Mothball whispered as he quietly walked out of the room, “Okay, buddy. I’ll be back with your milk in ten minutes.”
To have a little recharge after losing Sombra, Screwball and her family had decided to vacation in Marendelle for a while. Mothball walked down the halls to get to the kitchen, but suddenly, two nurses rushed by in the hallway intersection in front of him. This alarmed the changeling, thinking that someone might’ve been seriously injured. Out of concern, he followed the nurses’ path to the hospital wing. When he arrived, he saw Button Mash and Sweetie Belle waiting just outside the privacy screen.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Button and Sweetie jumped a bit at Mothball’s voice.
Sweetie put her hoof to her chest and breathed, “Oh, Mothball, it’s you.”
Button asked, “What are you doing here?”
Mothball explained, “Oddball woke up because he wanted warm milk. I didn’t want to wake up Screwball because you know how she gets when she’s cranky.”
Sweetie smiled, “Tartarus hath no fury like a chaos storm of crankiness.”
“I was going to the kitchen when I saw two nurses race to the hospital wing. I thought there might be someone who was injured or something.”
“We hope it’s nothing of the sort.”
“Then what is going on?”
Button’s face broke out into an ecstatic grin, “We found six slave children who washed up on a sandbar not far from here!”
Mothball’s mouth and eyes flew open, “No kidding!”
Sweetie Belle nodded, “It’s true! We’re excited because the kids are safe from their masters and they could tell us where the remaining slave hideouts are.”
Her husband said, “If we can locate the last of them, slavery will at long last be dead.” He stomped his hoof in determination as he finished his sentence.
Just then, the head doctor parted the privacy screen and spoke, “All six of them are doing well, Your Highnesses. They should be expected to wake up in the morning. Would you like to see them?”
The three royals nodded and promised to keep quiet. They followed the doctor into the wing, where six curtained beds sat in a row. The nurse pulled back the curtains of the first bed to reveal a pale Earth colt with a mane of light cyan and moderate opal.
Sweetie Belle softly said, “This one looks like he’s about 12.”
Button Mash spoke quietly, “I hope he’s not too far gone.”
The next bed they came up to revealed an adolescent yak with long shaggy locks of hair sprawled on either side of her pillow.
Button said in surprise, “A yak?”
Mothball asked, “Why would they have a yak as a slave?”
“Low opinion of her race, I say.”
With the third bed, the nurse parted the curtains to reveal an orange dragon with a moderate orchid fin on her horned head. The royals were surprised to even see a dragon as part of a group of slave children.
Button breathed, “Wow.”
Mothball said, “They must’ve taken her at a really young age if she was a slave for this long.”
The doctor spoke up, “That’s not all.” He then showed them a thin metal collar in his hoof, “She was wearing this when they found the children. It’s a collar designed to prevent dragons from breathing fire.”
Sweetie gasped, “Oh, those horrible slavers!”
Button was almost afraid to say it, “I hope they didn’t enslave children from other races, too.”
The doctor solemnly answered, “I’m afraid they did.”
He then pulled back the curtains of the next bed, revealing a blue griffon with yellow coloring on his body.
Button Mash remarked, “They must’ve really cracked down on this fella.”
Sweetie told the nurse, “Show us the next one.”
The nurse complied and withdrew the curtains to reveal a pale, light grayish arctic blue changeling.
Mothball gasped, “A changeling?”
Sweetie said, “But I thought changelings almost never live outside the hive.”
Mothball then realized, “Unless…this was the egg stolen by bandits four years ago!”
“Four years? But that doesn’t make any sense.”
Button asked, “Are you sure no other changeling but you has lived outside the hive?”
Mothball nodded, “I’m absolutely sure.”
The king put his hoof to his chin in contemplation, “Interesting.”
The doctor asked, “Would you like to see the last one?”
Sweetie answered, “Yes, please.”
Button said almost sarcastically, “I wonder what twist fate’s going to throw at us this time.”
To their utter surprise, the bed’s curtains were pulled back to reveal –
Sweetie blurted out in shock, “A hip-“ The others shushed her before she continued more quietly, “A hippogriff?!”
Button – who was just as stunned as his wife – asked, “But where did she come from?”
