“I wish we could stay together like this forever,” Pinkie Pie said as one of her many curls deflated with a flatulent, flappy noise that confused Twilight Sparkle a great deal and caused her to look around the room for the source of the sound, because who could believe that a pink pony’s mane could make floop-floop-floop sounds.

“We all have things we have to do and lives to return to,” Twilight said to her dear friend, trying to comfort her. “Applejack needs to get back to her farm, I need to return to Ponyville, Maud and Tarnish are having a meeting in Manehattan, and you Pinkie… I’m sure Whatsisface is missing you.”

“Yeah… Whatsisface… I miss him too.” Pinkie Pie grinned and heaved a sigh as she looked at Twilight through narrowed eyes. “I just like it when I have my family all together.”

“Wait, you know who my sister Pinkie is seeing?” Limestone asked.

“Yup.” Twilight smiled, revealing perfect, square teeth. “I sure do.”

“She’ll tell you but not us?” Limestone glared at her sister and her ears angled over her face. “Oh, that is just not fair, not at all. Why does this have to be a secret, anyhow?”

“Because, we’re dating, silly, and I don’t want to get anypony’s hopes up. If it turns into something serious, I’ll let everypony know.” Pinkie glanced at her mother. “Mama is at that age and frame of mind that she expects something in return for raising us and being such a good mother. She wants a few little Pies running around the farm.”

Hearing her daughter’s words, Cloudy rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. The older mare had a pleasant smile upon her face and after a lingering glance at Pinkie, she turned to her husband, Igneous. “I think if we finish the cottage, Maud and Tarnish might settle down a bit. We just need to give them a reason to stay home for a while.”

“Cloudy Quartz,” Igneous said as he lowered his newspaper and looked at his wife, “I hate to say it, but you are going to be disappointed. When those two do get around to making another little Pie, it’ll be going on the road with them, no doubt.” Igneous lifted up his paper and resumed looking at the opinion editorials, hoping to find his own strongly worded letter.

Cloudy meanwhile, let out a forlorn sigh as she got up out of her chair, left the room, and returned to the kitchen, where she had work to do, as she was behind on candy orders.

“My mother kept pestering my brother Shiny and my sister in law Cadance… I wonder what it’s like… it must be hard to have that much love to give and no little foal to share it with.” Twilight shook her head, her ears flapping, and she turned to look at Pinkie Pie. “I wonder what motherhood is like… that feeling of knowing that there is another life that is utterly dependent upon you—”

“Twilight, you have to meet somepony first,” Applejack said to her friend, “and then you have to make time for them.”

“If I rearranged my schedules, I could make time. I’m flexible… I could probably find an hour or two in a day if I was more careful with my time allotments,” Twilight mumbled to herself as she scratched her chin with her hoof.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie exchanged a knowing glance with one another and both mares shook their heads. The room fell silent, the conversation dying, the various participants now all thinking about other things. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were both thinking about Twilight and what she had said. Igneous was reading his paper and thinking about a return to the ‘good old days’ when times were simpler. Marble was thinking about her beau. Limestone was thinking about stealing some candy from the kitchen.

One thing was for certain—the happy time of togetherness was almost over.

“So you’ll be coming to Manehattan to meet with us, but you won’t be travelling with us?” Maud asked Tree Hugger. Maud looked at her fellow earth pony and wondered how her mane grew the way it did.

Tree Hugger, who had a pleasant, mellow grin, nodded. “I have to speak with somepony about something that is like, totally urgent, but I promise, I’ll meet you in Manehattan.” Tree Hugger’s eyes drooped until they were almost half closed. “I like this place. It has a groovy vibe. We should like, hold a concert here… get a whole bunch of musicians and like, raise awareness. We could call it… Woodstock—no, Rockstock.”

“I don’t think my father would like that very much.” Maud, lifting her head, surveyed the rock farm. It had once been a grey-brown colourless place, but now, there were brilliant patches of blue springing up.

Tree Hugger did not reply, but closed her eyes. She swayed back and forth, her ears twitching as if she was listening to some song that only she could hear. A little flash of white became visible as her lips parted in a smile.

“So, how are Tarnish and I going to get around Manehattan without causing a scene?” Maud asked Tree Hugger. “I don’t want to cause a scene again. While I like the direction my life is taking, I am less than pleased with the intrusions upon my privacy.”

“Not to worry,” Tree Hugger replied, “arrangements have been made and everything is being looked after. A quick train ride to Fillydelphia, in Fillydelphia, you’ll catch an airship, then it’s a quick flight to Manehattan. From there, you will be transported to the Stiff Upper Lip Society’s headquarters. It is a place that can’t be found unless you are invited. They’re all looking forwards to meeting you.”

Maud wondered what sort of magic the place must have if it could not be found unless one was invited. She wondered what she was getting into. She was excited, so very excited, she felt as though it was impossible to sit still or to concentrate. Yet, somehow, Maud remained statuesque and there were no visible signs of her excitement on the outside.

“It’s no wonder that Tarnished Teapot found himself here… this place sings… it is a strange song, but, like, beautiful.” Tree Hugger, who still swayed from side to side, opened her eyes. “It’s like, raw and primal. This is a powerful place, this rock farm. I can hear it calling to me… telling me to stay and put down roots so that I might give life to the land. This is a place that like, sings a siren song for earth ponies.”

