“I’m back,” Tarnish announced as he stepped through the back door leading into the kitchen. When he had left, Maud had been helping her sister Pinkie get cleaned up in the bathroom. The house seemed quiet and the kitchen was empty. “I brought a telegram back with me from town… it’s for you, Pinkie.”

“It had better not be from him,” Pinkie said, appearing in the living room doorway with a ferocious scowl furrowing her face.

“I don’t know,” Tarnish replied, shaking his head. “Because I don’t know who he is. This telegram is from a Mister Sandwich.”

Pinkie rushed forwards, a pink blur shooting through the kitchen, and she snatched the telegram out of Tarnish’s telekinesis just as Maud appeared in the doorway. She tore the telegram envelope open, doing so with such speed that it was impossible to tell how she was doing it and began reading, her eyes darting from the left to the right. Her mouth fell open and she shook her head.

“Cheesy is in trouble… oh no!” Pinkie Pie shook her head. “Some kind of terrible new parasprite mutation that makes ponies sad! He can’t battle them alone and music doesn’t seem to be working!”

Tarnish had no idea what Pinkie was talking about. He had a vague recollection of parasprites in Ponyville, but they had left him alone for whatever reason. He watched as Pinkie Pie read the telegram again. This time, as she read, her mane and tail exploded with riotous curls.

“I don’t have time to sit here and feel sorry for myself… a friend needs me… Equestria needs me… I GOTTA GO!”

Tarnished Teapot was struck by a Category Five Pink Hurricane, a Piephoon. He was set upon by a pink blur, his neck was almost crushed in a fierce hug, his face was kissed a dozen times in the span of a single eye blink, somehow almost bowling him over but also keeping him upright, then the pink blur left him to assault Maud, who weathered the storm with stony indifference. Before Tarnish could even recover enough to say anything, Pinkie exploded out the back door and was gone, leaving behind a cloud of confetti, some streamers, and the scent of frosting.

It happened so fast that Maud’s mane whipped out in the breeze of Pinkie’s rapid departure. The two ponies left behind stared at one another, blinking, and confetti fell like snowflakes upon both Tarnish and Maud.

“What just happened?” Tarnished asked.

“Pinkie Pie,” Maud replied, as if that somehow explained everything.

“She’s gone.”

“Yep.”

“Will she be okay?” Tarnish’s head tilted off to one side in concern.

“I think she’ll be fine.” Maud let out a sigh and blinked. “We need to get going. We have work to do. Want to help me start packing up the egg?”

“Are we really going to call it ‘The Egg?’” Tarnish crossed the kitchen to stand closer to his wife. Confetti fell from his sides and swirled around his hooves.

“What else should we call it?” Maud angled her head to look up at Tarnish. “Stop growing taller, Tarnish, I’m going to get a crick in my neck. What are you, some kind of giraffe?”

“Hey, don’t you start! I can’t help it.” Tarnish lowered his head until he was eye level with Maud. “Is it just me, or is my neck getting really long? Like, freakishly long?”

“All of the best parts of you are long,” Maud replied in her flattest monotone ever.

Unable to stop himself, Tarnish began to snigger. He nosed Maud on the cheek, showering her with affection, and took a step closer. “I really hope that Pinkie will be okay. She took off so suddenly.”

“Tarnish, that’s how she is. One day, a long time ago, when she was still a foal, she just up and left us. She took off to Ponyville. She’s always been a free spirit. I think she just needed some time with her sister. She’ll sort herself out.” Maud paused and looked at up at Tarnish. “By the way, you did good looking after her. Thank you. I’m going to make it up to you with some happy husband hugs.”

“Hey, being good is its own reward.” Tarnish grinned.

“But those will have to come later. For now, we have packing to do. Let’s see what we can get done while it is still daylight.” Maud planted a noisy kiss on Tarnish’s cheek. “Really, thank you.”

