7DSJ: Treasure

Chapters

Ivo
Lorelei
Beatrix
Persephone
Pandora
Amelia
Aloysius
Cicely
Otterley
Donimo

Ivo

Pinkie Pie stepped out into the cold, biting air of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. The sky was dark, save for the glittering crystals of snow that had started to fall in the past thirty minutes since her plane had landed her at XNA. A slight chilly breeze passed through the loading area, and Pinkie shuddered slightly, thinking that perhaps she could have dressed a little more warmly for this location. This wasn’t Canterlot, after all.

In the distance was nothing but cars, waiting for their owners to return. The airport had been crowded, given the number of people flying out of XNA to various destinations. Beyond that, Airport Road continued its loop until it merged with Regional Avenue. Regional itself led on to other streets on its northbound trip, eventually slipping into the city of Bentonville, Arkansas, where Pinkie was born. She turned to see if she could discern the city from this distance, but Bentonville, if she recalled correctly, was at least six or so miles northeast of the airport, the distance between the two points filled by countless farms and other examples of rural life – a life that she could never understand.

Pinkie sighed as she watched a family who hadn’t seen each other in a while embrace each other with love and joy. Why does this have to be so hard? the teen sighed. I was born here…but I don’t belong here. And every time I come, I….

The honking of a vehicle sounded through the snow, soon followed by the rumble of a weathered 2002 Dodge Durango as it pulled up to the curb. The passenger window slid down as a young but stoic face said, “Hello, Pinkie.”

Pinkie’s own expressionless face slid into its usual manically cheery smile. “Hiya, sis!” Out of her family – her immediate family, rather – the one she was closest to was her older sister, Maud. The elder sister merely gave a glance to her sister, then to the back seat and finally the passenger seat, and Pinkie complied, opening the back door just long enough to throw her suitcase in before slamming it shut and then clambering into the car’s passenger seat.

“Watch out for Boulder,” Maud warned while Pinkie slipped on her seatbelt.

“Boulder?” the cotton-candy-haired teen asked before she heard a yipping at her feet. Looking down, she saw a gray pug puppy yelping at her feet. “Aww, he’s so cute!” She reached down towards the floorboards and Boulder complied happily, barking tiny squeals of delight as Pinkie brought him closer. Inevitably, the face licking came, engendering a series of giggles from Pinkie before the pup circled on her lap while the teen slipped on her seatbelt. Finally, she looked at Maud, saying, “Ready to roll,” as Maud looked out the side mirror before pulling away from the airport, headed towards home.

As they drove on, Pinkie didn’t want to hear just the droning country music that Maud had on the car radio, so she asked, “So how are Mom and Dad?”

“Don’t know; haven’t been home yet,” Maud replied.

“You haven’t?”

Maud shook her head. “Just passed Springdale when Ma called. Asked me to pick you up.” As always, Pinkie noted the slight twang in her sister’s voice that sounded like a lighter version of Applejack’s; as fellow residents of the Ozarks, the Apple family and the Pie family had both picked up the regional accent…all that is, save for Pinkie, who had been shuttled to a children’s hospital in San Francisco two weeks after her birth, in order to save the young baby’s life. She had been taken in by her mother’s younger sister and her newlywed husband, and had lived California style ever since.

“You’re quiet,” Maud said after a few more minutes of silence.

“Just…wondering where you got Boulder,” Pinkie said, dodging her sister’s line of thought.

Maud gave her sister a glance that indicated she knew Pinkie was avoiding the subject, but then let it slide. “Christmas gift from my boyfriend,” the elder girl explained.

“You have a boyfriend?”

“Says the California girl,” Maud monotoned, teasing her sister. “Surprised you don’t have more than one boyfriend yourself.” Something flickered in Pinkie’s eyes, but Maud caught it instantly. “Kennelworth didn’t want me living alone in my apartment. My complex allows pets, so he got me Boulder.”

“I see,” was all Pinkie said.

“Pinkie….”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” the teen sighed. “Just…wake me up when we get there, okay?” Pinkie put her head back in order to sleep, while Boulder looked at her cautiously, then back at his owner.

The look on Maud’s face was one of concern, but then it faded to nothing when she turned to focus on the road. They still had a drive to go, and the increasing snowfall wasn’t going to make it any easier.

Pinkie felt a gentle shake on her shoulder. “Almost there.” Maud then reached over and held up a bottle of Coke. “Stopped for gas. Figured you wanted one.”

Pinkie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, then took the bottle gratefully. “Thanks.” Quickly unscrewing the top, she chugged down a third of it before stopping and putting it back in the drink holder. She then fished in her coat pocket for her phone. “I gotta call Auntie Cup and let her know I made it.”

“Text,” Maud suggested. “Phone signal’s weak here. Plus you’ll have roaming charges.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” she said, hammering out a quick message. She then turned around and said “Smile for the camera!” taking a picture, then sending the whole thing off.

“Thought you were going to send a text,” Maud asked.

“I did. Multimedia text,” Pinkie explained.

“My phone doesn’t do that.”

“Are you still carrying around that flip phone you’ve had since high school?”

Maud reached into her own jacket, pulling out a battered Motorola RAZR2, circa 2008. “It’s dependable,” she insisted.

In response, Pinkie held up her smartphone. “Modern phones can do things like that,” she replied, her voice the very tone of authority. Maud’s answer was to turn back to the driving and Pinkie grinned as she put her own phone away. In seriousness, Pinkie knew her sister had really never been one for modern technology and in many ways was an “old soul”, as the saying went. Then again, pretty much all of her birth family, as far as she knew, were old souls.

Finally, the SUV pulled up to a gate with an overhang that read PIE FAMILY ROCK FARM. Even past that it was a couple more minutes’ drive to the house on the undeveloped section of the quarry. As they came to a stop by a couple of trucks, Pinkie and Maud got out as the light on the front porch turned on. The front door opened and four barking dogs, all spaniels, raced forth.

“New dogs?” Pinkie asked, Boulder in her arms.

Maud shook her head. “No, had them for a while,” she replied as the four practically tackled the older girl. “Kept them at the neighbors since Ma and Pa were worried.”

“About what?”

“About your health, little one,” a whisky-weathered voice called out as two adults and two younger children walked out of the house. “Okay, pups, down.” That didn’t help, however, as the furry quartet suddenly noticed Pinkie and practically bumrushed her, knocking her over in a cascade of licks to the face and giggles.

“I see Rocky’s takin’ a liking to you,” the woman replied. She was dressed simply, in an old sweatshirt and well-worn jeans, her hair up in a bun that seemed to make her glasses all the more severe. She reached down and plucked Boulder from Pinkie’s hands, giving the four adult dogs enough time to continue their affectionate assault.

“Hey, quit it!” Pinkie giggled, practically wearing the four dogs as a blanket. “What’s their names?”

The man spoke again: “The big one’s Rocky, and the light colored one’s Madame Le Flour. The piebald one’s Sir Lintsalot, and the tiny one’s Mr. Turnip.” He shrugged, the plaid pattern of his flannel shirt following along with his motion. “Don’t blame me for the names, your baby sisters named ‘em.”

The youngest girl called out, “Okay, pups, let ‘er get off the ground; snow’s gotta be cold.”

“Yeah, no kiddin’,” the older of the two girls, a girl barely into her teens, replied.

Pinkie got up, dusted herself off, and then went and hugged her family. “Hi, Mom, Dad,” she said softly, embracing them. She then turned to her younger sisters and hugged them in turn as well. “Hiya, Blinkie, Inkie.”

Marble spread her arms akimbo, giving her older sister a mock-glare. “Are you still calling me that? I have no idea on God’s green earth why you even—”

Pinkie hugged her again, winking as she did so. “Older sister’s secret!”

Igneous Rock looked at his family. “As nice as it is t’ talk out here, I’m sure Pinkie’d like t’ change out of those wet clothes,” he said. “Let’s all go in th’ house and I’ll warm up a pot o’ Granny’s World-Famous Hot Chocolate, okay?”

One change of clothing, a shower and a cup of – in Pinkie’s opinion – the best hot cocoa known to mankind, she sat across the table from her family. In the meanwhile, however, the conversation at the table was lively.

“I’m startin’ at Rockton High next year!” Marble said with pride, “an’ I’ll be sure as shootin’ to get out of Eighth Grade!”

“An’ I’ve got the highest grades in Mrs. Hollybell’s class!” Limestone – or Blinkie, as Pinkie had nicknamed her – added. “Heck, I think I’ve got th’ highest grades in all of the Fifth Grade!”

“And how are things for you two?” Igneous asked. “Any new boys in your life?”

“Or girls, maybe?” Marble asked, the needling tone of a precocious preteen prevalent in her voice.

“Marble, we’ll have none of that at our table,” Cloudy Quartz said firmly. “I’m sure your sisters have met nice, God-fearin’ men.”

“I have,” Maud began, petting Boulder as he slept in her lap. She then went on about her relationship with Kennelworth, the fact that they’d been together for most of the year now and that while Maud wasn’t entirely looking at a ring on the finger just yet, she wouldn’t complain if he decided to bring it up.

“And what about you, Pinkie?” Limestone inquired, a dreamy tone. “You’re a cheerleader at your school, right? I bet you’ve got all kindsa boys – and maybe girls, too – chasin’ after ya!”

“I’m not sure I’m entirely comfortable with that,” Quartz said to no one in particular. “I remember when Wheatsheaf and Barleycorn’s daughter got hurt in one o’ those cheerleading stunts – poor girl was in the hospital for a week and in a wheelchair for the rest of the year!”

“Mom, it’s perfectly safe,” Pinkie insisted. “We practice all the time, and the girls on the squad know what they’re doing. I promise it’s safe, okay? Auntie Cup and Uncle Carrot wouldn’t let me do it if they didn’t think it was.”

“Well, I’m not comfortable with it in the slightest, Pinkamena, dear,” Quartz replied softly. “We just don’t want you to have to go back into the hospital for that awful condition again.”

“Mom, your thing was raising 4H cows and stuff like that, not cheerleading,” Pinkie replied. “Auntie Cup, at least tried out for cheerleading even if she didn’t make her high school team, so she’s been watching me. She insisted I go into a workout regimen an—” However, a stern look from her mother pretty much cut her off.

Pinkie looked as though she wanted to argue with her parents – well, her mother, at any rate. After all, they only saw her, what, four weeks at most out of the year? She’d lived pretty much her entire life with her aunt and uncle, who were for all intents and purposes, her “real” parents. But she loved her family even if this argument, or a variant thereof, almost always happened whenever she visited.

She was a breezy West Coast person, and they weren’t.

They were salt-of-the-earth Midwestern folk, and she wasn’t.

It was a culture clash just as real as any political divide; she was glad they never discussed politics, because she suspected that her political opinions, even if she couldn’t vote, varied just as much from theirs as her social ones. So Pinkie did the only thing she could.

Getting up from the table, she faked a yawn and said, “Well, it’s been a long day for me. I think I’m going to go to bed. I’ll see you all in the morning.” Pausing only to give goodnight kisses to her family, she went upstairs towards the guest room.

As Pinkie went up the stairs, Marble rolled her eyes. “Lightweight,” she grunted. “I thought Cali girls were supposed to be non-stop party animals?”

“Now, Marble, remember your sister’s been on a flight all this time and she’s still recovering from her condition,” Quartz informed her. “Pinkamena’s always had a weak constitution; it amazes me she even has the strength at all for something like cheerleading.”

Igneous finally spoke up once more. “I’m sure that Cup and Carrot have things well in hand, dear.”

“I’m going to have to have a talk with my sister,” Quartz sighed. “She should know better than to let Pinkamena get into something dangerous!”

“Well, I’ve been driving all this time,” Maud added. “I should probably sleep, too. Night.” Kissing her family goodnight, she also went towards the guest room.

“Pinkie?” Maud tapped the sleeping form next to her, but there was no response. “I know you’re not asleep.”

As expected, Pinkie sat up in bed. “Why don’t they get it?” she said mournfully in the dark. “I know Mom and Dad love me, I know that. But they didn’t raise me – Auntie Cup and Uncle Carrot did. They can’t expect me to be just like you, Inkie and Blinkie!”

“They worry about you,” Maud said. “Pa’s oldest sister had the same thing when she was your age. She died at age nine.”

“I know; believe me, I’ve read everything,” Pinkie told her sister. “But they also have to know: I was found to be completely free of it by seven. And they were the ones who said I should keep living with our aunt and uncle.”

Maud sighed; if there was any period of her childhood that she remembered, those years would be it. All of her mother’s constant crying that without expensive treatment, newborn Pinkamena Diane – named both after Quartz’ own mother and Igneous' older sister, who had died in childhood from the disease that at the time had been threatening Pinkie – wouldn’t live to see four. Then for several days her father would just sit on the porch and stare bleakly into the distance, trying not to let depression swallow him up either. The fear of whether having future children would doom them to the same fate, and how that would impact any of the girls’ own children in generations to come.

But there was also the joy when the news came that an experimental therapy to cure the illness that plagued baby Pinkie. And the difficult decision Maud’s parents had to face: give up the quarry that had been in their family for generations and move away from where the Pie family had settled practically since forever; or give up their then-youngest child to Quartz’ sister, a free spirit studying the culinary arts at a college in the most hippie part of California. Even at six years old, Maud understood the pain and difficulty her parents were going through to make this sacrifice – and if she ever had to endure anything like that when she had children that she could face it with even a fraction of the grace her parents did.

“Pinkie….” Maud began, trying to choose her words carefully. More than any other member of the family, she and Pinkie were close. Maybe it was because there was a significant age gap between them and their own younger two sisters; or maybe it was because she and Pinkie were a pair, just as Marble and Limestone were in their own fashion. But the truth remained: she and Pinkie were close…which meant that it would be up to the older sister to deal with this situation.

“Yes?” Even in the dim light of the room, Maud could see Pinkie’s nervous glances. Given how she acted normally in her everyday environment – Maud had been to California at least once since going to college – to see Pinkie act like a shrinking violet was not in her nature. It just wasn’t in the cotton-candy-haired teen’s personality to be one.

“Pinkie…you should know that Ma and Pa went through hell when deciding your treatment. It wasn’t easy for either, giving you up. And I know that you never feel comfortable here, or with how they try to treat you.” She then made sure that she had her sister’s attention as she said, “But you have to understand: they love you and only want the best for you. Everyone in the family does, even if we don’t see you that often. You are still my sister and their daughter and that’s never going to change.”

Despite herself, Pinkie smiled. “That’s…the longest I think you’ve ever said something, Maud.”

“Sorry; I know I can be chatty,” the elder sister replied.

Pinkie reached over and hugged her sister. “Thanks, I needed that. But will Mom and Dad accept me for…me?” she asked. “I don’t want them to think that just because I know that they love me that I’m going to change who I am. That wouldn’t be fair to either me or Auntie Cup and Uncle Carrot.”

“Just talk to them in the morning,” Maud suggested. “I’ll be there with you.”

Pinkie nodded. “Okay, in that case, I’ll trust that you know what’s going on, sis. But for now, I gotta sleep. Night!” Giving her sister a quick peck on the cheek, she turned to lay down, hoping to get some sleep. She already had an idea of what to do in her head, but she could only hope that it worked out.

A farmer of any kind was used to getting up before dawn. It was ingrained in the nature of anyone who lived an agricultural life, and though technically the Pie family wasn’t a farming family, they’d picked up the habit while living in the middle of farm country for generations, and now it was common for the quarry to be in operation prior to sunrise. And even though the quarry was closed during the winter due to snow and ice, the family was still all too entirely used to being up at said hours.

Pinkie, however, was not used to said hours; as for Maud, who had adjusted to the different cadence of collegiate life, had likewise become used to rising far later than the cock’s cry. So by the time she’d opened her eyes, the house was a buzz of activity. She turned to look at her sister, only to find Pinkie not there.

Yawning and stretching, she got out of bed, then petting Boulder, led him downstairs, where the four other dogs were already chowing down. Though she was running late insofar as family was concerned, she knew they’d still be up and running about for breakfast. But to her surprise, right along with her family – in fact, apparently the one who made breakfast – was Pinkie!

“Hey, lazy!” Marble teased, patting the chair next to her. “Want breakfast? Pinkie made some sorta Mexican thing. Chilikilies or something like that.”

“Chilaquiles,” Pinkie corrected. “I got the recipe from my friend Rainbow Dash.” The teen bounded over to the stove, then bounded back with a plate for Maud. “Feel free and eat up, there’s plenty more!”

Both Igneous and Quartz looked at their plates oddly, while Marble, Limestone and Maud digged in. “Are you…sure you should be eating this, Pinkamena?” the matron asked.

Pinkie finally brought her own plate and sat down next to Limestone. “Yeah! You should see the chili-eating contests that me, Rainbow, AJ and Sunny have! There was this one time that I think we must’ve eaten, like seven whole ghost peppers an—”

“Ghost peppers?” Limestone gasped, shocked. When her parents looked at her, she said, “We studied about them in school! They’re like the world’s third hottest chili pepper an—”

That was enough for Quartz. Rising from her chair, a stern look on her face, she pronounced, “I have heard enough! It’s bad enough that my sister continually allows you to put yourself in danger, but to poison yourself? That’s too far!”

Pinkie blinked. “Poison me? Mom, what are you tal—”

“I’ve got a mind right now to call Cup and tell her that you’re not allowed to injure yourself any further in that cheerleading! I almost lost you, and I refuse to let you die in that heathen, Godless hell that is California!”

“Ma, I think you’re overreacting,” Maud said, looking at her mother. “Aunt Cup watches Pinkie carefully, I’m sure.”

“Maudelline, when I wish your opinion, I’ll ask for it,” Quartz said curtly. “Now, I’ve a mind to just call your aunt and uncle and say that you’re never stepping foot west of Bentonville ever again!” With that, she sat down and adjusted her glasses – a sign to her family that the discussion was over.

Too bad for her Pinkie didn’t recognize it. Her hair deflating, she stood up. “No.”

“Don’t you talk back to me, young lady,” Quartz seethed. “I didn’t give birth to you so you could give me sass, understood?”

“No, I don’t. News flash: you didn’t raise me!” Pinkie said, gripping the table. “Auntie Cup and Uncle Carrot did, and whether you like it or not, I think they did a great job, and I know they’ll do just as great a job with my cousins!” She pointed a finger at her mother. “You’re just mad because you don’t know how to handle me!”

Finally, Igneous put a stop to it. “Pinkamena, that’s enough,” he told her kindly but firmly.

Pinkie looked at her mother and saw the hurt and anger in hers reflected in her mother’s. Without removing her eyes from Quartz’, she said to no one in particular, she said, “Yes. It is.” And with that, she stormed out of the house, pausing only to grab her coat from the front door.

“Pinkie….” Marble said, shocked.

Limestone looked at her sister. “Let’s go after her, sis. She doesn’t know her way around here.”

Maud turned to both of them. “Go,” she commanded. “I have to talk to Ma and Pa.” Both girls nodded and leapt from the table, racing outside. Maud waited for a few minutes before she let her mother have it. “Ma, I love you, but that was as dumb as a rock.”

“Not you, too!” Quartz moaned. “What is it about the outside world tha—”

Without even listening, Maud said casually, “Did you know my first kiss was with another girl?” The silence in the room suddenly became deafening. Maud thought she saw something in her father’s eyes, but this wasn’t for him. “It was my then best friend, Cherry Tart. We were drinking behind the barn on her family’s farm, she was into me, and I thought I liked her.” She shook her head. “Turns out that I really didn’t like her like that, and I didn’t mean to break her heart. But it did at least point me in the right direction for my first boyfriend.”

“So you’re a Sodomite?”

Maud rolled her eyes. “Ma, for all the biblical terms you use? We never went to church often. What are we, Baptists? Episcopalian? Do you even know?”

“So you’re saying yo—”

“Please don’t put words in my mouth,” Maud retorted. “And this has nothing to do with my beliefs. This is about the fact that you don’t know how to deal with Pinkie, because you’re afraid that she’s Aunt Cup’s child now, not yours.”

Quartz blinked. “Then why did you mention it?”

“Easiest way to get you to shut up and let me speak?” Maud offered as she looked at her parents. Igneous sat there and said nothing, but there was a slight nod from the man that indicated that Maud was right. Seeing that, Maud continued. “Pinkie is your daughter, Ma. She always will be. But you have to realize that she grew up in an entirely different situation for her. You’ve lived your whole life here, you keep telling us, and you always say that to you, Fayetteville is ‘the big city’. But to Pinkie, the second largest city in the country is just a couple of hours’ drive from her home.” Maud sighed. “Is it that hard to deal with the fact that Pinkie will always be different from the rest of us?” She smiled softly. “Heck, I’ve been living in Texas the past few years and even I’m not the same person I used to be.”

“I suppose so,” Igneous said. He would have said more, but the phone picked that moment to ring. Figuring the situation was under control, he left the two women alone.

Mother stared at eldest daughter for a few minutes, before she admitted in a soft voice, “I…I don’t know how to deal with her. Your father…he’s always been somewhat laconic about these things, but I expected you girls to take after me, not my sister. And I look at Pinkamena…and all I see is Cup.”

“Is that so bad?” Maud asked. “I remember when I went to visit Aunt Cup and Uncle Carrot at the beginning of the year. Pinkie’s doing great in school, she’s athletic, healthy, and popular. She has a lot of good friends, and while she had some problems with another student earlier, I’ve heard she’s even made friends with her now. You’d be proud of her if you gave her a chance, Ma.”

“And I don’t think there’s anyone better to explain it than someone who’s there,” Igneous said, coming back into the kitchen with the house phone in his hand. “It’s Cup – she wants to speak to you.”

Pinkie wiped the stinging tears from her eyes as they froze in the cold winter air. “And I want to come home!” she sobbed on the phone.

“It sounds like I need to talk to my sister,” Cup said softly. “But I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding, Pinkie. And your mother loves you, you know that.”

“Then why is it so hard? Dad accepts me, my sisters accept me, but Mom doesn’t!”

“Sweetie, you have to remember that your mother and I had a fairly cloistered childhood, and it wasn’t until I took a chance and went far from home that my views changed. I love Quartz dearly, but she’s somewhat…steadfast in her ways.” Cup sighed. “Let me call her and straighten things out. If that doesn’t work, have Maud take you to the airport and you can exchange your ticket for the first one home.”

“Okay,” Pinkie sniffed, wiping her eyes.

“We’ll take care of everything, Pinkie. I’ll talk to you later sweetie.”

“Okay, Auntie Cup. Love you and talk to you later. Bye.” She clicked off the phone and shoved it in her pocket, then shifted on the rock overlooking the makeshift frozen pond in the main portion of the quarry. Normally the mine extended down there, but during the winter there was enough snow that the huge gash in the earth turned into a frozen pond that the local kids – with adult supervision, of course – used as a skating pond. It had been on the artificial pond in Three Heroes Park that her uncle had taught her how to ice skate, and combined with her natural acrobatics, she’d learned how to ice dance. Granted, she was no Olympic-level skater, much less competitive, but it came in handy for her cheerleading routines.

Pinkie heard her name being shouted; she turned to find her younger sisters rushing towards them. “Pinkie, look out!” Marble shouted, gasping for breath. “You don’t want to slip; this part has a rock outcropping and you could hurt yourself.”

“Thanks,” she said as her sisters approached. To no surprise, she was glomped by both.

“Are you going back to California and we’ll never see you again?” Limestone asked.

“I don’t know,” she admitted softly as she rustled Limestone’s hair. “I love you all, but…Mom and I don’t see eye to eye.”

“Aw, c’mon, Pinkie!” Marble said. “Ma’s always like that. She’s a worrywart. Trust me: she worried like crazy when I started taking up sculpting, telling me that I’m going to put my eye out with the chisel and stuff. But she just worries because she’s our mother.”

“I guess,” the elder girl sighed.

“No guessing!” Limestone said, then looked at the pond. “You know…do they have ice skating in California?”

“Of course,” Pinkie replied. “Uncle Carrot taught me. Why?”

“Well, do you want to go ice skating? Ice skating always cheers me up when I’m sad in winter.”

Marble smiled. “You know, Lime, that’s a great idea! Pinkie, what size do you wear?”

“8 ½.”

“Great! We have a pair in the rental shed. I’ll be right back!” Without even waiting, Marble rushed off to get skates, leaving Pinkie to stay with Limestone, who hadn’t removed her death grip on her older sister.

“What’s it like living away from here?” Limestone asked.

“It’s different. I’m used to the city, and it’s a little warmer than this place. But my friends and I have lots of fun and I’m sure if you come visit, you’ll have lots of fun, too!” Whatever Limestone was doing, it definitely had an effect. “Besides, I can say I have the best baby sister!”

Limestone pouted. “I’m not a baby.”

“It’s a figure of speech, Blinkie. But I promise that when you guys come and visit, I’ll show you everything Canterlot has!”

“Promise?”

Pinkie couldn’t help but hug her sister close. “Pinkie Promise,” she said softly and warmly, feeling a bit more like her normal self. And as Marble reappeared with the skates, Pinkie grinned. “So, want me to show you some tricks Uncle Carrot taught me?”

