> Dear Feather Fall
>  by Keywii_Cookies55
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 Journey Start
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Dear Feather Fall,

I can’t thank you enough for convincing me to move away from home. It hasn’t been a week and I’ve already seen so much of the world! I saw a waterfall, a cute dog, and two old ponies playing chess in the park!

It’s been great so far.

So how have you been? We used to talk daily, but I haven’t heard from you since I left. Little sad about that, but hey, that’s fine. I want to become pen pals, so that way we can write back and forth AND grow separately as ponies.

There’s nothing I want more than to talk to you mano e mano, but that’s okay, because I haven’t even told you the best part.

I’m in the city! I almost couldn’t believe it either. Little ol’ me in the big ol’ city, it’s like a dream come true! There’s so much to look at and listen to. At lunch there was a fight! Well... I mean, there was a rude customer yelling at the worker for the cafe, but if she was allowed to say something back, I’m sure there would have been a fight.

I’m really happy here, and hope you’ll really happy back there. I hope this letter gets to you and I hope things continue to be amazing. Maybe I’ll even get to meet a hobo! That’ll be so exciting!

But you don’t want to hear me talk about what I hope happens; you want to know what DID happen. And I can do that for you.

I left Friday in the morning, as you know, and took the train, there was a great meal cart on that train, lots of treats and they even had sparkling water, which is all fancy and tickles your throat when you drink it. And there was a crying foal in the next seat over, but that’s okay, it wasn’t too loud, so the other passengers didn’t look like they minded all that much.

The train ride wasn’t long, and we ended up in a small junction. There wasn’t much there, but it had a great view of mountains! Mountains are really tall. Like taller than you can throw even when you use your magic.

Then we got back on the train and went up the mountains, the air was thin I hear, but I when I stuck my head out the window it didn’t feel thinner, it just felt colder because of the wind. Trains move fast after all.

Then we arrived in a small town up in the mountains, I remember passing out, which could be from the thin air, or maybe it was just because I was really tired, the second train ride was a lot longer than the first and the sun was going down!

But that’s okay, I was woken up by one of the conductors of the train, she’s really nice and told me that there’s a motel I could spend the night in. She even offered to pay for it, but I declined. 

In the loving memory of my mother, I will pay for things with my own money.

She was always stubborn like that, but I didn’t mind, I have money to spend on motels for a while, and the room I was in smelled like old bagels! I didn’t know rooms could smell like that by themselves, so I got to enjoy that all night. Or I would have if I didn’t go to sleep then.

Not much happened the next day (which was yesterday, if you’re paying attention) I got on another train and we made five stops. I got to sit beside an old mare and got to listen to her complain about her husband for over an hour! I smiled though; it was nice of her to talk to me for so long. And her husband sounds like a lost cause, but still probably a nice pony, I don’t know. I didn’t meet him.

Then I pulled into the station last night here in the city, I found another motel which didn’t smell like old bagels, but that’s okay, it was nice and clean, and the ponies in the room beside mine didn’t yell too loudly at each other.

Oh, they made up in the end, so things are good with them I hope. You can never have too much forgiveness.

There weren’t many books in that second room, but that’s okay, the one I got to read was so good. It was the Night the Sky Fell, and one of the pages was missing, but that means I got to guess what happened in the end. In my version Captain Skylark found his best friend and lover cheating on him, which will leave room for a sequel because it was with his older self and now he has to go into the future and stop what’ll happen.

It doesn’t fit the story, but I like it better this way. It makes me want to tell the author about my idea. I won't, but that'd be amazing.

I woke up late because of the busy day on the train and I got lunch at the cafe I told you about. Then as I ate my Danish and drank orange juice I decided to write this letter for you!

I hope you like it, and that things are going well for you. Have you found a new job? I hope to get one when I arrive tomorrow. I have all my stuff with me, but my money won’t last forever, I need to find a new job where I’m moving.

By the time you get this I’ll be settled in, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to write to me, please do. And I’ll write you back with all the interesting things that happened in the meantime. I need to go pay for my lunch or they’ll think I was stealing from them, I hope to hear from you soon!

-Your Friend Forever!
> 2 Job Hunt
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Dear Feather Fall,

Thank you so much for writing back to me! I loved your letter and It’s on my nightstand now! You won’t believe the week I’ve had, it’s been thrilling.

First I had to get an apartment and wow did that go over poorly! My landlord must not like me because otherwise who knows why she would have given me such strange looks! I also met this mare that looks a lot like me, I introduced myself immediately but she just said “dammit” and ran off. She swears a lot.

And at weird times too. Like I was standing out front of the building waving to ponies passing by when somebody dropped something, and when I bent my head down to look at what it was, I felt a gust of wind whoosh above me. When I looked to see what it was all I saw was an explosion and then I turned around to see my neighbour look all upset. She swore up a storm and threw a pretty complicated remote onto the ground.

She sounds smart when she talks, you’d probably like her, you’ll have to get past her scowl and insults though.

But my week was spent job hunting. I know I can find something perfect here, but it’ll take some work to get the right one.

I went out for a walk on Monday and found a shopping mall! It has so many stores in it, there had to be something I could do for money in there. I got pretty distracted by a pet shop. There was so many cute animals, and some not so cute ones! There was a parrot beside a rat. I’d think birds would eat rats, but they were in the same display and everything. Animals are so interesting.

I lost track of time, but when I left a strong looking military kind of pony called out to me. He wanted to know if I wanted to save Equestria. I said that sounds like a great time and signed his application. It was for some secret organization and they want some new spies. Kind of like in action books!

I started the next day, but I’m pretty sure I did badly because I got fired after I told some people some top secret information. It’s okay though, it just means I can try something else! Like when I saw that the newspaper is hiring. You always told me I’m good at writing, so I wanted to see if I could write the news! I bet the ponies who do have wild imaginations for all the stories that happen.

But they need four years of college in order to work at the newspaper, even when I asked them about being a secretary, they just kept telling me I didn’t have the right qualifications.

I think that pony just didn’t like me. But that’s okay, I tried other things. I applied to a pizza place, to a fashion shop, and even an antique shop. But none of them were hiring.

I asked my neighbour what she does, but she just yelled again when there was another crash behind me. I don’t really get her. She follows me around a lot, but doesn’t want to talk.

That’s when I got your letter. I loved it so much that I read it multiple times; you really know how to bring a smile to your friends faces, especially after a hard week of job searching. But it got me thinking about mail. About who sends it, and that’s when it occurred to me that I could be a mailmare!

I could be the one that brings ponies smiles when they receive letters from friends or family or anything!

I immediately wrote up a new resume and ran to the post office. They said they were hiring, but not for mail delivery ponies, they need a janitor. I can janit so I applied for that!

Can you believe I now work in sanitation? Because I can’t, I didn’t even know post offices need janitors, that seems like something the front desk person could just do every so often. But colour me surprised, and employed!

It was weird at first, because when I went back the next day I was told I was in the wrong place. Apparently the janitor job isn’t for the post office, it’s for the city. And I get to go around the entire city making the place cleaner. I never really thought about it, but it is kind of dirty in places. A lot of places. And ponies like to litter a lot.

I think it’s rude, but also it means I get to make money again! I went to the Central Sanitation of Hoovington office and got an outfit, and a tracker! It’s in the spray nozel saddlebag they gave me. I also got this cool poker stick to better pick up the garbage.

I still don’t really understand how they pay me, I think it’s based on how much garbage I collect. But I get to wander around a lot. And I get to squeegee windows, and spray statues, and lots of fun stuff. I’ll talk more about that in future letters, for now I’ve only worked for one day!

I did find a cute little coffee shop though. It’s called A Warm Roast, and it has the nicest stallion working there. He and two friends of his run the place together. I like them and I’ll be sure to drink my morning coffee there every day.

I may not have drank coffee back home, but I live in the city now, I can drink all the coffee I want!

It turned out they were hiring too, but I missed my opportunity by a couple days. Oh well, I like the idea of cleaning up the city. I’ll be like a super hero! Only this time I won’t have any secrets to tell everyone.

And now I can clean up the messes my neighbour keeps making everywhere. She probably won’t thank me, but I know she’ll at least appreciate the effort.

I can’t wait to hear from you again!

-Your Friend Forever
> 3 Making Friends
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Dear Feather Fall,

I’m so happy right now! I got my neighbour to open up to me!  The one that looks like me anyway, still trying to figure out the stallion that lives above me, I don’t think I’ve seen him yet, but I know he’s there since he doesn’t step very lightly! I wish he’d come out so I could meet him, but I’m getting distracted.

Her name is Sun Ray and we actually had a moment where she talked to me! It was four days ago and there was another crashing noise nearby while I was out cleaning. Sure enough she was there but instead of scowling again she looked disappointed. And you know I can’t have that, so I went up to her and asked what was wrong.

She didn’t want to talk at first, being all rude and angry, but she eventually opened up and told me about her hopes and dreams, about wanting to make a name for herself and inventing something that people will love. Oh she’s an inventor by the way! Like in books about scientists, I can’t believe I didn’t realize it sooner, but it makes so much sense now!

She’s still not very friendly, but now the crashing and explosions have stopped, I think she stopped trying to hit me with whatever they were. And that’s okay! Now I can work on being friends with her. She’ll still be kind of grouchy and irritable, but the best part about getting to know people is when they warm up and smile.

I’ll remember the first smile she’ll give me forever!

And since she’s a scientist she can help me figure out all the neat junk I’ve been finding while I’ve been out working. (I was right by the way, I get paid by the amount of garbage I collect, which is a lot because I like going out and exploring)

This city is so amazing to explore. There’s more trees than I thought there’d be, and on almost every block there’s something going on. The buildings are tall and all close together, so I bet it’d be really fun to run along the rooftops. I don’t really know how to get up there, but when I figure it out, I’ll tell you all about it. Maybe I can ask the nice older mare that I’ve been talking to in the park!

She likes to feed the birds early in the morning and she’s almost as good of a listener as you are! I love talking to her about all the times you and I have been together and done things! I even talked about your sister and Magnolia and the Timber twins and everyone from home that I’ve been missing so much.

