The Hoofield and McColt Letters
“A toast!” shouted Ma Hoofield with glee as she raised her pitcher of hard cider from the end of the dining table. “To the unity of our families comin’ together!”
The roar of approval from that toast was apparent, as every pony seated around the dining hall cheered with high praise. Along both sides of the grand dining table, ponies of both sides of the Hoofield and McColt families were seated next to one another, which gave a majority of the space a pleasant blend of greyish-blue and brownish-red coats and manes. Of course, near the end of the table where Ma Hoofield was at, the yellow Pegasus Fluttershy was sitting quietly while carefully sipping her mug of apple juice.
While the buttercream colored mare usually didn’t like attending parties this rowdy (unless Pinkie Pie was involved), she was glad to see both sides of the formerly feuding families so happy with each other now. At seeing the various ponies laughing or singing alongside one another in drunken glee, it was hard to believe that these families were beating each other senseless just a few hours ago. And while she and Twilight Sparkle planned to just head back home after completing their friendship task, they felt it was courteous to stay after both Ma Hoofield and “Big Daddy” McColt insisted they stay for supper.
And what a supper it was! Due to the Hoofields’ farming and cooking skills, they managed to prepare a massive feast for both families that would’ve even made Princess Celestia impressed. In return for the Hoofields preparing most of the food, the McColt family offered their massive fortress to host the event, and even built a giant dining table to seat everyone comfortably. However, as she sat around all the hooting and hollering from her increasingly drunken party guests, Fluttershy’s attention turned to the group of animals at one corner of the fortress, who were happily enjoying their share of vegetables and grains offered during dinner.
As the Pegasus smiled warmly, she almost didn’t hear Ma Hoofield’s voice calling towards her. “Ya like the cobbler, Fluttershy?”
“Hmm? Oh!” Quickly realizing she was being spoken to, Fluttershy turned back to the elderly brown mare to answer with a smile. “Oh, yes I do, Mrs. Hoofield.”
“Oh, you don’t have ta be so prim an’ proper,” she said with a chuckle at Fluttershy’s comment. “Most ponies tend to call me Ma, but you can just say Miss if that ain’t comfortable for ya.”
“U-ummm… thank you.” Despite her smile, Fluttershy’s blush and crouched stature was enough to show her discomfort at not being sure what to say. When she turned her head to the empty spot on the bench beside her, the yellow mare realized that it’s been almost 15 minutes since Twilight Sparkle left the party to have a look around the McColt fortress. Even though the massive size and structure alone were impressive, the Alicorn just had to take a tour with Big Daddy McColt when he said it was built by the original stallion himself: his grandfather Piles McColt.
“So…” Not wanting to be awkwardly silent (despite how rowdy everypony else was getting), Fluttershy turned back to Ma Hoofield to ask, “Do you know where Twilight and Mister-- Ummm… ‘Big Daddy’ McColt might be?”
The older mare shrugged her shoulders while her mouth was full of her hoof-made peach cobbler. “Beath me.” She swallowed her dessert to continue with an unmuffled voice. “Ah can’t say that none of us Hoofields know too much about the inside of this place, so they could pretty much be anywhere right now.”
Fluttershy nodded with a bit lip, not wanting her conscience to start troubling her with various ‘What-Ifs’ as she looked back down to her plate. However, before she could get out of her seat and try to look for her friend, the mare’s ears perked up when she heard Twilight’s voice from behind:
“Everypony! Can I have your attention, please?”
All of the playful banter and noise died down as the two families turned their attention towards the Alicorn, who was standing at one of the doorways with Big Daddy McColt by her side. Carrying an especially large smile on her face, Twilight trotted over to the table excitedly; in her purple aura of magic, the Princess had an old, metal box. “You guys are not going to believe what I found in the cellar of this place!”
When she placed the black box at the end of the table where Ma Hoofield was seated, everypony else looked at it with mixed looks of curiosity and confusion. While Big Daddy McColt sat down next to Ma Hoofield at the table, Twilight took her seat as well before explaining. “While I was being given a tour of this fortress, I happened to find some loose floorboards when ‘Big Daddy’ McColt showed me the cellar. And when I looked underneath them, I found this box!”