Marble scoffed. “Eh, I bet I could do tricks around you. After all, you live in the city.”

The smile on Pinkie’s face was impish. “Watch me, Inkie. Watch me fly.”

Quartz set down the phone, an ashen look on her face. Igneous was the first to see it. “Sounds like Cup read you the riot act, di’n’t she?” When his wife nodded, he sighed. “Quartzie, I love you like nothing else on this Earth, but sometimes….”

“Sometimes?” she spoke, before remembering that Maud was still here in the house. “Maud, go outside with your sisters, please,” she said.

“No, I’m afraid Maud’s old enough to hear this, honey,” Igneous said. “Honey, while I appreciate that you’ve raised our kids with proper manners like it’s the turn of the century…it’s the turn of the 21st century. This isn’t like when we were kids – the world’s a very different place.” He then turned to Maud. “For the record, I knew all about your little, ahem, ‘incident’ with Cherry Tart. I had words with her father the next day, how you weren’t allowed over no more ‘cause you turned their precious girl into a ‘libertine’.” He shook his head. “Like it’s so hard to say the word ‘lesbian’ nowadays.”

“Igneous!” Quartz gasped.

He rolled his eyes. “Our oldest daughter made out with another girl, Quartzie. I think she’s figured out what that means. And if she wanted to date or marry one, I’d be perfectly fine with that.”

“Not that I swing that way, Pa, but thanks,” Maud said appreciatively.

“Anyways, I know you worry about Pinkamena – the Good Lord knows I do too,” he sighed. “But she’s nearly a woman now and she’s used to an entirely different life, the kind of life we entrusted your sister and brother-in-law to show her. And if you ask me, they’ve done a good job. Sure, Pinkamena’s a bit rough around the edges like I’d expect from somebody from a big city, but I bet she thinks we’re a bit too sheltered. And who knows if either’s true.

“But we trusted Cup and Carrot to do right by her, and they have – hell, Cup was worried enough that she called you just now,” he stated. “And if that isn’t due diligence, then as sure as stones I don’t know what is.”

Quartz’ shoulders slumped. “But she’s my daughter,” she said in a defeated voice. “If I don’t worry, who will?”

“Ma, nothing wrong with that,” Maud said. “But you trusted me to move two states away by myself to study. Pinkie’s farther, but she’s been with family all this time. And if you can’t trust family, who can you trust?”

“Maybe…maybe you’re both right.”

Igneous went over and put his arms on his wife’s shoulders. “I know I’m right, just as you know you are. But they’re growing up and sooner or later, they need to find out what’s right for themselves.” In response, she leaned into her husband’s strong arms, looking brokenhearted.

“Ma, it’s not the end of the world,” Maud said. “Pinkie still loves you. And I’ll bet right now if you go and talk to her – really talk to her, she might just surprise you.”

“Okay.” Encouraged by her loved ones, Quartz went over, slipped on her boots and her jacket and stepped outside, followed shortly by Igneous and Maud. Hearing voices coming from the skating pond, the three headed in that direction…and then dropped their jaws.

There, to the absolute delight of her sisters, Pinkie defied gravity. Mixing in her skating with her cheerleader acrobatics, she did effortless flips, spins and stunts that seemed to break the laws of physics as she knew it. And watching from a distance, Quartz couldn’t help but be shocked.

“Beautiful….” she whispered.

“She’s something, isn’t she?” Maud said.

Quartz, to the surprise of her husband and daughter, wiped tears from her eyes. “I…when I was younger and your Aunt Cup was just a little girl, I was heavily into ice skating. I wanted to be an Olympic ice skater, and maybe if I stuck with it, I could’ve. But your grandpa said that it was a waste of time and it wouldn’t amount to much. I listened to him. He told Cup the same thing about her cooking, but she never listened.”

Igneous nodded; he was fortunate that his mother, Surprise, had a whimsical streak that had somehow manifested itself in his daughters to various degrees. But his in-laws, good people that they were, tended to be a bit more…severe than his parents. “And just think, honey: if Cup hadn’t listened, she wouldn’t have been there to teach our girl any of that.”

“If Cup hadn’t been there…” she said to herself, watching as Pinkie pulled off a double axel, moving away as her sisters cheered her on. “…we would have lost Pinkamena.” She felt the tears come again and let them pour out this time, feeling the shame of her stupidity.

“C’mon, it’s never too late to make up,” Igneous said. Quartz nodded, and together with Maud, the three headed towards the pond.

“And Pinkamena, I know I haven’t said this enough, but…I’m proud of you,” Quartz said to her middle daughter thirty minutes later while the pair were alone in the house. Igneous and the other three girls had gone with him over to a neighbor’s farm to go pick out a Christmas tree, leaving the two to talk. And talk they did.

“Thanks, Mom,” Pinkie blushed. “So, you don’t have a problem with me continuing to be on the squad?”

Quartz shook her head. “If anything, I’m a little jealous that I didn’t follow my dreams like you did.”

Pinkie got up and hugged her mother. “But you did: if you didn’t send me there, I wouldn’t have had the life I do. So you and Dad sacrificed a lot just for me, and it’s something I can never repay.”

Quartz leaned into the embrace. “I love you, Pinkamena.” She could feel tears again, but this time tears of joy.

She wasn’t the only one. “I love you too, Mom,” she said, holding her mother close. The two were like that for countless minutes, until they heard the honking of Igneous’ truck.

“Well, that’s your father and the girls,” the matron said, wiping her face. “Should we go help them with the tree?”

“I’d love to,” Pinkie said with a smile, wiping the tears from her own eyes.

Lorelei

Fingers glided softly against highly-polished spruce and ebony, the tones of the hammers creating a wonderful, musical sound. Rarity didn’t often play the piano as much as she liked – and it certainly didn’t help when she found out that Octavia could play the piano as well – but all the musical lessons of her youth came to her now and she was lucky that Clavinova had been such a patient teacher with her and then later with Sweetie Belle as well. It struck the teen as odd; both one of her closest friends and her younger sister were both destined for musical careers, though Rarity, who had thought that would be the case for her in her youth, would not.

Ah, but where would they get their performing gowns and other such fashions from? she thought, a smile coming to her lips. Rarity had found her own place in the world, courtesy of her job at La Boutique, the bridal gown shop where she worked. It gave her a lot of experience in the fashion world, and its owner, Glittering Prize, knew more than a few people at The New School for Design in New York, where the teen intended to attend college – Rarity’s acceptance was all but assured.

Besides, she mentally added with no small amount of mirth, there was always that band that Rainbow had jokingly thought about starting. Sure, out of the eight of them the only ones who knew how to play instruments were herself, Octavia and Twilight – the latter having apparently learned the violin for no other reason than teasing her cousin – though she couldn’t recall if Applejack had once mentioned the ability to play the guitar. In any case, it was of little importance, as it was a pipe dream in any case.

Rarity played on, continuing through the song until the final notes completed, the final hammer blow colliding against the carbon steel piano wire, sending the soft note reverberating through the air until it vanished into the ether.

The soft sound of clapping sounded through the living room, causing Rarity to turn away from the upright piano to see Sweetie Belle standing there, clapping her little heart out. The younger teen smiled. “That’s amazing, Rarity!”

Rarity smiled. “Why, thank you, Sweetie Belle. Are you planning to spend the day with your friends?”

Sweetie’s response was to shuffle her feet, and the moment that happened, the older sister knew something was up. Well, at least it isn’t another one of their byzantine attempts at getting another scouting badge. Besides, watching the ungainly, coltish moves of her sister, still dealing with a growth spurt, was amusing in and of itself. Although, Rarity admitted silently, I’d best stop using the term “coltish”, since it might offend Sunset. Given said friend was in truth a unicorn from another dimension, it made for a whole plethora of minor changes in etiquette where Sunset Shimmer was concerned.

“Um…Rarity?” Sweetie began haltingly.

Rarity, having just stepped away from the piano bench, lowered the key cover. “Let me guess: you need to go out to buy presents for Mother and Father?”

Sweetie nodded. “And Grandmama and Grandpapa as well, since they’ll be here as well.”

Rarity said, “I believe I can do that.” It had been a minor fortune that her father, currently in Cloudsdale covering a game for his job, had left his car behind; as for their mother, she had received a freelance assignment from a magazine covering an annual holiday event up just north of the state line, and she would return home that evening. As for herself, Rarity the day off from the boutique in order to watch her younger sister, though she’d never admit that latter part; the last thing she wanted to hear was Sweetie’s pouting about how she was old enough to watch herself, state law be damned. In any case, that meant that they had Hondo Flanks' car at hand, though she felt somewhat nervous about driving her father’s sporty Audi A3.

“Do you need any money?” Rarity asked.

“Oh, no, I’m fine; I have my allowance and the extra cash we got from….” Sweetie blushed and in response, Rarity raised a delicate eyebrow. Realizing her self-created predicament, the younger sister said, “Do you remember when the girls and I decided to earn our archeology badge? We kinda wandered around a private lot with shovels and pikes that Apple Bloom had borrowed from somewhere.”

“And?” Rarity asked, knowing full well that if this went off like so many of the trio’s other pursuits, it would end in failure at best, disaster at outright worst. She’d even once heard Rainbow refer to the three as “The CMC” – short for Cloth Marker Catastrophes – and more often than not, the fashionista wondered if her athletic friend had the right of it.

“We didn’t find any fossils, but we got paid by Mrs. Flowerpot to stop looking….” Sweetie answered.

“Let me get this straight: You and your friends went digging for dinosaur bones…in Mrs. Flowerpot’s garden?” Their next door neighbor, a retiree, was fussy about her garden, primarily her prize-winning petunias.

“No, of course not – that would be dumb!”

“Then where did you—”

“The empty lot behind her house, of course!” At that pronouncement, Rarity could practically envision the looks of horror on her parents’ faces: the empty lot behind Mrs. Flowerpot’s house was technically city property, currently in use by the power, telephone and cable companies to provide said resources to the area. Given the depth one would have to excavate in order to find dinosaur bones…. Rarity blanched as she realized how close her sister and her friends came to completely blacking out the neighborhood, not to mention electrocuting themselves.

“Ooh, c’mon!” Sweetie gasped. “Mom and Dad already grounded me back in August for that! You’re not going to give me grief too, are you?”

“No, I suppose not,” Rarity sighed, wishing that her parents had told her about this latest stunt, regardless of it having been months prior. “Well, go ahead and eat breakfast, and then once you’re done, we can go.”

Half an hour later, the car knifed its way through the light snow, creating small flurries in its wake as it departed the neighborhood. Within the car, classic rock had been replaced by pop music, and at the moment, a song by Midnight Moondust lilted through the speakers.

“So, do you have any idea of where you want to start?” Rarity asked.

“What about Olde Towne?” Sweetie asked.

“That sounds reasonable,” Rarity said. Olde Towne, despite its name, wasn’t actually that; it was a pedestrian mall along San Palomino’s main strip, filled with various boutiques and small restaurants. She and her friends had been there just a few weeks back having lunch while shopping for a birthday gift for Rainbow, who had unsurprisingly complained about the “uncool poshness” of the whole place. All in all, it would be a great place to take her sister to, especially since Rarity had to get some gifts for her grandparents as well.

Eventually, Rarity pulled up into the parking garage for Olde Towne. “Well, here we are,” she announced breezily. “Would you like to start at the northern esplanade, or the southern? I do, however, recommend that we have lunch at the southern esplanade; Twilight told me about this wonderful little French bistro at the end of the mall.

Sweetie looked at her sister with confusion. “Do you have an idea?”

“Not particularly, no,” Rarity admitted. “However, why don’t we start at the northernmost point and work our way down? That way when we get to the southern end we can have lunch there, then walk it off while looking at the other side?”

The younger teen nodded. “Works for me,” she decided.

The two teens started off at the northern end of the mall, walking past the various shops, enjoying the lights and the décor of the area. Both sisters paused to put change in the Salvation Army kettle, then paused briefly to hear the accompanying band and carol singers. Eventually they moved on, walking down the pedestrian mall and watching the light snowfall of the late morning day.

Finally, Sweetie stopped before a particular shop: “Precious Memory’s Music Box and More Emporium?”

“A wonderful idea,” Rarity announced. “Grandmama just loves music boxes, and perhaps we can find a display case for all of Grandpapa’s medals.”

With that agreement, the pair went in, soon surrounded by something more akin to a holiday film more than anything else: snowglobes seemed to dance, and music boxes displayed their intricate motorworks. Various glasses and mementos filled shelves upon shelves and in the center of it all, at the counter was a woman in her sixties, adjusting her glasses and brushing the grayish-blue hair out of her eyes. She looked more like one of those elegant British actresses from the BBC than a mere shop proprietor, the perfect picture of poise and grace.

“Welcome to my shop!” the woman said in a voice that held a beautifully musical timbre. “Please, let me know if there’s anything you need.”

“Thank you, madam,” Rarity replied.

As for Sweetie, her own eyes lit up with amazement. “Wow, this place is sooooooo pretty!”

“Isn’t it, though? Oh, and look – they have vitrines as well! Mother has always talked about putting Father’s memorabilia from his football days in one, and it would most definitely work for a medals case for Grandpapa's display. Perhaps we should— ” She looked around, suddenly finding herself completely by herself. Looking to her right, she noticed Sweetie already on the prowl for the perfect gift.

I suppose she’ll ask me for advice when she needs it, Rarity thought as she headed over to the display cases. She knew her father would appreciate one, and that would at least get some of the gifts out of the way.

Meanwhile, Sweetie wandered around, completely amazed at the beauty of the various knick-knacks in the store: there was a carousel-shaped music box to her left, a beautiful unicorn-shaped work of glass in the style of Art du Verre, and one of those cute pocket-sized dragon statuettes like the purple and green “baby dragon with scroll and quill” one that her mother had on her desk. Right next to that was the statuette in question, alongside a female version of the same, wearing a big pink bow in its back quills.

How does that even work? Sweetie thought as she picked up the statuette, turning it over and looking at it before setting it down back on the shelf. Unfortunately, she didn’t set it carefully enough, and it fell. Not wanting to experience the store’s “you break it you bought it” policy, she dived forward, only to run into a reed-thin, elderly gentleman who easily caught the item just before it fatally impacted against the ground.

“Careful, young miss,” the man said in an avuncular, jolly tone. “DragonAides are many things, but one of those is not indestructible,” he said. “I should know; I never made them strong enough to withstand such things as accidents, stress failures, or toddlers,” he said, half-amused.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Sweetie said, hoping that she wasn’t about to face punishment for what had been a genuine accident.

Sure enough, Rarity had practically hustled over from the other side of the store when she saw her sister fall, only to be caught by the gentleman who had appeared at her side. “I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience, sir,” Rarity began.

The man waved it off. “Not at all, not at all,” he demurred. “I was just talking to your charming little sister here about her taste in figurines, though as I explained, I never made them to be adamantine.”

Rarity’s eyes suddenly opened in realization. “You’re.... Maquette, aren’t you? The one who created the DragonAides?”

Maquette bowed in recognition. “I’m quite surprised that you know who I am, miss. There have been no new DragonAides since I retired, and I daresay that the creation is far more known than the creator.”

“My grandmother in particular is a huge fan of yours: you took a picture with her back in the eighties, and she has it framed at her home.”

“That was decades ago,” the man said appreciatively.

“I have an eye for details, good sir,” the fashionista replied. “But I don’t think she was aware that you were retired.”

He nodded sadly. Reaching over to pick up the purple-and-green dragon with the quill and scroll, he said, “Alas, ever since I created Scribe here, I’ve had an incredible amount of creative block. I’d hoped that it would’ve been short-lived, but sadly, it wasn’t. Finally, I had to close Dragoncrafts, and I’ve lived a life of solitude since, save for the occasional visit to my wife’s shop.”

“That’s a shame,” Rarity said, feeling sympathy for the poor man. “As a young designer myself, I understand the issues of having the creative well run dry, though never quite to the length that you have, sir.”

“And I hope you never do, Miss….?”

“Ah, Rarity,” she said, offering a hand. “And this is my sister, Sweetie Belle.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Maquette!” Sweetie said cheerfully, offering her hand as well.

“And a pleasure to meet you two,” the man said with a cheerful smile.

“Well, Rarity, I think I know what I want to get Grandmama,” she announced. Reaching to the above shelf, she grabbed the Scribe figurine. “I don’t think she has this one; maybe we should get it for her?”

The look on Maquette’s face was uneasy. “Miss Belle, far be it from me to discourage you, but I should let you know that since the DragonAides line was retired, existing models have been fetching quite the price on the collectors’ market.”

The look on Sweetie’s face was one of confusion. “I don’t get it,” she replied.

However, Rarity did. Gently, she said, “Look at the price tag at the figure’s base, dear.” Sweetie turned it over to find a price of $1565.

The look on her face one of absolute shock, Sweetie put the figurine back on the shelf, trying very hard for her shaking hands not to cause an accident. Once that was done, she looked at her sister with utter embarrassment: “I guess you can’t lend me that money, can you?”

That night, at dinner, Rarity, Sweetie and their mother conversed regarding their respective days over shrimp scampi. “So let me get this straight,” Cookie Crumbles asked. “You met Maquette, who says he’s retired from sculpting?” When both daughters nodded, Cookie shook her head. “That’s a terrible shame. I remember when I was growing up, how much your grandmother adored his little DragonAides. In fact, she has two of the first Limited Edition computer ones, though I can’t remember its name….”

“Truly it’s a shame that he cannot continue,” Rarity said, twirling her fork in the pasta. “He seemed like he very much wanted to continue his craft, but that he has done all he can with the line. Personally, I would presume that it would take a new look to get him started again….”

“I suppose so, but unless he has anyone who works with him who hasn’t been able to do ‘prime the pump’ already, so to speak, then I’m not quite sure what else can be done,” Cookie commented.

“If only there were some way to get him restarted,” Rarity agreed. “I’m sure Grandmama would love the first of a new line of DragonAides.”

Hearing all this, a chorus of angels suddenly whispered – nay, sang! – a eureka-worthy idea right into the deepest recesses of Sweetie’s cerebral cortex. In her Cartesian theater, billions upon billions dances upon a celestial stage, all belting out showtunes with lyrics that brought up the patently obvious answer. It was quite ironic that of her circle of friends, she was thought to be the dreamy, mentally lost one. However, for good or ill, she tended to have the same mindset as Pinkie Pie, but without the older teen’s unyielding vim.

“I~dea!” she sang at the table, a smile breaking wide upon her face. “Rarity, why don’t we help him find new inspiration? I bet between your creativity and my help, we can do it!”

“Well….” Rarity said, impressed at her sister’s enthusiasm for the idea, one that was appealing to the fashionista; to be able to present their grandmother with the first of a new generation of DragonAides would be a grand idea. Furthermore, she would be helping a legend get back to his feet, continuing to spread cheer through his creations worldwide.

And then Sweetie’s next words broke the eminence-tressed teen’s rising enthusiasm, instead infusing it with the cold, sharp sting of fear:

“I’ll bet I can even get a scouting badge out of it!”

“Ah…Sweetie,” Rarity said, her mind slipping into overdrive in order to find some/any means of dissuading the suddenly-driven Sweetie from her goal. “Remember that it has been quite a while that the esteemed gentleman has been retired, and he may have a preference to a quiet life out of the relative limelight, no?”

“Please, Rarity?” Sweetie pled, giving her sister her most innocent look. “It even says on line three of the Scout’s Law that we’re supposed to be friendly and helpful, and if Mr. Maquette needs help, that’s what we’re supposed to do, right?”

“Sweetie….”

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?”

Rarity sighed. She would’ve put her head on the table, but that would’ve meant burying it in pasta, butter sauce and shrimp. “Fine, fine.” It was times like this that she wished she could age five more years in the next five minutes, if only because she’d then be old enough to drink – and she could probably use one right now.

The following morning, the two returned to the curio shop, explaining to Precious Memory exactly what their plan was. Needless to say, while she very much appreciated what the pair intended to do for her husband, she also explained that they weren’t by any stretch of the imagination the first to attempt such a feat. “Maq has tried so very much to get back to the DragonAides series – he loves it and it’s his life’s work. But sometimes when the well runs dry, there’s not a single thing you can do to improve matters.”

Sweetie, however, was adamant. “But Mrs. Memory, he has still so much to give the world! And I know he can do it, he just has to have someone to believe in him!”

Rarity nodded. “I once met an…exchange student…and even though she only attended my school for just a short while, she taught me a lot of things I didn’t think I could accept at face value. And one of those things was, quite truthfully, to always help someone if you believe in them. I know we seem to be just a pair of girls that wandered into your store yesterday, Mrs. Memory, and quite honestly, we did just that, with only the intent of getting Christmas presents for our family. But then we met your husband, and his desire to create once more by restoring the flow of creativity he once had, we felt we had to do something.”

The look on Memory’s face was somewhere between impressed and amused. “Had to?”

“Mrs. Memory, I am a creator – though I may not look it, I have designed plenty of the formal and wedding gowns that La Boutique sells. But my biggest fear is that once I move onto college, that I will hit my own creative well and it will cost me so much. So I certainly understand what your husband is going through, especially since it cost him his business.”

“It did more than that,” Memory replied, but said nothing further, as she heard some noise from the back of the store. It turned out to be Maquette himself, who looked at Rarity and Sweetie in a far less kind manner than he did just the day before.

“I knew you two would be back,” he said simply. No anger, no malice, just matter of fact, as though he had discerned something that neither of them had thought of themselves until dinner the previous night.

“Sir, we—”

“No, young miss. I know what you’re thinking and quite frankly, without being rude or dismissive, I’ve had years to try. There was something about the Scribe figurine that seemed to be the end of the DragonAides series. I’d never intended that, and Lord knows others have tried to take it over. Hell, I had someone try to buy my company in the hopes of saving it, but that went south. So what makes you think that you’re going to help me where anyone has failed before?”

Rarity leaned forward. “Because friendship is magic – and I know this more than most.” She crossed her arms, looking him straight in the eyes. “What harm can you do by trusting me and my little sister?”

Maquette sighed. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not,” Rarity said with a smile, and then put her hand on Sweetie’s shoulder. “But she is, and I’m willing to back my sister because she believes in you.”

The man looked at the younger girl and the confident look on her face, nothing any different from that of the older. And between the two, there was something that he hadn’t felt in a long time. He wasn’t sure it was inspiration, no it was something else. It was belief – the simple faith that he could perform a miracle, just because these two knew he would. And when was the last time he’d know that?

It was back when….

He sighed; they were right. What did he have to lose?

Wordlessly, he waved them into the back area, where he had his workshop. Rarity and Sweetie looked at each other, knowing that something had changed, and that it had been due to Sweetie.

“Thanks for bringing me, Rarity,” Sweetie said, giving her sister a smile.

“No, thank you for doing this. This might turn out to be something that everyone might just learn from.”

“I’m sorry, Sunset dear, I know we were supposed to go to the movies tonight, but this is something that Sweetie’s really focused on and I have to help her on this one. So I’ll have to make it up to the rest of you, okay?”

“Yeah, I know how that is, having a little sister of my own now,” Sunset laughed on the other side of the phone. “I’ll let the others know. Must be important if you’re skipping this, since you wanted to see this movie.”

Rarity turned her head to look at the table where Sweetie and Maquette were going over potential DragonAides designs and had been for the past six hours. She’d never seen her sister so obsessed at anything that didn’t directly involve a scouting badge. Maybe it was a sign that Sweetie Belle was starting to make her march towards adulthood, something that Rarity herself was already well on the way towards.

The swell of pride warmed the fashionista’s breast. “It’s my little sister. Few things are more important.”

“That I know. I’ll talk to you later; Applejack just got here. See ya.” Saying her own goodbyes, Rarity slipped her phone back in her purse, then went over to the workshop table, which was covered with the wreckage of various things: modelling plastic, various fabrics, and other things. While Rarity had offered her drawing skill and whatever she could, this was all Sweetie’s action. She loved her sister, but after the majority of the day of failure after failure, there was little chance of breaking Maquette’s decades-long dry streak.

But that was the worrying thing: none of the images she’d seen the man draw, or that he’d asked her to draw for him, and they were great ideas. Even those that Sweetie had drawn herself had been cute and very passable as potential ideas, but he’d turned them down, one after the other. The quality of the work he was turning down would have been begged for by another creator, and as Rarity watched the man, she came to believe that he was either the ultimate perfectionist…or he was faking it all.

At least I can say that I tend to move towards the obsessive end of the scale when it comes to perfection, she admitted, but this is madness. I’d almost swear that there was something else that we’re missing here in the equation. But for the life of me, I can’t tell what it is.

Finally, he threw his hands up in frustration. “More of the same. More of the same!” He looked at both Sweetie and then Rarity. “I’m sorry, girls, I know you tried. I know you really tried to help me here. But it’s not going to change. It hasn’t changed. It never will! It’s the same as when I lo—” He turned away from the table, looking at a picture on the wall. The picture was him from when he was younger – it was also damaged, with the glass of the picture broken in a corner. That in itself was a clue.

