“Wow! So pretty!” Lily gasped as she trotted happily through the path. The leaves of autumn had almost all fallen by now, but there was still plenty of colour to be seen. I remembered being appreciative of nature back when I was in Equestria, but my memory of earth was a little jumbled. I remember thinking it was ‘pretty’ but not really thinking past that point, yet those memories of being out in nature, amongst the flowers and leaves, always seemed to fill me with happiness.

I thought back to a picnic that I went on with my parents when I was about ten years old. I remember that when we went on this picnic, all I wanted to do was go home and play video games, yet for some reason, this memory brought me such joy and filled me with a warm fuzzy feeling. I smiled at the memory and brought myself back to the present, watching as Lily cantered off into the bushes, smelling the flowers and gawking in awe.

I giggled at the sight. Lily being happy always seemed to make me happy as well, almost as if we were sharing our emotions together. It was a wonderful feeling of closeness with her, one that always brought me unrivaled happiness. How I wished to frolic along with her, but the weight in my belly, coupled with Luna’s warnings that I shouldn’t be too active, stopped me from chasing after her. Regardless, I was still able to look around and take in the sights around me.

I smiled as a squirrel popped it’s head out from a hole in a log only to scamper off as he saw us pass. Luna let out a little chuckle from next to me as a large leaf slowly drifted down and landed on my face, causing me to yelp in surprise and blow it away from my face with a snort of air. I laughed along with Luna, the simple, yet hilarious situation sending us both into a fit of giggles.

We trotted along until our small group came to an old wooden bridge, made to cross the river that we had been walking alongside. My mother and I looked down at the rushing waters together, my reflection in the water distorted by how fast the water was moving. There were no rocks to disrupt the flow of the river, so even though it was moving fast, I could distinctly make out Lily’s reflection as she joined me in looking down into the river.

“Woah… It’s so fast!”

“It’s called the Blackwood river.” My mum said from above us. “I think it’s because it’s so hard to see the bottom, but the water’s actually only a meter deep.”

“Really? Why can’t we see the bottom?”

“There’s a tree around here called a “Tea Tree”. When the leaves fall in the water, they stain it a dark brown, so the bottom of the water is hardly visible.”

“That’s incredibly informative, Jenny.” Princess Luna said, joining us in our gaze down at the rushing waters. “I have a friend like you back in Ponyville who I’m sure you’d get along with.”

“I’m sure we would.” My mum said, a strange stark tone to her voice before she pulled away from the bridge's handrail and clapped her hands. “Well, the picnic site is pretty close by, now. Only a few more minutes walk and we’ll be there. Your father has already been there for a while now, and knowing him, he’s probably also already set up the barbeque.”

We all stepped away from the river and began to follow my mum again. As we got closer to the camp, the smell of roasting mushrooms could be smelt throughout the air.

“That smells great!” Lily called out, a few meters ahead of us.

“It sure does. Smells like Stephen couldn’t wait for us to start cooking.” My mum grinned and shook her head. As we finally reached the picnic site, we found my dad, wearing a large apron and flipping portabello mushrooms like burger patties. I trotted up next to him and wrapped my hooves around his leg.

“Hey, dad!” I called up at him.

“Hey, Rose! Wanna come up here and watch your dad cook?” He asked, motioning toward a stool next to him. I nodded with a smile and he picked me up, placing me down on the stool. I looked over and watched happily as my dad cooked.

-

I giggled as I watched Rose be lifted up onto the stool next to dad. The loving and adoring look that Rose gave her father was an absolutely heartwarming sight to see. Luna and I walked over to where mum had started to set up for our picnic, and I sat down next to her.

“Hey mum, you want any help making sandwiches or something?” I offered, glancing up at her.

“Ohoho, sorry Lily.” She frowned at me apologetically. “I don’t mean any offense, but you’ve been walking around on your hooves all day. Unless you have some hoof gloves in your size, I might take a raincheck on that.” She giggled as Luna walked up next to us and took hold of a piece of bread with her magic.

“How about magic? I assure you, I haven’t been levitating anything particularly dirty recently.” Luna joked and offered me a playful wink.