She pointed a lavender hoof to the object and added, “And after looking through it, we found that the contents inside are none other than…”
The Princess motioned over towards Big Daddy McColt, wanting him to make the reveal himself. The tiny stallion nodded with approval, and picked up the box with both hooves to announce proudly, “These here are letters that were written by our founders, Grub Hoofield and Piles McColt!”
Many of the ponies’ eyes widened, and the sound of “Oooohs” and “Aahhhs” could be heard in amazement. Due to the less-than-savory history that surrounded the families, the fact that they finally had some documented history of their lineage was nothing short of extraordinary. While Fluttershy’s expression turned slightly worried, Twilight spoke up to add in a cheerful tone, “Judging by the dates that these letters were written, it seems that these were made back when the two were still close friends. So, Big Daddy McColt and myself figured that it would be a great idea to read some of them, as a way to bring your families even closer than before!”
Excited cheers and applause came from both sides of the dining table, with everypony in strong approval of Twilight Sparkle’s impromptu addition to the festivities. However, Fluttershy’s hoof tapped at her friend’s shoulder to ask, “Umm… Twilight?”
Twilight turned towards the Pegasus to ask with a smile, “Yeah, Fluttershy? What is it?”
Even though the last thing she wanted was to spoil any of the fun that the Hoofields and McColts were having, her worries were strong enough to bend in and ask Twilight in a more hushed tone. “Do… do you really think that’s a good idea? I mean, it is private property. And those letters could have been hidden for a reason.”
Twilight paused while her mouth was slightly open, considering Fluttershy’s point for a brief moment. After looking between the box and her friend, the Alicorn took a couple seconds before saying, “Well… they were most likely just stowed away because of their feud. Besides, neither of their families have much to remember them by other than photographs. Don’t you think it would be nice for them to know how the two were as friends?”
Despite her still obvious discomfort, Fluttershy made a meager shrug and admitted, “Well… I suppose so, but--”
“Alright, alright!” Big Daddy McColt put out a hoof as he called out to both families, giving them the chance to settle down before opening the box with a rusty creak. He pulled out one of the letters and handed it over to Twilight with a smile. “Now, uh… since we have a Princess as our honored guest, Ah think it would be an honor t’have her read one of them for us.”
Twilight gave a thankful smile back to him and lit her horn. “It would be my pleasure, Mister McColt.”
After taking the letter into her magical grasp, the Alicorn sat upright in her seat while the yellowed page hovered in front of her. “Ahem…this letter seems to have been written by Piles McColt…”
Big Daddy, as well as the rest of the McColt family members, all smiled even wider as they sat patiently in wait. Twilight then cleared her throat before speaking in a clear and happy tone.
“Dear Grub…
“At the time of writing this letter, it has only been a day since you left to gather supplies from Dodge Junction. However, I felt it would be nice to give you the chance to receive this letter by the time you get there. That way, you won’t feel so lonely in that town without me.”
A round of “Awwws” could be heard from many ponies on both sides of the families, and even Fluttershy looked touched by that opening statement.
“As for me,” continued Twilight as she read the letter, “I’m doing just fine in the small cabin that I built for the two of us. And while it isn’t the same without you here, I want you to know that I’m perfectly safe and sound, so you should have no reason to worry. Your animal friends are all being well fed, and they almost miss your presence as much as I do.”
More sentimental reactions could be heard from the listening family members, and the two heads of them sat side-by-side with warm smiles on their faces. While a happy blush stayed on Twilight Sparkle’s cheeks, she could feel her heart growing warmer by the heartfelt words she was reciting. “In fact, it’s been nearly impossible to not think about the week we spent before you left. With all the fun that we had, it was nearly heartbreaking to see you go. Of course, due to last night, that’s not the only thing that’s been hurting…”
Fluttershy’s head tilted a little, her expression turning slightly puzzled. But before she could ponder what Piles McColt may have been talking about, Twilight continued to read.