The doctor suggested, “That’s something you could ask her when she’s recuperated.”
Sweetie said, “Thank you, doctor. Your hard work will be well-rewarded. Goodnight.” When the royals left the wing, she exclaimed in excitement, “A hippogriff! An actual hippogriff!”
Mothball asked, “But didn’t the hippogriffs vanish a long time ago?”
Button explained, “11 years ago, actually. When we heard no word from them after the Windigo attack, we assumed that the winter demons had wiped them out. But there was no trace of snow or ice anywhere on Mt. Aris. The whole kingdom was just…empty. The mystery of their disappearance is just baffling.”
Sweetie suggested, “But maybe this young hippogriff could tell us. She might know what happened to them.”
“Then let’s knock out three birds with one stone: find the kids’ families, end slavery, and find out where the hippogriffs have gone to.”
At that moment, a young voice rang through the hallways, “Dad! Dad!”
Mothball said, “Oh, no, Oddball’s out of bed. I gotta go.”
As her nephew-in-law flew down the hallway, Sweetie Belle asked, “Do you want me to grab some milk for him? I can do that right now.”
After his wife left for the kitchen, Button said to no one in particular, “I guess I’ll just stay here, then.”
They left Canterlot promptly at dawn. The train chugged down the mountainsides and onto the peaceful plains. Although the dawn ushered in a bright and sunny day, all was not well for the Canterlot sisters. They kept thinking about how they could likely outlive their husbands. Their husbands likewise thought about leaving their loved ones behind and in pain for maybe a hundred years or more.
Twilight fretted while saying to Flash, “I can’t believe it never occurred to me about the genetics of alicorns flowing through me and my sisters! At least Discord and Spike have longevity in their biology, but you and the others are…” She was at the point of tears.
Flash grimaced at the thought, but he said, “It’s okay, honey. I mean, we knew it would happen someday…”
“Yes, but when it does, it’ll be at least an era or so before I can join you!”
Rarity overheard and sadly pointed out, “She’s right, you know…” She turned to her beloved husband, “We’ll be separated for such a long period of time! How will I ever cope with such loneliness and grief?!” She began to bawl as Fancy held her close while lost in his own dismay.
Pinkie and Cheese had been staying close together since they discovered this recent development. The pink mare cried out, “Don’t go, Cheesy! Please, please don’t go that big party in the sky! I need you!” She kept on crying.
Cheese tried to ease her, “I don’t want to, my Pinkie-Winkie, but I have no choice…You know that…”
“IT’S NOT FA-A-A-A-AIR!” she loudly sobbed out.
Rainbow Dash pitifully looked on at the scene before turning to her own husband. Now that it was mentioned how young she and her sisters still were, she could see the salt and pepper in Soarin’s mane. To her dread, she realized that there wasn’t much time for them. Age was creeping up fast on her true love and she was helpless to stop it; it upset her to no end. She thought back to when she and her sisters were forced to have suitors. It had seemed that all hope was lost and she couldn’t be with Soarin because of the arrangement. But because they fought for their loves, they had their happily-ever-afters. But now, there may not be a happily-ever-after at this point.
Soarin gave her a sad look and motioned for a hug. Rainbow would have outright refused at first, but not this time. Not when time was too precious right now. She gave in as she cried into his chest and he cried in her mane.
Sunset and Timber were solemnly facing each other as she uttered, “I’m sorry…”
“For what?” he asked, though he had an inkling.
“I should not have come to Splendor Woods and broken your curse. Maybe then you could have still lived on and…and…”
He shook his head and took her hoof to kiss, “You coming into my life was the best thing that could have ever happened. So what if my time is short compared to yours? We were able to live, Sunset, and that is the greatest thing we could ever have.”
Sunset sniffled before she embraced Timber and wept into his shoulder.
Spike told his wife, “I should feel lucky that I get to live as long as you will, but…I don’t.”
Applejack nodded sadly, “I know. Ya hafta say goodbye to those ya care for and you won’t see them again for a really long time.”
Spike held her in a one-arm embrace.
Fluttershy stared at the floor and sighed.
Discord asked in concern, “Are you all right, dear? Are you tired? Is it a mood swing?”
