It was rainy day, a faint mist surrounded us as the Tails Doll, Pinkie, and I approached the river bank with a large casket behind us. I was wearing a black tuxedo while Pinkie fancied herself with a black cloak with a mourner sheet over her face; the Tails Doll came as he was, but had his head bowled in respect for the entire trip.

The fandom has lost something. It was week ago when it was announced; and I was shocked just as well as everyone else when the news was announced… Well, it wasn't that big of a deal, but we decided to pay our respects anyways.

The Tails Doll and I carefully pushed the casket onto the river bank while Pinkie quietly sobbed on the side lines. Just before it got too close to float away; we stopped it and gathered around the casket to say our last words. I spoke the first words.

"It was an iconic figure for all of us; a symbol of My Little Pony's greatest achievement."

"Equestria will never be the same without it," the doll added, "It has been with this world since thevery beginning, and sadly; it has met its end… But the memories of it will never fade, and will forever remain within our hearts."

"As we push it to its resting place," I concluded, "Let us all be reminded that even though this world may change, we will continue to live on."

All three of us took one last look inside the casket… The HUB logo was resting peacefully in its cushy fabrics; just as still and faded as it has been on almost every appearance. We closed the casket, and all three of us gave it a final push as it began to slowly set off to sea. I put a comforting hand on Pinkie's back as she slide out a trumpet and softly played a mellow tune. The Tails Doll and I saluted as the casket slowly faded from view.

…

…

…

"Well, glad that's out of the way!" The Doll cheered as he began walking away, "I'm heading out. I can hear Halloween calling my name!"

"I'll get my chicken suit ready!" Pinkie shouted as she bounced right behind him.

"You played a chicken last year!" I called to her as I followed.

Pinkie thought for a second before shouting, "Then I'll be a secret agent!"

"Better!"

The Tails Doll looked back at me with annoyance, "Harry. Don't you have a story to continue!?"

"I'm going to do my shout outs before continuing! You don't mind!"

"Just make it quick!"

---

S.R.A.R.: Glad it touched you, mate. :)… Although I'm not referencing to Christ in the fan fiction, though; except for the verses. You know, the mane six's personality do represent Jesus loosely if you think about it.

Fluttershy: nurturing and caring

Pinkie: Joy

Applejack: Truth and honesty.

Rarity: Generosity and a charitable heart.

Rainbow: Loyalty and devotion to his children.

Twilight: Uh… Magic? Maybe the power of God?

But I wouldn't dwell on that too much, though. I say loosely because these ponies represent what makes up friendship according to the show, or supposedly.

I had a guess ask me if I'm making a Rainbow Factory Bonus… Sadly, there will be no more bonuses until maybe the end of the story, and I have something already planned for it if I ever do it. I may not even do it, I might complete the story and just leave it at that. I'm ready to get this thing done, it has completely absorbed all of my attention from the non-fanficiton novels I want to write. I'm graduating this May and when I do, I really need to get busy.

Alright, this is too long. Onto the story.

---

"Are you sure you don't need anything else, Shiny?" Twilight pleaded as she stood in front of the stallion whom was wrapped in a warm blanket with a pillow resting behind him, "I-I can get you some water. Maybe some hot chocolate?"

The Captain simply rolled his eyes and nearly sighed, but gently smiled, "No, Twilight. You've done more than enough."

Even though the stallion repeated those words a couple of times already, it wasn't enough to put her sister more at ease. She may have been better since he began to recover, but he could tell that she was still stressed. Her anxiety may have been going down by each passing day, but as much as Shining Armor has talked to her, she still treated him like a sick puppy.

He was even well enough to assist Tails when Twilight wasn't looking.

There wasn't a moment of privacy when he was at the tree house. The captain would have went straight back to work if he still didn't feel weak; there was also that fainting spell incident when he first arrived at her house. He nearly gave Twilight a heart attack when he collapsed while trotting to her kitchen. Tails did say that the chip is still sending blank frequencies that would screw up with the pulses that his brain cells were carrying. He's scheduled to go back to the doctor to see if they could get that checked out. If not, then Tails would have to implant something on that device to cancel out its frequency.

He was disappointed when they said that the device couldn't be pulled out without turning him into a vegetable.

