//------------------------------//
// Grand's Regrets 
// Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S9 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

It was another perfect day in Ponyville as Lightning and Grand did a patrol in the town. The sun was shining, the birds singing as the ponies were busying themselves with work or enjoying their day off. As such, there wasn't much for either of them to do. Everything seemed to be going perfectly well that they were starting to get bored.

But as they walked around, the two arrived at the street with Carousel Boutique on it, only to spot Sweetie Belle walking out of the building. The filly was dragging something behind herself, which they quickly realized was a bin bag of trash that was so big, Sweetie was having trouble carrying it. And when she got to the nearby dumpster, she tried to lift the bag, but couldn't even get it above her head.

Lightning stepped over and took the bag in his magic, lifting it up and dropping it into the dumpster. Sweetie sighed in relief. "Thanks."

"Why does Rarity have you throwing out the trash?" Grand asked next.

Sweetie let out a moan, "She's getting me to clean out my room. Our aunt is coming for a visit and she's staying with Rarity. so I've gotta clean out my room so it doesn't look like a mess when she gets here."

"What?" Lightning looked into the dumpster and saw how big the trash bag was. "That's all from your room?" Sweetie glanced away at this, "I'm amazed it took this long for Rarity to make you clean it."

"A gross oversight on my part." They turned to see Rarity, who was wearing a hazmat suit while carrying a bucket and sponge. "To think such a large amount of filth was inside my home."

"It's not that bad!" Sweetie barked back.

"That plate I found under your bed was so filthy that I think the dirt was close to obtaining interstellar travel." The stallions laughed at this while Sweetie grumbled, "It's going to take a lot of work to get that room suitable for our aunt."

"Need some help?" Lightning asked, Rarity smiling under her helmet.

"That would be much appreciated. My aunt lives in Manehatten, and is used to the finer things in life. I wouldn't be able to show her my face if I had her stay in such dastardly horrible conditions."

"So your aunt's coming to stay," Lightning replied as the defenders walked inside, "I didn't realize you had an aunt."

"Well...she's technically my mother's aunt." Rarity removed her helmet. "But Sweetie and I have always called her our aunt. She doesn't have any children, so we're the only family she has." Lightning and Grand nodded, asking what she did, "She used to be a stage-hoof for Manehattan's theatre group. She eventually managed to rise to the rank of director and was a respected member of the acting society before she retired."

"Sounds like an interesting mare," Grand commented, Rarity smirking at this.

"She's about your age. Maybe you and she will get along beautifully." Grand saw the smirk, only to shake his head.

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"Come on gramps!" Lightning laughed, "Have you ever been on a date after grandma passed?"

"No, and I'm okay with that." Grand responded, his mind going back to Live Wire and his time with her. He thought back to when he first met her and their first of many adventures together, hunting down the Cutie Markers and their distribution. How they fell in love and lived their lives together, only to sigh, "That part of my life ended a long time ago."

"It doesn't have to be," Rarity added, "It's never too late to find love again."

"Maybe," Grand shrugged, "But I don't need somepony like that in my life. I have Lightning, Flash and all of you. I might have lost Live and my son, but I'm happy with how my life is at the moment."

He headed out of the building at this, leaving Lightning and Rarity to sigh. "I'm still sure my aunt would love to meet him."

"I'm not sure gramps would appreciate us butting into his business," Lightning replied, "He and my grandmother went through a lot with each other. You can't just forget about all that and move on. After everything Flash and Twilight have been through together, you think either of them would be able to let go and move on if they lost the other?"

"I guess," Rarity hummed, "We should at least introduce them to one another. See how well they get along before trying to do anything."

Lightning rolled his eyes at this, "Fine. But maybe we should focus on getting the room clean before doing anything else."

"Good idea," Rarity giggled as she placed her hazard helmet back on and headed for the door. Lightning followed, only to stop and grab something in his magic. A female yelp filled the air as Sweetie was dragged inside by her tail, having tried to escape when she thought the adults were distracted. She pouted as she was pulled over to the stairs and finally let go, keeping that face as she marched upstairs to finish cleaning.





Two days later...

Lightning, Rarity and Sweetie were at the station, waiting for the train carrying their aunt. Rarity checked the time and saw the train was due any moment. "What exactly does your aunt look like?" Lightning asked.

"She shouldn't be too difficult to spot," Rarity replied, "I doubt there'll be many old mares getting off the train." As she said that, the whistle caught their attention and made them turn to see a train roll up and come to a stop. The carriages slid open, ponies soon walking out.

Lightning then spotted a wrinkly old unicorn mare with a white coat and red mane. "Is there her?"

Rarity followed his hoof and saw the mare, but shook her head. "That's not her."

"Oh." Lightning pointed at another mare, this one being blue with a purple mane and tail. "Her?"

"No," Sweetie shook her head, Lightning now pointing to a brown mare with a black mane and tail. "Not her either!"

Lightning put his hoof down at this, Rarity's suggestion that barely any old ponies would be getting off now proven false. That is, till he saw an old unicorn mare with an olive green coat along with a lime green mane and tail. He decided to keep his mouth shut, expecting this pony to be another mislead, only for Rarity to see her and gasp. "Aunt Remarie!"

