DISC: I DO NOT own any of the ponies you recognize in this story. They belong to Hasbro. I do however own all of the Human characters, as well as the ponies Baby Rainbow Star, Mahina and Naia. If anyone else would like to use them, please ask me first.
Thanks!
God loves you
Enjoy!
"The Meaning of Ohana"
Eight-year-old Emily Keona Whitney couldn't believe it. She was moving to Nebraska!
Even though she would miss her friends in Hawaii, she was glad she would be closer to Megan, Julie and Molly.
She knew they lived in Ponyland for the most part, but they did visit Aunt Abby often.
She would be staying with Aunt Abby until her mother got some things straightened out at home.
She and Travis had split up a month before and her mother had been forgetting to do things for her.
While Emily could take care of herself just fine, she wondered why her mother hadn't gone to the beach with her or why she hadn't made her breakfast in a few days.
Her mother had explained while she still loved her, she was still sad about Emily's father's death and Travis leaving her. She needed time to help herself feel better.
This meant Emily would be living with Aunt Abby until she did so.
Emily didn't mind of course. She loved her Aunt Abby and enjoyed spending time with her cousins. She was glad she would be able to see Naia more often now.
The fighting had gotten a lot worse between Lelani and Travis since Emily had returned from her brief stay in Ponyland.
It had gone on for the last two months until Emily's mother finally put a stop to it. She told Travis he had to leave and that was that.
Emily had enjoyed her time in Ponyland.
When it was time to leave, she found she didn't want to come back home. She didn't like the constant fighting between her mother and stepfather and she just wanted some peace and quiet.
Mahina didn't like it either. The only reason she had been allowed to come back home with Emily was because Lelani had talked to Abby and she had confirmed that the little ponies were real.
Lelani had always been close with Abby, so she believed her almost right away. She was glad her daughter had found someone she could take care of. She knew it would take Emily's mind off the problems at home or at least that's what she hoped.
As Emily packed up the last box in her room, she sighed. She couldn't wait to get to Nebraska.
She secretly prayed she could live in Ponyland with her cousins, but she would settle for visiting more often for now.
As Emily sat down on her bed,, Mahina crawled over to her and rested her head in her mother's lap.
She had called her 'Mama during the second week she had been with her.
Emily was shocked at first, but her heart quickly melted and she got used to being called 'Mama soon afterwards.
"Hey, baby." Emily said gently as she stroked Mahina's mane. "I can't wait to go to Nebraska and stay with Aunt Abby and Brooke, but I'm gonna miss Hawaii."
Mahina nuzzled Emily's arm comfortingly before snuggling into her arms for a cuddle.
Glancing at the clock, Emily realized it was almost time for bed. They had to be up early tomorrow to catch their plane.
Emily yawned as she tucked Mahina in and climbed in beside her.
"Are you tired too, my Mahina Anela?" She asked.
Mahina responded by snuggling even closer to Emily and closing her eyes.
"I love you, baby. Sweet dreams. We have a big day tomorrow. Night." With that, Emily closed her eyes and fell asleep soon afterwards…
The next morning was crazy and fast paced.
Emily had breakfast on the run and Mahina had her bottle on the plane.
Much earlier than Emily would have liked, her mother was gently coaxing her awake. She reminded her of what today was and the eight-year-old was up in a flash.
She got ready before waking Mahina up. She wanted her daughter to get as much rest as possible.
When it was time to say good-bye to her mother, Emily tried not to cry, but it was hard. She knew she was going somewhere safe and she would be staying with people who loved her, but it was still hard leaving her mother and her home.
"Be good, sweetheart." Lelani said as she hugged her little girl. "Have fun and listen to Abby."
"I will." Emily replied. "I love you, Mommy."
"Aw, I love you too, sweetheart."
Emily glanced down at Mahina who was half awake.
"Do you want to say good-bye to Mahina? She's gonna miss you too."
Lelani laughed softly. She reached out and gently stroked Mahina's mane.
"You be good for Emily." She said.
Mahina nodded as she snuggled back into her mother's arms.