But it was the look on his face that was the bigger register. Rarity knew that look; she’d seen it one too many times when Sunset during the months she doubted her own ability to change who she was. The teen knew there was a story here, but it wasn’t up to her to pry. He would have to tell them when it was time. Fortunately, there was something that she could do to help that: he seemed to have a far better rapport with Sweetie than he did with her; perhaps he saw her as a granddaughter figure of sorts.

Hopefully he’ll open up to her and we can get down to the real stitch of the issue.

“I don’t know about you two, but I’m quite parched,” she announced. “I was considering heading down the mall to the coffee shop. Would you like me to bring you something back?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Maquette said, waving her off. It was clearly a defense mechanism, but for her to say so would come off as patronizing.

“Can you get me a raspberry hot chocolate?” Sweetie asked.

“Of course, Sweetie darling. I’ll be right back,” she said, heading to the front of the store.

Once there, the first thing she did was to confront Memory. “Mrs. Memory, please forgive me for being a bit forward,” she asked, “but he really didn’t quit because he ran out of ideas, did he?”

“No,” she admitted in a small voice. “The truth is…the whole thing is a result of an argument between my husband and our son. Scale Model had plans to expand the business, to create more merchandise and possibly other things, but Maq considered it ‘selling out.’ Maq and Scale fought, and my son stormed out the door that day and they haven’t spoken to each other since. Because Maq blames the DragonAides for all of that, he refused to make a new line. Eventually that turned into outright creative block.

“I have hopes someday that getting his creative juices flowing will help him to reach out to Scale, but…we’re old and we can’t live forever, you know.”

Rarity looked at the woman and then said, “I presume he lives locally?”

“Yes, in Everfree Glades, with his wife and daughters, why?”

“Do you have a picture?” In response, Memory reached behind the counter, producing a small, framed picture. The picture showed a man very much like Maquette, save for the gray and soft-blue hair. Next to him was a smiling woman that was likely his wife; she had yellow hair in a somewhat teased hairdo. In front of them were two girls that were likely their daughters: the older one looked to be around Rarity’s age; she had cyan-hued hair that rolled down her back like a waterfall. But it was the younger girl, about eight or so, that interested Rarity the most. She had the same hairstyle as Sweetie, but her haircolors were more like her friend Rainbow Dash’s, save for additional thin white stripes.

“This was taken two weeks ago. The woman is Scale’s wife Lightdancer. She’s a wonderful woman and absolutely perfect for him. In front of Light is Raindrops, our older grandchild. She’s about your age, and a very gentle girl for a teenager, if I might say so myself. Finally, the one between them is Rainbow Swirl. She’s the sweetest little girl you’ll ever know…but she’s never met her grandfather. I wish I could change it, but only Light and Raindrops will risk coming to the store; Scale won’t, nor will he let Swirl come.”

Rarity handed the picture back to Memory. “This’ll be perfect. I’ll be right back.” And with that, she stepped out of the store. Once she was clear of the doors, she picked up her phone and called Applejack. “Applejack dear, would you mind doing me a favor?”

“There’s just no use,” Maquette sighed as he put away the last of his art equipment. “I’ve tried for years, and I’m afraid the magic is gone, Sweetie Belle. You’ve done everything you could to help, but it may be time to just admit that my time is over.”

“But you can’t!” Sweetie said, shocked. “Think about all the people who love and adore your DragonAides! Grandmothers, granddaughters, everyone who does! You can’t give up on them, mister!”

“Young lady, you’re not old enough to realize this, but sometimes there just comes a time that no matter what you do, you cannot change the course of what’s happened, and variations turn to dust.” He seemed older and frailer than he already was, as though the life had been sucked out of him by his admitted failure. “I hope that realization is long in coming for you, but being human is a part of realizing it.”

Sweetie was about to add something, when her phone buzzed. Reaching into her pocket, she looked at the text that had just come up, which was from Rarity. Tell him that the friendship of magic wins all, the text said, and that you’ll prove it to him.

What does that got to do with my hot chocolate? Sweetie wondered, but she trusted her older sister. Closing her eyes briefly to figure out how she was going to say this, she smiled and said, “Mr. Maquette, I hate to say this, but you’re wrong.”

A curious eyebrow rose, not one of anger or irritation, but rather amusement. “Young Sweetie, I’ve been on this Earth for close to eighty years now,” he said, “and I have yet to see how what I said isn’t true.”

With a practiced smile and an innate nature born of theatrics, the young teen walked over to the door and said, “No, but I believe in something stronger than that.”

“And what’s that?” he asked, wondering what she was up to.

“The magic of friendship,” she said as she opened it.

Standing there was a young man, looking as though something beyond horrific had occurred. He then immediately set his eyes upon the old man. “Dad?”

Maquette, in turn, looked completely shocked as he looked at his son. “Scale? You—” Maquette had no time to speak as he and his son immediately and wordlessly embraced, silent tears of joy raining forth from this unexpected reunion.

Sweetie stood there, completely and utterly confused, before she felt Rarity’s hand on her shoulder. “What…what just happened?” the younger teen asked the older.

“You did,” Rarity said with a smile. “Let’s leave them to their reunion, okay?” Sweetie nodded, following her sister out of the workroom.

A wide smile broke onto an aged face the week later as an old woman opened the box to find…. “I’ve…never seen this before!” The woman pulled the object out of the box, revealing a statuette of a blue and yellow dragon, standing in front of an easel and canvas with a paintbrush and palette. She then turned to her husband. “This…this looks like a DragonAide!”

The man adjusted his glasses. “Why, it does,” he agreed, before turning to Rarity and Sweetie. “Would you care to explain?”

Rarity smiled. “It looks like a DragonAide, Grandmama, because it is one – the very last. Technically, it’s the prototype, called Painter. But because only the prototype exists, it was all we could get you.”

The woman set it down very carefully. “Where did you girls get this?”

Sweetie grinned. “We got to know the owner of the curio shop in Olde Towne, who had an in. I’ll tell you later, Grandmama!”

It was then that there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it,” Rarity said, walking over to the door and opening it, finding Maquette’s granddaughter Raindrops standing there. “Oh, hello, Raindrops. What brings you here?”

The teal-haired girl smiled. “Grandmother insisted that I bring this over to you, and today was the only chance I had before we all go out of town to…rekindle everything and be a family again,” she said. She held a small box bearing the logo of Precious Memory’s store, which she gave to Rarity. “Here: this is for you and Sweetie Belle.”

“Thank you,” Rarity said, “but you didn’t have to do this.”

“No, thank you,” Raindrops said, reaching over and hugging the other teen. Rarity reciprocated, knowing the feeling was genuine. “I can’t thank you enough for getting my family back together. All I can say is thanks, and if there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”

“Of course, Raindrops, dear,” Rarity said.

“Give me a call after the holidays. We can have coffee and I’ll tell you all about it, okay?”

Rarity nodded and with that, Raindrops walked off towards her car, as Rarity closed the door. “Sweetie, Raindrops just came by and dropped something off.”

“She did?” Sweetie hopped out of her seat as Rarity walked into the living room with the box. Setting it on the table, she opened it up to find a letter there:

Reaching carefully inside the box, Rarity pulled out two figurines, that of Diamond and Singer. To her surprise, they were modeled in part based on both herself and Sweetie, with Diamond having Rarity’s eye and hair colors, as well as the same hair style, and the tail of the unicorn having a similar style as well; curiously, there was a trio of blue diamond-shaped symbols on the figure’s hindquarters. As for Singer, the figure was smaller, bearing the same equivalent similarities to Sweetie.

Although, Rarity wondered as she looked at the figure in her hand, the shape looks very much like Sunset’s real form, or at least what she showed me. Very curious, that. In the end, though, Rarity shrugged; the fact that the Uniquecorns were designed based on Sunset’s species was nothing more than coincidence, she decided.

It was then that Sweetie groaned.

“What’s wrong, Sweetie, dear?” Rarity asked.

The younger teen pouted. “Your Uniquecorn has a design on its butt like a tattoo,” she cried, “but mine doesn’t!”

Beatrix

Second grade. Mr. Ruler’s class. A young girl, sitting at her desk, alone in the classroom, eating lunch. All the other students were out playing, but not the young girl with Alice-blue hair in pigtails had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in one hand, and a Capri Sun in the other, while she intently looked at the book on the table.

“Beatrix?” The girl looked up to see her teacher sitting there at the desk, looking at her with a kind but concerned face. “You should be outside playing with all the other children.”

She smiled. “But I hafta learn this!” she said, flashing a smile that showed a recently lost baby tooth. “My Uncle Presto just wowed them with a new trick at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and I promised him that if he could learn it, I can learn it!”

“I’m sure you can,” he told her, “but you have to remember: you are still a little girl and little girls need friends.”

“I can always get friends later,” she replied. “Besides…I know the other kids don’t like me.”

“Beatrix, I’m sure they’d like you if you gave them a chance. You just have to believe in yourself.”

It was that point that a woman showed up at the classroom door with another little girl in tow. “Mr. Ruler? I have the new student here for you; her parents just finished checking her into the school an hour ago.”

“Odd, but beggars can’t be choosers. Thanks, Ms. Sunshower; I’ll take it from here.” The teacher got up from the desk and went over to the new girl, who seemed to be shaking. She had long celeste-and-ivory hair, and her citrine-colored eyes showed both fear and worry.

“What’s your name?” the teacher asked.

“Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings,” she said nervously.

Mr. Ruler was about to say something, when all of a sudden he saw something he never expected to pass: Beatrix looked at the nervous girl, then got up from her chair and went over to the girl. “It’s okay,” Beatrix told her. “This class is fun and Mr. Ruler is a fun teacher.”

Lyra looked up at the newcomer with interest. “Really?”

“Uh-huh. What’s your name?”

“It’s Lyra. Lyra Heartstrings.”

Beatrix waved. “Hi, I’m Beatrix Lulamoon.”

“Loolamoon?” Lyra pronounced, tripping somewhat over the name. But a second later, recognition dawned. “Lulamoon? Like The Magnificent Presto Lulamoon?”

Beatrix thrust a thumb at her chest proudly. “He’s my uncle!”

“Wow – I saw him on TV last night! He was awesome! Can you do magic?”

“I’m trying. I have a book over there that my uncle sent me. Wanna see?”

“Yeah!” Needing no further prodding, Lyra raced over to Beatrix’s desk, pulling her desk over to her new friend’s. “Is this okay, Mr. Ruler?” both Beatrix and Lyra asked at once.

Mr. Ruler was pleased to see that Beatrix had finally found a friend; hopefully this would last. “Of course. But don’t forget we have Reading next period.”

“Okay!” both girls said at once.

Eight years later, the Alice-blue-haired girl sat in a café, watching the snowfall and trying not to let it bother her. Unlike most who lived here in Canterlot, she never liked the snow, nor December, nor anything that ever went with it. However, today was the one day out of the month that she cherished even more than Christmas, though people never really believed that. However, the other half of the equation wasn’t here.

She reached into her purse for her phone again, but then thought better of it; the other person was unreliable – which probably meant she lost her phone again – irresponsible – which meant that she had her phone, but it wasn’t charged – or flighty – which probably meant that she was at her paramour’s home right now instead of here. Even still, throughout the years, she’d never forgot the promise she made. And throughout the years, despite the other person’s flaws, when the word was said, the Alice-haired girl knew it was as good as bond – better, even.

But sometimes the loneliness and the quiet sank in, and even after all these years, she still shrunk into her chair, afraid of the world, so much so that she’d crafted a public persona that was boisterous and brash, with only those closest to her or smart enough to figure it out. But there were times when it was hard to hold that persona up, and the still-frightened eight-year-old at her core was still there, afraid of the whole world.

And right now she was having one of those moments and it took all her willpower to stay in the chair, drink her peppermint white chocolate mocha and keep her promise.

Because she knew that the Promise was always kept in the end.

Right?

Right?

It was the night of the talent show, and if there was one girl emblematic of the whole nervousness of Mr. Ruler’s Second Grade class, it was Beatrix Lulamoon. Currently on-stage were Tippity-Tap and her recorder performance, with the girl and her two friends playing a very halting, off-key rendition of “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider”. After that, would be Greengrass and his equally off-key singing of “My Little Buttercup” and then after that, it would be showtime.

It would be Beatrix’ first showtime – her very first showtime. She wasn’t sure if she’d memorized all the magic tricks in the book her uncle Presto had sent. Or if her outfit looked good – she was wearing a special hat and cape that her aunt, the equally-famous magician Star Swirl the Braided had made during her tour in Singapore last month.

C’mon, Beatrix, you’ll be okay, she insisted. You come from a family of magicians, right? Except…she wasn’t. Her father was the “black sheep” of the family, more concerned about his accounting career than the family trade. And as for her mother…well, she loved her mother, but Harmonic Convergence, to Beatrix’ eyes, was weird with a capital weird.

“You’ll be fine, Beatrix!” Thankfully for small mercies, Lyra was there. In the two months the two had known each other, they’d become as thick as thieves. Lyra, unlike Beatrix, was happily brave. After all, her family had moved here all the way from Cleveland; Beatrix didn’t know how far that was, but it must’ve been really far to make Lyra as brave as she was. Even now, Lyra had offered to help be Beatrix’ stage hand, so that she could concentrate on the tricks and not be as nervous.

“I’m scared,” she admitted. To Lyra, Beatrix could admit anything. They were the best of friends, the one kid in the school Beatrix knew would never make fun of her.

“You don’t have to be scared. You just have to be magic. I even know how you can be magic!”

“Really?” she asked as she watched the Tippity-Tap Trio walk off the stage, replaced by Greengrass.

“Uh-huh,” Lyra nodded, strong enough to make her appearance seem like a bobblehead doll. “I was watching cartoons with my brother yesterday and Harper was watching one called Speed Racer. In it, there’s a girl named Trixie.”

“Trixie? But my name’s not Trixie, it’s Beatrix.” Beatrix knew her name was special; her father had told her that it was Latin, a really really really old language, and the name meant “traveler.” He said it meant that Beatrix would be destined for great things someday and would travel far and wide, befitting her name.

“Well, Harper helped me look up the name afterwards because it sounded interesting, and I found out it’s short for ‘Beatrix’. Also, because you can do magic tricks, that definitely makes you a Trixie!”

“Really?”

“Yup!” Lyra beamed, certain as the moon shone in the evening.

“Girls, you’re on!” Mrs. Long Division, the Fourth Grade teacher, said.

“Let me go first,” Lyra insisted. “I know just what to do.” When Beatrix nodded, Lyra walked on stage first, bowed and said, “Ladies and gemtlemen! Prepare to be amazed by the magical tricks of…Trixie Lulamoon!”

Opening her eyes slightly, Lyra Heartstrings breathed in a sigh of exhaustion and peace. She could still smell the rose soap scent that covered Bon-Bon’s body, see the slight sheen of sweat from their afternoon pursuits. Turning her head, she could see the cobalt and fuchsia colors of her lover’s hair, and watch the rise and fall of her toned body as she dozed.

Things were perfect for the two lovers right now, and it couldn’t get any better.

That is, until Lyra turned her head and just happened to look at the calendar and the sudden realization that….

“OH, FUCK!” She practically pulled Bon-Bon off the bed by accident while leaping off. Unfortunately, the graceful move was anything but and she ended up colliding against the plush carpeting of the floor, banging her head against the side of the nightstand.

“Lyra?” Bon-Bon asked, waking up to find her girlfriend running around, trying to slip her underwear on while trying to reach her phone at the same time. The effect would’ve been comical had it not been for the fact that Lyra looked seriously worried.

“Fuckfuckfuckfuck oh, fuck me! No, wait, that’s a figure of speech, not an invitation to…well, you know…again,” Lyra said, looking irritably at her phone while still fruitlessly trying to slide her rolled-up panties on with one hand. “Knew I should’ve gotten a new phone last month, but noooooo….”

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

“Fuck, I still have to go to the Emporium, then get my ass over to Brews & Bakes, and then hope she doesn’t fucking kill me!” Lyra finally had the sense of mind to pull her underwear up, then reached for the nearest bra. “Shit, did I fuck up and how….”

Bon-Bon reached over and pulled the bra out of Lyra’s hand. That’s mine, sweet stuff, not yours. “Now do you want to explain?”

Lyra explained. Five seconds later, Bon-Bon tried not to do the facepalm of the gods.

“Lyra? I love you more than I can say…but that was stupid.”

“I know! I’m going to hate me later!” Lyra cried. “There’s no fucking way I’m going to make it to the Emporium and then to Brews & Bakes before she kills me oh my God shesgoigntokillmeandthenmyparentsaregoingtogroundmycorpseandwewontbeabletoseeeachotheruntilwere57—”

Bon-Bon stopped Lyra’s panic by placing a soft finger on her lips. “Did you drive here?”

“No, actually, rode my skateboard.”

“You rode your skateboard.”

Lyra shrugged. “The roads were clear at the time.”

That need to facepalm through her head came to Bon-Bon again. “Love is blind,” she said to herself. “Okay, let me see if I can borrow my sister’s car. She’s in town from college and she usually lets me. You get dressed,” she told Lyra as she slipped on a t-shirt and pair of shorts, “and I’ll go talk to Burgundy.” As Lyra put her clothing on, Bon-Bon stepped out of the room. A few minutes later, she was back. “Burgundy said it’s cool.”

“Thanks, Bonnie! Knew I could count on you!”

“Burgundy also says, and I quote, ‘Bạn là một thằng ngốc.’”

“I’m guessing that’s not good.”

“It means, ‘You’re an idiot.’”

“Oh.”

This was the greatest day of Trixie’s life. She’d turned thirteen two days ago, and as a present, her uncle Presto had got her the finest thing a girl could ever want…or at least a girl like Trixie: Membership in the Junior Group of the Academy of Magical Arts…and a chance to perform last night at The Magic Castle itself! She’d wowed the audience as The Great and Powerful Trixie, being hailed as the latest member of the storied Lulamoon line. Moreover, both her uncle Presto, her aunt Star Swirl and her grandfather Alakazam were in the audience and she’d amazed them with a trick even they had never seen before.

It had been, quite simply, the greatest moment of her life, and she’d been able to share it with her best friend, Lyra, who had always been there for her. Lyra had feigned feeling ill and went back to the hotel while Trixie spent the rest of the night fending off the attentions of several boys her age who wanted to get to know her very well, both for her magic talents and her budding body.

But the day was over now, and Trixie was in the hotel room she shared with Lyra…holding a crying Lyra who seemed as terrified as Trixie usually felt. It was unnerving, she had to admit, seeing their roles reversed, but it didn’t matter. Lyra needed her, and Trixie asked her uncle to cancel her engagements for the day because of that need.

The two held each other for who knew how long before Trixie ventured to speak. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yes,” Lyra said, “but you’ll hate me afterwards.”

“You know me better than that, Lyra. C’mon, what’s up?”

“I…lied last night about being sick. Do you know the girl that performed an hour before you?”

Trixie tried to remember her name. Abby Cadabra or something like that; it wasn’t really memorable, and she was a lousy magician, though she clearly had the kind of body that any girl wished she had. “What about her?”

“Well, the truth is that…I spent the night in Abby’s room. We…we made out. I slept with her. I gave my virginity to her.”

“Lyra, I—”

“Look, I’m going to spell it out, okay? I’m a lesbian, Trixie! I like girls! I just screwed a girl last night – I lied to you about being sick, because I spent the night in bed with that girl!”

“I see.” Trixie processed the information, then said, “So should I just slap you now, or are you going to explain?”

“There’s nothing to explain, Trixie! You probably hate me and want me out of your life so you don’t think I’m going to put the moves on you. God, all the times we’ve borrowed each other’s clothing and stuff like that…you probably think I was leering at you or something!”

At that, Trixie laughed, then cut it off sharply as a stern look came over her face. “You listen to me, Lyra Heartstrings, because I should only need to say this once: I love you like a sister – you are the closest thing I’m ever going to have, since all my cousins are way older or younger than me and we’ve been together since we were kids! I would never – could never – hate you, got that? But what I am angry is that you felt that you couldn’t trust me, or that you felt you had to lie to me.”

Lyra looked as though she was shocked. “You mean that? Hell, my parents are still dealing with it when I told them last month!”

“Yes, I mean it – and if your parents ever do anything to you, you know you’ll always have a place with my family.”

Lyra embraced Trixie once again, tears falling once again, but for a different reason. “I love you, Trixie. You’re the best friend a girl could ever have.”

Trixie hugged her best friend back. “What are friends for?”

“Is this seat taken?” a guy asked.

Trixie nodded yes, nervously, but the guy ignored it and sat down anyway. “Y’know, I was just watching you from across the way and beautiful girl like you? Doesn’t deserve to be here alone in this weather. Whatcha say that we go to the movies? Or maybe my place?”

“I-I’m waiting for a friend,” Trixie stammered. She hated this. She felt abandoned. Lyra was supposed to be here two hours ago, and she’d never been late before – not like this. It was a Promise she’d made to Trixie years ago, and now with Lyra spending more and more time with her girlfriend, maybe there was no more time for Trixie.

Maybe I really have been abandoned, she thought to herself.

“So, your place or mine, cutie?” the guy asked.

“How about ‘no fucking way’ and ‘go to hell, playa’?” Lyra said from behind him. Hearing her voice, Trixie’s heart soared. She hadn’t forgotten!

“And you are?” the guy said, turning to look at Lyra.

“The girl who’s going to let the martial arts blackbelt kick your ass,” Lyra commented, hooking a thumb at Bon-Bon, who took the cue and punched her fist in her hand. “So, I’m guessing you’re college age, right? You usually troll for teenagers?”

“You’re a teen?” the guy said.

Trixie leaned forward. “Seventeen in five days,” she said, matter-of-factly.

“Fuck. Well, sorry,” the guy said, getting out of the seat. “Uh, Merry Christmas and stuff.” Without a word further, he bailed, leaving Lyra and Bon-Bon to slide into the booth.

“Sorry I’m late,” Lyra said off-handedly, “but Bonnie couldn’t keep her hands off me.”

At that point, Bon-Bon finally succumbed to the facepalm instinct and muttered, “Bạn nên đi để trả tiền cho rằng ....”

“I thought you forgot!” Trixie said.

Lyra gave her best friend a genuine smile. “What kind of a best friend would I be if I forgot the Promise?” she said in a soft voice. Then, reaching into a backpack she brought with her, she fished out a small cake with a LED candle on it, and a wrapped gift. “Happy Birthday, Trixie.”

Trixie’s eyes began to water. The cake was clearly from the coffee shop’s special bakery, festooned with magic-style runes on it and a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEATRIX! on it. She had no idea what the present was, but knowing Lyra, it was something from the Magic Emporium over on 11th Street. “Thank you,” Trixie said in a soft, emotionally overcome voice.

“Hey,” Lyra said, her own eyes watering, “what are sisters for?”

Watching the two, Bon-Bon felt both a flash of envy and joy. A flash of unreasonable envy, because there would always be a love between the two girls that Lyra could never share with Bon-Bon, not that she had that right to it in any case. And unbridled joy as she watched the two girls, practically sisters in all but blood, and the Promise one made to the other….

…a promise that because Beatrix Lulamoon was born on Christmas Day, that meant that obviously she would only get one present a year, and to a nine-year-old Lyra Heartstrings, that was cosmically unfair. And that year, Lyra promised Trixie that they would always celebrate Trixie’s birthday on the 20th, if only so that the birthday girl would get more than one gift. A promise that Lyra considered sacred to the point that she’d felt genuine regret earlier today when she’d lost track of the time.

The three girls talked until the shop called closing hours, pausing only to sing “Happy Birthday” to a girl whose birthday wouldn’t actually be for another five days…and who felt like the luckiest person in the world at that moment.

Persephone

She knew it was bad the moment her boss came in, looking harried. For a change, he was in his official county Animal Control uniform, which meant that he had to go out and do something official. Fluttershy had one as well, but here in the South Canterlot Animal Shelter, they never wore them. It was only when out on official duties that Puppytails insisted that animal shelter employees wear them, and likely because Mrs. Pound, the woman overall in charge of Equestria County’s Animal Control Program, said so.

“I’ll be right back, Butterfly,” he said to her, heading over to the desk and trying to fish out the keys to the shelter’s van. As always, the 22-year-old college student called her that, and on normal occasions, she would flirt back. There was something between them, Fluttershy knew, but couldn’t come about because she was still under age. She often wondered if or where their relationship would go the moment she turned eighteen, given that she’d just turned seventeen this past September. She liked him and he knew it; likewise, she was sure that he liked her.

But all of that right now paled in comparison to the concern that was going on. “What’s happening?”

“Got a call from Mrs. Pound on my cell,” he said. “I need to go out to Perimeter Road to meet the CFG. I think we’re the closest shelter that can help, so I’m going to be gone for a couple of hours. I need you to run everything while I’m gone, or do you think you need to call in Brightfeather?”

