My Little Pony © Bonnie Zacherle/Lauren Faust/Hasbro

"Little Patch of Heaven" © Disney Records

My Little Pony: Beyond Life and Death
Chapter One: Chance Encounter

~There can be no rainbow..without a cloud and a storm~

Equestria..

for countless millennia, It has been a paradise for equines of all kinds.
rules by a princess whose heart is as warm as the sun that she raises every single day.

recently, the pony kingdom has witnessed it's share of changes..

Princess Luna (Celestia's sister) returned after one-thousand years, set free of her 'Nightmare Moon' curse

Discord, the lord of chaos, was released, defeated and redeemed.

Queen Crysalis diabolical plot to invade Canterlot by meddling with Princess Cadence wedding thwarted.

and, the menace of King Sombra was destroyed forever by a very special dragon.

but, THAT was only the beginning..the greatest challenge is yet to come.

[Ponyville]

Morning's sun shined brightly over the tranquil town of Ponyville.
all manner of equines began to awaken from their slumber to start the new day..

the Apple Family had long since risen, and were already harvesting apples at their farm of 'Sweet Apple Acres'

Mr. and Mrs. Cake were opening up the 'Sugarcube Corner' bakery to sell their goods.

Rarity had her 'Carousel Boutique' fashion store open for customers.

and, lastly was the 'Golden Oak Library'..from which Twilight Sparkle was the sole caretaker.

It was the start of a beautiful day..in a wonderful town.

Rays of golden sunlight slowly shined within somepony's bedroom.
as the beams fell upon a bed, and purple unicorn slowly opened her violet eyes..then, began to yawn.

"goodness..Morning already?!" began Twilight, as she rose up "Seems like it was night only a few minutes ago."

"ZZZZzzzzzzz!" snored Spike, Twilight's "baby" purple dragon

Twilight smiled to herself. "well..I guess for 'some' of us, It's STILL night time."

Twilight then nudged at Spike. "spike..Spike, Wake Up!" Spike fidgeted a bit..before finally opening his green, reptilian eyes.

"t-Twilight?!"

Twilight smiled wide. "It's a BEAU-TI-FUL Morning, Spike..Time to get up!" Spike responded with a huge yawn, exposing his sharp fanged teeth and serpent-like tongue. "c-can't I just nap for ten more minutes?!"

Twilight gave Spike a 'stern' look. "Now, SPIKE..we've talked about this." began the unicorn "You can't just sleep the day away, and spend your nights reading your comic books and writing poetry.

I promised Rarity that I would get her a cake from Sugarcube Corner, an-"

"RARITY!?" exclaimed Spike, now fully awake and excited.

Twilight smirked, a sly grin on her face "always works." thought Twilight to herself.

As Spike sped out of his bed (and did Faust knows what to get himself ready) Twilight trotted over someplace else, and did her part to get ready for the new day.

she first brushed her teeth is a rhythmic fashion, freshened her breath with some mouthwash. then, spent a few minutes or so brushing he mane so it was perfectly straight once more.

"Ahh, Perfect." said Twilight "NOW, to go over my checklist." so saying, Twilight mystically levitated a scroll to her face, unrolled it and read it quite calmly.

"Pick up a cake for Rarity..On it.
Pick up some Apples for Fluttershy's animals..ALSO, On it.
aaand..go to a Daring Do Book Club with Rainbow Dash: CAN DO."

Twilight smiled as she put the scroll away, fully content with her planning. "Everything is going to be-"

"PERFECT!" exclaimed Spike, suddenly

Twilight looked..and, saw her "little brother" tightening a Bowtie and collar. "The Spike" is READY."

Twilight raised a brow as she continued to stare at the purple dragon. "did he really just call himself "The SPIKE?!" thought Twilight to herself, bewildered

Twilight quickly shook her head, and approached the young dragon. "Come on, Spike. We have a Big Day ahead of us."

It didn't take much to convince Spike (not with Rarity in the equation) It was blatantly obvious that Spike had a huge crush on the pearl white unicorn..one which Rarity herself found 'adorable'

BUT, it was just a crush..one that Twilight figured he might grow out of (MAYBE.)

