>as we get into town Night Breeze begins to drop down until we're just above the roof tops of some of the taller homes
>they are all fairly new construction, even the oldest where built after the ponies came, the majority probably in the last ten years
>most of the roads could not accommodate cars, save the old highway that cut through town and a few service roads branching off of it
>a number of ponies where milling about the roads, some carting their goods to the center of town while others leisurely strolled along enjoying the pleasant weather
>Night Breeze banked down one of the residential streets, dipping down below the roof line
>she brought us to a hover in front of a cozy little house
>she set me down and landed beside me
>"well Grace we're home"
>Home
>I took a moment to appreciate it
>It was a one floor, craftsman style cottage with stone siding that almost matched its owners coat
>a front porch with a swing took up two thirds of the house
>a well-kept flowerbed bluebells sat adjacent to the porch, and in the center of the yard was a young oak tree
>I felt my mother’s nose run behind my ear as she nuzzled me
>"would you like to go in, or are you just going to stare at it?" she asked with a titter
>She begins to nudge me forward
>"come on, I've got a surprise waiting for you inside" she says as she walks forward
>"Yes mommy" I reply as I follow her to the porch
>she pushes the door open and beckons me inside
>I come into the entry way, on my right is the living room partly obstructed by a book case
>directly a head is a small dinner table, to the right which a bar separating the kitchen from the rest of the house
>the right wall of the living room is lined with bookshelves, interrupted only by a fireplace in the middle of the wall
>the living room its self was well furnished, a large rug covers the hard wood floor
>a couch sits with its back to the plate glass window overlooking the porch, catty corner to the fireplace sits an arm chair
>In the center of the room is a large coffee table
>"This way Grace" she gestures to an alcove on the left wall
>I step in with her and see that there is a door in each wall
>she was facing toward the front of the house
>"close your eyes" she said as she draped a wing over my face
>I hear the door swing open as she guides me forward
>I hear the sound of a light switch as she suddenly pulls her wing back
>"Surprise!"
>I was standing in a pink bedroom, harts and butterflies where painted on the wall
>a toy chest sat under the window, and a bed was directly in front of the door
>There was a rug with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk
>"Wow, is this my room?"
>"yes dear it is, and I made you peanut butter cookies. Visor told me they were your favorite"
>"Thank you mom!"
>I give her a hug
>"Your welcome dear, would you like me to read you a story while you enjoy your cookies"
>"Yes please"
>I run to the cookies as Night Breeze picks a book off the shelf in the corner
>she lays down with me on the carpet and tucks me under her wing
>she held the book in front of me so that I could see the illustrations
>"once upon a time there were no ponies on earth, only humans..."
>"The humans where very clever, and without the aid of magic they were able to invent many wonderful devices..."
>"They created machines that could harvest entire fields in a day... They could travel hundreds of miles in mere hours... They created many wonderful devices that allowed them to communicate with each other across the world... They could dive to the bottom of the ocean and fly as high as the moon"
>I take a drink of the milk as she turns the page
>"Unfortunately the humans had trouble living together, they rarely agreed on anything and they fought each other often... they spent so much time fighting each other that they built horrible tools and machines to hurt each other with"
>"many lives were lost in the great wars that the humans fought, the more advanced they became, the more of them died in the war"
>I press my head into her side
>"I don't like this story mommy"
>she nuzzles me
>"It's ok, theirs a happy ending, do you want to hear it?"
>"I guess so"
>she turns back to the book "alright where was I... ah! One day the first Ponies came to earth. Noponie knows where they came from. Some say that they were former humans like us, others say that they came from a land called Equestria. where ever they came from, they ended up all over the world."
>"the ponies saw the humans plight, and took it upon themselves to help them find peace."
>"the humans however, where afraid of the ponies. they were so afraid that they went to war with them"
>"The humans underestimated the ponies however, although they did not have the technology of the humans, they had something even more powerful"
>"The ponies had hugs. every time a pony hugs a human they are instantly transformed into a little filly."
>"and so the ponies where able to quickly outnumber the humans, eventually so many humans had been converted that less than one in fifty of the humans where left"
>"The ponies knew that without their technology the humans could not survive, and the ponies had no males to father their children and so the fates of the two races where tied together."