The mare turned to them and smiled, "Rarity!" She hugged the mare before turning to the younger filly. "And Sweetie Belle." She hugged her and pinched her cheeks, "Look at how big you've gotten." Sweetie groaned at this, only for Remaire to notice something on her flank. "And you have your cutie mark. Oh, I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Aunt Remarie." She let go of Sweetie's cheeks and the filly rubbed them, "We're really happy you're here."

"I'm happy to be here too," Remarie chuckled before noticing Lightning. "And who is this?"

Lightning gave a curt bow, "Lightning Blitz. It's very nice to meet you." Remarie smiled and bowed back, Lightning noticing the two large suitcases Remarie was carrying in her magic. "Would you like me to take those? You're probably exhausted after that long trip."

"Oh, you are a dear." She floated the bags over to Lightning and he took them in his magic. But as soon as she cut hers, the full weight pulled Lightning and his magic down to the ground with an audible cry. Remarie began to walk with her grandnieces. "So, tell me everything that's been happening since I last saw you."

Lightning pulled himself up and lifted the two bags, barely managing to get them off the ground. It felt like he was carrying ten bags instead of the actual number, making him wonder what the heck Remarie was carrying in these things. The group of four made their way through the town, Rarity and Sweetie telling their aunt everything that had happened since the last time they had seen them. Lightning was trailing behind, barely able to keep up while carrying the suitcases.

"Oh Rarity, you really should visit more often. You have that store in Manehatten now."

"I know. I'm sorry I couldn't come and see you. But whenever I'm in Manehatten, it's always on business and something always seems to eat up my time there. I promise, I'll come and visit you the next time I'm in the city, No matter what."

"That's nice to hear," Remarie replied, "But honestly, I don't think that'll be necessary. It's likely that even if you came to visit, I wouldn't be around much longer to visit."

The sisters gasped at this, "Don't say that!" Sweetie cried, "You've got years left! Decades even!"

Rarity nodded. "Indeed. Don't go saying such morbid things."

Remarie blinked at them, only to giggle, "No, I don't mean it like that. I mean that I probably won't be in Manehatten much longer." The sisters went wide-eyed at this as she let out a sigh, "Manehatten has been a good home to me, but it's such a busy city. Just going to the store for some milk has become exhausting with how fast everypony moves there."

"Ah." Rarity caught on, "You're thinking of moving out of Manehatten?"

"Yes. I'm far from being completely helpless, but I need to live somewhere I won't have to risk a heart attack every time I step out of the house. I'm thinking of moving into a retirement community. Maybe Silver Stables. I hear that place is a fun place to be."

"That does sound nice," Sweetie responded, "Or maybe you could move here? Ponyville's a great place to live."

"Yes, I did consider that. But then I remembered all those stories you kept sending me letters about. This town seems to go from calm and serine to absolutely insane at the drop of a hat."

Rarity sighed at that, knowing she was right. But despite this, Rarity spoke up, "Still, this place is the perfect spot to live out your life when it's not almost being destroyed. And we have some very strong and reliable ponies here to keep it from becoming a crater. Like Lightning." They glanced back, only to find that they had left Lightning in the dust.

"Reliable, huh?" Remarie looked back at her niece, who let out a chuckle. In that moment, she spotted another member of the defenders and smiled at seeing her chance.

"Yes. Very reliable. Like our most mature defender!" She ran over and grabbed Grand before he could argue, pulling him over to her great aunt. "May I introduce-"

"Grand Hoof?" Remarie gasped, as Grand turned to her and his eyes went wide.

"Remarie?" Rarity and Sweetie's heads shifted back and forth as Lightning finally caught up with them.

"You...you two know each other?" Rarity slowly said, her inner self going between surprise and smiling at the thought of them being old friends. That made it more likely for them to want to hang out and spend some time together.

"It's...complicated," Remarie replied, the two looking one another over, the younger ponies seeing the discomfort on Grand's face and the somber expression that soon adorned Remarie's. "It's been a long time."

"Very long," Grand nodded. "Are you doing well? After...what happened, you left Canterlot and I had no idea where you had gone to." He glanced at Rarity, "I guess it was Manehatten that you started living in?"

"Yes," Remarie nodded, "With the theatre company there, it was the best place I could find to work. I just...couldn't live in Canterlot anymore." This made Rarity and Sweetie go wide-eyed, both not knowing their great aunt had once lived in Canterlot. They had always assumed she had lived in Manehatten since her birth. "What about you? You're looking well."

"Thank you," he slowly responde, "I've been through a lot since then. I did what I could to put those events behind me." He looked over at Lightning, "I see you've already met my grandson." Remarie looked between Lightning and Grand, clearly surprised by their relation. "Anyway. I...I should get going. It was nice to see you again."

"And you," Remarie nodded before Grand headed off. Rarity watched him go and had a million questions, the mare quickly grabbing her aunt around the leg and pulling her to her house.

"How do you know Grand?" She asked as they reached the store and headed inside, Sweetie on their tail as Lightning had enough and simply teleported himself and the bags to the building. "You never told us you lived in Canterlot."