“No, I should be able to handle it,” Fluttershy answered. Besides, she didn’t get along very well with Brightfeather, who tended to act as though she was the boss even though she’d been hired several months after Fluttershy.

“Works for me. Also, if you have your uniform here, change into it; I suspect we’re going to have an inspection by Mrs. Pound.”

“Um, okay.” Fluttershy had a small locker in which she kept one set of her uniforms just in case.

“Thanks, Fluttershy. I’ll be back soon.” The moment she heard that, she knew something big was going on. He rarely ever stopped flirting with her, even when customers came to the animal shelter…and he almost never called her by her real name. For him to stop doing so, that meant Puppytails was putting on his “professional face”, which meant that she would, do.

Walking over to put a CLOSED, BE BACK IN FIVE MINUTES sign on the door, she went to retrieve her uniform, hoping it wasn’t the one that fit a little too snug.

Fifteen minutes later, Puppytails returned…and it was as bad as Fluttershy feared. He was carrying one of the locked cases they used for wild animals, and assisting him was a woman from the California Department of Fish & Game. Either the state or the federal Fish & Wildlife Service handled wild animals outside the city, if Fluttershy recalled correctly, so why were they getting the County involved?

As if seeing the confusion on Fluttershy’s face, the woman spoke up. “Diesel rig hit a pack of wolves that had wandered down into California. FWS has been tracking them, but asked us to locally monitor them. Unfortunately, they were hit on the part of I-5 that passes through the city, so it’s technically the County’s problem. We offered to take it off your hands, but your Director said that you guys were capable of handling it, and only you guys.”

Fluttershy knew what that meant: the folks at the North Canterlot shelter, which handled animals for the northern part of the county, but none of them were trained in Veterinary skills save for the pound chief, Purrfect, who was out of town for the holidays. However, both she and Brightfeather had some veterinary training; and Puppytails was studying Veterinary Medicine at Canterlot State, making them the better of the two choices available.

“I see. So what do we have here?” Fluttershy said, moving away from the counter.

“Fluttershy, I’d rather you stayed behind the counter,” Puppytails replied. “This is…messy and I don’t want you exposed to this.”

“I’m going to be a veterinarian as well,” she told him. “Plus, my mother’s a doctor – don’t you think I’ve already heard it already?”

“Hearing about it and seeing it are two different things, Fluttershy. Plus, I hate to remind you of this, but…you’re underage. There’s only so many things you can do here at the shelter.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to say something, but immediately shut it afterwards. As much as she hated to admit it…he was right. “Okay,” she said sadly, moving behind the desk.

“Look,” the CFG agent said, “We’ve got to get her into your medical room and take care of her before it’s too late and we lose them.”

“Them?” Fluttershy gasped.

Puppytails nodded. “The lone survivor, a female, is pregnant.”

Almost three hours later, the CFG agent and Puppytails came out from the back end. “Thanks for the assist,” the woman said to Puppytails. “You really know what you’re doing and I think I just might put in a word for you with my boss. We can always use the help.”

He shrugged. “Still a student,” he replied. “I don’t think I’m ready for the big time just yet, but thanks for the offer.”

“Well, I mean it: you’re guaranteed a job with the Department, I assure you. Anyway, I gotta get back to my office and get the paperwork churn going. Guys at the FWS are not going to like the fact that some of their prized wolves got splattered; I’m sure someone from the Sacramento office will call you guys about the surviving cub and the cadavers. Anyways, catch ya later.” With that, the CFG agent departed.

“Just one?” Fluttershy asked.

Puppytails nodded, adjusting his glasses. “We weren’t able to save the mother, nor were we able to save most of the cubs, but thankfully one survived. She’s in one of the incubation chambers in the back. Spunky little thing; she seems to be fighting for her survival with all she’s got.”

“Can I see her?” the teen asked. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt a kinship with the wolf cub without having even seen her. The poor thing had lost her parents, and Fluttershy dealt daily with the absence of her father. While she knew that there was no way her mother was going to allow her to have a pet, much less a pet wolf, there was also the matter that they were an endangered species and functionally extinct in this part of the country, thus making it impossible.

“You can go in, Butterfly,” he said softly, “but be quiet. I’m sure she’s sleeping and I want her to build up as much strength as she can, because the next few days are going to be critical.”

“I know.” Fluttershy gingerly moved into the medical room and looked at the incubator chamber. The shelter had two of them in case there were any complications in animal birth; the last time it had been used was a feral dog that had been heavily pregnant. The result of that had been the pups and mother having survived, and once the mother was spayed, she was sent out into the world, with the pups sent to the North Canterlot center, which had extended facilities for long-term care of prospective pets. All in all, that had turned out for the best.

There was no guarantee the same happy ending would be achieved here.

Fluttershy looked at the cub. It was awake and getting familiarized with its initial surroundings before turning to look at Fluttershy with ice-blue eyes that seemed to pierce the soul.

“I’m sorry, little one,” she said in a hushed voice. “Your mother can’t be here for you. But I promise to take care of you, okay?” She moved forward, reaching into the gloves, then reaching for the warm bottle of formula. It was designed for nursing pups, but hopefully it would work on a different kind of canine instead. Grabbing it with the control gloves, she then carefully brought it down to the hungry pup to suckle away. She held it in place for a couple of minutes, until finally the cub moved its mouth away, then looked at her with eyes that seemed to be much happier, before settling down to doze for a while.

Fluttershy watched the cub tenderly, wishing she could do more. But she didn’t have the authority and so she wouldn’t have a chance.

“You know they’re going to take her away, Butterfly.” Fluttershy turned to see Puppytails standing by the door, eyeing her carefully. “This isn’t a dog there. She’s a timberwolf, a species that’s critically endangered in most of the US.”

“I know,” Fluttershy said, looking at her boss with sad eyes. “But she’ll die without any care! We can’t just let that happen!”

“Nobody’s saying that. I just got a call a couple of minutes ago. The Fish & Wildlife Service is going to send someone from their Sacramento office sometime this week to pick her up and take her to one of their federal preserves. But until then it’s our job to look after her, okay?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I can do that.”

“Good, because until they show up, that’s the only job I want you to do. I’ll call in Brightfeather and ask if she can cover your shifts. I’ll also put in some over time, but until then, that cub needs a mother, Butterfly…and you’re it.” He then gave her a smile that made her swoon, and it took all her willpower to turn back to focus on the job at hand.

She had a cub to take care of.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Fluttershy?” Posey asked while the pair was having a late dinner together consisting of food a la Golden Arches. “I mean, your grandparents were more than happy to come down and take Angel back with them early for the holidays, but cancelling Christmas? Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

“I’m not really sure. But that cub needs to be protected, and Puppytails thinks that I’m the one who can do it. Besides, I want to be able to help, Mom. I’ve already decided that I want to be a veterinarian, so I have to get used to situations like that. Didn’t you say that it was for the best that I get used to the ugly stuff now, so that I won’t be as shocked when it comes down the line?”

Posey nodded. “That I did. We’re getting a referral from one of the clinics in San Palomino, a woman named Wintry Mix. Apparently she’s showing all the signs of things slowly going south. Heart palpitations, creaky body, that sort of stuff.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Fluttershy noted.

“Yes, yes it is. Because as much as the blood and the gruesomeness can be a bother, it’s nothing compared to watching someone go and knowing that you can’t do anything about it.” The teen looked at her mother oddly, and Posey knew that look; she’d given many of her instructors that quizzing glance during her years of medical training. “That’s not to say that Mrs. Mix is headed for the end of her days anytime soon. What it does mean is that sometimes you can do everything right and it will still be a failure in the end. And as much as I know you’ll care for that wolf cub, sweetie, you have to face the fact that it’s lone survivor, without its mother, and possibly even a runt. The odds of its survival aren’t very good, at best.”

“Mom, I promise that I’ll do everything I can to protect Wolfgang.”

Posey smiled despite herself. “Wolfgang? You named him after the composer?”

“Her, actually. And it seemed like the right thing at the time,” Fluttershy admitted. “Besides, if I give Wolfy a name, it will let me take better care of her. We always name the things we love, right?”

The doctor had to admit that was true. “Well, you’d better get some sleep if you’re going to be at the shelter early in the morning. I’ll go ahead and clean up here. Oh, and we’re not cancelling Christmas; that’s just too silly. I know how you feel, but still….”

“Yeah, that was silly of me; sorry. Anyways, I’ll see you in the morning. Night, Mom.” Pausing only to give her mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek, Fluttershy then went off to her room, leaving a very concerned Posey behind, glad that she’d held her tongue until her daughter had walked away.

“I hope it works out in the end, Fluttershy, I really do,” Posey said softly as she rose from her chair to clean off the table. “But I fear you’re still too young to realize that the world’s a hard place.”

Fluttershy pulled up to the shelter the following morning to find a police barricade, several protesters, and a pair of police officers protecting the front of the shelter. “What’s going on?” she said to herself as she got out of her car, carrying both her purse and a bunch of donuts she’d bought at the Sugarcube Corner Café to share with her co-workers.

LET THE CRITTER GO! read one sign, while another said DON’T IMPRISON NATURE! A third said EQUESTRIA COUNTY = NATURE ENSLAVERS! while a final one had a generic picture of a wolf – technically a red Florida wolf, not the timberwolf that was in the shelter – and a caption reading FREE THE IMPRISONED WOLF!

As she walked forward, she started to get boos. She immediately thought it was a good idea to suddenly go back to her car, until a protester got in the way. “Free the wolf, you scum!” he shouted at her. “Free the wolf now!” The man was older, probably in his thirties, much taller than her, with balding locks that was tied back in a ponytail. Someone would have called him a hippie given the general area, but the look seemed far too calculated to be the generic roughshod look of the average sylvestrine.

“But I…but….” Fluttershy stammered, not knowing what to do.

“If you have any sense of decency, you’ll free the creature now, you damn whore!” he shouted at her.

“Hey, that’s enough!” one of the cops came up, getting in between her and the protester. “Get back to your location or I’ll have you taken out in cuffs, got that?” He then turned to speak to Fluttershy. “You okay, Fluttershy?”

She looked up and saw a familiar face. “Shining?”

Shining Armor nodded. “Yeah. I got assigned here to be senior officer on-site, which I suppose could be worse. How are you feeling?”

“I’ll tell you how she’s feeling!” the protester shouted. “She’s clearly going to skin that poor wolf alive, and you Goddamn jackboots a—”

“Okay, I’ve heard enough out of you.” Shining waved over for two cops. “Cherry Light, take our protester here and sit him in the paddy wagon for a bit; that should cool him down – if not, then we’ll proceed further.” Then taking Fluttershy’s arm gently, he said, “Let’s get you into your workplace so you don’t have to deal with this. What is going on, anyway?”

“It’s a long story, but I promise that I’ll show you everything,” she told him. “And thank you for the help, Shining. I had no idea anything like this was going to happen.”

“I don’t think anyone did,” he told her, as he opened the door for her, both of them ignoring the screams and shouts, many of them obscene.

Some coffee and donuts later, Shining looked at his sister’s friend with appreciation. “That’s impressive, Fluttershy. You sure you can do it?”

“Hey, if there’s anyone here who can do it, it’s Butterfly,” Puppytails replied. At his side, Brightfeather nodded. Given that the two girls didn’t get along, either she’d been briefed on the seriousness of the situation, or she thought it was impressive enough to warrant leaving Fluttershy alone for the duration of the wolf cub’s care.

“Well, care to see what Wolfy looks like, Shining?”

Shining thought back to his youth, remembering all the times he’d imagined himself as a knight gallant, wandering the countryside with a faithful steed and a noble pet wolf at his side. Granted, it was probably due to all the reading he did as a kid, but at least all of that prepared him for the little sister and brother he would have later on. “That would be great, Fluttershy. Lead on.” Both headed off to the medical ward, where the cub was still in isolation.

Once Fluttershy and Shining disappeared behind the door of the medical room, Brightfeather took the time to tease Puppytails. “She seems awfully friendly with that cop,” she said in a nonchalant tone. “One would think that they’re dating or something.”

“I know Butterfly. She wouldn’t date a guy like him. Too burly and brusque if you ask me,” the young man said defensively, far more than someone just concerned as an employer would.

“Oh, really?” the teen jibed, wrapping a strand of her silvery hair around her finger. She then looked at Puppytails and said, “Make your move soon, Tails. She’s not going to wait forever. If you really want to date her, make it soon.”

“She’s underage, and I’m over twenty, a—”

Brightfeather smiled. “I’m sixteen; my boyfriend’s twenty-one. My parents are okay with it, and that’s the important thing. Do it still while you still have a chance, because otherwise you’re going to find one day that she has her eye on someone else and your chances will be gone.”

Puppytails digested this, then nodded. But he also asked, “What’s in this for you, Bright? You usually don’t like Butterfly.”

The teen’s grin was now somewhere between malicious and sneaky. “Hey, you start dating her, county rules prohibit managers from dating employees under their supervision. Either’s she’s going to have to quit, or you, and since you’re nigh irreplaceable, and she can be transferred to the North shelter…win-win for me!”

The next few days went by like a flash. Tradewinds and Kimono came over for Christmas, with a very spoiled Angel in tow. Whenever she wasn’t at home sleeping, eating or doing other chores, Fluttershy was at the animal shelter at those other times, spending time with Wolfy, who had bonded with her and was happy to see her.

Today was no different; the moment she walked into the medical ward, Wolfy, who had been deemed healthy enough to move into a standard pen, wagged her tail and yipped in joy at seeing her “mother”. Plucking the cub from the pen, Fluttershy was suddenly assaulted with a bunch of facelicks and one very happy pup. Giggling, she said, “It’s good to see you too, Wolfy! I hope you’ve been a good little girl while I’ve been gone. Hungry?” Setting the cub on a nearby counter, she went over and pulled the liquid formula from the fridge, then put it in the microwave for ten seconds, making sure that it was warm enough for the young cub to drink. After all, Fluttershy wanted the best for her charge, and—

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Puppytails poked his head in and said, “Good, you’re here, Fluttershy. Got a second?” The moment he said her full name, she knew something was amiss; even still, she said nothing, simply nodding in agreement. “Just got a call from the feds. They’ll have someone here tomorrow to take the cub.”

The look in Fluttershy’s face was one of practical betrayal. “Why? Aren’t we doing a good enough job? Wolfy’s getting healthier!”

Sad eyes cast themselves on the teen. “Butterfly, I know you’re doing a good job with her. But she’s a wild animal. We’re an animal shelter, true, but for domestic animals – we don’t have the capabilities to care for her as she gets older and her instincts kick in. What if she attacks or eats one of the other dogs? And don’t say that we can train her like a dog, Butterfly. That almost never works out with wild animals. There’s a reason why domestication takes generations to do so.”

“But they’re not going to love her the way I do!” Fluttershy said, holding the cub away from him as though she would do anything to protect her.

“Please…don’t make this any harder than it has to be. One way or another, someone from the FWS will come tomorrow and take the cub, and that’s all there is to it.”

“Please…please don’t let them,” the teen begged.

“I’m…sorry, Butterfly. It has to be this way.” Nothing more to say, he left the room, in order to give her privacy to say goodbye to the little cub.

“Fluttershy, what on Earth do you think you’re doing?” It wasn’t often that Posey ever felt the need to raise her voice at one of her children, especially when her own parents were present. Her children generally took more after her than their absent father – that was most likely why, she knew – but even on occasion they still pulled bone-headed things. Angel, given his age, was expected to do that; he was just a little boy, after all. But Fluttershy was already seventeen, one year shy of legal adulthood.

“Mom, you always said we could have a pet,” Fluttershy said, holding Wolfy close. “So I’m choosing her.”

Posey rubbed her forehead; she could feel a headache coming on. “Fluttershy, I said we could discuss pets; your brother has to have some say in it as well. And even if I agreed, you are not bringing a wolf cub – an endangered animal – to live in this house!”

“But she’ll die if we just let her out there!” Fluttershy pled. “And those government jerks won’t care about her like I do!”

Posey sighed. Why did this have to happen today of all days, especially when her own parents were here? It was then that the doctor felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find her father, Tradewinds, looking at her.

“C’mon, Posey,” he said gently, the thin line of his graying sea-blue mustache moving in time with his upper lip. “Let your mother handle this – she’ll know what to do.”

“I appreciate that, Dad,” Posey replied, “but Fluttershy is my daughter and my responsibility. And if I don’t get her to take that cub back, we’ll have federal agents on the doorstep come morning.”

Tradewinds laughed. “And you say she’s the melodramatic one. Trust me on this one, Posey. Let your mother handle this.”

Posey looked at her insistent daughter, then her father and then finally to her mother, who seemed more interested in the videogame that Angel was playing right now than the conversation. However, she knew her mother well enough to know that she was listening to the whole conversation. Kimono practically had a sixth sense for those sort of things, a quality Posey often wished her mother had passed down to her.

“Fine,” Posey said.

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine, Posey. Which reminds me, have I ever taught you how to make Christmas Cake?”

“No, Dad, I don’t think you have,” Posey lied. Of course he did; it was a Christmas tradition in Japan, just like the fried chicken they were going to make for dinner, and that was one of the things her mother had instilled as a tradition in the family. But Posey knew a good misdirection when she heard it. “Should I get Angel?”

Tradewinds shook his head. “That boy’s so wrapped up in his game right now that even if he could hear, he wouldn’t,” he said with a grin. “Let’s get going in and leave it to your mother.”

A couple of minutes later, Kimono gently moved her eyes away from the game, her soft yellow discs elegantly sliding across almond-shaped eyes until they focused on her granddaughter. With a practiced move, her hand went up as if to check her short, bobbed graying purple hair, then turned into an elegant wave, her hand seeming to slither away from the sleeve of her namesake kimono as she did. “Little Fluttershy,” she said in a Japanese-accented voice that still seemed to proudly hold its accent despite the half-century she’d lived away from her homeland. “Come sit by me.”

At that point, Fluttershy knew she was in trouble. “Hai, Obā-sama,” she said, sitting down gently by her grandmother. She should’ve seen this coming the moment her mother and grandfather both departed the living room, but she was too focused on Wolfy.

Kimono looked at her granddaughter, seeing not only Posey in her, but herself as well. So strong of will when it counts, yet so gentle, she thought. A spirit of kindness, worthy of the blood of our ancestors, the elderly woman thought with unyielding pride. But sometimes even kindness must be tempered with wisdom.

“Little Fluttershy, you know that I am proud of your choice to study the healing arts. Your mother is a healer, as was my father, and his father before him.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said, hoping that this would turn out positively for her…even though she knew it wasn’t.

“But…” Kimono then said, focusing her eyes on her granddaughter, “…tell me anywhere, in any book, where it says that the healer has the right to decide the life of his or her patient. And I’m not talking about a life or death situation; circumstances are understandable in those cases. No, I’m referring to the average, everyday struggle that a healer must have with the healed.”

Fluttershy didn’t answer.

Kimono took that as an answer. “Little Fluttershy, you have a great responsibility invested in that wolf pup, I understand that. But you do not have the right to make the choice for it. There are others who hold that weight, and it is their duty to resolve the pup’s fate, not yours.” Kimono favored the teen with a smile. “I know what you will say, that there are instances where things can change. And yes, I’m sure there are. Doubtless you know one example yourself. But like belongs with like most of the time, and it takes great struggle to be in a place where one does not belong, either by nature or design. I chose to come to America to be with your grandfather, but that was my choice. Your mother chose to marry your father, for good or ill, and it brought you and your brother. And I’m sure you have friends who have lived elsewhere prior to moving here. But in each case, there was the ability to make a choice.” She pointed to the cub and said, “But that pup has no choice. It has no ability to decide what is right for it, and that is why others must do so.”

“But Obā-sama, what if they’re wrong? What if they’ll harm Wolfy?” Fluttershy asked. She felt her heart breaking at that moment, feeling that she was failing the wolf cub in her attempt to protect it from all that would harm it.

“They will not. For one, the wolf is a vital animal – it is why people are working to restore it to the lands. Secondly, you are not the only one who loves the poor dear. Somewhere, that pup will go to a caretaker who will care for it and make sure that it is safe, not just because they are charged to do so, but because it is a labor of love. Many jobs can only be done through love, dearest granddaughter; those duties cannot be merely ‘faked’ or shirked. The care for an orphaned animal is one such job. Else there would be dozens of people lined up for the job you have now, am I correct?”

Fluttershy nodded at that, even as tears began to sting at her eyes. She knew her grandmother was correct, but that didn’t make it any easier a balm for the wound in her heart at the moment.

“Do you understand what you must do, then? I know it is hard. But you must do it. Not because you will get in trouble – and we would protect you, granddaughter, I assure you. But because it is the right thing to do. Oftentimes, what is right is not what is easy, but that does not make it any less vital that it be done, understood?”

Tears streaking her cheeks, Fluttershy admitted defeat. Her grandmother’s truths were too prevalent and the teen knew she wouldn’t have gotten involved unless it was too important. “I understand.”

“Good. Now I want you to make the pup’s bed upstairs in your room. Just because it will return tomorrow doesn’t mean it can’t stay with you tonight, okay? But first thing tomorrow, you must return it.”

“Yes.” Fluttershy said, carrying her charge upstairs. At least tonight she would sleep with Wolfy, to let the young cub know someone on this Earth loved her.

The following morning, Fluttershy returned to the pound to cacophony. There was already a vehicle from the US Fish & Wildlife Service parked in front, and as she walked in, Wolfy in her arms, she was greeted by at least two FWS agents, one of them an armed law enforcement ranger. Standing by the counter was Puppytails, looking as though he was at his wits’ end. “I should’ve known,” he sighed.

“Here she is,” she said, handing Wolfy over to the agent approaching her. “Am I in legal trouble?”

The look on the FWS ranger’s face was stern. “By rights, I should be arresting you right now for the illegal seizure of an endangered animal,” he said in a gruff voice, eliciting a look of fear from the teen. “But…we’ve already discussed it with your supervisor, and he’ll take care of it.” The ranger looked to his partner. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” she said. “They’re already expecting this little tyke over at Mountain View.” At that, Fluttershy’s frightened look turned to one of surprise. “Mountain View” was a metonym: specifically, Mountain View Drive was the road that passed by the front of the Canterlot Zoo & Wild Animal Park. And as though to confirm Fluttershy’s thoughts, the woman said to her, “Well, thanks to your well-intentioned screw-up, the cub’s already imprinted on humans and probably will not do well at all in the wild. So we made a deal with Mountain View to take one of the empty pens and make it into a wolf pen. Your little ‘Wolfgang’ – that is a lousy name, if you ask me – will live a happy life there.”

Fluttershy gushed. “Oh, thank you!”

“You might just change your mind when we’re done,” the ranger growled. “Well, Mr. Puppytails, it’s been a pleasure. We’ll be seeing you.” With that, both agents and Wolfy departed.

Fluttershy then turned to look at Puppytails. “I guess I screwed up, didn’t I?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe, Butterfly,” he said. “Fluttershy, I hate to do this, but…you’re fired.”

“Fired?”

He nodded. “Two reasons. The first is that you took a federally endangered animal, against direct orders, home with you. While I can sympathize why you did it, we have heated and monitored kennels for a reason. Plus, the cub was in the medical ward. You exposed her to household germs and bacteria, ones that a wolf wouldn’t run into the wild and could have serious, lasting effects on her health. Did you think of that?”

“No,” she said, feeling terrible. She hadn’t intended to do so; all she wanted to do was to protect Wolfy. And now she’d screwed that up not only beyond measure, but it had cost her job as well.

“Frankly, the FWS wanted to arrest you, but I convinced them that firing you would be sufficient. Took a lot of convincing, to be honest.”

“Thank you,” she said, not really feeling it at the moment. It wasn’t his fault, obviously, but she lost a job that meant a lot to her. “I guess I should empty out my locker, shouldn’t I?”

He then smiled. “Yes, you should – they’re waiting for you at Mountain View.”

“They are?”

“When I told Mrs. Pound, she very impressed that you were willing to risk everything to protect the wolf cub, something that most people are afraid of. You saw the insanity that went on here the other day, and yet you endured that. That speaks very well of your animal husbandry talents. So Mrs. Pound called a friend at the Zoo and they agreed to take you on as an intern. Doesn’t pay as much as this job does, but at least you’ll have the chance to see Wolfy on a regular basis. For the record, the FWS guys don’t know about this, nor do we have any intention of telling them.”

The thought made her smile. “I see. Tell her thank you, if you would.” With that, several tense minutes went by as Fluttershy unpacked her locker, throwing her stuff into her purse and getting ready to go. Finally, after ten minutes, she was done. She felt drained, as she wouldn’t be here anymore, and she felt a twinge in her heart as she was abandoning all the small animals that depended on her. “Well, I guess I should get going then. I’m going to miss this place.”

“Trust me, Butterfly, you’ll be missed. I’m sure even Brightfeather will miss you. And I know the animals will.”

Fluttershy nodded, but then asked. “Oh, you didn’t tell me the second reason. What was that, by the way?”

