"Ok, Winter, you'll stay with Aunt Fluttershy. Behave yourself and do as you're told, ok?" said Cadence, after re-reading the map Fluttershy had given to her. Winter nodded with energy, jumping to embrace her mother tightly, which Cadence returned.
"I love you, mommy."
"I love you too, sweetie."
They let go of each other and Cadence turned to Fluttershy.
"I'll be going, then. I'll see you later, Fluttershy, thanks for your time and for taking care of Winter."
"It's nothing, Cadence. It's wonderful to be able to see you both, and Winter has always been a sweet little one. We'll be waiting for you."
Cadence nodded, walking next to Fluttershy, both of their necks entwining. "See you soon then" Winter ran next to Fluttershy to see her mother off.
Taking the path leading to Sweet Apple Acres, she turned back and waved at them before turning to follow the road. She crossed the gate, finding Big Macintosh near it, setting up bushels all around the area. The red stallion turned his head to look at them, chewing on his hay stick.
"Hello, Big Macintosh. Are you doing fine?"
"Eeyup," answered him with his usual tone. Her bright green eyes regarded her as they spoke; Cadence was always amazed by Big Macintosh's uncanny ability to be a good listener, despite his scarce communicating skills. She always found herself comparing him to the chatty, vapid ponies of the Canterlot elite, which rarely bothered to pay attention to anypony or anyone they didn't deem worthy of their status.
"Is Apple Bloom around here?"
"Eenope," said him, shaking his head. "Gone to town, lots of work." She let out a small, disappointed sigh.
"Well, I´m going over there anyway, so it's no big deal. Thanks, Big Mac, I appreciate your help."
He nodded quietly, turning to his work again, as she made her way out of the farm once again, heading for Ponyville, Fluttershy's map floating beside her. She crossed the bridge and turned to the left once entering the town proper. Her quest, after some walking, led her to an unassuming two story house sandwiched between other two.
She looked down at the map, checking the place marked with a red circle by Fluttershy, which matched the address she had arrived to. Sending the map away with her magic, she looked at the house, whose windows were all closed. She went to the door anyway and knocked at it. A minute passed in which nopony came to answer. She looked at the sky, where the sun was midway through its ascent to the highest point in the sky, with some clouds lingering around. She turned around to leave, when something came falling from the sky. Dust was lifted everywhere; Cadence shielded her eyes with her hoof, blinking to cleanse them. The dust finally subsided and the shape rose from the floor, shaking. Derpy Hooves turned to look at Cadence with a smile on her lips.
"Sorry, I just saw you in front of my house while flying overhead and then came down to see what you needed. How are you?"
Cadence shook dust out from her coat with her hoof, looking up to the pegasus when she finished. "I'm fine, thank you Derpy. I came around because I needed to talk to you, but no one answered."
A slight frown appeared on Derpy's face. "Well, Dinky's at school and Sparkler's working. I'm yet to finish my deliveries, but I'm always free around lunch. We could meet then, if you want. I'll be home." She looked at the alicorn.
"Good, Derpy, I'll meet you at noon here, then. Thank you!" The pegasus nodded and turned away from Cadence, taking to the sky once again; new saddlebags hung at her sides, locked tightly with two belts. Cadence chuckled.
"Well, I've got some time. I think I'll go and get some candy."
The rows of apple trees became visible in the distance. Scootaloo smiled as she sped through by their side, climbing a hill and coming down again. Soon they entered Ponyville proper and all around ponies turned their heads at the sound of the vehicle, which although well known by this point, was still a rare sight in the small village. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash greeted and waved to ponies as they made their way towards the location of Rainbow Dash's cloud home, stopping the bike just below it.
Dash dismounted and took off her helmet, shaking her head; her mane swayed around, glittering under the sunlight. She smiled, gazing around the town that had been home for a long time and still was, as Scootaloo followed her, turning off the ignition and letting the bike rest. She turned towards Rainbow Dash, lavender eyes gleaming.
"Always good to be here, am I right?"
"You've said it, Scoots. Are you going to the Boutique?" asked the older pegasus, a smirk on her face.
"I don't think Sweetie's around yet, I'll just cool a little," said Scootaloo, bringing down the zipper on her jacket; the necklace swayed on her neck as she took it off. Both pegasi took flight, landing on the clouds composing Rainbow Dash's home.
Cadence entered Derpy's home. The place had a rustic, homely feeling to it. Sparse furniture occupied the living room, just a few wooden chairs and a table, on top of which rested a vase full of different flowers. It lacked order, but somehow spoke of happiness and warmth. The only other remarkable thing was the vast quantity of pictures hanging from the walls, all depicting Derpy and her daughters, Sparkler and Dinky, in various places and showing happy expressions. It brought a smile to Cadence's lips.
"I love this, Derpy," said she simply, taking a chair the pegasus offered to her and sitting down. Derpy smiled.
"Thank you, I love it too. It's the best place to be with my girls. They should be here soon and then we'll have lunch. Do you want something to drink?"
Cadence shook her head. "That's alright, Derpy, thank you. I actually came because I wanted to ask something from you. I met Time Turner recently, and he told me you were pretty good friends. I need some information about him, and was wondering if you could tell me a couple things, in absolute confidentiality."
Derpy blinked at her, just when Dinky was coming in through the door. The unicorn filly stopped in the middle of jumping to surprise her mother, looking at the newcomer pony in their house.
"A princess!"
"I swear, this place looks like an idyllic painting from Vincent van Hoof, Sweetie. It hardly ever changes."
Sweetie Belle's tail flicked around as she peered through the window, where the fields changed from green, to brown, to red, with the ever speeding scenery that marked their upcoming arrival to Ponyville.
"I think it's really nice, knowing you have a place you can return to and know things will be familiar, don't you?"
Rarity rose, her face mirroring her sister's grin as she too looked out of the window. "You just might be right, Sweetie Belle. I do miss them all."
She passed a hoof through her mane, and checked herself as well as she could on her reflection in the window. Soon after, the familiar landscapes from near Ponyville appeared before their eyes and the Friendship Express began to slow its march until finally coming to a halt in front of the Ponyville station. The doors hissed as the opened and both unicorns picked up their bags, making their way out of the train.
"Home sweet home, as they say," said Rarity, stepping out of the train into the platform, motioning with her hoof for one of the carriage ponies to help them with their luggage, as Rarity brought her usual assortment of bags and cases.