It was a beautiful, quiet day in Ponyville. This was the intention of the weather ponies, of course. They’d been working to make this the quietest Ponyville had ever been, or ever would be if one were being honest with themselves.
Fluttershy knew this very well. She gathered the loudest ponies in town. Pure coincidence that those ponies were her closest friends. Yep, definitely not an intentional thing. No, Fluttershy just wanted to see her friends. She wouldn’t scold them for being loud, she would never dream of it. She would just very politely whisper it.
The pegasus stood in front of her friends. Thorax was kneeling down to be level with Raspberry’s shoulder. Raspberry stayed still so as not to disturb him. Killjoy sat in the back, leaning on a tree. The rest of her friends were vibrating on their hooves. Everypony was so excited for the Breezies to come on through. Fluttershy built up the event for ages. Ever since she was selected to study the Breezies, this event was all she would talk about. A lot of that week for Twilight was tied in with the memory of tending an ailing Discord.
“Okay, everypony.” Fluttershy began. Her friends quieted down, smiling happily at Fluttershy. Most of them, anyway. Killjoy was paying more attention to the knife in her hooves. “As you know, the adorable fairy creatures known as Breezies are about to come through Ponyville.”
Pinkie squealed loudly. “Yes! Ooh, it’s so exciting! Ah! I can’t wait for Rainbow Dash to make the breeze for them so I can see how cute they are up close!”
“I’ve never done it before, not that I won’t be totally awesome at it, because I totally will!” Dash agreed.
Fluttershy was already seeing what she had to work with here. “And that breeze is very important, but so is cheering on those teeny-tiny little things, so they have the confidence to ride that breeze to their native land. Did I mention how tiny they are? So tiny! I was thinking we could do a special Breezie cheer!”
“I love cheers!” Pinkie squealed loudly again.
“But these cheers should be quiet cheers.” Fluttershy explained. “We don’t want to startle them. They need to be able to concentrate. Why don’t we try it? You can do it, Breezies.”
Her friends shouted in her face. “You can do it, Breezies!”
She heard three ponies quietly whisper “You can do it, Breezies!”
Fluttershy blinked at them all. “Oh, my.”
“Heh, sorry, Fluttershy.” Applejack spoke up first. “I had no idea how hard it was to do a cheer quietly.”
“Oh, it’s okay. Quiet doesn’t come naturally for everypony.” Fluttershy assured them. “Raspberry, Thorax, Killjoy, you did a good job. Could everypony do it like they did?”
“How did you do it?” Dash asked.
Raspberry blinked at Dash. “I have kids. They sleep at night, I don’t.”
“You learn or you die.” Thorax added.
“I learned so others could die!” Killjoy cheered.
“Another kid?” Twilight pointed out. “Four wasn’t enough?”
“Six. She wanted to stay human, so she’s in another dimension.” Raspberry explained. Thorax looked up at her. “I introduced you to Nina, I know I did.”
“What even are you.” Dash asked, leaning away from the couple.
Raspberry grinned, showing off too shiny teeth. “Greedy.”
Dash stepped back from Raspberry. She didn’t want to be next.
“Let’s try it again.” Fluttershy called them to attention.
Her friends all sat up, determination on their faces. “You can do it, Breezies!” They were all still shouting. Did they not get it?
Raspberry, Thorax, and Killjoy were the only ones to whisper.
“Perhaps just a little bit quieter.”
“You can do it, Breezies!”
“Just a little quieter.”
“You can do it, Breezies!” They all whispered.
“Perfect!” Fluttershy shouted, then recognized what she’d done. “Oh, um, I mean... yay.”
Everypony laughed.
“But seriously, Raspberry, that’s a lot of kids.” Twilight told her.
“I know.” Raspberry was proudly smiling, wrapping a hoof around Thorax. “It’s great.”
==CAH==
Thorax came from a big family. Hundreds of brothers and sisters, with only one exceptionally close sibling and one exceptionally annoying sibling. Thorax hadn’t really ever thought about having a bigger family, about wanting kids, about being a dad.
