My Little Pony: The Next Generation

by Song Thought

Reconnecting and Readjusting

Sweet Tune woke up that morning with a smile on her face. How could she not? She was free.

She looked out her window. No barrier, as it should be. So, everything that happened the past few days wasn’t a big dream. Good.

When Sweet Tune heard that she would be allowed to go outside of the castle more often and had her little celebration, she had to leave soon after with her family to check on everyone’s wounds and make sure they all rested. That’s what the day after mostly consisted of. That and Sweet Tune explaining to her father that she was going to be okay from her wounds and that she wasn’t going to die.

Her father, Apollo, knew that she was going to make it out of this alive, but he couldn’t help but feel worried 90% of the time. It’s what he does best, and Sweet Tune was well aware of it. Although, it didn’t stop her from trying to explain the journey in full detail to him once she got back, much to his dismay.

“Míja, as much as I love hearing you this excited about anything, you are going to give me a heart attack if you keep going,” he said as Sweet Tune was getting to the part when they approached the cave.

“Aw, come on, dad. I was just getting to the good part,” Sweet Tune complained.

Sweet Tune tried to tell him again the next morning, but he cut her off again without making it much further than the day before. Sweet Tune groaned and slouched in her chair at the dining room table.

“Are you ever going to let me make it to the end of the story?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Well, of course, but not while I’m still in shock at the fact that it happened. Now, eat your food before it gets cold.”

Sweet Tune grumbled as she aggressively scooped up her breakfast and shoved it into her mouth.

“Geez, you two are so different. How did you raise her on your own and manage to make her turn out so... not you?” the other two looked up and saw D.J listening intently to their conversation from a few chairs away, awkwardly spacing herself from the other two, who were sitting just across from each other.

They thought to themselves for a moment. While Apollo passed on the white hair, brown wing, and accent to his daughter, the two were drastically different personality-wise. But then again, he didn’t raise her all on his own.

“Wow D.J. I knew you were emotionally distanced from your child, but you don’t always have to be physically distanced from her,” said a new voice. A lavender earth pony mare entered the room with a smug smile on her face. D.J rolled her eyes at her remark. She had a short dark brown mane that was tied back into a messy half ponytail. She had brown eyes and her cutie mark was three tree saplings tied together in a messy knot.

“Good morning to you too, aunt Willow,” Sweet Tune said in response.

Willow was the main influence Apollo blamed for Sweet Tune’s reckless behavior. The best word he could use to describe her was “unpredictable.” She was so unpredictable, that she managed to squeeze herself into the royal family despite not being married or related to anyone, and no one questioned it. But hey, Rainblossom needed someone to raise Orchard Drop while she was absent, and there was no one else she could give the job to but her good friend, Willow, for some reason.

"I would watch my mouth if I were you, Willow. D.J isn't the only one in this situation," Rainblossom said as she entered the room with Orchard Drop by her side. Willow nervously stumbled a bit by their sudden appearance and stepped back.

"Rainblossom, darling, of course, I didn't mean you. I mean, it looks like you and Droplet have gotten off to a good start when it comes to reconnecting."

Rainblossom and Orchard Drop glanced at each other before the younger mare started to walk away, "My mother and I haven't started to reconnect. I don't know what gives off the impression that we did." She went over to the table and sat in her seat without saying another word. Rainblossom sighed and turned towards Willow.

"That's what I want to talk to you about," she started, "I want to try to talk to her again, but it's hard to. You can't exactly just start up a normal conversation with your daughter after not seeing her for ten years. Do you know where I can start?"

"Maybe, I don't know, catch up with her on all you've missed?" Willow said half-matter of factly and half-jokingly. Rainblossom gave her an annoyed expression and walked on, leaving Willow confused as to why she did.

Sugarhearts walked into the room a little while after, looking around with a confused expression on her face. She saw everyone at the table and waved before looking around again.

“Everything okay, Sugarhearts?” D.J asked.

“Yeah, I’m just looking for Sour Patch. I assumed he was here with you guys, but I guess I’m wrong,” Sugarhearts responded.

“He’s probably still sleeping,” Sweet Tune said, “He doesn’t go to sleep at night until late, so he doesn’t wake up until late.”

“His sleep schedule is abysmal,” Orchard Drop added.

Sugarhearts’ face dawned a slightly worried expression before turning around, “Thank you, you two,” she said before leaving while mumbling something to herself.

