The next morning, Twilight got up bright and early in her tent. She used her magic to grab her checklist and started going over today’s list of things to do. Unbeknownst to her, everything started floating upwards, each with a light brilliant raspberry glow. Even the bed in which Flash was sleeping began levitating with a magic glow. Soon, Flash woke up and gaped at what was going on.
Since Twilight didn’t seem to notice, he called to his wife, “Twilight! Twilight! TWILIGHT!”
That got her attention and her mouth dropped from seeing everything that was floating. She turned to Flash and asked in alarm, “Am I doing this?!”
“You might be…by accident!”
As soon as Twilight’s horn stopped glowing, everything dropped to the floor, including the bed. Flash was thrown into the air by the impact and fell back onto the bed in a daze.
While he was recovering his senses, Twilight asked in concern, “Are you all right, Flash? I didn’t mean to make everything float! It just happened!”
Flash said as he rubbed his head, “That’s okay, Twilight. We don’t know what’s going on, so you don’t need to blame yourself.”
“I would cast the Fledgling’s Forbearance on myself, Sunset, and Discord, but since we’re not little anymore, I don’t know if it would work.”
“We need to see if what’s happening is affecting the others, too. We should tell the others not to use their magic, but we should also have fun so everyone can relax.”
“I agree. We need to think of a way to enjoy ourselves without any magic.”
Flash thought for a while until he suggested, “What about that hike you said we should take? We could ask Gloriosa and Timber which trail is the safest one to go on. That way, we won’t need magic to ward off any dangers.”
Twilight hugged her husband and smiled, “Oh, honey, that’s brilliant! Thank you!” She then kissed Flash on the lips.
Sunset waved to her relatives as they headed into the forest, “Bye! Have a nice hike, everyone!”
Gloriosa and Timber had given the royals a map of the safest hiking route in Splendor Woods and also waved them good-bye. Sunset, on the other hand, was asked to go with Timber and his sister on a special hike of their own. She was surprised by this, but decided to go with it.
As the siblings and Sunset walked in the forest, Timber said to the unicorn, “26 years?” He gave a long whistle before he continued, “That’s a really long time to be in just one place without ever traveling.”
Sunset said, “Well, you’re lucky you spent your whole life here in Splendor Woods. There’s lots of legroom to run around and you get to see natural wonders every day.”
Timber shrugged, “Eh. I pretty much know everything like the back of my hoof.”
Gloriosa turned to face her brother and said accusingly, “Are you saying that there’s nothing wonderful about nature anymore?”
He said defensively, “I didn’t mean it like that, sis! I just meant –“
“Just because you’ve seen it all before doesn’t mean that nothing new will come along. Somehow, a lot of ponies don’t realize it at all.” She began to sing, “Some think we are simple woodsponies…and they’ve been so many places…I guess it must be so…But still, I cannot see…if the simple ones are we…How can there be so much that they don’t know? They don’t know…
“Some think they own whatever land they land on…The earth is just a dead thing they can claim…But we know every rock and tree and creature…has a life, has a spirit, has a name…Some think the only ponies who are ponies…are the ponies who look just like they do…But if you walk the hoofsteps of a stranger…you’ll learn things you never knew you never knew…
“Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon…or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned? Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
“Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest…Come taste the sun-sweet berries of the earth…Come roll in all the riches all around you…and for once, never wonder what they’re worth…The rainstorm and the river and the others…the heron and otter are our friends…And we are all connected to each other…in a circle, in a hoop that never ends…How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you’ll never know…
“And you’ll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon…for whether we are light or dark-coated…we need to sing with all the voices of the mountain…We need to paint with all the colors of the wind…” The three of them came up to a spot near the river as Gloriosa sang, “You can own the earth and still…all you’ll own is earth…until you can paint…with all the colors…of…the…wind…”
Timber whispered to Sunset, “My sister is a nature freak.”
Sunset giggled, “I know, but she does make some good points.”
Gloriosa said as she was walking back into the woods, “I’ll be back at the campsite if you need me.”
Sunset asked, “Wait, you’re not staying with us?”
“Why, of course not! This is just for the two of you. Have fun!”
When Gloriosa disappeared into the forest, Sunset smirked at Timber, “You two set this up, didn’t you?”