The two soon made their way out the door..where Twilight basked in the paradise that was Ponyville.

as she trotted along the dirt roads, she saw friends and friendly acquaintances everywhere she looked.
living in such a small town, Ponyville was quite the community: Everypony knew one another, and were hardly ever 'strangers'.

At some point in her time being here, Twilight began to wonder if THIS was why Princess Celestia sent her to Ponyville in the first place.

Twilight and Spike soon reached Sugar Cube Corner. they entered the bakery..where the first to greet them was a familiar pink mare with a cotton candy-like mane. "TWILIIIIGHT!"

Twilight smiled. "Hi, Pinkie. I'm here for-"

"The Magnum/Pearl Anniversary!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, excited

"uhh..Yeah." said Twilight, approaching the counter. "Is it ready?"

"YOU BET!" exclaimed Pinkie again, hyperactive "The Cakes just put the finishing touches on it!" as if on cue, Carrot and Cup Cake pushed out a cart carrying the largest (and, most delicious) cake that Twilight had ever seen.

"This..t-took us WEEKS to make." huffed the yellow stallion

"DAY..and, n-night." added the hefty mare

"It's looks Great! Rarity's parents will just 'love' it." said Twilight with a warm smile

Pinkie then "stretched" her neck out to Twilight, gesturing her front hoof as if sharing a secret. "I helped with the birth of this masterpiece." whispered Pinkie "added my secret ingredient to the mix."

Twilight raised a brow. "Secret?!..wa-What secret might that be?"

Pinkie responded with a gentle SLAP to Twilight's face. "SILLY!, I can't tell you that! THEN It wouldn't be a "secret."

Twilight looked to Mr. and Mrs. Cake..who both gave her reassuring smiles. "Trust us, Twilight: When Pinkie adds her "secret ingredient", we ALWAYS get repeat customers."

"YEP!" chirped Pinkie Pie "One swaller' will make your taste buds Holler!"

"That's a pretty good tagline." said Spike, licking his lips

"I know, I just made it up!"

Twilight smiled again. "Well..we'd better hurry and get this cake delivered. I have to run an important errand for Fluttershy today."

"KAY-O, Let's get started!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie

Twilight Sparkle (and, Spike) and Pinkie Pie both took command of the cart from the Cakes, and began to push it out of the bakery.

"ohh..DO be careful!" spoke up Cup Cake. "Th-That cake is very, VERY delicate!"

"WE WILL!" called Twilight

"YOU CAN COUNT ON UUUUUUS!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie

Twilight, Spike and Pinkie gently rolled the cart down the dirt path towards it's destination.
thankfully, the Carousel Boutique wasn't that far from Sugarcube Corner, so the two didn't have to travel far.

as they approached the house/store, Twilight attempted to knock on the door..only for said door to open before she even touched it, where she came face-to-face with Rarity herself.

"FINALLY!" exclaimed the pearl white unicorn "Where HAVE you been!?"

"Uh, wel-"

"Never mind!, Just get inside Quickly! I don't know how much longer Sweetie Belle can keep Mum and Dad distracted!"

Twilight, Spike and Pinkie Pie did just that, wheeling the cart inside as quickly (but, silently) as they could.
while inside, they could hear Sweetie Belle singing (or, what they assumed was singing) really loudly in another room.

they both assumed this was Sweetie Belle keeping her parents distracted, she they did their best to keep away from the source of the..sound.

they at last reached the kitchen, and began to unload the massive cake onto the table.

Upon seeing the prized cake in it's proper place, Rarity calmed down enough to marvel at it. "My word..that IS an extraordinary work of cullinary art."

"And, it's a Pretty Cake, TOO!" chirped Pinkie

Spike smiled as he glanced at the pearl white unicorn "yeah..but, not half as pretty as you-"

"You say something, Spikey?" said Rarity, looking straight at the dragon

Spike quickly looked away, blushing bright red "uhh..n-no."

Twilight just shook her head, smiling. "Well..We should probably bring in your parents now." said Twilight to Rarity.

"oh..Right. yes, of course." Rarity trotted off into another room.

"Motheeeer!..Fatheeeer!, Please come into the Kitcheeeeen!" said Rarity loudly, in a 'sing-song' tone of voice

In no time at all, Twilight and Pinkie saw Rarity and her whole family walk in. they stepped back to allow the unicorn adults to see the magnificent cake before them.