Sweet Tune was able to finish her breakfast soon after and got up from the table while carrying her dishes in her dragon claw, “Well, I’m off. I want to try to explore the rest of Canterlot today,” she said.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Apollo called out, stopping Sweet Tune in her tracks. He got up from the table and walked up to her.

“I want you to spend time with your mother today,” he said in a quiet voice so that no one else could hear.

Sweet Tune slumped a bit, “Do I have to?” she complained, “I’m finally free to do what I want. I don’t want to waste a single moment of it.”

“Trying to reform a bond with your mother is not wasting time. You’re doing it. End of discussion.”

“But-“

“No buts.”

Sweet Tune stared at her father intensely before rolling her eyes, “Fine,” she gave in.

“Thank you, Míja,” Apollo said before walking back to the table.

Sweet Tune stomped out of the room. On her way out she bumped into a tired-looking Sour Patch.

“Aww, did your mom wake you up?” she asked him tauntingly.

Sour Patch grumbled, “Shut up,” he said as he headed towards the table.

Sweet Tune chuckled as she walked on.

---

It's been a couple of days since the journey the ponies took, and their lives have already changed dramatically. Not only were they very well known around Ponyville for saving them, but some more personal things happened. For example, Diamond Glow having to have her broken arm fixed on top of all her wounds and not being able to go anywhere due to not being able to walk. Cream Cheese talked to her parents, and she was able to start working as a waitress at Sugarcube Corner along with the Cake Twins. Both Jupiter and Hurricane were able to catch up and hang out as friends again. It was helpful because Hurricane was able to stop Jupiter from using their chaotic magic to put Ponyville in danger... on multiple occasions.

Cream Cheese was working her shift at the bakery on her first day when she noticed North Star, Hurricane, and Jupiter walk in, she flashed a warm smile at them and directed them to sit at the counter to talk to them. She noticed they had small bandages here and there from wounds they got, the most noticeable being the long strip of gauze wrapped around North Star's back.

"Is this a normal thing now? Us talking to each other?" Cream Cheese asked the three of them.

"I would hope so," Hurricane answered, "Why would we not talk to each other? We only went on a two-day journey and fought some scary bad guys side by side."

"I also have no one else to talk to," North Star added. Jupiter slightly chuckled at that.

"Anyways," Cream Cheese said to change the subject, "would you guys like anything to eat?" Before anyone could answer, the earth pony spoke up again, "Actually, I have this apple pie that I made this morning, but no one wants." She turned around and grabbed an apple pie from the shelf behind her.

"Now what makes you think I want this pie when there are so many desserts to choose from," Jupiter asked.

"You guys can have it for free," Cream Cheese said.

Jupiter immediately took the pie from her, "Would you look at that, my choices all of the sudden narrowed down drastically." Cream Cheese smiled as she gave the three of them plates and utensils.

"Hey, speaking of apples," Hurricane started, "have any of you guys heard from Apple Crisp since we last saw her?"

Everyone else thought for a moment then shook their heads, "To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if she forgot about all of us by now," North Star said. Everyone couldn't help but silently agree with her.

"Howdy!" a voice said. Everyone jumped and turned around to find Apple Crisp behind where the three ponies were sitting, dawning the same bright smile she was known for having by now.

"Hi Apple Crisp," Cream Cheese greeted, "What brings you here?"

"I don't... know," Apple Crisp responded while thinking to herself, "I just know I walked over here by myself. I might have wanted to go somewhere else but got lost."

"Well, you're here now," Jupiter said, "Pull up a chair. We have apple pie." Apple Crisp excitedly did what Jupiter said. No one questioned if she even knew them. She seemed comfortable around them, so that was a start.

The four ponies sitting talked among themselves while Cream Cheese continued to take orders and deliver food to other patrons. It wasn't until she was done with her shift that she went back to talk to the others.

"What're we talking about?" she asked the group.

"Hurricane mentioned that he bumped into Diamond Glow's mom yesterday," North Star answered.

"Really? Did she say anything about Diamond Glow?" she asked Hurricane.

"Not much," Hurricane started, "Just that she broke her leg pretty bad. She said that she's gonna stay at the hospital for a few more days."

"It must suck. She was the one who constantly escaped her house over these past ten years," North Star mentioned, "Now she can't even stand on her four hooves."

"She must have no one to talk to besides her family," Apple Crisp said.

Cream Cheese realized, "That's it!" she exclaimed.

Jupiter jumped back, "What's it?" they asked.

"Why don't we go visit Diamond Glow? Sure, she wasn't the nicest when we saw her, but she at least deserves to have some visitors while she's at the hospital," Cream Cheese said, "I can even make something sweet to bring to her."