A stuartist showed up a few minutes later to escort Emily onto the plane.
Once she was settled, Emily waved good-bye to her mother until she couldn't see her anymore.
Heaving a sigh, Emily tried to get comfortable as she held Mahina close.
"Well, Mahina, this is it." Emily said softly. "Let the adventure begin."
And boy, did it ever!
Emily was woken up a little while later by the sound of Mahina whimpering and the feeling of the plane landing.
Rubbing her eyes, Emily realized they were landing. She gazed down at her tray and saw a lunch had been placed there as well as a drink of apple juice.
"Shh, shh, Mahina, it's okay." Emily assured her. "Are you hungry for lunch?"
Mahina just continued to whimper.
"Everything's okay." Emily assured her. "We're just landing. That's all, baby."
Mahina calmed a little at her mother's calming words, but she was still upset.
"Are you thirsty?" Emily asked. She split the juice between them and put some in Mahina's bottle.
Once Mahina had drunken some juice, she settled down a little.
"There you go." Emily said with a smile. "That's what you wanted, huh?"
The plane landed a few minutes later.
Emily breathed a sigh of relief. She was ready to get off and stretch her legs.
The stuartist who had helped her onto the plane escorted her out once she had gotten everything together.
"Emily! Over here, sweetheart!" Abby called the minute she saw her.
Emily ran for her aunt's arms and allowed her to hug her. She hugged back and allowed Abby to pat Mahina's mane.
Mahina remembered Abby, but she was tired, so she was a little cranky.
"How was the plane ride?" Abby asked as she took Emily's suitcase in her left hand and took Emily's left hand in her other one.
"Okay." Emily said truthfully. "I would have much rather had Naia pick me up."
Abby laughed.
"I know what you mean. I'd rather fly pegasus airlines any day."
They walked in silence for a little bit.
When they got to baggage, they picked up Emily's other suitcase and headed for the van.
On the drive back to the house, Abby offered to pick something up for Emily to eat.
Emily declined. She told her aunt she would eat when she got home.
Abby understood and changed the subject. But before she could speak, Emily beat her to it.
"Are Megan and Molly home?" She asked. She knew Julie was probably hanging out with Charlotte.
"Yup." Abby replied. "They came to spend the weekend and to see you when you got there. Molly wanted to get some stuff she left in her room the last time she was here." She replied.
Emily nodded. Just knowing her cousins were waiting for her made her feel better about everything that had happened lately.
"Oh and there's a new friend of mine I want you to meet." Abby told her. "I thought you two would get along really well. He's from Hawaii too. His name is Matt."
Emily nodded. She was intrigued now. She liked meeting new people. She enjoyed making new friends, no matter if they were kids like herself or adults.
Meanwhile, back at the house, Molly was just finishing up packing a few toys she had left back at Abby's house when she heard a car pull into the driveway.
She grinned when she saw it was Abby.
"Megan! Megan!" She shouted, even though her sister was just down the hall. "Aunt Abby's back with Emily and Mahina!"
"Gosh, Moll." Megan said with a giggle. "Let the whole street know while you're at it."
Molly blushed, but she too was giggling. She knew her older sister was just playing around.
Racing passed her older sister, Molly got to the door just as it opened, revealing Abby and Emily.
"Aloha, Emily!" Molly greeted happily. She gave her a hug, which Emily returned.
"Aloha, Moll!" She replied. She was truly happy to see her.
"Hey, Em." Megan said warmly. She held her arms out and Emily ran into them. She hugged her tightly and allowed Megan to pick her up for a minute.
"Are you okay?" Megan whispered in her ear.
Emily nodded.
"I guess." She answered truthfully.
Megan nodded. She put Emily down and ruffled her hair before letting her go.
"If you ever need to talk, you know I'm here, right?" Megan asked her.
Emily nodded.
"Ae." She replied.
"Good." Megan said. She turned her attention to Mahina, who was trying to follow Molly around the living room. "She's gotten so big!" She commented.
Emily nodded in conformation.
"Ae, she has. Mahina, come here. Come say hi to Auntie Megan."
