//------------------------------// // They were alive THIS WHOLE TIME?! // Story: It's A Screwed Up Life // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// They were alive THIS WHOLE TIME?! ___________________________________________________________ Twilight looked back down, poised on the edge of forever. The sunlight shone down on her, as if Celestia’s hoof was on her shoulder. She took the final step. There was nothing left for her here. She plummeted down, her survival instincts screaming at her, trying to force to her wings to open and catch the wind to stop her fall, but she fought that as she plummeted towards the ruins below. She didn’t want to survive. It was better off this way. “No.” The cold, firm voice caused her to open her eyes in surprise, only for them to widen further as she saw what looked like a human from Sunset’s world floating inches away below her, staring up at her with a cold glare. She was wearing a plain white T-shirt under a dark blue overalls shirt-pants combo, with what must be her Cutie Mark, a baseball and screw, just over where it ended at her thighs on her left side, mismatched purple and white socks and big boots similar to what she herself would wear when going through the portal, only this girl’s were yellow, matching the propeller beanie atop her head. She was about to fall past the girl, but she lashed out, grabbing the pony by her neck and slamming her into the Cliffside, her eyes glaring daggers. “How dare you insult their memory!” She blinked, dazed, before shaking her head to see the girl looking at her in a mixture of hurt and contempt. “Are you honestly going to tell me you don’t care how they’d feel about this? Are you going to just die, letting your race die with you, despite theirs and your survival being the very thing Celestia and the others sacrificed themselves for, Twilight Sparkle?!” Twilight was stunned by the venom and hurt in the girl’s voice. She hadn’t truly been spoken to for long over the last year, her conversations being short and uninvested. This was the first time since the day it happened somebody spoke to her with such force in their voice. “What point is there in my survival?” she eventually asked, expecting no answer to counter. To her surprise, the girl seemed to grow angrier, before she growled, letting go of the Alicorn. Her surprise continued though as, despite not even bothering to open her wings, she was floating in mid-air without the girl holding her. The girl rubbed her temple. “I guess you don’t know about it, then.” She gave an aggravated sigh, before looking to her. “Have you truly given up on your subjects, regardless of whether they see themselves as such anymore?” Twilight’s heart sunk and she looked down. “How can I not? We’re dying out. There is no medicine, foals die all the time and we’re struggling just to grow enough food for a single meal a day. What else can we do?” “You aren’t alone, Twilight,” the girl said, seeming a tiny bit calmer, her voice a bit more gentle. “Not all of your friends are dead. You have several friends in another world who has no idea what has been going on.” The Alicorn blinked, before her eyes widened. “Sunset Shimmer!” The girl nodded. “Her world has been untouched by the disaster that has befallen Equestria. There, you and all your remaining subjects could live, start anew.” Twilight’s mind began working quickly. Yes, Sunset’s world could work. Most ponies would easily be able to blend in and they could even go live with their human counterparts, if the need arise. Dealing with governmental records would be tricky, but they could all just claim to have been lost siblings or something, held hostage. Okay, that wasn’t the best cover story, but they could probably come up with a better one if she and Sunset put their heads together. She’d found a way to live a normal life there, after all. So could they. She hadn’t felt this excited in so long. They had a chance after all. They could rebuild. They could… could… Just as fast as the spark of hope had returned, feeling her with a happiness she’d thought she’d never feel again… it died. The girl cocked her head at the once again sad pony. “What’s wrong?” “The mirror,” she said in a defeated voice. “It was destroyed along with everything else. That’s why, even knowing about Sunset’s world, I haven’t even given it thought til today. The portal’s closed, forever.” The girl blinked, before shaking her head. “Yep. Even after a year of traveling around, you still never found it.” Her head perked up and she tilted it. “Huh? Found what?” The girl smirked. “That wasn’t the only portal to Sunset’s world, Twilight. There’s another and it’s still functioning.” There was a long pause, before the Alicorn’s eyes widened, staring