//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Tears for the Pearl // by The Lord Thunder //------------------------------// “Fillies, say hello to Ranger Pearl,” Ms. Cheerilee said, dressed her filly scout leader outfit. “Hi, Ranger Pearl!” a bunch of filly scouts, all in uniform, shouted. “Hi, fillies!” Pearl said. She was dressed in a green ranger outfit with a matching green ball cap. The Ponyville Summer Scouts had the run of the lakeside at Ponyville Park a few miles outside of town. The municipal park was a relatively new project, one that Pearl had eagerly embraced. Beautifying the land had given her an outlet for her botanical training, while also allowing her to earn enough bits to make a start on paying for the damage she’d done while under the Seed’s influence. Twilight and Celestia had tried to assure her no payment was needed, but Pearl insisted on making things right. Tents and a few cabins lined the lakeshore, along with a large play area and all sorts of watercraft. Pearl looked over the eager group of two dozen fillies and smiled, so glad to be doing something positive for a change. “Are you ready to have some fun this summer, eh?” Pearl asked. “Yeah!” the fillies yelled. Cheerilee stepped up beside Pearl. “Pearl is going to be our camp counselor and you’ll listen to her just as you would me, understand?” The fillies all nodded their understanding. “Very good! Pearl, what kind of activities do we have planned?” Cheerilee backed up a bit, giving Pearl the floor. Pearl picked up a checklist with her magic. “We’re going to do the usual camp stuff: hiking, swimming, boating – that sort of thing. We’ll have campfires and tell ghost stories. I’ve also got a scavenger hunt planned and several other contests.” “What kind of contests?” Scootaloo asked. Pearl clapped her hooves, as excited for this new adventure as the fillies were. “Glad you asked! Sometime this week, we’ll hold a photography contest. You’ll split up into groups and Cheerilee and I will pick the best pictures.” “What’re we supposed to take pictures of?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Anything! The trees, animals, a sunrise or sunset. Whatever inspires you.” “Cool!" Scootaloo said. "This is gonna be great.” Soon Cheerilee dismissed the kids and the serious play began. “I want to thank you again for volunteering to help us, Pearl. It means a lot to the children.” “It means a lot to me to see them having fun,” Pearl said. “I missed out on a lot of that, but I can get some of it back by helping them have a good time.” “Yes, indeed. So what do you plan to do now? Will you stay here in Ponyville?” Pearl smiled as she watched the children play. “For now, at least. I told Applejack I’d help her and the other Apples rebuild their barn, and that’s coming along. I thought about staying with the folks once I’m done with my ranger job, but Dad was right. I need to get out and clear my head, figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.” She looked at her flank, the magic seal that had been there for so long had vanished along with the Seed. “And I suppose when I do, I’ll finally earn a cutie mark of my own.” Cheerilee pointed her in the direction of three waiting ponies. “Something tells me you’re going to have help with that.” Sweetie Belle saluted. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders are on the case!” The rest of the afternoon was a blur of laughter and fun. When Pearl entered the ranger's cabin, she was tired but in a good way. It seemed so long ago when she first entered Ponyville, sleepless and hopeless. Now the world was hers, and she hardly knew what to do first. Now that night had fallen and the fillies all gone to sleep, however, she could work on the hobby she'd picked up since her time in Ponyville. She opened a drawer in her desk and removed a pencil and a piece of paper, supposing she could finish this one panel before heading off to bed herself. Pearl doodled away for a moment before a knock on the door brought her from her work. "Come in!" The door opened and a sleepy-eyed Apple Bloom stepped inside. "Applebloom! It's late. Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" "I was just wonderin' if I could have an extra blanket for our tent. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are hoggin' the one we've already got." Pearl smiled and nodded at the simple request. "Sure." As Pearl walked over to the cabin's closet to retrieve a blanket, Apple Bloom took a look at the paper on Pearl's desk. "Hey, what's this?" "Oh, that?" Pearl walked over to the filly with a blanket in tow. "Just a little hobby I've picked up." "You drew these?" Apple Bloom asked, looking closer at the comic book-style panels drawn on the paper. "These are pretty good! It's like a comic book." Pearl nodded. "That's exactly what it is." "What's it about?" "It's about a mare who was born with a terrible power but doesn't know why she has it. But she's learning how to use that power to help ponies." "Kind of like you were?" Pearl chuckled. "Yes, like the power I used to have." "Will you get it published?" "Maybe someday," Pearl said. "It's just a hobby now." "I'll bet it would sell real well, since you're friends with a princess and everything." "I might do that. Get my -- I mean, her-- story out there." Pearl paused to stifle a big yawn. "It's late, you should get off to bed, eh?" Apple Bloom took the blanket and smiled. "Thanks, Pearl. Goodnight!" "Goodnight, Apple Bloom." Soon Pearl had tucked into bed and sighed a satisfied sigh, smiling as she relaxed into a welcome sleep. How sweet a normal life was...