"I wanna help!" Apple Crisp said happily. Cream Cheese smiled at her and looked towards the others to await their answers.

"Jupiter and I would love to help too," Hurricane said. Jupiter put their finger up in protest and was about to say something but decided not to.

"So, North Star," Cream Cheese said, "Are you in or out?"

North Star thought to herself for a moment, "I'm in, but I'm not helping you guys bake. I have something else I need to do."

Cream Cheese looked at the alicorn disapprovingly, but went along with it, "Alright, how about we all meet up in front of the hospital in three hours." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. While North Star left, Cream Cheese opened a drawer behind her filled with paper cards. Each had a recipe on them.

"Hey, I have an idea for what we can bake," Hurricane said. Cream Cheese approached him, and he whispered the dessert in her ear.

"I think we might have that recipe," Cream Cheese said while looking in the drawer. She then picked a card up with her mouth and put it on the counter the other three were sitting at so that they could see what they're making.

"You'll think she'll like it?" Jupiter asked.

"One can only hope," Cream Cheese answered, "Now let's get to work."

---

Once breakfast was over, Sugarhearts was looking out a window and towards the Canterlot gardens, but specifically towards one tree. It was a simple one, not much grew on it. It was close to the edge of the gardens and had a few branches extending outwards in different directions. What she really focused on was the fact that Sour Patch was lying down under it with a pencil in his mouth and a sketch pad on the ground in front of him.

"You know, normally ponies would consider spying on others creepy and disturbing. What's your excuse?"

Sugarhearts squeaked and jumped back when she heard the voice, only to see who it belonged to, "Thunderclap! Don't scare me like that," she said while playfully hitting the pony's arm.

Thunderclap was a unicorn stallion with a dark blue coat and black dreads that were being held back in a bun for a mane. He had gray eyes and a cloud of smoke for a cutie mark. He was also tall and seemed to loom over the mare with a slightly confused look on his face.

"Besides, if you were the one who couldn't talk to our son for ten years, wouldn't you try to observe him for as much as you can?" Sugarhearts paused for a second, "That still sounded creepy, but you know where I'm coming from."

Thunderclap grinned a bit, "I do, but you're not exactly forbidden from talking to him anymore. So why are you still spying on him?"

"I don't really know how to approach him. I woke him up this morning like he was a small child, and it wasn't a good first impression. How does a sixteen-year-old act these days?"

"Maybe you would know if you interacted with our sixteen-year-old." Sugarhearts got up and stayed silent for a second. She then walked around the stallion and towards the door that led to the gardens, but she stopped and turned around in slight panic.

"Did you change your mind?" Thunderclap asked as Sugarhearts walked back towards him.

"No, he's coming back," the mare responded. The door opened and Sour Patch walked in the room with the pencil behind his ear and the sketch pad in his hoof. He noticed his parents and looked at them a bit confusedly.

"Hey guys," he said, "What are you doing?"

"Oh nothing, just enjoying the scenery," Sugarhearts answered.

Thunderclap ignored her answer, "I was just talking to your mother about how you two should spend time together. What are you doing now, Patches?"

"Nothing, just going to my room."

"Ah, then maybe you should join him, Sugarhearts" Thunderclap said before leaving the two of them alone. Sour Patch started walking and his mother had no choice but to follow.

"So," Sugarhearts said to start a conversation, "I... don't know what to say to you. Are you as bad at conversations as I am?"

"I guess it runs in the family," Sour Patch answered.

It didn't take long before they got to the stallion's room. He opened the door, and both walked inside. The room was normal. There was a bed, nightstand, closet, nothing stood out right away. Sugarhearts spotted a desk in the farthest corner from where the door was with a large tank on it. She walked up to it and spotted a snake inside it.

"How long have you had this... snake?" she asked her son. Sour Patch turned around from where he was putting away his things.

"Oh, you mean Basil? I've had him for a few years now. Wanna hold him?" Sugarhearts glanced at the snake again. It was pretty large and was as black as the night sky. It probably wasn't venomous, but the thought of holding it still scared her a little.

"Oh, no thank you," she said while backing away from the tank. She turned around and saw various art supplies in the other corner of the room. There were a few canvases, an easel, some paints on a palette, and brushes of various sizes. She walked toward the easel with a canvas placed on it. She saw that it was a painting that Sour Patch was still in the middle of working on. It was of some birds you would find in the garden perched on a birdbath.