When he decided to go out with Raspberry, Thorax learned that meant taking care of Lilac. He could handle that, just one kid that was a dragon. Lilac hadn’t liked him at first, Thorax could understand that. He was actually lying about who he was, and what danger he was putting them in. His stance in the relationship was critical to getting along with Lilac. If Lilac didn’t like him, Raspberry would toss him out. So Thorax worked to prove himself to a ten year old dragon who could probably melt off his chitin with a sneeze.
A month into the relationship Raspberry adopted Cookie. Thorax didn’t mind the new kid, Cookie was great. She just needed to be entertained. Thorax was good at that- or that’s how it seemed, with Cookie laughing at him so much.
He found he actually liked being a dad. Taking care of the kids didn’t feel like an add-on to the relationship, it felt like a perk. Thorax cared a lot about the girls, and their mother in turn. Protecting them in that invasion came easy, without an ulterior motive. He wanted them safe from his mother, plain and simple.
Over time, their tiny family of four suited Thorax. He learned about them, they learned about him. Raspberry was always there if Thorax had questions. Thorax made human friends that helped too.
Then they came back to Equestria. Raspberry and Thorax took in three more kids in three months. That was a record, even for Raspberry. Thorax couldn’t disagree with taking them in. All the foals were alone, in need of care. Thorax grew up in a Hive full of changelings, he rarely felt lonely. Looking back, he couldn’t say it was a home full of love. Ironic, a changeling Hive void of love.
Raspberry didn’t really grow up in a big house. Well she did but she was never there. Any time she was, she admitted to feeling out of place there. Her powers only added to that divide. She didn’t want any of the Equestrian foals to feel so cast out, so alone in the most formative years of their lives.
That’s what Raspberry and Thorax said.
Killjoy just kept making jokes about Raspberry collecting strays.
Raspberry didn’t even deny it.
They gathered their large family, bringing them to the Breezie Town Party. Thorax was surprised any kids were at this event. Then again, most of the foals seemed to understand the instructions of the parents/guardians. His kids were usually the loud ones. Yes, mainly the one that was a cat.
Cookie was crawling around Raspberry. On her back, her legs, her head. Thorax wondered how Raspberry could stand it, she usually didn’t like people bothering her when she was reading. But Raspberry was relaxed, calming turning the pages as Cookie’s claws gripped at her fur and her giggle filled the space.
Dynamite and Justice were sitting idly by. Dynamite wanted to go find the CMC, Justice was content just sitting to watch in silence. VC sat by Thorax, looking around the gathered crowd in concern.
“It’s okay.” Thorax assured her. He sat himself by her side, looking up as the pegasi moved the breeze. “This town gets weird.”
Vc shifted in her spot, still looking around in suspicion. “Why is there a mariachi band if they’re trying to keep quiet?”
Thorax had no idea. “No clue. Raspberry?” She poked her head up. “Why is there a band?”
Cookie was poking Raspberry’s horn. She only gave a small wince to acknowledge it. “So that when it stops everypony shuts up.”
“But what if they don’t notice?” VC asked.
“Trust me, everyone notices when a mariachi band stops playing.” Raspberry explained.
“That’s when the beatings begin.” Justice stated.
VC glared at him. “Shut up! I know that’s not true!”
“It could be.” Dynamite taunted. “Maybe you’ll be first cause you’re new.”
“No you’ll be, cause you’re stupid!” VC snapped.
“Oi.” Raspberry scolded. The three foals quieted. Thorax was lucky she spoke up, he was finding it hard to process any of it. “None of that talk. VC, none of you are idiots or stupid. You’re still figuring each other out. You two, she’s still getting used to things here. Don’t be mean.” Raspberry warned. She was glaring warningly at them. “Okay?”
The children lowered their heads, frowning petulantly. “Yes ma’am.”
Cookie poked her mother again. She giggled. Raspberry winced again. Thorax figured that the kids yelling, and having to pull away from her book to think about mariachi’s was disturbing her quiet reading.
“Hey Cookie, wanna climb a tree?” Thorax offered.
Cookie leapt off her mother’s head. She soared to Thorax, floating through the air rather than outright flight. Raspberry let her head flop into her book. She nodded her hoof at Thorax.