Megan giggled. She had to admit that being an aunt to someone felt nice.
Mahina made her way back to her mother's side. She almost always listened to her.
"Hey, sweetie!" Megan said, kneeling down to her level. "Can I have a hug?"
Mahina thought for a minute before moving forward and letting Megan hug her.
"Aw, you're so precious!" Megan cooed to her. She bent down and started tickling her, which made Mahina giggle.
Soon, everyone in the room was laughing.
Just then, Abby's voice floated in from the kitchen.
"Emily, could you come here for a minute, please?"
"Okay!" Emily called back. "Megan, could you watch Mahina for a minute?"
"Sure." Megan said.
Mahina glanced towards Emily as she watched her mother leave the room.
"It's okay, baby." Emily assured her. "Mama will be back." With that, she kissed her and left the room.
Entering the kitchen, Emily found a man sitting at the table. She gave him a friendly smile and held out her hand when she had reached him.
"Emily, I would like you to meet my friend, Matt. Matt, this is my niece, Emily. She just came to live with me for a while."
Matt smiled at her warmly.
"Aloha, Emele." He greeted her.
Emily smiled. She hadn't heard the Hawaiian version of her name used since her father died.
"Aloha!" Emily greeted in return.
"I heard you flew on an airplane to get here." He said, trying to strike up a conversation with her.
Emily nodded.
"Ae."
"Did you like it?" Matt asked as she sat down across from him.
Emily shook her head.
"No. I like flying with Naia better." She answered truthfully. She almost gasped at what she had just said. She hadn't meant to say that at all.
Matt smiled.
"I know what you mean." He said, surprising the little girl. "Naia's nice, but Firefly's my favorite pony to take a flight with."
Emily's jaw was about on the ground by this point.
When she regained her voice, she said the only thing she could think of.
"Ya-you know the little ponies?"
Matt nodded.
"Ae. Abby's taken me up to Ponyland a few times." He replied.
"Isn't it cool?" Emily asked.
"Way cool." Matt agreed. "In fact, I was thinking of taking a trip up there this weekend."
"Really?" Emily asked. She was really beginning to like Matt a lot.
Matt nodded.
"Really." He confirmed. He winked at her in a friendly manner.
They talked for a little while longer.
Before long, Molly came in and asked Emily if she wanted to play a game of cards.
Emily agreed and the two set up the game.
"Do you wanna play with us, Matt?" Emily offered.
"Sure!" Matt agreed.
Soon the three of them were playing a rousing game of Go Fish.
Meanwhile in the living room, Mahina had fallen asleep in Megan's lap.
The fifteen-year-old hadn't moved for the last half an hour. She was afraid it would wake her up.
Abby came into the room and sat down next to her.
"So how are you doing?" She asked. "I know a lot's happened in the last few days."
"I'm fine." Megan said truthfully. "I'm just worried about Emily. She seemed okay when you guys got back. But something tells me that won't last long."
Abby sighed.
"Honey, Emily's a lot stronger than you give her credit for. Sure she's been through a lot and she might be sad from time to time, but she's fine for now. She's a lot like water that way. She can adjust to change rather easily. Sure she misses her mother and she'll miss her friends for the time she's with us, but she'll adapt and find the strength in God and herself to cope with the change. Besides, she has us and Mahina and the other little ponies and Matt to help her, not to mention Mike and Patrick."
"I know." Megan assured her. "I just worry about her sometimes."
Abby smiled.
"That's because you love her. But Emily will be okay."
Megan smirked just then.
"So when's the wedding?" She asked as she gazed towards the dining room where Matt, Emily and Molly were playing a game.
Abby glared at her playfully before answering her question.
"Not for a long time." She assured her. "Matt and I are just friends, very good friends"
Megan nodded.
"Okay. I'm glad he likes Ponyland." She said.
"Me too." Abby replied.
Just then, Mahina started to wake up. She started to whimper at first when she didn't recognize who she was with.
But after Megan assured her she was okay, the baby pony relaxed.
"It's okay, sweetie. Your safe with Auntie Megan."
"Mama?" Mahina whimpered.