At least Twilight decided to go help Tails in the kitchen; least he can get a little privacy at that moment, which was very strange, because Twilight was already done with her meal and the fox was just now fixing his own, and he was just fixing a sandwich.

The captain was reminded of a rumor that her little sister had a big time crush on the mechanic. He quickly dismissed it when he heard it from a group of giggling mares in Ponyville, but as he cast his curious eyes towards the two in question, he immediately saw the little pony scooting rather a little too close to the fox. What is she doing trying to wrap her tail around Tails back?

No… There's no way.

"You just go ahead and sit yourself down," Twilight surly spoke to him, "You've been working all morning; I can fix your lunch."

Tails gently and politely pushed her tail away and sidestepped a foot away from her, "No, Twilight. I said I wasn't ready, remember?"

She innocently looked away, "Ready for what? I just want to finish fixing your lunch; I have nothing else better to do."

The fox looked over to her and gave her a deadpan look, "I know exactly what you're doing."

"You can't stop me," Twilight sing songed, "I'm going to continue to help you and do your chores until you give in."

Before Tails could put another finger on the halfway completed sandwich, a purple aurora covered it and began to fix itself until it was completely exactly what the fox wanted it. Before he could say anything else to object, a cup of hot tea and a napkin appeared in his hands and immediately found himself sitting at the dinner table by Twilight's magic.

What did he ever do to get in this situation? He really didn't know what to think of her, and she knows that by now. What makes her think that this will help her case?

Still, as much as he tried to give her a disappointing frown; he couldn't help but chuckle… It was a good thing she didn't notice.

"This will only get worse," Twilight playfully whispered to him.

Neither Twilight or Tails knew it, but in the main library, Shining Armor almost passed out from shock when he saw that display. He was having such a hard time keeping his giggles in.

Oh, Luna's stars. Cadance will not believe this!

---

The next day

Knuckles took in a deep yawn as he slowly and clumsy crawled out of a spare bed. When he stood up, he stretched his arms out and flailed them left and right to pop a few joints. It was a typical, routine morning; with absolutely nothing special going on today other than the crap ton of work that was ahead. On mornings like this, he would pay a quick visit to the bathroom before going down stairs for breakfast… Which he did in a complete routine.

He already predicted what was going to happen for the rest of the day. Breakfast, go to work, lunch, go to work, break, go to work, supper, and bed.

He didn't realized how much he missed having a routine day; with absolutely nothing going on other than knocking down a bunch of apples from trees and helping with farming equipment. Sure, it was exhausting work, but he didn't mind; in fact it was beginning to grow quickly on him. Although napping while protecting the Master Emerald was good, but doing nothing all day can be downright mind bottling. On the occasion he has to do something, his brain would be in the 'off' position for a half hour or so before becoming fully aware.

This was better… He never imagined it, but it was so much better. He even has a certain marefriend to look forward to when he catches a break. She'll probably take advantage of the relationship, but he didn't mind; he found himself all too happy to give two craps about anything.

Though he only smiles around the Apple family. Sonic only saw him smirk, and he prefers to keep it like that for some strange reason he could never explain.

He held his happiness back with only a small smile, but it shinned like a beacon when he arrived in the kitchen. Applebloom felt her lips curl upwards just from seeing him.

"Gud mornin' Knuckles!" The filly called with a wide smile.

"Morning," The echidna called back, sitting right by her, "McIntosh up and about?"

"Yepers. Applejack should be down ere' any minute."

Granny Smith began to put the finishing touches on their breakfast, which; Knuckles could have guessed, a serving of apple fridder and sweet apple pie with a carton of apple juice. Seriously, that's all this family prepares are apples. Not once did Knuckles see them cook, bake, or freeze anything that isn't related to apples.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt to fix eggs or pancakes every once or a while." He idly commented.

He immediately noticed Applebloom gapped jaw with her fixed dilated eyes trained on him, expressing shock, fear, and wonder as his words rolled out of his mouth. When his eyes wondered back to the stove, he immediately saw Granny Smith's blank eyes staring dead at him… Just inches from his face.

"Wat's wrong with ma apples?"