Timber was setting up a picnic blanket when he innocently said, “Who, me?” He batted his green eyes, but Sunset didn’t take his word for it.
Sunset chuckled, “It’s all right. I like spending time with you.”
They spent their entire lunch by the river that afternoon. They laughed, shared stories, and even gazed at nature’s wonders together. Both of them never wanted this special moment to end.
Sunset said, “…I’ve been to Hollow Shades, Las Pegasus, even to Rainbow Falls!”
Timber chortled, “Wow! You must’ve had quite the adventures, then! I would like to visit them all someday!”
Sunset offered, “Do you want to come with me when you’re ready? You can travel with me and my friends and see everything I’ve seen. A second trip somewhere is only better when you’re with someone who’s seeing it all for the first time.”
Timber smiled sadly, “That is a nice thought, but…” He then sighed, “…I’m not sure.”
“Why? I thought you wanted to see the world. It is your dream, isn’t it?”
“Well, yeah, but…who’s going to take care of Gloriosa while I’m gone? Sure, she can manage the camp okay, but she hates being alone. You saw those Timberwolves the night the Two-Legs rescued you. I’m afraid the same thing might happen to Gloriosa. I mean, she’s the only family I’ve got.”
Sunset sat in silence until she smiled in understanding. “Believe me, I know what it’s like to care deeply about somepony. I was away from my family for a long time. When I finally found them, I almost didn’t want to leave them. But you know what? I chose to follow my dream of seeing the whole world. It wasn’t easy being away from my family again, but when I had the chance to go to far-off places, I couldn’t stay in one place. Do you know what I love the most whenever I would visit my loved ones?”
Timber asked, “Going back home again?”
She chuckled, “No, no. Sharing stories about my adventures. I love how the kids’ eyes would widen with joy, their fidgeting when they’d get excited, and their big smiles when they’re bursting with anticipation.”
Timber smiled, “Sure beats the look of horror kids have when they hear a ghost story.”
She nodded, “Oh, I bet.”
Meanwhile, the rest of the royals had resumed their hiking after a quick lunch. The husbands were looking over the map and quarreling about which way to turn back to the camp.
Soarin’ asked, “Are you sure we’re supposed to be going this way? I thought Timber Spruce said to follow the markers with the yellow ribbons.”
Cheese said in confusion, “Yellow ribbons? I heard ‘yellow paint’. Or was it ‘yellow brick road’?”
Fancy Pants said, “No, no. You’re mistaken. We’re supposed to look for the top of the totem pole at the camp courtyard and make our way there.”
Discord said, “I’ll look for it from the treetops.” He slithered up a tree and reached the top. He said to the royals below, “Hey, guys! There’s a beautiful view of Splendor Woods from up here!”
Flash shouted up to him, “Focus, Discord! Find the totem pole!”
Discord mumbled, “Oh, fine.” He put his paw over his eyes and he scanned the forest until he saw the totem pole peeking from the trees on his left. He slid down as he said, “Good news, ponies and dragon! I’ve found the totem pole!” He then realized that the kids and princesses had vanished. “Hey, where did they go?”
“Psst!”
The guys turned to see their wives and kids peeking over a bush. Rarity quietly gestured for the husbands to join them. She had an ecstatic grin on her face, so they knew that it was something exciting. The guys peeked over the bush and saw Sunset and Timber having a good time.
Rarity gushed quietly, “Ooh! I do believe their spark is growing into a flame!”
Twilight said, “I almost feel ashamed for spying on Sunset like this.”
Rainbow Dash said, “Come on, Twilight. It’s not every day our last bachelorette sister inches closer to taking the next step.”
Spike asked, “Do you think Timber’s going to go first?”
Discord sang, “I can see what’s happening…and they don’t have a clue…”
Flash sang in reassurance, “They’ll fall in love and here’s the bottom line…They’ll make a lucky two…”
Cheese sang, “The sweet caress of sunlight…”
Pinkie sang, “There’s magic everywhere…”
Rainbow sang, “And with all this romantic atmosphere…”
Soarin’ sang, “Flirting is in the air…”
Twilight sang, “Can you feel the love today? The peace the daylight brings? The world, for once, in perfect harmony…with all its living things…”
Timber softly sang as he rolled up the picnic blanket, “So many things to tell her…but how to make her see…the truth about my past? Impossible…She’d turn away from me…”
Sunset sang as she looked at him from where she was sitting beside the riverbank, “He’s holding back, he’s hiding…But what, I can’t decide…Is Timber Spruce the colt I know he is? Is he that colt inside?”
