"This is the place,” Little Wing announced, her parents and elder sister trailing behind her. She adjusted the saddlebags on her back, containing the last few items she had to ferry up to her new home.

Little Wing and her family were located towards the very centre of Cloudsdale, building and pegasi all around them. It was bustling in comparison to the outer edges of the city, like where Bow and Windy Whistles lived, constantly busy. The stadium could be seen rising up in the distance, a scant few minutes’ walk from their location. The building where Little Wing was pointing to dwarfed several others around it. It was a largely box shaped building, though designed in the same style as all the other structures in Cloudsdale. Many people, ponies and otherwise, were moving in and out quite regularly.

“I still don’t know why you settled for an apartment,” Rainbow Dash commented off to the side. “It’s not like mum and dad are short on bits. I mean, have you seen my house in Ponyville?”

“Misty has already moved here, but a few doors away from mine,” Little Wing shot back as they walked into the reception area. “Where she goes, I go.”

“We could’ve bought you that house, and had you move in together,” Bow Hothoof pointed out, if just a bit teasingly.

“Dad!” Little Wing protested, a blush making its way onto her features. “You know we’re not… ready for that. But hay, we all have to start somewhere.”

“Well, at least it’s not the worst apartment building in Cloudsdale,” Rainbow Dash conceded. “You should see the rip offs they sell ponies in Manehatten.”

“Well, this is not Manehatten,” Windy Whistles said with a small bit of pride for her city. “We have standards.”

“Yeah, try telling that to Rarity,” Rainbow muttered in a deadpan. “Just when I think her obsession with that place is over… Boom, out comes the fainting couch.”

“I would agree, but…” Little Wing trailed off, fighting off a laugh. “She gave me a dress, I’d better not.”

Rainbow Dash just snorted. “Suck up.”

“Am not!”

“Totally a suck up.”

“Shut up, Dash!” Little Wing flushed, she and the trio with her moving past the reception desk and into the hallways.

Little Wing grumbled, Rainbow Dash only snickering wickedly in reply. It was the job of the elder sibling to tease the younger, after all.

Little Wing led them along the ground floor until they reached the staircase, which led to Rainbow Dash complaining that they didn’t need a staircase because they had wings, before being reminded that not everyone in the world had wings like pegasi. It was then Rainbow Dash’s turn to grumble to herself as they ascended two flights of stairs, bringing them up to the second floor of the apartment building. They were met with another long hallway with a few intersections here and there, but they traversed down none of those. From the staircase, it was a simple matter of moving down seven doors on the left until they had reached their destination.

Little Wing’s own new apartment.

Little Wing fished the key out of her saddlebags, letting it slide into the keyhole and then turned it with an audible ‘click’. It swung readily open, letting the ponies emerge into the relatively specious living area beyond. Past the door sat a space containing a sitting area with several small sofas, a dining table, and to the corner of the room sat a kitchen counter alongside a new looking oven and fridge. Three doors sat along one of the walls, each leading to a bedroom, bathroom and storage cupboard respectively. Another wall contained a window with the curtains already open, daylight spilling in and revealing the rest of Cloudsdale beyond it. Everything was furnished, having been set up shortly before Little Wing was due to move in.

Little Wing lifted off her saddlebags and casually threw them onto one of the sofas, then looking back at her family and shooting them a smile.

“Come on in, my home is your home!”

Windy and Bow were seeing the apartment for the first time, though their expressions gave off an aura of approval. All three of them had a quick nose around the living area, Rainbow Dash turning on the radio and letting some of DJ Pon3’s ‘wubs’ start to fill the household. She then proceeded to inspect the next most important aspect, the fridge. Cracking it open, she saw it was fully stocked and even had one or two bottles of apple cider inside. She shot her little sister a slightly puppy eyed look, who just rolled her eyes in turn before giving a nod of confirmation.

Grinning to herself, Rainbow Dash took one of the ciders and fluttered over to one of the sofas. She opened the bottle, sat down and gave a sigh of satisfaction as she took a sip.

Though she spluttered a little on Little Wing’s comment of: “Might have to start calling you Zephyr.”

“Well, this place seems comfortable,” Bow noted. “I think you’ll be fine here.”

“Well of course,” Windy Whistles chimed in. “Any apartment that has our little filly in is automatically the current holder of the ‘Best Apartment Ever’ title!”

“Of course it is,” Little Wing deadpanned, trotting over to one of the other doors and pushing it open. “And there’s the rest of it.”

The bedroom was also decently sizable, a good thing since it was the only bedroom inside the apartment. It contained a double bed, a dresser in front of said bed and a couple of wardrobes against the far wall. A Wonderbolt poster was also plastered on one of the walls, and several framed photographs sat on the dresser. The photographs all contained images of Little Wing, her family and her friends. The most recent addition was of Little Wing and Misty Gust at the graduation, snapped by Silver Breeze as the mares had danced together.

“Oh, you look so adorable,” Windy said wistfully, looking at said photograph. “Speaking of Misty Gust, I’m surprised we haven’t seen her yet.”

“Oh, yeah. About that,” Little Wing said, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. “She doesn’t know I’ve moved in yet.”

Both her parents looked at her oddly. “What?”

“I mean, I told her I was moving here, but didn’t give a date,” Little Wing explained. “I kinda wanted to surprise her. You know… ‘Hey Misty! I’m here now so… yeah.’ Or something like that.”

“Smooth,” shouted Rainbow Dash from her position on the sofa, definitely not listening in on the conversation.

Little Wing turned and looked through the open doorway, glaring at the back of the sofa where Rainbow casually laid. She trotted back through and walked up to her elder sister giving her a bemused glare.