"And why did it look like you and Grand were upset to see one another?" Sweetie added as they sat around the kitchen table.

Remarie sighed as she sat down, Rarity quickly putting on the kettle as the older mare let her memories flow. "It's not that we're unhappy to see each other. I think seeing me is making Grand remember a pretty hard time in his life. The same time seeing him reminds me of."

"What time?" Sweetie asked as Lightning returned from dropping off her bags upstairs.

"The time when Grand first became a Royal Knight. When he saved the city from a pony who had been driven insane by a powerful magical device. A pony I loved."

The sisters went wide-eyed again, Rarity then remembering who she was dating and his history. Maybe it ran in the family. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

Remarie shook her head. "No. It was such a long time ago that forgetting about it wouldn't do me any good."

And thus, she started to tell the story of a pony who was Grand Hoof's friend back when they were colts: Number Cruncher. She told them about the time when the magical devices known as Cutie Markers were first appearing, with Cruncher being the first pony to be sold one. The girls and Lightning were shocked at how Cruncher had used it to give himself an explosive Cutie Mark and gained the confidence to ask her out, using it to keep himself from feeling weak so he could have the life he wanted. But in using it, his mental state slowly started to deteriorate until an event caused him to go over the edge and attack Remarie and anypony that got in his way.

Remarie explained how Cruncher's fall to the psychotic caused him to try and destroy Canterlot, resulting in the death of Grand's best friend. Then there was Cruncher's fight to kill Grand and death using a damaged Cutie Marker. And as the story ended, Remarie let out a long sigh, "Despite all the pain he caused, I still loved Cruncher. After what happened, living in Canterlot was just too painful for me. So I left Canterlot and moved to Manehatten."

"Sweet Celestia," Rarity gasped, "That's horrible." She reached out and grasped her hoof. "Is that why you never married or had a family?" Remarie slowly nodded back.

"Cruncher was my love. I couldn't find anypony else after him." Rarity grimaced at this as Remarie switched their hooves so she could hold hers. "Don't be upset. I've had a good life. I spent my years surrounded by friends in Manehatten, entertaining hundreds of ponies. I might not have gotten to have a family of my own, but I have you girls. I don't regret the life I've lead."

"It's still a terrible thing to happen," Rarity muttered, "I knew Grand dought against those Cutie Marker things, but I never realized how much they took from him. His two closest friends..."

Remarie nodded, "Those Cutie Markers truly were evil."

"Well, you don't have to worry about them anymore." They both turned to see Lightning entering the kitchen. "My grandparents seeked them out and destroyed almost every last one of them. There are probably still a few out in the world, but nopony knows how to make them anymore. Once those last stray Cutie Markers are dealt with, nopony else will have to suffer like that."

"That's good to hear." Remarie commented before staring at Lightning with a slight smile, "Would it be okay if I asked what happened to Grand in the years since we last saw each other?"

"Sure," Lightning nodded, "But it's kind of a long story." Remarie nodded as Rarity made Lightning a cup of tea.

Lightning sat down and told her about what had happened in Grand's life, including his marriage to Live Wire and having a son he named after his best friend. Remarie was happy about this, but then felt bad when she learned about Live's death and his son's fall to the dark side. Lightning continued to tell her about how his father had met his mother, married her and had him before her own death at the hands of criminals. Remarie was horrified to hear about this, feeling sorry for the young unicorn who told her about his estrangement to Grand afterwards. He then told her about Grand's meeting of Flash Sentry and his training, Remarie of course knowing all about Flash from Rarity's letters. And then, Lightning told her about his own turn to the dark side.

"I see," Remarie sighed, "I guess Cutie Markers aren't the only way for a good pony to fall to evil. Any source of power has that potential." The other unicorns nodded as Remarie looked down at her drink. "Seeing his grandson become corrupted like that must have brought back many terrible memories. He probably felt like it was Number Cruncher all over again."

Lightning flinched at that, now remembering when Fluttershy had rushed into the Canterlot Cathedral, telling him about his grandfather being in a near death state due to his heart breaking. At the time, he had thought it was just because of him. But now he realized that there was more to it than that.

"Grand hasn't had an easy life," Remarie muttered, "Cruncher told me about his life before everything went wrong. He told me about Grand being left at an orphanage and raised there. He's had to suffer through so much trauma in his life. His family, his friends and so many others have been lost before his eyes. It's a miracle he hasn't fallen into despair after going through all that."

"Grand's life has been hard," Lightning nodded, "But he's had good times as well. The years he spent with my grandmother were apparently the greatest time he'd ever had. And when my dad was young, they were really close. Same with me when I was way younger. Life just...didn't let the good times continue after we got older."

"But that didn't mean he didn't have ponies that cared about him," Rarity added, "Celestia was there for him in those times. And then he met Flash. I'm sure training him was a great time in his life."

"And now he's here," Sweetie finished, "His son might still be insane, but Lightning was able to turn things around. Now he's living in a town where everypony cares about one another. It's one huge family and he gets to protect it, like what he always does." The older unicorns smiled at this, knowing she was right.

Remarie thought about it and was happy Grand found a place he could have a purpose. After everything that had happened to him, he deserved it. "So after your grandmother passed away, he never found anypony else?"

