The day couldn’t have been more perfect. Clouds of all different shapes decorated the sky and the sun shone warmly. It was the perfect day for picnic with friends.
On a hill overlooking Sweet Apple Acres, Tacitus sat on a large red blanket with his new friends. Friends. That word meant much more to him now than it did just hours ago.
Rainbow Dash was lying on her back with sunglasses on, Pinkie was scarfing down various different pastries, and Rarity was sipping from a cup of tea while Spike provided her with shade using a large tree leaf. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were running around playing with Discord, who had transformed himself into a ball and was bouncing all over the place. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Twilight were all lying on their stomachs on the blanket along with Tacitus.
“So you went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns? Why didn’t I ever see you?” Twilight asked looking at Tacitus.
“If I recall, neither of us were very interested in meeting new ponies at the time,” Tacitus responded. “We might have run into each other and not even noticed.”
Rainbow spoke without looking at them. “You two eggheads probably had your noses buried in a textbook and walked right past each other.”
Twilight shot her a glare, but Tacitus just chuckled. He found himself being able to laugh and smile more than he had in months since coming here. The experience he’d had the previous night with these wonderful ponies had been, to him, a blessing. Now, they were spending the day with him, just so they could all get to know each other better.
Tacitus had spent almost an hour listening to all of them speak. They told of their adventures, their likes and dislikes, their childhoods, and just who they were as ponies, or dragons in Spike’s case. They had insisted that he speak first, but he wanted to hear them. He enjoyed listening to them.
Apple Bloom and her friends ran up to Tacitus, Discord having transformed back to his normal self, although he was green from so much bouncing.
“Hey Mr. Tacitus, can ya tell us how ya got yer cutie mark?”
The rest of the gathered friends all expressed their interest in hearing this story and looked to Tacitus to begin.
Tacitus cleared his throat before speaking. “I was a little colt when my parents and I went on vacation to Las Pegasus. We did this kind of stuff all the time, take family trips to get away from the city and see new things.
Unfortunately, my dad was never very good with directions. We got lost and ended up in the San Palomino Desert. As my parents were arguing over the map, my horn started to glow. I had no idea what was happening, but I felt the need to start walking.
As I walked, my horn glowed brighter and brighter. I turned around to see what would happen, and my horn got dimmer. It seemed my horn was acting like a compass.
I don’t know how long or how far I walked, but eventually I found a small rock sticking out of the ground. My horn was so bright it was almost blinding when I got to it. I had no idea why my horn was leading me to a rock, but I tried to pick it up. It wouldn’t budge; it was like it was buried. So, I began to try to dig the rock out.
As I kept digging, the rock seemed to go on forever. But it soon began to take shape into something much more than just a rock. When I finally finished digging, I saw that I had just dug up a life-sized statue of a pony wearing a strange headdress, which I knew marked it as an artifact from the Equyption civilization.
I was ecstatic. I heard my parents calling my name and I called back to tell them where I was and told them to come see what I had found. They saw the statue and they were dumbfounded. I was bouncing around like an idiot telling them about what it was and my theories on who built it and how it ended up here.
My parents were smiling and laughing at me, and I asked what was so funny. My mom just pointed at me and said ‘Look at your flank.’ I looked and I saw the Eye of Horsus on my flank. I was excited before, now I was practically hysterical. It turns out my magic was able to detect the presence of historical artifacts if they are close enough. My parents were so proud, and we were even able to get some ponies from the Canterlot History Museum to come and look at it.
It was my first discovery that led to me getting my cutie mark, and I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to learning and discovering history.”
Everypony listened intently as he told his story and were genuinely interested as he told it. Tacitus smiled at the fond memory, especially the memory of his parents.
While once Tacitus had tried desperately to not think of his parents, and when he did he was reduced to tears, he now thought of them gladly and with a smile on his face. Before, he had only remembered them as they were at the end, suffering in the hospital where the only sounds they made were groans of pain. His friends made him realize that he should be remembering how they lived, not how they died.
He now embraced the memories of the good lives his parents lived. The joyous times they shared and the caring love they gave him overshadowing the sadness of their passing. He still missed them, and he was still sad that they were gone, but he had friends now. Friends who cared for him and comforted him, who loved him like his parents did. And he knew his parents were still there, watching over him.
A thought struck him, he’d almost forgotten. “Pinkie, I have something for you.”
He reached into the basket he had with him and pulled out a beautifully decorated cupcake with yellow icing and an orange wedge on top.
“I made this to apologize for my behavior the other day. I hope you can forgive me.” He handed her the cupcake.
As she took it, Pinkie looked at him with that goofy smile that he loved to see her with.
“You don’t need apologize. I already forgave you silly.”
Tacitus smiled back at her. “Even still, I feel bad and I want to make amends. I hope you like it.”
Pinkie ate the cupcake in one bite and a blank look took over her face. Her entire body rumbled like there was an earthquake going on, and then she shot into the air and exploded like a firecracker. She then floated back down slowly like a feather.
“Wowee! That was the most delicious, delightful, delectable, delovely cupcake I’ve ever had!”
Tacitus laughed louder than he had on a while. “It’s my mother’s recipe. I made one for everypony.”
Tacitus passed out the cupcakes so that eveypony had one, and gave Pinkie an extra one. As Tacitus watched them enjoying the gift he baked them, he thought about how lucky he was to have found ponies like them. The nagging thought was still in the back of his mind though. What if something happens to them? What if you lose them?
He ignored these thoughts. He wouldn’t let that fear rule over him. Not anymore. He would love his friends and be happy with the time he had with them, however long or short it may be.
After a long day of talking, eating, and playing (another thing Tacitus had not done in a while but loved every moment of), Tacitus and the others packed up to head back home. It was by far one of the best days Tacitus had ever had.
His friends walked with him all the way back to his home before they left to go back to their own homes. They waved and said goodbye to him as they left.
No, they didn’t say goodbye. They said, until tomorrow. He would see them tomorrow; they would be with him again. The thought of seeing them again caused his heart to swell with a happiness he didn’t think he was capable of feeling anymore.
Because of them he could say, for the first time in a long time, that he was happy. No nightmares came that night, or ever again.