“Well….” He blushed. “County regs prevent supervisors from dating employees and since you’re not an employee anymore….” He tugged at his shirt collar, suddenly feeling very nervous. “Um…would you like to go out sometime?”

“With me?”

“Yes.”

She looked at him evenly. “You’re twenty-two, Puppytails; I’m seventeen. As you’ve pointed out, I’m underage.”

He nodded. “I know. I’ve…always wanted to ask you out, but I was waiting until you were eighteen, so th—” He was suddenly cut off as Fluttershy reached over the counter, grabbed him and kissed him full, putting everything into it.

She broke off the kiss, and it was clear that it was done reluctantly. Her eyes looked skyward and so did he, noticing the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. “I guess that came in handy, didn’t it?” she giggled.

“I…uh, guess.”

She smiled. “Call me tonight, okay? We can work something out.”

“Ah, uh, sure!” For that, he was rewarded with another kiss, this one less passionate but no less heartfelt, and with that, Fluttershy sauntered out of the animal shelter, making sure his eyes were focused on one thing…and that wasn’t the animals.

Pandora

Celestia looked at the empty bedroom in her townhouse. For the most part it served as a guest room, mainly whenever Luna came over, got drunk and crashed on it instead of simply passing out on the couch. But at her age, the educator hoped it would have been much more than that by now. She’d hoped that she would’ve painted the room’s tan hue something more child-appropriate by this time in her life, having shared moments with the husband she didn’t have and the children she likely wouldn’t, either.

It was always Christmastime that put her in this kind of funk. True, she was in her mid-fifties and was blessed with a body that still looked like she was in her early thirties – she didn’t even have a single gray hair yet, much less crow’s feet or the other marks of time’s ravages – but she had none of the benefits of that time, either. Nor, for that matter, did her younger sister, Luna, though Armonia had managed to have one child of her own, at least.

That child, Mi Amore Cadenza, turned out to be engaged to the oldest child of Celestia and Luna’s life-long best friend, Twilight Velvet. Velvet, a mere three months younger than Celestia, looked every bit of her age, though, admittedly, did look very good for all those years: Velvet had almost no gray hair – not that you could really tell due to half her hair having been gainsboro gray since birth – and fortunately all her wrinkles were minute and easily overcome by small amounts of makeup. Besides, Velvet was more than happy in her life, and having been married to the same person for over thirty years, didn’t feel the need to continually beautify herself.

There were days that Celestia wished she could trade places with her friend. And she wasn’t about to make some sort of “how the other half lives” Christmas wish, either. Given the status of Velvet’s foster daughter – a status that Velvet was not aware of and Celestia had promised not to tell her – who knew how capable Sunset Shimmer was of making a realistic enough illusion.

Still, it’s not as though I’m at the end of my life, she thought, and I can always still meet someone, adopt a child, maybe even have one naturally. Not too late yet. Still, one had to have a social life in order to do so, and when one’s social circle consisted of mainly her sisters and her best friend, things were generally not looking good.

I really hate to say it, but I guess I should think about one of those online dating sites, she sighed. I am never going to live that embarrassment down, however.

The next day, however, she had lunch with her sister and their best friend. That did not turn out as expected. To be truthful, given the subject, she was mostly tuning it out, instead looking over work emails on her phone. Another reason, she knew, why she couldn’t find a date: she was married to her job, and said career was an all-encompassing thing, as far as she was concerned.

Meanwhile, unaware of Celestia’s inner turmoil, the band played on: “And so I was telling him that if he even wanted that, he’d better put a ring on it!” Luna’s laughing voice rang out as clear as a bell, making Velvet laugh in turn.

“Lu, you know that reference is years old!” Velvet faux-admonished, “and you have no excuse for not knowing that!”

“Maybe,” the starry-haired beauty said with a grin, “but apparently he didn’t know that. Fortunately, he was quite the gentleman that night, given that he stayed over.”

“Stayed over?” Velvet asked. “And you two thought I was moving fast when Night and I got engaged after a year.”

“No, not like that,” Luna corrected.

Celestia looked at her sister oddly. “How, then?”

Luna’s grin was wolfish. “Gaming, of course – we make a great team in Team Fortress 2, if I do say so myself.”

Velvet replied with an equally impish smirk. “Only you would consider a night of gaming a perfect date.”

“We each have our particular interests in a significant other, don’t we, Vel?” Luna replied. “I want someone I’m comfortable with, and we know how well things turned out with you and Night. And I’m sure that Tia has her own view on what the perfect mate is, don’t you, sis?”

It was at this point Celestia looked up from her phone and said, “Sorry, did I miss something?”

The answer to that was Velvet taking the phone out of her friend’s hands and said, “You can have this back after lunch, addict. Anyway, Luna and I were just discussing who you two were going to take to the County Employee Social Soiree tomorrow night.”

“Oh, that’s an easy answer: nobody. I wasn’t going, since technically school district employees don’t work for the county,” Celestia replied.

“But we have been invited every year as a professional courtesy,” Luna pointed out, “and I already have my date for the night, which I’ve been discussing with Vel all this time.” Luna then narrowed her eyes and said, “And I’m guessing you thought you were going to get out of it this year?”

“That was my plan, yes.”

“Tia, you have to come.” Luna looked at her sister, never releasing her look of reproach. “Aren’t you scheduled to be the assistant superintendent of the summer school system this year? Given your increased profile, you’ll have to ‘be a face’, as the saying goes.”

The pastel-haired woman sighed. “You know how much I hate office politics,” she said.

“Lu’s got a point, though. When I was chosen to be assistant director of Social Services, I had to spend a lot of time getting my face out there, just to let people know who I am. Otherwise, they’re not going to trust you in the long run and that’s just going to cause you more problems than you need. At this high up in the game, people will do anything to derail you from the top spot if they can, and you’ve worked hard for this. I don’t want to see you lose it because of something you might not think important.”

“Vel’s right,” Luna agreed. “Like it or not, Tia, you’re going to have to go to this.”

“I’m really not going to like this, am I?”

“Tell you what, sis: I’ll try to find someone who won’t completely make your night cringe, okay? What about Marble Statue, at the museum? Armonia says he’s been interested in you.”

Celestia shook her head. “Not my type.”

Velvet smiled. “What about my neighbor, Argent Lance? He’s a local recruiter for the National Guard, nice, has two cute kids….”

“Not ready to start a family yet.”

“We’re talking about a date, Tia, not an interview for your vagina.”

Celestia facepalmed. “You always have a way with words, don’t you, Vel.”

“Well, what’s my doctorate in?”

“Child psychology?”

She grinned. “Exactly – professional bullshitter.” Taking a drink of her coffee, she then added, “Look, let me find someone for you – blind date. I promise I won’t troll the county jail for serial killers, and since it’s a blind date, you don’t have to give him your digits if you don’t want to see him again.”

Luna clapped her hands together as though that was a really grand idea. “That’s perfect! Trust Vel, Tia. She’s not going to steer you wrong.”

“I know I’m seriously going to regret this, but…fine. Have him pick me up at my place at eight on the night of the party.” Rising from her chair, she then added, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go buy a dress worthy of this mess you two got me into.”

“So, looking forward to tomorrow night?” Night asked Velvet as the two sat at the table, going over their respective work.

Velvet looked up at her husband gave him a pixyish smile as she lifted a glass of wine to her lips. “Of course. I get to spend a whole night being wined and dined by a roguishly handsome man, and then I get to come home with him. It’s a win-win situation for me.”

Night and Velvet were just about to kiss when Twilight came into the kitchen, carrying a phone. “Mom, you have Mrs. Meadows on the phone for you.”

“Guess I better go get that,” she sighed. “But you owe me a kiss, mister.”

“Lips ready and waiting,” Night told his wife as she took the phone.

“Hi, Misty! What’s up? …Yeah, I remember, wh—…Wait, it’s tomorrow?…No, actually, I thought it was next week! Seriously, I thought the email said the 28th!…So we’re short-handed as well? Great, great…No, I’ll be there; I did promise.…Yeah, I’ll bring it, no problem. See you tomorrow, then. Bye.” Setting down the phone, Velvet’s hand immediately went up to her temple. “Forget the kiss, I’m going to need some Advil.”

“Something wrong?”

“Yeah, Misty’s party for all the kids in the neighborhood? It’s not the 28th, it’s tomorrow.”

“Well, don’t we have that little shindig of yours?”

“Yeah, but I promised Misty, and she’s shorthanded, so I can’t get out of it.”

“What about the kids?”

“Cady and Tavi are out of town, Shiny’s working overtime this week, and Twily and Sunny are going Christmas Caroling with their friends that day.”

A flat look came onto Night’s face. “Yeah, sounds like you’re stuck.”

“Tell me about it.” The matron sighed, adding, “And as for my other problem, just about every guy I know who I’m trying to fix Tia up with for the party is either busy, out of town, or gay – one of them actually so and not just BSing me.” She leaned back in the chair. “Why did I even agree to this?”

“Because you like meddling?” Night said without a trace of irony.

“Oh, hush you. So, I’m stuck here, and Tia has to go and she can’t go stag….” She then looked at her husband, her eyes glimmering.

He understood in an instant. “No way in hell.”

She just gave him an even look.

There was a knock at the door, and Celestia moved towards the door while trying to put on her earrings. She was wearing a white, off the shoulder Greek-inspired gown with gold trims, complete with golden heels. She had her hair woven into an ornate braid and had matched it off with a golden tiara and torc she thought worked well, especially the amethyst-hued crystals that shone within them and her genuine amethyst earrings.

I hope the guy Vel hooked me up with is cute, she thought as she moved to the door, because if he is, I’m really hoping to get to know him better. “Just a minute!” she sang out, making sure she had her matching violet clutch, her longcoat and a pair of sensible shoes to wear until she got to the site.

She then opened the site to see Night standing there, leaning against the doorframe. “Hi, Tia,” he said. “You look good.” His breath crystalized in the air, and she had to admit, he did kinda look good in a tux.

When he didn’t answer, Celestia merely smiled. This had to be a joke. “Ha, ha. This is cute, Night. So, where’s my date?”

He then brought out a small bouquet of roses that still had the supermarket tag on them. “You’re looking at him.”

When Night’s face did not turn into a smile, she looked at him again and said, “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m not.” He then explained the whole situation, much to her surprise. “And so, it’s you and me. Hope you’re not disappointed.”

The look on Tia’s face was awkward. “Would you be offended if I said I was and I wasn’t at the same time?”

He chuckled. “You wound me, dear lady. Anyway, shall we go?”

“Sure, let’s get the humiliation out of the way.”

“You are not helping, Lulu,” Celestia sighed, fighting the urge to hide under the table. Her sister had already shown her up in the most incredible way possible: Luna had only shown up wearing a midnight-blue version of Celestia’s dress with silvery trim, but also wore a darker-colored version of the same tiara and torc combo she had, accompanied by the diamond earrings Celestia had gifted her sister for her last birthday.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Luna said, unsuccessfully attempting to stifle another giggle fit by covering her mouth, “I’d say that your choice in a date is a definite plus, as Night’s a real catch. Too bad he’s already caught.” Luna then snuggled up against her date; he looked a bit younger than her, but given her very youthful looks, pretty much everyone was younger than her. “Now as for Moonshadow here, he is quite the gentleman. Oh, and also single.”

Night gave Moonshadow a look that encompassed whole volumes; the younger man picked up on it easily. “I think I’ll get another glass of champagne,” he said. “Shall I bring back enough for the table?” When the three nodded, he wandered off.

Celestia let him get out of earshot before she laid into her sister. “You know, at least Vel tried not to humiliate me, Luna. What’s your excuse?”

“Sorry; that wasn’t my intention. But you need to relax, Tia – I wasn’t trying to insult you. Besides, you’re completely wound up right now.”

“And why shouldn’t I be? I’ve got the second-hand date here, with my sister laughing in my face an—”

Night coughed just loud enough to interrupt his date’s tirade, then whispered in her ear, “Tia, you’re not doing yourself any good freaking out like this. People are going to notice and it’s going to cost you.” She looked at him worriedly; it was clear that she was more than a bit worried about the whole thing.

He took action immediately. “C’mon, let’s go dance,” he said, taking her hand.

“Why?”

“Because these soirees bore me, to be honest, and you look like you need to talk in private – and nobody ever listens in on a conversation while dancing,” he said, as he led her to the dance floor. The chamber quartet played elegant classical music, and with that, he took her in arm. She looked as though she really didn’t want to do it, but then again, he was her date as well as a friend, so she would have to make the best of it.

The two joined the groups already on the floor. Celestia would briefly nod, and say a few kind words to someone on the county senior executive staff or school district board, then breezily make a comment to someone else who was influential. She hated this. She hated all of the petty, stupid politics. None of it helped the students, and only the careers of those involved in supposedly helping those who needed to learn.

As they moved around the dance floor, Night watched her every expression. He’d learned a lot from his wife, and had put it to good use over the years with his own students. She was so engrossed in the conversations that she was trying to avoid that she never noticed. Finally, with a slight bit of a verbal clearing, he asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really,” she said, hoping to spare him the embarrassment. Though he was a friend, he was the husband of her best friend and she didn’t want to use him unfairly.

“Not really?” he asked.

“I guess,” she said glumly.

“You guess or you know?” Celestia’s words failed her as she opened her mouth to say something, but didn’t. “Tia, I’m not Vel. She might be able to read you instinctively since you two grew up together, but I can’t.”

“Then let’s keep it that way, shall we?” she said in a tone lighter than she felt. “Besides, I don’t need to embarrass myself any further than I already have tonight.”

“Okay, I think you and I need to talk in private.”

“No, we don’t.”

“Yes, we do – you’re being as petulant as your sister and my wife.” She looked away and he knew he made a point. “Fortunately, I spied a balcony out there perfect for a romantic interlude. But don’t get your hopes up.”

“Story of my life,” she murmured. “Besides, I have to stay here and schmooze and play the nice Stepford Principal.” The last word was choked and forced, as though she’d rather have thrown herself under a thousand buses than to even bother with trying to socialize.

“And I’m not going to let you commit career suicide,” he said, ushering her over to the balcony.

Watching from a distance, Luna smiled. It seemed that Celestia was finally going to get the talking to that she needed; however, she’d expected it to come from Velvet or Armonia, not from Night.

Soon enough, Moonshadow returned, bearing four drinks. “I guess your sister and her date moved off?”

Luna nodded, taking one of the champagne flutes. “Let’s just say that Night took her in for a close-zone beatdown.”

“I see. One or two rounds?”

Luna smiled, but it wasn’t a happy one. “Dual Super Art KO. I just wish it didn’t have to happen.”

Celestia looked at the moon, hanging in the winter sky, looking far more serene than she felt. Then again, it didn’t really surprise her; somehow, if such a thing made sense, the moon and night were more her sister’s elements – after all, Luna had been named after the gray rock in the sky – while Celestia was far more at home with lighter, sunnier periods.

Of course, none of that was going to help now as Night looked at her, tugging at his collar. “Ties – hate ‘em, personally. But all part and parcel about looking professional, something I know you’re more than familiar with. And as someone who’s known you for over thirty years, I can honestly say that you are not on your game right now. Thankfully no one here knows you well enough to know that, but it was only going to be a matter of time before you exploded out there.”

“That obvious?” she asked, looking at the moon and leaning over the railing. She could feel the icy cold of the rail’s steel against her bare arms, and she wished she had a shawl or cape to put on at the moment. Maybe if she were lucky, Night would be enough of a gentleman to lend her his coat.

“You’re practically family to Vel,” he reminded her, “and that’ll be literal once Shiny and Cady marry. Plus, you know you can count on me. So please, will you tell me what’s bothering you? And no, I’m not going to let you sidestep this.”

“Do you remember how we met?” she asked him.

He laughed. “Do you really want me to tell you?”

“I was drunk at the time; I barely remember the party at all,” she admitted. “I do recall me, Luna and Vel being very trashed that night.”

“Trashed, nothing: The three of you decided to have a wet T-shirt contest! I recall that you have this roughly sun-like beauty mark under your right…well, you know.”

She sighed. “And here I thought I was imagining all of that. Anything else?”

“Yeah. You asked me to go out with you the next night; I thought it was a good idea and you had my…attention,” he admitted. “Unfortunately, you were so drunk you stood me up, and Vel decided to go in your place because she was bored. The rest, well, is history.”

“I thought you two met the month before?”

“We did – she was the one that invited me to the party. But we weren’t a couple at the time. Oh, she won’t say that because you two are so close, but I’m not going to mince words, because I think differently than my wife. And for what it’s worth, I never held you blowing me off against you, because look where it ultimately led.”

“Yeah,” she said bitterly. “Three kids, ones that you could have potentially have had with me.” He looked at her funny, and she shook her head. “No, I’m not coming on to you, nor am I bitter at Vel – I love her like a sister, and wouldn’t do that to her. It’s just….”

“Just…?”

She finally relented. “Just…I’m reminded of how old I am and how much I let life pass me by. I had to beg for a date because I don’t know anyone. Meanwhile, my sister’s here with a guy probably half her age, flirting with him and looking very much it’s like the kind of relationship I’d like to have. And what scares me is that this upcoming appointment for the summer school superintendent is shaping up to be the crowning achievement so far of my life…but yours and Vel’s are much greater: three children, four if you count Sunset.”

Night, however, had already figured it out. “Neither you nor Lu is in a race with Vel, nor would she consider it so. And you’re doing yourself no favors by putting yourself in one.”

“You’re right; there is no race. A Yugo can’t expect to outperform a Porsche. I mean, look at me: I turn fifty-six in April, and I look like I’m thirty-one – and I’ve got a body that most people that age would kill for. And though Vel means the world to me, she looks her age. And yet she landed the prize…and I didn’t.”

“I don’t know if that’s a compliment or a statement,” Night commented.

Celestia smiled softly. “Why can’t it be both?” she said glibly. “Drunk or not, I saw something in you if I was willing to ask you out that night. And I’m wondering if that was the jumping off point for the rest of my life.”

“I’m not going to justify that with an answer,” Night said firmly.

“I don’t want one, not from you. I want one from someone out there, some guy who will want me!” She turned to look at him, and there were tears in her eyes. “I’m almost sixty, Night. I don’t want Cadance to have ‘Spinster Aunt’ engraved on my tombstone.”

He went over and hugged her; she melted into the embrace. “You’ll find someone, I promise. He just hasn’t come yet. Sometimes life takes a little longer for some people to experience it. I’m sure you heard the story about Secret Spice, right? Was sixty when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken after a lifetime of being told he was a failure?”

“Night, I don’t see what my lovelife has to do with fast food,” she said, feeling miserable.

“It’s not about the fast food, Tia. It’s about knowing when your time will come. And no one ever knows that. Because if we did? Life wouldn’t be worth any of what we know it’s worth.”

“You think so?”

“I’ve got a runaway sixteen-year-old girl in my house that I’m placing that bet on. And even if she doesn’t believe in herself…I believe in her.” He then pulled away from the embrace and she looked like a mess. “Okay, I think we’re done schmoozing. Now comes the fun part.”

“Fun part?”

“I had no idea this place was still around!” Celestia said ten minutes later, happy as a clam. She had a steaming mug of coffee in one hand and a huge Boston crème donut in the other. To her shock, the doughnut shop where she and her friends in college had often did late-night studying was still around, though under a new name and a decidedly younger management.

“Yeah. After Doughy Delight retired, his grandson reopened the place under his own name,” Night replied. “Donut Joe’s come to me and several other members of the faculty for advice, given that his grandfather knew just about everyone on the Canterlot State faculty. And while old Doughy baked a mean fritter, Joe’s far more of an expert on this stuff than his grandfather was.”

A young man at the counter, no older than his mid-twenties, with shaggy hair and a build that was more like a football player than a pastry chef, grinned. “Aw, thanks, Professor! But I wouldn’t be anything if it wasn’t for you and your recommendations!”

Night smiled. “Hey, just making sure the best pot of Kona in town stays prosperous.”

“With students here at all hours? No chance of me going under anytime soon. You two need a refill?” he asked, but without waiting for a response, went over and grabbed the Kona coffee, then topped them off. “You two need anything, just let me know; right now I gotta see to more customers.”

“Feel better?” he asked Celestia as she finished off her doughnut.

“Loads,” she gushed. “And I’m sorry. Both for unloading on you and…well, thirty years ago.”

“No harm done,” he said affably. “We’re still friends and that’s all that matters. But I was serious when I said that someone will be there for you when the time’s right.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she replied.

“I know I’m right. Besides, if your body’s anything still like it was back then? He won’t know what hit him.”

An impish grin came onto her face. “Well, I could show you later if you want to give me a consultation, Professor.” He shook his head, and she laughed.

He finally arrived home at three in the morning; Velvet was there, watching TV and lounging around in a bed robe. “Welcome back,” she said softly. “How’d it go?”

“Other than doing your dirty work?” he replied.

“She wasn’t going to listen to me. I love that girl like a sister – probably more so than my own sister – but when Tia gets something in her skull, it takes a lot to get it out of her, and I wasn’t in the mood to fight with her. I’m guessing Lu exacerbated it?”

“Of course,” he said, sitting down next to her. “You know her: won’t stop until it explodes in her face.”

“Yeah,” Velvet agreed. “Anything else?”

“Well, Tia broke down, we reminisced about how we met, she cried, I hugged her, took her for an emergency cheer-up session at Donut Joe’s, and she’s feeling much better. I’m also going to put in a good word for her with one of the English profs I know at work. He’s just getting over his divorce and I think they might be cute together.”

“You think so?”

“Oh, trust me. Tia’s as impish as ever, and if it doesn’t work out, then he doesn’t deserve her.”

“Spoken like a man who obviously had a fun night,” she asked in a roundabout way.

“No,” he said, “spoken like a man who took your friend home, then got flashed by her ‘to see if anything changed in thirty years’, then got deep kissed by her as a thanks and oh, I’m not supposed to tell you about that.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get back at her later for that. But thank you, Nighty, for putting up with it – I know she didn’t mean anything by that, but it’s the little things that make us girls feel special.”

“I see. Well, I’m going to go to pass out for a few hours.”

However, she shook her head. “No you’re not.”

“I’m not?”

A mischievous grin suddenly came onto her face. “Sunny and Twily are staying overnight at a friend’s place. Spike’s staying overnight where the party was. Which leaves us with an empty house.” She then went close to him and whispered, “And I’m not wearing anything under this robe.” He then raised an eyebrow in response, to which she purred, “I think it’s time to remind you why you chose me.”

“As if I need a reason, love,” he said, as she took him by the hand to lead him upstairs.

Amelia

He sat in the quiet confines of the In-N-Out, having lunch with a friend. Shining had known Buck Withers since their days in high school, mostly at each other’s throats, as Buck had been the star quarterback of Canterlot High at the time and Shining had been decidedly…geekier back then. Given that Shining was now muscular in build and Buck was getting paunchy and with a receding hairline, no one that had known the two back in their school days had once been anything other than the opposite. Thankfully, both college and Buck’s subsequent marriage to Cadance’s friend Lemony Gems had mellowed things out considerably.

The fact that Buck and Lemony lived down south in San Francisco probably also helped things. But, seeing as that the couple was in town to visit friends and family, the two couldn’t help but have a lunch together.

“So, still thinking about getting married in Italy, eh, Shining?” Buck asked, munching on a few fries. “Yeah, figures you’d make me look bad in front of the wife.”

Shining rolled his eyes. “Not my fault; Cady’s pretty much got that set – she’s been planning it ever since we got engaged. I’m guessing Lemony’s already planning the shopping trip?”

“Yeah, it’s all ‘And since we’re in Europe, we should go see London, and Paris, and Berlin, and Oslo and Madrid and….’” He shook his head, the blond, curly hair of his mullet moving in time. “Sometimes I think she forgets that as bankers, while we make a decent living, we’re not exactly loaded yet.”

“Hey, you make more than I do – try living on an officer second grade’s salary.”

“Yeah, but your fiancée’s a lawyer,” Buck reminded him.

“A public prosecutor,” Shining clarified, “with sizable college loans that she’s still paying off.”

“And that’s why I keep telling you that you gotta invest, Shining! Build that nest egg now. I can easily recommend a dozen stocks that’ll—”

“4-Golf-5, 4-Golf-5, this is Dispatch. Do you read? Over.”

Shining gave his friend an apologetic look and then clicked the radio over his right shoulder. “This is 4-Golf-5. Go ahead.”

“We’ve got a 10-32 in progress at the corner of Brookstone and Charlemont. Requesting all cars for immediate backup.” Shining’s eyes lit up; 10-32 was the brevity code for shots fired and given that the streets mentioned were ones that bordered Sunnytown, that was never a good thing.

Buck caught Shining’s look immediately. “Everything okay?”

“I gotta go,” he said in the way that indicated everything wasn’t okay.

“Be careful, man!” Buck called out to his friend as Shining raced for the door. “I expect to see you and Cadance at dinner with me and Lemony on Thursday, not visiting you in the hospital!”