"No," Lightning shook his head, "I think my grandmother still has his heart, even after all this time."

"I can understand that," Remarie was reminded of Number Cruncher and how her life with him was tragically cut short. Once you found that special somepony, it was hard to feel that way about anypony else. "Well, I think we've gone down memory lane long enough. Why don't we head out and you girls show me around Ponyville? I'm sure Lightning has work he needs to be getting back to."

"No, I'm free. If there's anywhere in Ponyville you wanna go, we're happy to show you around." Remarie nodded and they all headed out of the boutique, soon beginning their tour.





Meanwhile...

Grand was continuing his patrol through the town. Everything was calm, which meant he had a lot of time to think, and what he couldn't help thinking about was the pony he had just ran into. Remarie had certainly aged gracefully, that was for sure, but seeing her made him remember that time. Despite Remarie never doing anything wrong, it was a time in his life he didn't want to think about. It might have been the time he became a Royal Knight and met the love of his life, but it was also the time he had lost two of his best friends.

Grand sighed as he made his way around the edge of the town, thinking back to the time when he and his friends were young. He and Doom had started off on the wrong hoof, but he had been there when Grand wanted to give up after what he had done. Grand knew his mistakes in the past had caused many ponies harm, but Doom had helped him learn to accept those mistakes and use them to better himself.

Then there had been Number Cruncher. The pony that had had such a bright future, but let his own inferiority complex turn him into a monster. Maybe if Grand had seen the pain Cruncher was going through, he could have helped him and stop the Canterlot Bombing from ever happening.

But if recent events involving time travel had taught him anything, it's that the past could and shouldn't be changed. He knew what happened happened, and he needed to accept that. But seeing Remarie like that made him wish he could have made things different. Even if only a little.

"Grand?" He looked up and saw Flash and Twilight, "Are you okay? You look like Spike when the store stopped selling his favorite candy bar."

"I'm okay," he replied, "I just ran into somepony that brought up some...painful memories."

The pair frowned at this, Flash quickly switching to a glare, "Who are they? An old foe?"

"Old friend," Grand sighed. "Or...somepony that probably would have been a friend had things turned out differently."





Remarie marveled at the sight of Ponyville.

The town had everything an old mare could ask for. There were plenty of quaint little shops and cafes one could spend their days at, along with a park full of beautiful flowers and scenic trees that you could waste away the day in. There was even a spa that would be perfect for soaking one's old bones. Every minute she spent here, the thought of living in Ponyville became more appealing.

"And this is the School of Friendship," Rarity announced as the four walked up to the large building. Remarie gasped at the architecture, having heard a lot about the school from her grandnieces.

"So this is where you teach?" She asked, Rarity nodding back. "Amazing. I never thought you would move into a teaching role."

"Oh, I'm still in the fashion business." Rarity giggled, "Teaching is my side career. And hopefully, one of my students will graduate and want to teach themselves. Flash's parents are beginning to take over for him and Twilight in certain classes, so I'm sure somepony will do the same for the rest of us eventually."

"I see," Remarie nodded as they headed inside. As they did, they saw many creatures running around the hallways getting to their lessons or study groups. Remarie continued to look amazed by everything around them as they made their way through the building.

"And this is my classroom," Rarity showed her the room that almost doubled as a second Ponyville boutique. "These are some of the designs my students came up with. Aren't they smashing?" Remarie stared at the sight, wondering how exactly one was supposed to learn generosity from making dresses. But based on how well the students apparently shared with one another, it worked somehow.





Grand had just finished telling the other two about his and Remarie's story, the pair now wearing faces of pure shock. "Wow," Flash whispered, "I can't believe that happened to you." Flash had always wondered how Grand had first become a knight, but had never asked given how sad mentioning it seemed to make him. "Poor Remarie."

"She probably hates me for what happened," Grand sighed, "If I had been better, I could have saved Cruncher before he lost his life. Maybe he and Remarie could have started over. Of if I had seen the pain he was in, maybe I could have helped before he ever got that accursed thing."

"What happened wasn't your fault," Twilight replied, "Cruncher chose to take that power, knowing the dangers that came with it. And it was that Technica that seduced him into accepting it."

"Maybe. But I failed to save him when it mattered."

"Remarie might not think that," Flash responded, "Or maybe she does. We don't know." Twilight frowned at him, but he kept gong, "You know who does know: Remarie." Grand tilted his head at this, only for Flash to say, "You shouldn't assume anything. Go talk to her. If she hates you, then we'll deal with it. But you don't know what she thinks. And this was a long time ago. Even if she hated you at the time, that might not be true now."

"Flash is right," Twilight nodded as they headed for the school. "And you can't avoid her. Her grandniece is dating your grandson. And Rarity's really close to her aunt, apparently. So, she's gonna be in your life for a long time."

Grand sighed again, "You're right."

"Yeah. Don't let this scare you. You've faced explosion causing ponies, dragons, changelings and a bunch of things way scarier than talking to a mare." As Flash said that, the school's door opened and they saw Rarity stepping out with Lightning, Sweetie and the pony they were talking about.