“P-Princess, really, you don’t have to-”

“Mrs Linden, I insist. You’ve shown me such hospitality and kindness so far, it would be disrespectful of me not to offer my assistance for such a simple matter. I also consider your family my… f-friends.” I watched as Rose gave a knowing smile over her shoulder before looking back to her dad.

“Thank you, Prin- Uh, Luna!” Jenny smiled as she continued to unpack sandwich ingredients from the cooler. “So, if you don’t mind, would you be able to start buttering up the bread while I…”

------

It wasn’t long before my dad had finished cooking the mushrooms and vegetables and had brought them over to the picnic blanket where we were sitting. Luckily for us, he had the discretion to not cook meat with the vegetables, and him and my mum just ate mushrooms in their burgers along with us.

The meal was quite delicious and after a short rest and a friendly chat, Lily and I decided to go exploring together. The bank of the Blackwood river was incredibly beautiful and we both walked side by side as we traced its edge.

“I wonder how far it goes?” I mused as we walked.

“Not sure. The water looks so strange, yet so pretty. It really is almost like watching a river full of tea.” She giggled lightly. “Oooh, I know! We should try something!” Lily hopped up and down excitedly. “We should go fishing!”

“Fishing?” I laughed at her excitement and at her suggestion. “We don’t have a fishing pole or bait! Or a hook!”

“C’mon, Rose, use your imagination!” She laughed and ran over to some bushes. After a short moment of her rustling through the bushes and me standing there silently, she popped out with a long stick in hoof and a long reed in her mouth.

“You’re kidding me.”

“Nope!” She smiled widely and sat down next to me, tying the reed to a stick and testing its strength. She giggled playfully and lifted up her crude creation. “Tada! A fishing rod!”

“You are so silly, Lily.” I walked to her side and kissed her cheek. “Come on, let’s go ‘fishing’. Can’t wait to catch all these fish that we can’t even eat.”

I stood up and walked over to the river's edge, looking out into the water and frowning.

“Hmmm, the edge of the river isn’t deep enough. Did you wanna go back to the bridge and fish off of that?”

“The bridge? That’s ages away. No, I have a better idea.” She excitedly trotted forward to a large tree stump imbedded in the bank of the river that hung out over the edge. I smiled, going along with her game, and trotted to the stump.

“Alright then. What kind of fish do you think we’ll catch?” I said, walking carefully out to the edge of the log to sit next to Lily.

“Well, I’d imagine that they taste like tea.”

“Tea?” I laughed.

“Yeah! Your mum said that the water’s dark because of the tea tree leaves, right?”

“Uhuh, sure. I somehow doubt that the leaves taste the same as tea.”

“Well, I think they do. Only makes sense that the fish will be tea fish as well!”

“You’re so silly. I love you.”

Lily smiled bashfully and nuzzled up next to me. “I love you too. Wait here, I’m gonna go make another fishing rod.” She hoofed her ‘fishing rod’ to me and walked down off of the log. I smiled back at her before looking back into the water. I lowered my fake rod into the water and watched as the reed skimmed the surface. Silly Lily, it didn’t even sink into the water. It just floats on top. Not that it really mattered, Lily seemed so happy and playful today, and I had no problem going along with her game to make her happy.

I gasped as I saw the shimmer of silver scales as a fish passed by. I knew that I would never catch it with this rod, but the sight of it still filled me with a little excitement. In my joy, I turned around to Lily and jumped to my hooves.

There was a slight cracking noise as the stump I was on jiggled from my jump. I froze still as I felt it drop a few centimeters.

“Lily.” I said, my voice trembling.

“Rose? What’s wrong?” She walked out from behind the bush and gasped when she saw the look on my face.

“Help me.”

The log broke.

-

“ROOOOOOSE!” I screamed as I watched my fiance drop behind the bank of the river. There was a loud splash, followed by a scream that echoed through the tree’s. No! This wasn’t happening! I galloped to the water's edge and skidded to a halt as I arrived. I looked ahead but couldn’t see a thing. My eye’s darted around, searching for anything, any sign that Rose was there.

