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Circa 1042 A.N.B., on a Wednesday...
"So, tell me again. How is there an alicorn pony that isn't a princess?"
"She says she's a winged unicorn, with no earth pony sense in her. I still don't fully understand. But at this point, I've learned to stop asking."
Nightingale grunted. The voices were intruding on her sleep. Who was talking about Mama this early? Her pillow felt a bit differently than she thought it should have. Maybe it was time for her to find out what the fuss was about. She lifted her head and patted down a hoof against the blanket.
"Oh. Good morning, Nightingale." Krusty waved a hoof.
"Night!" Zephyr was immediately over next to her bed. He nuzzled her. "Are you alright? Do you ache anywhere? Do you need a snack? I'm so glad you're safe."
"Papa, I'm fine. Really!" Nightingale lightly patted him on the neck. "You're going to smother me."
"Sorry, I just haven't seen you in forever!" Zephyr took a step back. "Can I help it if I want to make up loving you for that lost time?"
"Oh, alright." Nightingale yawned. "Maybe a little extra care is warranted."
"Thanks." He kissed her on the forehead. Then, he channeled some love energy to feed her.
She stuck out her forked tongue and lapped it up. After swallowing, she said, "You know, Crystal likes the taste of that more than I do."
"Oh, I know. I fed him earlier this morning." Zephyr smiled.
Nightingale nodded, then looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Krusty? I'm happy to see you again, but what are you doing here?"
"Just visiting some familiar places." The yellow changeling chuckled. "We've got a lot of things we want to do before we settle into a new permanent residence."
Nightingale blinked twice. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Smolder and I want to move into our own place somewhere. It'd be nice if we brought as many of our friends up to speed as we can." Krusty glanced at the bedroom door. He lifted a hoof to hide his mouth from a side view. "Believe it or not, Smolder's against having fancy jewelry and expensive clothes. So, we're probably going to elope. If any creature asks, you didn't hear this from me."
"Hear what from you?" Nightingale tilted her head, batted her eyes, and grinned with fangs showing.
Zephyr faked a shock. "Young filly, I did not teach you that!"
All three occupants laughed.
Krusty stood up and stretched his limbs. "Yeah, I guess I'd better get going. Say hi to your wife and son. Hope to see you again soon."
"Alright." Zephyr shook hooves with him. "Safe travels."
"Bye-bye." Nightingale waved from her bed as Krusty trotted out. At this point, the filly started pulling herself out of bed. "Where are Mama and Crystal?"
"They left for the market earlier," said Zephyr. "Element of Harmony magic's good at repairing land damage, but not for restocking a larder."
"Okay." She wiggled some individual feathers around. "I feel like going out to meet them halfway."
"Aren't you tired?" He looked back at her. "If what Krusty and Smolder told me was true, you went through at least two life-threatening situations in a short time. That sounds exhausting."
"Papa, the most dangerous thing we have on a typically bad day in Ponyville Square is a nest of rabbits." She chuckled. "Besides, I'm feeling really good today." She jogged in place for a couple of seconds. "Like, I've gotten a second wind early and it's adding to my first breath."
"I'd feel bad, forcing you to stay cooped up all day." He mulled it over. "Alright, let's go find your mother and brother."
"Yes!" Nightingale beamed before scampering out of the bedroom.
Zephyr trotted after her. He quietly shut the door behind them. By the time he made it outside, Nightingale was flying around in a big circle. He trotted along the road at a steady pace. She came down and landed with a run.
Some pegasi further up were working on clearing clouds. A few other ponies were scrubbing rooftops. One pony was hammering a new sign into the ground. The village was healing.
After a few minutes of walking, Nightingale and Zephyr spotted the rest of their household. White Snow was levitating three full bags while Crystal held one. Nightingale couldn't contain herself. She ran straight up to her mother and hugged around her neck.
"Whoa! Nightingale, careful!" White's magical hold on the bags slipped.
"I got it!" Crystal ignited his horn more brightly. Two barriers appeared like bowls to catch the falling bags. The third bag managed to slip past and hit the ground, spilling a few fruits. "I don't got it."
Zephyr scooped the loose fruit back into the bag before picking it up. "That's alright. We'll just have to wash them more thoroughly."