Grand and Remarie's eyes went wide at seeing one another, as the younger ponies looked eyes and had one of their telepathic conversations. They all nodded, knowing what they had to do. "Rarity, do you think you can take my measurements for a new dress?"

"Of course darling," Rarity replied, "I'm sorry aunty, but you can't say no to a princess." Remarie nodded as Flash turned to Sweetie.

"Scootaloo was looking for you. Apparently, there's some CMC business that needs you three to get dealt with."

"Oh, alright." Sweetie also apologised to her aunt and ran off while Lightning smacked his head.

"Oh yeah. I just remembered. Wild wanted my help with something. Sorry, I gotta go." He teleported away and Flash spread his wings, making an excuse that he had to make preparations for his next class.

"Don't worry," he told the old mare. "Grand can look after you." He took off before she or Grand could argue, the group dispersing and leaving the two older ponies alone together.

"Seriously?!" Grand sighed before turning back to Remarie. "Um...anything you wanna do while you're here?"

"Well, I've been shown around the town," Remarie replied, "And I did see a rather nice looking cafe I wouldn't mind trying out." Grand nodded and the pair headed for the establishment. Grand remembered what Flash had said and knew he was right. He couldn't just assume Remarie hated him. He needed to know how she felt about him, and there was only one way to do that.

"I'm sorry."

Remarie tilted her head at this, "Sorry for what?"

"For what happened to Number Cruncher," he responded, "How I was unable to save him. I wanted to apologise right after it happened, but I thought you wouldn't want to see me so soon afterwards. And when I finally thought enough time had passed, I found you had moved away."

"I see," Remarie sighed, "You're right to have waited. I was so distraught when I happened, I probably would have screamed at you about it being your fault." Grand frowned at this, "But it wasn't." She slowly looked up at him, "You weren't the one who made Cruncher do what he did."

"Maybe. But if I had seen how badly he felt about thing..."

"Nopony saw it. Number Cruncher hated himself, but he never showed it. I spent so long with him and never saw how badly he felt. Cruncher didn't want to be seen as weak and hid his true feeling from everypony. If he had opened up and allowed those feelings to be seen, I'm sure somepony would have noticed."

"Somepony did," Grand added as they arrived at the cafe. "And that somepony swindled him into accepting a horrible device."

Remarie nodded. "You did everything you could to help him. I can't hate you for that. Cruncher chose to take the Cutie Marker and he let its power corrupt him. He let himself turn into the monster he became. I'll always remember him for the kind pony I met, but he let that kind pony die before his life actually ended. So don't blame yourself for what happened. Because I don't."

Grand smiled at this, "Thank you."

The pair sat together and finally started really talking. After the pain of Number Cruncher left their interactions, they talked about everything they had been through after then. Grand told her about some of the adventures he had been on, such as fighting a unicorn that used a fire Cutie Mark to destroy the clothing store that had fired his girlfriend, or another who used an illusion Cutie Mark to trick ponies into seeing the ghosts of those who had departed the world in a hope of tricking them into joining his cult. Remarie then told him about some of the productions she had helped bring to stage, including ones where she took the lead as the one in charge.

Eventually, they finished their lunch and headed back out into the town. Things seemed to be going well between the pair, with Grand escorting the older mare back to her niece's home. "This was fun," Remarie commented, "And you know, maybe this place is the perfect town to move to."

"Move to?" Grand asked.

"Yes. Manehatten's gotten too busy for an old mare like me. You must have thought the same when you left Canterlot. The big city get too big?"

"I wouldn't say that," Grand chuckled, shaking his head, "Retiring wasn't even my idea. The Princesses suggested it. I had spent so much of my life training and fighting and training others to fight and...they decided it was time I got some rest." Remarie giggled at this, "I figured I would spend the rest of my life being bored out of my head, but Flash suggested becoming part of the Defenders, which would allow me to continue doing what I do best while also getting time to enjoy my life."

"So when you're not protecting the town, what do you do?"

"Oh, I do a lot of things. I tried doing the town's weekly trivia night, but realized going up against Twilight was not fun." Remarie raised an eyebrow at that, "I sometimes go bird watching or simply spend my day enjoying the peace and calm. But what I've really gotten into is model building."

"Model building?"

"Yes. You'd be surprised how much fun it can be. To simply relax and create something with your own hooves. I might fight using incredible bouts of strength, but I can have a gentle touch when I need to. And making models helps me keep that gentle touch."

"I would love to see that."

"Well, if you have time tomorrow. I'm off for the day and I'd be glad to show you."

"Perfect," Remarie smiled as they arrived at the boutique. "I'll see you then." Grand nodded and turned to leave, Remarie smiling as she opened the door, only to hear Twilight let out a moan.

"You realize I didn't actually want a new dress, right?" she told Rarity, Remarie spotting the seamstress as she was measuring the alicorn.

"Oh hush. You've been in need of a wardrobe upgrade for a while now. This just gave me the perfect excuse."

"What's the perfect excuse?" Rarity jumped and spun around to see her smiling aunt, the mare now trying to say something, but kept tripping over her worlds.

That is, till Twilight asked, "So, did you enjoy your day in Ponyville?"