A sudden weight of dread fell upon the echida's shoulders. He tried to open his mouth to object, but his mind seemed to have lassoed his tongue from speaking anything. The only thing that came out of his mouth was-

"Uh, nothing, nothing at all; your apples are terrific."

Without a word, the elder mare casually turned around and began to finish up their breakfast. Still in shock, he turned to Applebloom.

"She's very unsecur' about er' apples," The filly whispered, "Ah wouldn't say anthing like dat again."

He quietly nodded. The two sat there in awkward silence until, thankfully, Applejack decided to make her appearance by trotting down the stairs and approaching the table.

"Mornin' Sis!" Applebloom cheered.

"Mornin' Applebloom," She groggly yawned.

As she became close to the table, she just realized that the seat she was about to take was going to be beside Knuckles. The enchida took notice and scooted his seat way just a little to give her some room.

To his surprise, she gave him a 'look' and trot around him, taking a seat beside the filly on the other side instead.

"Mornin' Applebloom," The mare greeted, completely ignoring the enchida.

Applejack went ahead and dug into her meal, completely ignoring everything else around her and stuffing her cheeks with Granny Smith's delicious apples.

What is her problem? He thought, she's been like this ever since we came out of Fillydelphia.

Now, he's not a mammal that would meddle in anyone's business, but she's been keeping this up for a very long time. She's been avoiding her with every chance she gets, all the challenges and competitions he could call her out on she could politely decline. He has tried his best to subdue his curiosity to pry, but from studying her, she's been fuming for the past two weeks and hasn't let up a bit. He hates to see her in this state of disarray.

Against his own principles, he asked the question.

"Applejack, is there something bothering you?"

Knuckles had to mentally kick himself into the prying conversation when she snorted and continued eating.

"Now, I don't know if I said anything that has offended you, or I might have done anything that has made you upset, but if you were to tell me where I went wrong, I would happily change."

Again, she completely ignored him.

"I hate seeing you pouting and angry, but let's be friends and talk about it."

She suddenly and eruptibly stood from her seat and loudly stomped out of the kitchen; trotting straight for the front door. The two bystanders jumped when the door slammed behind her. Granny Smith didn't even seem to notice as she emerge herself in her cooking. Knuckles cheerful and blissful mood was instantly crushed.

"What is her problem?" He mumbled, "I can't think of anything I might have said or done to her, other than the usual stuff."

Applebloom suspiciously looked away as the enchida turn to her for answers.

"Do you have any idea what's up?"

She didn't immediately answer; in fact she really didn't want to answer.

"Have you overheard anything while I wasn't around?" He continued, "Like, anything that was making her stressful or angry for the pass two or three weeks?"

She quickly shook her head. After Knuckles pondered for a second or two, he stood from his seat and began to make his way to the door.

"Guess I'm going to have to ask McIntosh," He said to himself, "Maybe he might know something-"

"Wait."

Knuckles turned around and found the filly trotting towards him. She looked sincere, as if pitying him… She also had a guilty frown on her lips.

"Ah know why she's actin' like that towards ya," She stated, "But ya must promise me to not tell uh soul that I told ya so. Ah've been lookin' in places I shouldn't av since you two were gone, and mah sister will be really mad if she finds out."

Knuckles crossed his arms and gave her a firm nod, "Not a word."

"Ahright," She began, "Ah've been… Lookin through her diary just a week ago and… Ah believe that she's been having feelings towards ya'.

His ears immediately shot up.

"She's been writtin' on and on about about how determined and stern ya where when things became heated, and how much of uh goof ball ya can be. She didn't write too much bout' you during your first few weeks ere in Equestria, but as time flew by, more an more of those pages became more bout' you," Her face turned red, "She even writtin' a cheesy poem bout' love and stuff… And she's not a mare that writes poetry."

A rock struck to the bottom of his stomach as the filly spoke. His ears flopped down while his entire buffed poster slumped.

"If ah didn't know any better, ah think she's developed a little crush on ya."

---

"I can't help you Knuckles," Sonic stated as he walked along side Knuckles along a deserted dirt path leading to the park, "You should have noticed something before taking Rarity out."

"I-I-I-I don't know what to do!" Knuckles shouted in a panic, "What do I do, Sonic!?"

