//------------------------------// // A New Start // Story: To Love a Hybrid // by Applejack-fan //------------------------------// As promised, Twilight Sparkle came back to the library in less than two hours with her friends in tow, all except Pinkie of course, since she was getting everything ready for tonight’s big event. Though her friends were all uncertain at first about meeting the hybrid, Twilight reassured them by telling them about what she heard from Sapphire last night and what she witnessed this morning. When she reached her bedroom and opened the door, much to the alicorn’s glee, Sapphire Heart was deeply concentrated in the book she held in her hooves, and she smiled as she spotted the cover. “I see you’ve found a liking for Daring Do,” Twilight said, taking the lamia by surprise. She closed the book, remembering the page she was at, and looked up at her host. To say that she felt small under the gaze of five ponies would be an understatement. Even though she believed Twilight’s claim about them being nice, she couldn’t help but feel a bit shy. To her astonishment and her utmost joy, once the initial shock wore out, each pony presented herself to the stoned lamia, who didn’t dare make the first move. Rarity broke the ice as she approached the beige mare, and to the latter’s confusion, she apologized for her dramatized reaction the previous night. However, what came next caught the snakepony totally off-guard as the white unicorn levitated a measuring tape and other tools and began taking the hybrid’s measurements. Feeling uneasy, she caught Twilight’s gaze with her own, beckoning her to help her out of this, but the alicorn merely shrugged sheepishly, leaving the poor soul with her predicament. When Rarity stepped back with her data in hoof, it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to present herself. The cocky and competitive chromatic mare, much the everypony else’s exasperation, after she finished telling Sapphire about her, challenged her to a hoof wrestle match. What surprised everypony was that she accepted, and even asked the rainbow-maned pony if she could use her tail instead. To the hybrid’s credit, she did, thinking of herself as unbeatable. However, she didn’t expect to be literally kissing the floor no more than two seconds later after the beginning of the round, causing everyone, especially Applejack, to laugh, much to Rainbow’s annoyance. Sapphire, believing she had hurt her, quickly rushed to her side and offered a hoof to help her up. Groaning, the cyan mare accepted, and assured the lamia that she was fine and there were no hard feelings before she could bombard her with apologies. Sapphire Heart then directed her gaze towards the yellow-coated pegasus, who was quick to hide behind her mane, avoiding eye contact. All she managed to get out of her was her name, and that was thanks to her fine hearing, because the shy mare said it so quietly she doubted anypony else could have heard her. When it became clear that none of them was willing to break the awkward silence that had settled, Twilight stepped up. She apologized for Fluttershy’s shyness in her stead, stipulating that she was always like that with new acquaintances and it would take a while before she got used to Sapphire. The lamia nodded in understanding; what were the odds that such a being would stay in town, anyway? Resolving herself to have a conversation with Fluttershy later, she then looked at the farm pony. To her surprise, and everyone else’s once they looked her way as well, she was staring at the floor, not daring to meet the hybrid’s eyes. When her friends asked her what was wrong, only then she look up, apologizing to Sapphire as she did so. Confused, the lamia asked what she was talking about, and Applejack repeated herself with more details this time. She was sorry about the way she had talked about her last night, and Sapphire’s ears folded on her head as she remembered. Despite Twilight’s effort to hush the orange mare, even amid her bawling, she had managed to catch on Applejack’s spiteful words towards her. What everypony didn’t expect, however, was Sapphire to approach the remorseful earth pony and hug her tenderly, assuring her that it was fine. The latter protested, saying that she didn’t have any rights to treat her that way in the first place, and even less after Twilight told everyone about what she had been through. It was thanks to Sapphire’s persistence that she eventually got Applejack to quell her stream of apologies. The lamia acknowledged that the farm pony’s words had hurt, but she told her that if anything, she was the one to be sorry, since she