Chronology notes:
Stop! You are reading the Tenth story in the series started by The Kindness of Strangers!

Please read The Kindness of Strangers first!
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/389/

The second part of the story is Putting the Pieces Back Together found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/407/

The third part of the story is Midnight in the Heart of Equestria found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/419/

The fourth part of the story is Tomorrow is Always a New Day found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/433/

The fifth part of the story is To Each Their Own found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/526/

The sixith part of the story is Imperfect found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/600/

The seventh part of the story to Paradiso found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/687/

the eighth part of the story is Broken Record found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/732/

This story is the direct sequel to Home Sweet Home found here:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/826/

The still air in Ponyville was broken with the loud roars of machine gun fire. Rainbow Dash released the trigger on the control yoke and looked down range.

“Aww yeah! Ain’t nobody coming back from that!” Rainbow Dash cheered as she inspected her handiwork. She was clad in the prototype for the Ponyville Pattern Sen Gun that she and Twilight had cobbled together as a concept model for Emerald Ordinance, the South Island government owned company that produced the famous kangaroo Emerald Rifle and the Sen Light Machine Gun.

Rainbow was looking down range that the target that she’d shot up, it was, make that had been, one of Rarity’s display dummies that she’d dressed up to look scary. Rarity had donated the dummy and the failed dress that it was clad in after realising that it looked and to quote: “simply dreadful and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when I’d designed that horrible piece of garbage.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash had noticed a change in Rarity lately, she too, like Applejack had come to them an offered an apology and her help in the war effort, practically out of nowhere, and unlike Applejack, was actually still around.

Applejack had completely disappeared from Ponyville entirely. The Canterlot Police Service were looking for her, two of their detectives, Detective Sergeant Lucky, and his partner, Detective Constable Banana Crème had practically moved into town and made it a point of asking everypony, sometimes multiple times a day, for more information about Applejack. According to them, Applejack was wanted for Grievous Bodily Harm against Apple Bloom. Something that Twilight and Rainbow couldn’t believe was possible, but no pony on the Apple family farm was around to deny it.

To make matters worse, Fluttershy had shut herself up in her cottage, refusing to come out, and no pony had seen or heard from Pinkie Pie in a very long time. While Twilight and Rainbow were glad to have Rarity back, they missed their other friends terribly.

Sugarcube Corner’s construction had finished, and the bakery had finally reopened for business... but it simply wasn’t the same without Pinkie Pie there.

“My my!” Rarity called out inspecting the Sen Guns effect on the dummy. “Twilight, Rainbow, I simply don’t know if it is even possible to design barding to protect against that!”

Twilight frowned at this statement, causing Rarity to add: “but I will certainly try!”

“That’s all we’re asking Rarity,” Twilight assured her. “And I think that the Ponyville Pattern Sen Gun is finally ready for Emerald Ordinance, we’ll have to ask Ambassador Goyle to send a letter to get one of their representatives out here to see it in action!”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash had spent most of the last month designing and assembling the prototype. Rainbow had scribed the design from memory, having memorised every detail of it from her flash forwards. Now they were ready.

Rainbow Dash had informed Twilight what she had seen at her flash forward to the Battle of Cloudsdale, it had been a slaughter, without Ponyville Pattern weapons, it would be a slaughter again. Twilight didn’t trust Rainbow’s flash forwards considering where they were they were supposed to have come from, and neither did Rainbow, to a point, but Rainbow knew that Cloudsdale was a huge target that the gryphons would eventually come for. Cloudsdale personally created the weather for Canterlot Province, but it was also the central hub for all weather control operations in the entirety of Equestria. Cloudsdale in gryphon talons was bad. Rainbow knew what would happen if they had to destroy the Cloudsdale weather engines... but it was better than what the gryphons would do.

Crash!

Rainbow Dash looked up and saw what was happening, more gliders.