"Sour Patch, you painted this?" she asked. Sour Patch walked over to her.

"Uh, yeah. It's simple, but I just wanted to do something yesterday that wasn't just lying around and waiting for my wounds to heal."

"Simple? It's beautiful," Sugarhearts said in awe, "No wonder you got your cutie mark in art."

"Thanks. I never really got feedback from anyone that wasn't Dad or Sweet Tune. It feels nice to have someone else look at it for a change."

"Hey," Sugarhearts started, "Why don't you teach me how to draw something? That can be what we can do together! It shouldn't be that hard to do, right?"

Sour Patch raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Absolutely!"

Sour Patch sighed and grabbed some papers and pencils, "Alright, let's get started."

---

"They own a bakery. How can they be low on this stuff?" Jupiter asked Hurricane as they walked down the aisles of the grocery store.

"Just be glad CC gave us money to buy them," Hurricane said. He looked at the foods around them, "What did she say we needed to get again?"

"Milk and eggs," Jupiter also caught a glance at where they were at, "What are we doing wandering in the produce section?" The two of them quickly walked away from the fruits and vegetables, but accidentally bumped into someone in the process.

"Hey! Watch it, will ya'!" said the pony they ran into. Both Hurricane and Jupiter looked down and saw a tiny unicorn filly with white fur and a short, curly indigo mane. If the rude remark wasn't reminiscent of a certain pony, then her overall appearance might've rung a bell.

"Oh, sorry," Hurricane started, "I wasn't looking and you're just so tiny-"

"Who are you calling 'tiny'?!" the filly interrupted, her white face growing a red splotch out of anger.

"Sorry... again. We're-" Hurricane started again but was cut off once more.

"-just going to be on our way now," Jupiter continued, pushing the pegasus as a signal to start walking, "Bye-bye."

The two of them walked out of the produce section, leaving the angered filly to stomp off in the other direction. The two were silent until they made it to the dairy section, which wasn't too far away from where they previously were.

"Geez, that was the most easily angered filly I've ever met," Jupiter remarked as they opened the cooler and reached for the milk they needed.

"How many fillies have you met exactly?" Hurricane shot back. Jupiter rolled their eyes and kept looking for the eggs.

"But also, a small white unicorn with anger issues? Maybe she knows Diamond Glow?" they said with a smirk on their face, "I'm gonna call her 'Mini Glow'."

"I'm more concerned as to why she was alone," Hurricane said as Jupiter grabbed the eggs, using their paw, hoof, and levitation to carry both items.

"Based on our encounter with her, I trust that Mini Glow knows what she's doing," Jupiter said, "You have the money, right? 'Cuz I think we got what we need." Hurricane raised his front right leg which had a small pouch full of bits that Cream Cheese gave to them tied to it.

"Alright, let's go," Jupiter said as they turned around, "I've already gotten enough strange looks from strangers as it is."

---

D.J gently knocked on the door to Sweet Tune's room. She waited a bit before hearing a voice coming from inside.

"Who is it?"

"It's me," D.J responded. There was a second of silence before she could hear shuffling coming from the other side. Suddenly, the door opened, and the two mares were face to face with each other.

"Did Dad send you?" Sweet Tune asked.

"What? No," D.J responded a bit taken aback, "I just wanted to see if we can talk."

Sweet Tune was still for a moment, then she opened the door wider and signaled for the older mare to go inside. When D.J did, she was immediately greeted by Searchlight the ferret scurrying up to her hooves and sniffing them. D.J picked her up and let her move to her back where she lied down.

"Searchlight knows you?" Sweet Tune asked, "I got her last year. Dad gave her to me for my birthday."

"I hope she does know me since it was my idea to get her," D.J said.

Sweet Tune took a bit of a step back in surprise, "Wait, really?"

"Of course. Your dad didn't think it was time for you to have a pet, but I wouldn't shut up about it until he gave in. Now that I think about it, that's really the main strategy for getting him to agree with me. I had to make sure Searchlight was the best ferret for you. So, I observed and took care of her for a week. There isn't a pet better suited for you than her."

"Wow," Sweet Tune said in surprise, "I had no idea."

"No, it's fine," D.J then remembered what she wanted to talk to her daughter about. She sat down on the younger mare's bed while Searchlight jumped off her and laid down on it as well, "Anyways, I came here to check on you. You seemed pretty upset before you left during breakfast. Is everything alright?"