"Sorry." Nightingale chuckled nervously. "I just haven't seen you in forever."
"I guess that's fair." White nuzzled her daughter. She also took magical hold of the two bags in Crystal's barriers.
Once he was sure the bags were safely transferred, Crystal dispelled his impromptu bowls. "Glad to see you're okay, Sis."
"Same to you." Nightingale dropped down and hugged her brother with a little less force.
...
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???
She looked down in the darkness. A right hand faced its palm toward her. She could feel the fingers curl into a fist before opening back up again. That was right. Her name was Natalia.
The young lady turned around. She saw what looked like a pegasus pony flapping its wings, flying in place. The filly turned turned her head and opened her solid blue eyes wide. One blink turned the eyes to distinguishable green irises.
"Nightingale?" Natalia asked. "I... thought we were one and the same."
Nightingale looked down at her right, front hoof. "I think so too. Any idea where we are?"
Both of them looked right and left. Nothing but blank space surrounded them. It was just empty.
"Did I... did you... die?" Natalia held out a hand in the pony's direction.
"I don't think so." Nightingale shook her head. "You'd either be standing at the pearly gates or in the burning lake if I had."
"That's true." Natalia scratched her head. "Is this a dream? It feels too real to be."
"Well, you vaguely remember one of my dreams, right?" Nightingale tapped her head just below her ear. "Those also felt pretty real."
Natalia stopped and pointed. "You mean the one where Mama and Papa's swords broke...?"
"And I was singing a high note in the middle of it all, yes." Nightingale nodded.
"So, what does this dream mean?" Natalia crossed her arms. "Is my psyche splitting up?"
Nightingale moved closer and patted her other self's shoulder. "I don't know for sure. But I get the feeling you really want to take care of something before I continue normal life."
Natalia looked questioningly at the pony. She turned around and saw a couple standing figures. She blinked twice, and the figures came into focus. These were her parents, the ones that raised her for twenty-five years.
"I never got the chance to say goodbye." Natalia held her hands together over her chest.
"I feel your pain, Night." Nightingale had her head down. "Let your voice be heard."
"Huh? But you're Night-"
She looked around, but her pony self was no longer next to her. She looked down at the hands against her chest. They were faded blue hooves. The flapping wings were behind her own shoulders. She breathed in deeply. The surrounding darkness started to white out.
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On a Saturday evening...
"This goes out to Zake and Marga Gabriel." Nightingale stood with a microphone right in front of a mirror portal. "Know that your little girl lives on through me."
The keyboardist played a gentle intro to start things off. The drummer tapped out an accompanying beat. White vocalized some backup notes. After a couple measures, Nightingale breathed in and opened her mouth.
"~Alleluia, Hallelujah
Alleluia, Hallelujah~"
Some ponies passing by stopped and listened. A couple birds flew overhead and tweeted. One pony nearly jumped. There was a snake swaying its head back and forth to the beat.
"~We moved so often and I felt lost
So many times, I lost my friends
But for the needs of work, I understood ya
We laughed and cried and argued lots
I felt defeated in means and ends
I'd be despairing without a Hallelujah...~"
Winds on Earth moved in a multitude of spiraling paths. A faded blue feather acted as if it was drawing a picture on these winds. It passed by a few houses, and managed to turn on a few radios. The dials moved all the way to the end, particularly in the cars of two distraught adults.
"~Alleluia, Hallelujah
Alleluia, Hallelujah~"
"Natalia? / Natalia?!" Zake and Marga stared wide-eyed at their respective radios.
"~You raised me with just enough tough love
I couldn't always get things just right
There was quite the trial in California
But intervention came from above
And gave me strength to keep up the fight
It brings my heart to shout an Alleluia...~"
Back in Equestria, the keyboardist had a bit of an improvisation. The drummer had placed more emphasis on the cymbal beats. White had pulled out a guitar and popped a wild solo.
"~Alleluia, Hallelujah
Alleluia, Hallelujah~"
The entire band had slowed their notes to cool down the outro.
"Goodbye, Mom. Goodbye, Dad. Love... Natalia." Nightingale pushed the microphone away and exhaled.
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