“Ever since this morning, I’ve come to realize that it’s been quite hard to get any work done. For you see, due to theeeeeeeeEEEEEE…”
The Princess’s purple eyes instantly shot open, while her pupils shrank to the size of pins. She used both hooves to hold the paper instead of her horn, and she pulled the page in closely to inspect what was written next. While everypony sat in wait, only Fluttershy was able to see that Twilight’s face turned a bit paler. With the way her jaw was slightly agape, the Alicorn’s twitching eye was enough to make Fluttershy grow concerned.
After almost ten seconds of silence, Big Daddy spoke up to catch the Princess’s attention. “So, what does it say?”
A startled yelp came from Twilight as she jolted in her seat, making the page ripple in her quivering hooves. Her eyes quickly darted between the letter she was holding, and the countless pairs of eyes staring at her in waiting anticipation. Her breathing began to grow rapid, and beads of sweat started to appear underneath her heavy bangs. Knowing that she had to do something soon, the Princess looked around in a millisecond of panic before lighting her horn. She put the page down and lifted up her fork with her magic, quickly shoving a large helping of cobbler into her muzzle before saying. “Mmmmmm!!! Who made this cobbler?”
The sudden change in behavior from the Princess made everyone become confused quite quickly. Fluttershy could only blink a few times repeatedly with her eyes half-lidded, her mouth partially open as she tried to figure out what the heck her friend was doing. Meanwhile, Twilight just kept a shaky smile as she chewed her cobbler with her eyes darting every which way. Ma Hoofield, who looked just as quizzical as Big Daddy McColt sitting beside her, was the first to speak up. “Ummm… I did. But what abou--”
“Mmmmm, it’s so good!” Twilight put the letter down to hold her plate, hoping that her enthusiasm about her dish would cover up how uncomfortable her smile was looking. “How about we talk about this instead? Like… please?”
The way that Twilight’s voice became more desperate at that last word made Fluttershy more alarmed. However, Big Daddy McColt replied in a more exuberant and oblivious tone, “Now, c’mon, Princess! Don’t leave us hanging with that letter!” He leaned in and grabbed the letter before Twilight could get a chance to stop him. “Ah wanna know what my Grandpappy was talkin’ abou--”
“NO!!!” Twilight dropped her dish to throw her hooves up in a panic, motioning him to stop while the plate fell to the table with a loud clang. By now, several of the Hoofield and McColt family members were looking concerned at why the Princess was acting this way. “I mean…” Realizing how she may have looked, Twilight took a breath before trying to make her smile look less forced. “I just, uhhh…” As beads of sweat started to appear as they rolled down her face, the Alicorn desperately tried to think of something she could do to keep the stallion from knowing about the rest of that letter. After a few blinks, her eyes darted back and forth before she said, “M… maybe we could, ummm…”
Twilight turned her gaze to Fluttershy, hoping that the Pegasus was able to see the look of pure desperation and unease in her eyes. Unfortunately, the yellow mare still seemed utterly baffled at her friend’s behavior. “Are… are you okay, Twilight?”
“Alright, fine!” Big Daddy McColt rolled his eyes before getting back in his seat with the letter. “If she ain’t gonna read the rest, then Ah’ll do it!”
Twilight made a mortified gasp as her head whipped back to the pony, but Ma Hoofield spoke up before the Princess could say anything. “Now wait here, Mister Read-A-Book!” said the elderly mare as she tried to reach for the letter herself. “That letter is about MY Grampy, so Ah think it’s better that Ah read it!”
“Oh yeah?” responded the stallion with that familiar tone of nastiness that brought Twilight and Fluttershy here in the first place. “Well, it was written by MY Grandpappy, so it fits that AH should read it!”
“NOOOO, nonononono!!” Twilight threw her hooves up to try and stop them, but it didn’t seem like it was because of an upcoming fight. “No, you don’t! Neither of you want to read that!”
“Oh, what? You think that yer so special for wantin’ t’read first?” said Ma Hoofield with a bitter snarl as one of her hooves clutched the letter.