"Oh, that," Sweet Tune laughed awkwardly while sitting down beside her. How was she supposed to tell her mother that the reason she was upset was that her dad forced her to spend time with her? "I was just a bit bummed out because I wanted to spend time exploring Canterlot today."

"And your dad didn't let you?" D.J guessed. Sweet Tune slowly nodded.

"I don't blame him exactly," the older mare continued, "You just came back from a two-day journey that involved a serious battle. He and I agreed that you needed to rest for at least a couple of days before you go out and explore."

"Yeah, I know, but I can't really sit still now that I know the barrier's down and that I can go out there. I waited so long for something like this to happen and I don't want to waste a single moment."

D.J laughed to herself like she just thought of something, "I don't know where you were able to adapt to this big change so quickly, because I was pretty much the opposite when I was your age."

"Really? How?"

"When your Aunt Rainblossom, Sugarhearts, and I were first adopted, I absolutely hated it. The three of us, or at least I, grew up with a specific plan in our heads on what to do when we became too old to stay in the orphanage. This adoption kind of threw a wrench in it. That, plus some other personal stuff, made it almost impossible for me to adapt to this change that came out of nowhere."

"'Almost,'" Sweet Tune exaggerated.

"Right, 'almost.' It took some time, but after coming to terms with everything going on and meeting some new friends, including your dad, I managed to get used to everything. And thank Celestia I did, because if I never was comfortable enough to stay here and take on the responsibilities that the princesses left me, I would've never had you," D.J's smile faded, "I can't tell you how terrible I felt putting that barrier up for the first time. I reached this point in my life because of all the friends I made and the lessons I was able to learn from them. I took away your opportunity to do the same."

"But you didn't," Sweet Tune pointed out, "Yeah, you put the opportunity to do that on hold for ten years, but I was still able to make friends and save Equestria while I was at it."

"I guess that's right," D.J said, "I just think that you could've done all that way sooner, minus the saving Equestria part. I think the thing I regretted most was letting everyone get into my head about keeping Equestria safe and having everyone here on permanent lockdown. It caused me to spend less time with my family and friends. So much so, that the lack of a bond I grew to with my friends is what ultimately caused you and your cousins to put your lives at risk."

"Well, here we are now, and life seems so much better than how it was, like, five days ago. So, I've decided to stop focusing on the past where I was stuck in here and look towards the future where I can do everything I've ever wanted to do. Maybe you should too."

"Okay, Sugarhearts," D.J said quietly, but not quiet enough for Sweet Tune to not hear it.

"What?" the younger mare asked.

"You sound like your Aunt Sugarhearts."

"Really? Well, I haven't talked to the mare in ten years, so how should I know?"

D.J thought to herself for a moment, then lit up, "I have an idea. Why don't we spend the whole day tomorrow in the city? It's what you wanted to do today and to be honest, I could use the day off."

Sweet Tune grew excited at the idea, "Okay! Sounds fun!"

The both of them got up from the bed and walked towards the door, "Alright, then I guess I'll get out of your mane," D.J said, "This was a nice chat. I hope we have more of these in the future... if that's alright with you."

D.J got out of the room and turned back to her daughter, "Also, see you for dinner. I can say that now."

"How does it feel," Sweet Tune asked.

"Really good, actually." Both of them laughed before saying bye. Sweet Tune went up to her bed and collapsed on it. Searchlight crawled up to her and licked her cheek.

"I didn't get to go out today, but I think it'll be worth spending more time with Mom," Sweet Tune told her.

---

"Where is she?" Cream Cheese asked herself. It's been three hours since they got started on the dessert for Diamond Glow and the four ponies who worked on it were waiting outside the hospital. There was still no sign of North Star, who agreed to join them around this time.

"Where's who?" Apple Crisp asked innocently while balancing the dessert tray on her back.

"North Star," Hurricane answered, "Maybe she's just fashionably late. If she doesn't show up in a few minutes, we can just go up without her."

"Good, because I haven't had lunch and I'm really hungry," Jupiter said as they carried a bag filled with plates and forks.

The four of them waited in silence before hearing a, "I'm here! Wait up!" from distance. They all saw North Star flying towards them while carrying a large package with her magic. Cream Cheese sighed in relief.

"Hey North Star," Jupiter started. They pointed at the package, "What's that?"

"Oh, this? It's a gift for Diamond Glow," she responded while landing on the ground.

"Okay, let's go. Visiting hours can only last so long," Cream Cheese pointed out. The rest of them agreed and they all entered the building.