was the one that made the worst mistake among the both of them. She also explained that it wasn’t her place to judge others by their faults, for she had had the biggest sin to carry on her shoulders all these years. Replacing the cowpony’s hat correctly on her head, Sapphire wiped the few tears that Applejack had shed with a hoof. She patted her shoulder before moving back. She gave her an honest little smile, assuring her that there were no hard feelings between them, and Applejack returned it in kind, getting the silent message. With a series of cough, Twilight got everypony’s attention to her. She reminded her friends that the party would start in a little more than an hour and offered them to kill the time with dinner until then. The idea immediately made Sapphire drool and her stomach to growl loudly, causing everyone around her to chuckle at her expense, making her blush. Once they calmed themselves, they all agreed with the alicorn’s proposal. Being the generous mare she was, Rarity proposed she cooked dinner, heading back to her boutique for a short time to fetch the ingredients Twilight was missing in her fridge, coming back to the library no more than twenty minutes later, and got to work. When the alabaster unicorn finally deposited everypony’s plate before them, a symphony of thundering stomachs could be heard in the library’s kitchen as they looked at the delicious-looking meal, which was composed of fried mushrooms, asparagus cooked au gratin and green beans cooked in butter. Once they got over the delectable smell, they grabbed their utensils Rarity had set prior to preparing dinner, and ate. Everypony really was enjoying the fashionista’s meal. Sapphire Heart, still feeling empty, having not eaten much since she woke up today since she and Twilight had forgotten their breakfast, asked the unicorn for a second serving. Rarity happily did so, stating that she and her friends actually loves her cooking, unlike Sweetie Belle, who always complained about not liking vegetables. Once all the plates were empty, everypony thanked Rarity for her delicious meal, and the praise caused her white cheeks to take a tint of red, which earned her a round of mockery from the rainbow-maned pegasus sitting next to her. Aside from that, they stayed in their seats, talking about whatever subject came up, and headed off for the lamia’s party when seven o’clock drew near. * * * The six mares trotted down the streets - slithered in Sapphire Heart’s case - towards Town Hall, where the party would be taking place. The twilight sky was devoid of any cloud thanks to Rainbow Dash and her weather team, and a few birds could still be heard as they flew above them, probably heading for their nests for the forthcoming night. “Is it jussst me, or do the ssstreets feel empty?” asked the lamia as she glanced all around her, still anxious about meeting other ponies. “We ran into her on our way back to the library earlier,” Twilight said. “She already has everypony confined in Town Hall already.” “All that’s missin’ is the guest of honor,” Applejack continued. “Guessst of h-honor?” Sapphire repeated, her anxiety increasing at the thought of an entire town seeing her. She even began to doubt herself, as sweat began to form on her forehead as she imagined every possible scenario should things go wrong, a signal that didn’t go unnoticed by the alicorn on her right, who wrapped a wings around the hybrid as they walked. “Take deep and long breaths, Sapphire,” she commanded. “You’re worked up over nothing.” “Twilight’s right, darling,” Rarity chimed in. “Would it be anywhere else, such as Canterlot for example, I, too, would be worried in your place. But ponies here in Ponyville are very acceptive of what is different.” “Yeah, what she said!” Rainbow said as she swooped above her friends. “Besides, you seem to be forgetting that Pinkie’s the host of the party, so there’s nothing for you to worry about.” “Ah’ve never seen one of her parties go wrong,” Applejack added. “Well, it did once in fact, but that was because some griffon was being too possessive of Rainbow and didn’t care about anypony else.” “And also, if you don’t mind me saying, Pinkie may act childish sometimes, but she knows what she’s doing. She wouldn’t throw a party if she knew something could turn out badly. N-not that it could! I mean… um…” “What Fluttershy is trying to say is that you have no reasons to worry,” Twilight finished for her friend, receiving a thankful smile from the shy pegasus. “Pinkie is probably the most kind-hearted pony I know along with Fluttershy, so I doubt she’d do anything intentionally to make you uncomfortable.” “That’s