in hope and dread. “Where? How?” The girl reached into the pocket of her top and pulled out a sheet of parchment, giving it to the winged pony, who took it in her magic. “That map will lead you all to the portal. It doesn’t come out in Canterlot City, though. It’s on a remote island. Still, better a remote island in a world that’s alive than in caves of the world that’s dying, right?” Twilight looked to the map, scanning it, before her eyes went wide. “It’s near the Everfree Forest? But, that was destroyed too. Wouldn’t the portal have gone with it?” The girl shook her head. “The portal is underground. It’s been untouched all this time. And, unlike the mirror, it’s a natural portal, so it’s always open without the need of aid from devices and a journal to keep it going. Though…” she scratched her chin, a nervous grin coming to her features, “you will want to be prepared with swords or the like when going through to the other side. You should be able to find some in the ruins of Canterlot. There’s a magically infused Venus fly trap that guards the portal on the other side.” “Wait. If it comes out on a remote island, how will we get help?” Twilight looked from the map to the girl again. She smiled. “There’s a very specific cruise liner that has a course near that area. As long as someone is keeping a fire going near the shore, you’ll eventually be found.” Twilight looked down to the map again, charting the course from each settlement she’d been to over the year and estimating how long it would take for every creature to get there from underground, to avoid as much radiation exposure as possible, before her ears folded back and she looked up. “None of the survivors see me as royalty anymore. They don’t trust Alicorns. How am I supposed to convince them all to join me?” The girl smirked, pointing her thumb at herself. “Leave that to me, Princess.” She floated outward, away from Twilight, stopping several metres away. She held a hand up to the sky, it glowing with white energy, before a light shot up, hitting the clouds. The clouds spread apart, a huge hole appearing within them, before, to Twilight’s shock, Princess Celestia’s head appeared, giant and glowing, as if a ghost, her expression one of deep sorrow. “My dear subjects,” she said, her voice echoing and ethereal, sounding more like it was in Twilight’s mind. “If you are hearing this, then the worst has come to pass. I have failed to protect you and now you are paying for my failure.” She gave a small smile. “However, there is still hope, even if it seems there is none. Twilight Sparkle is with you. She knows of a world where you can all be safe, free from the consequences of my failure.” The head closed her eyes. “I realize none of you likely trust the Alicorn monarchy anymore. You more than likely blame me for what has happened to our once great land. I do not blame you. I take all the blame for not seeing my mistake when I ordered Discord be released from his prison, despite Twilight’s misgivings to the idea.” She opens her eyes, her expression firm. “But do not blame Twilight Sparkle for my mistakes. She saw I was wrong and tried to change my mind, but I refused to listen and our world paid the price. Please, if you ever had faith in her, go to her now. She will lead you all to a life where you can rebuild. You can not only survive, but you will flourish.” Her expression became stern. “The world she will take you to is very different from Equestria, but if you love those you care about, if you want to keep living, return to happy lives, you will join her in a new age.” She closed her eyes again. “You do not have to see her as your princess; I do not expect that of you. But, if you have any wish to survive, to live peaceful lives once more. If you ever wanted the best for your future, for your children’s’ future, go to Princess Twilight now. She will be waiting at the peak overlooking the ruins of Canterlot.” She opened her eyes, smiling softly and sadly. “I wish you all the best. I hope you live happy lives in the new world, free from my mistakes. I love you all.” As soon as she finished, the head exploded, the light remaining in the sky, a line stretching out from it to above the peak where Twilight was standing on earlier. She looked from the light to the girl as she floated towards Twilight. “How did you…?” she indicated to where the head had been to the light leading to the cliff. The girl gave a small smile. “I’m not important, Twilight. What matters now is you care for your subjects. Lead them to Sunset’s world. Live your lives.” She gave an encouraging smile. “And, you know, you do kinda still have a family.” Twilight blinked, cocking her head to the side. “Huh?” The girl just closed her eyes, her smile warm. “Look