By the time Shining got there, the scene was a mess. Four cars were on site, with three officers returning fire at an apartment that had at least two gunmen in one of the windows. Shining got out of his car, then rushed over to the senior officer in the site. “What’s going on?”

“Got a tip that some bangers were dealing in one of the apartments there. Sent an officer to investigate, but he’s been missing for hours, and I don’t have to tell you what that means.” Given Buck’s warning and the fact that Christmas had just passed two days prior, it was a sobering statement. “We sent in another one, and they came out guns blazing and now we’ve got this.”

“SWAT?”

“Not happening. They’re currently backing up ECSD on a bigger case in Darkwood,” the senior officer said. “Gonna be a field day for the local section of the Equestria Daily tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Shining agreed. As a fifth car pulled up, he saw the person driving it; that was more than enough for him to hatch a quick plan. “Okay, you give me cover fire. Me and Melati Jasmine’ll go in and see if we can put an end to this.” As the girl rushed up, Shining saw that she was carrying her carbine; given that she had a department citation for her shooting abilities, it would come in handy. “Mel, we’re knocking on the door and paying a visit.”

“Shoulda told me sooner, Shining; I would’ve baked a casserole.” Melati ran a hand through her pink, orange and yellow hair, a wicked smile coming onto her face. “Oh well, sucks to be them.”

The senior officer said, “On my mark, you go. We’ll give you cover fire.” He then looked at the other officers to make sure they knew what was going on, they all tried to ignore the bursts of fire that came from upstairs; Shining noted that it came from an AK-12, which was definitely illegal in the state.

As if reading his thoughts, Melati said, “Looks like our perps are carrying some nifty hardware. Wonder what kind of treasure trove we’re going to find up there?”

“Don’t know, but go find out!” the senior officer shouted, then turned to the other officers, and aside from himself, opened fire. That drove the criminals away from the windows, long enough for Shining and Melati to make a sprint for the door.

Once they reached it, he said to her, “Mind the casualties, Mel. It’s the holidays.”

She smirked at him as he pulled his service pistol. “Not for me; I’m Muslim. But I get your point.” She then stood back as he reared back and kicked the door in, both officers rushing in for the fight of their lives.

“Damn, I have no idea how the hell you two pulled this off,” the senior officer said ten minutes later, “but I’m damn glad you two are on our side.” The officers were standing in the heavily-shot up apartment the three gang-bangers had housed themselves in, having taken over then evacuated the building. By a small miracle, no one had been killed; both Shining and Melati had shot to wound, and the third one had surrendered the moment he knew he was outgunned. At the moment, he was on the ground in handcuffs, while the other two were being led out in stretchers.

The room itself was filled with a lot of stuff that could easily be called terrifying: military-grade weapons had only been the tip of the iceberg. Drugs with a street value of over a million dollars was spread in various containers all over the apartment, and that was just the stuff ready to be sold on the street. One of the bedrooms had been turned into a growing room for marijuana, and a second one looked like it was being set up for a meth lab.

But despite being something out of what felt like a police show on TV, the situation ended on a happy note when it came to the officer that had initially gone in to investigate: he was alive and uninjured, though being taken to a hospital because he’d been incapacitated by one of the gangbangers dosing him with an injection of mescaline, and when Shining and Melati had found him, he had little idea of who or where he was.

Holding her gun at the ready, Melati looked at Shining. “Man, your girl is going to have a hell of a time with this one, isn’t she?”

Shining shook his head. “No, she usually doesn’t get these cases. She mostly handles the domestic dispute ones. Heck, in her office, she gets so many of those they jokingly call her ‘the Goddess of Lov—’” There was a sudden rattle at the door to the master bedroom. “Did you hear that?”

“Yeah,” Melati said, training her carbine on the door as Shining and the other cops pulled their guns. “Be careful.”

With that, the cops aimed their guns, while Shining went to the door. Opening it carefully, he found something that he hadn’t expected…or rather, someone. The moment he saw her, words he said weeks ago to another girl haunted him:

“Way I see it? You’re either really desperate to turn tricks if you’re working this part of town at this time of day, or based on the stuffed animal over there, you were living in that warehouse. I’m going to take a guess and say it’s the latter, because if it’s the former, I really am not in the mood to write all the paperwork to explain why I just arrested an underage prostie.”

He looked at the girl standing before him. She was probably about sixteen at best, and was wearing clothing that was clearly stripperiffic. She had too much makeup on, and her shaggy blue-and-green hair and tangelo-hued eyes showed a life that was hard beyond imagining.

I accused Sunny – my now-foster sister – of being an underage streetwalker, he sighed. And now I’ve really run into one.

The girl looked around at the room and the three gangbangers being taken out of the room. “Fuck! Now I’m not going to get paid,” she groaned, then glared at Shining. “Thanks, asshole. I just did all that work for nothing – do you know how hard it was to keep ‘em smiling?”

Melati rolled her eyes while Shining holstered his gun and motioned for the others to do the same. “Some mouth you got, kid.”

“Fuck yeah,” she said, then turned her attention back to Shining. “Okay, here’s the deal: you let me go and you can have me for the night – no cost.” She looked at the rest of the people in the room, then sighed. “Well, hasn’t been the freakiest job I’ve done, but at least I’ll keep my dignity this time,” she muttered.

Shining blinked. “Did you just proposition me?”

She rolled her eyes. “Depends. If you’re going to arrest me based on that? No, officer, I didn’t and you must have imagined it. If you’re going to let me go in exchange for some fun, then yes, just take me to your place and tell me where I need to spread ‘em. Just…no cuffs, okay? They chafe.”

“Cute,” Melati said sarcastically. “This one’s all you, Shining. I’ve got to fill out paperwork and then go see my well-behaved kids.” The other officers all took the hint and demurred to him, much to his dislike.

“Fine,” he told Melati, “but you’re handling my paperwork as well.”

“It shall be done, o wise one,” she cracked. “Now let me get out of here; I think the room is starting to mess with my sinuses.”

“Okay you,” he said, taking his quarry by the arm and dragging her out to the street. “Time to get you down to Social.”

“Oh, fuck you, man – I ain’t going to no youth-fuckin’-home!”

“Well, we could just put you in juvie until we find out your actual age and see if we can arrest you for prostitution.”

She sighed. “Fine, the home it is…unless I can convince you to take a ride with me. Trip you’ll never forget when you go through my tunnel.”

“Kid, you’re laying it on way too thick. Anyways, what’s your name?”

“Amelia.”

Shining groaned. “Okay then, what’s your real name?” Thanks to his sister, foster sister and cousin’s reading habits, he found out that “Amelia Grund” was the name of the character in the Spellbound novels, and that her name was a translation from old German meaning fertile ground, an apt yet smartass name for a hooker if there ever was one.

“I don’t go by that anymore,” she answered.

“You’re going to have to.”

“You’re going to laugh.”

He opened the back door to his patrol car, gesturing for her to get in. “You’d be surprised.”

She muttered something.

“Come again?”

“It’s Sweet Pea, okay? Now just fucking leave me alone and dump my ass off at the fuckin’ youth home. It’s all you Goddamn cops are good for anyway.”

By the time he got home, hours later, he found Cadance there, waiting for him, a teary, worried look on her face. “I landed at the airport an hour ago and when my parents turned on the radio, first thing we heard was about the firefight by Sunnytown. Are you…?”

He nodded. “None of our guys got hurt. I shot one and so did Mel; third one gave up.”

She rushed over to him, holding him close, then kissing him. “I’ve never asked you to quit the force, Shiny,” she said. “I know you love the job too much. But I was hoping that my first sight of you would be at the airport, not hearing about you getting into a firefight with gang members!”

“You told me you were coming back tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I know. I saw my note on the markerboard, so that’s my fault, and I’m sorry.” She then saw the tired look in his eyes. “Look, I’m exhausted, you look beat, and…let’s just order in from the Moroccan place down the street and you can tell me all about what’s bugging you.”

“That obvious?”

She nodded. “We’ll worry about the Christmas gifts and other crap later. Right now, hon, all I want to do is spend time with you.”

An hour later, Moroccan food and a bottle of wine later, the two lovers were just lying on the couch together, talking after Shining had explained everything. “This…Amelia girl. She sounds nothing like Sunny.”

“I know; I think I’m just feeling guilt from assuming she was one. It’s just….”

“You feel guilty because this girl looks like she actually needs help, whereas Sunny was relatively doing fine?” He nodded. “And here I thought you cared about her.”

“You know I do. She’s only been living with us for a couple of months, but it feels…well, it feels like she’s meant to always be with us. I know Mom just loves her completely, and Dad says since she came into our lives, he feels like she belongs there. And I don’t think I need to say how either Twily or Tavi feel. And honestly? I like her. So no problem there. It’s just…I really don’t know what to do about this one.”

“Well, I doubt your mother would want to take in another stray,” Cadance said, lifting her wineglass to her lips. “Where is this mystery girl, anyway?”

“Social, until the County can do something. I already called my mom and explained everything as much as I could. She joked that she’s filled her quota of one stray per year, but she’ll see what she can do in the morning.” Shining downed the rest of his glass. “I really hope they can do something.”

“I’ll look into it on my end; fortunately, I can’t get involved with the case since you’re the arresting officer. But I can talk to whoever’s going to look into it.”

“I didn’t charge her with a crime,” Shining said. “I filed her as a victim – a rude, crass and foul-mouthed victim, but one all the same.”

“Yes, dear, but she got that way somehow, and if she is Sunny’s age, then someone caused her to be that way – and that’s where my office comes in.”

The following morning Shining had off, as he’d planned to meet Cadance and her family at the airport, so sleeping in had turned into the choice of the day. So, needless to say, he wasn’t happy when the phone started ringing off the hook. “Hello?”

“Armor, this is Sgt. Rosethorn. We need you to come into the precinct.”

Shining groaned. “Aw, c’mon, Sarge! I’ve been working practically overtime and this is my first day off in like two weeks!”

“Yeah, I know, Armor – I feel for you there. But they brought in that kid that you took down to Social last night and she apparently refuses to talk to anyone but you. She said, and I quote, ‘I don’t want to talk to any of you assholes except that cop that brought me in. And if he ain’t here, you can all go sit and spin!’ And then she flipped us off. Real nice piece of work there, that kid. Practically reminds me of my own niece.”

“Ugh. Fine, tell her I’ll be there within the hour.” He hung up the phone, then woke up Cadance. “I gotta go. They brought in Sweet Pea to the precinct. She wants to talk to me.”

“I guess I’d better go as well,” Cadance offered, already regretting being awoken at eight in the morning on a day she had off. “She might feel comfortable with a female presence around.”

“So you prefer Miss Pretty Pretty Princess’ sugar tits over mine?” Cadance’s right eye twitched in annoyance while the teen talked to Shining. “Look, I’ll bet the Barbie doll is cute for arm candy, but has she memorized the Kama Sutra like I have?” Amelia then blew the cop a kiss, leaning over the table to make sure he saw her cleavage. “Last chance to trade up.”

“You’re not impressing us with the tough girl act,” Cadance replied.

“Fuck you, Sugar Tits,” Amelia said, flipping the woman the bird.

Shining apologetically looked at his fiancée, then back at the teen. “Sweet Pea….”

“I hate that. Don’t call me that.”

“That’s your name, right?”

“It was my name. I’m a different person now.”

“Fine. So, Amelia, why’d you call me then?”

“Because I need you inside me?” she taunted. “Because I had a hot, wet, dream about you.”

“I don’t have time for this,” he sighed, throwing his hands up and getting out of the chair. He went to the intercom by the door and pressed the button. “Lockdown, Escort, take her back to Social. We’re done here.” He got out of his chair, ready to go.

He was just by the door when he heard a choked, strangled voice cry out…

“Don’t leave me!”

Cadance turned and gasped. Shining looked and a second before, where there was a teenage prostitute, was a girl whose eyes were beginning to glisten with tears. “Don’t…leave. Please….” she begged, the waterfalls beginning.

“She’s probably faking it,” Cadance said coolly. “You have no idea how many of my clients could do that on a dime.”

“Look, I’m sorry I called you ‘Sugar Tits’,” Amelia sobbed. “I’m sure you have very nice breasts…no offense.”

The attorney wasn’t sure how to react to that. “Uh, none taken, I think.”

A knock sounded on the metal door to the interrogation room, and opening it, Shining found Lockdown and Escort waiting. “You rang?” Escort asked.

Shining and Cadance looked at each other, then at the cops. Fishing some money out of his wallet, he said, “Do me a favor. Call Pizza Hut. Large, everything on it and a six-pack of Coke.”

Cadance pulled her small billfold out of her clutch purse. “Here, Lock. Get a few for the whole station,” she said, handing him a few bills.

He looked at the money. “You sure about this, Cadance?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Also, call my office and ask them to send over Hearts Aflutter. I have a funny feeling we’re going to need an attorney here, and it can’t be me.”

“Will do,” Lockdown said. “And thanks for the pizza.”

“Think nothing of it, Lock. Merry post-Christmas.”

He grinned. “Actually, I’m Jewish, but I get the point. I’ll be back soon.”

Meanwhile, Shining had returned to the table. Reaching in his jacket pocket, he pulled out a pack of tissues. “Here, you’re going to need this,” he said to the girl as she fruitlessly tried to wipe her tears with her wrists.

“Thanks,” she murmured. She then looked at him and asked, “I…I overheard where the gang’s got the rest of their stash. But if they find out I was here, they’re going to kill me! As it is, I’m already out on the street, since you guys trashed the place where I lived!”

“You were living there?” he asked.

“Yeah. Stone Cold – he’s the one you shot – he was my pimp,” she admitted. “He took me in after I ran here from home.”

“Where’s home?” Cadance asked. When the girl said nothing, Cadance sat down. “Listen: I’m an assistant district attorney for Equestria County.” Pointing a finger at Shining, she added, “If you’re in trouble, it’s his job to find out and my job to make sure if someone needs to go to jail, they end up there. I’m not saying that you need to talk to someone…but…you need to talk to someone.”

“I…I don’t want to go back!” she said. Both adults caught the flicker of fear in her eye and they both had the same question: What would be so bad that turning tricks in the worst part of the Canterlot metro area was preferable in comparison?

It was then that Shining spoke. “What I’m about to tell you I’m not making up. Two months ago, I came across a girl very much in the same situation as you. She wasn’t turning tricks, but she’d become so desperate that it wouldn’t have surprised me if she would have done that soon. I could’ve arrested her for the same things as you, plus illegal trespass and several other charges. I didn’t. I got her help, got her in a safe home, made sure she was okay. I probably risked my job to do that…but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

“I’m a cop. When I took the oath, I meant every word of it: to serve and protect. And as far as I’m concerned? Catching criminals isn’t the main part of my job; there’s a dozen other guys and gals in blue out there doing that same part of the job that I do and probably do it better. But as for me? My job is keeping people safe, like a shield. If it means putting my life on the line like I did yesterday? No question. And if it means finding a way to help you? Again, no question. Because it’s what I do, and I’m not saying that just to look good. I mean it.

“Amelia – no, Sweet Pea, you’re in a lot of trouble. And I don’t mean the legal kind. I mean the kind that will end with you dead before you’re twenty. I can see those train tracks on your arms, which means you’ve been using at least once. And if you’ve been doing your ‘job’ for more than a year, you’ve probably had to go to the doctor at least once, for either medicine…or something else. That’s no life that a girl your age should be living. I have two sisters and a cousin about your age, and I wouldn’t want to see them in your shoes. And I don’t want to see you in the shoes you’re in, either.”

Cadance looked at Shining appreciatively. She figured that he would compare Sunset’s situation at least on the surface with this girl’s, but he probably didn’t notice that he’d referred to Sunset as his sister as well. She knew that of all the members of his family, both he and Spike had been the most standoffish, and in Spike’s case, it was understandable. Was Sunset finally beginning to mean something to him other than just the girl he saved from whatever fate she held? It was too early to tell, she thought, but she at least now had an inkling of how that would go.

By the time Hearts Aflutter got there, Cadance had already written everything down. “See what you can do about putting together the case.”

“Nothing we can do about it, Cadance, you know that,” Hearts replied.

“Hearts, I want everything to go to their DA,” Cadance said, handing her colleague the notes. “Shining is already talking to his lieutenant about what she’s told us. And then we have to talk to Velvet. If what she’s saying is true, I want who did this to her nailed to the Goddamn wall.”

“Again, not our call,” Hearts reminded her, “but I’m sure the boss can put in a special word with their DA if it progresses that far.”

“It will,” Shining said, walking down the hall with his lieutenant following behind her. “We just got off the phone with the Junction County Sheriff’s Office. Everything she’s told us pans out. Based on what we emailed them, they’re going to get a warrant for his arrest.”

Lt. Strongline, Shining’s supervisor nodded. “I was just telling Officer Armor that this is damn good police work he did.”

“It was nothing, ma’am,” he replied. “She just needed help.” He looked at Amelia, still sitting in the interrogation room, eating the pizza like it was the finest meal she’d had in ages, and looking very fragile.

“I just….” Strongline sighed, brushing the gray-and-red hair out of her eyes. “I just can’t believe this shit. That poor girl.”

Amelia had finally broken down and told Shining and Cadance her full story: she was from Dodge Junction, a small town in South Dakota just ten miles south of the North Dakota state line. Her mother had died in childbirth, and her father had killed himself in grief, leaving her with her only remaining family, an uncle on her mother’s side. But her uncle had begun to do things to her as she’d grown older, things no girl should encounter. She’d been lucky that he’d inadvertently recorded one instance, and after finally putting up with one too many times of being violated, she grabbed the videotape and ran away, using an old Greyhound ticket that her father had once had from Canterlot, the town he was originally from; by a miracle, it was still good for the trip. Things had spiraled downhill from there, and she hadn’t been to school in six years, instead turning to a life on the streets.

“What are you going to do now?” Strongline said. “We’re going to have to take her back to Social; she’s got no other family and we’re obviously not returning her to South Dakota anytime soon.”

“She can stay with us overnight,” Cadance said, much to the surprise of Shining. “After that, we’ll consult with Social Services. Fortunately, we have an ‘in’ there.”

“Counselor,” Strongline said to her, “I know your reputation – they call you the Goddess of Love over there at the DA’s office because of all the kinds of cases you handle. But this isn’t anything like what you’ve done before. I’m not comfortable about this.”

“Uh, Lieutenant?” Hearts spoke up. “This is my case. Cadance is just a bystander. And technically I’ll be forwarding everything to South Dakota, anyway.”

Shining added, “And it’s not like I have to worry about a single girl for one night, and I get the feeling she’s not going anywhere. If you want, I can go ahead on home and move my personal weapons out of the house for the duration. I mean, they’re already in a safe, but if it makes you feel better, L-T….”

“No, that’s fine. Just…be careful.”

“I’m not comfortable about this at all, you two,” Velvet told both her son and future daughter-in-law a couple of hours later. Amelia – she’d insisted that only Shining could call her by her real name, but Cadance ignored the edict – was asleep on the couch, wearing a pair of Cadance’s pajamas. “And I know what you’re going to say, but this is entirely different from Sunny’s situation. For one, Celestia could vouch for Sunny. Who can we have to vouch for that girl – her pimp?”

“Velvet, that’s not fair,” Cadance insisted.

“Forgive me for being worried about you two, but Shining, you just told me that yesterday this girl was trying to both proposition you and egg you on at the same time. And then today she did more of the same as well as calling you, and I quote, ‘Sugar Tits’, Cady?” The look on Velvet’s face was severe. “I went down to both Juvenile Hall and the County Childrens’ Shelter and got her records. Surprisingly, she told them that she often went to the Free Clinic down on Skyfire Blvd, and so I asked Zecora to get me the records as a favor, since she volunteers there on weekends.” She placed photocopies in front of the pair. “The girl’s had treatment for four STDs, and she told her doctor she’s had an abortion, prior. All that in a six-year period, and that’s just what we know – we know nothing about her life in South Dakota.”

“Mom, you stepped in to protect Sunny,” Shining insisted, “and she didn’t need help half as much as this girl does!”

“Shiny, believe me when I say that you should let this be someone else’s problem.”

Cadance was shocked. “I cannot believe you’re saying that!”

Velvet looked at her. “Do you really think I want to? It goes against everything that my career stands for!” she hissed. “But Night and I are worried about you and that you’re over your head on this one.” The older woman shook her head and added, “For one, even if you wanted to, you couldn’t even foster her – you two aren’t married yet and I would have to turn you down just on that. That’s not saying that a single person couldn’t successfully foster someone, only that they’re going to look at your record and based on what I know just off the top of my head, it’s going to torpedo fast.”

“Then maybe someone else,” Cadance insisted. “What about one of my aunts, for example? Aunt Tia’s always saying she’d love to have someone around her place.”

“If we were talking about a five-year-old, then maybe. But despite her job and having a lot of involvement in your life, Cady, Tia’s never really been good with kids from anything other than a disciplinarian level. Hell, I’ve no idea how she reined in Sunny prior to whatever happened the night Sunny was shown the error of her ways.” Cadance was about to open up her mouth, before Velvet interjected with, “and don’t suggest Lu, either. She acts like she’s your age, for crying out loud. And as for Armonia….”

“I wasn’t even going to suggest my mother,” Cadance replied. “She’s always told me one kid was enough for her.”

“Then who else is there?” When there was no answer, Velvet continued. “Okay, I’ll give you two a week. That’s as much as I can do to get the paperwork lost in the holiday shuffle. But by the end of the week, you need to find someone that I can approve or we have to send her to Social. I’m sorry I can’t do more, but just like you two…I have responsibilities to that child as well so long as she’s in the county.”

The scream at four in the morning woke up both Shining and Cadance. Both of them rushed into the living room to find Amelia thrashing on the couch, shouting, “No, Uncle Tripwire! Please, no!”

Shining grabbed both her arms, telling her “It’s okay, Sweet Pea! You’re safe!” She finally stopped thrashing and melted into his arms, crying hysterically. “It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re safe,” he told her.

“Don’t send me back,” she sobbed into his shirt. “I’ll go to school, sleep on the couch, get a real job, just don’t send me back there!”

“Nobody’s sending you back,” Cadance promised, sitting down on the other side of the girl and caressing her back. “You have our word – you’re never going back to that hell again.”

She broke away from Shining long enough to look at Cadance. “Y-you…you promise?”

Cadance smiled and raised her hand as if taking an oath. “Sugar Tits’ honor,” she said whimsically.

“Look, I’m really sorry about calling you that, Ms. Cadenza,” she said.

“I know. Just…get some sleep, okay? I’ll stay here with you.”

“I’m not a little girl,” the teen huffed. “I don’t need anyone to babysit me.”

“Think of it as her turn to watch over you,” Shining said. “Now if you two don’t mind, I need to get some sleep. I have to look somewhat alive for my shift.”

At seven in the morning, Shining opened the gun safe and pulled his service gear out, then shut it. Heading into the living room, he was treated to a sweet sight: Amelia slept peacefully, her head on Cadance’s lap. Cadance, looking bleary-eyed, looked up at her fiancé. “She finally fell asleep ten minutes ago,” Cadance replied. “We talked all night. Her uncle’s a monster, Shiny. The things he’s done to her…. We can’t let her go back.” Despite her exhaustion, the look in Cadance’s eyes was very unfriendly at that point.

“She won’t. No matter what, Mom won’t let that happen and you know that. But we do have to find someone to take her in; Social’s no place for a kid despite the name, and Mom knows that, too. We’ll figure something out.”

“We’ll have to. And speaking of which, don’t we have dinner tonight with Buck and Lemony? We’ll have to cancel that. I’ll call them after I get a couple of hours of shuteye.”

“Don’t,” Shining told her. “In fact, take Sweet Pea to shop for some clothes. I have an idea.”

“What do you have in mind?”

Shining looked down at the tortured girl sleeping on his fiancée’s lap. “Reverse psychology, in order to save a girl’s life.”

“You’re not going to…?”

“I am. But I’m probably going to feel bad about it later.”

Later that night, the dinner crowd was at Beet O’ Brady’s, a fine dining establishment at the riverfront shopping center. Two different tables were being used at the moment, one filled with three teenage girls while the other one had four adults present.

At the first table, Amelia looked at the girls in front of her. Both had looks on their faces as though they were waiting for her to bolt for the nearest door. For some reason, she got the feeling that the two had been through something like this before, though the troubled teen couldn’t figure out possibly how that came about. But as for her situation, Amelia said nothing, feeling very uncomfortable in the duo’s presence.

Meanwhile, the other two had their own private conversation going.

“This seems familiar….” Twilight Sparkle asked Sunset Shimmer.

The look on Sunset’s face was somewhere between embarrassed and understanding. “Yeah,” she told her sister. “Tell me about it.”

Meanwhile, at the adult’s table, an argument between four friends was underway.

“You two are crazy!” Lemony told Cadance and Shining at the other table. “You guys are going to give up a formal wedding and elope?”

Cadance nodded. “Yeah. My mom and his both think we’re nuts, but…Sweet Pea needs a home, and the only way the County is going to let us take her in on a foster basis, is if we do that.”

