"It's awfully nice t' see y'all again," Granny Smith chuckled as she pulled a tray out of the oven. "Th' girls were so sad when y'all seemed t' have just up and left without so much as 'goodbye'."
"We didn't mean to, it sort of just happened," Theta said quietly, not fond of the idea of having hurt his friends' feelings. "I hope they aren't mad."
"If Ah know those girls, they'll be as mad as a sunflower durin' the summer," she chortled as she placed the tray on the dinner table. She playfully shook her head at the confused look Theta was giving her. "Ah'm sayin' they won't be mad, so there ain't no use worryin' over nothing."
"I hope so," Theta said, grabbing a tart off of the dish.
"Granny Smith is right," Applejack said. "They'll be more'n happy to see y'all again."
Smiling, Theta bit into the hot pastry and laid back in the chair, chewing pensively. Eta and Iota walked up the the table and grabbed some tarts of their own, examining it briefly before eating. Sigma, as what seemed to be the norm for him now, did nothing. Instead, he simply stared out the window at the burning sun.
"What's wrong with th' orange one?" Granny Smith asked quietly to Applejack.
"Ah think he's just a little homesick is all," Applejack said doubtfully. Walking up to the table, she grabbed one of the tarts and held it up to Sigma with a warm smile. "Come on, Sig. Ah'm not sure what you're feelin' right now, but Ah do know that it shouldn't be bad today. Ah don't think th' girls would like seein' ya all mopey and such."
"There is a difference between being mopey and being deep in thought," he growled softly, staring at her eyes. Looking down at the tart, he slowly took it out of her hoof. "But thank you for trying to be understanding. I'm just confused right now."
"Confused 'bout what?" Applejack asked.
"That's just it," he said quietly, but thoughtfully. "I don't know."
"Well, if ya find out, don't hesitate t' talk t' me. These ears are willin' t' listen t' ya should ya need it."
Sigma nodded dimly at the farm pony, taking a small bite out of the treat as to not offend Granny Smith. Just then, the sound of the front door opening came from the front of the house, and the sound of three small sets of hooves walking against the hard, wooden floor came right after.
"Sis, do ya happen to know where any shovels are?" Apple Bloom asked from the entrance to the home as she approached the kitchen with her friends.
"They're in here," Applejack chuckled loudly. Smirking at the two younger fragments, she turned to Eta and Iota and nodded at them. "C'mon, y'all. Let's leave th' boys t' say hello."
"Alrighty then," Granny Smith agreed, shakily making her way out of the room.
"Thanks for making us some food," Theta said.
"Anytime ya feel peckish, just tell me," the old mare chuckled.
The instant the two silent pieces of the alpha and the two older Apple mares left the room through the other door, the Cutie Mark Crusaders entered through the main one, only to freeze in their tracks the moment they saw their two old friends sitting in the room, eating some treats.
"Hey, guys," Theta smiled stiffly, trying to play it cool. "Didja miss me?"
"Theta!" the trio squealed with excitement.
Theta's eyes widened with surprise as the three fillies tackled Theta to the ground in a group hug, making his tart drop to the ground. The trio asked a flurry of questions as they rolled around on the ground, but Theta couldn't answer them all with how fast they were asking them. As they hugged on the floor, the trio looked around for Sigma to see the colt staring emptily at them.
"Come on, Sigma," Sweetie Belle said, motioning her hoof, inviting him over. "We missed you too!"
Shaking his head clear of all thought, Sigma smiled sparingly and made his way over to the others and they gave him a tight hug. The small group then stopped their hug, but continued to smile brightly at the duo as they wanted to ask many questions. Then they looked down and saw the mark on Sigma's flank.
"Sigma got his Cutie Mark!" Sweetie whooped, trotting closer to him for a better look.
The trio then lost all focus on their questions and rushed over to Sigma's side to get a better look at his talent. It was the head of a cobra, and it appeared to be smiling slyly ahead while it stuck out a silver tongue.
"It's so cool," Scootaloo gasped.
"What didja get it for?" Apple Bloom inquired curiously.
"For talking," he replied without thought.
"Seems like a strange mark t' get for just talkin'," the farm filly chuckled.
"I suppose you could say I convinced an otherwise adamant pony to not do something she'd regret," he muttered, but then shook his head. "But enough about my mark. I'm sure you have many different questions unrelated to it."
"Where did you guys go?" Sweetie asked.
"We went away to live with some different family, but it did not work out," he replied, glancing over to Theta.
"Why didn't you tell us you were leaving?" Scootaloo added.
"We simply didn't have the time. It was a rather... spontaneous experience. We didn't know we were going until it was too late," he replied. "Had we known, we would have been sure to tell you in advance. I hope you did not take it personally."
"Nah, we kinda knew that's what happened," she chuckled, punching Theta in the shoulder. "We know you guys would've said goodbye if you had the chance. It still sorta sucked, but we knew you had a reason not to."
"I am glad you think so, and I am sure Theta is too," Sigma said bowing his head. "The last thing we want to do is upset you all."
"It'll take a lot more than that t' make us not like y'all after th' way ya tore those bullies down," Apple Bloom giggled devilishly. "Ah'm sure they were happy t' see ya gone. They'll probably be the ones who'll be upset t' see ya back."
"That's too bad," Sigma smiled thinly.
"Speaking of those bullies, what did we miss in school?" Theta asked hesitantly.
"A lot, but we can help you catch up later," Sweetie piped, grabbing one of the treats off the dish. "Right now we can just have some fun."
"Yeah! We should ask Pinkie to throw a party for you guys!" Scootaloo suggested. "I'm sure Pinkie would be happy to get any excuse to invite the whole town over for another party."
"That sounds okay, I guess," Theta murmured. Though he was okay with a small group of people, he still didn't enjoy being in front of more people or ponies that he could keep his eyes on at once.
"Sorry, I forgot how shy you are," Scootaloo chuckled, patting Theta on the back. "We can just hang out if you want. Just the five of us."
"I'd like that a bit more," he said sheepishly.
"I know," she said, smiling playfully at him. "It's not your fault you're a scaredy cat."
"I'm not a scaredy cat," he protested.
"Yes you are," she laughed, giving him another small hug. "But don't worry. I still think you're still cool."
"Thanks," Theta said with a shy smile. "You're pretty cool too."
"Scootaloo and Theta sitting in a tree," Sweetie chanted quietly, but just loud enough for them to hear.
"Shut up," Theta and Scootaloo said together.