"Happy Anniversary!" chirped Rarity and Sweetie Bell together

Magnum was speechless..Pearl, however wasn't. "Oh, MY STARS! this is..This is WONDERFUL!" exclaimed the pink unicorn

It was at that point that Magnum found his voice. "Rarity, dear..you really shouldn't have."

"I can't take all the credit, daddy dearest." began Rarity "It was all Pinkie Pie and Mr. and Mrs. Cake. THEY are the ones who worked on this day-and-night for over a month so it would be ready for today."

Pinkie smiled a bright smile, waving her hoof slightly. Magnum then approached the pink pony. "Well, thank you so much for this..So, how much do we owe you?"

Pinkie grinned wide. "nothing."

both the adult unicorns looked confused. "Nothing?!"

"Nothing." repeated Pinkie Pie "The Cakes did this one "on the house", saying something about understanding the importance of anniversaries, and just wanting to make yours EXTRA SPECIAL!"

Magnum and Pearl looked at each other..then, they both smiled. "Well, you can be sure to tell Carrot and Cup that they have our thanks and graditude..AFTER you try a piece of our cake."

Pinkie's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. "Reeeeeeeal-ly!?"

"of cours-"

"WHOO-HOOOOOOOO!"

Spike licked his scaley lips. "C-Can I-!?"

"Of course. you can ALL each have a piece of this wonderful cake!" said Pearl

Twilight sighed. "I would love to stay and take part in this wonderful celebration..but, I have others tasks to complete in town."

"AWWWW!.." whined Spike, a heartbroken look on his face.

Twilight looked at Spike..then, exhaled sharply. followed by her leaning down to his level "you know, Spike..only 'I' need to go. You can stay and enjoy the party."

Spike (despite this good news) looked at Twilight with concerned eyes. "You sure?! w-won't you need m-"

"I just need to pick some apples for Fluttershy..I don't think it will be too much trouble for me. Besides, Applejack will be there to help."

Spike eyed her. "Well..okay. if you're SURE you don't need me right now."

"I am certain. Besides..(darts her eyes) *i think you would much rather be 'here', with rarity.*"

Spike blushed bright red. knowing good and well that the purple unicorn was right.

"We understand that you have your "chores" to take care of." began Pearl "We'll save you a piece for when you get back."

"Great. I'll just be going, You two have fun now." said Twilight with a smile

"oh..WE WILL!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie (despite not being who Twilight was addressing.)

Twilight smiled weakly, shaking her head. she then turned right around and trotted out of the room.

Once outside, Twilight quickly took a scroll out of her saddlebag and opened up her checklist.

"Now, let's see..(mumbles silently) YEP!, right on time." Twilight then rolled up the list and put it back in her bag. "If I hurry, that is."

Twilight immediatly began to gallop forward down the dirt path at a fast speed. her mind focussed primarily on her tasks for today.

("Now, let's see..I pick some apples at Sweet Apple Acres for Fluttershy's animals. Wait..h-how many baskets should I pick!?

hmm..I don't want to fill too much, or they could go bad prematurely. but, I ALSO don't want to pick too little, and seem lazy and inconsiderate.

Oh, well..I suppose I can just ask Applejack how many would b-")) "-OOF!"

Twilight was so focussed on her tasks, that she wasn't aware of her surroundings..and, ended up crashing into something, knocking herself down.

"ohh..my head." Twilight shook her head, and looked at what she hit..which turned out to be a "who." the Who in question being a green earth pony.

"OHMYGOSH!, A-Are you alright!?" Twilight quickly got up and ran to the downed-and-dazed pony..who turned out to be a stallion "Oh, my..I am so sorry. *please don't be dead.*"

the stallion shook his head, groaning as he placed his hoof on his forehead. "ohh..my head. wa-what hit me!?"

"That was ME..i'm sorry." said Twilight, feeling really, REALLY bad about this. "I-I was in a hurry, a-and I wasn't watching where I was-"

"I-It's okay..I-I wasn't watching where I was going, either." said the stallion, as he got up onto his hooves.

Twilight watched him with concerned eyes. "Are you SURE you're okay?!"

"yeah..j-just fine." said the stallion, as he walked off.