She was trying to give him a thumb’s up.
Thorax beamed, even as Cookie played in his antlers. “Okay then- Dynamite, wanna come with to find the others?”
Dynamite glanced at her new sister, giving the butter yellow earth pony a squint. She turned away to stand beside Thorax. “Yeah.”
“Great!” That left Raspberry with the quieter kids. “Was that stuff about mariachi’s true?” Thorax heard VC ask behind him.
“No idea, it just makes sense.” Raspberry explained. “Fluttershy is smart like that.”
Thorax beamed.
Thorax was good at getting the kids out fast, and contained. Growing up as he did, Thorax picked up a lot of tricks about how to manage rowdy ponies. Or, maybe, what to do instead of hitting or shouting at them.
Thorax often wondered if he had any right to be this good with kids. His own upbringing didn’t make him look like a good dad. Chrysalis wasn’t a great example of motherhood in the way ponies saw it. She put a roof over his head, made sure she was feeding her children, and protected them from outsiders.
For a while, before the Invasion. Her whole plan going against everything originally believed by changelings.
Thorax tried to learn from the Queen’s mistakes. He worked to pay attention to how Raspberry handled the kids, or what the many, many parenting books he read taught him.
Whenever they fought at the Hive amongst themselves, Chrysalis was never kind. She used her magic on them. Thorax remembered seeing so many of his fellow Changelings thrown into the hard walls. He himself got knocked into them after too loud fights with Pharynx.
Raspberry’s hoof never as much as flinched, not a single spark of magic came from her horn, her wings never twitched. She spoke to the kids, never yelling. If she raised her voice, she apologized.
Thorax took notes.
He left Dynamite with her friends. Apparently they wanted to earn a cutiemark from...actually Thorax didn’t understand what they were trying to earn a cutiemark in. Something about Breezies, and being quiet the longest. Thorax hoped that was it.
Cookie was still happily using him for a jungle gym. Thorax brought her over to a nearby tree. There were pegasi overhead. Rainbow Dash was directing them on windflow. When Thorax looked, he could still spot Raspberry and Justice reading, VC was getting a snack from the Cakes.
Ah, she was meeting Fluttershy. That was nice. She would definitely explain everything about the Breezies to VC.
Thorax looked back at Cookie. The tree was being used for a scratching post. Thorax didn’t see a problem.
He couldn’t see anything, actually. Rarity walked in, wearing the sparkliest dress possible. Thorax turned his eyes towards Cookie again. Cookie didn’t notice anything.
Not long after, Fluttershg talked Rarity down. She agreed to wear something less shiny. The shine would distract the Breezies, or even hurt them.
Kindness. A most important trait in ponies. A skill constantly labeled as weakness. A skill that Thorax was still learning.
How did they all do it? He knew changelings were capable of kindness, of showing care to others. The evolutions proved that. Why did it still feel so hard, so surprising to see kindness in action?
Twilight called everypony to attention. The band quieted down.
“Please welcome... the Breezies!”
The crowd quieted. Thorax walked over, tapping Cookie on the shoulder to show her.
Cookie’s eyes went wide at the sight. She climbed up Thorax, using his antlers as a perch. Thorax was watching too. The Breezies- even from this far- looked adorable.
Somepony poked Thorax. He looked down, careful not to twist his head. Cookie was still holding tight- he couldn’t be sure she would fly before hitting the ground.
“Hey Spike.” Thorax whispered.
“Can I climb on you, so I can see?” Spike asked.
Thorax smiled. “Sure thing!”
Spike beamed.
Thorax carefully knelt down. He kept his head steady, wanting to not jostle Cookie. Spike climbed onto his back. Once standing, all three could see the Breezies flight.
But this is something very important that Thorax forgot. Whenever Raspberry did something to change the world, most of the time it was ignored. Other times? The world had to get drastic to keep things the same.
Spike was supposed to not have a vantage point. He was supposed to climb a tree, knock off a leaf, and the leaf was meant to cut off a dozen Breezies. If that didn’t happen, a lot of other things wouldn’t. Including Fluttershy earning her key to the Tree of Harmony, which would save Equestria.