“Rose!?” I shouted, running down the edge of the river. “Rose, please! Oh gosh, oh gosh!” I came to a stop and looked back to where the stump had dropped. This was all my fault. I should have known that it was rotting and old, and idiot could see that from how old it was. Why was I such an idiot?

“Rose!” I called out in panic, still hoping that I would hear her response. Nothing.

What do I do? I had no idea how to swim in this pony body, and even if I did, the rapids would probably just take Rose and I along with it. I could follow the river along, hoping that she could crawl out somewhere along the bank of the river, but that wouldn’t help her right now. She was somewhere in that river and I couldn’t help her.

“Lily!?” I heard a shout from behind me. I spun around, Luna now galloping toward me.

“Luna!” I screamed, tears pouring down my face as I stood there in shock.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Rose?” She came to a stop and began looking out toward the tree’s.

“She fell! We need to save her! Oh gosh, what if she drowned!? What if she’s dying!?” My panic reached a peak and my breathing sped up. I felt my head begin to spin as I unconsciously sped up my breathing.

“Lily, you need to calm down.” Luna said, walking closer to me and wrapping me in her magic. I felt a wave of relative calmness flow through me and my thoughts became clearer.

“Luna! Rose fell into the river and got swept away!”

“Oh no.” Luna’s face paled and her eyes opened wide. She looked back to me, determination filling her gaze as she placed a hoof on my withers. “Lily, you need to go back to the picnic ground and inform your parents. I will find Rose.”

“But what if she’s… Oh gosh! Oh gosh!” I fell to my side and felt the absolute horror of what might have happened fill me. “It’s happening again! I can’t lose her! I can’t live without her!”

“Lily, calm down! You need to listen to me, every second is precious.” She lifted me up to my hooves with her magic. “Rose needs our help. You need to go find your parents. They know what this river is like, and they might be able to tell us where the river becomes shallow, or if it forks off anywhere. You need to calm down, and you need to listen to me.”

I clenched my eyes and shook my head, clearing it of all of my paranoid thoughts. Luna was right. Rose was in danger, and it was my fault. She needed us now, and me crying and worrying won’t help her at all. I looked up and Luna and nodded, a similar determination filling my still teary eyes.

“Good. Now run.”

-

I struggled under the dark water as I tried my hardest to swim to the surface. My heart raced with panic as I breathed in a small amount of water. I coughed and hacked, sending bubbles upwards as I tumbled around near the bottom of the river, the current forcing me both forward and under the surface. I finally felt myself even out a little and I pushed off from the river bed, launching myself up and above the water for a short second.

I gasped for air, filling my lungs with relief before I was pulled under the surface again. My muscles screamed in pain as I tried my hardest to swim upwards with these weak hooves, but the surface only seemed further and further away. I forced my body to work harder and felt the freezing air hit my face again. I gulped in a few breaths of sweet oxygen and swung my head around in panic.

“LILY!” I called out to the empty forest before my head dunked under the water again. I swam upward once more and peaked over the water's surface. “HELP ME!”

“ROOOOOOSE!” I heard a cry ring out through the tree’s. Lily! She was coming to save me! But it was so distant... I watched as the tree’s sped by at incredible speeds. There was no way that Lily could run as fast as the river was taking me, and no way she could help me unless I got to the river bank myself. I felt the flow of the river calm down, and as much as I was still being dragged down the river, I was no longer being thrust underwater at every possible moment.

I used this opportunity to try swimming toward the bank, but a sharp pain rocked my body as something sharp cut against my foreleg. I gasped out in pain before I felt myself pulled under the water again. I squinted my eyes and held my breath as I clenched my muscles, trying as hard as possible to not let the pain distract me from my goal.

I pushed forward, only one foreleg still useful, the ache in my body seeping down to my bones. I let out pained whimpers, fear absolutely taking control of my mind. I was going to die. I was dying again, and I would never see Lily, Luna, or my parents again. I would never see the smile of Brisk Breeze as she played in the flowers. I would never see her grow up. I would never hug her when she’s sad. I would never act the over-protective parent as she find’s her first special somepony. I would never feel absolute pride when she finally get’s her cutie mark. I would never…

------

I felt like my mind was drifting, almost as if I was asleep, but not asleep. I knew that I was somewhere, but where that place was, I had no idea. I could feel sensation returning to my body and I tried my hardest to move, feeling my sore and aching muscles begin to twitch slightly.