not what I’m worried about,” Sapphire said. “It’s interacting with others. I’m ssscared that they won’t react well to my… condition.” “Believe us when we say that you have no reasons to be scared, Sapphire,” Twilight continued. “I don’t know you as much as Pinkie does, but I do know Pinkie Pie. She’ll do anything to make her friends as much at ease as possible, so my biggest bet would be that she probably talked about you to everypony already.” “You think ssso?” “Ah don’t mean to speak badly of her, but Pinkie can be quite the blabbermouth sometimes, and a surprise party is a surprise only for the guest of honor most of the time. She usually tells everypony in attendee every little detail about the party beforehoof.” “See? No need to worry at all,” Twilight assured. “And besides, you’ve got us to back you up, isn’t that right, girls?” she asked her friends, earning a series of nods from them, and that helped calm the tensed lamia a lot. “Alright, I’ll trussst your words,” Sapphire said as they stopped in front of the large building, and the sight of it only made the hybrid feel even smaller. Wow, it’s huge… she commented internally. “Everything is gonna be just fine, I promise,” the librarian added as she opened the imposing door. Darkness fell upon the six mares as they slowly entered the threshold. Even though she felt more reassured, the remaining worried part of her caused her to rub her forelegs together anxiously as she carefully went deeper into the building. And then, quite too soon for her tastes, the big door behind her closed, but at the same time, the lights inside Town Hall opened as a huge crowd of ponies yelled “Surprise!” in unison, catching the snakepony off guard, who fell backwards with a yelp on her butt, the muscles in her snake tail having failed her for that short lapse of time. Soon after, she was presented with a pink hoof that could only belong to one pony, and grabbed it to rise herself back up, standing three feet tall from floor to head again. Before she could take a glimpse around the place, she found her personal space invaded by the party hostess. “So, were you surprised? Were you? Huh? Huh? Huh?” “If being ssstartled by a hundred ponies in the middle of a large dark room is a sssurprise, then I guessss ssso?” “Great! Now come on and meet everypony!” “Pinkie, hold on a sssecond!” Sapphire called, causing Pinkie to go back on her tracks and stand in front of her. “Yes, Sapphy?” “How did you convince everypony to attend my party? I never thought anyone would greet sssomeone like me…” “I didn’t convince anypony, silly. Nopony can say no to a Pinkie party, especially when I told them how sweet, caring, joyful and funny the guest is.” Sapphire blushed at the compliments. “W-what are you talking about? I’m none of those things…” “Yes you are, silly! Now come and show everypony how awesome of a friend you are!” Pinkie said as she dragged the lamia with her among the crowd, leaving Twilight and her friends at the entrance, who quickly went their own way across the room, keeping an eye on their two friends every now and then to make sure everything would go smoothly. * * * To Sapphire’s good fortune, the party went fairly well. Pinkie did warn everypony about her condition, though it seemed she did so in her own way. While almost everyone was nice and receptive of her, a trio of mares she couldn’t remember the names of but decided to nickname them the flower ponies didn’t dare approach or talk to her. Twilight, who was having a casual conversation nearby, saw that and assured her that they were always paranoiac about anything that was new or unusual and they’d eventually come around it. Other than that, she was really enjoying the party. The music the DJ played on the stage resonated loudly, and although she never danced, to some’s request, she swung her body along with the beat, earning herself a mix of cheers and snickers from the crowd. She was actually surprised at how many ponies were willing to talk to her. There was the mayor who approached her and welcomed her personally in town. She also talked with a mint-green unicorn, Lyra, and she was accompanied by her earth pony friend - marefriend, she specified proudly - and as short as the conversation may be, Sapphire still enjoyed their company, and they agreed to meet some other day at the café. However, her longest and most enjoyable conversation was when a grey, wall-eyed pegasus mare accidentally bumped into her. Ditzy Doo, as she called herself, or Derpy for her close friends, to Sapphire Heart’s surprise, said that even though her childhood probably wasn’t as rough as it had been for the lamia, she still