With a lack of airfields in Equestria, kangaroo cargo planes couldn’t land. Instead, they loaded supplies up in gliders and let them fly in on their own. Of course, they were extremely quiet; you didn’t know one was coming until it already was on the ground. This was quite possibly the brilliance of the design. Rainbow Dash leapt into the air to look for where it landed, and discovered that it had landed just on the outskirts of town to the southwest, near Fluttershy’s cottage

“I’m going to go see what they brought!” Rainbow called to Twilight.

“Just be careful Rainbow! You’re still wearing the prototype!” Twilight called back.

“I’ll be fine egghead! What’s the worst that could happen?” Rainbow asked.

“You just JINXED us! Come down here and take it off right now!” Twilight called out.

Rainbow sighed and did as she was told; she landed back on the ground and slid the Ponyville Pattern weapon off her back.

Twilight thanked her by giving her a light smack on her arse.

“Hey! I thought you were the one who said no PDA?” Rainbow called back.

Twilight responded by winking at her.

Rainbow smiled back and dashed off to the kangaroo glider. She arrived at it and found it stock full of weapons, Emerald Rifles, Austin Submachine guns, Sen Light Machine Guns, SPGATs, crates of ammunition for each.

Something was off though; the pilots were nowhere to be found. Rainbow checked the cockpit, empty. It was standard procedure to wait with the gliders until other kangaroos from town came to collect the supplies. Rainbow looked around; they were a hundred metres from Fluttershy’s cottage. She might have invited them in for tea or something... but still, this was an awful lot of ordinance to leave just lying around. It was irresponsible more than anything.

Rainbow trotted over towards Fluttershy’s cottage and knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked again.

This time however, a very tired looking Fluttershy opened the door with a kitchen knife in her teeth.

“Fluttershy...?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What is that for?”

Fluttershy noted the knife in her mouth and set it down.

“Heh... sorry Rainbow... you caught me in the middle of... making a salad! I was just chopping some lettuce,” Fluttershy said sweetly. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“You wouldn’t by chance have seen any kangaroos around here would you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Kangaroos? No... I haven’t seen any kangaroos here lately. Why?” Fluttershy asked, looking concerned.

“Did you not hear the glider that just landed right next to your house?” Rainbow asked her.

“No, I was down in my cellar getting vegetables until you knocked on my door,” Fluttershy said.

“Well, all right. If you see the pilots, tell them that they’re in big trouble!” Rainbow said.

“I will, goodbye Rainbow,” Fluttershy said as Rainbow Dash left.

...

Fluttershy locked the door and picked the knife back up, she went over to her cellar stairs and trotted down them. She set the knife down again on the table and smiled brightly to those sharing the room with her.

“I’m sooo sorry about that! I promise that there won’t be any more interruptions!” Fluttershy said smiling sweetly. “We’re going to have so much fun together!”

Fluttershy picked the knife back up, causing the two bound and gagged pilot kangaroos’ eyes to widen with fear.

...

Twilight had entered the Ponyville Library to find a white Alicorn filly with a pink mane standing on the table grinning madly.

“Twilight! Twilight!” Tia called at her. “Look what I can do!”

Tia closed her eyes and her body reformed into a cloud of white smoke, howling loudly and proceeding to zip around the room.

Racka-racka-racka-racka-racka-racka!

The White Smoke charged towards Twilight, reforming into Tia who skidded to a stop in front of her.

“Wasn’t that so cool!?” Tia asked her in excitement.

Twilight’s mouth fell open in shock. “Yes... Tia, we need to talk about this new found talent of yours.”

Tia frowned; she figured that she was in trouble.

“You’re not in trouble!” Twilight reassured her. “But just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you always should, showing off isn’t good.”

“I understand,” Tia said, Twilight didn’t want her to do it, so she wouldn’t.

“Good, I’m glad that you do!” Twilight said. “Just remember, it’s okay to be special, but it’s not okay to show off.”

Tia nodded, and trotted over to one of the bookshelves to grab a book.

Twilight was worried about Tia. She hoped that she was going right by her, but she frankly had no idea what she was doing. When Princess Luna had asked her to take care of her, she had gladly taken up the role.

She just hoped that Tia would grow into a pony as good as she was supposed to be.