//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Single Parent Seeks Special Somepony // by angelofrombelow //------------------------------// A full week had passed since the showdown in front of Twilight Sparkle’s library. The first thing the princess had done was to delay the return of Ponyville’s fillies and colts – she hadn’t known yet whether the changelings could be trusted and she didn’t want to place the young ones in harm’s way. The denizens of the Zebra Kingdom had been more than a little perturbed by her explanation but they eventually saw it her way. If there was a chance of finally finding peace with a race that was universally seen as dangerous, it should be encouraged. Princess Celestia was not so easily won over. Twilight had put off telling her immediately but she couldn’t hold out forever. A couple of days into the changelings’ residence, she went to Canterlot. Celestia’s first action was to check whether she had been placed under mental control. When she discovered that wasn’t the case, a strongly argued debate began. In the end, she placed her trust in her young charge. Guards were stationed in Cloudsdale to keep watch on the situation and it slowly became apparent that they wouldn’t be needed. Princess Luna had known all along how the changelings had come into being, but she had always assumed they were evil. After the jealousy and rage she had felt as Nightmare Moon, she couldn’t have imagined that they would be any different. She cautiously welcomed the idea that she was wrong, but refused to go to meet them. That was a rift that would take a long time to heal – one that might never be healed. Twilight’s brother and sister-in-law were totally opposed to the idea, but realised they were in the minority and there was little they could do about it. They grudgingly accepted that peace was a desirable outcome and something to work towards. Both of them trusted in Twilight’s wisdom, though they couldn’t help but feel anxious about the whole affair. The young alicorn had not told them about the circumstances of Surprise’s birth. It was something she believed they would never accept. In truth, she was barely able to cope with it herself. **** The fillies and colts of Ponyville had returned home. An hour had passed since their arrival – Twilight had greeted and bid farewell to the accompanying members of the Zebra Kingdom, thanking them for their understanding. A new accord had been reached between the two nations and she hoped to build on this in the future. The general activity in the town square had died down and things were beginning to return to normal. As normal as they could be in the given circumstances. Ruby Pinch was helping her mother to unpack the backpack she had taken on her trip. Remarkably, it was even fuller than it had been when she left – getting everything in had required a mastery of utilising space. She had brought home a few souvenirs, mostly small bottles of speciality beverages brewed by the zebras – Ruby knew her mother well. She had managed to skirt around the burning questions in her mind until now, but she couldn’t do so any longer. She began cautiously. “Mum?” “Yes dear?” asked Berry, carefully putting away the last of her belongings. “You know how, when I left, you asked me to keep an eye on Applebloom and her friends? Make sure they didn’t release any more cosmic horrors?” Berry froze momentarily, fully aware where Ruby was going with this. “The changelings aren’t cosmic horrors, Pinchy,” she said, smiling nervously. She wasn’t sure what her daughter thought of their new visitors but going by the first signs, it wasn’t good. “They’re just misunderstood.” “Hmm.” Ruby sat down and thought it through. “But they came from space though, didn’t they? I mean, they were part of Nightmare Moon and she was banished to the Moon, so if that’s where they came from then they must be cosmic.” Berry frowned in confusion. “Yes, yes I suppose they are.” “And they have big, scary teeth and insect wings. We were all afraid of them. So they have to be horrors, don’t they?” “Pinchy, are you making fun of me?” She smiled mischievously and nodded, then bounded forward in a sudden burst of enthusiasm. “Oh, the Zebra Kingdom was so cool!” she cried. “They’re all so smart! Lots of them talk in rhyme like Zecora, and there’s others who say riddles all the time. I met a colt who taught me something he called troll logic. It’s a trick you can use to win any argument, even if what you’re saying doesn’t make any sense!” “That’s great,” Berry said without enthusiasm, realising her life may have become just that little bit more complicated. “But don’t try it on me. I’m your mummy. I’m in charge. That means I win any argument automatically.” Ruby paused and looked up at her. “Wow. Have you been taking lessons from him too?” “What