found herself able to relate to her. “Everypony in Cloudsdale weren’t too keen of my handicap,” she began to explain. “I crashed many times and had lots of trouble coordinating myself because of it, and that got me many nicknames from the other foals, each just as unpleasant as the other. “And because of that, nopony wanted me around, so was always left to my lonesome because I was different.” “And now you’re here in Ponyville,” Sapphire commented, and Ditzy nodded. “I tried a few places before settling here. I tried Manehatten and Canterlot, but ponies were always too snobbish or self-centered there. Ponyville eventually showed up in my attempt list, and I was more than happy to have installed here. Whereas Cloudsdale is only composed of pegasi and Canterlot and Manehatten of mostly snob and stubborn unicorns, Ponyville is a mix of all three tribes, making ponies more welcoming of differences. “Now, I’m having a wonderful life here with my two daughters.” “What about your husssband?” Sapphire asked bluntly, but quickly regretted it when the pegasus became melancholic. “Oh my… I’m sssorry! I didn’t mean to-” “Don’t worry, it’s fine. I got over it a long time ago… For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the time I spent with him before he passed away due to a grave illness after my youngest’s birth, and I’m glad to have met him, since he gave me two wonderful daughters.” “I can underssstand a bit how you feel,” Sapphire confessed. “I lossst my parents when I was jussst a child, but the time I did ssspend with them was the bessst of my life.” The pegasus smiled apologetically at the hybrid, before she turned back and called her daughters to her. “I wish we could talk more, but a mailmare must wake up early, and the girls have school tomorrow in the morning, so we got to get going,” she explained. Her girls soon found their way to her, and gave Sapphire a quick salute before they all headed for the exit. “It was nice talking with you, Sapphire! Have a good night!” “You too, Ditzy!” the lamia called back just as the mare bumped into the door frame, and she cringed at the sight. The pegasus quickly recovered and seemed to be fine; besides, she had to wonderful-looking daughters to look up for her. * * * It was about ten when the party began to die down. Most ponies who worked the next morning made their way out of Town Hall, intend on having a good night’s sleep after such an eventful evening. Rarity carried her snoozing sister on her back as she strolled out of the building, excusing herself, for she had orders to make in the morning. Fluttershy had her animals to check on. Rainbow Dash, despite wanting to stay longer, had the Wonderbolts Academy to attend, so she headed back to her cloud home on the outskirts of town. Applejack had farm work to do, and Twilight had magically received a letter during the party from Princess Celestia, requesting her presence in Canterlot tomorrow morning. Eventually, all the other guests left the party area, all except Sapphire, who waved goodbye to everypony as they passed by before leaving, and Pinkie Pie, who was putting all the decorations away at breakneck speed, much to the lamia’s astonishment as she occasionally looked her way and watched her go as if she had done that all her life. When the last pony had left Town Hall, there was no trace of the party left in the large building. When the hybrid turned around to see what Pinkie was now doing, she saw her attempting to close a box, which was probably where she stored her party supplies. “Need help?” she asked the pink mare as she approached her. “Nah, I’m… good. Come on…” With a snap, she finally managed to close the latch on the box’s lock. “There!” “So, how did you like your welcome party, Sapphy?” Pinkie asked as she stood up on four hooves. “You want the short versssion or the long one?” “I’d go for the long one if I hadn’t one teeny little more thing planned for you tonight.” “Huh? What would that be?” Sapphire asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly. “It’s a surprise!” Pinkie singsonged. “It’s always sssurprises with you,” the lamia pouted. “Don’t worry, silly, you’ll find out soon enough. I just need to bring this back to my room and we’re off,” the party pony said as she picked the box with her teeth and exited the scene, the snakepony following close behind. * * * “Shh!” Pinkie hushed as they entered the sweets shop. “The babies are asleep upstairs.” Sapphire nodded in understanding, and they both made their way to Pinkie Pie’s room at the back of the hallway on the second floor. In fact, the only sound was the earth pony’s hooves clopping against the