“Aw, it was nothing…”

The Egg was far roomier than it first appeared to be. The storage spaces below the floor and above the ceiling held a surprising amount of stuff. The storage below the bed held even more stuff. There was far more useful storage space in here than on a buckboard wagon. As a bonus, stuff didn’t have to be packed into water tight steamer trunks, which were a heavy load all unto themselves. The closet space beyond the bed wasn’t even half full yet.

“What about our scientific equipment?” Tarnish asked as he stepped out of The Egg.

“Hasn’t arrived yet. It is coming by train, should be here tomorrow,” Maud replied. “We’re getting the new model of thaumaton reader, which I can’t wait to try out. The rocks will reveal their secrets to me.”

“I packed up the old one—”

“Good,” Maud said, “we might need a backup. The old one has proven itself during our last adventure.”

Tarnish nodded and lifted up a crate of food that sat near the back door. With effortless ease, he levitated it over, floated it inside, and then stepped in himself. The crate, big, heavy, and wood, was unnecessary. He peeled it open, pulling off the wooden lid, and began placing all of the tinned food in the cabinets beneath the sink. There were straps and nets inside the cabinet to hold items in place.

After emptying the crate, he tossed it outside and fetched the second crate, which was full of dry goods; oatmeal, rice, and other foodstuffs that weren’t tinned. Tarnish pulled it into The Egg with him, pulled it open, and began to put everything away. Several hundred pounds of food were already tucked into storage and there was still plenty of room for more.

Sticking his head out the door, Tarnish grabbed something else that he desperately wanted with him on his trip. He lifted Maud, who was going over a checklist, and pulled her inside. Grinning, he tossed her on the bed. He advanced upon her, his grin ever widening, emboldened by how she just laid there looking at him with her sleepy, disinterested expression.

“Did you get everything stuffed in? Was it a snug fit? Did you—”

There was a cough. Tarnish froze, blinked, and felt his blood run cold. Maud blinked and her nostrils flared. With an almost painful slowness, the tendons in his long neck creaking, Tarnish turned his head and looked at Igneous, who had stuck his head into the door and asked some questions.

Did you get everything stuffed in? Was it a snug fit? Those words could not have been said at a worse time, as Tarnish had Maud on the bed and had planned a little impromptu makeout session. And poor Igneous, his words had to be haunting him. The stallion had turned a shade of red that did not exist in nature. He had just asked his son in law a question that no father ever wants to hear the answer to.

Tarnish, who had something of a mouth on him, who could be witty when the situation demanded, could not help himself. He felt his lips betraying him as the words began to leave him. “I’ve stuffed every available space I could find, and there’s still some room to spare…”

“Daddy… you did show up unannounced—”

“Maudlin, please, Daddy needs a moment… you left the door open and I had no idea what was going on in there. I thought it was safe.” Igneous wiped sweat from his face, drew in a deep, wheezing breath, and let it all out in a huff. The old stallion shook his head, grunted, and went stomping off to the water pump for a cooling drink.

“Tarnished Teapot, you scoundrel, I’m telling your mother,” Maud said to her husband.

“Oh come on, that was funny,” Tarnish said in his own defense as Igneous began pumping water and soaking his head. “I had to say something, I couldn’t help myself. It just slipped out.”

“Tarnish…” Maud shook her head at her husband. “In light of what you just said, specifically the line, ‘room to spare,’ you should not say ‘slipped out,’ okay?”

Snorting, Tarnish began to chortle as a stream of profanity poured from Igneous’ lips. The old stallion sputtered, coughed, and continued to soak his head. Tarnish eyed Maud, trying to find some telltale sign of her being amused; he hoped that she found this funny.

“When I tell my mother about this, she is going to howl.” Maud blinked once, looked at her father, and then up at Tarnish. “This is hilarious. This is something we’re all going to look back upon and laugh about later.”

“No it ain’t,” Igneous retorted as he gave himself a shake. “And this is why we are building you a nice stone cottage and there will be a strict ‘knock before entering’ rule. By the stones, I’m losing my little fillies.”