"Your Mama's in there." Megan told her.
Mahina looked to where her Aunt Megan was pointing and tried to get down so she could go see her.
"Don't even think about it, little miss." Megan said gently but firmly. "I will take you to her or you can call for her and she'll come get you, but you're not jumping off my lap. I don't want you getting hurt. I love you too much. Besides, your Mommy won't be too happy if I let anything happen to you."
Mahina made a disappointed noise and frowned up at her aunt as though begging her to let her jump.
"No way." Megan said firmly, but gently. "Call her and see if she'll come."
Mahina looked at the teenager holding her with a confused look on her face.
"It's okay." Megan assured her. "Call her."
"I don't think she's talking much yet." Abby surmised.
"I know and that's okay. But I've heard her call for Emily before. She can do it. You can do it." Megan encouraged her niece.
She knew Mahina was younger than Baby Rainbow Star and most of the other baby ponies, but she was learning how to talk and she had Mama down pat.
"Go on, sweetheart." Megan coaxed. "Call for your Mama."
Mahina understood what her Auntie Megan wanted her to do now.
Gazing to where she thought she was, she called out, "Mama!"
"I'll be right there, baby!" Emily called back.
"See?" Megan said with a grin. "Your Mama's coming."
Mahina smiled at her aunt and nuzzled her hand.
Emily walked into the room a minute later. She smiled at her daughter, cousin and aunt as she approached them.
"Matt is awesome, Aunt Abby!" She announced happily.
"I thought you two might hit it off." Abby said with a laugh.
"Definitely!" Emily agreed. She turned her attention to Mahina next. "Aloha, my Mahina Anela. Did you have a good nap? Did Auntie Megan take good care of you?"
Mahina grinned as she reached her front hooves out to her mother.
"Ae." She said softly.
"I'm glad." Emily said as she sat down next to Megan. she took the baby pony from her cousin and Mahina immediately cuddled into her mother.
"She really loves you." Megan observed.
"I would do anything for her." Emily replied. She ruffled Mahina's mane as she said this.
"Hey Emily!" Molly called. "Wanna play in my room?"
"Okay!" Emily called back. "Let me put some stuff away in my room first."
"Okay." Molly agreed.
"Do you wanna go to Ponyland later?" Megan asked. "Maybe you could stay for the weekend."
"That sounds like fun!" Emily agreed. She turned to Abby for permission. "Is that okay, Aunt Abby?"
Abby nodded.
"It's more than okay. In fact, I was thinking we all could hang out there this weekend. We could make it a family trip. I was also thinking that maybe you could live there with your cousins. How would you like that?"
Emily grinned from ear to ear.
"Really? You mean it?" She asked, not daring to believe her aunt's words.
Abby nodded.
"Uh-huh." She replied. "You can leave some of your stuff here of course."
"Thanks." Emily said. She was still grinning.
"No problem. Why don't you go and get settled in your room and decide what you're gonna take to Ponyland with you."
"Okay." Emily agreed. She stood up with Mahina still in her arms and headed for the stairs.
Once she was in her room, Emily put Mahina down on her bed and instructed her gently but firmly not to jump off.
Mahina nodded and settled down with one of Emily's plush animals and watched her mother unpack.
As Emily unpacked, her thoughts started drifting back to Hawaii. She was going to miss her Mom, but she knew she would see her again.
As Emily set a picture of her father on her dresser, she fought back tears as she stared at it.
"I miss you." She said softly. She could feel the tears coming and tried hard to fight them back.
"Emily?"
Emily turned around as she tried to blink back the tears to find Megan standing there.
"Are you ready to go to Ponyland? Aunt Abby said she and Matt and Brooke would be up after dinner. But we can go now if you like. Firefly and Lofty are here to take us."
Emily nodded.
"Ae." She replied. "I'm ready." With that, she took one more glance at the picture and put a smaller version in her bag she was bringing to Ponyland with her.
Once that was done, Emily scooped Mahina up. After she had assured the baby pony she could bring Trixie with her, the eight-year-old turned to her older cousin and gave her a half smile.