While inside, they managed to get a few looks from ponies. They couldn't tell if it was because of their sudden growth in popularity or if it was because ponies weren't used to seeing hybrids yet. They were able to get directions to the room their friend was in and were on their way to go see her.

When they were at her door, Cream Cheese lightly knocked on it. It took a couple of moments before someone opened it. Hurricane tensed up at who was on the other side: the filly they ran into at the grocery store. Why was she here? Who even is she?

“Mini Glow?” Jupiter instinctively said before quickly covering their mouth. The filly grew furious at the name.

“You two?!” she said.

“Listen, we can explain-“ Hurricane started, but was stopped by the filly closing the door in his face, “You know, if ponies let me finish my sentences, then maybe things would turn out better.”

“What was that about?” North Star asked. Cream Cheese and Apple Crisp also looked at them like they were waiting for an answer.

“It’s a long story,” Hurricane answered.

Before anyone could ask any more questions, the door opened once more. This time, Rarity, Diamond Glow’s mother, was the one on the other side of it. She gave them a friendly smile.

“I’m so sorry about that. This is Pure Heart’s first day meeting anypony new,” she said, “Please, come in.” She motioned for them to enter the room.

As they did, they saw Diamond Glow on the bed with bandages all around her head and upper body and a cast on her left hoof. The rest of her was covered with a blanket, but everyone assumed that it was also covered in bandages. Her long mane was pulled back into a tight braid, assumedly to keep it out of the way when the hospital staff was working on her.

She turned her head towards them when she saw them enter, revealing her black eye, “Hey guys, what are you doing here?” she asked quietly.

“Can’t friends pay each other visits?” Cream Cheese asked jokingly. Diamond Glow mouthed the word “friends” to herself.

Diamond Glow looked around and saw the packages some of them were carrying, "What's that?" she asked.

"Oh," Cream Cheese said like she just remembered why they were there, "We made you a little something to try and help feel better." She grabbed the dessert tray from Apple Crisp and set it down on the bed in front of the unicorn. A sweet aroma quickly filled the room as she took the lid off to reveal a neatly made pie.

"It's cherry, by the way," Hurricane pointed out, "It's what Jupiter and I were trying to make in that story we told you. The one where Jupiter blew everything up."

"Don't worry, I had nothing to do with the baking process this time," Jupiter added, causing a few of them to chuckle.

"Oh, cool. Thanks, you guys," Diamond Glow said with a hint of disbelief in her voice. She also spotted what North Star was carrying, "And what's that?"

"Right, this," North Star started, "I don't know if you should unwrap it in case someone sees it, but it's a new spear to make up for the one I broke."

"Sweet! Where'd you get it?" Diamond Glow asked curiously, "I found the old one in some abandoned ruins in the Everfree."

"My dad used to be part of the royal guard. I have good access to a lot of weapons... if I get his permission," North Star said the last part under her breath. She went over and placed the package against the wall.

"We just wanted to come and visit you to see if you were holding up okay. I like to think that we’re friends now, so I hope you're fine with it," Cream Cheese said.

Diamond Glow's face morphed into a rare small smile, "I'm totally fine with it. I guess I'm not used to having friends, that's all. It feels... different."

"Well, now you have ponies to talk to about that," Apple Crisp said happily.

"She's right. We all feel different, but we have each other to get through it," Hurricane added.

"Stop it," Diamond Glow said sarcastically, "You'll have me feeling emotions that I'm not used to feeling. Let's eat so I can get away from them."

The pie was cut, and a slice was given to everyone in the room. It wasn't long before a couple of small conversations started filling the room. As Jupiter was eating their slice, they noticed the little filly sitting on a chair a good distance away from the group. They approached her and sat in the chair next to her.

"Hey... you," they said, not recalling her name.

"My name's Pure Heart," the filly pointed out in a slight annoyance.

"Right. Listen, Pure Heart," Jupiter started, "I'm sorry for calling you 'Mini Glow' earlier. You just reminded me of Diamond Glow when we saw you at the grocery store, that's all. The name was stupid, and I said it without thinking. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm kind of an idiot."

"It's fine. I wasn't thinking either."

"Hurricane will kill me if I don't ask this, but why were you by yourself at the grocery store?"

"I ran away. I wanted to go somewhere that didn't have my mom or sister."

"Okay, but why?"

"I don’t know! My sister was always running away, and my mom would always worry so much about her. Maybe I thought that if I ran away once-“

“Your mom would worry about you?” Pure Heart slowly nodded and looked at the ground.