“So how do you suppose that Tarnish can be influenced by what we hear?” Maud asked. “How is this place reaching him… we can hear it… feel it… we are in tune with this place. So how is Tarnish connected?”

“Like, I totally don’t know,” Tree Hugger replied. “He’s a mystery… he’s not quite a unicorn, at least not like other unicorns. His horn is more rooted in the ground, and less in the aether.”

“But, he is different.” Maud turned and looked at Tree Hugger.

“We’re all different. All special.” Tree Hugger took a deep breath and looked back at Maud. “Like, nature has quirks. Adaptations. Stuff evolves. Nature experiments with new things to see if they work. I think Tarnish is nature trying something new… like Walrus might say, ‘Nature is throwing something at the wall to see if it sticks.’ Walrus is cool like that.”

“So do you think there will come a day when we see a new tribe of pony?” Maud lifted her head and watched Limestone and Marble gambolling by the pumphouse, trying to get Pinny to play with them.

“Maybe.” Tree Hugger closed her eyes again and her ears twitched to the rhythm that flowed through her. “I think we’re already seeing the beginning of new tribes… like the earth ponies that live in the city that have lost their connection to the land. Can they still be called earth ponies if they no longer have a connection to the earth? Like, what constitutes an earth pony?”

“They’re just deaf… cut off… if they could be made to hear again, they would still be earth ponies.” Maud felt uncomfortable as she thought about this, but she didn’t know why. Something about all of this bothered her a great deal.

“Happens to pegasi too… they like, live in big cities with all of the coal dust and the pollution and the smog… and like, they stop hearing the song of the sky. They can’t feel anything. They’ve like, suffered a disconnect.” Tree Hugger went still, no longer swaying, and her mouth closed, the corners of her lips angling downwards. “We’re a species that is meant to live in harmony with the land. This harmony is a fragile thing, easily broken. We hang by a thread.”

Nope, Maud didn’t like this at all. She was The Rock and the idea that her foundation could be threatened was unnerving to her. She couldn’t imagine being cut off from the rocks. Something about this conversation made her want to squirm inside of her own skin. It was time to change the subject. “We have a train to catch soon. I should be getting ready. It’ll be time to say goodbye before we know it.”

There was quite a gathering of ponies in the yard just outside the farmhouse and goodbyes were being exchanged. The happy gathering was over all too soon. Tarnish, Maud and Tree Hugger would be catching a train and heading east, to Fillydelphia, while Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Pinny Lane would all be catching a train a little while later and heading west.

As Pinny hugged her son, Cloudy was stuffing treats into Tarnish’s saddlebags. Limestone and Marble were both squeezing Maud while wishing her luck. Igneous stood near by, looking stony, with no visible expression upon his face.

Pinkie Pie shoved her sisters aside, grabbed Maud, and began squeezing as hard as she could. The pink pony closed her eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and gasped out the words, “Good luck, Maudlin… thankfully there are no volcanos in Manehattan.”

“Take pictures for us!” Limestone took a step backwards and let Pinkie have a moment with Maud. After a bit of a sniffle, she found herself another target. Launching herself, she slammed into Tarnish and Pinny, almost bowling them both over.

“Yes, we want pictures of you and Tarnish all dressed up,” Cloudy said as she moved to stand near her husband. The older mare held her head high, feeling proud. Little Maud had grown up. She was married now and had established herself enough that she now had a career as a ranger working for the Crown. Cloudy sniffled a bit, feeling proud, feeling a sense of accomplishment. Now, there was only one thing missing, and Cloudy was certain that the one little piece that was missing would happen in time—hopefully sooner rather than later.

“Look after the cabbages we’ve planted. I hope they’ll grow,” Maud said to Marble.

“Okay,” Marble agreed.

“Bring back souvenirs,” Limestone said as she gave both Tarnish and his mother, Pinny, a squeeze. “I like snow globes. I have one from Las Pegasus and one from Fillydelphia… one from Manehattan would be nice.”

Tarnish nodded and felt his mother kissing him yet again. “Got it, I’ll try to get a snow globe.” He squirmed and tried to get free as he was almost dragged down by both Pinny and Limestone. “Goodbye Marble.” He looked over at Igneous and Cloudy while Limestone still clung to his neck. “Goodbye Igneous, goodbye Cloudy.”

“It’s like he’s part giraffe,” Limestone said as she let go of Tarnish’s neck and dropped down to all fours. She looked at Pinny with a raised eyebrow. “Since when did he get so tall?”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Pinny replied to Limestone as she looked up at her son. “Have fun, Tarnish. I hope this is a pleasant trip for you. Spend some quality time with Maud, okay?”

Waggling his eyebrows, Tarnish replied, “I plan on it.”

“Come back to us soon.” Igneous’ stony face softened a bit and his eyes looked sad. “You had better get going. You’ve got a ways to walk and the train is coming soon.”

Maud looked at her father, whom she loved. “Goodbye, Daddy...”

Author's Notes:

Next chapter... airshipping.