"Indeed. It's quite the lovely little town. I look forward to actually participating in some of the activities around her instead of just watching and sightseeing."

"Well, we can do some of those tomorrow," Rarity assured her.

"I'm afraid not. I'm going over to Grand Hoof's place tomorrow." The pair's eyes went wide, "he offered to show me his model collection. Apparently, it a relaxing way to keep your hoof steady." The girls gave her a smirk as Remarie sighed. "Calm down girls. I'm just going over there to look at models and nothing more."

"Right," they both replied in unison, Remarie shaking her head before walking away. As soon as she headed upstairs, the younger mares squealed with joy. They knew Remarie and Grand would be spending more and more time together. It was inevitable that the pair would get together. They just knew it.





The next day...

As the sun rose in the sky, Remarie made her way through the town toward Grand's cottage. Rarity and Lightning walked behind her, both looking like they were still half asleep. Lightning let out yawn as they made their way through the town. "How the heck are you able to be up this early?"

Remarie chuckled at this, "I'm old. Old ponies don't like to be outside during the night. So, we go to bed as soon as the sun sets and wake up the moment it raises."

"Basically like Applejack," Rarity yawned as well.

They reached Grand's place and Remarie used her magic to make sure her mane and tail were presentable, then knocked to show their arrival. And after a few moments, Grand opened the door and smiled at them, "Morning."

"Good morning," Remarie replied, the other two waving, both yawning as Grand let them all in. His cottage was a small and cozy little area, the living room taking up half the bottom floor with a kitchen taking up another quarter. The upstairs was split between the landing, bathroom and bedroom. It was by no means a grand mansion, but it was perfect for a single pony that didn't want to spend ages cleaning. The living room had a large comfy armchair, a table and chair and multiple shelves. Some of these shelves were full of books, but most of them were housing models of different kinds.

There were wooden models that fit together like jigsaws, mostly of dragons and other creatures one might see in the Everfree forest. There were other ones that were made out of plastic, which were designed to resemble different models of trains and skyships. And, of course, there were many bottles that had old fashioned sailboats inside of them.

"Wow," Lightning looked them over, "I didn't know you had this kind of creative skill."

"Indeed," Rarity nodded, "These look absolutely marvelous."

"Thank you," Grand replied, "It's just something to keep my mind busy on particularly boring days. If I didn't do something like this I'd probably never get to sleep at night." He moved into the kitchen, "But my crowning glory is in here." They followed him into the kitchen and saw he had opened a door, which lead to the final quarter of the building.

Looking inside, they found the room was actually a staircase leading down to the basement. The other three were surprised, not figuring a cottage would have a basement. They all headed down, Grand turning on the lights, revealing the room had many tables inside of it that held a variety of models. They were of houses and structures that made up different towns and cities. One of the most completed of the models, though it was still missing a few places, was a town mirroring Ponyville.

"Wow..." Lightning whistled, "You recreated Ponyville from scratch?" Grand shrugged as the others saw some of the other model sets were places like Canterlot and Manhattan.

"So detailed," Rarity gasped, "Everything is right where it's supposed to be." She squinted as she saw every store and building in the city was right where it was supposed to be. It was almost like Grand had shrunk the city down and hidden it in his basement. "You've even got my store."

Grand waved his hoof at this, "I spent years working security all over Equestria. You need to have the city layouts memorized so you can make your way anywhere without needing a map. I've lost count of how many criminals I've taken down because I was able to navigate the cities better than them. Even now, I can close my eyes and picture the cities perfectly. Seemed like a waste not to use it."

Remarie stared at the model of Canterlot. She had never returned to the city after what had happened there, so seeing it as it was now was quite a sight to behold. But then she saw the street that Number Cruncher had been in when he lost his life, causing her heart to clench at the sudden rush of emotion.

Rarity noticed her aunt's sudden facial burden, "Are you alright?"

Remarie took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm fine darling. Just...amazed at all the fine detail." She turned to Grand, "You must have worked hard on them."

"Not hard," Grand responded, "Just...thorough. No point in doing it if you're not gonna do a good enough job." He watched Lightning as he used his magic to pick up a Manehattan taxi and pretend to drive it around like a little kid. He smirked at this until he noticed Grand watching him and put the taxi down, "It's too bad I don't have any younger grandchildren. It would give us an excuse to play with all this instead of just having to stare at it."

"Yes," Remarie nodded, "But who knows, maybe you'll get to use it to play with your great grandchildren." Grand laughed at this while Rarity and Lightning began to blush.

After a few more minutes of staring at the models, the four headed back upstairs and Grand put the kettle on. Rarity had to leave soon to open her boutique and Lightning was on patrol duty, the younger unicorns stepping out of the cottage and leaving the older ponies to sit and enjoy each other's company. They spent hours talking and talking about anything that came to mind. Books they had read, rumors they had heard and times from their past that they just happened to remember and want to talk to the other about.

As they did this, Grand showed Remarie one of his half-finished models and the pair busied their hooves and horn putting it together. By the time it was finished, Remarie realized it was the middle of the afternoon. She wanted to keep talking, but she also wanted to spend some of the day with her nieces. But she and Grand promised to meet up against the next day when they both had time.