And the junk! I’ve found so much cool stuff while cleaning. I found a bobble-head of that famous race car driver. And an old wicker chair, and a street sign, and this neat mirror!

It’s a magic mirror of some kind, so I want to use it as reason to talk to Sun again. She doesn’t like being interrupted while she’s building new things, so I need a reason to talk with her. That’ll change over time, but for now I need to do things right.

That can be tomorrow though, for now I want to talk to you about something besides work, even if it is the best job ever! 

I’ve been spending a lot of time at the Warm Roast. It’s so nice and calm. It’s like I’m back home for a couple hours a day. I don’t think they’re used to somebody as positive as I am, because a lot of their appeal for customers is when they’re rude to them.

I don’t know how they stay in business with how they treat the people that buy coffee there, but they do and it’s really interesting. The owner of the store is a really nice stallion when he wants to be, but other times he’s very serious and money savvy, and then other times he’s pouring coffee onto a customer that’s yelling and being unreasonable. His name is Fair Trade.

Then there’s the mare who’s worked there for years, she’s probably more angry than any other pony I’ve ever met. Not all the time, but when ponies walk in and act elitist or like they own the place, and sometimes when these big city stallions ask her out on a date. She’s a nice pony when she wants to be, but she’s really snarky, and likes to make fun of even her friends. I haven’t gotten to that point yet, since I just met her, and she thinks I’m adorable, but I hope I can figure out how to make fun of a friend without hurting them. Her name is Hard Edge.

And then there’s the newest employee, she’s the one that was hired last week. They’ve been making more money so Fair Trade wanted to expand the shop a bit. I’d love to work there, but I also adore my current job and I wouldn’t give this up for the world, so maybe it’s okay that I didn’t find A Warm Roast until after they found somebody else.

She’s still figuring out how to work there, but it’s okay, she’s learning fast, and she knows way more about different coffee beans and even just general stuff than me. She’s like if you took me when I was younger, but instead of giving me a novel, you gave me a schoolbook. She’s really smart, and Hard Edge likes to call her a nerd. But it’s okay because they both smile and bicker back and forth. Her name is Proxy.

I’m still getting to know them, but they like when I’m around, so I like being there. And I had no idea coffee tasted so bad! I thought it’d just be like an energy drink but less chemical flavoured, but nope! Even after I added lots of milk and sugar. So I just drink iced tea when I’m there. Hard Edge had one ready for me this morning, so I hope that means she’ll do that every day!

I also had another moment that I don’t want to worry you about, but you’re my best friend and you should know. I was eating breakfast, getting ready to leave when the walls fell away and I was left with a bunch of colours. It didn’t last too long though! I’m okay and everything is okay!

I don’t want you to worry about me, because you’re the one that pushed me so hard to go out and share my smile with the world. And I want to do that. I love it here and I’m not just saying that, I genuinely do. I couldn’t be happier unless somehow everyone from back home was here with me.

I’ll write again as soon as I get your next letter. Thank you for writing them back!

-Your Friend Forever!
> 4 Inventors and Spies
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Dear Feather Fall,

I think Sun Ray and Hard Edge might know each other! Maybe, I don’t know, they like to do a lot of the same things, like build things, test science and they even have the same sort of laugh. I sort of thought they reminded me of typical villains from hero stories, but I didn’t like thinking of them that way. They’re my friends now, so I need to be a friend back to them.

Sun has let me into her workshop to look around a couple days ago, so I know that we’ll be good friends in no time. It’s really crazy in there, lots of different things to see in there! I saw a huge pile of old broken machines, and a cool looking metal pony that’s half built and one of those science glasses, but it’s super tall! Most of the stuff I didn’t understand, it was all really interesting.

She had a spare stool, so I watched her working on this metal skeleton thing for a while. I even stayed quiet and watched her work. She didn’t smile, but she looked peaceful, so I was happy. Before she made me leave because the thing she was working on exploded, I saw a poster for an upcoming inventor’s expo. The word inventor was in quotations, which I don’t fully understand, but it’s coming up in a few weeks and I want to go. I offered to help her clean, but she just told me she was fine and pushed me out.

The best part about the poster I saw though is that I saw Edge also holding one too! That just proves that if they don’t know each other, they should! They’d be great friends! Maybe, anyway. Edge is prickly and yells a lot, but she’s nice if you get to know her, and so is Sun, they’d fit perfectly together!

Edge acted really weird the other day though. I was in the Warm Roast and it was just her while the others were at lunch, so she made me another iced tea and flew it over to me. I thanked her and told her that I like being her friend because it means she’s nice to me, even though I know she could treat me like she does most of the customers. But then she wanted to take the iced tea away!

I don’t know what changed, but she didn’t want me to drink it anymore and instead offered to make a new one that was better. I didn’t argue, because I’d never seen her act like that before, so I smiled and took the second one. But she confused me, if something was wrong with the first one, why did she make it for me?

I think maybe she forgot to add the lime flavour I like so much, but I really don’t know. After that she invited me to the inventor’s expo, and said that I should get to see her other job! I was so excited I jumped up and hugged her, I’d love to go to something so interesting!

It’ll be the perfect opportunity to introduce her to Sun. And then we can be all three pony tribes as a group of three friends! It’ll be diversity!

Posters for this Expo keep showing up too. I saw one while I was out working. It was down on the ground in an alleyway, and it was kind of shaking like the wind was blowing it, but I didn’t feel any wind.  I rolled it up and put it in my bag to bring home, like I do with all the interesting stuff I find. I was never told I wasn’t allowed to! And all it does is mean I get a little less money because it didn’t get disposed of in my workbags.

The walls of my apartment have been slowly filling up with all the things I’ve been collecting. Earlier this week I bought some shelves to for my main room. They’re getting filled up, so I may need to buy more soon. But I can’t bring myself to throw any of it away! Even is Sun said I’m being foalish for holding onto so much junk. I like all of it! Where else are you gonna find a colourful rainbow cube beside one of the office click-clackers? Only on my shelves!

Another interesting thing that happened while I was out cleaning was I ran into these weird robe wearing ponies, it was in a dark part of the city in the evening, and there was some neat looking drawings on the walls and ground. They were saying something all together, but it didn’t sound Equestrian. I still sort of wonder what was going on.

I’m disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to explore what was going on before I was pulled aside by somepony. 

It ended up being the same military looking recruiter pony for the super hero job from a couple weeks ago. He warned me that I shouldn’t mess with cults, and that I’m lucky he saved me from them. But he doesn’t know that I’m actually able to handle myself! I even stopped a mugger from robbing me because I was nice to him, so I think I know what I’m doing.

But after he pulled me aside he had a bunch of questions for me. Who I am, what I do all day, he asked me where I live and then accused me of lying about who I am. He was being a little rude. It’s okay, I’m sure he was just having a bad day, so I’m not upset, but he could have handled it better.

I think the confusion came from the fact that I look like Sun Ray. I’m not sure why he wants to know about Sun so much, but we live in the same building and I look like her, so who knows? He doesn’t seem like a police officer, or a royal guard of any kind, and I know he works for the spy organization. Maybe spies and inventors don’t like each other?

After I was able to convince him I wasn’t my neighbour, he apologized and said that they won’t follow me anymore. I don’t know what he meant by they, I thought he was the only one following me around. But then I paid more attention and actually noticed that there was another pony lurking around. I tried to find him a few times, but anytime I saw him (or maybe her, I don’t know) and ran to go meet him he was gone.

I don’t see a flash of magic, so he doesn’t teleport, but now I notice him a lot, just following me around. I wonder who he is, and what he wants with me. Well, whatever it ends up being, I hope it isn’t bad, I want things to be good here. My life is fun and interesting, I’d hate to see it fall apart because I did something wrong.
The only other thing to tell you about is that I found a really great grocery store nearby where I live! It’s great, and has all the food. ALL OF IT! You haven’t seen so much food! I saw an entire aisle devoted to cereals! It’s a crazy big food store. I’m glad I’ll be eating well in the city, I was afraid I’d have to give up fresh food.

The fruits and veggies aren’t as fresh as I’m used to, but they aren’t bad. It just means I’ll never replace home in my heart. And also that I’ll have to come visit sometime and get a bundle of oranges to bring back to my friends.

But I’m not really settled in yet, so I want to wait a little longer, can you wait for me?

-Your Friend Forever
> 5 Unfamiliar Faces
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Dear Feather Fall,

Thanks so much for sending me a bunch of oranges! I loved your latest letter and it’s in my safety box along with the others, but I can’t believe you mailed me fresh fruit too! That was so nice of you and I love them all, they’re so sweet and juicy! Sun and Edge and Proxy and Trade and everyone loved them.

Well, not everyone, that recruiter guy was too busy asking questions about Sun Ray to appreciate a fresh orange from the countryside that grows them. For somepony that says he wants to save Equestria, he isn’t the nicest person I’ve ever met. If I were somebody like Hard Edge, I’d go up to him and tell him how rude he’s been!

But I can’t do that, he may not be nice, but that’s because he’s focused, he wants to do his job well and I can’t fault him for that, even if he doesn’t want to be friends with me. I don’t know if he wanted to be at first, but all the pretence is gone and he does nothing but talk about Sun Ray and other ‘threats’.

Sun isn’t a threat! She’s so nice and she’s my best friend (after you) and she wouldn’t hurt anyone on purpose! She’s just prickly is all.

Everything is okay though, especially after such a crazy week!

I got called earlier this week from work to clean up a specific mess. That’d never happened before, so I rushed right over to see what was dirty. It turns out a lot was dirty! Another inventor (there sure is a lot of them in my neighbourhood, I wonder why) was making some sort of drill car but it exploded and left a lot of metal scrap and dirt and grime everywhere! I hope no one was hurt. There wasn’t any blood or medics around when I got there, so I don’t think anyone got hurt, but I hope they didn’t anyway.

It took a while to clean up the debris, and I wasn’t the only janitor there, but eventually we cleared the entire street. And I got to meet some of my co-workers! They’re all pretty negative, I hope it doesn’t rub off on me. One pony with a big bushy moustache said I was too naive. I wanted to tell him that I’m not, but I didn’t want to prove him right by disagreeing, so I stayed quiet.