"I'm ready now." She said. She led the way out of her room and over to Megan's.
Halfway there, Megan stopped her.
"Emily?"
"Yeah?" The little girl asked as she stopped just outside the room.
"Are you okay?" Megan asked.
Emily nodded.
"I'll be fine." She said.
"That's not what I asked you." Megan said gently.
Emily sighed.
"Come on. I thought you said Firefly and Lofty were waiting for us? I don't' wanna keep them waiting."
Megan nodded.
"But…"
"I'm fine." Emily stressed, hoping Megan would buy it for now.
"If you're sure." Megan said finally.
Emily nodded.
"I wanna see Naia. Come on." With that, she entered the room and went straight over to the window.
She was surprised to see that Firefly and Lofty weren't alone.
"Surprise!" Naia said as she flew in and nuzzled Emily. "Aloha, sweetie!"
"Aloha." Emily replied. She put Mahina down for a minute so she could give Naia a proper greeting.
As she felt her best pony friend nuzzle her, Emily had to fight hard not to cry.
She had missed her over the last two months. That on top of missing her Dad and her home was making her emotions go haywire at the moment.
She buried her face in Naia's mane for a second, breathing in the sweet and familiar scent of pineapples and coconut.
"Do you wanna take a flight when we get back home?" Naia asked.
"Ae." Emily replied softly. "O'lu'ulu?"
"You got it, Em." Naia replied.
"Are we ready to go?" Firefly asked, gazing at her eldest daughter.
Megan nodded as she climbed on her mother's back and Molly got on Lofty.
"We sure are!" Molly said excitedly.
"I guess that's a yes then!" Firefly said with a chuckle.
Once Emily was on Naia and Mahina was safely in her lap, the group took off for Ponyland.
Once they got there, the ponies landed and the children thanked them for the ride.
"No problem, my sweet girl." Firefly said as she nuzzled Megan.
"It was our pleasure." Lofty replied, nuzzling Molly.
Molly jumped off Lofty's back. She was about to go find Fizzy, when she noticed Emily hadn't dismounted yet. She was still on Naia's back and she had started to shake.
"Emily?" Molly asked in concern. "What's wrong?"
Emily couldn't answer due to how hard she was crying. She wasn't sure when she had started, but the tears were coming fast.
"Emily?" Megan said tentatively. She came over to her cousin and put a hand on her shoulder. "Emily, honey, let me take Mahina. She'll be safe with me. I'll take her to the nursery so she can play with her cousins and Ember." Megan offered.
"I'll take her." Molly offered.
Emily allowed Megan to take Mahina from her arms and hand her off to Molly.
"I'll be right back." Molly said. With that, she left for the nursery.
As she was coming back, she ran into Fizzy. She greeted her best friend with a hug, but then quickly explained what was going on.
Fizzy offered to come out and see what she could do to help. She cared about Emily a lot.
When they returned, Molly and Fizzy found Emily in the same position she had been in when Molly had left with Mahina.
She was still crying pretty hard. Megan and Naia, along with Firefly were doing all they could to help her feel better.
"What happened to her?" Firefly asked Megan as Emily let out another sob.
"She came to live with us while her mother gets back on her feet." Megan explained. "Her mother and stepfather got divorced and it hit Aunt Lelani hard. She asked Aunt Abby if Emily could stay with her until she gets things straightened out. Aunt Abby said yes and Emily arrived this afternoon. I think everything's just catching up with her, that's all." She then leaned over and whispered something into Firefly's ear so only her mother could hear her. "And I Think she might be missing her Dad too."
"Why couldn't she stay with him?" Firefly asked. She wasn't familiar with Emily's situation yet. She had only known the child for a little over four months.
In that amount of time, she had grown fond of her, as did all the other little ponies.
Megan frowned and shook her head.
"Why not?" Firefly asked, truly confused.
Megan sighed. She motioned for Firefly to come closer and her mother obliged.
"Uncle Sam, Emily's real father is…he was killed in a surfing accident a month after Emily turned seven." She explained sadly.
Firefly nodded and frowned.
"Poor baby." She said sincerely.