And over the next few days, Grand and Remarie could be seen exploring the many different areas of Ponyville and enjoying their time together. Whenever Grand was on patrol, Remarie would be with her nieces at the spa or a restaurant. But when Grand was free, she was with him.

On the second to last day of Remarie's visit, she and Grand were in the park together. The pair were enjoying a nice picnic lunch, Remarie having made her famous jam sponge for them to enjoy. They ate and watched the other ponies playing in the park, many of them being youngsters who were making the most of a day off school.

Remarie sighed at this, "This place really is amazing. Every day I'm here I fall more and more in love with it."

"So, you think you'll move here for a more quiet life?" Remarie hummed at this, Grand seeing indecision on her face. "I'm sure Rarity and Sweetie Belle would love you being here. And a lot of other ponies that have met you over the last few days."

"What about you?"

"I'd love for you to be here," Grand replied without any hesitation. "But I can tell there's still something keeping you from agreeing."

"As amazing as this place is, I'm still worried about all the possible dangers that seemed to originate here. The last few days have been peaceful, but it's obviously not always like that."

"No. But you don't have to worry about being in danger. The Defenders and I will be there to protect you. Even after Flash leaves, me, Lightning and Iron will be more than enough."

Remarie frowned at this, only for a sudden scream to ring out. They turned to the noise, only to see ponies running away from something leaping out of the trees behind them: A Timberwolf.

The beast let out a growl and a roar as Grand stood up and turned to Remarie. "Go, GO!" Remarie leapt to her feet and ran with the other fleeing ponies as Grand rushed at the beast. The wolf saw him and flexed its claws, but Grand grabbed a rock off the ground and threw it at the monster before it could strike, hitting in in the between the eyes with enough force to break its head apart. Grand then leapt up and with all his earth pony strength, punched through its body, causing it to break apart.

He panted at this, knowing the wolf would soon regenerate, only for more growling to ring out, making him loop up to see several more timberwolves stalk out of the trees. Grand slowly backpedaled, only for a blast of fire to hit one of the wolves, causing it to explode. Grand looked up and see Fire Heart, Flash right behind him as the colt unleashed several fireballs. The flames made the wolves leap back, only for Flash to zip by and cut them to pieces.

Grand quickly got back into the fight and punched his way through the last few wolves while Heart ignited the remains to stop them from reforming. "Thanks," the older pony told the two.

"Just be glad we were flying overhead," Flash replied, "But what the heck are timberwolves doing out here?! They never leave the Everfree Forest."

"You think somepony made them attack?" Heart asked.

"Or some other creature pushed them out of their territory," Grand sighed, "We'd better head in there and investigate." The other two nodded, Flash suggesting them get any needed supplies before doing so.

And as Grand left the park, he found Remarie waiting for him. "Are you alright?" She asked, "Those monsters didn't hurt you, did they?"

"I'm fine," he nodded, "Nothing I can't handle. But we're gonna have to head into the forest to make sure nothing's going down in there." Remarie frowned at this, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll have the other Defenders with me." Remarie still didn't look happy, only to see Grand walk away with a determined look on his face.

An hour later, Flash, Grand, Lightning and Iron were set to get going. Heart wanted to go, but Flash told him somepony needed to stay behind in case more wolves showed up, and with his firepower, he was the best option. Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy hugged their special somepony while Remarie saw Grand waiting for them to follow. They headed into the woods next, Remarie turning to the mares, who didn't look the least bit concerned.

"Aren't you scared?" She asked, the three all turning to her, "Those woods are dangerous. What if they don't come back?"

But the mares all smiled. "Don't worry," Twilight assured her. "Those four will look after each other. The creatures in those woods would be smarter to be scared of them." The others nodded as they turned to leave. "If they don't come back by tomorrow, then I'll worry. But until then, I'll trust Flash to keep himself alive and find whatever caused the wolves to attack."

Remarie stayed where she was for a few more moments, worry coursing through her. But she eventually returned to Rarity's place with her niece while whispering, "Please stay safe."

The rest of the day seemed to go on like any other, the ponies not even looking at the woods with worry. Remarie was amazed by how calm they were all being. If something like this had happened in Manehatten, the whole city would have been on alert and nothing else would get done. It seemed that while living in Ponyville could be a risky operation, it gave you the power to cope with anything that life threw at you. It was no wonder the greatest heroes Equestria had ever seen lived there.

Nighttime eventually came and Remarie was getting ready for bed, having just had a bath and was now getting into her sleep wear. As she did, Rarity stepped into the room carrying a cup. "I thought you might want some green tea to settle yourself before you went to sleep."

"Thank you darling," Remarie took it and sipped the cup. "I envy you."

"Oh?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Envy me?"

"To have to courage to be with somepony that had such a dangerous life. One mistake and Lightning could be lost forever. How can you stand it, knowing that the one you love could be lost forever?"

Rarity sighed and shook her head, "It's like we said before, we trust in them to keep each other safe. And we know an accident could happen. But if we worry about them getting hurt like that, we'll be driven crazy."

"Exactly. You risk your own pain because they go out and do dangerous things."