To her surprise, Timber jumped into the river. Sunset peered into the water to see where he went.
The royals sang, “Can you feel the love today?”
Suddenly, Timber grabbed her and pulled her in. She gasped when they surfaced and walked back onto the dry ground.
“The peace the daylight brings?”
When Timber joined her on the grass, she gave a smirk and pushed him back into the river.
Shortly afterwards, Sunset and Timber romped in the meadow as the two of them sang, “The world, for once, in perfect harmony…with all its living things…” Unaware of a slope, they held each other in joy and tumbled unexpectedly. When they landed softly on the grass with Timber on top of Sunset, they sang, “Can you feel the love today? You needn’t look too far…Stealing through…the day’s uncertainties…Love is where we are…”
It was almost sunset when the royals made their way back to the campsite.
Rainbow sighed, “Phew! Glad Sunset and Timber didn’t see us watching them.”
Discord agreed, “Yes. It was a lucky thing my magic was working fine enough to create a bubble of silence for us.”
Pinkie nodded, “Yeah, and we were singing loud enough for the entire forest to hear!”
Soarin’ said, “It sounded weird with the bubble, though.”
Twilight said to the kids, “Now, listen, kids. Don’t tell anypony else what we were doing.”
Starling asked, “Why not?”
“It’s supposed be something special for only Aunt Sunset and Timber Spruce. We don’t want them to know we were watching them.”
Discord pointed towards the forest as he said, “Speaking of which…”
Timber and Sunset had just returned to the campsite and were walking to the royals.
Sunset asked cheerfully, “Hey, guys! Did you have any fun on your hike?”
Cheese smiled, “Yep! Yessiree! We had tons of fun!”
Discord grumbled as he pointed to Flash, “Until Nature Colt here got us lost.”
Flash glared at him, but he knew that it was partially true.
Rarity added, “We were lost in the forest for a long time.”
Sunset said in pity, “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
Twilight asked, “So, what about you guys? How was your hike?”
Timber grinned widely, “The best!”
Sunset agreed, “You could say that again. We had a picnic, got ourselves wet, and ran around for while!”
Pinkie said, “Wow! That sounds like super-duper fun!”
Cotton Candy blurted out, “Did you have fun rolling down the hill?”
Sunset and Timber looked at her in surprise.
Cotton knew that she slipped, so she added with a nervous smile, “Cotton Sense?”
Thankfully, Twilight spotted something on Timber and Sunset. She pointed to them and said, “And you also got some grass in your manes.”
The two of them noticed and chuckled nervously as they wiped the grass off their manes.
Timber clarified, “Oh, that was just an accident.”
Sunset spoke up, “A happy accident.”
Timber gazed into her eyes and said, “We should hang out more often.” Just then, sunlight glared in his eye and he turned his focus towards the setting sun. “Uh-oh.” He said to Sunset, “But not tonight.”
Sunset asked with a knowing smile, “Monster hunting again?”
“Yep. Never know if the Two-Legs suddenly decides to show up at the camp.” He then started to leave.
“Well, if you find it, tell it thanks for saving my life the other night.”
Timber looked back at her with a warm expression and said, “I’m sure it knows.” He gave a wink before he left to gather his gear. When he was out of earshot, he sang softly, “And if she feels the love today…in the way I do…”
Unbeknownst to him, Sunset also sang out of earshot, “It’s enough…for this restless wanderer…”
They both sang while far apart, “Just to be…with you…”
Inside the lodge, Gloriosa had just watched the scene between Sunset and Timber from a window. She felt glad that Timber was falling for the mare he was most like, but she was also worried that things might not turn out so well, especially if Sunset could reject him because of his secret. The secret he also shared with his sister. What would happen then? Gloriosa couldn’t bear it if Timber got heartbroken and depressed. Then again, if Sunset did truly love him, would he leave Gloriosa alone just like that? She couldn’t be sure if she could ever leave Splendor Woods even if somepony didn’t love her.
She sighed before she sang sadly, “And if he falls in love today…it can be assumed…these carefree days will be but history…In short, their love is doomed…”