Maybe I should have said something? It’s too late now, so I’ll have to remember for next time.

I brought the mirror to Sun Ray last week and she took a look at it for me. She said it was used to steal souls! I didn’t think something like that could be real, but she cast a counter spell on it and now it’s just a normal mirror. Which is good! I like having a mirror, it lets me see myself and ground me a enough to keep from floating away.

Oh! Another thing that I brought to Sun Ray was that poster I found. It was moving around a little bit which I thought was weird, and I wanted her to take a look at it, which was a good idea, because I found out so many things from doing that. The first is that some of the other things I’ve been finding around recently have also been kind of movey.

I didn’t know this at first, but apparently they’re these shape-shifting aliens! What? How could something so crazy be real! What?! I didn’t even know there was aliens for real. But they are and they need a new queen and it’s a lot to take in!

It’s a good thing I have a mirror now and I’m able to write, because things have been getting a little hard to keep track off. I almost had another moment though, which wouldn’t have been good. I gave Dr. Acute and she reassured me, so don’t worry! I’m okay and things are okay!

The aliens are nice at least, they’re really friendly and a little bit afraid, that’s why they disguised themselves as things I’d want to pick up, Apparently they’re trapped here after they crashed and they’ve seen a lot of ponies being rude and abrasive and so they hid from everyone, but then they saw me and thought I’d keep them safe. It’s really helped ground me to know that they’re friendly and just want to be protected.

I’m not sure who to tell, especially since all my new friends are a little hard to get to know. But I’ll protect them as long as I can, and other than you, Sun, and Dr. Acute, no one knows! They like to be on my memento shelf too, so that’s a bonus! It did make sleeping kind of hard the night I found out though. Sun likes them and a couple of them are staying in her workshop because they find it interesting.

At least it isn’t too weird.

But speaking of Sun, I learned that she and Edge already did know each other. I’m not sure if they like each other or not. I brought Hard Edge home to introduce them and they started talking as if they already knew each other. Which was great! But they insult each other and talk about different machines and inventions like they’re fighting. Then they laughed and talked about me! Really it was a roller coaster of feelings.

Edge said I was going to the Expo with her, and I said that was true, and Sun acted a little weird, saying she wanted me to go with her. I want to go with both of them, the more the merrier after all, so I let them know and after they looked at each other pretty intensely for a few seconds. They both thought that it was a good idea at least. I’m not entirely sure it is anymore, but anything to get them together and be friends.

If they aren’t already, which they might, but it seems a little strained between them. Who knows! They both like me though, so I’m doing something right. And that’s good!

They’ve both been working on the thing they’re building for the Expo, but something that happened was Sun was working on her metal pony and it exploded! It makes me smile when I think back on the face Sun made with she was covered in soot and holding her wrench! I even giggle when I know she can’t hear me. (I don’t want to laugh around her because I don’t want to hurt her feelings, I haven’t seen any other ponies around, so I think I’m her only friend)

That was earlier this week though; a couple days ago she told me she was turning the metal pony into something new. As a surprise for me! Wow am I excited for it! I don’t know what it is because whenever I’m in her workshop she has it covered so I don’t see it before she’s done. And she’s observant, I tried to peak four times now and every time she stops me! I wanna see what my surprise is!

It’s smaller than a pony, about the size of a small animal, but I still don’t know what it is. I think it might be an animal, but I didn’t know you could make them out of metal scrap. I think it might be a mini fridge. Aww I can’t wait!!

But I’ll have to. I have to wait for your letters, for the expo, for my surprise, for night time, for the street light to change. Lots of things! It’s my least favourite activity. But it’s okay because it just means that the good things you wait for are that much better.

I look forward to your next letter. Don’t make me wait too long for it! And I’ll tell you all about how the Expo goes!

-Your Friend Forever
> 6 "Inventors" Expo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Feather Fall,

The Expo was so much fun! A lot of stuff happened and I want to tell you all of it! But before that I want to tell you about the surprise I got from Sun.

She gave me a robot dog!!

I don’t know how she made a dog, but it’s the cutest thing ever! And it acts just like a real dog and I love it so much! I named it Spring and it likes me so much. I asked Sun if it was a boy or girl dog, so I’d know what to call it, but she told me it wasn’t either, so it doesn’t matter. I want to say Spring is a girl, but I don’t want to be wrong in case it wants to be a boy dog. I think it’s smart enough to choose.

It’s not just a dog, it’s also a robot. And I couldn’t be happier! Spring is the best pet ever, and it even gets along with the aliens. I think Spring likes them too, Which is good, now I won’t have to watch over them all the time, Spring can help me.

Nothing else happened other then more and more of those aliens have been showing up at my door. I think they want me to be in charge of them, but I’m still not very comfortable doing that. Spring can help them, and I’ll be nice, but I still need to make sure that I can tell the difference between books and the real world.

But I don’t want to worry you! You’re my best friend and you want to hear about the inventors Expo! It started off with Sun and Edge wanting to both take me without the other finding out. Sun tried to hurry me, and Edge showed up and wanted me to go in her car without Sun. I know I can make them friends, I just need to make sure they spend more time together. Right now that means they need to have me be around, but sooner or later they’ll like each other for real and I won’t even have to be there.

We made it to this big building (big as in wide, not tall) and there was a lot of ponies and even a few griffins entering the building. I’d never seen so many ponies in one place before! I almost went in but then I saw a green pony standing on a box yelling something. Sun and Edge both said that she’s crazy and that I shouldn’t listen to her, and that she’s there every year, but I wanted to listen.

So I walked up to her speech and heard her rant about plenty of stuff. That the city is watching us, that there’s aliens, and ghosts and all sorts of things. More than half of what she was talking about didn’t sound right, but she was right about the aliens, and about the Super Hero Organization being run by people that aren’t the nicest.

And even about being followed by ghosts. I don’t think that stallion following me is a ghost, but it would make sense since I can never actually find him when I want to. She handed me a card and looked thankful that I listened to her for more than a few seconds, so I’ll call her if I ever want to find something out that I don’t understand.

Then we were in the Expo proper and wow was it huge! There was booths and ponies everywhere!  Sun left to go set up her booth, which meant I had time to spend with Edge while we wondered around. Sun looked like she didn’t want to leave, but I let her know it was okay, I trusted her, and this way I could have time to build her up to Hard Edge.

We walked around for a little bit before Edge wanted me to follow her to set up her own booth. I wanted to go with her, but that wouldn’t have been fair to Sun, so I told Edge that I was going to wonder around a bit. She wasn’t sure It’d be okay, but I smile and said I’d be fine. She smiled back and agreed! I loved seeing her smile, it was so nice. And not the sarcastic or snarky grin she gives others, but a good smile.

I saw lots of big things, including an oven that reads the food box and sets itself to the temperature you want to cook at! The stallion that made it wouldn’t let me buy it though. But that’s okay, because I saw plenty of other stuff. There was a metal door that opened to a different place in the Expo, and a giant spray bottle, and a magic book sorter and all kinds of stuff! And robots, a lot of robots!

I saw some sort of colourful explosion that didn’t make a sound, and then suddenly a bunch of the expo hall in a circle around the explosion was empty, like they were never there at all! I really hope that no one got hurt, and I asked and was told that it’s not lethal, it was just a failed dimensional demonstration. I wish I could have seen it, but also I sort of don’t because I don’t know where any of the ponies in the explosion went.

I’m lucky that no one I know was caught in that, but it’s still sad to know that they’ll gone, where did they go? They didn’t come back since they disappeared, but none of the staff at the expo or even the other ponies there seemed too bothered. I hope I never lose my empathy like that.

After I took some time to calm down in the bathroom I wandered a little more cautiously around, I didn’t want another one of those explosions happening. I did run into that recruiter again, he was being rude like always.

What happened was I found a booth for a pony that specialized in prosthetics, and I found a horn I wanted to try on. I was told it can only do simple spells, and I wanted to try it out so badly! But I couldn’t figure out how to use my earth pony magic to lift anything else around me. I’m disappointed, I really wanted to try out unicorn magic! It was for sale though, so I bought it, and the stallion selling them even told me that there was a switch that could make it match the colour of your coat. I saw it in the mirror beside me and it looked really real! I almost thought I was looking at Sun Ray!

I was trying out some glares into the mirror and wanted to do her laugh when I was turned around by another pony. It was the recruiter and he started a speech about how he finally found me and that I was in trouble. But then I took the horn off and he saw that I was me and he was disappointed.

I don’t know what Sun Ray did, but I’m convinced that I can’t let him ever find her for real, so I brought him out of the Expo and left. I didn’t want to leave, but I need to protect Sun from him.

Outside I answered some of his questions, but this time I wasn’t entirely truthful and said that Sun didn’t show up, and instead stayed home, and that I was there with another friend of mine. He believed me and I still feel bad for lying, but I think I have to now. I also have to figure out what Sun did if anything. I hope nothing, but I don’t think I’ll find out any time soon.

As I waved goodbye to him, I saw Lyra arguing with another pony, he looked like another ranting pony that I’m pretty sure other people call crazy. When I walked up to them he pointed at me at accused me of being a changeling! I may have a lot of them living with me, but I’m not one myself. I tried to explain that to him, but he wouldn’t listen to me!

I’m glad that the recruiter didn’t leave though and stepped in, because I think the stallion was about to get physical. I can’t know that for sure, but he was definitely angry at me for not agreeing with his theory, even if he was wrong about me. The city is filled with so much good, but that means that there’s also a lot of bad.

But!

But something amazing happened afterwards! Sun Ray won 3rd place in the practical invention contest for her mane-styler. I didn’t know that’s what she was working on all week, but I’m happy! It’s especially weird since I didn’t know that she wanted her inventions to be practical. She seems more like the type that would do something big and crazy. I guess that just means I need to spend more time learning about the type of pony she is as my second best friend!

