Endings, Old and New [END]

[RainbowFoxxy]

Rainbow's head continued to spin. What in the world kind of place was this? It seemed like some kind of freakish fun house at this point. Applejack, her best friend and deepest love, had become a filly who didn't even recognize her. Twilight wasn't able to figure a way out of the situation. And now they were sitting down to an old fashioned Hearths Warming dinner with Inkbrand directly across from her. He wasn't odd, it was just the fact that it seemed like some kind of family or something and she hardly knew the stallion at all. It eas all just too weird.

 

However, there was the fact that Twi had stated and so had Inkbrand. She needed to stay calm, act like nothing was wrong. She had to do this semi impossible task because it was for AJ. She wouldn't have been able to keep it together for any pony else. But this was AJ. The little filly looked so cute and happy siting down to the meal. 

 

She had to admit the food looked really good. Her mouth watered as she smelled the platter directly in front of her. 

 

What was she thankful for? Well, she was thankful for her friends. She was thankful for her best friend Applejack. She couldn't say that. The little filly didn't even know her.

 

"Um, ok...well, I'm super thankful that I'm on the Wonderbolts?" The statement ended as a question. Of course she felt awkward, this whole thing kinda was. But she had to admit it was also kind of sweet. 

[SteelEagle]

 

Yaaaaaaaay!

 

She got to keep her gifts! Applejack had been mighty worried that he was gonna make her toss those gifts on account of smelling like farm animals. Y'all could say a lot about how the animals behaved, but they were still the stinky little critters evry filly and colt (save Rarity) loved. Twilight was also right- she really had been a good pony this year! Sure it may not have been very humble of her to say so, but she knew the truth and wasn't afraid to speak it! "Yer dahrn tootin' Ah's a good filly this year! Ah ahlways did ahll mah chores ahn' Ah brushed mah teeth real good ahn' wahshed behind mah eahr and cleahned off mah hooves fer supper every night!" She said excitedly getting herself prepped for a delicious supper.

 

It was gonna be yumtastic! She didn't need to be mush-mushed by Inkbrand to get her flank over to that smelly-good food that was just waiting for them to gobble it up. She took her seat as did the others, and she clasped her hands together just like Inky did. He was silent for  second then looked around as if there was confusion. Then he clarified what the score was, which made sense. The Apples had a very similar set of pre-chow down rituals. It normally began with the singing of the Equestrian national anthem followed by saying what you were thankful for. He did things a little different and that was fine! When in Roam, does as the Roamans! When in Inky's, do as the Inky!

 

The Rainbow pegasus was the first to go. She hesitated for a second before saying she was on the Wonderbolts and was mighty thankful for it. Well, that was neat! She'd only seen the Wonderbolts once from afar, but she heard they were pretty cool as far as flight teams went. And flight teams were cool as far as pegasi went, so it must have been one heck of an accomplishment. "Wow, y'all must be a pretty fast flier if y'all can join tha Wonderbolts!" she said, beaming with pride FOR the Pegasus. She must have been one heck of an athlete, and athletes were cool!

 

Applejack didn't want to be left out of the fun! "Well, Ah'm thahnkful for mah ma, mah pa, mah soon-sis, mah brudder, mah Grahnny, Arizonah, Mahrebeline, Sir Piggy, Bloomberg, tha south orchahrd, tha North Ponyville Hoofbahll Ahssociahtion, Rahrity, mah teahchers, Inkbrahnd, both of y'ahll strahngers, mah friends except Pimpers, mah mahne fer bein' reahl pretty, mah hooves on ahccount of bein' real strong, Celestia, frogs, birds, puppies, ahpples, ahpple pie, ahpple fritters, ahn Equestriah!" Applejack said excitedly, her tail wagging as she finished up, looking at the food in front of her like a timberwolf at ponies.

