as easily as picturing dinky little hovel they called home for thirteen chapters.
The frontier was an adventure. Not just for Carrot Top or Derpy, but for us readers as well. It wasn't necessarily fantastical, especially given the lack of unicorn magic, but it was certainly magical, all on its own.
I enjoyed it immensely. Keep writing.
That ending! Well Carrot Top and Written Script are a couple now in canon! Ending was kinda... well it's a logical ending, nothing too sappy.
Fun story. Good times.
*applause*
I won't lie; I didn't expect much from this story. I don't know why, but the description just didn't catch me particularly well. I honestly only started reading this because I was bored.
Boredom can lead to amazing things.
The comedy was spot-on, the pacing was perfect, characterization and character building were subtle but there in vast quantities. I could go on, but I think two sentences can sum up my thoughts fairly well.
1. Welcome to my top 10 fics.
2. Consider yourself stalked, er, "followed."
This fic has been a lot of fun, and I think this wraps up things nicely. However, everypony (and bufallo) seems to be unable to say anything in the final chapter. They scream, cry, holler, yell, shout and do all kinds of things, except for normal talking. I found it really obnoxious in this chapter. I get things are emotional, but this is way over the top.
Wait a second....
(on last chapter)
Unicorn stallion
Scrolls
On the right at 17:13 on this video
Mother of Celestia........
2042935
(Spits out non-existent drink) HOLY MOTHER OF CONTINUITY! The ending scene was inspired from the scene from Last Roundup where Carrot Top is seen with Dinky next to this guy... BUT THEY KEPT IT GOING IN THIS EPISODE TOO! I actually feel ashamed I didn't notice this before hand. Wow, Carrot Top x Written Scroll is way more cannon than I though. This is pretty damn awesome on the animators part!
2044667
So that's his decided name? Written Script? I like it!
good ending, the feels were strong in this one
Ah, a jolly good ride. Thanks for sharing.
2044667 Did you influence the episode... or did the episode influence YOU!!! THE WORLDS ARE COLLIDING!! THE END IN NEIGH!!! *runs screaming off a cliff*
Delightful story, by the way! So nice to see one that's just about some characters and their believable relationships where the world isn't in danger of blowing up or becoming evil or something! And it's not horrible. illogical shipping either! The outcomes are built up throughout the story in such a way that they feel genuine. It has nice personal action details during the dialog sections where needed to spice up what would otherwise be just alot of talking, and smooth narrative tone that paces nicely as well. Not to mention some interesting and fitting original tidbits, such as the Gila MONSTER.
Really, this story deserves far more attention than some of the contrived BS I've had to suffer through around here. Hmph, these peons wouldn't know a good story if it stole their money and set their houses on fire with Molotov cocktails! (What can I say; good stories go bad sometimes.)
well done
thetravelingtype.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/5-star-rating.png
I was kinda hoping for the "Braeburn is gay" ending, but this works too. Great story.
It's really amazing what you did with the small amount of characterization these, uh.. characters got on the show. Everyone in this story is relatable, which is quite a feat considering that it revolves around a love-triangle. The writing is very clever, but knows when to be more serious, and never gets too dark. I really enjoyed reading this, and I look forward to whatever you make in the future- though I wouldn't mind seeing these characters in particular appear again.
A heartwarming gem you have written. I really enjoyed reading this. I'm a little sad that Carrot Top didn't end up with Braeburn, but it's okay, because Pinkie Pie will always be there for waiting for him
2744411
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8XzD6WwNu8
I can say, without a doubt, that this is the greatest fan fiction that I've ever read.
Like...ever.
And I've read a lot of the greats. I like this more than Past Sins, more than My Little Dashie, more than any other that I've ever read. Whenever I read it, it always manages to put a smile on my face. The characterization of the background ponies is rather unique, especially in the case of Dinky, and the way that Little Strongheart and Braeburn, two characters that barely got any screen time in the show, are portrayed wonderfully. Let me say what a tragedy it is that this isn't more popular than it already is. It certainly deserves more attention.
Bravo, Starwind Dood, bravo and thank you for creating such a wonderful story.
This was a great read! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I totally ship Little Strongheart and Braeburn. And again you made me cry.
You may think so but sometimes when you're doing it it's a lot different
Well after what we saw Applejack being stubborn and everything I can believe that
Ohh don't say that 🥺
I guess you haven't explained to little strong heart about your situation the other day
It's sort of reminds me of the scene from Enchanted the scene that Nancy knew that he was in love with Giselle and supporting him
A little but you know what one step at a time you can't Rush relationship
I'm really happy for her all of her doubts and everything finally lifted and now she will head for a positive future
"It's Written Script," he answered, slightly embarrassed. "And you are?"
"I'm Carrot Top," she answered wholeheartedly. "It's nice to meet you."
Now that's a shipping I did remember back in last Roundup and the scene from the third season of those two together it's too bad there's not enough stories about them since they are both underrated background characters mostly written script he kind of disappeared after that
Wow I got to say this was a really good story and seeing the most underrated characters aside from Derpy and Dinky having the stories and everything so it looks like Carrot Top made a decision and she was going to find Braeburn meanwhile Derpy and Dinky were making muffins until little strong heart showed up and told him the news that she's going to be gone for a year for the ritual stampede and then she also told Apple Bumpkin and Sheriff Silver Star and little strong hearts felt like she doesn't deserve it with Braeburn and felt like nobody will not notice her but they all told her she's got friends and they're darn well going to remember her no matter how far she is and that lift her spirit up but now she needs to tell Carrot Top and Braeburn and speaking of them she's trying to convince him to change his approach and the way he does maybe not right now but this moment with somebody and Carrot Top lead little strong heart to him and he tried to say how he feels but he couldn't say it but then with a little support from the others and of course Carrot Top he finally said it how he feels about her and she was so happy that she also felt the same way too and it really took a long time for both well mostly Braeburn to admit their feelings for each other but then she has to drop the bomb that she had to leave but he said he'll wait for her no matter how long it will take and that's pretty sweet of him and everybody's happy for them including Carrot Top and with that little strong heart left but with a good feeling that she has friends and Braeburn few days past and Carrot Top Derpy and Dinky are ready to leave for Ponyville and everybody say the goodbyes and someday they will meet each other again few days past Carrot Top just basically enjoying her normal day until she bumped into another Pony name written script and apparently he was writing a story about the frontier and she wants to give him some point of views and she was right she will find her happiness and it looks like it already found her again this was a pretty good story and really awesome to see these characters keep up the good work