about the changelings?” she asked. “I thought that you’d be worried. Frightened, even.” Ruby shrugged. “I’m not worried. You’re my mum. If you say they’re safe, then they’re safe,” she said, then smiled shyly. “I want to meet the princess. You said she’s going to be living with us, right? I want to meet her.” Berry felt a wave of relief wash warmly over her. Her greatest fear over this past week had been how her daughter would react, and it turned out all her concern had been for nothing. Surprise had willingly agreed to stay out of the house until Ruby was used to the idea of having her around. It seemed that the changeling would be able to move back in tonight. “Of course. Let’s go see her now. She’s at Horte Cuisine’s bar.” Ruby frowned, suddenly hesitant. “Oh. Does she drink? That’s not good.” Berry shook her head and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, she doesn’t drink. She can’t drink, none of the changelings can. They feed on emotions, like friendship and love.” The young filly’s enthusiasm returned. “Love?” she asked. “So, do you love her?” “Oh Pinchy, these things take time,” she said with a smile. “For a pony like me, I want to be careful. Not rush into things like I have in the past. But we are very happy together.” It was partly the truth – Berry did feel something stronger than she let on but she didn’t want to admit it to herself yet. She had plenty of time to adjust to her new life and she was allowing herself to enjoy the fact she wasn’t alone any more. Surprise had already brought about a positive change in her, allied to the talk she had received from Lyra and Bon Bon after their bust-up in the bar. Berry had agreed to stop drinking, except on special occasions. It had only caused her problems in the past and she didn’t need it now. Their walk to Horte Cuisine’s restaurant seemed to pass quickly. Ruby was full of stories about her trip to the Zebra Kingdom and Berry was happy to listen. Ruby was also keeping a sharp eye out for ponies she didn’t recognise. The changelings had agreed to stay in their adopted ponysonas until the young ones had become used to the idea of having them around – Twilight had been worried their true forms would be too scary at first. Berry noticed Surprise as she entered the restaurant – she was at a far table with Twilight, chatting away. She decided it would be best to leave them to it for the moment. The pair of them had been avoiding each other for most of the week but now they were slowly overcoming their initial reluctance. Instead, she steered Ruby over to the bar where Horte was waiting. Emerald Shine was also there. She had approached him for a job and he had taken her on, despite what the changeling had put him through. A number of the town’s new population frequented his place and he had decided he needed one of their number on his staff to help out, while keeping watch over them. Emerald was well-respected and didn’t take any nonsense. She also shared Horte’s sarcastic sense of humour, even if hers was a touch more aggressive. It couldn’t truly be called a friendship but there was no ill feeling between them either. “How’s it going?” Berry asked, nodding in the direction of the two princesses. “Oh, they seem to be getting on quite well,” he said. “I don’t think they’d have any problem with you interrupting them. Hello, Miss Pinch.” “Hi!” Ruby replied, keeping a wary eye on Emerald. The changeling returned her stare. Horte nodded for Berry to come closer for a quiet word. “Bon Bon said she wanted to talk with you. Something about a double date, clearing the air.” “Glad to hear it,” she said. “It’ll have to be at lunch, now Pinchy’s back. I’ll speak to her later.” She hadn’t spoken to the pair of them except in passing for the past week. Lyra had been a bit shaken up by her brief fight with the changeling who tried to take Bon Bon away from her. Neither of them were happy with the new state of affairs in Ponyville, though hopefully they would adjust. It would take a while before anyone fully accepted this as the new normal. Berry wandered over to the table where the two princesses were sitting, and Surprise smiled at her approach. The conversation fell silent as Ruby looked the white pegasus over, making a full assessment of her. “Hi there. My name’s Surprise,” she said. “Berry’s told me a lot about you.” “Hello,” Ruby said shyly. “I thought you were a princess. Where’s your horn?” “I don’t have one in pony form,” she said, then decided to steer the conversation away from her true nature. “I couldn’t very well turn into an alicorn, could I? Twilight’s the princess of Ponyville, and Berry’s the boss at home. Isn’t that right?” Ruby nodded. “Mum’s house, mum’s rules,” she said. “That’s right. Even though she breaks them all the time herself.” Ruby chuckled. “I guess so. She