[Lux]

Twilight was pleased at least that Rainbow Dash wasn't going to freak out seeing Applejack as a filly. The Princess didn't doubt that the Pegasus felt like she was thrown into a tornado, at least that's what Twilight felt. It was the same feeling that she experienced when facing Starlight Glimmer and despite all her magical abilities found that she could do nothing to prevent the wayward unicorn from trying to alter time. That feeling of helplessness was front and center here, but Twilight knew that this was not forever and soon AJ would become the mare she remembered. Until then, she and Rainbow Dash would have to let things run their course. 

 

Strangely, Rainbow, although taking it well, seemed to have an additional worry about Applejack, something beyond seeing her friend that way. The Princess couldn't tell what it was and didn't want to pry lest she get Rainbow upset again. But now the group was ready to sit down to a Hearth's Warming dinner, and Twilight was going to make things as normal as possible. 

 

"Yer dahrn tootin' Ah's a good filly this year! Ah ahlways did ahll mah chores ahn' Ah brushed mah teeth real good ahn' wahshed behind mah eahr and cleahned off mah hooves fer supper every night!" 

 

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you're doing those things and being good. You know, the best way to help others is to make sure that you make sure you are healthy and good." 

 

"If you want to eat Hearth's Warming Even dinner, you've gotta say something you're grateful for in the past year."

 

Twilight listened to Rainbow Dash's short and kind of expected thing to be thankful for and Applejack being thankful for...well...practically everything! But what would Twilight say. 

 

"Well, I'm thankful for being here with all o you this Hearth's Warming Eve, and having such great friends in my life. Even when changes happen, our friendship still lasts." 

[Zeig]

 

Okay, so, he hadn't been laughed out of his own home or anything. That was good.

 

Not that he'd let that happen, of course. He was his own stallion and master of his own home - he could've taken these mares on!

 

...Probably. 

 

Inkbrand didn't need to test that theory out, however, as the opening of the meal went off without a hitch, each guest spouting off a few things they were grateful for - except for Applejack, who spouted off a few things and then ten hundred other things. Unsurprisingly, her family was first, and the grey stallion let out an indiscernible breath of air as the orange filly passed them by with hardly a second thought. Not that he'd been concerned she'd drop into a complete tailspin at the reminder of her missing family, but, well...

 

For crying out loud. Seemingly repressed memories unexpectedly jumping up to bite someone on the flank were always worth a tense moment or two.

 

Rainbow Dash was next with her quip about being in the Wonderbolts, quickly followed by the Princess of Friendship who was thankful for - surprise, surprise - her friends. Inkbrand barely kept himself from rolling his eyes, but nonetheless couldn't stop his lips from rolling upwards into a grin because - despite the short time he'd known her - that seemed like too much of a Twilight Sparkle thing to say to not find some amusement from it. Though, the additional inclusion of himself in her thanksgiving, however roundabout or generalized, was a pretty bucking nice touch, if he did say so himself. 

 

And he did.

 

...Which, Inkbrand abruptly realized, left only himself, seated at the head of the table. Never mind that the table was a square - it was still enough to have the grey stallion momentarily stuck, mouth hanging open uselessly. Usually it was his father to close out the ceremony, with something deeply seriously and solemn and most likely profound, where as he, Inkbrand, was usually in the middle of the round and getting cracked on the head with a rolling pin for offering something flippant and only half-serious as his thanks. But it seemed...wrong, somehow, to do the same here, when he had initiated the thanksgiving and was now needed to close it out. 

 

And thus, with the silence spiraling and the food in front of them cooling with every second, the tattoo-clad stallion was left to say the first thing that popped into his mind.

 

"I'm thankful...that I was in Ponyville that day." 

 

And that...was all he was going to say about that. 

 

Because buck it all, Hearth's Warming Even food!

 

"Alright already, enough of that," Inkbrand drawled, already reaching for the spoon that was stuck in the tray of candied yams, "get to eating - oh! And if it comes down to the last snickerdoodle on the plate, fair warning - it's every pony for himself!" 

 

Which is how he would end the evening with a marshmallow wedged in one ear and a piece of broken cookie in the other, but that would be a story for next Hearth's Warming Eve.

 

[[ End ]]

 

[[ OOC : Thanks everyone for participating! ]]