"I said I don't know! I don't know crap when it comes to women!" Sonic repeated.

"Don't say that! You seem happy with Rainbow Dash; I thought maybe you could tell me something!"

"You're in a whole different ball park, buddy," Sonic nervously chuckled.

"Common! You must know something, anything!"

The two continued to debacle until they walked through the roll of trees that lead to the park.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Sonic continued, "You have to let either one go."

"I can't! Applejack is still a close friend to me, and I don't want to let Lady Rarity go!"

Sonic stopped and looked to him with a raised eyebrow,"…Lady?"

"Sorry, habit," he immediately answered, "Listen, I just don't know what to do. I wish that females can be straight up honest about their feelings. If we want to confess, we get to the point. If they get feelings, you'll get locked in a freakin chess game with them!"

He cut his sentence too late when he suddenly saw Rainbow Dash hovering in front of them. The two forgot how quiet pegasi can be when hovering, considering their weight.

"What about Rarity?" She curiously asked.

Sonic shook his head and threw his hands up, "Nothing important, just-"

"Rainbow!" Knuckles shouted at her, "Listen, I need your advice on something."

"Oh, please don't get her involved in this!" Sonic pleaded.

The pegasus's ears instantly shot up in great interest as she slowly hovered towards the enchida with a grin forming on her face. If it's something Sonic doesn't want her to hear, it has to be good, "What's up?"

"Don't tell anyone about this but… I just found out Applejack is jealous of my relationship with Rarity. What do I do?"

The pegasus stared at him for a solid minute with wide, curious eyes… Before bursting out in a fit of laughter.

"It's not funny!" He shouted.

Rainbow put her hooves up and she began to hover away from him with Sonic walking right beside him, "Hey, I don't know anything about relationships. Don't ask me about it."

Knuckles just stared at the two disappearing figures in betrayal until Sonic turned around and shouted at him.

"Just uh…" He sighed when he prepared himself to give him a cliché and corny advice, "Follow your heart… Yea!"

Before the echidna had a chance to complain, the two sped off and disappeared behind a hill with a few stray trees scattered about.

"I… I can't let either one of them go," He mumbled, "they mean so much to me."

As he began to walk away and passing a few ponies that were traveling the dirt path, he began thinking. No one has any idea, except himself and Applebloom, that Applejack has feelings for him. Everyone knew that he has a "thing" going on with Rarity, but yet again, no one is really paying attention to it. If he breaks up with Rarity, her feelings will be broken and when he does get along with Applejack, it'll create spite and rivalry between the two. He can't let go of one of them and go out with the other without reproduction.

Wait… There is a way. It's a crazy idea, but it'll make everyone happy.

"What if I were to set up a date with the two of them," He whispered to no one, "and go out with both of them? I can tell Applejack that I broke up with Rarity and go out with her, and take her to Sugarcube Corner with Rarity. We can talk it over and I can keep both mares!"

With Ponyville coming to view, a sly smile stretched across his face.

I need to plan stuff like this more often.

---

Four hours later

It's not too often that Shining Armor can visit princess Cadance. His job managing security of his home country hardly allowed him any free time, especially since Chrysalis' failed attempted to take over the kingdom made his job that much stressful. Celestia and Luna may have sensed that someone would take advantage of the chaos that would come when doing a wedding, but no one expected the Changeling hive to invade. It still boggled his mind of how she managed to kidnap Candace herself, since she was a political figure even before she became a princess. She was watched, not as much as the Royal Guard, but she was still a highly cherished asset to the kingdom.

With that nasty business behind, he was happy to visit his wife. It's been too long since they were together for a whole day. He chuckled at the thought of thanking Eggman for this break. He was weak, but surely was healthy enough to ride chariot home. His headache has been much better than it was back at the library.

Cadence was more than ecstatic to see him again. She was worried for him of course; with that device still implanted in his brain, but she was happy just to have her Shiny again. When the captain got through talking about his chip, their conversation became… Normal. just like they used to before he was promoted. Talking to her brought back sweet memories, from the time he first met her in Canterlot. He always knew her as Twilie's baby sister, but it was when the two began chatting on the side was when their casual talking became something more.