And not only that, but she also found my rainbow cube! I thought I lost it, but she said that it was on the ground at the Expo. Neither of us know how it got there, but I’m happy I have it back! Sun thinks it may be a changeling as well, but it isn’t, it’s definitely not one of the aliens.

She and Edge aren’t happy I left, but they also aren’t mad at me because I apologized for it. I want them to be friends, but that means I should be a good friend first, and I didn’t do that. I hope they can forgive me.

The rest of the week went by calmly, which I’m glad for, it’s been a little too hectic since I moved here, so I like the down time getting to know Spring, and the aliens, and the old mare in the park and even Lyra now!

Here’s to more fun times and crazy adventures, but not too fast!

-Your Friend Forever
> 7 Changing Pets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Feather Fall,

This week was really relaxing! It’s almost been two months since I moved to the city and I think I’ve finally settled in! I unpacked my last box anyway! (I found a box a couple weeks ago that I put some stuff into and I just now emptied it) My Landlord has been nicer too!

I think she’s just upset whenever there’s a new tenant because who knows who they could be?! And instead of being a crazy pony that stabs or kills others, I’m an energetic friendly mare that just wants to be nice to everyone. She must appreciate all the cleaning I do around the apartment. After all, I only get paid based on the cleaning I do, not where I do it, so on days where I just want to stay in and not explore the city, I stay around the building and clean it all up.

It’s easier, and no shortage of fun! I still haven’t met who lives above me, but I like that about him, he’s a secret that everyone shares. Mysterious ponies are just as good as open ponies.

I’ve been learning a lot about the Changelings! They’re like small animals, which made me relax. What I mean by that is that I guess they don’t do much in the way of thinking and do more reacting to things. Like instincts! I learned that because Spring as been getting along well with them. And they interact a lot more than I could.

I’m not sure what they eat, since I haven’t seen them eat anything. I’m not even sure they eat anything at all. Sun doesn’t really trust them, and Lyra doesn’t know much about changelings. Even if she knows a lot about a lot. But I don’t want to get off topic anymore.

They’re still coming to me from around the city, but slower than at first, so I think that most of them are already here. But thankfully I was able to buy more shelves, so now the living room is mostly for them to... well live! They stay in there and run around and jump and stuff, it’s sort of cute. They look like small bug ponies and can fly! I found one in the kitchen sink of water stranded on a plate, and it made an adorable mewling noise like a cat. Which is what tipped me off that they aren’t smart like I thought they were.

How’d they even get here from space? If they’re aliens they must have had a space ship, right? But they’re closer to alien animals.

Sun is convinced that they’re planning something though, and keeps telling me crazy made up stories about what she thinks they’ll do! Like how they’ll replace me, or steal my bed, or break all my dishes! But they wouldn’t do any of that, they’re afraid to go into my bedroom! Sun is just creative like that, it’s one of the reasons I like her so much!

Spring has been acting a little weird though. Ever since Sun gave her to me last week, she’s been changing. At first she acted just like a dog, but now she’s been doing other things, like organize the changelings, and bring in the newspaper, and she even drilled a hole into the front door! I think she wants to install a doggie door. Is it possible for dogs to get smarter like that? I mean, she is a robot dog, but I don’t know.

At least she likes me though, now more than ever! She sleeps at the door of my bedroom to make sure I’m safe. I’m sure that I’ll never be hurt, but you never know! So even if she ends up being smarter than me, I’ll feel safe, because she’ll protect me.

In fact, a lot of the people in my life are protective of me. Sun, Edge, Trade, Spring, Lyra, even the changelings in their own way. It makes me feel like I’m back home again, even if I know I’m not. It makes me feel safe and comfortable, which is always a good thing. No one will ever replace you, but I’ll happily take a close second.

Lyra may be taking it a bit far though. She’s really friendly, and I’m happy to know her, but she’s really desperate for a good friend. It may be because so many just always call her crazy and I don’t, but whatever the reason is, she’s been sticking to me pretty hard.

I was out in downtown a couple days ago spraying the sidewalk from an ice cream spill and she was there, talking about how much she liked me. I was happy about it, but she doesn’t really let go! I know that the best way to make good lasting friends is to give them the space they need to come around on their own, but she doesn’t act like she knows that.

I really hope things can calm down, I want to be her friend, she’s really nice, and knows a lot about all the unusual stuff in my life. But she needs to be more calm and understanding of my personal space! I think the best way to get her to calm down is to help her make friends that aren’t me. So I want to see how things go at the Warm Roast tomorrow. Maybe Proxy will like her? They’re both very smart.

I hope that she makes some good friends, and that they can go on supernatural adventures in the city, and that I get to hear about them like in my books! And that there’s a new something around every turn. I feel like she’d make a good main character in those kinds of books if she calmed down a lot. Another thing I’ll have to help her work on.

So! I think I figured out why my rainbow cube disappeared last week. I put it beside the magic mirror I found and that’s been making weird noise ever since I accidentally dropped it on the floor. The mirror fell over onto the cube and I thought I just lost it, but it’s actually able to teleport things!

Which is really exciting! If I move the mirror around it shows me different places! I don’t think the other side can see anything though because I saw a crowded street that didn’t react until I stuck my face through it.

So now I have a mirror that can teleport things to different places! Unfortunately i think it’s broken because I can’t figure out how to set it myself, and neither can Sun.

I liked your last letter, and yes I have been trying out the horn I got! Still no luck in the magic department, Sun and Lyra think it’s because I don’t know how to cast spells naturally, so they’ve both been trying to teach me telekinesis.

I really hope I can learn how to do magic! I’m so excited for it!!!

-Your Friend Forever
> 8 Something Bad (1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Feather Fall,

I WAS KIDNAPPED!

I was just minding my own business and then woke up in a strange room being untied by Sun and it was almost a week later! And... I don’t remember any of it! And I didn’t get to write a letter to you and I’m really sorry!

I hope you can forgive me for not writing to you, I swear I would have, but...

I’m sorry, I’ll start at the beginning, because I have so much to tell you and I hope it’ll all fit into the same letter, but I don’t know, I might have to send you two.

And just so you know, I’m fine now, I’m more worried than anything else about how you’ve been thinking without getting my weekly letter, and I can’t express how sorry I am that I didn’t get to send you anything, and if I don’t start now I’ll keep apologizing, so I’ll just start, I love you and you’re my best friend.

Okay here goes.

So It started like any other week, I was working, and spending time with my friends at the Warm Roast and learning all sorts of things about the Changelings and everything that’s been strange in my life.

I got a letter from somepony I’d never met before saying he liked me. It was a love letter and I was really happy to get it, even if it was a little creepy, but I read it over and over again wondering who it could be. I asked around and got mixed results. Sun got defensive but said she didn’t send it, Proxy and Edge both acted like it was the end of the world and that no special somepony was good enough for me.

The Recruiter didn’t have an answer, but that’s how he always is about anything that isn’t Sun, Lyra got excited with me and wanted to track down who my secret admirer is. I told her I didn’t want to scare them away and was just happy getting the letter, and she didn’t push further. I asked a couple of the other janitors as I passed them, but they all said it wasn’t them.

It was the next day and I was going to ask the old mare in the park, but that’s when I saw the stallion that’s been following me around again. I thought it might be him, so I walked over to the corner he was around and that’s when I passed out.

I don’t know anything that happened for a week after that moment, but Sun knows what happened, and has told me everything. I don’t think I believe it all, but she wouldn’t lie to me, and really so much crazy stuff has happened to me that I can’t really say I’m all that surprised anymore.

The stallion that’s been following me around is actually another janitor, and he’s been shadowing me because he was afraid of what I’d say if I found out about his other job. But he used some sort of drug on me, which knocked me out.

Sun was working on my mirror at the time, and so she saw what was going on. She heard a bunch of chaos up in my apartment from the changelings. Apparently they can feel when I’m in trouble, or unhappy or anything else. I don’t understand why, but they know what I feel and when. So Sun had to trust them and work with them to find me.

She told Spring, who’s still been getting smarter, and Spring spoke, saying she wondered who would take me. Sun didn’t like it, but knew that getting Edge and Lyra together to find me was a high priority, so she had to call them. Apparently Edge hung up at first, but Lyra was already on her way over.

Sun started right away making equipment to find and save me, because she saw me being dragged off into a dark door behind one of the buildings downtown. That was the last she saw me for a while. But she wasn’t afraid and was actually really brave, or at least she tells me she didn’t cry. I don’t believe her, but that’s okay, I really cherish my friendship with her.

She was working on different machines when Lyra showed up at her door carrying a bunch of books. Lyra explained that she knew who took me. And Sun glosses over this part, but Lyra tells me that she brought a bunch of books related to ghosts and secret organizations that might be able to help.

Sun and Lyra didn’t get along very well, but they worked together anyway, putting their heads together to figure something out. Apparently as much as they knew me, they didn’t know where to start finding where I was. Normally I like this about myself, but my unpredictable whimsy made it difficult for them to find out where I was dragged off. The mirror helped, but didn’t provide specifics about the area I was in, just that it was downtown.

They hurried to where they thought I might be, but couldn’t find me, even after several hours of searching. And eventually had to go back to Sun’s apartment for the night. Sun was the one pushing the hardest, but she knew that I couldn’t be helped if they worked themselves to unconsciousness. So they tried to sleep, even through the worry.

They tried so hard but still couldn’t find anything, and Edge had blocked Sun’s contact after dozens of calls. And the Changelings were all worried and losing energy from me not being around. Spring kept watch for the night in case something bad happened. Lyra was convinced that it was a big conspiracy, and kept trying to figure out which organization it was that stole me, and how it was traced back to her.

Sun said she slapped Lyra for being selfish, and they fought for a while, only stopping when they heard the Changelings crying. It’s okay now, but I can’t imagine how much tension would be in the room at the time.

The next morning they wanted to talk to Edge directly, and so they had to track down the Warm Roast. Sun had never been there, and while Lyra had, she didn’t remember the exact place it was, so they had to find it by going out and looking.

That’s when they ran into the super hero recruiter. He stopped them and Sun tried to explain that I’d been kidnapped, but he wouldn’t listen and instead wanted to arrest Sun Ray. I never wanted to believe that she was actually a super villain, but that’s what the fight was about. Sun used to be a big threat to the city, and fought super heroes and wanted to make a name for herself.