>"the ponies gathered what remains of the humans and constructed shelters for them to regain their numbers"
>"The humans where still afraid of the ponies, and did not like living in the shelters they were given, but eventually they came to realize that they needed the ponies to take care of them"
>"They came to love the shelters, and the ponies who took care of them"
>"And so the Ponies continued to take care of the humans, and the humans looked forward to the day that they could become ponies, and they all lived happily ever after. the end"
>"well dear was the ending worth it?"
>"Yes Mommy, I'm gwad that the humans are happy"
>"I'm happy to hear that sweetie, would you like me to read you another story?"
>"wess pwees"
>"Alright..." She stands up and walks to the bookshelf
>"Hm... How about...This one!"
>She returns to the rug with another book
>"Sage, The little Brown farm pony"
>"I wike this one"
>"Ok, once upon a time there was a little brown pony named Sage, and she lived on a farm. There where cows, chickens, and pigs..."
>this was a much happier story, but as mommy read it I started to get sleepy.
>"...and the cow told Sage, 'I lost my bell..."
>it was nice and warm under her wing, I rested my head on her side as I listened
>"...'I need to find the cow's bell and the chickens egg, but where could they be?'..."
>my eyes are getting heavy, I'll just rest them for a moment
>"...'What peculiar tracks these are'..."
>Maybe just a little nap...
>I woke up with a start from the sound of a door slamming shut
>though the wall I hear "Please be quiet, Grace is taking a nap"
>"Oh, sorry. how's she doing?" It sounded like Loving Visor
>"Oh she's having a good time. I read her a story when she got here, and then she fell asleep cuddled up under my wing. It was the cutest thing..."
>The conversation becomes indistinct as the sound of hoof falls moves toward the dining room
>I had the blanket from the bed draped over me, the over head light was turned off but the sun still shown through the curten
>The milk was gone, but the cookies and the book remained
>I helped my self to another cookie and looked at the open page
>I frowned as I couldn't make read more than a few words of the text
>"pony...human...shelter..."
>I muttered the only words on the page I could read, I'm sure mommy would read it again if I asked her
>I tried to deduce what happened from the illustration
>after chewing my cookie thoughtfully I come to the conclusion that Sage found a human who had been taking things from the farm, and then Sage showed the human how to get to the shelter
>how nice of Sage, it's good that she forgave the human, he probably didn't know what he was doing
>He'll be much happier at the shelter where we can take care of him
>Smiling, I close the book and stand up
>grabbing another cookie, I walk over to the door
>as I draw close the conversation comes back into focus
>"-don't worry, we'll have more in a few years"
>I push the door open
>"Hay sweetie, did we wake you up?" mom asked from the table
>I began to speak, but then I remembered the cookie in my mouth
>"mmh" I said, shaking my head
>Loving Visor turned in her chair "Hay kiddo, hows it going?"
>I ran to her to giver her a hug
>she got off her chair and met my embrace
>"so is that cookie for me?" she said with a smug look
>"Mmmh"
>"It is? why thank you?" she pulled the cookie away with her magic
>I hurried to swallow the piece that I had in my mouth
>"No!"
>she frowned "Not even a nibble? for me?"
>She pouted jokingly
>"...Ok, but just a nibble"
>she smiled and nodded "Just a nibble"
>she took a small bite out of the side before setting it on a napkin on the table
>"Up we go" she said as she levitated me over to to the table
>"weee"
>she set me in a chair with a booster, next to mom
>Mom leaned over and kissed me on the head
>"did you have a good nap dear?"
>"Yes mommy" I replied before taking another bite of my cookie
>I turn to Loving Visor
>"Did you talk to Bob?"
>She shakes her head
>"No, after you left I was put on helper duty"
>"Oh" I nod, not really knowing what she meant
>"But, well I supose now it as good a time as any..."
>Loving Visor looked at me from across the table
>there's a sadness in her eye as she began to speak
>"Grace, I owe you an apology"
>I give her a confused look
>"What for?"
>"You where so scared today, and I know that I was part of the reason for that."
