~the characters can be viewed at www.deviantart.com, under the artist IceOfWaterflock, in folder Autumn~
Rarity sat on her balcony, watching her daughter play tag with a group of other foals. She sighed at the sight of her child standing, running; her mind drifted to Light Wings, and she shook the thought away before it could take hold. She was old, quite old, and there was no extra room in her remaining life for grief. She turned to go inside, already planning another set of dresses. She would go quietly into the night, but not leaving things unfinished. She would provide for her daughter long after her soul met Gaia.
Down on the ground, the young pale purple Unicorn jogged in a circle, avoiding being tagged by her best friend, a Griffon boy named Tigerjay. He was Gilda's son, and Gilda, being forgiven by Ponyville for her previous actions, was living in one of the houses nearby. It seemed like she had taken the place of Fluttershy, who had flown away after Coronus's passing, taking care of the animals around and leaving her door open to all who would need help.
Her son was the new Pinkie Pie. The original, saddened by the loss in the air of Ponyville, had fled to recover. No traces of her parties had been seen since. The young tiger-rumped Griffon was great at baking, and spent most of his time in the company of Mr. and Mrs. Cake's decendants.
A mare glided down and landed on the drainpipe of a nearby building. Her pale blue fur was unmarked, but three of the four colours in her mane and tail were darkened black. Two golden bands were clamped around one foreleg. Flipping her mane out of her eyes, Rainbow Dash's daughter smiled at the rowdy kids below. Shaking her head, Rainbow Dark took off again.
An Alicorn suddenly slammed his back against the wall, daring to glance out fo the alley. There. Trotting down the road, his father was calling. An Earth Pony, a common pony. Like the Prince wanted to be. As the red king continued past, the prince let out a relieved breath and started climbing the wall, magicking his hooves to the wall. He crested the edge, flattening himself against the tile and shimmying across the roof.
"Oh, hey Crimsonleaf." A voice called out from behind him. The prince spun, only to see a young yellow dragonness cresting the wall behind him.
"Hi, Sunrise." He replied, straightening out his back. "Spike let you out of the tunnels? You get to see the light of day?"
She laughed, her claws clicking on the tiles. Unlike her father, she preferred all fours. "You hiding from Bic Mac again?"
"You mean High and Mighty King Macintosh?"
"Yeah, him. And I know you wish you were common, but you aren't. You probably have something to do at the castle, which is why he wants you."
Crimsonleaf rested his head on one hoof. "There's always something going on at the castle that the Prince has to attend. Is there nothing Celestia and Luna can handle anymore?"
Sunrise peered over the edge of the building. "Well, there is the fact that he can't raise the sun. When your mother passes away, you'll have sky duties with Luna. He's probably trying to prepare you for all of the publicity."
"I know, I know." He spotted the group of kids romping below. "Hey, want to see how much mischeif we can do before he catches me?"
Sunrise squealed, her wings flapping. "Let's do it!"
Twilight plodded over to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack asked her to come over so they could reflect on old times. Zecora, Gilda and Rarity were invited too, and they all arrived at about the same time, except Zecora, who had to navigate the Everfree. Exchanging weak, trembling hugs, they settled down in the shade of the apple trees and looked across the orchard.
"You know, when I thought of my life, I never thought I'd end up here. Under the shade of the trees, my friends beside me, Spike with a daughter, you with children..." Twilight trailed off.
Gilda looked at her Unicorn friend. "Did you ever regret not having a foal?"
She shook her head. "It's hard enough making sure your kids stay out of Everfree! With one for me as well, the town would be overwhelmed!"
Applejack sighed. "Applebloom has been pretty good helpin' out though, hasn' she?"
"Yes, yes, but there are a lot of kids. Far too much for the former Crusaders to handle." Rarity interjected. "Even Rainbow Dark can't keep up."
"Well let's list the new additions!" Gilda exclaimed. "Figure out how much trouble they can get into!"
Rairty magicked a bolt of plain fabric and a marker from her saddlebag, presenting them to Gilda.
"Well, there's Squishy, Rarity's filly. Umm... and Tigerjay, my cub... and Sunrise, Spike's hatchling. Saucey, Apple's granddaughter... Oh, there's Chibi, Zecora's filly..."
"Is that my foal's name you spoke? Has she pulled another joke?" Zecora chimed as she crested the hills.
"No, just in a list."
The zebra nodded and lay down, her golden earrings clincking on each other.
"Any others?"
"No, I don't think so..."
"Is that it? How do they manage to get in so much trouble?"
Applejack looked up, back towards town. "Speaking of trouble..."
The others turned to look, seeing a small cloud of dust racing up the path. In the front, was a large red mass, wings outstreched-
Crimsonleaf whinnied in excitement, bounding past the aged mares and skidding to a stop among the trees. The others of the group set to a meal. Squishy trotted over to her mother, curling up against her mother's flank. Tigerjay grabbed apples for himself, Squishy, and their parents, spilling them out and giving them around. Task completed, he snuggled between his mother's talons. Chibi, Zecora's filly,had goined in the run later on, and pranced over to her mother, wide eyes sparkling. Sunrise sat down beside Twilight, putting one wing lovingly over her adoptive grandmother's back.
"Corrupting the local children again?"
Crimsonleaf looked down from the tree he was attempting to climb, seeing the pale yellow mare standing nearby. Her wild pink mane hung around her shoulders in a loose braid. A young filly was with her, looking almost exactly like Applejack, except she wore her mane and tail loose.
"Oh, hi Applebloom, Saucey." He yelled, grabbing apples in his magic and offering them to them.
"You managed to get all of them this time? How long do you think it'll be until Mac catches up?" Applebloom commented.
Crimsonleaf shrugged. "Probably pretty soon. Celestia's gift of invinciblity was pretty great for him."
Two more mares cantered up, one an orange Pegasus with a purple mane-tail, and the other a white Unicorn with a blue and pink mane-tail.
"Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle." Crimsonleaf nodded to each of them in turn, offering each an apple.
In silence, they all settled down, the peaceful farmland streching on as far as the eye could see.
There was a clatter of hooves, and a shadow streched over the peaceful group.
Twilight turned around, looking at the newcomers. "Celestia, Luna, care to rest a moment?"
Celestia sprawled out on the grass, old joints creaking almost as much as Applejack's. Her wings weren't in the best condition they'd ever been, and a good portion of her mane had gone gray. Luna, however, remained standing. Unlike most ponies thought, neither of them was immortal. Due to being returned to a young age - courtesy of the Elements - she was only now beginning to look like a mare, and had been slowly taking Celestia's place as she got older.
Crimsonleaf hopped out of the tree and gave his mother a loving nuzzle. Luna looked almost lonely for a few seconds, but she trotted off through the trees and vanished in the distance.
"What's with her?" Gilda asked. "Where's she going?"
Celestia sighed. "She barely gets any quiet time anymore, so when she has the chance, she likes to walk. It clears her mind."
Lapsing into another comfortable silence, the mares and stallion - plus one hatching and a couple of Griffons - shared the warm sun and gentle breeze.