Big Daddy McColt tightened his grip as he replied with an equally unpleasant, “More special than somepony who wants ta STEAL a turn when it ain’t even written by their own Grandpappy!!”
“It’s still about ‘im!!”
“But it ain’t WRITTEN by him!!!”
“SO WHAT?!”
“GUYS, PLEASE!!!” cried Twilight with her hooves gripping at her mane. “JUST PUT DOWN THAT LETTER, PLEASE!!!”
The two turned to Twilight with their brows skewed, wondering why she appeared so disheveled. Seeing that the two were temporarily silent (along with the rest of the dining table due to Twilight’s behavior), Fluttershy intervened and pointed a hoof towards the worried critters. “Guys, remember the animals!! Do you want to hurt them again?”
The two family heads cringed as they settled back in their seats, neither of them wanting to look over at whatever sad faces the critters had pointed at them. Ma Hoofield let go of the letter and looked away shamefully. “Ummm… she’s right,” she admitted in a more hushed tone. “Ah’m sorry.”
“Y-yeah,” muttered Big Daddy with a saddened nod of his head. “M… me too.”
Twilight bit her lip as she silently tried to lean in, hoping to snatch the letter from Big Daddy McColt’s hooves. Unfortunately, he turned towards Ma with the letter before she could her the chance, and he extended his free hoof out to the elderly mare. “We good?”
Ma turned back to him with a warmer smile and shook it without hesitation. “Of course we are!” She then pointed to the letter and said, “And Ah’ll let la read it, Mister McColt. It is from your Grampy, after all.”
Big Daddy McColt smirked and tipped his ten gallon hat towards her. “Well, thank ya kindly.”
Twilight made a panicked groan and shouted in frustration. “Can somepony PLEASE try to change the subject to something else?!?”
Once again, the silence that followed was accompanied with all eyes pointed at the Princess uncomfortably. Fluttershy was finally able to ask in a confused tone, “Twilight, what is with you?!”
Twilight looked back at the Pegasus for a moment, and then made a quick glance around the table before lighting her horn. A thick, purple glow of light appeared before she and Fluttershy were placed underneath a small force-field that was just big enough for the two of them. As soon as the seal was made underneath the dome of light, the now muted Alicorn could be seen spouting something in a panic to her. And despite the fact that nopony outside the bubble could hear anything, Fluttershy could clearly be seen gasping and mouthing the word “What?!”
Meanwhile, Big Daddy McColt took advantage of the silent moment to read the letter from where Twilight stopped. He cleared his throat to regain the attention of the table. “Alright then, uhhh… Ah! Here we are!
Everypony else turned back towards the head of the table, not seeing Twilight notice what was happening and scream inside of the sound bubble.
“I’ve come to realize that it’s been quite hard to get any work done,” began the stallion in a cheerful tone of voice while reciting the letter. “For you see, due to the orgasm that you gave me, it seems tha--WHAT?!?”
Realizing what he just read out loud, Big Daddy froze at the spot as his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Of course, almost everypony else at the table had similar reactions when they caught what the tiny stallion just said. Among the twitching eyes and gaping mouths (a few of which dropped whatever food was being chewed at that time), Twilight sunk her head into her hooves after putting down her sound bubble and muttered, “Oh no…”
While Ma Hoofield stared at Big Daddy like he just turned into a Changeling, the stallion blinked several times in horrified silence before struggling to continue reading. “S-seems… that… Ah have been unable ta walk right… or… even sit in ma favorite chair.”
“Oh, gimme that!!” Shouted Ma angrily as she snatched the letter from his shaking hooves. “Ah don’t know what kinda sick sense of humor you McColts have, but that ain’t funny!”
“YA THINK AH MADE THAT UP?!?” screamed Big Daddy as he turned to her with a wide-eyed glare. He pointed to the letter and added, “That was what it said!! Ah wouldn’t come up with a line like that!”
“Oh sure,” said the mare with a roll of her eyes before clearing her throat. While Big Daddy’s face turned red with an enraged scowl, Ma Hoofield looked out to the rest of the table to say, "Sorry about that, but here’s what the letter REALLY says!”