>"back when they first created the shelters, I was one of the founders of the Liberation front."
>"We where all so scared back then, we had all been deceived by the human governments"
>she shook her head
>"that wasn't our fault, but we passed those lies and fears onto you, we took what should have been a blissful existence in the shelter and turned it into a nightmare."
>she choked back a sob as tears ran down her face
>"We where why they had to use shock collars... and why you never got to see any of you children..."
>she began to weep with guilt
>I looked to mom, she was not crying but she was clearly distressed
>I looked down at my half eaten cookie
>...
>I close my eyes and try to concentrate
>It took me a moment to focus with Loving Visor crying in the background
>but eventually the cookie began to levitate
>Only a few inches off the table, but levitate none the less
>I guided it over to Loving Visor and booped her muzzle with it
>She looked up, trying hard to hold back tears
>"It's Ok Loving Visor, I forgive you. You where only trying to protect us, and when you realized you where wrong you did your best to try to fix it."
>She smiled at me, still sniffing back tears
>"thank you Grace, you have no idea how much that means to me"
>"would you like another hug?"
>she laughed under her breath
>"Your so sweet Grace, if you keep it up you'll have me crying all over again"
>She said as she circled the table to me
>"I would Love a hug"
>I flung my hooves around her neck as she leaned into me
>as we pulled closer I felt the wet lines that ran down her face, where her tears had matted her fur
>there was a moment of silence, no tears, no mistakes, only this hug
>after a few minutes I pull away
>looking up to her I smile and in the most cheerful voice I can speak in say
>"Your wet" I inform her with a grin
>For a split second she gives me a confused look, but then she smiles and burst into laughter
>I hear mom laughing behind me
>"Oh, Grace your just precious, you know that"
>Loving Visor begins to blot at the tear streaks
>"Your not so dry your self Grace" Mom says as she comes up behind me
>She wraps a wing around me and begins to wipe my cheek with a handkerchief
>"I'm sorry, maybe now was not the best time to talk about this"
>Mom finishes scrubbing "Oh, I think this worked out fine. It's Probably better that she heard it from you instead of a school"
>she emphasizes her point with a nuzzle
>"so are we still going to the park?"
>"We're Going to a park?" I ask excitedly
>"Yes dear, we're going to have a picnic to celebrate your first day. I'm glad to see your excited"
>"I should go get ready" Loving Visor says as she stands up
>"I'm sorry for making a scene" she adds before turning to the door
>"Don't worry about it, it's all turned out for the best" Night Breeze says as she follows her
>I stand and follow them
>"I suppose it has all turned out well, but it could have been avoided if not for me"
>Night Breeze wraps a wing around Loving Visor
>"You made mistakes, but you didn't know any better, and you've worked so hard to fix what you've done. Grace has forgiven you, and her children will grow up without fear thanks to you."
>"Thanks Breeze, you've done a lot for me" she says as she turns to give her a proper hug
>Breeze pats her on the back
>"what are friends for?" she asks, giving he a quick peck on the cheek
>Loving Visor giggles softly and whispers "Hay, Grace is watching"
>Night Breeze turns to me and grins
>"You're right, Come here grace"
>She pulls me into the embraces as she kisses me on the cheek
>"I love both of you so very much, I hope you know that"
>"I love you mommy"
>"You're too good for me Breeze"
>"Don't say that, please. You've brought me so much joy, and now you've brought me Grace. You're a good mare, you just need to forgive your self. Can you do that for me?"
>I chime in "And Me? I don't like to see you sad"
>Loving Visor smiles
>"Ok, for the two of you"
>She kisses me and mommy each on the cheek before pulling out of the hug
>"I should really go and get ready, I'll see you at the park"
>"see you then"
>"Bye, Bye Loving Visor, I'll miss you" I say as I wave
>"Bye Grace, I'll miss you too" She says as she turns and walks out of the house
>she closes the door behind her, mom holds me for a moment after she leaves
>"I'm glad you forgave her sweetie, she gives herself too much trouble over what she did as a human"
>"Did you know her when she was a human?"
>she kisses my forehead "that's a story for another time, lets get you dressed"