Rumble looked down at the watch attached to his left foreleg. Fifteen minutes and counting. For the past fifteen minutes, Archer had been saying farewell to Berry Pinch. In the form of holding the filly and refusing to let go, and asking why she has to move. Junior had tried to pry her away countless times, but each attempt was met with failure. Rumble sighed, but he had to admit… he was tempted to do the same thing himself.
“Come on now, Archer,” Berry Punch said gently, slowly limping over to the filly and placing a hoof on her shoulder. Junior stepped aside to give her some room. “I know you’re upset, but there’s really no helping it. I’m sorry. And thank you, for being such a good friend to my daughter all these years.”
Archer sniffed, and wiped away the tears rolling down her face. “I don’t… I don’t want you to leave,” she told Berry Pinch, who was smiling, despite also being in tears.
“I don’t want to leave you, either. But it’s like mommy said: it can’t be helped.”
Berry Punch gently moved Archer aside, and leaned down to whisper into the filly’s ear: “I think Rumble wants to say his goodbye now. Let’s give them some room, okay?”
Archer reluctantly nodded, and then followed Berry Punch onto the train station platform. Crunch Berry also decided to give them some privacy, albeit bitterly, and moved around the corner of a nearby building. Junior followed her.
“What do you want?” Crunch Berry asked as she stopped moving and leaned against a wall.
“… Is it really necessary to move? My father’s injured right now. He can’t come after you again for some time now.”
“Yeah, but as long as we’re here, he will come after us,” Crunch Berry said. “That’s the kind of stallion he is.”
“… I’m surprised you didn’t simply kill him. I’ve always heard stories about you, Crunch Berry. And none of them were in a particularly good light.”
Crunch Berry grit her teeth, and banged a forehoof against the wall behind her. “… That doesn’t surprise me. Your father, I’m sorry to say, is a prick.”
Junior scowled at the insult. “I know that my father can be rude and stuck-up at times, even for a noble, but he always has the best of intentions whenever he acts! He messes up a lot, and he says and does a lot of things that isn’t to be expected of a Prince, but he-”
“Save it,” Crunch Berry said in a threatening tone. “Anyway, there’s another benefit to us moving.” She looked over at the two foals around the corner. “… Love between a pony and a changeling can never work. She has to learn that… one way or another.”
Junior scoffed. “So just because you got dumped by somepony, you’re going to take it out on your granddaughter?”
“WHAT?!”
“Don’t pretend, Crunch Berry! I can hear it in your voice, and see it in your eyes! You suffered heartbreak, and now, you’re letting it affect your whole life!” Junior shook his head. “I would have thought that someone as old as you would be a little wiser, but I guess not…”
Crunch Berry growled at the colt for a few moments, but then calmed down when she saw that he wasn’t fazed in the least by it. “…”
“Blueblood dear, this is… I have no words for it!”
“Only the best, for my Princess.”
“Oh, you…”
“Now, you wanted to tell me something?”
“… Promise you won’t be shocked?”
“I won’t be shocked.”
“And you won’t overreact? … Okay, here goes.”
…
“Y-YOU MONSTER! YOU’VE BEEN DECEIVING ME THIS ENTIRE TIME!”
“B-Bluey…”
“Don’t call me that! I won’t let you… I won’t let you get away with this, you MONSTER!”
“… Love between a pony and a changeling can never work.”
Meanwhile, around the corner Rumble was approaching Berry Pinch very slowly. He had planned out several times in his head how he would say goodbye to her. He has thought about all the things that he wanted, needed, to tell her. He had this great scenario planned out, where he would come off as cool, but also caring, at the same time.
But now, he was just a nervous wreck. He had no idea what to say, or do, and he was taking his sweet time approaching the filly in the hopes that the answer would just suddenly hit him as he moved.
“H-Hi!” he said as he finally reached Berry Pinch. “… Uh, I guess… this is goodbye, huh?”
Berry Pinch nodded, her face turning into a frown. Rumble quickly tried to think of something to say to her. “U-Uh, I’ll make sure to write to you every day… once you get settled in…”
Berry Pinch nodded again. “I’ll write every day, too.” The filly shuffled her hooves on the ground nervously. “I’ll also come to visit you as often as I can… And, maybe one day, it’ll be safe enough for me to move back here…”
Rumble scratched the back of his head and blushed. “… Berry, I… I lo-”
Rumble was cut off by a sudden kiss from the red filly. His eyes widened, and it took him a while to register what was happening. ‘B-Berry Pinch… Berry Pinch just kissed me… She’s kissing me…’
The filly pulled away, and quickly turned around to hide her embarrassment. “… Thanks, Rumble,” she said, wiping the fresh tears falling from her eyes. “Rumble… will you wait for me? Wait for me to come back?”
Rumble finally managed to regain himself when he heard her question, and quickly nodded. “Of course I will. So… let’s promise each other, okay?”
Berry Pinch smiled. “Okay.”
“Goodbye Pinchy!” Archer shouted as she waved farewell to the Berry family, now onboard the train pulling out of the station, bound for Appleoosa. “Stay safe! Don’t ever forget about me, okay?!”
“I won’t! Thanks for all you’ve done for me, Archer!” Berry Pinch shouted back. She bit her lower lip for a second, and then took a deep breath, before shouting: “Bye Rumble! I love yoooooou!”
Rumble’s entire face exploded into a red mess, and he was left completely unable to respond.
“Hey!” Archer shouted. “She said she loves you! Hurry up and answer her!”
Junior nodded. “It isn’t very gentlecoltly to leave a lady hanging like that.”
Rumble looked between the two with a disbelieving look on his face, but saw that they were quite serious. He turned back to the train, and closed his eyes as he shouted out his response, as loud as he could.
“You’re awake.” Blueblood groaned as he looked at the white blur looming over him, and tried to move his right foreleg to reach out to it. “How are you feeling?”
“Not very good,” he said. “Why can’t I move my legs?”
“Ah, yes. The doctors said that that may take some time. Do you remember what happened?” Blueblood tried to recall whatever he could. “You were found wounded in the Everfree Forest, and brought here for emergency medical treatment. I’ve been very worried, nephew.”
“… Aunt Celestia, who brought me here?”
“It was a pink Pegasus mare named Crunch, I believe.”
“Crunch Berry!” Blueblood shouted, his eyes opening as wide as they could. “That changeling! What is she after?! Why did she bring me here?!”
Celestia sighed. “Changeling hunting, again? Blueblood, how many times must I tell you? Do not trouble trouble, until trouble troubles you.” Blueblood let out a huff, and turned his head to its side. “Nephew, why do you hold such resentment towards the changeling race?”
“…”
“Lilac! Lilac, what is the meaning of this?”
“Oh? What’s wrong, darling?”
“What’s wrong?! I’ve been told that you’re dead! I’ve been presented with your body, and the proof that it is indeed yours!”
“… Oh? They found that, did they?”
“L-Lilac, what’re you-”
…
“Y-You’re a-”
“That’s right, darling. I’m sorry about your wife, but when she found out about me, I had to do something.”
“You… You killed her… just to get close to me?”
“Heheheh…”
“Y-YOU… FOUL DEMON!”
“… I just feel that Equestria can do without those monsters. That’s all.”