up Crystal Prep the first chance you get in Sunset’s world. You’ll find quite the surprise. I promise.” The girl winked and popped out of existence, leaving a very confused Twilight behind. She remained in the air for several long minutes, before she realized she was flapping her wings to stay airborne. She looked to the map she’d been given, staring at it for a good long while, before her expression firmed and she flew up to the cliff. Landing atop it, she pulled out a scroll and wrote another message, burning the old one. take out another scroll, and start writing. Dear Princess Celestia, You don’t have to worry. I will keep them safe. Your sacrifice will not go to waste. Your Faithful Student And Friend Always, Twilight Sparkle Setting the scroll in the stone, she turned, looking out at the ruins of Canterlot with a renewed drive. She would rebuild her kingdom. If it had to be on a remote island in another world without magic, she’d find a way. It mattered not now what creatures came with her. Pony, Griffon, Diamond Dog, Dragon, they would all be allowed to come. They would all become the same in Sunset’s world. They would rebuild. They would renew. They would survive. “Thank you, whoever you were,” she said, looking up to the sky, realizing she’d never gotten the girl’s name. ___________________________________________________________ I pop back into existence in my Equestria within the centre of Ponyville. I just stand there, my eyes vacant. I… um… wow. I need to avoid overshooting the timeline from now on. That… that was not what I would have expected. Who ever would’ve guessed I’d meet a yak living in Ponyville who sounds like Betty DeVille? And Rarity isn’t the kind of mare I’d think would let greys show, but she pulls it off well, with it being a single streak. Odd point for their immortality to stop their aging, though. Though what with that building next to Twilight’s castle? Guess I’ll just have to wait and see. Shrugging, I smile, looking around at the ponies all going up their day. None of them even bat an eye at me despite my still being in human form, them all having long gotten used to my antics. I turn to head into town when I notice Applejack, Big Mac and Apple Bloom talking with Burnt Oak, the firewood salespony. I cock an eyebrow. Odd. Why would they need to talk to a firewood seller with all the trees they’ve got? I shrug and head out into town, only to pause again when I notice Dr. Horse running out of town… Wait. Were those tree branches growing out from his head? And was he covered in orange spots? Has he got a cold? Huh? Confused, I follow him. He eventually stops outside Zecora’s hut and, strangely, instead of knocking on the door, sticks himself halfway through the window. “Please tell me you have the cure?” his voice says, I’m guessing to Zecora, before a large round of sneezing happens and I have to duck as lightning flies out from the window. What the hay? Teleporting in, I’m in time to see Twilight feeding the stallion a spoonful of something, his spots vanishing within seconds and the branches growing out from his head falling off. “Um, what exactly is going on around here?” My question causes all four to jump in surprise. “We’ve just cured Zecora and Dr. Horse of Swamp Fever!” Fluttershy says happily. There’s silence as I just stare at her, before looking to the other three. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?” “I’ll explain, urm… if you could help me inside, Princess Twilight? I seem to be stuck.” Twilight nods, teleporting the stallion inside. “Ah. Thank you, Your Highness,” he says, adjusting his glasses. “Swamp Fever is a very rare disease that, until now, we only knew the symptoms of and not the cure.” “The cure being…?” I wave a hand. “Flash Bee honey,” Twilight levitates a jar of the yellow liquid she’d fed the doctor. “They’re immune to the flower’s effects, so their honey works as an antidote to the sickness.” “And just what exactly does this sickness entail?” I lean back against the wall, arms folded. “Change of coat, coughing bubbles, shock sneezing,” That sounds more like something DD would do, “confusion, and the last stage, the afflicted turn into the very trees that drop the disease-spreading flower.” There’s a long pause as what he just said fully sinks in, before I scowl. “DISCORD!” There’s a loud popping sound and the draconequus in question appears next to me. “Yes, daughter dearest? To what do I owe— ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!” He drops to the ground as I hold his ear pinched between my fingers, hard. “You and I are going to go and fix your mistake, right this second, mister,” I snarl. “Understood?!” “Yes! Yes! Whatever you want, dear! Just, please, stop pinching my ear!” he