ground, which Pinkie had to muffle as best she could. The hybrid, for her part, didn’t have to worry about that. Slithering around and about was way more discreet. It had helped her many times when she used to steal her food in Rockville all these years ago. They soon reached Pinkie’s loft, carefully closing the door behind them, cringing at the occasional creaks it gave. The earth pony then silently stored her party box under her bed, where it will remain until the next party, whenever that would be. “Hey Pinkie, thanks for the party,” Sapphire said as her friend got out from under the bed. “I guessss I really needed it and…” “And what?” Pinkie pressed. “And… I had a wonderful time. I think I alssso made a few friends there.” “Well d’uh, that’s the whole point, silly. A party serves to have fun and make friends, and when it comes to setting parties and making friends, I am just the pony for the job!” Pinkie declared. “It’s nice to be able to show myssself without needing to hide.” “I told you everypony would like you. Everypony likes each other here in Ponyville, after all.” “And I assssume you had sssomething to do with it?” Sapphire asked as she playfully nudged her friend with an elbow. “I have no idea! It’s just fun to throw parties and have fun with others.” I guess that’s typical of her, Sapphire thought. It’s good to see that she still has that carefree and playful attitude of hers even after all these years. She then saw Pinkie opening the window in the back of the room, the pink pony signaling her to follow. Before the hybrid could ask what she had planned in mind, Pinkie went outside and started making her way upwards to the top of Sugarcube Corner. She approached the open window and pulled her head outside, looking up at the direction her friend headed, and saw her waving at her. Curious about Pinkie’s intentions, she carefully made her way to join her, making sure the muscles in her tail had a solid grip on the roof’s surface. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, and although it was the first time she found herself that high from the ground, she was sure she had vertigo. Sapphire soon joined her friend, who was sitting on her haunches. She sat next to her, bringing her thirty foot-long snake tail in a coil behind her. When she was comfortably settled, she looked to the side at her partner, and followed her gaze to the stars and Luna’s moon above, all of them shining brightly in the dark sky, a display of the skillful princess who worked wonderfully on it. “What are we doing here, Pinkie?” Sapphire asked after a moment of silence. “Do we even have the right to be up here?” Her friend didn’t answer right away. After a short while, she inhaled deeply, and as she exhaled, so did her response. “No, we don’t. But this here was some sort of sanctuary when I was still a filly, and has been for mostly the first year the Cakes took me in.” “Took you in?” Sapphire repeated, and Pinkie nodded. “Yeah. After I ran away from the farm one night, I ended here in Ponyville. I didn’t have anywhere to stay, so I tried asking for shelter. I don’t think I need to say why Sugarcube Corner was my first attempt?” “Nope,” Sapphire said as she shook her head with a smile. “You and sugary treats always matched together as far as I can remember, ssso I can only imagine your reaction at ssseeing a building shaped like a gingerbread house.” “Mhm. And lucky me, the ponies residing here accepted to shelter me for a while. But eventually, days turned into weeks, and then to months. I began doing my part in the shop, and after a while, the Cakes officially decided to hire me here. Along with an official salary, I could keep the room they had lent me at the time as residence.” “I sssee, but what does that have to do with us being on the roof?” “Sorry, got a little sidetracked…” Pinkie breathed deeply before continuing. “Whenever I was scared, angry, or sad, I always used to climb up here so I could be left alone. And every time it happened, it was after waking up from a bad dream.” “You were dreaming about me and…” the lamia guessed, and Pinkie nodded. “No more sad faces from you, Sapphy,” she warned the hybrid. “I already forgave you. “So, like I was saying, I often found myself hiding here. One night, Mrs. Cake found me here crying. When I noticed she had found me, I thought I was gonna be in trouble. Instead, she joined me and hugged me, calming me down after a while.” “You didn’t tell her what was troubling you?” Sapphire pointed out. “I was young and confused. Even if I had wanted to, I wouldn’t have known what to say, so I lied and told her I was just having nightmares continuously. But