To their simultaneous concern and amusement, Hopper’s ecstatic embrace of Code proved too much for him, and they fell backwards onto the floor, rolling over each other as they did. Fortunately, in their embrace, the two tumblers and all their friends laughed heartily as they helped the other up.

The lobby had become terribly busy with a dozen Ponies, a Kirin, and a Changeling, so the tallest trio of Light, Dusty, and DC decided to make some space. With a few quick gestures and nods to each other, they split up, and headed to the kitchen, the lounge, and the storage room down the hall.

By the time greetings were exchanged, blankets were draped, and coats and boots were neatly hung and placed in the cloakroom, heavy thuds were heard in the lounge, Dusty walked there with piles of blankets and pillows, and Light followed him with over half a dozen trays of drinks behind them.

With a discreet triple hoofbump as they appeared again, the trio gently tapped on the shoulders of a few friends, and pointed them towards the lounge, until the combined groups were all sitting in the more spacious room, huddled together with their partners and close friends while trying to warm up.

For some time hereafter, the hearth brightened and warmed the entire room, the air was filled with good cheer, and hot drinks were enjoyed and shared with everyone around. Eventually, both Hopper and Code got up, still huddled together under a blanket and beaming in front of the group, and said:

“We just... wanted to thank everyone, for being here. It’s a long distance to travel – and the weather certainly did not help – but your presence, support, kindness, it means so much to us that you’re all here. We shared the advice that so many of you gave us both, and all of it was a great reassurance.”

“That being said...” Hopper added with a smile, “there are a few Ponies we haven’t heard from yet. There’s no pressure, but we do wonder if anyone still wants to share anything.” Code looked at Honey and Prism, but just as they hesitantly nodded, Hopper pointed out how excited Inquiry was.

Although Lucid was slightly red in the face, Inq still sweetly nudged him and asked him to join her, when he embraced her with a bright smile, and said: “Life with a significant other is unique for everyone. But I think we can all agree that it’s rarely the big moments that are most meaningful.”

“Whether it’s cooking with Inq, walking through the forest with her, Flora, and our twins, or having a picnic together, every little thing we do makes me love her and our kids even more. Wouldn’t you say so, dearest?” But Inquiry just stared back in awe, as he had said exactly what she had in mind.

So excited to gush about the things she loved to do with Lucid, and he just said everything that she wanted to say in such a calm way… So Inq just crossed her arms and pouted in exaggeration, until Lucid apologised to her with a soft kiss on her neck, and two cups of tea for them both to enjoy.

The adorable and by now familiar sight made the rest of the group embrace their significant other as well, before all eyes fell on Honey and Prism. Despite their apparent willingness to speak, however, a pair of hooves then slowly raised at the same time, to the surprise of all the couples in the room.

Neither of the two friends minded the many questioning gazes of the others, so Slice briefly said with a chuckle: “Do what you love...” when Sail added: “...and share in your partner’s joy.” They had nothing more to add, so they gestured to Honey and Prism, the last ones in the group to speak.

The two usually energetic lovebirds slowly got up and stayed close together, appearing to feel rather tense before so many mutual friends. After they whispered to each other, and smiled again, they took a deep breath, and said: “We don’t know if it’s fate or coincidence that we are here, together.”

“If it had not been for Code or Hopper,” who smiled warmly in response, “or for the many folks supporting us when we put ourselves out there,” as they glanced at the others, and Flux and Melon in particular, “we doubt that we would be here to give advice… let alone our sincerest gratitude.”

“All in all,” they slowly continued, “after we spoke with friends here, we know now what advice to give you, which you apparently both worried about.” Honey and Prism then walked over to Hopper and Code, took their respective hooves, and after wiping away a few tears, they slowly told them:

“You two are whole, and complete, and perfect, even without the other…”

“...yet together, you make each other even better, in every way imaginable.”

Then, they gestured for everyone else to get up, before the entire group collectively said:

“And all of us wish you the very best, forever.”

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 (current)

I saw amazing ponies(´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

The waves were rough and choppy, they typically were in the oceans of Khre-Salis, as Isiri rode along the flow of one with little effort. She was following Powder, who was reaching high speeds on her sailboard, hands gripping tightly to the curved metal of the sail support. It was at a good clip too, but not so fast to outmatch the mermaid, who had been loosely rolling along in the created pressure wave. It wasn’t much, especially since she was just longer than the length of Powder’s whole board, but enough to keep her from having to maintain any real effort to keep up with her. The bigger issue was keeping away from the board’s bottom fins, she had already knocked Powder over once by flexing her tail too hard.