It was because of Twilight that he met his wife… He would have never met her if she didn't baby sit his little sister. He didn't know how he forgot to invite her to his wedding; whether it was Chrysalis' spell talking or too preoccupied with security, he would never know.

But all of that is in the pass. Memories of his early colt hood taking and being with Cadence flashed before him as the two continued to talk… He was just about to take his wife and embrace her in a long-firm hug-

Until she suddenly began to uncontrollably giggle and coo all at once when he mentioned Tails and Twilight.

"Please tell me you're joking, Shiny!" She shouted with glee, "I'd never… That's the cutest thing I've ever heard!"

It was a pretty odd display.

"Now, I don't know too much of the relationship between the two, other than rumors," He immediately said, "I've only heard the two of them talk just briefly."

"What were the rumors?" She demanded with a wide smile, "Tell me! Please, for the love of Celestia tell me everything you've heard!"

The captain shook his head, "Honey, I know this is amusing too, but I'm not spreading rumors-"

"Amusing?" She snorted with disgust, "Shiny, this has nothing to do with amusement. This is about your little sister finding love! It's my duty to unite couples, you know that; Especially if it's simply too adorable!"

Shining mentally groaned. He knew her special talent is igniting a fire of passion between two ponies, and her… Purpose, he could say, is to bring love and happiness to ponies everywhere by bringing two mates together. There's a difference between helping and meddling, however; and for as long he knew this mare, she's been known to get involved in relationship where she shouldn't. Now, most of her actions did bring ponies closer together and uniting the equines, not to mention spreading good will and setting an example to neighboring nations, but there were always… Mistakes. There was that one incident years ago when he and Cadance were taking a peaceful stroll through Canterlot and found a young stallion and an older mare bickering. His wife, out of instinct, casted a weak passion spell on the two.

They immediately found out that the two were mother and son fighting over a claim. The spell only took minutes to wear off and their presence kept them mostly distracted but… That could have gone a LOT worst.

"I don't think you need to intervene," he said, "It'll be better to let things happen naturally. Who knows, Tails just might develop feelings for her."

Princess Cadance was already trotting towards the door, "I'm taking no chances, honey. As Princess of Love, I'm going to make sure that they see what they could have!"

He began to trot after her, "No, it's not a good idea. Just stay here and let the two play it out."

She rolled her eyes as she opened the door, "You know I love you, but this is something I know will be good for them. You can stay here and rest while I take care of this real quick."

He may be exhausted because of his still recovering body, but he's not going to sit here when he hears of another accident, "I'm feeling better. I'm going to tag alone before I have to get back to work."

Just like that, the two called their private chariot to travel back to Ponyville.

---

Sonic peddled his feet across the wild grass as fast as he could; zipping around bushes and trees as the wind endlessly pushed against his face. With a tree approaching, he sped up and immediately jumped while pushing his feet against the tree, leaping in the opposite direction and sprinting. A rainbow trail suddenly shot in front of him, with the trail going immediately above him.

With the pursuer now on his tail, he began to sprint as fast as he could, keeping a sharp eye on the pegasus behind him; waiting for her to make a move. When she nosedived, Sonic zipped sideways; causing her to miss him by a wide margin. With a smirk, he sped to the left and boomed through the open hills.

Until he looked to his right and found a grinning Rainbow Dash just five feet away from him, charging as fast as her wings could carry her. Without a time to even blink, he found himself tackled. The two intertwined into a ball as they rolled across a small hill, rolling down and coming to a stop at the foot. The two rolled away from each other, with Sonic laying on his back with Rainbow on her side. After a minute of huffing and rubbing their sores, the two exchanged glances, and laughed.

"Fastest thing alive?" Rainbow boasted, "We all know that's manure."

"Hey, I was going easy on you," Sonic chuckled, "You would have never caught me if I going full sprint on flat land."

"Say that again when I pull a sonic rainboom. I would have won that race if I had a couple of more feet of distance; you know that!"

He rolled his eyes and simply stared at the clouds above him. The two lay there motionlessly, simply taking in the pleasure of each other's company. It was a strange feeling for both of them to be honest. The two didn't have to say or do anything, just simply being with each other was more than enough to make them smile.