And even if she’s changed and no longer wants to rule the city and instead make inventions that help people, she’s still wanted in their system. The recruiter wouldn’t leave them alone without fighting Sun, and she told Lyra not to get involved, that it was her fight. Sun said that if he wouldn’t listen to them, she’d have to make him listen.

No one will go into detail about what actually happened, but Sun won their fight. I assume that she pulled out some weapons and acted like a villain. I wish I could have seen it, even if I don’t like that part of her, it would have been interesting to see.

She convinced the Recruiter (I still don’t like that I’ve never been able to learn his name) to help them and he told them that he knew where the Warm Roast is. I’ve spent a lot of time there with him to keep him away from Sun. He joined them and they all went to the coffee shop.

Hard Edge was there and started panicking when the recruiter showed up, she thought he was there for her, because she’s also a super villain, and I didn’t know that either, and I might be having trouble staying grounded now that I know everything I’ve learned. There was a long discussion and Edge joined the group to save me.

Such good friends.

They spent that day pulling up resources and calling ponies they know, trying to figure out who would steal me. But they didn’t figure anything out until that night when the most unbelievable thing ended up happening. They got a call from my upstairs neighbour. He wanted to tell them who was in charge of things.

I still haven’t met him, but he’s apparently a computer wizard unicorn and he knew exactly who stole me, why, and where they were. The reason I was taken was because of the changelings.
> 9 Something Bad (2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They’re aliens that live off of love, but not just any love, apparently a very specific type. It just so happens that I’m the only one around that can feel what they need me to feel. I don’t understand it, any of it. I still don’t think I’m special enough to be the food for an entire alien race. Who would think they’re that important? I’m just an earth pony with a mental condition that wants to make everyone around her smile! That’s it! I shouldn’t be so important!

The company doesn’t have a name, but they’ve been in charge of watching the changelings from the moment they ended up in Equestria, and using the alien technology to help ponykind. Which is why they stole me. They wanted to study my love and pick me apart. I think they might have a little bit before I was rescued, I’ve felt different since then.

Not any less wanting to be friendly and make the ponies around me smile, just... different.

Sun, Edge, Lyra, the Recruiter, and Software worked together to make a plan to save me for real. To make their way into the lab I was hostage in and bring me back home. None of them will tell me about their plan, but it didn’t work at first.

They had a big plan to sneak in, find out where I was and grab me. But like in the books, that plan got ruined and they got discovered. A pony found Edge and the Recruiter acting like investors and they needed to improvise. Lyra and Sun ran, only to run into the stallion that was shadowing me. He introduced himself and they almost hurt him in anger, or at least Sun did, Lyra was afraid he was a ghost.

He explained that he likes me. He’s liked me ever since he first saw me when I moved to the city and got my job. He’s the one that sent the love letter, and he didn’t want to capture me, but he had to, because he’s afraid of this nameless company and what they can do. He’s been working for them for years and was told he had to take me quietly to them.

They didn’t believe he was sorry for his actions, but he made up for it by showing them the way to the lab they were keeping me.

While that was going on, Edge and the Recruiter were using force to stay in the building, because they didn’t want to leave. They were fighting side by side and using different technology things and causing a big distraction for the others. But that’s when they were stopped by an old scientist pony named Sven.

He explained that his weird name and the Changelings and all his science and everything are from a different universe and that they’re trapped in ours until he can get back home. And that controlling the changelings is how to do it.

He explained that he wanted to go back home, and that he didn’t like being a pony. And a lot of other stuff that no one will really explain to me. I want to know, but they keep telling me it isn’t all that important.

He was going to go on, but that’s when the changelings broke into the room they were in and attacked everyone, especially Sven. It turns out that Software directed them to the right location, and their worry for me turned into determination to save me too. They attacked Sven and he ended up disappearing with all of them when he pushed a button.

Software says that there was a self destruction set for two minutes, but he disabled that for everyone. He was still gone, and so were all the changelings, but no one would get hurt. It sounds really anti-climactic to Edge, but to me it sounds like it was a story all by itself and that was the end, so I’ll miss them all, but it’s good to know they got their ending.

They met up with Sun and Lyra, who while that was going on were being lead to where I was unconscious on an experimentation table. I was hooked up to something that kept me asleep and was pumping something into my blood.

As far as anyone can tell, I’m fine, and nothing is wrong with me, but it’s still really bad, and I’m worried. I don’t won’t to worry you, and I’m really sorry, I’m so sorry, please forgive me! I didn’t mean to get drugged and stolen! Honest! If I was able to write to you while I was being tested on, I would have.

Sun unhooked me and Lyra unstrapped my hooves and I was woken up. This is what I do remember.

I had no idea where I was, or what was going on, or why I felt so... awake after being told that I hadn’t moved for days on end. I still feel that way, it’s like I have too much energy now, and I don’t know how to use it. I have trouble sleeping now, and I hope things calm down for me.

Sun explained a brief version of what happened and hugged me as she tried not to cry. She was really worried about me. Lyra was too, but it wasn’t as personal with her. Sun even told me part way through her explanation that I’m the reason she’s been trying to be a better pony, which was really nice to hear after the overwhelming implications of what had happened to me.

She and Lyra led me out of the room, helping me walk even though I didn’t need it. And I was happy that even though I didn’t entirely understand what was going on, I still had good friends to help me. They said that they found out who gave me the love letter, and wanted to introduce me, but when they wanted to show him to me, they couldn’t find him. Lyra looked around for a while to see where he went, but Sun smiled for the first time and said it didn’t matter.

It was the first time I truly saw her smile, and it was just as genuine and sweet and comforting as I thought it’d be.

I’ll always remember that smile.

We met up with Hard Edge and the Recruiter on the way out. I was worried about him finding Sun, but he smiled and said that because Sun helped solve a bigger mystery that she was off the hook for her past crimes. I was so happy I almost jumped around them. But I knew they were worried about me and that I shouldn’t energetically move around, so I just smiled widely.

That’s also when Sun and Edge shook hooves and apologized for what happened in the past. They won’t tell me what that was either, just that it’s why they didn’t like each other. They smiled at each other and I was so happy about them becoming friends that i almost forgot that I was kidnapped.

When I was brought home they all stayed with me, to make sure I felt safe, and I did. Even if I was still in shock after what had happened, I felt safe with them watching over me. Spring greeted me and I was happy that she can talk.

I didn’t sleep that night, not even for a minute. I tried to, but I was too energetic, and so i just laid there with my eyes closed for a few hours. One of each of my friends was awake keeping watch on me the entire night, and a couple times they had conversations with each other, but I don’t really remember them.

The next morning Lyra and the Recruiter left, but Sun and Edge stayed and we got to talk for a while, they did what I wanted to do, which was mostly spend time with them. We went for a run in the big park downtown. And we had lunch, saw a documentary and played a board game.

Then that night they worked together to install a security system in my apartment to keep me safe since they couldn’t be with me all day every day. After that they went home, and Sun told me that if I needed anything she was just downstairs.

It was the first time I was really alone. Spring was there, but she was asleep, and I tried, and that time I got a little sleep, but it was restless, and not really good. All that time alone gave me time to think and...

And I don’t think the city is working for me anymore. I know you wanted me to make it out here on my own, but nothing like any of this happened while I was at home with you. Things happened, but nothing this big or crazy. My life is becoming a movie - or already is one and it’s getting harder and harder to stay grounded and not lose myself to the colours. So when morning comes, I’m going to mail this to you and then come home.

I’ll see you soon, Feather Fall.

-Your Friend, Forever
> 10 Feather Fall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

And I don’t think the city is working for me anymore. I know you wanted me to make it out here on my own, but nothing like any of this happened while I was at home with you. Things happened, but nothing this big or crazy. My life is becoming a movie - or already is one and it’s getting harder and harder to stay grounded and not lose myself to the colours. So when morning comes, I’m going to mail this to you and then come home.

I’ll see you soon, Feather Fall.

-Your Friend, Forever

---

“What?” a voice spoke out in surprise.

Across a well-lit room another voice replied, just as confused. “It sounds like she’s coming back.”

The first voice belonged to a pegasus, one with a deep orange coat and a short windswept mane of blond. He sat near the window of the room, with a bed to his left and two doors adorning the light blue walls. Standing across the bed was a muted pink unicorn holding a letter before her with a light green glow. The mare wore scrubs and a nametag that read Soothing Care.

“Feather Fall,” she said tenderly, walking over to the window, “We can’t stop her from coming back.”

Feather Fall turned his head to look out the window. “Mmm…”

The nurse sat on the bed beside him, “I know you’re disappointed that things didn’t work out, Feather, but you should be proud of her. She might not be staying, but she lived in the city for two months. She had a job, and made several friends with complete strangers.”

The pegasus sighed as he watched a bird in its nest outside. “I am proud of her. She’s made everyone proud, but I just wished it could have worked out, you know?” He turned to look into Care’s eyes, “She’s been dreaming of bringing positivity to the entire country for years, and as soon as she takes her first step she gets wrapped up in some morning cartoon and ends up kidnapped.”

The nurse tossed her head back to look at the ceiling, “Yeah, that’s something. I can’t believe she got caught up in some mad scientist experiment.” She chuckled, which Feather Fall briefly joined.

Silence dominated the room as the pegasus turned back to the window and contemplated his thoughts. The only sound that cut through the air was the ticking of the wall clock.

“I just…” Feather Fall began before he faltered, sighing in thought. Care looked back over to him, waiting for him to collect himself. “I don’t know. I suppose I was just hoping she’d stay out there for good.”

Care nodded and got up from the bed, joining him by the window. “She’s a free spirit, that’s all there is to it. It’s a crime to keep her here, but it’d be even worse to force her away.”

The face reflecting back on Feather Fall screwed up before he turned back to Soothing Care.

She didn’t have to turn away from the sight of the bird nest to know he wanted her to elaborate. “Think of it this way, if she-“

“NEED TO SEE HIM!” a voice suddenly yelled, slicing through the moment and drawing both their attentions to the door.