pathetically begs. Snorting, I snap my other fingers and we vanish, leaving four very confused equines behind. ___________________________________________________________ We reappear in an area that looks a lot like the Celestial Plain that Twilight went to before becoming an Alicorn. I let go of Discord’s ear and he pulls back, rubbing it as it pulses, bright red. He blinks, seeming to realize we are not alone. There are ten other Discords standing before us, each looking uncertain. He looks to me. “What’s going on here?” “These are you from alternate realities and timelines,” I say, indicating to each in turn. “They all owe me a few favours for things I did for them in their worlds, so I’m calling one in.” Discord gives me an odd look. “You’re more busy than I give you credit for, daughter.” I shrug. “Eh, it’s a gift. Now, introductions.” I indicate to each Discord to the other in turn. “Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Discord, Discord. Or have you all met?” “So, what exactly have you called us all here for?” one Discord asks, looking a little worried as he looks to the others. “Gathering so many of us together? That can’t be for any small thing.” The others murmur in concerned agreement. I nod. “Indeed.” I scowl, causing them all to flinch. “I called you all here so we can fix a mistake you all caused in your own worlds. The Swamp Fever Trees!” They all blink, before looking to each other in surprise. “Those things are still around?” “I’d totally forgotten about them.” “Wait. How long does that mean…? Oh, now I get why she’s so pissed.” I nod, growling. “Correct. In my world, I just learned about them after Zecora, Dr. Horse and even Fluttershy were almost lost to the effects of those blasted trees!” All theirs eyes widen in horror. “Fluttershy got Swamp Fever?” “No, we have to save her!” “I almost lost her once! I can’t go through that again!” I hold up a hand and they all go silent. “Some of you are from worlds that haven’t caught up to the events of mine yet, so it has yet to happen. We are all here to stop it from happening, not only in your worlds and mine, but also fixing them throughout the entire multiverse!” Their eyes all widen again in abject horror. My Discord turns to me, becoming just as concerned as the others. “Wait. Screwball, you don’t mean…?” I nod firmly. “Yes. We’re going to create a Fixed Point, curing all those who’ve been turned into Swamp Fever Trees, eliminating all the natural ones and destroying every atom of the flowers.” “Are you insane?!” one Discord asks, staring at me. “We’re all Lords of Chaos. The one thing we never mess with are Fixed Points! It’s too dangerous!” “Normally, yes,” I say, giving him a look when he opens his mouth to argue further. “I myself have made a few over time, but they’ve been pretty small. And, it’s true, a Fixed Point on this scale is very dangerous to try. However, I will be leading this. We are all going to focus the entirety of our Chaos Magic on this one thing and all at the exact same moment. Plus, once you’ve all gotten your strength back, you will go and change the Stream of Silence in your worlds, reversing its effects, so it does the opposite. Believe me, that will be far better and something you owe your worlds.” “All of it?” another Discord asks in a small voice. “If we do that, it would take at least a few hours before we could properly use our magic again. We’d be defenceless.” I shake my head. “We will each keep enough for one teleport. I’d recommend each of you going to Fluttershy’s cottage. You’ll be safe there until you have recovered enough magic to do you again. I myself will be taking DD to my bedroom at home.” They all look to each other, uncertain, before one steps forward, looking back at the others. “If not for Screwball, Grogar would still have my Fluttershy, along with almost everypony else I care about. I can never repay her enough. I’m sure all of you feel similar for what she’s done for you.” They all look down, not wanting to speak, knowing he speaks the truth. “If this is what she wants, it’s the least we can do to repay her for all she’s done for us,” he looks to me, smiling. I nod. “Okay. We all ready then?” The rest still look a bit uncertain, but nod and we gather in a circle. “Fingers at the ready, boys,” I say, sticking mine out into the circle, ready to snap. “So, we’re all to teleport straight to Fluttershy’s after this, right?” the Discord who’d spoken up earlier asks. I nod. “On, three, everypony. One, two, THREE.” We snap, a huge burst of energy exploding from the centre of our circle, expanding outwards, knocking us all back. I’m toppled with the rest, feeling beyond exhausted. I’ve never been this tired in my whole life. Yikes, that takes it out of you more