Twilight cowered in her seat and covered her face, not wanting to witness what happened next. Ma looked down at the letter and began reading where Big Daddy had started. “For you see, due to the orgasm that you--What?” Her head reeled back as her eyes widened again, realizing that the word she emphasized was the exact same as what Big Daddy just said.
“Ya see?!” said the stallion with his hooves at his sides. “Ah told ya that Ah didn’t make that up!” Of course, any snark that could’ve been heard in his tone was lost on the mare, who was looking at the rest of the letter silently with an increasingly dropping jaw.
After her eyes scanned the remainder of the letter, Ma Hoofield could only blink before shouting out with disgust, “What the BUCK?!?”
One of the mares from the McColt side of the family asked in a feeble tone. “W-wait… Were our Grandpappies really--”
“NO!!!” Shouted both family heads at the same time, even though it was clear that both sides of the dining table were more than skeptical about that answer. Big Daddy McColt snatched the paper back from Ma Hoofield and added, “It… It’s ummm…” He peered at the contents of the letter with a soured expression while his words temporarily turned mute. “It’s, uhhh… maybe a joke?”
Not a single word was said among the rest of the table, with nopony willing to say anything in agreement to that statement. Even Fluttershy, who seemed apprehensive about saying anything about the matter, couldn’t help looking down to the table as she spoke to herself, “That would be a pretty odd joke.”
“Y-yeah! A joke!” Ma Hoofield nodded furiously in agreement with Big Daddy’s claim, clearly desperate to grasp at any excuse aside from the obvious. She then pulled in the metal box to find any shred of proof as she added, “Th-they probably just… Had a weird inside joke or somethin’...”
One of the Hoofield stallions on the left side of the table regrettably asked, “Did… did that word mean somethin’ different back then?”
Ma Hoofield paused as her expression turned more uncomfortable. She looked away with a more sickened face before slowly shaking her head. “It… It doesn’t look like it, but…”
Twilight cringed while staring at the mare, not wanting to see the two family heads sink into denial so easily (despite completely understanding why they would do so). But instead of trying to stop her, or letting herself or Fluttershy change the subject to something else, the Princess shrugged and said, “Well… inside jokes are common among friends…”
Fluttershy could only give a bewildered stare towards her friend, which wasn’t noticed by Big Daddy who shouted “Y-yeah!! That’s right!” At seeing that the Hoofield head pulled out another letter, he pointed a hoof towards her to try to grab their attention. “Here’s another letter, which’ll probably explain everything!”
Despite nodding and clearing her throat, Ma Hoofield looked fairly nervous when she began to read the second letter. “Uhhh… To my Dearest Piles…”
Many of the ponies winced from that introduction alone, and it didn’t improve when she made the unfortunate decision to continue reading.
“After our… passionate night together…” She shuddered a little during a small pause. “I couldn’t be happier to receive your letter today. It hasn’t even been a week, but I’m already yearning for the taste of your creamy--OH, EWWW!!”
She shoved the letter away in an instant with her eyes clenched shut. “Ah did NOT need ta know that!”
Big Daddy McColt tried to see what was written on the letter when he picked it up, but he pushed it away after less than five seconds, clearly looking like he was about to gag. He looked visibly sick when he sunk his head into his hooves. “Ugh… that ain’t something Ah ever wanted ta know…”
Another one of the McColt stallions, who was seated closest to Ma Hoofield at the table, leaned in to peer at the box in morbid curiosity. “Are… all the letters like that?”
“Urgh… Probably,” muttered Ma under her breath as she had her head hunched down. Meanwhile, the stallion carried a hesitant tone on his bit lip as he rifled through the letters with a hoof. Twilight considered saying something to stop him from doing so, but she was honestly too overwhelmed with shock and second-hoof embarrassment to try to open her muzzle. Fluttershy was equally as silent, and just looked down to her plate to avoid hearing any of the family members’ silent murmurs to each other.