"Maybe. But being with Lightning makes me happy. And it's not like he's always doing something dangerous. I mean, more ponies die of everyday, mundane stuff than they do being heroes. Flash and all the defenders have been doing this for years and none of them have lost their lives. Yes, there have been a few close calls, but they always come out of it better than ever."

"That just means it hasn't happened yet."

Rarity put her hoof on her aunt's shoulder, "Aunty, this isn't about me, is it?" Remarie flinched at this, "You just don't want me to feel the same pain you felt."

Remarie looked shocked by this, only to glance away, "If you had felt what I felt that day, you wouldn't want to risk feeling it either."

Rarity shook her head, "So that's it. You didn't stop dating because Cruncher was your one true love. You stopped dating because you didn't want to feel that pain again." Remarie said nothing to refute this. "Aunty, you can't run from pain. I might not have lost anypony, but I know ponies that have. Iron Core, Tidal Wave, Grand and even Lightning. They felt the pain of loss and it affected them greatly. But they pushed past it and allowed themselves to love again. And you have too as well."

"Even if it means I could be hurt again?"

Rarity nodded, "Everything worth having is only worth having because it comes with the risk of losing it." Ramarie didn't respond to that, "You love me, don't you?" Remarie glance back at her as Rarity continued. "And Sweetie Belle. You love us both?"

"Of course I do!"

"But if we died, you would feel pain. So wouldn't it be better to not love us?"

Remarie realized what Rarity was trying to do here and sighed, looking down as she thought about never getting to be with her beautiful nieces. "You're right. I can't let my pain stop me...and neither should you."

Rarity nodded back, "If something bad ever happens to ponies I love, then I'll deal with the consequences. But until that happens, I will continue to live the life I love no matter what." She hugged Remarie and Remarie hugged her back, the younger unicorn leaving to head to her own room while Remarie finished off her tea and got into bed. Worry still racked her, but she managed to drift off to sleep, but not without the image of Grand surrounded by timberwolves flowing through her mind.





The next morning...

Remarie, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were making their way to the train station, Remarie needing to get back to Manehatten. As they headed there, Remarie couldn't help but look over at the woods. There hadn't been any more timberwolf attacks, but there had also been no sign of the defenders. Rarity saw this and followed her line of sight, hoping Lightning would have been back by now. But she was still staying strong, not letting the worry consume her.

They arrived at the station at this as the train was about five minutes away. They put her bags down and Remarie turned to the girls, "Thank you for the lovely visit."

They hugged as Sweetie spoke up. "Come back soon."

"I will," Remarie nodded, "And you girls are welcome to visit me the next time you're in Manehatten."

"So you're not going to move here?" Rarity asked, Remarie frowning and shaking her head.

"This town is amazing, and I can understand why you love to live here, but..." She remembered the timberwolves and Grand having to go into the forest. If she lived here, she would constantly be worried every time she saw Grand out on patrol. But was that enough to stop her from living in such a scenic place?

"Hey!" They all turned to see Grand and Lightning, Rarity and Remarie both gasping seeing the pair looking muddy but unharmed.

"You're back!" Rarity exclaimed, about to hug Lightning, only to see his muddy state as Remarie walked over to Grand.

"You're okay?"

"Perfectly fine," Grand assured her before letting out a yawn. "It took all night, but we managed to fix the problem that caused the timberwolves to attack."

"What did cause the timberwolves to attack?" Sweetie asked.

"A couple trees had fallen in the woods and blocked a stream that fed a cragadile lake," Lightning replied, "It dried up and made the cragadile need to search for another lake. The only one it could find was in the timberwolves' territory and it pushed them out."

"So you managed to fix it?" Rarity asked.

"Yup. Got rid of the trees and once the lake was filled back up, the cragadile was happy to go back to the larger body of water. Shouldn't have to worry about the timberwolves causing problems for a while."

"That's good," Remarie sighed, only for a train whistle to catch their attention, "I guess this is it."

"Doesn't have to be," Grand chimed in, "You could come back for another visit. Or stay here full time."

Remarie glanced back at Grand, "Maybe...maybe I will." They all smiled at this, "But not yet. Manehatten might be growing too action packed for me, but I don't think I'm ready to leave it just yet. Maybe one day I'll move here. But for now, we'll just have to hope we see each other again."

"Definitely," she and Grand hugged one another as the train pulled into the station. As it did this, Remarie got on board before waving at the group, all of them waving back.

And as the train pulled out of sight, Lightning walk up to him. "So, you two decide where you're going on your next date?"

Grand rolled his eyes, "We haven't been on a date. And we won't." The younger ponies frowned. "Remarie and I are friends, that's all. There's nothing romantic between us."

"You might think that," Rarity added, "But she-"

"Only sees me as a friend," Grand assured her. "Trust me, I know. We discussed that and both agreed we weren't looking for anything like that." He smirked at them, "A mare and stallion can be friends without having feelings for each other." The three frowned at this as Grand laughed and walked off.

Young ponies today had no idea how to read a situation. Grand looked forward to the next time he saw Remarie and hoped she would one day make Ponyville her home. But that was all he hoped would happen. Because even though old ponies were more than welcome to have relations, Grand and Remarie were fine with just being friends.