Until they became bored.

"… Wanna do anything?" Rainbow asked.

Sonic was about to answer until an… Urge popped to his mind.

"Cudd-"

He caught his word just in time to stop it, but it earned a very quizzical look from the pegasus.

"Huh?"

"Cupcakes!" He immediately corrected as smoothly as he could and retaining his passive voice. It did nothing to hide his sudden blush, though, "I'm in the mood for cupcakes. Wanna go down to Sugar Cube corner real quick?"

The pegasus stared at him for a second or two in thought, "Uh… Yea! Not a bad idea. I want to stop by to see how she's doing anyways."

The two stood up and Sonic began to jog towards Ponyville while Rainbow maintained a steady speed to be right by him.

"You won't freak out when you see her this time?" She asked playfully.

He shook his head, "No… I'll," Pinkie's conversation about Eggman immediately came to mind, "I'll be fine. I guess she just grew on me after I comforted her when she locked herself in her room."

"Not as scary as you thought she was, huh?"

He shook his head, looking to her with a sincere smile, "No… I guess not."

---

"I'm going down to Sugar Cube Corner for a little bit!" Amy cheerfully shouted to Fluttershy as she began to make her way towards the door, "Do you need anything while I'm gone?"

The pegasus was upstairs tending to a small group of baby birds. While they were tended too at the moment, she flew down the hallway and poked her head from the first floor ceiling, "Um… I could use some bird seeds if it's no trouble. I'm about out, and these little guys will starve if they're not immediately fed."

The pegasus felt a tug at her heart from the very thought of her pet animals dying.

"Sure thing! Anything else?"

"Um… Not really."

"Alright, I'll be back in a bit!"

Amy closed the door behind her as she began to walk towards the center of Ponyville. From her stay at the cottage, she was beginning to grow compassionate towards the timid pegasus. That mare sacrificed most of her free time and energy tending to those animals. She puts everypony and animal above her own needs, and goes above and beyond to make sure they're taken care of… Not a whole lot of individuals can honestly say that.

Just recently, Fluttershy found a nest full of bird chicks that was abandoned by their mother. As much as Amy said that it would be helpless since baby birds has to eat in a certain way only provided by the mother, she took them in regardless. Remarkably, those birds began to grow under her care, growing feathers even.

I wonder how she does it, She thought, I thought baby birds can't eat whole foods. The mother has to pre-chew it before-

The image popped in front of her eyes before she could stop it.

"…Ew."

---

"No, the two aren't home," Spike answered Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, who stood just at the front door of Ponyville's library, "They'll be back in an hour or so."

"Where are they at, little one?" Cadence asked with a sweet smile.

The little dragon felt a little demented when she call him, 'little', but held his peace, "They're at Sugar Cube Corner… Eating out, I guess."

Shining Armor nearly groaned of aggravation when his wife let out a 'squee', possibly thinking how adorable the pair were. He's happy that Twilight has a crush, no doubt about it, but if the rumors were true, then Tails is either unsure or disinterested in perusing a relationship. Having Cadence will complicate things.

"Thank you, sweetie," She dismissed while playfully rubbing Spike's head, "Be a good boy now."

Before Spike could protest, she closed the door and began trotting her way towards that direction. Shining Armor knew that there was nothing he could say to change her mind now, but he might as well try.

"I still think you should just leave the two alone. You don't want to make things awkward for them when you show up. Don't you?"

She rolled her eyes while giving him a confident smile, "Shiny, I know exactly what I'm doing… You don't need to worry about a thing."

After that, he stayed quite for the entire trip. He can sense that something was going to go wrong, he was absolutely sure something is going to screw up. He didn't know if it was Cadance's pride, the situation at hand, or just a captain's instinct, but he just knew that something was going to go down. He prayed to Celestia, Luna, and to whatever god that might exist that his instincts were wrong.

---

Author's notes

(sigh)… This months at a time thing is bull crap. The next chapter shouldn't be much to write though.

Deadline: two weeks… I Promise…

Yea, I know that mentioning Halloween at the top is a little late, but screw it.

Marching on, with much regards, respect, and love.

Harry

---

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Deuteronomy 31:6