Yeah. The fate of Equestria hinged on a leaf.
Raspberry knew this. Thorax didn’t. Raspberry hadn’t caused this change. Thorax did. Indirectly because of Raspberry. So, it made sense what happened next.
“Butterfly!” Cookie whispered. She let go of Thorax’s antlers, flying up.
Thorax’s eyes went wide. “Cookie wait-!”
Too late
Cookie flew up- her head hitting a branch. She yelped in pain. The impact sent off a leaf.
“Oh no!” Thorax panicked.
The leaf was flying in the Pegasi made breeze. It lopped, swirled along it. The leaf twirled itself right into the path of the Breezies.
It didn’t go well.
Thorax watched in slow motion. The Breezies were lost from the pack. The Pegasi tried to help- pointless as it was. The Breezies began to panic as they scrambled to catch up with the rest. Their leader doubled back to help- it wasn’t working either.
Fluttershy went to help. She did what she could, the crowd quietly cheering her on. The Breezies fell. Fluttershy bravely caught them. She brought them to safety on the ground, their group still flying ahead none the wiser.
Thorax was horrified.
Spike hopped off his back. Thorax made sure he had Cookie with him before running to Raspberry. She was keeping Justice and VC by her side.
“Starry!” Thorax panicked. “Starry I-”
Raspberry cut him off. “No time. Kids, you stay here.” Her horn lit up. Thorax flinched back. Cookie was lifted off his head, dropped between the two preteens. “Watch your sister. We’re going to check on Fluttershy.”
“Star-”
“Bee come on.” Raspberry rushed off.
Thorax didn’t have skin, not like humans did. If he did he bet his face would’ve gone pale.
He followed after her. His heart was racing in his thorax.
Everypony in their group was already there when Thorax caught up with Raspberry.
“That was amazing!” Pinkie praised Fluttershy.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t get a breeze going that would get them back to the others.” Dash told her.
Fluttershy “Oh, it’s not your fault.” Fluttershy assured Dash.
Yeah
It was Thorax’s
He waited for them to start it. It made sense, didn’t it? The changeling helped cause the problems. He ruined the lives of the Breezies. They would never make it back home because Thorax failed as a father.
“I, for one, am very proud of you, Fluttershy. Leaping into action like that.” Twilight patted Fluttershy on the back.
Meanwhile, Raspberry was completely ignoring Thorax. Raspberry ignored things when she was mad. She waited for the right time, until you were comfortable. Thorax was gonna get it later. He was complicit in something terrible. Did this happen in the episode? Thorax had no idea. He wasn’t in the episode, so he wasn’t there to cause problems, which meant it was his fault entirely.
“I feel like I should design you a special hero’s gown! Heh... Or a sash. At least a sash.” Rarity praised.
Thorax couldn’t take it.
“Okay, okay, okay! I know what you’re all thinking!” Thorax slumped to the ground, covering his face with his hooves. “Why don’t you just say it?!” He sobbed. “I’m sorry! This is all my fault! I’m so, so sorry!”
Somepony was patting his head.
“Oh, Thorax, it’s okay! It could have happened to any one of us.” Fluttershy assured him. Her voice was too far away to be her hoof on his head.
Wait...then was it-
“Yeah. In the episode, Spike did it.” Raspberry revealed. “And this was Cookie, not you.”
“I was watching her!” Thorax pleaded. “I was supposed to keep her out of trouble, I’m sorry-”
“Shhh.” Raspberry moved her hoof. Instead, she started hugging him around his shoulder. She helped Thorax to his feet. “We’ll just...go. You guys settle this.”
“Okay. Bye Raspberry, bye Thorax!” Fluttershy called out.
Raspberry’s magic went off. Thorax could feel her magic wrap around him. He let himself sag in defeat.
==CAH==
The front door closed shut behind Raspberry. Killjoy was at the window, trying to peak in. Raspberry knocked her hoof on it, warding her maniacal sister away.
“Kids. Go to your rooms.” She instructed.
They turned to her. “Mom-”
“Now. Dad and I need to have a talk.” Raspberry instructed. Her tone told everypony not to question her again.