“Haven’t you ever considered that the reason your mom never worried about you is that you’re a good kid?” Jupiter started, “You make her life less stressful when it comes to dealing with her kids. Sure, she might give her attention to your sister because she goes out and breaks the rules, but she trusts you to make the right decisions. Or maybe not. Again, I’m an idiot, so I get a lot of stuff wrong.”

Pure Heart let out a small giggle, “No, I think you’re right this time.”

“How about this: You talk to your mom about how you’ve been feeling and you two can work things out from there. Can you do that?” Pure Heart nodded and Jupiter got up from the chair they were sitting in, “Alright, now, if you don’t mind me, I gotta find out if I can get seconds on that pie.”

They left the small filly alone to think things over. Eventually, she joined the rest of the group and started to engage in conversation. Everyone talked and laughed until visiting hours were over, and they were practically dragged out of the building.

Everyone agreed that the day couldn’t have gone better.

---

Dinner back at the castle was more comforting and relaxed than breakfast. Everyone seemed like an actual family. Well, almost everyone.

Orchard Drop remained silent during the meal and never made eye contact with anyone. It bothered Rainblossom, who was trying to get her attention the entire day. Her daughter was practically isolated in her lab downstairs for the entire day, and everyone warned the queen to not distract her from her work. They passed by the hall a couple of times since they came back from Ponyville, and whenever Rainblossom tried to strike up a conversation, Orchard Drop would ignore her and keep walking.

Soon enough, everyone was finishing their meals and their dishes were being taken to the kitchen to get cleaned, except for Orchard Drop’s. Once everyone started getting up from the table, the unicorn got up and took her dishes to the kitchen herself. Rainblossom grew curious and started to follow her. She was stopped by someone walking in front of her.

“Willow, what are you doing?” Rainblossom asked the earth pony.

“If you’re thinking about helping her wash her dishes or at least talking to her as she does them, you’re only going to make her dislike you more,” Willow warned. Rainblossom stepped back in confusion.

“Why? Why does she have all these rules that everyone knows but me?”

“She just started doing them and we all went along with it. She started acting like this a few years after the attack. And if someone breaks them, she won’t be happy about it, I’ll tell you that.”

“But why does she do this?”

“None of us know. We tried to get her a therapist, but they said that she didn’t say a single thing during their session. It could be some sort of trauma thing. She went through a lot around the time of the attack.”

“Don’t remind me,” Rainblossom as memories kept flooding back to her, “It can’t be because of her father, can it?”

“I know you don’t like to admit that he wasn’t the best dude, but you already know how I feel about him. I don’t think it would be the best idea to have me express my opinion.”

Rainblossom agreed with Willow’s warning this time. Willow wasn’t too fond of Orchard Drop’s birth father when he lived in the castle. No one was. Rainblossom felt that it was the right decision to kick him out, but she still had trouble admitting that he was a bad guy. She wondered if Orchard Drop felt the same way.

Before their conversation could continue, Orchard Drop came back from the kitchen. She walked past the two of them without giving them a second glance.

“Orchard Drop, remember to not stay in your lab too long! Sleep is crucial!” Willow called out before the younger mare left the room.

“Alright!” Orchard Drop replied.

Rainblossom looked back at the earth pony, “Hey, I feel that if I don’t say that, she will actually forget to go to bed.”

The unicorn turned back to where her daughter left the room and decided to follow her. Willow followed after her.

“What are you doing?” she asked the queen.

“I want to talk to my daughter today. I’ve waited ten years, and I don’t want another day to go by where I don’t talk to her.”

The two of them spotted Orchard Drop in the distance and walked a little faster to catch up to her. Once they did, the younger mare looked up at them with a strange look on her face.

“So, how’s it going, Orchard Drop?” Rainblossom said, trying to start a conversation. Orchard Drop ignored her.

“Alright, then. I see you’re thinking about it. I’ll just say that I’m doing pretty okay,” Rainblossom said, still not receiving a response. She waited a couple of moments before trying to move on to a new topic.

“How about that dinner? I’d say it was pretty good. What do you think, Willow?” Rainblossom turned her attention towards the other mare, who just raised an eyebrow instead of answering, “Willow thought it was good. What do you think!” The youngest remained silent.

Rainblossom didn’t know what else to say at this point. She decided to ditch the small talk and go for a different angle.

“Hey, is everything alrig-“ but before she could finish her question, Orchard Drop spun on her.

“Can you just stop?!” she said angrily, “What are you trying to accomplish here?!”

Both of the older mares stepped back and didn’t know what to say. Rainblossom that straightened up her posture.