“No,” Buck insisted. “Look, you two have gone too far with your plans to derail them now. A wedding is a memory you’ll cherish forever. Trust me on this.” Putting an arm around Lemony, he said, “Our wedding was one of the most special moments of my life – I’ll be the first to admit that. Don’t do this to yourselves.”

“Cadance, promise me you’re not going to do this,” Lemony insisted. “I want you two to be happy and eloping for someone else’s sake, even while noble, is…well, it’s stupid. I agree completely with both your mothers that you’re both out of your minds even thinking about it!”

Shining replied with, “Look, we made a promise that she would be looked after and we can’t do that if we’re not there to foster her. Unless you two can think of something, our minds are made up.”

Buck looked at the girl, and how she seemed to be warming up to Shining’s sisters – he didn’t recall his friend having two sisters, but then again, he didn’t really pay attention back during their high school years – but there was something in her eyes that even from this distance he could see.

She’s like me, he thought. Doesn’t trust the world, but thinks that it owes her everything. And I always wondered why Cadance left me for Shining…only that we were never really an item in the first place. It was all just in my head.

“We’ll take her,” he said all of a sudden.

Three people at the table all had the same answer for him. “What?”

Buck looked at his friend. “Lemony and I…we’ll sign the paperwork and take her back with us to San Francisco.”

“No, I can’t ask this of you,” Cadance told him. “This is going to be difficult enough for us—”

“No. Buck’s right,” Lemony said. “We…we all gotta grow up sometime, Cadance. You and Shining are lucky: you’re not married yet and you get to still live the good life. But Buck and I have been married for four years now. Sooner or later, we’ll think about kids, a house in the suburbs….”

“Concord’s nice, I hear,” Buck said to no one in particular while swirling the wine in his glass. “Perfect place to raise a family.”

“She’s had no schooling since she ran away from home,” Shining pointed out. “The tutoring costs alone—”

Lemony giggled. “Our next door neighbor’s a retired teacher and was recently complaining that she hates retirement because she’s got nothing to do. This’ll be a challenge for her, one I’m sure she’ll accept.”

“She has trust issues,” Cadance added.

“I’m guessing she didn’t trust either of you when you found her,” Buck stated, “yet she looks like she trusts only you now. For now. I’m sure Lemony and I can fix that.”

“Are you sure about this?” Shining interjected. He had to admit, as much as he wanted to keep his promise, he already knew the loopholes and issues his parents had to go through with Sunset, and it wasn’t something that he could’ve done with Sweet Pea. At least with this decision, Sweet Pea would have a chance to survive and thrive. He looked at Cadance and though he could see the conflict in her eyes, he knew that she would back his decision. The truth was, they were both playing a con job on their friends, and neither of them liked it, but it was the only way either of them could think of to protect the girl. “I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”

“Hey, that’s my line,” Buck laughed. “If you think we’re unsure about all this, what about how everyone thinks of you two in regards to this? At least with Lemony and I, this’ll be a head start for us to get ready for planning our own kids.”

“Plus, it’ll prevent you two from making a serious mistake that’ll cost you in the long run,” Lemony added. “You don’t want to start off your wedding on a bad footing, you two. Trust us on that.”

Buck looked at both of them, a smile in his eyes. “Furthermore, this way, if we agree to it, you two don’t have to sit here and try to be the world’s lousiest con artists.” When Shining and Cadance blinked, Buck laughed. “C’mon, do you really think we couldn’t figure what was going on? You can’t kid a kidder, and I’m a banker – I know how to snowball the best of them.”

“Should’ve known,” Cadance giggled, while Shining facepalmed.

“Hey, don’t worry you two. It’s clear why you did it and we’re not offended in the slightest. In fact, we’re honored that you even thought of us, though I wish you would’ve mentioned it directly; we would’ve still said yes.” He then grinned as he added, “Besides, getting one up on you two for a change? Totally worth it.”

“Ah, my hubby,” Lemony said, kissing him on the cheek. “Isn’t he the greatest?”

“We can’t thank you enough,” Shining told Buck two days later at Terminal Two of Canterlot International, while waiting for the trio’s flight. Buck and Lemony had stayed two extra days to fill out the paperwork, pass the tests and all the other stuff, which was rushed through by a very relieved Twilight Velvet. Finally, San Francisco’s Department of Childrens’ Services agreed to take over the oversight of Amelia once she left Equestria County and moved to the city.

“I should be thanking you,” Buck said, watching as Amelia talked excitedly and animatedly with Lemony Gems as the two came back from the Caribou Coffee shop. “It’s been two days and not only has she adjusted to us…I think Lemony’s grown up a bit as well. Me, too. This isn’t going to be easy, but…well, if your parents can do it, so can we.” Since Shining and Cadance’s scheme had been discovered, they then told their friends the truth about the elder of Shining’s two “sisters”. “Besides, this will be a challenge, and one that we’re willing to go with.”

“I’m still surprised you were able to get things moving so fast,” Cadance admitted. “It took Velvet a couple of days, herself, and she’s the one that controls the paperwork and had favors to call in. But you don’t have those kind of connections, as far as I know.”

“Well, Shining’s mother was very happy to pull more strings when she found out we offered to take Sweet Pea in. As for her education, Lemony called Mrs. Oaktree and she agreed to tutor Sweet Pea to get her up to speed, with the hopes that we can get her into high school by next year. The biggest issue by far is going to be to head back to South Dakota for the trial. She’s already worried about that, but Lemony and I already promised her that she wouldn’t be alone and if her uncle even gave her a look we don’t like….” He punched his hand in the other. “Well, you get the idea.”

“Oh, you think you can back it up?” Shining asked, pointing at Buck’s out-of-shape body.

“Not right now, admittedly, but I’m re-upping for the gym near our place once we get home. Gotta lose a few pounds, be a role model. You know how it is,” he said, shrugging.

“So, who wanted the mocha?” Amelia asked, holding a tray of drinks. She looked far different than she did just a few days prior, wearing a loose-turtleneck sweater, a jacket and jeans. She looked a lot more cleaned up and it was almost hard to believe that this was the same girl that had propositioned Shining just a few days before. “Eh, probably better to just give you the shi…stuff. I meant ‘stuff’.” Lemony looked at the girl out of the side of her eyes and the teen blushed. “I’m working on it!” she grumbled.

“ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS: SKYWEST FLIGHT 5460 NONSTOP TO SAN FRANCISCO, NOW BOARDING AT GATE 2A,” a voice boomed over the airport’s intercom.

“That’s our flight,” Lemony said, then going over to hug both Cadance, then Shining. “Next time we see each other? Let’s do something a little less…involved,” she said with a wink.

Cadance laughed. “You got it.”

Buck then hugged them. “Thank you both for everything.”

Finally, it was the teen’s turn to say goodbye. “Thank you,” she said, her eyes tearing up. “I know I can’t stay with you two, but….”

Cadance hugged the girl. “Hey, Buck and Lemony are great folks, and they’ll take care of you. Besides, we know where they live, so we’ll come down some time to visit. And that we promise.”

She then went over and hugged Shining. “For what it’s worth? You’re the best client I never landed,” she said with a smile, tears running down her cheeks. “Thank you for everything, Officer Armor.”

“It’s okay,” Shining said, a little misty-eyed himself. “But what made you decide to trust me in the first place?”

“One, you’re the first cop that ever turned me down. No, seriously. I left a list with your sergeant and he says Internal Affairs will look into it,” she admitted. “Secondly….” She reached into her purse, handing him a faded photograph. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but…these were my parents. I never knew them, but…when I met you and Ms. Cadenza, something felt right.”

Shining and Cadance looked at the picture. The woman had long hair the same colors as Shining’s, as well as the same eye color, though her skin was much darker. As for her husband, he was fair skinned, but had hair and eye colors similar to Cadance. The man had a well-groomed beard, and both looked happily married.

“My Mom and Dad: Gleaming Shield and Bolero,” she said. “Uncle Tripwire once told me that he would burn this picture of them if I ever told anyone, but I stole it when I ran away. I think I was meant to look to you for help, strangely enough.”

“I guess,” Shining said, finding the pair’s coincidences to himself and Cadance uncanny. Giving her the picture back, he hugged her again, and said, “Take care of yourself and we’ll see you soon, Amelia.”

“Amelia? Who’s that?” she said, a wide grin on her face. “You’ve got the wrong person, Officer. My name’s Sweet Pea.”

Author's Note

If enough people can get the in-joke regarding Shining's radio designation, I might just throw in a little bonus down the line.

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, the Melati Jasmine (better known as the Indonesian Jasmine) is a flower. It's also a pony reference, but I'm not sure anyone will get that one at all.

Aloysius

“C’mon, Spike, you’re going to miss this!” Twilight said, her breath crystallizing in the frigid winter air. Granted, birdwatching wasn’t one of her normal hobbies, but she did like to do it from time to time, and besides, it would give her younger brother something to do during the holidays besides sit at his game console and waste the world away.

Of course, Spike didn’t see it that way, currently ignoring the world in favor of what was on his 3DS. “Remind me why you wanted me to come with you?” he whined.

“Because I want you to learn something, Spike,” she replied, as the pair walked away from the bus stop into one of the public trails that led into the Everfree National Park. “This is something that Shiny and Cady always used to do for me and Tavi when we were your age, so you should appreciate it.”

“Yeah, yeah, Mom and Dad say I should get outside and play more. But I’ve learned that I’m as cold right now as I was then, I’m bored, snow is wet and cold and you just want to stay here and look at dumb birds.” He looked at his sister and grinned. “The only thing I’m learning right now is that the last place in the world I want to be is out here! I should’ve gone with Dad and Sunny.”

Hearing him complain, Twilight was hard-pressed to disagree, if only so she didn’t have to hear his grumbling. Both her father and her foster sister had left an hour ago to pick up her aunt, uncle and cousin from their (as usual) disastrous Christmas vacation at her aunt’s parents’ place in New York. Her mother was at work, and Shining and Cadance were at the airport as well, seeing their friends off – as well as that one weird teenager that Shining had briefly got himself mixed up with. I swear, the way she acted, you’d think she was a hooker or something, Twilight thought, but then dismissed that; it was rude of her to think that way and the chances of what-was-her-name-again? being anything like an actual sex worker was ludicrous at best.

As they moved into the forest, Spike whined for the umpteenth time, “Do we have any more hot chocolate?”

“Spike, if you drink it all, we’re not going to have any for the trip back and then you’ll really be cold. As it is, I’m saving both thermoses for when we need them, got it?”

“Ugh, whatever.” He shook his 3DS and the screen went blank. “Great, either it’s too cold, or the batteries died.”

“Good; maybe now you’ll pay attention,” his sister said, looking for the thickest copse of trees to provide the best area as they searched for their quarry. “In fact, this seems like the perfect time to tell you a story.”

“Does the story involve lasers, guns and/or superheroes?”

“No,” Twilight answered. “Seriously, Spike, you really should expand your horizons. Anyway, it was about this time, eight years ago. You were just a newborn, and me and Tavi were about your age….”

A beautiful young woman, her magenta, violet and crème hair tied into a ponytail, watched the copse of trees through binoculars. “Almost there….” she said softly, her breath frosting into a small cloud that briefly fogged up the lenses on the far ends. “This is just amazing, Shiny. Thank you for bringing me.”

“It was nothing,” a boy said beside her. Like her, he was a teenager, but where she was cute and perky, he was lanky and awkward. His lithe, unmuscled frame showing a teen almost near starvation, though that was hardly the case. “I just figured that now would be the best time to do our research paper on the northern spotted owl, since this is their winter nesting grounds.”

Cadance smiled, giving Shining a coy look. “Oh, so you didn’t bring me here just to make out?”

Shining’s eyes widened. “No! No, I didn’t!”

She pouted. “So you don’t want to?”

“No! I mean, yes! I mean…Cady, what about Twily and Tavi?” The answer to that was Cadance’s sudden giggle fit at his discomfiture and his sigh. “Hahaha, very funny,” he sighed. He was still getting used to seeing her as a woman in her own right; while they knew each other since childhood, they had very different social circles and class schedules. So it had come as a complete shock to him that the girl that he’d grown to like from afar not only did not like that idiot Buck Withers, but instead had always liked him since the day she had agreed to babysit both Twilight and Octavia.

Still, it was unusual to not only have a girlfriend, but the most popular one at their school, too. Really, he was a geek that mainly focused on Dungeons & Dragons, The Lord of the Rings and all its trappings, and video games. He also studied for the day where he would hope to become a forensics analyst for the police; he never really saw himself doing anything else. But there was something about Cadance that made him want to reach farther than he ever dreamed. He’d even talked – in private, of course – to the gym teacher about working out a little, not because he ever planned to do anything muscular in his life, but rather because he wanted to look good for her, as well as to get Buck to shut up about “the string bean dating the school princess” or whatever smartass comment the jock had.

Before he could say anything further, he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see his sister standing there, looking a little nervous. “Are we gonna be safe, Shiny?” she asked, a concerned look on her face. Behind her, his cousin Octavia simply looked at him, not frightened in the slightest – she was always braver and more daring than his sister, and he silently wished that Twilight would emulate Octavia more. Perhaps in a time to come it could even happen – they were just children still, after all.

“Aww, c’mon, Twily!” Octavia chirped behind her. “Shiny an’ Cady are gonna protect us, an’ if they don’t, I’ll protect you!”

Twilight turned back to her cousin? “Really?”

Octavia nodded. “Yup!”

Cadance picked that moment to interject. “Oh, hey girls, look at this!” Both of them went over, and Cadance handed her pair of binoculars over to Twilight, then pulled out an additional pair for Octavia.

Twilight put the binoculars to her eyes. “Brrrrrr….” she moaned, disliking the feel of the cold plastic against her face. “Ugh, I know how winter works, but why does it have to be so cold?”

Meanwhile, Octavia was struggling to keep her mittens around the sides of the large device. “Yeah, I kinda wish there was a way to wrap winter up early,” she said. “Maybe there’s a way to do it with magic?”

“Oh, c’mon Tavi! Magic doesn’t exist, it’s just in books and make-believe!”

The older girl scoffed. “Twily, you have no imagination.”

“I do!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“Do not!”

“Girls,” Shining finally said, interrupting their bickering, “the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can take you to go get some hot cocoa, okay?”

“Okay!” both said at once, their spat forgotten in an instant the moment hot chocolate was mentioned. Shining shook his head and Cadance giggled; he couldn’t help it but join in a second later. With that, they turned back to their pursuits, leaving Shining and Cadance to talk about other things. Twilight really didn’t pay much attention to that; it was mushy grown-up stuff, after all.

After a few more minutes of watching the owls and “talking”, Shining announced, “Okay, girls, time to get out of here and get some lunch. Who wants to go to Subway?” Three hands shot up, followed by both Twilight and Octavia scurrying around, trying to gather up all the stuff that they used in order to go birdwatching. To the teens present, it was like watching the Oompa-Loompa-lympics, and both tried very hard not to laugh at the far-fetched ministrations of both girls.

“Shiny! Quick!” Twilight’s high-pitched voice suddenly cut through the haze as she pointed at something. Following the trace of her finger’s direction, he saw what the problem was: an egg was falling from one of the nests, and given the height, it wasn’t likely to survive the fall. Instinctively he raced towards the tree as fast as he could, pushing himself to rush as fast as he could, given the snow blocking his path and weighing down his every footfall. Ripping off his scarf, he finally dived towards the egg, holding his scarf between his hands like a hammock in order to ameliorate the terminal velocity. By some minor miracle of gravity, the white and brown-speckled egg bounced once on the scarf before coming to a safe stop on the scarf. Wrapping it up immediately, he ran back to the others, and said, “Change of plans: we’re headed back home to put this in a safe place while we figure out what to do with it. We can order pizza or something, okay, girls?”

“Yay pizza!” Octavia cried, just happy to be out of the cold.

“Is everything going to be okay with the egg?” Twilight asked her brother.

It was Cadance that answered. “Let’s swing by my place first. We have an old terrarium from back when my dad had a pet iguana. It has a small heat lamp attached, so it should come in handy.”

Shining smiled. “That’s brilliant, Cady.”

“Oh, it’s nothing compared to what you just did,” she said, causing him to blush. “C’mon, let’s get the girls out of here before they turn into kidsicles.”

It was about late January when the egg, having adjusted to the fully-artificial cycle of the heat lamp, answered the call of nature. Twilight, who had been allowed to keep the terrarium in her room, heard the crackling, followed by the chirping of the owlet as it tried to escape its calcium-carbonate prison.

“Mommy! Daddy! Shiny!” she called out, dropping her book and heading towards the terrarium, watching the goings-on with rapt interest. Since the successful save of the egg a month prior, the young girl had used the full and awesome might of her library card to research everything there was on northern spotted owls; within two weeks, she’d already learned enough to have been able to write Shining and Cadance’s respective reports, and likely would’ve gotten a higher grade. Afterwards, she then turned to the limitless font that was Google, trying to absorb every little bit of information she could before the egg hatched. And now that moment had come, and Twilight planned to use the information for all it was worth.

“Oh, sweetie, the egg’s hatching – that’s nice,” Twilight Velvet said as she came into the room, newborn Spike in her arms. Behind her, Night Light soon followed. “This should be interesting,” she said as Shining finally entered.

The teen moved over by his kid sister. “So, did you give it a name?” he asked her.

“I hadn’t thought of one,” she admitted, but then walked over to one of her bookcases and pulled out a dictionary. “Maybe I can find one out before it hatches.”

“Better move soon,” Shining told her, “because it’s starting to emerge from the shell.”

Meanwhile, the young girl was tearing through the book as though her life depended on it, looking up only to see the egg tooth tear through the shell as though it was nothing. Still, she continued to flitter through the large tome, hoping to find something – anything – that would fit the fledgling.

Finally, there was a cheep and Twilight looked up to see a bird, crying out for a mother it didn’t know wasn’t present. Shining looked at his sister and said, “It’s hatched. Did you come up with a name?”

Twilight looked at where her finger was last on the book:

Aloysius: /æləˈwɪʃəs/: Latin, from German, initially meaning “fame from war”. Initially a boy’s name, now obsolete.

Twilight smiled. “Aloysius. I’ll call him Aloysius.”

“Hold on, Twily,” Velvet said, sitting down next to her while Spike gurgled in her arms. “Are you sure you want to call the bird that? He might be a she, you know.”

“Why not ‘Owliscious’?” Night suggested. “Besides, that way if you find out that he’s actually female, you can change it to ‘Owlison’.”

Twilight gave her father a lidded look. “Daddy, that’s dumb. Aloysius befits an owl’s name. Noble yet refined.” Sometimes, Shining and his parents noted, the way that Twilight could change on a dime from being just a little kid to being an incredibly smart girl made them pause. It had been decided long ago that regardless of whatever Twilight’s theoretical IQ was – one test she took had her in the 99.7th percentile of intelligence, well above the average adult – she would have a normal life and not be one of those weird “two degrees by the age of twelve” kids that were paraded out on television on occasion.

“Aloysius is fine, sweetie,” Velvet agreed. “But remember: He – or she – is a wild animal. Hatching him means that you’ll have to take responsibility for him until the day that he’s old enough to fly away, okay?”

Twilight nodded in response. Not only was she going to take care of Aloysius, she was going to make sure that he was the best owl ever!

Baby Aloysius cheeped at his supposed mother, while Twilight tried very hard to get the dropper into his mouth. It contained a mixture that Twilight had found online that the zoo fed to its own fledglings, and if it was good enough for the zoo, it was going to be good enough for Aloysius. She had been doing this for a few months now, making sure that the owlet was going to grow up as strong as healthy as possible, given the circumstances.

“C’mon, Aly,” she said, her mouth screwed up in concentration except for the edge of her tongue that stuck out of her mouth. “You gotta eat something, okay?” The owlet finally accepted the dropper, with Twilight gently administering doses of the meal that Aloysius was eating. “That’s a good bird,” she said softly. “You’re doing good!”

“Wow, Twily, you really are watching that bird,” Octavia said from her bed as she looked up from her homework. Her parents had departed on yet another tour, leaving her behind to stay with her aunt, uncle and cousins. It had happened so often that she now had her own separate bed in Twilight’s room, even though the two still slept together in the same bed regardless.

“I promised Mommy, Daddy and Shiny,” Twilight said with a sense of firmness. “They said that it was important, so I promised them that I would. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to let Aly go without a mommy. That’s just not right.”

“If you say so,” Octavia said, unsure. She was used to her cousin doing weird things now and then, but even for Twilight this was unusual. Besides, she tended to have a bad history with pets – the family no longer had a dog, after the last one had passed away and traumatized the young girl. Emerald had been a weird dog anyway, though he had been sweet. Twilight had never taken his passing from old age well.

“Do you want to pet him?” Twilight asked, reaching into the terrarium for the little ball of fluff. Aloysius popped into her hands with no problem, and as she brought him face to face, the bird instinctively nuzzled out to her, rubbing his whole body against her nose. “He’s so sweet!”

“Really? Can I pet him?” Twilight then handed Aloysius over to her cousin, who then took him. Aloysius happily chirped at his new friend, then danced around in her palms before Octavia brought him up to her face for a nuzzle. “He’s adorable, Twily!” she cheered. “It’s gonna be a shame when you have to let him go.”

Twilight looked down at the bedspread. “I know,” she said sadly. “I don’t want him to go, but…he has to be with his owl friends sooner or later. I don’t think I’d want a life alone, even with all the books I could read.”

“You won’t,” Octavia said, putting her free arm around her cousin. “You have me, okay?”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Summertime finally came and with it Night’s edict: “He’s old enough, Twily. You have to let him go.” Twilight, of course, insisted otherwise, pleading to her father that Aloysius wasn’t strong enough to fly, that he could get hurt or killed out there. That furthermore, he’d bonded with the family, so much so that even as late as the week prior, they’d referred to him as “Twilight’s pet owl.”

“Sweetie,” I know this is hard,” Velvet said, putting her shoulder gently on her daughter’s, “but he’s a wild animal. And he’s also an endangered one. He has to be out there with his own kind so that they can stay healthy and vibrant. Staying in a cage is no place for a wild animal, even one that we raised.”

“Do you think he’ll ever come back?” Twilight asked, her face filling with tears.

“I don’t know,” Night had told her, “but I know this much: he wouldn’t have made it without you, princess. Because of you, he’ll survive, find a mate and have kids, and all of them will be alive thanks to you.”

“I know,” she said, “but I don’t want to let him go.”

“We don’t want to let him go either, Twily,” Velvet replied, “but it’s the right thing to do.”

The next day, the family had gathered at the location where Shining had saved Aloysius months ago. Given the green trees and the full, lush growth of the woodland trail, it almost seemed like an eternity ago when he caught the falling egg. And now the result of that save and Twilight’s ministrations had to leave them.

“Is she going to be okay?” Cadance asked Shining. She’d also come along, given that she was there for the beginning. The two had just graduated high school the month before, and both would be attending UC Horseshoe Bay in the fall. The fact that they were holding hands now showed their solidified relationship, and Shining’s wiry frame now showed a bit more muscle on it, both from his own workout and, strangely, his growing friendship with Buck Withers, of all people.

“I don’t know,” he said, never taking his eyes off his sister. “I’m sure she will be, but….” He never finished the sentence, instead letting the silence speak for him.

In front of them all, Twilight opened the parrot cage they’d bought for Aloysius the month prior. He’d grown, and while still smaller than the average-sized owl of his species, he couldn’t fit in the terrarium any longer. Putting on the gardening glove in order to avoid his talons, she pulled him out. “It’s time for you to go,” she said sadly. “I want you to stay, but… you belong with your own kind.”

Aloysius just affixed his deep black eyes on his mistress, as if focusing on her words.

“You can go now,” Twilight said, her voice catching due to the sorrow she felt. “If you come back…I can’t let you stay. You need to find a mate and have lots of owlets so your kind can grow.” She reached over and scratched him under the chin; he hooted softly, as it was one of his favorite spots to receive attention.

“But don’t forget about me,” she told him, “because I won’t forget about you. Now go, Aly – you’re free.”

As if understanding this last edict, Aloysius spread his wings and then launched himself into the air, then dived back down, flying circles around the humans that had been his family for the past six months. And then, he landed on Twilight’s shoulder. The weight unsettled her for a second, but she quickly adjusted, and once she stabilized, Aloysius nuzzled her head, as if saying, thank you. And then, jumping away from her, he flew off into the sky, rising above the treetops, vanishing into the horizon.

Twilight sunk to her knees as the tears came. She could barely hear her family tell her how proud they were of her, nor did she really respond when they put her to bed that night.

“And that’s the story,” the teen said, feeling more than a bit misty-eyed by it all. “You were obviously too young to remember, Spike, but…he was important to me.”

“So that’s why we have a parrot cage in the garage,” Spike replied. “I didn’t know that.” Spike then looked around and said, “You know what? That was a cool story, sis. Thanks for sharing it.” He then saw that his sister was crying. “Do you…ever think that he still remembers you?”