All four of them dashed away. Thorax let himself succumb to his fate.
“Bee. We’re going to our room too.” Raspberry told him. “I don’t want Killjoy watching this.”
Thorax couldn’t understand why. Raspberry usually liked having Killjoy by her side when punishing somepony. He shrugged it off. It was probably a ploy to make Thorax feel safer, or unsuspecting.
Once in their room Raspberry closed the door. She locked it for good measure. At the click of a lock, she let out a quiet sigh.
Thorax sat in the middle of the room. He let himself be open to whatever they were about to do. He shut his eyes, not wanting to see Raspberry looming over him. Killjoy was going to pop out from the closet any second. Raspberry was thinking through all the ways to punish Thorax. That was fine, he expected it.
He didn’t expect another hug.
He didn’t expect Raspberry shifting to her human form, running her fingers behind his ear. Morgan’s fingers gently brushed there, scratching enough to be soothing. Like Thorax was a frightened cat.
“It’s okay.” Morgan told him. “I don’t blame you.”
Thorax’s bottom lip trembled. “Yeah you do.”
“No I don’t. Even if I did, I wouldn’t be mad.” Morgan told him.
“I should’ve stopped her.” Thorax pleaded. “Been a better dad like you when you stopped the others from fighting.”
Her fingers were shaking in rage. Thorax didn’t need his powers to know that. He could check, the very idea of feeling her anger made his entire body break out in a cold sweat.
“I shouldn’t have been so stern on them. They’re siblings, and siblings fight. I wanted them to stop before it got physical.” Morgan countered. She was straining in her tone, to keep it level. “You did much better in separating them completely.”
Thorax shook his head. Morgan started using her right hand to brush down his back. Her fingers were brushing soothingly right between his wings. What hurt so much was that it actually calmed him down...he relaxed into her hold. Morgan was so good at this. She was always so smart...always knew exactly what to do with Thorax...
==CAH==
I have no idea what I’m doing.
Thorax was freaking out. Really really freaking out into a depressive tailspin I only experienced from the other side. How did I comfort this? Could it be stopped or would he stop in a minute?
Was he hungry- did he need to eat? Or nap? I remember reading somewhere people who had breakdowns averted them by eating or sleeping.
I make the mess, I clean the mess.
Changelings didn’t strictly feed on love anymore. That didn’t stop it from being beneficial to their diets. Is that what he needed? Just a top up of love- would that help him calm down?
It was supposed to be Spike. What- what even happened? I remember seeing Thorax by the tree so Cookie could be distracted. Spike must’ve gone to Thorax for a view, since everypony else said no. Oh Thorax was kind like that. He would’ve said yes without hesitating- he hadn’t watched the episode so Thorax wouldn’t have known what happened.
My poor Bee...
I kept brushing my fingers down his back and kept my left arm wrapped around his back. Thorax was shuddering in my arms like he was frozen. So I leaned forward, kissing the top of his head between the antlers.
He shuddered again, sagging against me like a deflating balloon. His face was wet as he turned it to my chest. The shirt was starting to stick to my chest as water came from his cheeks.
“It’s all my fault.” Thorax whined.
“You did nothing wrong.” You were just kind. Beautifully, wonderfully kind. Of course things were different- you chose to be kind. Did you even choose? Had it ever crossed your mind to tell Spike no? How did I get with someone as kind as you? “Nothing at all.”
“You said I was in trouble-” Thorax sobbed. The words were muffled. He either said that, or that ‘I thought I was in trouble’.
“I said we needed to talk in my room, so Darcy wouldn’t be a nosy bitch.” I corrected with as much kindness and caution available to me. “I was going to talk to you about what happened, make sure you were okay so we could touch base on what we do next.” How much of this was getting through? Was he paying attention to anything or was he so far down this spiral it didn’t matter? “After that we could talk to Cookie-”
“No!” Thorax pulled himself from my arms. He stood firm in front of me. I reacted fast, holding up my hands in defense. Thorax was glaring now. “No I won’t let you!”