“GAH!!” As soon as he reached the bottom of the papers, the stallion pushed the box away and fell back into his seat. With the way his hooves were out in front of him, his disgusted expression made it look like he just touched a dead animal. Of course, the reason for his reaction was clear when he clenched his eyes shut and said, “They had pictures too!”
Heavy groans came from every single family member, and Twilight and Fluttershy just sat quietly with deep blushes on their faces.
“Oh, gimme that!” Big Daddy McColt didn’t want to see any more, and he grabbed the letter Ma had before placing it in the box and closing it shut. He then pushed the box towards Twilight and said, “Ummm… Ah think we should just put that back fer now.”
Twilight silently nodded and lit her horn, floating the box out of sight from the table. “I… think that might be best, Mister McColt.”
A heavy bout of silence swept across the table for over a full minute, with none of the ponies even wanting to look at one another and risk seeing how uncomfortable they were. But before any attention could be brought back to the food, a weak voice could be heard from the very end of the table. “Ummm…”
The attention was brought to a slim mare of the Hoofield side at the very back, who had a pale orange coat and a poofy brown mane to match. While her bit lip and blush were enough to show she didn’t want to say anything else, she only took a deep breath before asking “S-so… Was all of this fightin’... all of our feuds and disputes… Was this all because our Grandpappies had a gay lovers spat?”
Nopony was able to say anything in response to that question. A few of them looked towards Fluttershy, but she quickly put her hooves up in innocence before saying, “D-don’t look at me! The bunnies never mentioned that part!”
Meanwhile, Twilight decided to open the box and rifle through some of the letters from more recent dates. After being extremely careful to avoid the earlier mentioned photographs, the Alicorn lifted up the letter that was at the very bottom of the box, which looked to be written just weeks before Grub Hoofield’s first foal was born. Big Daddy McColt and Ma Hoofield both noticed what the Princess was doing, and could only watch in nervousness as she read the letter silently to herself.
Grub,
You really think that getting yourself some tramp you found off the street will undo all the things we did together?! Yeah, I heard about what you did, and you’re not gonna win this! You know why? Because I just got MARRIED!!!
Yeah, I bet you weren’t expecting that, were you?! We got hitched before the pee stick was even DRY!! So while you’re stuck with some mare you barely even know, just remember all the time you spent with me. I’m clearly over it, and it’s pathetic to see you stoop so low. If that’s how you’re gonna go, then two can play at that game! Have fun with your little “marefriend”, you CLOSET QUEEN!!!
-Piles
Twilight quickly shoved the letter back into the box and covered her stunned face with a hoof. She couldn’t even look at the two family heads, but she could hear Ma Hoofield ask in a worried tone. “Ummm… what did it say?”
“You don’t want to know,” said Twilight in a low, feeble tone of voice. “Believe me, you do NOT want to know.”
Understanding the just of what caused their families to form in the first place (aside from the original disagreements), both of them looked away with saddened looks on their faces. With a quivering pout, Big Daddy McColt looked like he was almost about to cry when he said to himself quietly, “Ah… Ah thought that he loved Granny McColt…”
Despite how silently he said that, it was heard by enough of the ponies to make all of them turned depressed in an instant. While Twilight wanted to say something in defense, she knew that she couldn’t without lying. It was clear why the two formed their families, which just made the Hoofield and McColt lineages much more tragic than she or Fluttershy originally thought. And when she looked around the table, seeing how absolutely devastated the mood of the celebration became, Twilight pursed her lips as she sat in contemplation.
Fluttershy saw how her friend looked, and put a hoof on her shoulder before asking, “Ummm… Twilight? Are you okay?”
The Princess looked back at her for a brief moment, and could only say one thing to her with a pleading expression. “Please don’t get mad at me for this…”
She then wrapped a wing around Fluttershy’s back and closed her eyes, allowing both of them to be protected before her horn illuminated. And in an instant, a large wave of light spread across the entire room…
The balloon that Twilight and Fluttershy rented for their quest was now back in the skies once more, with Twilight leaned against the edge of the basket with an upset look on her face. Fluttershy, who tried to carry a more optimistic look on her face, slowly trotted over towards the Alicorn and stood at the side beside her. Before the Pegasus could try to say anything, Twilight spoke while looking away from her.