They shared a look of confusion before they heard more shouting, though not as pronounced and easy to understand. Soothing Care walked towards the room door, nodding to Feather Fall for him to stay in the room. He agreed with a nod of his own; neither really knew what to expect.

Care opened the door to see another nurse doing the same. Both looked at each other from across the hall, closing their respective doors behind themselves. They spoke to each other using only facial expressions, asking what was going on and reaching a confused consensus. Care motioned to walk down the hall, which the older nurse agreed to and they walked side by side towards the shouting.

“Think it’s a patient?” Care asked her superior.

“Mmm, no, not likely.” They weren’t the only ponies walking down the hall towards whatever was making the racket, several other nurses and at least a couple visitors were on their way down the hall as well. “Haven’t heard a commotion like this in a while, and if it were one of ours, we’d hear it far more regularly.”

Soothing Care nodded at this, but continued wondering who the noise-maker was. She didn’t have to wonder long however; when they both turned the corner, they saw who was behind it. Care raised her eyebrows at the sight.

The receptionist pony looked about ready to end his shift; he was being bombarded by questions from a golden yellow unicorn mare. She wore large, circular frame glasses, and had a two-toned blue mane and tail. A nick was missing from her left ear, and her cutie mark showcased a talent based in rocketry or another. She had an unpleasant look on her face, which leant well to the yelling, but more than any of that, Soothing Care recognized her.

“Is that…?” the older nurse asked, her eyes narrowing in scrutiny.

“No, she’d never yell like that,” Care whispered back. “But I have a good idea who that might actually be.”

“No! I don’t care about your stupid rules!” the mare screamed at the receptionist, “I need to know where Feather Fall is! Get this through your thick skull! He’ll know where to find her!” the crowd was growing.

Standing next to the unreasonable pony was a much more regretful looking mint-green unicorn quietly whispering words of apology to anyone close enough to hear them. The look on her face was tell to those outside of hearing range, however.

The receptionist didn’t look scared, but definitely wasn’t in a confrontational mood. “Ma’am, please, you’re making a scene…”

“A scene?! If I were making a scene there’d be far more property damage. I just want to know where my friend is!”

“I…I just can’t-“

“Just tell me where he is and I’ll leave.”

Soothing Care had heard enough, if she could stop her hospital from having somebody screaming at the top of their lungs, she would. She walked close enough not to need to yell herself and cleared her throat. “If you’re looking for Feather Fall, I can help you.”

Both the visiting unicorns turned to look at her, and a part of her regretted drawing attention to herself, but she knew this was probably the best method to getting them to quiet down.

The yellow mare scoffed dismissively, “Unless you know the room he’s in, I doubt you’ll be much help, thank you though.”

Care raised an eyebrow, “I’m his nurse.”

That finally shut her up. The mare opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again, likely thinking better of herself. With the shouting done with, she noticed that everyone around her was whispering amongst themselves while staring at her. She had the good sense to be embarrassed, a slight blush forming on her cheeks as she walked over to Soothing Care.

The older nurse gave a stern expression, but Soothing dismissed it, “I take full responsibility.” That seemed to get the point across, and she left Care to tend to the two visitors. She looked them up and down, briefly studying them. “You must be Sun Ray and Lyra.”

The mint green unicorn, Lyra, took a step back, her eyes shooting open. “H-how do yo-you know my name?”

Care could tell Lyra’s mind was thinking up new conspiracies based on the name call and mentally chastised herself for making a mistake not two minutes after meeting them. She didn’t have to backpedal, it seemed, as Sun Ray turned to her. “This is Feather Fall’s nurse, the same pegasus that’s been writing letters for the last two months, obviously she knows our names.”

The nurse exhaled before putting on a bit of a smile; it wouldn’t do to handle things poorly. “My name is Soothing Care, it’s nice to meet the both of you. If you’ll follow me, please, I’ll lead you to his room.” She turned back in the direction she came from - noting that most of the crowds had dispersed - and started walking without a second thought.

Sun Ray didn’t need to be told twice, following the nurse, with Lyra close behind. “I’ve never heard of Deerbill before, how long has this town been around?”

Care refrained from raising an eyebrow; was this what counted as small talk in the city? Bluntly ask questions without even a passing interest? “A few hundred years, I believe.” She didn’t actually know her town history, but that seemed about right.

“Have you lived here your whole life?” Lyra asked.

“I have, yes, it’s my home.”

“Oh.”

Care tried not to laugh at the awkwardness in an effort to stay professional. She reached the door to Feather Fall’s room and knocked lightly to announce their presence before opening the door for the three of them.

Sun took a step through the door and saw Feather Fall for the first time. He was by the window wearing a calm smile. His coat was orange and mane blond, reminding her of autumn, just like he’d been described to her. He was also in a wheelchair, the sight halting Sun. She was expecting someone friendly based on how much he’d been talked about, but not once had a wheelchair been mentioned.

He seemed to notice her hesitation and chuckled. “C’mon in, I won’t bite,” he offered.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect you to be…” she paused, not entirely sure how to proceed, “…in a chair.”

Feather Fall chuckled further, “I never expected to end up in one either, but life is a series of interesting stories.”

Suddenly, Sun had no idea what she was doing anymore.

Several hours prior she was prepared to fight hell or high water to get her friend back…again. It’d have been the second time in the same week, and she had the same energy as during the Changeling heist…but here she was, in a hospital of all places, yelling at orderlies, rushing past injured ponies, and generally disturbing the peace of everyone around her.

She assumed she’d given up her villain life; it was behind her. So then why was she ruining everyone’s life like this? Sun looked at the smiling face of the Feather Fall, the same pony she’d heard about nonstop for multiple months, and he was handicapped.

She was every bit the despicable rust of society she’d always been.

Sun Ray lowered her head in shame. “I’m sorry,” she barely whispered, “I just wanted to find my friend.”

A wave of sympathy washed over Feather Fall, he spoke calmly, “I haven’t seen her yet.”

Sun looked at Lyra and nodded sadly, signifying that she was ready to leave. Lyra sighed, but gave a comforting smile in return. The two unicorns turned back towards the door. “Thank you for your time.”

“You know,” Feather Fall spoke just before the door closed behind the two visitors, the motion stopping on his words. He rolled himself from the window, “I’ve known Forever for most of my life, and she’s never sounded as happy as she has in her letters.”

As he spoke, Sun Ray slowly walked back into the room, Lyra closing the door behind them.

“We grew up together, went to the same school, and had the same circle of friends. She wasn’t always the mare you know today; when we were kids she was scared of almost everything.” Feather Fall let out a small chuckle. “I still remember the day I met her, she was a jittering mess that couldn’t stop stuttering.

“It was just after we got our cutie marks that she started opening up more, trying everything she could to open up and face her fears. The bags under my eyes can attest to the countless nights she practiced small talk with me. But she was struggling to keep up with everyone; It probably didn’t help that she always had her nose in some new book.

“It wasn’t until a year later that we learned that she struggled so much because she suffers from depersonalization disorder.”

Sun held a hoof to her mouth, her eyes widening. Lyra looked confused however, “I’ve never heard of that, what does it mean?”

Soothing Care leaned forward from her sitting position on the bed, “It’s a form of disassociation. Forever has moments where she has trouble differentiating between what’s real and what isn’t.”

“It also stopped her from connecting with the world around her,” Feather Fall drew attention back to himself. “Some days she’d be completely fine, and the next she’d forget what emotions she was supposed to have.”

“I thought only ponies that suffered from trauma experienced disassociation,” Sun said, a distant stare in her eyes.

Any joviality that Feather Fall had speaking up to this point had disappeared, replaced with a deep-seated sorrow. “It’s not my place to say, you’ll have to ask Forever what happened with her father.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Sun was almost afraid to speak, what could she say to something like that? Luckily she didn’t have to; Feather Fall let out a breath of air and looked at her and Lyra.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get so serious there,” Feather took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before smiling lightly. “So, growing up for her was difficult, but no matter how much she struggled, she still wanted ponies to be happy. She didn’t like when the adults around her were frowning. It was a tangible thing she could latch onto – smiles.

“Well, she had trouble learning how to improve everyone’s moods, but for years it was all she focused on. No matter how much it hurt her when she met someone that wouldn’t give her a smile. She made it her life goal to be as nice and friendly as she possibly could. Even when…”

Feather’s face saddened again as he paused; Sun saw him looking down at his legs, she could almost feel the regret radiate off of him. Soothing Care picked up the silence, “After the accident, Forever took it upon herself to cheer him up.”

“She’s done so much for me…” the pegasus whispered, more to himself than for the benefit of the others.

Sun was blisteringly curious: there was a lot being said, and it made so much sense now that it was being put into perspective, but she had no idea what to say. She was a super villain because she grew up in the streets and thought life was unfair. She was under the assumption that she was justified in trying to break down society and rebuild it for the better.

But as she’d been learning again and again recently, there were better ways to fix the world. You don’t need to rip everything apart at the seams with explosives or robotics, most ponies couldn’t even do that. Instead there was a yellow earth pony having a life significantly more unfair than hers, and that same pony dealt with her pain by spreading as much positivity as possible.

How many baristas had Sun failed to tip? Or doors had she not held open for other ponies? By all accounts, she was horrible; a waste of potential. All her intelligence to see the faults in different social systems and she’d failed to notice any of her own.

“You’re a genius?” Sun thought, “give me a break, you’re an arrogant idiot that doesn’t know how to smile.” She glared at the floor in front of herself, stewing in her own self-critique. So angry she was at herself that she almost missed the conversation moving on.

Feather Fall was looking directly at her, his mood having improved in the last few minutes. “Have you ever wondered why Forever reads books but doesn’t watch any movies or tv shows?”

“I never actually thought about it, if I’m being honest.”

Lyra rolled her head back and forth, considering it, “I did wonder about that.”

With a nod, Feather turned to Lyra, “It’s because of her memories; they’re the one thing she can trust. At the end of the day, books are just paper with text on them, it’s easier to keep track of what’s real when you remember seeing words versus seeing a movie actually showing you different scenes and events.”