“I’m trying to have a conversation with you,” she said, raising her voice a bit.

“Well, can’t you understand that I don’t want to talk to you?!”

“Well, I do. We haven’t talked in a decade, and I just want to see how you’re doing.”

“Like you would care!”

“I do. Please, I need you to calm down.”

“Calm down?! Are you really expecting me to just calm down?! After all these years, you want to come in and expect me to treat you like you were never gone?! Well, I’m sorry I’m not cooperating with you! I’m sorry I didn’t forget! I’m sorry for not expecting that when one parent left, I would lose the other one too!” Orchard Drop had tears streaming down her face before she ran off and left the other two. Both mares were speechless and had to process what she told them. They heard a door slam in the distance.

“I’m a terrible mother,” Rainblossom admitted, “She’s right. I shouldn’t have expected her to forgive me right away. What do I do now?”

Willow thought to herself for a moment, “I’ll go talk to her and try to get her to cool down. You can try to talk to her then if you want.” Rainblossom nodded and let her lead the way to Orchard Drop’s room.

They waited a few more minutes outside her door before Willow knocked and went inside. Rainblossom tried putting her ear to the door but couldn’t make out what they were saying. All she could hear were muffled voices. At least, there wasn’t any yelling. About ten minutes went by before Willow opened the door to let her in.

“Orchard Drop asked me to stay. I hope you don’t mind that,” the earth pony whispered. Rainblossom nodded and calmly approached her daughter who was sitting on her bed. Her eyes were still red and puffy, and her cheeks were tear-stained. Rainblossom just wanted to hug her and make her feel better, but she knew that keeping her distance was the better option.

She sat down next to her and took a deep breath, “Listen, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just assumed that you were going to be okay with me right away. If anything, I find it fine that you feel like you can’t talk to me right now. I deserve that. I know that after everything that happened with your father, leaving you was the worst possible thing that I could’ve done. I let my anxieties about running this kingdom and what everypony thought of me as a leader get in the way of what the important ponies in my life needed," she noticed that Orchard Drop was looking at the floor as she was talking, "I completely understand if you don't want to forgive me. I know you missed your father and what I did was unacceptable. Just please come to me when you have a response. I would really like to hear what I can do to make our relationship better."

Rainblossom started to get up from the bed but was stopped when she felt a hoof rest on her arm. She turned her head and saw Orchard Drop making eye contact with her for the first time. She sat back down and waited for Orchard Drop to say something.

"I didn't miss my father, not one bit," Orchard Drop started, her voice slightly shaky, "I just missed you. I felt almost abandoned, and because of that, it was hard for me to get attached to others, emotionally, that is. I guess something threw me off about how nonchalant you were when I got back from that mission like you wanted me to forget about how you left me with almost no one," Orchard Drop looked down for a moment again, "No offense, Willow."

"None taken. I just raised you for ten years, but ya know..." Willow said quietly. Rainblossom jokingly rolled her eyes at her then turned back to the younger mare.

"I accept your apology, but I won't let you off the hook completely," Orchard Drop continued, "Just please don't leave again."

Rainblossom pulled her in for a hug, "Oh Droplet, I would never do that again. I missed you so much too. I think the day I was able to see you again was one of the best days of my life, but today has passed it."

They heard a fake yawn coming from Willow and turned towards her, "Geez, this got really sappy, really quick. How did I manage to live with you guys for this long?"

"Shut up," Rainblossom said, "You love us."

"Maybe I did, but I'm not so sure anymore."

"Do want to join the hug or not?" Orchard Drop asked with a small smile on her face.

"Can I please?" Willow quickly said before running up to them and wrapping her arms around them.

Rainblossom smiled contently. There was a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction with a touch of happiness that bloomed inside her, and she wouldn't trade this feeling for the world.

Author's Note:

The next chapter's out!

I felt a lot better writing this one because I knew where I wanted to finish rather than contemplating where I wanted to leave it off for the next part. I just wanted to create some family dynamics and open the door for for some slice of life type conflicts.

I expect that most of the chapters will follow a formula like this. Think about it as an episode for a show. I will still visit the overarching plot for this entire thing, but I wanted to write some slice of life chapters to develop everyone's personalities and relationships.

One more thing. If you didn't know, I started writing another fic focusing on D.J, Rainblossom, and Sugarhearts. The story will mostly focus on the important stuff that happened to them before they became queens. If you want to start reading it, click here.

Anyways, that's it. Hope you enjoyed!