than you’d think. “Hey… look,” one Discord says groggily, pointing weakly. I lazily turn my head in the direction he’s pointing to see the sphere of white light we created expanding ever outwards, passing from our worlds and onto others. “It’s just going to keep going, isn’t it?” another asks, breathing heavily. “For all time,” I nod, heavily winded myself. “It will continue on into every timeline, every single parallel, even those to our own actions here, until every single creature effected by the Swamp Fever Trees are cured, the trees gone and every atom of their existence turned to dust.” “So, now our Fluttershys won’t be infected?” one Discord asks, face down where he lays. I nod. “Yeah. We’re all good. Thanks again, guys. That’s one less you owe me.” They all give lazy thumbs up, before snapping their fingers and disappearing back to their own realities and timelines. I struggle to push myself, turning to my Discord. “Ready to go home, Dad?” He gives a slurring sound, lazily holding up his claw. I giggle, grabbing his paw and snap, causing us to reappear mid-air and drop, landing on something soft. “What the hay?” Lazily looking up from my padded landing, I see Diamond a little away, leaning against the frame of her bed… giving us very bemused looks. “Screwball? Discord? What are you doing in my room?” “Your room?” I look around with droopy eyes and notice she’s right, this is her room, not mine. “Whoops. Guess my aim was off.” “Shouldn’ yous see who was cured?” Discord slurs, rolling over and flopping on the floor in a heap. “How-how?” I ask, sounding more like a drunkard than the Princess of Chaos. “That ball of Chaosh Enerdy dere,” he points up. “Shouldn’ tha’ be enoUGH fer at least fifwe teweporchs?” He leans his head back, snoring. Not sure what he means, I look up and indeed notice a small sphere of what looks like Choas Energy just sitting atop Diamond’s bedroom light shade. I look to Diamond in dazed confusion. She shrugs. “It wasn’t doing any harm, so I didn’t say anything. Thought you already knew about it. It’s been there since the Sister Hooves Social we went to.” I nod lazily, reaching my hand up. The orb reacts, sliding over the edge and dropping, landing on my open palm and sinking into my skin. At once, I feel a rush and sit up. “Phew. I needed that. Okay. This won’t last long. Be right back, sis. I’ll explain everything after.” ___________________________________________________________ I reappear in the location the Swamp Fever Trees used to be. A tubby orange Earth Pony stallion with a beard tied in a single braid is standing there and he jumps, looking to me in confusion, despite the teleport having returned me to pony form. “Who in the world are you?” he asks, his accent reminding me of Neigh Orleans, before looking around. “D’you have something to do with this?” Looking to where he’s indicating, there’s hundreds of creatures standing in the area. There’s ponies and animals, even a griffon and… is that a hippogriff? They’re all looking around in joy and confusion. “Mama?” I blink. That sounded… familiar. “Som-mama? Whewe awe you?!” I blink again, before my heart sinks. Oh… Oh, now that’s just cruel, life. Why would you do that? Walking through the crowd, I stop next to a large red baby sphinx. A sphinx who’s all too familiar. I put a hoof on her paw and she looks down at me. “Whewe Mama?” I give her a sad shake of my head. “I’m sorry, Fwinxie. Your mama’s been gone for a very long time.” Tears begin welling in her eyes. “Gone?” I nod, letting her pull me into a hug. “But, I promise, the ponies of her village will be happy to have you back.” Yeah, I did a little searching a while back after accidently altering the past regarding those events and it turns out that the story about Somnamblua did still happen, the event I’d witness being set a bit after it, as it turns out… just there was a bit of embellishment. Fwinxie did indeed take large amounts of food from the village and ponynap the prince after they told her to stop, but she hadn’t done it out of malice. She’d done the former because she’d been on her own and nopony had been caring for her, so she’d had to fend for herself. When she took the prince, she’d just been throwing a temper tantrum. Somnabula still went through the answering the riddle and the test of hope and given her signature Glopez , but Fwinxie had just been a baby the whole time and, once the prince was saved, the village had taken care of her… until she’d adopted Somnabula as her mother. “Mama. Mama,” the baby sphinx sobs, holding me close. “I wan’ Mama!” I hold her, doing my best to comfort. “Poor thing. Ah can’t believe she lost her ma.” My eyes snap open, wide as dinner plates. That… that voice, it… No. No fucking way. You have got