“If she struggled so much with new things, and memory, why did she move to the city?” Everyone in the room turned to look at Sun.

“It was her idea,” Feather admitted, “I tried to talk her out of it at first, same with most of the town, but she wanted to broaden her horizons.”

“Her treatment,” Care elaborated, “is a mix of therapy and being surrounded by familiar things to give her a safe location; Somewhere to feel comfortable. But she didn’t want to depend on everyone, and especially didn’t want to stunt her ability to grow by staying in Deerbill for the rest of her life.

“So she prepared herself for almost a year, studying different places she could go, asking her therapist for advice, going to anyone she could to help get her ready to leave.”

Feather Fall nodded, smiling at Soothing Care for being so helpful. “Everyone in town was sad to see her go, in a way she’s family to everypony.” He looked at Lyra and Sun Ray distantly, “I’m really proud of her, she worked so hard and actually left. I was worried about her, but I knew she could make it.”

His eyes refocused and he looked directly at Sun, “It’s easy to tell she means a lot to you, from the way she writes about how you’ve changed in just two months, to everything you’ve said today. But while she means that much to you, she means equally as much to everyone in town. We all saw her off at the train station that day. So I want you to know that as long as you make her happy, we’ll all support her decision.”

Sun knew that he wasn’t just giving some blessing to be friends with the town’s favourite pony. There was more to it than that. “But you worry about her.”

Feather Fall nodded, knowing there was no reason to hide it. He sighed as he turned back to the window to watch the birds in the nest. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop worrying about her. Forever is my best friend, I may not love her – like some have suggested.”

There was a cough from Soothing Care.

“But she still means the world to me.” Taking a moment to catch his breath, he turned back to the front of the room, looking at Sun and Lyra. “If she wants to move to the city, or make friends-“ He suddenly smiled as he eyes drifted to the door itself, “Or even come back home, I’ll support her decision. I’ll support her no matter where she chooses to go.”

Sun narrowed her eyes a bit, what was he looking at? As she turned to follow his line of sight, she heard a sniffle from behind her. She turned her head faster than she ever had, before shooting to her hooves, gasping.

Standing in the doorway was a goldenrod yellow mare staring directly forward with tears rolling down her cheeks. It hurt Sun to see such beautiful fuschia eyes filled with pain and suffering. The purple ribbon in her seafoam mane drooped due to a mix of gravity and deep sorrow. This was her friend, her neighbour, her lab assistant, and her…

…her Forever Free.

Feather Fall opened his forelegs for a hug. “Welcome home.”
> 11 Forever Free
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’M SORRY!”

Forever Free ran across the room, tears streaming down her face, and threw her hooves around Feather Fall’s neck. “I’m so sorry for everything! I didn’t want to get foalnapped or miss a letter or get hurt or leave or hurt you and I’m sorry I didn’t make you happy and I’m sorry that I’m not independentandI’msorryI’mcryingandyellingI’msorryabouteverythingIdon’twantyoutobedepressedorhurtanymoreI’msorryIwasn’twhatyouneededmetobeI’mnotstrongenoughandIhurtyouandpleasedon’tbehurtI’llmakeitalluptoyouIpromise!”

As she cried into his shoulder, Feather Fall smiled and started lightly stroking her mane. He noticed the look in Sun Ray’s eyes, one of deep sympathetical pain. She cared completely for the mare lamenting her every action into his ear. He felt his own eyes water a bit; he expected Forever’s homecoming to be emotional, but was caught off guard by just how much.

After two unbroken minutes of straight apologizing his life-long friend slowed to a mumble interspaced with sniffles. Feather Fall quietly shushed her until she finished. “It’s okay Forever, it’s okay, everything is okay. I am proud of you, of everything you’ve done. I’m proud you had a job, and I’m happy you made such amazing friends.”

She looked into his eyes for a moment and saw the smile he had for her, “You’ve done so much to make me happy, and I could never stop being proud of you. It must have been so hard for you to leave home, to leave everything that’s safe and comfortable. You were gone for two full months.” He felt his voice start to waver slightly, “You’ve made such amazing progress which I know you’ve worked hard for.”

Forever whipped the tears rolling down Feather’s face. “You’re an inspiration to everyone in town, they’ve been talking about all the lives in the city you’ve improved. You made so many friends and brought light to them that they can’t help but worry about you. Just look at them,” He said, motioning to Lyra and Sun, “Just them being here is proof enough that you’ve done more than we ever thought possible. You’ve done everything you set out to do and more, and I haven’t stopped smiling since I saw you off.”

Giggling slightly through her tears, Forever returned to holding tightly onto Feather Fall. Across the room, Sun stared deeply at the two of them. She wasn’t sure how she felt at seeing their embrace. On the one hoof she could tell it was a nice moment between two friends, so why did she feel a pang of dissatisfaction? It couldn’t be jealousy, could it? On the second hoof, she came all this way to find Forever Free and bring her back home. On the third hoof, she felt regretful for the majority of the actions she’d taken up until that point. And on the fourth hoof she’d never been so moved by a show of affection before.

She wasn’t sure when, but Sun had also started crying; she almost couldn’t tell, but the slight sting in her eyes and the cool air on her cheeks was tell enough. She couldn’t help it, after all, this level of platonic love was non-existent in the city she grew up.

Everypony Sun had ever known was fake: an imitation smile barely covering up a self-serving nature. No one was genuinely happy to see you, they just liked having you around them. Be it for power, a plan of some kind, or just so they don’t look like they’re as alone on the outside as they are empty on the inside. It was a major contributing factor for wanting to rebuild society in the first place.

Maybe it was just because she was used to pompous stuffed shirts and fancy dresses playing civil with each other to avoid becoming the topic of the latest gossip. After all, small towns would statistically have less of that. And maybe that’s why when Sun first met Forever, with her big genuine smile and positive energy…maybe that’s why Sun was so obsessed with destroying the earth pony…

Sun shook the spiralling negativity out of her mind, it just wouldn’t do to work herself up just then. No, she needed to turn to Lyra and tell her to give Sun a moment alone with Forever; Just a moment to get what’s been on her mind out in the open. Yes, just a moment, no more, no less.

Turning over to the mint unicorn, Sun was a little surprised to see Soothing Care already moving the two of them out of the room. “I…” Sun stammered, having nothing she actually wanted to say anymore. Care smiled and winked at her before the two of them were gone and the room’s door was closed. The sound of the door closing alerted Feather and Forever that two of the ponies in the room had left, leaving Sun standing there.

The first thing Sun noticed was that while Forever was no longer crying, she was still holding onto Feather for comfort; He was still gently stroking her mane. Forever noticed the tears stains under the unicorn’s eyes and worry enveloped her features. “Are you okay?”

Sun panicked at first, a lot of my mind was telling her to hide her tears, suppress her emotions, and avoid the situation entirely; but she knew better. Instead of taking a step back, she took a step forward. She looked directly into Forever’s eyes and felt like the worst pony in the world. “Forever, I want to apologize to you, I’ve been a horrible friend to you, and you deserve better.”

Without a moment’s pause, Forever Free smiled, “It’s okay, Sun, you don’t have to be sorry.”

“It’s not okay though.” She urged, just shy of shouting, “I won’t let you dismiss it because it’ll be easier on me, I need…I need to say this.”

Forever looked unsure, but after a nod from Feather Fall and seeing the heat behind Sun’s eyes, she leaned forward to listen.

“I’ve been an awful pony and an even worse friend; every day I saw you was another day I should have noticed, but I never did.” Sun moved her hooves around as she searched for the perfect words, “I just stuck my nose in my work and took your kindness for granted. I outright hated you at first: you looked like me, had my mane, my coat, my eyes, but you looked happier, friendlier, you were me but better in every way.”

Forever was about to object, but Feather shook his head and motioned for her to stay still and listen.

“I used to think I didn’t need friends, that I was a genius and I was going to fix the problems of the filth of high society. But then I met you and your shining positivity; you and your unrelenting desire to get to know me better. Not once did I try and question it, to look just beneath the surface and learn a thing about you. I was selfish and ignored who you really were because it was nice to have you just be around and brighten up my day. It made me no better than those ponies I’ve despised all my life!

“I should have noticed, noticed that just behind that facsimile of a smile was a scared little filly that was just trying to make everyone around her happy. I call myself a genius, but it’s obvious to me now that I don’t know a single thing about you, I mean, after all, no pony is just an endless beacon of light. Even Prime Minister Solaria has some darkness in her, so why didn’t I assume you did too?”

Sun Ray began to pace on the spot, almost ignoring that she was even talking to anyone anymore.

“You spent weeks after meeting me trying to be my best friend, at the time I didn’t realize it, but it’s so obvious in retrospect. And how did I repay that dedication? Well I took the only course of action that made any sense – I assumed you were sent into my apartment building to replace me so I tried to kill you half a dozen times! Of course! Such brilliance! You’re really making your old professors proud Sun Ray! You find another blue-maned yellow pony that isn’t even the same tribe as you and she immediately wants to replace you!

“And then I had the nerve to assume you were allied with Hard Edge, like you were some cybernetic clone of me or something. No, without question that’s the only possible outcome!”

Sun felt tears well up in her eyes again, “I can’t believe you were so nice to me and I wasted weeks pushing you away, like you were any other pony. I…I tried so hard to do away with you, to hurt you like the super villain I thought I was. In my mind I had you over a vat of acid and was just lowering you while I boasted about how the city was going to be mine…”

Her legs started shaking slightly, “I’ve hurt so many ponies, innocent hard working ponies. They were just cogs being controlled by politicians, acceptable losses on the road to make everything right. I was so wrong though, nothing I used to do or think was okay, nothing about it was good or just. And if I stayed wanted by the Hero Bureau for the rest of my life it wouldn’t be long enough.”

Stealing her resolve, Sun looked straight into Forever’s eyes, “But you never saw me that way, all you wanted was a friend, and even though you could have chosen any pony in the world, you came to me, and, and I’ll never stop being grateful because of that. Because of you I’ve been trying to move on with my life, to not just be another generic pony trying to take over the city. I want to be someone that ponies like being around, someone that doesn’t spend four straight days writing formulas in her sunless workshop.”