Twilight wanted to follow him (to make sure he really was okay, and didn't need a hospital) but, she remembered that she had a place to be, and tried her best to brush it off.

taking one last look at the departing stallion..Twilight turned back to the trail ahead of her and galloped away.

Twilight approach the arched gate that read 'Sweet Apple Acres', the farmland of the Apple Family.

the peppy unicorn trotted happily pass the gate, and into the beautiful countryside with miles and miles of grassy hills covered with apple trees.

Sweet Apple Acres was truly the 'crown jewel' of Ponyville.

Twilight trotted down the dirt trail that led straight to the home of her good friend, Applejack. as the big red barn came into view, the unicorn advanced into a gallop.

once there, she found the elderly Granny Smith napping on her rocking chair at the front porch. and, Applebloom and Big Mac unloading apples into an underground cellar.

"Hey, Apple Family!" spoke Twilight, loudly

Applebloom and Big Mac looked at her. "Hey, Twilight!" exclaimed the golden-yellow filly

Twilight approached the two. "Hey..so, where's Applejack? still in the apple orchard?"

"eeyup." replied Big Mac

"We just finished harvestin' some apples fer' ourselves an' sellin'." began Applebloom. "but, mah' sister said you'd be showin' up fer' Fluttershy's apples, so she stayed behind to wait fer' ya'."

"Oh..Okay, then I'd better not keep her waiting." said Twilight, trotting off.

In another part of Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was busy doing what she does best: Applebucking.

the orange mare swiftly kicked an apple tree with her back legs, making apples rain down and fill up the many baskets that sat around the tree trunk.

Applejack was in a fairly good mood today. and, was humming a pleasant tune as she did her chores.

[Musical Sequence]

"I know a place..pretty as pie. out where the riverbend hits up with the end of the sky.
It's left of Ponyville, and over a crest. on a little patch of heaven in the west.

Ev'rythings green..know what I mean? darlin, It's quite the sweetest sight that'cha ever done seen.
Ain't nothin much out theeere, just life at its best. On a little patch of heaven in the Weeest!

Bees by the dozen, are buzzin real peaceful. ev'ry bluebonnet, Doggone it smells nice.
Even the twirling autumn leaves, slows down to match yer speed. On acres-and-acres of paradise

Ev'ry which way..buttercups sway. Out on the hills, the daffodills are enjoyin the day.
What could be better..than setting to rest, On a little patch of heaven in the West.

Humming birds flutter in utter contentment, Ev'ry darn daisy feels lazy, You bet Even the skeeters and the fleas, say "may I","thanks" and "please." Why it's just as close to perfect as you can get.

Daaarlin, I swear..once you been there. There ain't a view beneath the blue that could ever compare.
The only thing missiiin, is you as my guest. On a little patch of heaven in the Weeest..

Why don'tcha come visit?, there's room iiin the neeest..On that little patch of heaven IN THE WEEEEEST!"

[End of Song Sequence]

"Applejaaaack!"

Applejack looked to see Twilight trot up to her. "Twi..You made it." said the farm pony with a smile

Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Y-Yeah, well..I had this cake to deliver to-"

"Rarity, I'ah know. ya' don't need to explain it tuh me."

Twilight looked at the several large baskets of apples that circled the apple tree. "Are those the apples for Fluttershy?"

"yep." said Applejack. "I'ah went ahead and picked them fer' ya..since I'ah know ya'll will want to "check them" first."

"You know me all too well, AJ." said Twilight with a smile..who began her "inspection" of the harvested fruit.

"hmm..most of them look okay." began Twilight "buuut, I need to be thorough. EVERYthing must be perfect."

Applejack rolled her eyes at this. "yeah, Twi..sure. "Perfect."

Twilight hummed softly as she continued to rumage through the baskets of apples. "Hmmm..uhhh..I guess it looks oka-WAIT-A-MINUTE!" exclaimed the unicorn, suddenly

"What!?"

"LOOK!" exclaimed Twilight again, pointing at one apple with her hoof. "a Blemish!"

Applejack looked at what appeared to be a perfectly good apple. "uh, Twi..I'ah don't so what the danged problem is-"

"LOOK HEEERE!" repeated Twilight, her voice shrill. Applejack indeed looked where Twilight was pointing..and, saw a small, barely noticable dark spot on the apple.