gets into more trouble than me.” “Berry told me you were a good girl,” she said agreeably. The earth pony spoke up. “Why don’t you guys go play a game? Get to know each other better?” Ruby looked to her mother, then nodded in approval. “Okay. What do you want to play?” the filly asked Surprise. “I don’t actually know any games. I never had much chance to play when I was growing up.” Ruby gasped. “You didn’t? That’s terrible.” She adopted a businesslike manner. “I’m going to have to fix that. Come with me, I’m going to teach you.” Surprise grinned and winked at Berry, who said she would meet them outside. She was relieved that their first meeting seemed to have gone well. Ruby had been reticent, but that would have been the case even if Surprise had been another pony. The next few hours would be important in helping them to form a bond. She turned to Twilight. “Everything alright?” she asked. The last few days had been pretty rough on the princess. “As well as they can be,” she said. “I’ve been talking with Surprise for the past hour. Really talking.” She rubbed a hoof against her brow – she appeared emotionally drained, though not in a literal sense. “It’s hard to believe that someone like her could come from Chrysalis. She’s really pleasant, easy to get along with. As terrible as it sounds, I don’t think peace could ever have been achieved if she hadn’t been born. So something good came out of the Canterlot invasion, despite all the pain it caused.” “Are you okay?” asked Berry, concerned. “I think I’m starting to come to terms with it. It helps if I think of it as something that came out of the atmosphere, rather than from Shining Armour himself. It was the circumstances that created her, not Chrysalis’s mind control.” She grimaced. “I’m not sure how I’m going to tell him. I’m not even sure if I should tell him, but if I don’t there’s a danger the truth will come out anyway. I don’t want to think about it for the moment.” “Everyone seems to be settling in well, though,” said Berry. “There are a few on both sides who still seem uneasy about it, but we’re really starting to meld together. It’s starting to feel like a community.” “And we have you to thank for it,” said Twilight. “Anything can start to feel natural, given time. I’m not sure about Chrysalis, though. She’s refusing to integrate, despite Surprise’s best efforts. It’s like she genuinely feels she’s been wronged by us.” Berry frowned. Queen Chrysalis was unhappy about the situation, especially as Surprise appeared to have taken her role as spokesman and leader. But things would change. The tide of general opinion was against her. She couldn’t stay alone forever. What she needed was for somepony to make a genuine effort to befriend her. Somepony who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Somepony who would stay on her case until she was friendshipped into submission. Twilight wearily stepped away from the table. “I’m going to have to head off, I’m afraid,” she said. “Pinkie Pie’s coming back home in a couple of days. We’ve somehow managed to keep all of this a secret from her until now, but I’m going to have to tell her what’s going on. “I’m also going to have to pre-warn the changelings, let them know what’s coming. Can you imagine what it’s going to be like once she warms up to the idea? She’ll be throwing a welcome party for every single changeling in town.” Berry laughed. “If the peace agreement survives that, then it’s set in stone.” She smiled sympathetically at Twilight – the poor mare was exhausted. “You deserve a break when all this is over. Take some time off with your friends. And if there’s anything Surprise and I can do…” “Oh, Surprise already has something lined up for me. Or rather, someone,” Twilight said with a grimace. “She has a friend who she says would be perfect for me. Highly intelligent, very friendly, lots of fun.” “Sounds great. I’d go for it, if I were you.” “To be honest, once this is all over all I want to do is lock myself up in my study and read,” said Twilight. “I need to relax and there’s something to be said for staying alone. I’m quite happy to stay single for a while longer.” “Well, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” Berry said. Just then, Surprise and Ruby poked their heads in through the restaurant’s doorway and called for the earth pony to join them. She smiled at Twilight and bid her goodbye, then headed outside to take part in a play session. Her weekend alone had led to more than she could ever have hoped for. She would have been happy enough to find a date. Instead, she had found someone she could end up spending the rest of her life with. And all she’d had to do to reach this point was save ponykind from invasion. There were easier ways to meet someone, to be sure, but it made for an unforgettable first date.