“At least some of us have special someponies. I’m still waiting for you to ask Soarin.”

Rainbow Dash puffed up her cheek. “This is about you, not me! I… Don’t you dare turn this around, squirt!”

Little Wing gave her a mischievous smirk, swiftly swiping Rainbow Dash’s cider and trotting over to the window.

“Hey!” Rainbow protested. “Sis, give that back!”

Little Wing opened the window as far as it could go. “Take it.”

And then she jumped out the window, her wings unfurling to catch her mid-air. Rainbow watched with her jaw falling wide, before she accepted the challenge and charged out the window after her little sister, a rainbow coloured trail being left in her wake.

“Should… we stop them?” Bow Hothoof asked in concern.

“They’ll be fine,” Windy Whistles responded with a laugh, before giving the apartment one last look over. “She’ll be fine.”

Ultimately, the chase didn’t last all that long, Rainbow Dash still being IMMENSELY faster than Little Wing was. Not that it was a victory, however, as in her haste Rainbow Dash accidentally lost her grip on the bottle. Which then hit a wall, showering some random bystander in stray cider.

That led to Rainbow Dash and Little Wing BOTH running away, though they were both faster than their poor soaked pursuer.

Little Wing had never heard a griffon swear before. And certainly not to that vulgarity!

After giving him the run-around, the sisters managed to lose him and changed course back to the apartment building. When they entered through the window into Little Wing’s apartment, their parents were both waiting with bemused expressions on their faces.

The remainder of their time was spent conversing, discussing Little Wing’s immediate plans now she had her own place. In short, she was going to wait a few more years before signing up for the reserves. Not only did she wish to improve her own flight skills before moving to join the Wonderbolts, but also wanted to ensure she had a somewhat stable independent life before reaching that point. Rainbow Dash noted that was not a terrible idea, not even she had joined the reserves right out of school.

Being the saviour of Equestria before that had certainly helped her reputation.

“Well, you’ll get some real working experience in the coming days anyway,” Bow Hothoof stated. “Speaking of, I suppose I’ll next see you at the factory on Monday.”

“Huh, I suppose we shall,” Little Wing replied. “Never really thought about it, but… It’s going to be weird working with you.”

“A good weird I hope.”

“Oh, look at the time!” Windy noted, looking up at a clock on the wall. “We really shouldn’t keep you, dear. Unless… you need anything else from us here and now?”

Little Wing shook her head. “Don’t worry, I think I got it. Thanks though.”

Windy Whistles seemed almost disappointed. “Oh. Okay.”

Little Wing sighed, moving over and giving her mother a comforting hug. “Thanks, Mum. For everything. You gave me everything, I love you guys.”

Little Wing felt some warm tears on her shoulder as Windy Whistles gave an audible sniff. And then from Bow Hothoof as he joined in on the hug, and even Rainbow Dash followed suit. For that moment, the family was just glad for each other’s company, content in their embrace. But such things couldn’t last forever, and they had to part.

“Darn it, I promised I wouldn’t tear up,” Bow said with a laugh, wiping a hoof across his eyes.

“Dad, that’s one promise you could never keep,” Rainbow Dash jabbed, before she turned to Little Wing. “I’d better go too, wouldn’t want to get between you and the missus.”

Little Wing gave her a momentary deadpan look, but then smiled. “Alright. See you soon, yeah.”

“Course. Couldn’t keep me away, squirt.”

The family said a few final farewells, and then Little Wing saw them to the door. Windy Whistles, Bow Hothoof and Rainbow Dash all departed and soon disappeared as they began to descend the staircase at the end of the corridor.

This left Little Wing, for the first time in sixteen years, completely and truly alone.

But she could change that.

Little Wing let out a breath, also exited the apartment and closed the door behind her. It was then a simple matter of moving two doors down, and then turning to face the entrance before her. Her ears twitched as she just caught the sound of movement inside, confirming that she was definitely home. Bracing herself, Little Wing lifted a hoof and gave four firm knocks on the door. It only took a few moments, but the sound of hooves approaching heralded the opening of the door and the wide-eyed stare of the grey mare within.

“Hey Misty,” Little Wing greeted, offering a sheepish smile. “Guess who finally moved in today?”

She was not prepared for the tackle hug.

“You could have at least told me,” Misty Gust scolded, thumping Little Wing on the shoulder.

“Then it wouldn’t have been a surprise!” Little Wing protested. “The look on your face was worth it.”

Misty Gust just stuck out her tongue at her marefriend in response.

The two had walked back to Little Wing’s place, Misty wanting to give it a good inspection. This eventually led them to curl up on the sofa in enjoyment of one another’s company, the day outside beginning to be replaced by the coolness of the night.

“Well, I’m just glad you’re here,” Misty Gust said. “Even if we’re not living together.”

“Hey, we both agreed we weren’t ready for that,” Little Wing replied with a small frown. “That’s… a big step.”

“I know, and I still think that,” Misty stated. “I mean, we just got out of school. And besides, we’re practically next door.”

“Gotta keep you close,” Little Wing joked, nipping on the tip of Misty’s ear and eliciting an embarrassed squeak. “Anyway, how’s the library?”

“All the books I could want,” Misty replied with a giggle. “They have me sorting and categorising them right now.”

Little Wing snorted. “I have no idea how you can stand it.”

“Superior attention span.”

“Touché.”

Misty laughed, turning to look Little Wing in the eyes. “Really though, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Yeah, so am I.”

Their noses touched, each one grinning at the other affectionately. And so, with the two mares cuddling on the couch, their adult lives truly began.