"That!?" said Applejack in disbelief "but..that's only minor bruise."

"It's an IMPERFECTION!" exclaimed Twilight, freaking out. "It ruins the authenticity of the apple!"

Applejack gave Twilight an unamused look. "Twi..it's JUST'AH spot."

"an IMPERFECT Spot!"

Applejack lightly facehooved herself. "Twi, It ain't no big deal! I'ah mean, Fluttershy is jus' gonna feed 'em to her animals..and, most critters ain't picky when it come to food."

"EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECT!" exclaimed Twilight (an almost crazed look in her eyes.)

Twilight levitated the "tainted apple" upward using her violet magic. she then tossed it up into the air..and, kicked it hard using her back legs.

Unfortunately, the apple was quite sturdy..and rather than smash apart, it flew like Rainbow Dash and began to ricochet off of numerous tree trunks.
Twilight and Applejack watched in shock and awe as the apple zig-zagged from one tree to another like a marble in a pinball machine.

Finally, it zipped out of view and hit something that WASN'T a tree.

BONK!

THUD!

Applejack's ears twitched at this. "That sounded like a body falling!"

Twilight widened her eyes in horror. "OHMYGOSH, IHITSOMEPONY!" exclaimed Twilight rapidly

the two mares galloped at fast as they could to the source of the recent thudding sound, and they indeed found a downed pony..but, Twilight grew pale as a ghost upon seeing the familiar lime green stallion.

"oh my celestia, it's HIM." said Twilight, monotoned.

Applejack looked at Twilight. "Who?!"

"I..don't really know." began Twilight. "but, I "ran into him" earlier today. I-I was in a hurry getting to your farm, and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going..(exclaiming) AND, I RAN HIM OVER!"

Applejack stifled a chuckled. "and, NOW ya' just beaned him in the head with'an apple."

Twilight grinded her teeth stressfully. "I swear, I am NOT doing this on purpose!"

Applejack carefully approached the still downed stallion. "Is he dead?, PLEASE don't tell me he's dead. Oh, he's DEAD, isn't he!? I killed him, I killed an innocent pony, I'M A MURDERER!, Celestia's gonna lock me up foreve-!"

"CALM DOWN, Twi..he's still breathing."

Twilight perked up. "Say what?!"

"Ya' jus' knocked 'em unconscious." said Applejack "Come on, help me take 'em back to the barn so we can get some water on 'em."

Twilight was still shaken..but, nodded in agreement never the less. "uhh..YEAH, o-okay."

"Great. I'll lift 'em by his front, and you take his rear."

Twilight gulped at this. "y-you mean..his Flank!?"

"yeah." replied Applejack "there a problem with that?"

"uhh..No, not really." stuttered Twilight. "I-It's just that..well, umm.." twilight was sweating like prize winning hog on the hottest day of summer.

"TWI, spit it out!" said Applejack, getting annoyed

"Well, I've never been THAT close to a stallion's..(unintelligible murmuring.)"

"oh, good grief.." groaned Applejack. "FINE!, Then I'll take the rear..ya' big foal."

Twilight blushed bright red, feeling embarrassed at her own awkwardness.

she took her position near the stallion's head, perparing his lift him up just as soon as Applejack gave the signal. Twilight took a moment to look at his face..and, noticed a slight bump on his head, as well as a larger, darken bruise on another part of his face. feeling overwelming guilt, Twilight immediatly made up her mind on what she was going to do later.

"Alright, Twi..Git Ready." said Applejack

"r-right." replied Twilight, lowering down.

"three..two..one, HEAVE!" Twilight and Applejack each lifted the stallion up simultaneously, carrying him on their backs. they walked at a steady pace back towards the barn, with Twilight leading the way while Applejack followed her steps.

throughout the entire walk, Twilight continued to feel just terrible for her unintentional "abuse" towards the strange stallion.

and, she hoped he wouldn't be 'too mad' after he woke up.

Later, at the Barn. Twilight and Applejack carried the still unconscious stallion over to a nearby water pump. gently laying him down near it, Applejack quickly went over to the crank and began pumping out water.

as water poured down upon his head..the stallion sputtered, and soon awoke.

Twilight was both relieved and concerned.