She shook her head, “It’s none of those. I’m just thinking about how long my sisters and I will live. If Mother’s lived as long as a thousand years and she’s just lost Father, I can’t imagine how long she’ll have to endure the pain before she reunites with him in the afterlife.”
“I used to worry about outliving you, but now that you have longevity genes, we can grow old together.”
She then asked, “Yes, but what about the others? Applejack will still have Spike, but the others won’t have their beloveds. What’s going to happen when Flash is gone? And Fancy? And even Cheese?”
“Oh,” Discord uttered in realization. He would have his sister, wife, daughter, grandson, and future child to live a long time with. But what about his brothers-in-law? Losing Sombra was hard enough, but he dreaded the moment he would lose his guy friends. Now he regretted forcing the issue on them when he gloated about having Fluttershy practically forever.
Skyla told Blackthorn, “I feel bad for my aunts. Sure, Fluttershy and Applejack will have their husbands for as long as they live, but the others will be gone.”
He comforted her, “You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t be ageless forever. Thicket will return and we’ll grow old together.”
Skyla couldn’t help but wonder, “And if it doesn’t?”
Blackthorn said in an assured manner, “It will.”
Capri couldn’t stand this constant worrying anymore and got up from her seat. She went to the front of the aisle and clapped to get everyone’s attention. “Look, I know how scared you must be of the future since you found out yesterday. When I started fading in the amulet, I became afraid of the moment I would be gone completely. Thanks to Discord, I wasn’t.
“But here’s the thing: when I was trapped, I couldn’t do anything to make each precious moment last. But you all can. You have the freedom to move around and be with those you love. You have the freedom to make the most of your time with each other. Don’t spend it worrying about the future. You’re not trapped somewhere you can’t get to your family. Why fret about death that’s going to happen years from now when you can focus on living in the moment? If you live in the now, you can have wonderful memories to look back on.
“And don’t worry about being parted by death. You’ll be together in the afterlife. You girls will have to wait just a little bit longer.”
Rainbow Dash asked, “Yeah, but how much longer?”
Capri answered, “Well, since your dad was a unicorn, maybe the longevity genes got watered down a bit.”
This offered a bit of hope for the sisters, although they were hesitant to believe such a thing. But maybe Capri was right. If they had only, like, a century to live, maybe widowhood wouldn’t be so bad.
“Mmmph…”
Smoky opened her eyes to blurriness as she regained consciousness. Her vision soon cleared to reveal beds in a row in front of her and windows lining the wall above them. She looked around to see her friends sleeping on beds on either side of hers.
She turned to Chicken Face and nudged him, “Hey. Chicken Face. Wake up.”
The griffon’s closed eyes furrowed as he groaned and waved his arm, “Not now. Gimme five more minutes…”
Suddenly, a tan filly jumped on his bed, “Wake up!”
Chicken Face jolted awake and yelped. Hearing his cry, the other children woke up as well.
Sweetie Belle – who was with the other members of the royal family – smiled, “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
Kelp Head asked, “Where are we?”
The tan filly jumped down Chicken Face’s bed and answered, “You’re on Marendelle!”
Bug Eyes then asked, “Are we safe here?”
Mothball then approached her, “Of course.”
Unfortunately, she yelped at the sight of him.
“Don’t worry. I’m a changeling, just like you.”
She said in a confused manner, “I’m a changeling?”
A unicorn colt nodded, “Yep. I’m Snowflake. And this is Aerodynamic, Lucky, Pepper, Thunderclap, Bullet, and –“
Oddball interrupted to introduce himself, “Oddball!”
Snowflake – the second-in-line to the Marendelle throne – was born just one year after his parents Snow Pea and Quill Scarlet had gotten married. Like both Snowy and Quill, he was a bookworm and very intellectual. He was also polite and very kind, never throwing a tantrum. He had snow powers like his mother did, but when he wasn’t using them for recreation, he’d conjure up snowflakes and study their geometry. By doing this, he often wondered how he could make each snowflake different and uniquely beautiful. Like his mother, he had a white coat, but he also had blue eyes.