All of a sudden, I felt my body wrack with coughs, a small amount of water coming up from my throat, followed by bile and parts of my lunch. My eyes fluttered open weakly as I tried to force myself awake, but even with my eyes open, I could see nothing of my surroundings, only a dim spot up in the sky shining down on me. The moon.

I lifted my hoof to push myself up, but gasped out as a sharp pain shot through me, originating at my foreleg and spreading from there. I fell to the ground and let out a moan of pain into the wet sand beneath me. In the distance, I could hear voices shouting my name, but I hardly had the strength to breath, let alone call back in reply.

I lay on the sand for a short while before beginning to force myself to my hooves again. I avoided my injured leg and was able to make it a few steps forward before fatigue dropped me to my side. I think I might just… rest here for a while.

The last thing I saw before my vision blacked out completely was a tall blue dot come out from behind a tree and gasp.

------

“Rose!” Jenny called out as we traced the bank of the Blackwood river. Throughout our search, nothing but immense dread and worry had filled me. Each passing second only cemented the fear in my mind that I would never see her again. I wiped another tear from my horribly sore eyes as I struggled onward. Even though the sun had set, I would not rest until she was safe and sound. I would never give up on Rose. My perfect Rose…

“Rose! Can you hear us!?” Stephen shouted, the forest replying with silence. I jumped as I heard a loud popping sound reverberate from next to me and Luna appeared, her eyes drooping, yet a determined smile on her face.

“Mrs Linden, I have found your daughter!” She shouted, Jenny immediately running toward her.

“Please!” She leant down to Luna. “Save her! Save my baby!”

“She is fine, Mrs Linden. I only teleported here to inform you that she has been found and is alive, if injured from her accident.”

“Oh god! T-Thank you!” Jenny fell to her knees and let out the tears that she had been holding in. I wanted more than nothing to join her, but there were more important things than crying right now. Rose needed me.

“Rose is too injured to be teleported right now, but I will teleport you all to her so that you can help her. Prepare yourselves, teleporting can be nauseating your first time.”

-

“Rose!?” I heard my beloved’s voice call out to me and my eyes shot open.

“L-Lily…” I mumbled weakly, trying my hardest to extend a hoof to her.

“We’re here for you, Rose. You’re gonna be fine, I promise.”

“Lily… The baby…”

There was silence before Lily let out a single pained sob. “Brisk Breeze will be fine, right now, we have to get you home.”

Lily stepped back as a large shadow took her place.

“Hey, Rosie.” A deep, calming voice said to me.

“D-Daddy?”

“Yeah, it’s me, sweetie. I’m gonna pick you up, okay? You’ve got a wound on your leg, so we need to get you home and clean it as fast as possible.”

“Luna… please, ch-check that Breeze is okay.”

“I will,” Luna’s voice said from behind me. “but your health is more important right now. I will scan you once your wounds are treated.”

“Th-thank you… Lily…?” I strained out as Lily stepped back into view.

“Y-Yes, b-beautiful?”

“I love you.”

My consciousness faded once more.

------

“It looks like… everything is okay!” Luna almost jumped for joy as she completed her scan. “Brisk Breeze and Rose will be completely fine. I’ve sealed the wound on her foreleg, and it should heal with minimum scarring.”

“R-Really?” I said, relief washing through me. “Oh thank you so much, Luna!” I jumped towards her and wrapped my hooves around her barrel, pulling her into a tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“R-Really, it wasn’t that much…”

“Luna, you saved her! You saved them! I don’t… I don’t think I could go on without them, Luna, but you saved them. I will never forget this.” I said with determination and sincerity. Luna giggled nervously and returned my hug.

“Thank you, Lily.”

“F-For what?”

“For being a true friend.”

“Anytime, Luna. Anytime.”

Author's Notes:

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter more than I did.