“Did I go too far?”
Fluttershy stayed silent for a brief moment, not sure what she could say. While she couldn’t say that how Twilight decided to rectify the situation was the most sound, she also recalled what her friend has done in the past. Remembering how Twilight has acted in other instances where she definitely “Went too far”, the yellow mare shrugged and looked out at the same direction Twilight was looking. “Well… at least you were thinking with a clear head. That’s better than when you had that Smarty Pants incident.”
Twilight sucked some air through her teeth and slumped her head down. “Well, thanks for that reminder.”
“I’m sorry!” blurted Fluttershy in instant regret at the realization of what she just said. She then placed a hoof on her shoulder and added, “I just mean...we still solved their friendship problem, right? Shouldn’t that matter?”
Twilight turned back to her and asked, “But you don’t think that was pushing it a little?! Fluttershy, I actually used a spell that Celestia warned me about using!”
“But she didn’t forbid it, did she?” After Twilight took a moment before sighing, looking away from Fluttershy instead of answering, the Pegasus continued as she tried to keep her friend in less than shallow spirits. “I’m sorry that I didn’t say anything about it, but I really do think you did the right thing in that circumstance.”
“Oh, really?” Twilight propped her chin against the railing of the basket. “How so? I actually erased their memories!”
“For only ten minutes!” replied Fluttershy in clarification. “They still know the reason their feud started from the animals, and they still want to work things out for them! All you did was…” She winced and looked away momentarily, not wanting to use the wrong words while her friend was in this state. “You just… made sure they didn’t learn too much.”
Twilight had a heavy pout as her eyes peered down at the ground far below them. Afraid of what else to say, she made another heavy sigh before asking towards her friend, “So… do you really think I did the right thing?”
Fluttershy gave a more confident nod. “Absolutely. I mean, it wasn’t something I would’ve thought of, but...you still made sure their families wouldn’t be overwhelmed by that kind of past. It’s probably best they don’t know about their founders. For the animals’ sake, at least.”
Twilight didn’t say anything, but she still made a meager nod before pulling away from the side of the basket. She silently went to their bags of supplies and sat beside them, unable to try and do much else. Of course, her ears perked when she heard Fluttershy ask, “Although, I wanted to ask…”
When Twilight looked up at her, Fluttershy pointed a hoof towards the metal box that they hid right after the Princess used her memory-wipe spell. “Why did you decide to take that with us?”
Twilight looked over at the box, and shrugged before answering in an easier tone, “Well, for a few reasons. For one, I certainly couldn’t leave it there and risk either of the families finding it again…”
Fluttershy thought it over before nodding in understanding.
“And also, “ continued Twilight as she sat more upright on the floor. “Despite the content of those letters, they really are some of the only documentation that we have about the Smoky Mountains and their founders. While it might not be the most valuable, at least it has more validity than the statements of animals. And after losing so much of my notes and research from my fight with Tirek, I didn’t want any new information I find to go to waste.”
After thinking it over briefly, Fluttershy shrugged with slight acceptance before moving in to sit beside her friend. “Well… I suppose that makes sense.”
“Thank you.” Twilight then turned to Fluttershy and added, “I’m not saying that the animals weren’t helpful, because they really were. I’m just sayi--”
“N-no, it’s alright, Twilight,” responded the Pegasus with a warm smile towards her. “I understand.”
Seeing the sincerity in her smile, Twilight couldn’t help smiling back at her. As their balloon floated in the skies back towards Ponyville, Twilight settled against her bag of books to unwind a little. Fluttershy did the same, not minding how uncomfortable a stack of books may of been after getting them off of her back. However, after a brief moment, Twilight looked up at their balloon as she began to blush a little, and asked without turning towards her friend, “So… Fluttershy?”
“Yeah?” asked the mare while looking up at the balloon as well.
“... Do… do you want copies of those photos?”
“... M-maybe.”