In terms of bloodline, Aerodynamic was a different story. A Pegasus filly with hippogriff heritage, she was orphaned at a young age and constantly ridiculed for her large wings. She was only seven when a stunt group called The Washouts decided to recruit her as their “pygmy hippogriff”. Two years later, Dyna was found by Skater and formally adopted by her after they exposed the Washouts for child endangerment. Now 12 years old and living between the palace and the Castle of Friendship, Aerodynamic was living the sweet life as a Guardian’s daughter. Along with her hippogriff wings, she had a grayish raspberry coat with white splotches all over her body. She also had teal eyes and a long blonde mane and tail which were braided and reached down to her elbows and knees.
The Quad Squad came as a surprise to everypony. Not only were they the first pony quadruplets ever to be born, but they were also born during Calypso’s Tempest, which would batter Marendelle every 25 years. Despite harsh weather and nearly losing the runt, everything turned out all right for the mother Bubble Gum, the kids, and the kingdom. Oh, and Roller Blade was okay, too. The four-year-old foursome consisted of Pepper, Bullet, Thunderclap, and Lucky.
Lucky was a Pegasus filly who was also the runt of the quads. The adults had initially feared that she was a stillborn until Rumble used a massaging technique he had learned during his time as a hospital assistant. However, this brush with death wasn’t the only time she was lucky. Being a daredevil like her father and grandmother, she had gotten into more scrapes than anyone could count. She and Bullet shared the same tan coat that their grandma Babs Seed had.
Pepper was an Earth filly who thought of herself as important and independent. The Strapgardian confidence ran through her veins just as it had run through the veins of her mother, grandmother, and ancestors before her. Bullet – the firstborn – was a Pegasus colt very much like his father. He had a certain brashness and boldness about him. He would zip around the halls of the palace and the streets of the entire town with nary a care in the world.
Thunderclap was an Earth colt who was strong for his age. True to his name, he created a crack-like sound whenever he kicked or pounded something. Despite the impression that he could grow up into a wrestler or a strongcolt in a circus, he was also very bright. He could solve a puzzle in less than a minute and devise ways to reach the cookie jar. He and Pepper shared their grandpa Featherweight’s light coat.
Quill Scarlet then said, “I’m Quill Scarlet. This is my wife, Snow Pea. King Button Mash and Queen Sweetie Belle of Marendelle. Snow Pea’s sister Little Button. Her fiancé Rock Salt. My sister Bubble Gum with her husband Roller Blade. Roller’s twin sister Skater. Sweetie Belle’s sisters Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Their husbands Pip and Rumble. Apple Butter and her husband Zealot. And Screwball with her husband Mothball.”
Bird Horse squealed, “Ooh! It’s really great to meet you all!”
Yak put her hoof to her head and groaned, “Yak not sure yak can remember all those names.”
Snow Pea asked, “Well, what are your names?”
Kelp Head answered, “I’m Kelp Head. This is Yak, Smoky, Chicken Face, Bug Eyes, and Bird Horse.”
Scootaloo asked with a raised brow, “Wait. Those are your names?” When the Young Six nodded, she inquired, “Didn’t you have another one before you became slaves?”
“We were practically babies when we became slaves.”
This elicited gasps from the royal family, along with utterances of “How terrible! Those monsters!”
Yak spoke up, “Wait. Yak not baby when become a slave. Yak five when bad slavers take yak from family.”
Sweetie asked, “Do you remember if you had a name?”
Yak thought very hard about it, “It…it…” Her eyes then flew open with excitement, “Yona! Yak name Yona!”
Rock Salt commented, “Well, it’s a start.”
Bug Eyes asked in concern, “You’re not going to hurt us, are you?”
Skater waved her hoof in dismissal, “Aw, heck, no! You’re free from those rotten slavers. And if they try to come to our doorstep, we won’t let them!”
Apple Butter said, “We hate slavery just as much as you do.”
Zealot then said, “In fact, I was once a slave myself before I was bought into freedom.”
The Young Six gasped and Bird Horse asked, “You were?”
He nodded, “Yes. It took me a while to adjust to a new life of freedom after being a slave for all of my childhood. I know how it feels to be helpless and confused. I can help you create a new life for yourselves. We all can.”
The Young Six asked in hope, “You will?”
Screwball smiled, “Absolutely.”