to be kidding me! Quickly getting out of Fwinxie’s grip, I drop to the ground to see two ponies walking towards us. Two familiar ponies. Two ponies I’ve only ever seen in photographs! One is a stallion with a build similar to Big Mac’s, but with Apple Bloom’s colours, his Cutie Mark being an apple half with a star in the centre. The other is a mare, with an orange coat, deeper orange mane and a Cutie Mark of a jar of pear butter. I just stare at the two of them, my right eye twitching. “You… you were both here, this whole time? We all thought you were dead, but you’ve been HERE?!” The two look unceretaintly to each other, then me. “Uh… yes?” the stallion replies. There’s a long silence, before I take a very deep breath and let it out slowly. Once I’ve calmed down enough, I look to the two of them. “Please wait right here while I take Fwinxie home. Should only be a couple seconds.” With that, I teleport myself and Fwinxie away, returning a few seconds later to two very startled ponies. “How…? You teleported,” the mare says, pointing at me. “But… but yer and Earth Pony, like us. We can’t do that.” “I’m not like other Earth Ponies,” I say, before suddenly feeling woozy and falling forwards, the mare catching me. “But… I think I over estimated how much magic I had left. I’m gonna need time to recover. Guess we’ll be taking the train then.” “Train to where?” the stallion asks, stepping next to his companion. I give them both a small, tired smile. “Home. There’re several ponies waiting for you there. There’s a lot you both need to be caught up on.” ___________________________________________________________ Granny Smith helped Grand Pear packed up the shop. She was glad their family was finally back together… though the last couple days had been interesting. She’d noticed Screwball popping around town and giving very specific ponies some kind of journal. When she’d asked, the filly had merely said she’d seen the alternative and was not letting it happen. She still had no idea what that filly had meant, but, then again, she was Discord’s daughter. Trying to fully understand her was as foolish as trying to understand Pinkie Pie. Chuckling to herself, she walked alongside her fellow grandparent. She’d invited him over for dinner tonight. Their grandchildren should be ready round about now. Arriving at Sweet Apple Acres a few minutes later, the two elderly ponies walked inside to see the three half-Apples, half-Pears finishing up arrange the meal, all under them fancy metal bowl things Twilight Sparkle had gotten them a while back. “We wan’ed this ta feel special,” Apple Bloom answered their unasked question, hurrying over and hugging each of them in turn. “Smells good,” Grand Pear remarked, inhaling deeply. Applejack opened her mouth to say something, when a knock at the door caused them all to pause, turning to look at the closed door. Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “Ah don’t remember askin’ anypony t’ come over. Did you, Big Mac?” “Nope,” the stallion shook his head. “Me neither,” Apple Bloom shook her head. “Sweetie Belle’s stayin’ at Rarity’s and Scootaloo’s at the Cakes t’night.” “Then who in tarnation is callin’ at this… hour…?” Granny Smith began, stomping over and opening the door… only to trail off as she beheld the ponies standing outside. “But… Ah… wha?” Confused by the elderly mare’s reaction, the siblings and their grandfather moved to see who it was standing at the door… before they all froze, their eyes wide. “It… it can’t be,” Grand Pear said, his voice quivering, tears forming in his eyes. “There… how…?” Applejack stared, jaw agape. The two ponies gave sad smiles, tears welling in their own eyes as the mare waved to them. “Hey, ya’ll. Sorry we took so long.” “B-B… Bright Mac?” Granny said, it clear she was struggling not to sob. “Pear… Pear Butter?” Grand Pear murmured, tears sliding down his cheek. The two ponies smiled, nodding. “Mama?” Pear Butter’s eyes shot to the yellow filly and filled with tears. “Apple Bloom? Mah little Apple Bloom?” There was silence for several moments, before the youngest Apple shot forward, barrelling into the mare and the two hugged, immediately sobbing as they held each other. The spell was broken. Everypony hurried forward, embracing in a massive group hug, tears and sobs and cries of joy all blending together as the family was finally whole once again. ___________________________________________________________ Outside the Apple household, a young pink filly watched, a weak smile on her face as she watched the tearful reunion of Parents and Children of two generations. Nodding to herself, she closed her eyes. “Looks like I was able to do as you asked after all, Apple Bloom.” Turning, she walked off towards Ponyville.