Megan nodded.
They returned to Emily's side to try and help her calm down.
Naia was softly talking to her in Hawaiian, which seemed to calm the little girl a little bit. She was still crying pretty hard though.
"Shh, shh, Emily, it's okay." Naia soothed as she nuzzled the upset little girl. "We're all here with you."
"Naia's right. " Fizzy chimed in. "We love you too."
Emily lifted her head slightly from Naia's mane and gave Fizzy a small smile.
As another sob escaped, she buried her face in Naia's mane once again and continued to cry.
Molly patted her cousin's shoulder in an effort to help her feel better. She didn't like it when anyone she loved was sad or in pain. And she loved Emily very much. She was her favorite cousin.
"Fizzy's right." Molly said. "We wanna help you."
"I know." Emily said through her tears.
Just then, Mike joined them. He had been helping Paradise with some repairs in the Estate.
He grinned when he saw Megan and Molly. HE frowned in confusion when he saw Emily. His frown depend when he saw she was crying.
"Did I miss somethin'?" He asked.
Megan nodded. She left Emily's side long enough to fill Mike in.
"A lot of something's actually." She replied. "Mike, this is my little cousin, Emily. Emily, this is our friend, Mike. He's Patrick's uncle."
Emily lifted her head long enough to acknowledge Mike with a small nod before burying her face in Naia's mane again.
"I'm sorry." Megan said, apologizing on her cousin's account. "She's usually a lot more friendly than that. She's just really upset. She's had to deal with a lot. Her mother and stepfather just divorced and she misses her father too."
Mike nodded. He was about to ask Megan where Emily's real father was, but stopped when he saw Firefly shake her head.
"Hello, Emily." Mike said.
"Aloha." Emily replied softly.
"You know what?" Mike asked. "My parents are divorced too. My parents got divorced when I was a little younger than you. I didn't' see my Daddy for a long time after that."
"You didn't?" Emily asked. She gazed at Mike for the first time as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the tropical sundress she was wearing.
"No." Mike replied.
Emily nodded. She felt a little bit better knowing she wasn't alone.
"See?" Naia said gently. "You're not alone."
"I know." Emily said. She sighed as she patted Naia's mane while trying not to cry again. "I miss my Mommy and I guess I Miss Hawaii a little too."
"That's okay." Naia assured her. "I'm sure she misses you too. It's okay to miss her and it's okay to be homesick. But remember, I'm here if you ever need to talk. We all are here for you. We love you too, sweetheart."
"Mahalo." Emily said gratefully. "I love you too." She said while wrapping her arms around Naia's neck.
Naia nuzzled the little girl lovingly.
"Do you feel better now?" Molly asked hopefully. She gave her cousin a much needed hug, followed by Megan.
"Ae." Emily replied. "I really do feel a little bit better."
"I'm glad." Naia said sincerely. "Now, what do you say? Wanna go for that flight?"
"Okay!" Emily exclaimed. She smiled for the first time since she had come to stay with Aunt Abby. This made everyone around her smile as well.
"That's the pretty smile we love to see." Naia said with a loving laugh. "That's the Emily we all know and love."
Emily giggled as she climbed on Naia's back.
Before they left, Emily turned to Megan.
"Megan, could you watch Mahina for me until we get back, please?"
"Sure, sweetie." Megan said. "I'd love to."
"Thanks!" With that, Naia took to the air with Emily on her back.
Once they were gone, everyone separated to do their own thing.
Molly and Fizzy started a game of bubble ball, while Megan and Firefly went into the Estate to check on everyone else and Mike followed to see what Cupcake was doing in the kitchen.
"So my Jules is coming back on Sunday?" Firefly asked her sweet girl as they entered the hallway that led to the nursery.
"Uh-huh." Megan replied. "Medley's going to get her and bring her back."
Firefly nodded.
Mike caught up with them before going into the kitchen.
"Hey Megan?"
"Yeah?" Megan asked.
"Whose Mahina?" Mike asked.
"I'll tell you later." Megan replied. "I need to check on the baby ponies." With that, she was gone.