“Whoa! It’s just to talk- make sure she’s okay, or even knows that she did something wrong!” I explained to him. Nope. Nothing I said before got through. He- he was so worried, so scared. The only thing that got through was that I was going after Cookie. Our own daughter. “Not- not like that. You really think I would do that?”
Thorax thought I would be so cruel to our kids? That- that I would be awful to young Cookie? Tears filled my eyes as I realized that. The changeling I loved wanted to stand between me and Cookie, protecting her from me. If I wasn’t so hurt, I would admit to being touched at his protectiveness.
But I was hurt. Really, really hurt by it. He was hurt too so I was telling myself not to take it too personally.
“I- I- no.” Thorax shook his head. His entire attack stance relaxed. I kept my hands up in case he changed his mind. “You’re not like her.”
Which her?
My demonic dark side, who hadn’t been a stranger to child endangerment or abuse. The girl who enjoyed hurting people? I wasn’t like her, that’s what he says immediately after taking a position of defense against me and our children.
“Do not play the pronoun game with me right now!” I snapped.
“Chrysalis!” Oh. Right. Yes- it wasn’t always about me. Sometimes people’s problems came from other sources. I should really start paying attention to those self-help books... “You’re not like my mother. You- you’re different. Good different.” Thorax assured.
I held out my arms. Thorax settled down against me, curling into another hug. He nuzzled the side of my neck.
We stayed like that for a long while.
==CAH==
Somepony was knocking on the door.
Thorax just finished cleaning up dinner. The Breezie Incident was a while ago. After his freak out, Morgan made sure he got something to eat. Morgan checked on Cookie. The griffon hadn’t noticed or cared.
‘Exactly like a cat’ Morgan tried to joke to get Thorax to smile.
It was effective later when Thorax let it sink in.
Morgan stood up from the living room couch. “I’ve got it.” She told him. Thorax nodded. The door was actually closer to Thorax but he appreciated the gesture. He didn’t feel ready for a lot of interactions yet.
She walked to the door. Her bracelet glowed briefly to shift her back into Raspberry Stardust. The door opened.
“Morgan!” Twilight poked her head in. “We’ve got a problem!”
“Fluttershy waited too long to send the Breezies home so you need more support to send them off?” Raspberry rattled off.
“...Yes!” Twilight replied.
Raspberry grinned. “Let me get the kids.”
“Wait no we just need-”
“Trust me. You need as many ponies as possible.” Raspberry countered. “Alright? Can we agree on that? That I actually know what I’m talking about?”
Twilight sighed. “Okay, fine. You can bring them.”
“Good. You go get Killjoy- she should be at her house. If not, she’ll be abandoned.” Raspberry looked to Thorax. He nodded in agreement. If she thought it was best, the kids could go. Maybe there was a lesson he wanted them to see.
Once Raspberry got them all together she turned to Thorax.
“Let’s go.” She bumped his shoulder.
Thorax blinked. “What? I can’t go.”
“Consider it a chance to redeem yourself, if you still feel bad.” Raspberry offered.
Thorax couldn’t deny that sounded nice. Whatever it took to fix what he broke, he wanted to help.
==CAH==
They gathered up in a clearing. Rainbow Dash was working with two weather ponies to make the breeze.
“It’s too strong!” Dash told her group.
“I can’t do it any lighter!” One weatherpony replied.
“Neither can I!”
“Fly back! I’m gonna try and see if I can slow it down.” Thorax watched with bated breath. Raspberry stayed by his side, her hoof wrapped around his, her head on his shoulder. “Now it’s too light! Oh, this will never get them home!”
“Oh, my.” Fluttershy panicked. “Maybe it’s because there are too few of them. When they started their journey, there was more of them to face the breeze together.”
Twilight stepped forward. “Okay, I see what you meant Raspberry. We did need as many ponies as possible.”
Raspberry preened.
“I’ve been studying an old spell book from the Castle of the Two Sisters. There’s a spell that I think could help us! This is probably gonna feel a little funny at first, but you’re gonna have to trust me.”
“I love new ideas that make me feel funny at first!” Pinkie cheered.
Everypony stood together. All in silent agreement. Thorax’s kids were vibrating in excitement. They weren’t often included in these adventures. VC just looked curious about the whole thing.