They had been moving along for some time, simply enjoying the perpetual sunset that Khre-Salis’s permanently locked sky offered, when Powder pulled back on her sail suddenly. The force caused her board to brake; nearly knocking her off balance. She recovered in just the nick of time, sliding her leg down and eventually stooping low into a kneeling position. “Ah shit.”

“What’s wrong?” Isiri stuck her head out above the surface, closing her auxiliary gills tight so that her voice would carry forward and over the din of the sea. Taking a quick look around, nothing seemed awry.

“The clouds.” Powder adjusted her legs as she spoke, shifting sideways to face Isiri. “Looks like a storm’s rolling in.” A slight hint of panic entered her tone as her eyes darted from the horizon to the sky, to the flickering lights of Sequence Charter, only a small dot in the distance. “Fuck, there’s no way we’re gonna make it back in time.”

Following her gaze, Isiri too looked at the clouds. They were grey, rolling as quickly as the waves below them. It would be a nasty one, she could taste it in the water. Most of the already scarce ocean life had already begun to go deeper. These signs had been apparent for a while, and her mind swirled lightly at the notion that Powder hadn’t realized it. “Oh, it’s been on the horizon a long time. Seems like it’ll thrash a whole lot.”

Powder had begun gnawing on her lip as she considered her options. “Winds’ll rip up real bad. It’ll tear a hole clear through my sail, knock me flat into the water. Let’s see if Torroid is free…” Her hand pressed against her hip, slipping into the sole pocket on her wetsuit. Her face dropped. “Aaaand I left my communicator at the lab. Great.”

Smiling gently, Isiri took Powder’s hand in her own. “It’ll be okay.” She squeezed gently. “You have some time yet, let’s just keep going. And should worse come to worse, I’ll protect you.”

Powder sucked in a deep breath and squeezed back. “Right. We’re just wasting time out here.”

Isiri stuck her tongue out, lighting the lure on the tip of it playfully. “Come on! I’ll race you all the way back. Loser has to catch the other a fish.”

In a flash, Isiri dove deep, feeling the direction of the swell and the ocean’s reaction to the storm. Her caudal fin pressed hard, moving along with the current to head back towards Sequence Charter. She could see the shadow of Powder’s board on the surface above. Her speed was increasing, but it wouldn’t be enough. Isiri sucked in a fresh mouthful of water and began to sing softly. It didn’t need to be loud, just strong. She could feel the notes get carried by the sea, traveling swiftly through the medium as they spread in all directions. The world in front of her vanished for a moment, zooming out and up into the sky and into the winds. A current lifted from the deep, rolling and pushing ever so slightly against the warp of the storm cell. It was slight, but it would be enough.

Vision came back to her eyes, and Isiri swam faster, realizing that she had fallen behind she folded her arms tight to recover speed. Power coursed through her, and she breached the surface just behind Powder, blowing a kiss quickly as she returned below. Powder grinned wide, gripping tight against her sailboard. “So that’s how it’s gonna be?”

Isiri burbled with delight. The two kept even pace, trading back and forth against each other as they closed the distance to town. Stopping short as the shore crept up, Isiri lifted her head above water to make sure that Powder made it to shore safely. Flushing out her gills with relief, the first drops of rain began to fall as lightning flashed across the sky. She slumped over slightly, suddenly tired as the currents sank back to their proper places. “You did it, you made it.”

Powder panted slightly, holding her hand over her chest. “Yeah. Did you see how fast we were going?!”

“Mm, that was the fastest I’ve seen you go.” Isiri mused softly as she collected a new bubble of sea water. “We should get you inside. It’s only going to get worse.”

“Right.” Powder shook her head back to focus. “Weird how the wind picked up but the storm slowed down. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Isiri smiled knowingly. “The Abyss moves unpredictably.”

“Heh, maybe.” Taking her girlfriend’s hand, Powder smiled gently. “I guess I owe you a fish, huh?”

The mermaid’s eyes lit up. “Yep! That you do!”