Harrumphing, Igneous set off, stomping away, and he vanished through the back door of the house. Maud watched him go through sleepy looking eyes, and when he was gone, Maud prodded Tarnish with her hoof.

“Shall we pick up where we left off?”

Shrugging, Tarnish replied, “Okay, sure.”

Stepping into the kitchen, Tarnish froze when he saw Cloudy staring at him. Maud bumped into his backside, then pushed her way through the door, shoving him aside. She halted and stared back at her mother.

“Hungry for dinner, or are you already stuffed?” As Cloudy spoke, the corner of her mouth twitched.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Tarnish replied, playing a dangerous game. “I just nibbled some Pie, but I’m still hungry.” He noticed Maud giving him a sidelong glance as he spoke. “Pie can be a satisfying meal unto itself, if you really dive into it.”

“Yes it can,” Cloudy said, her eyes narrowing as the corners of her mouth kept tugging upwards. “Get out of my kitchen, you scamp! Poor Igneous, he had to go lie down for a while. Both of you, get gone! Dinner will be served in just a bit. Tarnish, try not to spoil your appetite.”

“But Cloudy, I’m in love with your baked goods and can’t stop nibbling on the sweet treat you made just for me—”

“Get out of here!” Cloudy pointed at the door leading into the living room with her hoof and try as she might, she could not hold back her sniggering. For a moment, her eyes lingered upon her grown daughter, and fierce pride could be seen. “You give me some grandfoals and maybe I’ll forgive you. Now get out!”

Knowing better than to push his luck, Tarnish made good on his escape, with Maud following along right behind him. As he stepped through the door into the living room, Tarnish chuckled and said, “Thank you, Cloudy… she’s perfect.”

“And don’t I know it!” Cloudy snapped.

Standing next to the wall in the cramped room, Tarnish watched as Maud fished out a small bag for Limestone. He already knew what was in it, buried down deep in soft tissue paper. A Manehattan snow globe, as requested. He had said that he would try to get a snow globe, but it had been Maud who had gone out and done the shopping. But Limestone didn’t need to know that…

This snow globe was special—it lit up at night and the tiny city inside had lighted windows, little street lamps, and little illuminated wagons in the streets. Tarnish hoped that it would make Limestone happy. It was powered by shaking it.

As for Marble, Maud had brought back a book about the history of Manehattan and its importance as an earth pony city of trade. With Marble being the bookish sort, Tarnish figured it would be as good of a gift as any.

He watched as Limestone’s hoof reached down into the bag and she began to feel around. She pulled out something wadded up in paper and began to peel away the layers, her eyes wide with excitement. Marble on the other hoof, was far more reserved. She peered into her bag, somehow looking shy and apologetic as she did so, but she did not reach inside. She just sat, staring into the bag, smiling a soft, warm smile.

“It’s perfect,” Limestone said as she tossed some paper aside. She held up the snow globe, balancing it on her hoof, and peered into the tiny cityscape. She let out an ‘oooh’ sound followed by an ‘aaah,’ her eyes growing ever wider.

“Do you think Pinkie will be okay?” Marble asked.

“I’m sure Pinkie will be fine,” Limestone replied as she gave her snow globe a shake.

“I’m worried too,” Tarnish admitted.

Marble, lifting her head, looked at the ponies crowded into the room with her. She brushed her mane away from her face with her hoof, let out a low cough, and then said, “Pinkie is like a ray of sunshine that shines down on your life and then is gone. She’s special, because you never know when she’s going to happen next. One moment, like a ray of sunshine, she is there, and the next moment, she is gone.”

“Yeah, that about sums up Pinkie.” Limestone nodded her head and her eyes remained locked upon the tiny city under glass. A blizzard raged inside and the yellow glow of the lights could be seen in the water.

“But the sun always comes back, no matter how dark it gets.” Maud reached out her foreleg, grabbed Marble, and pulled in her in for a hug. “We rocks need our sun to warm us…”

Author's Notes:

Innuendo!