Twilight turned to Raspberry. “Can you-”
Raspberry raised her hoof. The bracelet shined as it became visible. “I can change this half, you change the other?”
Twilight nodded.
Both of them began to glow. Twin beams of purple/pink and yellow came out towards the crowd. Thorax was missed by both shots. When the glow went away, everypony and every-griffon was changed into a Breezie. Raspberry looked so pretty as a Breezie. Thorax wanted to kiss her.
Wait...why was he still so big? He checked. He was still in his normal form.
“Why didn’t I change?” Thorax asked. Everypony stared at him. It clicked. “Oh. Right.”
He shifted into a smaller form. His Breezie version looking a lot more like Raspberry’s by accident. Thorax wasn’t exactly thinking about how to make it look- just about Raspberry. He tried again, shifting his skin to a bright green.
Raspberry flew to his side. She kissed his cheek. Changelings could, indeed, blush.
“Maifo flai batendud!” Fluttershy called out. Everyone looked at her in confusion. The Breezies shot up in delight. Fluttershy blushed. “Um, I mean, let’s go!” She corrected.
They followed a new breeze. Thorax stuck by Raspberry’s side, their kids all floating behind them.
==CAH==
The journey was long. The kids were all so high energy it hardly mattered. Dark Justice seemed happy to learn about the world around them as they passed them by. VC was so excited to try flying. Dynamite and Cookie liked twirling around each other.
Raspberry was content to let them play. They stayed close in the breeze. Thorax was content if she was.
Raspberry was talking to him the entire flight. She explained the episode, explained what happened. She talked about how Spike was supposed to let the leaf loose, how Fluttershy would save the Breezies but never actually giving the okay to send them on their way home. There were a lot of lessons this season, Raspberry explained, that she couldn’t interfere with. They needed to be learned. The best Raspberry could do was help after the lesson was learned. Hence, gathering up the kids for the breeze.
She explained that it wasn’t Thorax’s fault once again. Apparently, whenever she changed something the reality just worked harder to make it happen. If it was a big deal. Which apparently was true for a falling leaf. Thorax didn’t get it. Raspberry told him he didn’t need to, it would make sense in a few months.
Not at all foreboding.
Thorax asked anyway. “Then wait...what was the lesson? I don’t see what Fluttershy needed to learn.”
“Kindness.” Raspberry explained.
“...babe she’s the embodiment of kindness.”
“Exactly. But sometimes, people can go too far.” Raspberry explained. “Her heightened empathy towards the Breezies in their immediate plight made her forget the bigger picture. They needed to get home more than they needed hoof stitched sweaters. Fluttershy had to learn that- or at least be reminded of it. That Breezie there- Seabreeze- he needed to learn about kindness too. It wasn’t just Fluttershy, nah they both had to learn something from shared experience.”
“So Fluttershy learned that sometimes the best way of being kind-” Thorax turned his head, giving his wife a knowing stare. She was pointedly up at the sky. “-is to let them go.”
Raspberry wasn’t paying attention to him. Nah, she was looking up at the sky. “What a pretty sky. Why don’t we come to this part of Equestria more often? There’s so much snow.”
“Starry.” Thorax chided.
“I will not learn my lesson, I refuse.” Raspberry replied, still looking up at the sky. “You refuse too- I know it. The guy that stood up to me earlier wouldn’t just let a kid be left alone.”
Thorax sighed. He loved her too much to really criticize her. He loved all their kids too...he just thought they should be smarter about the pacing. That would be hard to tell Raspberry. She had the hardest time turning kids away.
Thorax did too. He wanted them all close and safe, always. As many as Raspberry was willing to take in.
Okay they may both have a problem...
==CAH==
The Breezies made it home, safe and sound. Twilight and Raspberry were able to get everypony back into their normal bodies. If Seabreeze gave Fluttershy a gift that glowed like an oddly colored rainbow, only Raspberry noticed.
Okay and Cookie. She liked how shiny it got. Raspberry was careful to keep the kitten turned griffon from going for the flower.
That flower was gonna save Equestria. Not that anypony but Raspberry and Discord knew that...