"ohhh..my h-head. What hit me?" groaned the ginger maned stallion

"An apple hit ya." said Applejack, walking over to him. the Stallion looked up at the blonde mare in the hat. "An Apple!?"

"Uh..Th-that was my fault..AGAIN."

the Stallion looked..and, widened his eyes at purple unicorn standing over him. "You?!"

Twilight blushed bright red, feeling extremely embarrassed. "I am Sooooo very sorry, mister. I-I didn't mean to-, I mean that is to say..(groans.)"

Twilight hung her head low in shame, averting eye contact with the stallion. "mister..I am so very, VERY sorry. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you.."

the stallion stared blankly at Twilight. "Umm..well, I could use some help with an errand that I have to do-"

"I'LL HELP!" chirped Twilight suddenly (who in her zeal, ended up getting right into his face.)

"uhhh..s-sure. I, uh..n-need to do some shopping for my mother. we just moved to Ponyville, and need to get settled."

"Lemme guess: The first task on yer' list was "pick up some apples." said Applejack with a smile

the stallion looked at her. "Yes. we heard that a pony named 'Granny Smith' supplies the best apples."

Applejack beamed with pride. "Well, you heard right. I'am Applejack..and, Granny Smith is Mah' very own Granny."

"Well, that's convenient. I thought "Granny Smith" was just a gimmick to sell apples."

Applejack lightly snorted at this. "Naw..Flim an' Flam do "gimmicks", there ain't nuthin' but the Real Thang in these parts."

the green stallion looked down. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to-"

"Aww!, Think nuthin' of it." said Applejack, smiling warmly. "I'ah got a fresh stock right in the barn."

"Thanks." the stallion started to get up..prompting Twilight to support his body with her own. "HERE, L-Lemme help you."

as the stallion stood back onto his hooves..he and Twilight bumped head. "OW!/OUCH!" said both ponies in unison.

Applejack just chuckled at this. "An, that's "Strike Three" if'an I'am countin' right."

Twilight looked away, blushing bright red. "I am So SORRY, Mist-"

"would you PLEASE stop apologizing. It's alright." said the stallion, also blushing.

Twilight continued to look down..feeling more embarrassed (clearly, talking to stallions was something she had no experience with.)

the stallion looked at the strange mare..then, exhaled sharply. "look..if you're going to help me with my errands, I think it would be helpful if I knew your name, ms.."

Twilight faced the stallion, looking straight into his sky blue eyes. "m-My named is..T-Twilight. Twilight Sparkle."

the stallion looked at her. "Twilight, huh?..that's a pretty name."

Twilight smiled for the first time since meeting the stallion. "and..Yours?"

the stallion sighed sharply. "Promise not to laugh?"

"Why would I do that?!" asked Twilight, confused

"because I have a very..'unusual' name."

Twilight smiled. "Mister..I have a pet owl that I named "Owlicious", so I'm not critical when it comes to unusual names."

the stallion actually cracked a smile at this. blushing, he finally spoke. "a-alright..my name is Alex. Alex Cosmos."

"Alex?" said Twilight, her expression unreadable.

Alex looked nervous..until Twilight smiled and warm, bright smile at him. "alex..that's a lovely name."

Author Note:

The hardest chapter to write in ANY story is always the first one (especially a long, complicated story such as this one.)

But, lo..Success.

So, anyway..taking the criticism of 'Death & Rebirth' into consideration, I decided to start this chapter with the focus on the canon characters. and, leave the identity of OC Alex Cosmos a mystery until the very end of the chapter.

I also decided that it would help if I tried writing this like a standard episode of MLP.

starting off with Twilight Sparkle doing far too many errands at once, and introducing the other protagonists during her "mundane mission"

the most important thing for the story as a whole was the relationship between Twilight and Alex (or, "TwiLex") starting with their first meeting.

I didn't want to do a rehash of their meeting from the 'Equestria Girls' version of this story (with Twilight going into a hypnotic trance the first time she saw him.)

Instead, I opted to stay true to Twilight's character AND the show, and just be humorous with it by having Twilight literaly run into him, and that fate is conspiring to bring these two together (the apple to the head bit is one example of: "You cannot escape it!")

Also, this story will indeed have songs in it (the show has songs, so this fanfic will as well)

and, Applejack's song was borrowed from Disney's "Home on the Range."