Forever suppressed the urge to giggle at the irony.

“With you in my life I’ve had somebody I’ve actually wanted to improve myself for, a friend that I can be excited about seeing the next day. A pony that has no connection to my past and doesn’t care about it, who just wants to be with me because of who I am, not what.  And a pony that inspires me to get in touch with myself.

“I’ve…been thinking about who I am recently, and who I want to be…and the pony I want to be isn’t a super villain, she doesn’t see the faults in life and likes to spend time in the park instead of working all the time. I want to limit how much time I spend every day just building different gizmos. There’s so much of the world I know little about, and maybe I’ll get to see more of the glass half full.”

Sun felt her face flush slightly, “And I want…want to get a better sense of my emotions. I’m analytical by nature, but you aren’t, you go with the flow and question little, just wanting things to work out. I admire that about you, among other things, and I’d like to…” Sun took a moment to breathe deeply, “I’d like to learn how to be emotional from you. To…be with you.”

A deep gasp sounded from earth pony by the window. Forever bolted to her hooves, looking more excited than Sun could ever remember seeing her, which was quite the accomplishment. Sun couldn’t help but smile at the energy. “Do…do you-you...are-are you in...DO YOU LOVE ME?!” Forever blurted at the top of her lungs.

Feather Fall laughed as he turned his ears downward. Sun couldn’t help but joining in the laughter, “I don’t really know, I don’t think it’s love, at least not yet. I’m still sort of figuring it out myself...” the unicorn explained, “But that’s one of the things I want to learn with you.”

Before Forever could yell any further, Feather covered her mouth with one of his hooves “And you’re sure about this?” he asked Sun, concern showing on his face, “You don’t think you’re rushing a bit?”

Sun narrowed her eyes in thought, “If I’m being honest, I don’t fully know. In none of my past relationships have I ever…felt this much before. I had a coltfriend for a few months and I only really did that because I was lonely at the time. For most of my life I thought I was just incapable of experiencing strong feelings of affection for anything. It’s...all sort of new to me.”

Tossing her words back and forth in his mind a bit, Feather smiled reassuringly. “Well for what it’s worth, you have my blessing, clearly Forever has had a deep impact on your life.” He removed his hoof from her mouth, setting her free, “Not that you really needed it, but you know.”

“AAAAAAAAAAA!” Forever jumped at Sun Ray, wrapping her legs around the unicorn’s neck. The two collapsed into a heap on the floor. “I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M GOING TO HAVE MY VERY FIRST MAREFRIEND!”

Sun Ray was a bit conflicted about what had happened. The nervousness that was eating at her went away, but it was swiftly replaced by a crushing feeling. While she was happy to have it, pony contact wasn’t something she was specifically familiar with, it’d take at least some getting used to. But hey, good news, she didn’t get turned down.

She hugged back, which felt kind of awkward to do, but the overwhelming feeling she was getting from her emotions was nice. Was having another pony lay on top of you supposed to hurt your leg from the weight? Surely it was supposed to be more pleasant, right? But Sun shook the thought out of her head, displeased with herself for analyzing a hug. She was about to get up before she realized something. “Your…first?”

Collecting herself long enough to answer, Forever nodded, “Uh huh, I’ve never dated anyone before. I used to be so shy growing up, and even when I asked anyone out, they always turned me down. I think everyone in town pities me.” Sun looked up at Feather who gave a bit of a sad nod. “But that doesn’t have to matter anymore! I have you now!”

Forever hugged harder before she stopped and stood back up on her hooves. Worry enveloped her expression as she turned to look at Feather Fall, “Are…are you okay?”

He motioned with his hoof for Forever to embrace him, she obliged without a second thought. “How many times do I have to tell you,” Feather Fall whispered into her ear, “Nothing you could do would ever hurt me. Wherever your happiness takes you, I’ll support you one-hundred percent of the way.”

Forever squeezed harder for a moment, trying not to cry even more, but a moment later she pulled away, a deeply emotional smile spread across her face. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Sun Ray felt the warmth radiate from the two of them, and was thankful she didn’t feel jealousy this time. Forever turned to her, the brightest aura coming off of her. “So…” She asked, taking a step over to Sun, unusually bashful, “How do relationships work?”

“I’m afraid my experience is kind of meaningless in this regard.”

“Is nuzzling you okay?”

Sun laughed, “If I told you no, would that stop you?” Feather chuckled as well, but Forever looked a bit nervous, no doubt her mind was racing at the new context of how they should talk to each other. Sun was unsure if she should be the one to initiate a nuzzle, after all, she wasn’t normally physically affectionate - that was sort of the point.

She could say all she wanted that this or that was okay, but she had a feeling Forever didn’t learn from directly being told what was right and wrong. It made sense that she was probably the type that did things and learned right from wrong by the way others reacted. Not the best way to learn, sort of a trial by fire situation.

But clearly that wouldn’t apply as much the older she got, where situations she was completely unfamiliar with were few and far between, so something like a romantic relationship would make her nervous and afraid to try doing anything. Sun needed to make the first move in her stead, but what would be okay? If it were just a stress-relief fling, they’d make out, go crazy, and then it’d be over and she could get back to her work. But that lacked any emotion, it was purely physical.

Shaking her head, Sun realized she was about to start the process of bullet pointing different theories and courses of action for how to be romantic. She smiled and went over to nuzzle Forever, taking the earth ponies own suggestion. Sun reflected that when she was the one initiating contact, it was significantly nicer. Forever leaned into the contact, and Sun counted it as a success.

A bright flash of light came from the front of the room, drawing everyponies attention. Standing there with a digital camera was Lyra and nurse Soothing Care.

“Aww,” Lyra declared, “You’re both adorable!”

“Hey!” Sun yelled, lighting her horn and trying to grab the floating camera in her magic, Lyra was too quick though and ran out of the room.

“No way, Hard Edge is totally gonna hear about this!”

Sun’s face blushed a bright red, “Give me that camera!” She chased after Lyra, sounding flustered but the smile betrayed any anger. Forever couldn’t stop giggling and chased after the both of them.

As the hooves running got too far away to hear, Care walked over to the bed and sat down. She shared a good natured smile before looking at Feather.

“‘Dear Feather Fall,” the nurse began, getting a hearty chuckle out of the pegasus by the window. “Today I took a step toward my future; I started dating this mad scientist mare that looks like me. She was pissy at first, but she’s good company. I’m friends with half the city, and I’m glad you pushed me to move out on my own.”

She noticed a tear run down Feather’s cheek, his smile never brighter, “I’m glad too.”
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Feather Fall,

And also everyone else from town, I hope you’re all doing great! It was another good week for me and Sun, we went to see the zoo like I said we would, and I loved it! I had no idea that there was so many animals to see! I thought it’d just be penguins, but that’s okay, I loved it, and Sun liked seeing the horses.

She says it’s interesting to see what we came from, and I don’t really get it, but I was really happy to see the smile on her face. She’s really cute when she smiles.

There was also a flower shop at the zoo! Sun didn’t understand why and questioned it, but I told her it was okay and that she shouldn’t overthink it, and so we went in and bought a bouquet of trilliums. They smell nice, and I like the way the look on our table.

Nothing much happened after that, but the next day Sun and Edge started work on their big project! They still won’t tell me what it is, but it isn’t anything villainy, so that’s good. Maybe it’s a new apartment building? Or even a time machine! I’ve never seen one, despite all the mad scientist inventors everywhere, and I’ve always wondered why.

Lyra thinks that they’re working on a portal of some kind, but we don’t know.

OH! Also, Lyra and I have been hanging out more again! She came over on Friday to eat lunch finally and she may have forgotten why she was avoiding me since last month. I hope so, I already forgave her for liking me, but she wouldn’t forgive herself and kept hiding anytime I went to talk to her. I hate having to wait, but good friends should always be there for each other, and that means waiting for them to stop being silly and talk to you again.

She was drunk when she admitted that anyway, so I don’t know how much that counts. I think what you say only counts if you’re able to remember it.

But that’s okay, she’s my friend, and I love her.

Then I was called to clean up another big mess, this one needed ten of us to pick up. It was a meltdown in some storehouse and the heroes weren’t able to stop it from happening, even if they saved everyone anyway. Sun said it reminded her of when she was younger, and Edge agreed. I think it’s part of their history together.

They still won’t tell me anything that happened, but I’ve been piecing it together. You already know how they met, and last year when they fought robots, but I still don’t know why they didn’t like each other. I think Hard Edge worked with the hero bureau to fight Sun, maybe, I don’t know.

After cleaning up the mess, I went to the Warm Roast and had my iced tea. There’s a new employee there. Her name is Dust Pan, and she’s like me! Well, no, not exactly, she has OCD, but it’s still interesting.

She doesn’t really seem like she fits in, she’s anxious, and afraid and has a really bad sleep schedule. But she’s figuring out the coffee makers and I like her. I talked to her a couple times, and she likes me too, at least a little bit. I hope we can be good friends, because that means I’ll have someone to talk to when everyone else is asleep.

Has sleeping changed? I miss it, and hope everyone gets good sleep.

Last night was pretty bad for me. I was laying with Sun when the walls fell away and I was outside myself. Sun talked with me for a few hours and eventually pulled me back, but I didn’t like it. It was awful!  I don’t like when that happens, it’s like I’m empty.

Dr. Acute was happy to talk on the phone with me, but I didn’t like having to call her so late. She was asleep, and Sun made me. I still hope she isn’t mad that I woke her up.

Today though not a lot happened. Breakfast was nice, and Sun looked for a job in the newspaper again. I think she’d make a good janitor, what better way is there to clean up the city? But she wants to do something that challenges her.

I don’t think it’s important to have a hard time doing work, but if she does then that’s okay, it’s what she wants.

I loved the quilt your sister made for me and Sun, it’s perfect and I love how she made our cutie marks dance together. You two should visit us some time. I bet you and Care would love Hoovington.

Have a good week!

-Your Friend Forever