I appreciated the comfort Mrs. Cake gave me that night, as it helped put my negative emotions aside for the rest of the night, and…” The lamia looked at her friend, her curiosity piked as Pinkie left her sentence hanging there. “And what?” “I stayed a bit longer up here after Mrs. Cake had left. Feeling lighter, I looked up at the sky and thought about you. As I stared at the stars and moon littering the sky, I wondered if you were alright, and if so, were we looking at the same sky at the same time?” “Pinkie…” Sapphire didn’t know what to say, nor how to react. However, she didn’t expect to hear Pinkie’s next sentences. “And also, as I thought about all of that, somehow, I felt like I could hear a voice; a soothing and unique singing voice that used to do wonders to calm me down. It was with that feeling that I slept peacefully that night, and now I know it wasn’t fully thanks to Mrs. Cake comfort. “It was a sign from my Pinkie Sense - I’ll explain it all later. A simple lip twitch that meant I was the most important pony to someone. I didn’t know why I had this odd sensation back then, but now, I can conclude that it was a sign from my Pinkie Sense all along, that the singing I believed was only in my head, wasn’t my imagination.” Pinkie turned to face the hybrid, blue meeting sapphire. “You were actually singing that night, and the wind must have carried your caring voice to me. Despite what happened, we still cared about each other, even when separated, and what it took was someone to make us realize how dumb we’ve been.” “Yeah…” Sapphire whispered. A long pause followed. Neither ponies dared break the silence. The pink mare was still staring into her friend’s eyes. On her part, Sapphire found herself at a lack of words. Both her mind and body were stunned. “That song,” Pinkie began, “you put all your thoughts and emotions in it, didn’t you?” “I don’t know how you managed to guessss that, but yeah.” “What did you express in it? When it caught my ears through the night’s breeze, it was only a whispered melody, though I could still feel the melancholy in it.” “Uh… well…” Despite knowing that Pinkie had a crush on her back then, Sapphire didn’t know if she still had it today. She, on her part, still loved the pink mare more than anything, but she was worried that it wouldn’t be reciprocated if she admitted it. “You have a crush on me too, don’t you?” Pinkie said bluntly. How…? Oh, horseapples, you know what? I don’t wanna know how she found out. Taking a deep breath, Sapphire nodded. “We both had a crush on each other and never knew,” Pinkie stated. “Can you blame usss? We were jussst fillies back then. Sssuppose I had told you five years ago, there were three possssible outcomes. Either you felt the sssame, either you didn’t but we’d remain friends or either you’d be repulsed and would never want to sssee me again. I know you wouldn’t, but the thought was there, and there was no way I could know if you were a fillyfooler too; even I didn’t know I was until not long ago.” “You have a point there, Sapphy.” There was another short pause as the both of them sat still, now staring straight ahead. Sapphire’s gaze soon began to go downhill, and Pinkie knew all too well that her friend still had their previous topic in mind. Determined to make her feel better, as well as herself for that matter, the party pony turned her head towards the lamia and put a hoof under her chin, gently raising her head so she could look into her beautiful sapphire eyes. Her name matches with her eyes perfectly, she thought. “There’s another reason why I brought you up here, Sapphy,” Pinkie declared, causing the lamia to raise an eyebrow. “We’ve slightly brushed past the subject a few times, but now I think it’s a good time I say it out loud.” With no warnings, Pinkie quickly leaned forward and pressed her lips against the hybrid’s, whose face now resembled a tomato at this point. Sapphire Heart, her mind blurred and her body frozen from the impulsive act, merely kept looking at her friend. Their lips remained locked together for a very short time before Pinkie pulled away. “I love you, Sapphire Heart,” she said, receiving no immediate response from her partner, who’s was staring ahead with a blank stare. “Sapphy?” What she didn’t know was that the lamia’s brain was currently analyzing every single detail from the act. She always cared about me, she thought. I was kissed… on the lips… She unconsciously raised a hoof to her lips and touched them with its sole. Kissed by a mare… by my best friend… She then lowered her hoof and, her senses slowly coming back to her, looked at Pinkie. And she loves me back too… “You