Mike shook his head as he continued to the kitchen. He was fine with that. He would find out in time.
Meanwhile, Naia and Emily were enjoying their time together. They had been around Ponyland once and they were just heading back now.
The two had gotten into a comfortable conversation about anything and everything.
Emily was smiling more and more as she told Naia about some of the things she had done before she had come to Nebraska.
The two best friends also talked about fun things they could do now that Emily was staying there for the time being.
Emily hadn't told Naia her good news yet. She wanted to wait until they got back so she could tell everyone at once.
When they returned to the Estate, Emily got ready for dinner and went to check on Mahina.
When she reached the kitchen, she was surprised to see both Abby and Matt there.
She greeted her new friend with an enthusiastic Aloha and a hug.
Matt returned both and ruffled her hair.
"It's good to see you again too, Emele." He said.
She grinned when he used the Hawaiian version of her name.
After she got Mahina settled and Megan had said Grace, Emily tapped her fork against the side of her cup to get everyone's attention.
Once everyone was silent, Emily beamed around at all of her friends-her Ohana and began to speak.
"I have an announcement to make." She started.
"Awesome!" Patrick said with a grin. He winked at Emily in a friendly way and she giggled.
"This ought to be good." Danny said with a smirk. He was staying for the weekend too.
Emily ignored him as she continued to speak.
"What is it?" Naia asked.
"Well…" Emily said, her grin growing wider by the second, "Aunt Abby said I could live here!"
There was silence for approximately two seconds before the room was filled with assorted responses.
Firefly whooped for joy and flew into the air. She did her double inside out loop out of pure joy.
Unfortunately, she wasn't' watching where she was going when she landed.
As a result, she ended up knocking over the baked apples Cupcake had made for dessert.
Molly, Brooke, Kassie, Emily and the baby ponies giggled at Firefly's actions.
Megan groaned, but she was smiling too.
"Mom! Are you okay?" She asked in concern.
"Yeah." Firefly replied. "I've never been better."
Apple Jack put her two cents in at that moment.
"Apple sauce anyone?"
This affectively set everyone off again.
"That's great, Em!" Naia exclaimed happily once everyone had calmed down. "I'm so happy you're staying here! We're gonna have so much fun together!"
"You're right about that." Emily agreed. She gave Naia a hug before going back to her seat and finishing up her dinner. She had a feeling dessert was going to be interesting that night.
"Emily stay here now?" Baby Cotton Candy asked.
Emily nodded.
"That's right. We can play every day now." She told her.
Baby Cotton Candy grinned. She and Emily had formed a close bond ever since her first trip to Ponyland two months before.
Later that night, Megan tucked Emily in bed and spent a little extra time with her. She was glad Emily was feeling better. She also knew it was going to take her time to adjust to living somewhere new, which was perfectly understandable.
"Sweet dreams, Em." Megan said. She kissed her cheek and put a hand through her hair. "I love you."
"Love you too, Megan." Emily replied as she hugged her back before lying back down. She wrapped an arm around Mahina and pulled her close. She would get her used to sleeping in her own bed when she got a little older. Right now, it was fine for her to sleep with her. "Mahalo for everything."
"No thanks needed." Megan said. "We're Ohana. And Ohana…"
"Sticks together, no matter what." Emily finished with a grin.
"That's right." Megan said. "I'll see you in the morning, sweetie." With that, she left the room.
Emily smiled down at Mahina as she kissed her cheek and stroked her mane.
"Sweet dreams, Mahina. I love you."
Before falling asleep, Emily gazed out the window and up into the sky.
She smiled sadly as her gaze traveled to the picture on her dresser.
"I love you, Daddy. Thanks for helping me be able to live with Aunt Abby. I know you'll watch over me wherever I am, just like God will. Good night." With that, the eight-year-old closed her eyes.
She fell asleep dreaming of the fun she would have with Naia and the rest of her Ohana in the coming days.
As far as Emily was concerned, the change had been scary at first. But she had her Ohana all around her and she knew they would ko kua, help her with anything. And that was enough for her at the moment.
THE END