sure make weird faces when you’re lost in thoughts,” the lamia heard Pinkie comment, which didn’t help her red cheeks regain their original color. “W-what’s that sssupposed to mean?” Sapphire defended. “You were all like…” Pinkie frowned as she attempted to imitate what her friend looked like seconds ago. “And like this…” She then hung her tongue slightly out of her mouth, mimicking the lamia’s pensive facial expression. However, judging by the annoyed glare the pink pony was receiving, the snakepony didn’t look amused at all. “I was not!” she pouted. “Yes, you were,” Pinkie giggled. “Was not!” “Were too!” “Was not!” “Were too!” “I’m not gonna win this, am I?” “Win what?” Pinkie asked innocently. “I… but… Gah! Never mind!” Sapphire turned her back to Pinkie and made her most convincing pouting expression, her hooves crossed against her chest as she did. “Nice acting, but I know you’re not mad for real.” “I don’t care. I’m sssticking to it.” “Sapphy, turn back, please?” “Not until you ssstop teasing me.” “Aw, but it’s all in good fun!” “Not gonna move.” “Don’t force me to do it,” Pinkie singsonged. “You’re bluffing,” Sapphire defied, still decided on keeping that pose. Only to find herself tackled to the ground, belly face down. With her only means of defense still coiled up, her pony half was powerless against Pinkie Pie, who was now sitting on her back. She could even feel her mischievous gaze on her. “Last chance,” the earth pony singsonged once again. “You wouldn’t dare do sssomething as childish as that, would you?” And dared Pinkie did. She jumped into action, putting her forehooves on the hybrid’s sides, and began tickling her, causing her to laugh in hysterics. They kept at it for a long while without a care in the world. Right now, they were the two happiest souls in Equestria. * * * In her own room, accompanied by her husband, having left their window open to let the night breeze inside, Mr. and Mrs. Cake witnessed the whole exchange of the two ponies on the roof. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to let them stay on the roof, hun?” asked Carrot to his wife. “It’s due for some renovations, and I don’t want to be held responsible if something happens.” “I know, dear, but we can’t do that to them. They’ve suffered long enough. It wouldn’t be right to break their fun tonight. Remember when we first started to date?” “How could I not?” “Good, because Pinkie and Sapphire are experiencing the same thing. If it can reassure you, I’ll warn them about the roof tomorrow.” Mr. Cake sighed. “You’re right, hun.” Cup closed the window and soon joined her husband in bed, both of them intend on getting a good night’s sleep. However, Mr. Cake had one last thing to say first. “What do you think about her?” “You mean Sapphire?” Cup asked, receiving a nod from Carrot. “Well, I’ll be honest, she’s not what anypony expected, but who I am to judge Pinkie’s choices? Besides, I talked to her a bit at the party while you were hanging with the other stallions there, and she seemed like a charming pony. They’ll be fine.” Mr. Cake nodded in acknowledgement. “If you say so.” He then lifted the covers and brought them over the both of them. “I know what you’re thinking, dear, I can see it in your eyes,” Mrs. Cake pointed out. “I just don’t want Pinkie to be hurt again.” “Then you worry for nothing. Trust me when I say they’ll be fine. They just got through what may be the toughest challenge in their lives together, strengthening the bond they share. “We’ve been through similar problems when we first started dating, remember? Sure, it never got as serious as Pinkie and Sapphire faced, but how many times have we fought, or had disagreements? How many times did we break up and come back together because we were just being stupid?” Carrot Cake unwinded as his wife reminded him of their youth’s love and hardships, and had to agree with her. “You’re right, Cup. We were just like them back then. Thank you.” “I’m glad to have eased your worries,” she said, kissing him lovingly on the muzzle. “I guess time will decide where things will go.” He then took hold of the covers and brought them up over him and Cup, and looked her in the eyes. “Good night hun.” “Goodnight, Carrot,” she wished him, and he shut his eyes. Before she followed him, she turned to her window and looked outside at the starry sky. Pinkie is growing up. She may not be our child, but we took care of her as if she was our own, and I couldn’t be more proud of what she has become, even when it’s sometimes hard to understand what’s going on in that creative head of hers. And with that, she closed her eyes and let sleep take her too.