Wiping her eyes, she said, “He’s probably not even alive anymore. Northern spotted owls live to ten years, at most, in the wild. It’s been eight years, so he’s well in the range of being gone by this ti—”

A growl sounded near them, then two. Twilight looked up from where she was and saw a trio of coyotes, standing not too far away. “We must’ve wandered into their territory,” she told Spike. “Let’s move away carefully, okay?”

Spike looked at the biggest one as it barked a warning to them. “Uh, okay, Twily,” he said, following her lead in walking away from them, slowly, backwards, step by step. “They’re not moving away,” he warbled.

As if by silent agreement, the coyotes started running towards them, attack clearly on their minds. “Run!” she said, trying to pick up her little brother and run at the same time, but soon gave up, instead dragging him by the arm. The pair started running for the trees, in the hope that they wouldn’t be followed, but the coyotes immediately darted in, chasing the two. By some minor miracle, Twilight and Spike managed to stay one step ahead of them, but that soon stopped when they reached a roughly-oval shaped clearing. They ran to the far end of the clearing but were trapped, with the trees too dense for her to move through and Spike himself barely able to squeeze between each trunk, but more than perfect for the small quadrupedal shapes of the coyotes. Likewise, climbing the trees was no option either, as the branches were too small and frail to hold either person’s weight.

Realizing they had the advantage, the coyotes began to move slowly but surely towards the pair, knowing that they could bring down their quarry in an instant.

“Stay behind me!” Twilight ordered her brother as she took off her backpack, bringing it forward like a shield. At the same time, she handed him her phone and said, “Dial 911!”

Spike did as ordered, but was afraid that it wasn’t going to work – and sure enough, it didn’t. “Twily! I can’t get a signal!” he told her.

“What?” She cried, as the first coyote bounded towards her, ready for the kill—

It never came.

The hoot of an owl suddenly pierced the air. Then two. Three. Eight. Then a multitude of them sounded, ringing throughout the Everfree, a deafening cacophony that stopped everyone in their tracks, both human and coyote. The humans looked completely confused, but that was nothing compared to the coyotes, which, unprepared for a situation such as this, lowered their ears and began to look to the skies, as if readying for something unprecedented.

The attack came a second later: a single owl, screeching, dive-bombed towards the lead coyote, tearing at its ear. Before the coyote could react, however, two more began an attack run, striking the alpha’s counterparts. This was immediately followed by several more of them lancing towards them like brown cannonballs hurled at them from the trees, striking and drawing blood. The coyotes tried to fight back at first, but to no avail, biting and snapping only at air when just a second before had been a striking owl. Finally, a great owl, nearly double the size of the other spotted owls, descended like a lightning strike, slamming into the alpha hard enough to snap its head back as though it had been slugged with a club.

That was more than enough for the trio of coyotes, who turned tail from their blood-spattered spot and ran a fast retreat as far away as the clearing, with no chance of stopping anytime soon. It would probably be a long time before the three dared to show themselves in this part of the Everfree forest, and doubtless anywhere that owls resided.

Meanwhile, the two humans were surrounded by the owls, who were hooting much softer now. “What’s going on?” Spike cried.

“I don’t know,” Twlight said, but something within her said otherwise. It wasn’t too much to hope for, was it?

And a second later, an extremely heavy weight on her shoulder, so much so that she almost fell to the ground, answered that. She could feel his great talons sink into her shoulder just enough to get a perch but not so much that it would hurt her. She then turned to find a huge, aged owl, looking right at her with black eyes that somehow seemed to radiate warmth and love.

“Aly….” she murmurred, unable to believe it. “You saved us!”

Aloysius hooted softly, then bent over and nuzzled his old mistress. Twilight giggled in return, removing a glove to scratch underneath his chin, just like old times. The owl hooted in happiness once more, glad to be reunited.

“Wow, and I thought I had an interesting day,” Octavia said, seated on her bed in the room she shared with Twilight. She and Spike had an interesting story to tell their family over dinner that night, complete with the owl escort back to the bus stop, where Twilight was able to say a final goodbye to her former pet. It was just after midnight now and both Octavia and Sunset were getting a retelling of the story, this time without Spike’s spastic hand-motions and ad-libbed sound effects.

“Yeah, wish I could’ve been there to see it,” Sunset replied.

“It was great, seeing him again,” Twilight said. “I didn’t think he’d remember me – I wasn’t even sure he was still alive. But not only did Aly survive, he grew to be enormous and the leader of their parliament.”

“Leader of their what?” Octavia asked.

“Parliament. It’s the name of a group of owls,” Sunset explained.

“And how would you know that?”

“Uh, I had to do a report on it two weeks ago?” Sunset told her pseudo-cousin. “C’mon, why do you think I spent so much time at the library earlier in the month?” To that, Octavia’s answer was a shrug, and Twilight laughed. “Yeah, thanks for the comforting backup there,” the flamehaired girl muttered.

“Well, we should probably get some sleep,” Twilight suggested. “Back to your room, Sunny; it’s the only bed that can fit all three of us.”

“Yeah,” all three girls said in unison, just glad that Octavia was back.

Twilight awoke at two in the morning. She couldn’t explain why. Both Sunset and Octavia were still asleep, and the house was silent…

…except for the soft noise outside. Twilight went to the window and looked out. There, against the clear moon of the night sky, was Aloysius, perched on one of the bare branches of the large tree in the backyard. Next to him was a smaller shape – likely his mate. The message was clear: though he couldn’t return to live with them directly, he was making the tree his home, if only to stay close to the family that had raised him. Pressing her ear against the window, Twilight swore she could hear the soft hoots of Aloysius and his mate, settling in.

Giving him a brief wave, Twilight then yawned and crawled into bed next to Sunset, falling fast asleep.

Cicely

The angry shout was the first thing to wake up Rainbow Dash. The next was a second shout, this time clearly identified as coming from her younger sister. That was more than enough to get the normally-lazy teen out of bed. Looking at the room that she never cleaned, the walls covered with Discord, Tuff Gong, and Evil Centaurs Inc. posters and the sun poking through the blinds by the window, indicating that she’d slept through breakfast again, all seemed pretty normal with the world. But unlike her usual alarm clock – consisting of her mother poking her head in to tell Rainbow she was running late for school once again – it was unusual for Scootaloo to be shouting this early in the morning.

Afternoon, Rainbow corrected herself, as she looked at the clock.

“No! I’m not going back!” the younger voice cried, reverberating through the walls.

“Sweetie, no one says you have to! Scoots, please, calm down!” The voice of their mother, Firefly, trying to reason with her younger daughter, though apparently to no avail. That in and of itself made Rainbow rush out of her room; her sister was usually one of the most behaved girls Rainbow knew – and that included herself when she was Scootaloo’s age.

“Hey, squirt, listen to Mom, okay?” Rainbow said, coming out of the room.

The look on her sister’s face was one of absolute terror. “I’m not going back!” she cried, her eyes reflecting the horror on her visage. “Please, don’t send me back!”

Rainbow immediately looked at her mother. “Mom?”

“We got a letter from the Cloudsdale County District Attorney’s office,” Firefly said, brushing her shaggy blue hair out of her eyes. “Scootaloo’s biological mother just got out of prison and wants to meet her.” She handed over the letter so Rainbow could read it.

Rainbow devoured the contents like it was a Daring Do novel, the only things she read on a regular basis. “Oh, fuck no!”

“Language, Rainbow.”

“Sorry, Mom. But – we’re not going to let this happen, are we?”

“Of course not. For starters, both your father and I have to agree to it – and as far as I’m concerned, Scoots is old enough to make up her own mind on this as well.” Firefly’s eyes then crept up to the clock on the wall. “Look, Rainbow, I hate to do this, but I’m going to have to let you handle this until your father comes home. I’m already late for my shift at the station. I’ll see if I can get off early so that we can talk about this tonight.” Firefly then went over to Scootaloo and hugged her. “You’re not going anywhere, Scoots,” she promised. “You’re my little girl, and nothing’s ever going to change that.”

“I’m scared,” Scootaloo said.

“You don’t have to be, squirt,” Rainbow said, plopping down on the couch next to her sister and putting her arm around her. “We’re a family – and nobody gets to mess with family.” Firefly gave her older daughter an appreciative look, then scampered off to her bedroom to change, confident that Rainbow had it under control.

“Okay,” the cerise-haired girl said in a quiet, choked voice that Rainbow never associated with her kid sister.

A second later, Firefly emerged from her bedroom in her uniform, that of an Equestria County Fire Department assistant fire captain. “Like I said, I’ll try to get off early tonight, if Capt. Foam Tender can cut me loose. Anyway, take care, girls.” She went over and kissed them both on the forehead, then added, “I love you both.”

“Bye Mom,” Scootaloo said, lacking the enthusiasm she usually felt.

“Seeya, Mom! Kick some ass!” Rainbow said, then grinned as Firefly shook her head about her daughter’s foul mouth.

Finally, the two were left in the house together.

“So, do you want to talk about it?” Rainbow asked gently.

“No…I just…I don’t want to go back! It’s bad enough that I’m not really fami—”

“Stop right there,” Rainbow gently admonished. “You are real family. You’re my sister, and Mom and Dad’s younger kid – until Mom gets a bun in the oven or something. We have a piece of paper that says so. And no, the fact that you’re not related by blood doesn’t mean shit, so don’t even think that.”

“But Rainbow, what if she tries to take me?”

“It won’t happen. I wouldn’t let it happen, and you know Mom and Dad wouldn’t let it happen. You are my sister, Scoots. No way in hell is some woman who abandoned you getting her mitts on my kid sister!”

Scootaloo hugged her sister. “Thanks, Rainbow.”

“Hey, anything for you, Scoots.” She then said, “Hey, I’m hungry. Should I make something for us?”

“Sure, that’d be great.”

Dinner that night was a subdued affair. Rainbow Blitz had made dinner that night, tacos, mainly because they were Scootaloo’s favorite. Firefly had left work early that night; thankfully it was a slow day at the fire station. But the two girls were quiet, waiting for either of their parents to stop talking about Firefly’s day at the station, or Blitz’ day as a regional manager for all the MainSix Sporting Goods stores in the Canterlot Metro Area.

Finally, Blitz held up the letter that they received. “Scootaloo,” he asked, “have you read this?”

She nodded. “One, I’m not going back; and two, my name isn’t Sweet Cicely!”

Rainbow looked at her sister, then her parents. “Sweet…Cicely?”

“That’s Scootaloo’s birth name,” Firefly clarified. “We gave Scoots her name when we found her. You don’t realize how traumatized she was when we first found her, Rainbow. She was five years old, but like a newborn: still in diapers, couldn’t speak, an—”

“Mom!” Scoots cried out, blushing furiously.

“Scoots, she’s not trying to embarrass you; everything’s true,” Blitz replied. “You were neglected: there’s no nice way to put it. As it was, we were lucky that I was able to do part of my job from home, because I had to teach you everything you should’ve known at that age. It was fortunate enough that we were able to get you up to speed in time to put you in kindergarten with people your own age, Scoots.”

“And I love you both for that!” Scootaloo replied. “But you’re not going to send me back, are you?”

Blitz shook his head. “It doesn’t even say that, kiddo. The letter says that Golden Brown wants to meet you, and meet you only. That’s all she can legally do in any case. If she wants you back, she’s going to have to sue here in California, and the laws here are very different from Nevada’s. Besides, don’t you think we’d do everything in our power to make sure you stayed with us?”

“She may have given birth to you, Scoots,” Firefly interjected, “but we gave you a life. And if that woman thinks she’s taking my little girl away from me, there’s no way that’s going to happen.”

“You mean it?”

Rainbow grinned. “Scoots, they’re more likely to get rid of me than they are you.”

The following morning, Rainbow got up to go jogging. The night before she read that jogging in the snow helped with toning muscle because of the added strain, and whether it was true or not, it was more than enough for her to get out of the house for a few hours. Throwing on a hoodie, sweatpants and longjohns, she laced up her jogging sneakers and headed out the door.

It turned out to be quite the workout. About three inches had fallen the night prior, and the snowplows had pushed everything to the sides, making it hard as hell to run on the sidewalks, making it a challenge, one she was more than willing to take. Even though she only jogged for two miles in total that morning – which would’ve been a light workout by her standards – the extra struggle made it feel like she was really pushing herself, and by the time she returned home, she was sweating up a small storm despite the cold and the light flurries that had started falling.

Opening the door, she was surprised to hear her mother on the phone.

“No, I do not agree to this, JP! For one, I’ll have to speak to my husband about it, plus, I feel my daughter has a right to her own opinion in this…No. I don’t give a crap what she has to say. That’s our decision an—…Okay, fine. Yeah, I know you’re just doing your job, but seriously, JP, I just….No, fine. I’ll talk to the family sometime today and we’ll give you our decision tomorrow. Yeah. Talk to you tomorrow. Bye.” Firefly put down the phone, the look on her face one of anger.

“Mom, everything okay?”

“Rainbow? Sorry, didn’t hear you come in. I was just about to make breakfast for everyone. Go ahead and shower and then you can help me, okay?”

“Mom, what was the phone call about?”

“Rainbow, I don’t want to talk about it rig—”

“Mom, this is about my little sister. I think I have some right to know!”

Firefly gave her daughter an awkward smile. “I just got a call from our lawyer, Jurisprudence. He’s said that Ms. Brown is willing to fly out here to Canterlot to meet us after the Christmas holiday. JP took the opportunity to arrange for a meeting at the Renaissance Retreat Inn downtown.”

“Really?” The hotel in question was the most expensive hotel in the city and definitely a place to be seen if you were well-to-do.

“Yes. But there’s something else that I do not want you to tell Scoots until your father and I have talked and then talked to her directly, understood?”

The look on Rainbow’s face was pensive; they were asking her to hold something from her sister, something that she’d never in a million years do of her own volition. Still, it was more than enough to get the athletic teen to agree; if her parents needed to discuss it first, the fact alone that her mother was willing to tell her was of vital importance. “Okay. I don’t like it, but…okay, I promise.”

“Thank you, Rainbow. I know this isn’t easy for you – this isn’t easy for any of us.” Firefly looked into her daughter’s deep-rose eyes and said, “There’s two other people who will be coming to this meeting: a girl named Melancholy Rose, and a man named Spruce Branch. The girl…is Ms. Brown’s daughter. The man was her husband. I don’t think I need to tell you what that means.” Seeing Rainbow’s jaw drop, Firefly nodded sadly. “Now you know how I feel.”

“But Mom….”

“No, we’re not letting her go, and that is final, Rainbow. We are a family – and family doesn’t run out on each other.” She went over and patted her daughter on the shoulder, only to retract her hand from her daughter’s hoodie. “Now go shower before you track snow all over the kitchen.”

“Merry Christmas, Rainbow.” Soarin’ gave his girlfriend her gift while the two met at Sugarcube Corner Café. Sunset was working today, but the place was so busy that she didn’t have time to say more than a hello to her friends, and because Pinkie was visiting her relatives in Nebraska or wherever the hell she was from originally – Rainbow could never really remember where – it left the café very short-handed.

“Thanks,” she said, handing Soarin’ his gift. She got him a limited-edition basketball that was one of the spares from the Basketball World Cup; since he was a hoopster, he really went for that kind of stuff, and thankfully her father had the connections to get her a couple. “So, what’re you planning to do for Christmas?”

He groaned. “We’re flying off to Colorado to spend New Year’s at my aunt’s place. Denver really has this overdone New Year’s thing that Pop likes, so we try to go whenever we can. What about you?” Rainbow turned away from him and he reached out to gently turn her face back to him. “Rainbow?”

“It’s…nothing,” she told him.

“Rainbow….”

“Fine.” She then explained everything she could, though she felt deeply ashamed about it. Why couldn’t she help her sister through the problem she was going through? Scootaloo was her sister and she wanted to do everything she could to protect her. But she was completely and utterly helpless in this matter. It tore her apart, and she found herself fighting back tears.

“Rainbow…everything’s going to turn out fine, I’m sure,” Soarin’ said gently, taking her hands in his. “You’re a strong girl and you love your sister. And I’m sure so do you your Mom and Dad. Everything’s going to turn out fine, I’m sure of it.”

“How can you be so sure?” she asked. Though she hadn’t noticed it, from behind her, Sunset stopped briefly as to give Soarin’ a look; he returned to look with the indicator that he would take care of it.

“Because your family is happy. From what you told me, your parents saved Scootaloo from what was probably going to be complete and utter hell, right? And you love your sister to the point that you would throw yourself to the lions to save her, right? I wish I had that kind of relationship with my sister; believe me, Vape’s a ditz.”

Rainbow couldn’t argue with that; Soarin’s sister Vapor Trail was a ditz whose name probably explained her brain content. “I don’t envy you that, Soarin’.”

“And I envy you your relationship with your sister. But the point I’m trying to make is that your family is together, through thick and thin. That’s something to envy, Rainbow. You know my family isn’t particularly close to one another, but yours is. And during the holidays or not, that’s the best damn thing anyone could ever have.”

Christmas came, and today was a beautiful day. The snow was fresh and pristine white, the fireplace in their house crackling with the blaze of logs in the fire. The family had just opened their presents, and now Rainbow and Scootaloo were playing outside in the snow, kicking a soccer ball around.

Inside, Blitz put his arm around his wife. “They look absolutely perfect together,” he told her, giving her a smile.

She leaned on his shoulder. “Rainbow loves her so much. To her, it doesn’t matter that Scootaloo isn’t related by blood, only that they’re sisters.”

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Blitz answered.

Firefly watched as her daughters laughed and played in the snow happily, carefree and without a single concern for the moment. It reminded her a lot of her life with her own sister, Junebug, and the life that the two shared together growing up in the Cloudsdale area. As she saw the two continue to punt the ball around, she wished that for them, it would be a moment that would never end.

“What do you think will happen, Blitz?” she asked him.

“Nothing. She’s our daughter and I’m willing to go through hell itself to ensure that,” he told her.

Meanwhile, outside, the two sisters were having a fun time just kicking the ball around. While Rainbow, being older, was the better athlete, Scootaloo was able to keep up with her slightly taller sister with little effort. “So, you ready for Saturday?”

“Not even trying to think about it, Rainbow,” Scootaloo said, kicking the ball past her sister. “Especially the part where she’s going to try to call me ‘Sweet Cicely’ or something like that.” The younger teen punted the ball up, then with an acrobatic flip that Rainbow herself would’ve been proud to do, sent the ball flying back towards Rainbow.

Rainbow hit it with her head, controlling the trajectory so she could take control of it easily. “Good one, sis!” she said. “But getting back to what you said, don’t worry about it. ‘Sweet Cicely’ is a dumb name, anyways – Scootaloo is much better, if you ask me.” She punted the ball back to Scootaloo, who then kicked it back. “So you really want to tell me how you feel?”

“I don’t know what to feel. I mean, all my life – well, the part that counts, anyway – I’ve had just you, Mom and Dad. And now out of the blue, I have another sister, a guy who might be my father…and that bitch who seems to think I want her back in my life? I don’t even remember her, and she somehow thinks I’ve been missing her?”

“You should talk to my friend Sunset Shimmer someday,” Rainbow said. “She’s my age and going through roughly the same things you are right now. Believe it or not, she could probably use the advice.” Scootaloo paused and looked at Rainbow oddly. “No, seriously,” Rainbow replied. “Sunny’s been going through a bit of a rough time since she changed her ways, since she lives with a foster family now. She probably could stand to hear some advice from someone in your shoes.”

“Really?” Scootaloo asked. She was far more used to seeking advice than dispensing it, so the change in situation was unusual for her.

In response, Rainbow grabbed her sister and, removing Scootaloo’s knit cap, mussed her hair. “Of course I’m serious! I mean, she’ll be getting her advice from you, so I can guarantee it’ll be at least twenty percent cooler than anyone else who talked to her!”

The day no one wanted came far sooner than anyone had expected, and the four of them were ready for it. Rainbow and Scootaloo wore new skirts and blouses, courtesy of Rarity, who had heard by way of Sweetie Belle when she and Scootaloo had talked; as expected, neither Rainbow nor Scootaloo were comfortable in the “frou-frou” attire. As for Blitz, he had worn his finest suit and Firefly had gone further, wearing her ECFD dress uniform. The four of them were taking zero chances as they walked into the posh demesnes of the hotel.

They were met there by their attorney, Jurisprudence. “Hello, Firefly, Blitz. I wish I could’ve seen you two under better circumstances.”

“Hello, JP,” Blitz said, coolly. “What’s the situation?”

“Spruce Branch, his daughter, and their attorney are upstairs in one of the penthouse suites.”

“Penthouse?” Firefly asked.

Jurisprudence nodded. “Yeah, but I’m not going to get into that right now. Anyway, Testament – that’s their attorney – and I are having coffee together in the bar in five minutes to hammer out a plan; seems that Mr. Branch and his daughter want nothing to do with her either. Anyway, they’re in the Shasta Executive Suite.” The attorney handed Blitz a card. “Just press the top button and use the card against the digital reader; it should take you the rest of the way up.”

“Thanks, JP,” Firefly said, reaching over to kiss him on the cheek.

“Yeah, sure, remind me that I’m the guy who didn’t win you in the end,” he said with a melancholy grin. He then clapped his hand on Blitz’ shoulder. “And this guy did, Firefly. Still, hey, no regrets, right? Anyway, get going.”

The four, card in hand, walked over to the elevator and got in. Through the ride up the tower, though the family was quiet, they were all united in purpose. Firefly took her husband’s hand and held it, sure in his strength. Blitz looked at his wife and whispered an I love you. In front of them, Rainbow took Scootaloo’s hand and squeezed. “You’re not going anywhere,” Rainbow said. “They can’t make you and they’re going to have to go through us to do it!”

“Thanks, sis,” Scootaloo said with a strength she really didn’t feel at the moment, as the elevator came to a stop, then opened to reveal a large foyer, with its centerpiece two ornately-carved oak doors, trimmed with gold leaf. The left one had an ornate horse, rearing towards sky, while the other one had a pegasus, its wings mighty in flight, soaring towards the earth.

“Wow….” was all that Rainbow could say.

“Burns like anything else,” Firefly said matter-of-factly as she knocked on the door.

An elderly gentleman opened the door and nodded. “Ah, you must be Mr. Rainbow Blitz and family. Please, this way; Mr. Branch and Ms. Rose are waiting.” The man, who the four guessed was a butler, led them to the kitchen, where a casually-dressed pair sat.

Spruce Branch looked tanned and bronzed, with short, dark-brown hair and wheat-hued eyes behind expensive glasses; he was currently wearing a black polo and ecru slacks. Melancholy Rose, on the other hand, wore a loose-turtleneck sweater and pricey jeans; her midnight-blue hair and pink eyes didn’t seem to say much…but the fact that she had a face that was like a slightly older version of Scootaloo’s said it all.

“Hello,” Spruce said, introducing himself to the family. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise,” Blitz said, shaking the other man’s hand. “I just wish it could’ve been under better circumstances.”

“As do I. Anyway, this is my beautiful daughter, Melancholy Rose.”

“A pleasure,” she said, introducing herself to the family.

“I think we’d best talk while the kids let themselves get accustomed to one another,” Spruce offered. “I have my wife talking to your attorney. Together, they’ll come up with something to counter my ex-wife’s schemes.”

“Ex-wife?” both Firefly and Blitz said at the same time, and Spruce nodded. With that, they followed Spruce into the living room, leaving the three girls alone.

Rose sighed. “Wish Dad would keep me in the loop about all these things; this is my problem, too!” she muttered, then turned to Scootaloo. “So…you’re my kid sister. Wish we could be meeting under better circumstances, but it is what it is, I guess.”

“My sister,” Rainbow snarled.

“Hey, easy, easy, I mean only in a biological sense,” Rose replied, “though I would like to get to know you better, Scootaloo, if that’s okay with you.” She then looked at Rainbow. “For the record, we believe my dad’s her biological father…but he has no intention of contesting the adoption. We can see that she’s with a family that loves her, and saved her from the hell my mother put her through.”

Slightly relieved, Rainbow asked, “Can I ask a question?”

“Yeah – I’ll bet it’s the same one your parents are asking my dad right now,” Rose said. Looking at Scootaloo, then at Rainbow, she said, “Dad and I are from LA. He met my mom there; she was a struggling actress, and Dad’s a movie producer. He met her on the set of a film where she played ‘Topless Actress #6’ or something, I guess.” They looked at her oddly and said, “Look, I’m not going to lie or sugarcoat this or anything: I want nothing to do with my mother – like you, she played jack shit in my life. Plus, if anything, Dad fully agrees that he thinks Scootaloo should be kept as far away from her as possible.

“Anyway, it started when Dad had two kids: my older brother Camera Angle, and me. Cam’s attending USC; he’s studying cinematography since he wants to go into the family business. But Dad told me that it was a few years after I was born that his wife – our biological mother – started acting…weird. She started flying to and from Lake Tahoe, where she and Dad had a summer home. She was also getting very amorous with Dad; at the time, I thought that she simply wanted another kid. Well, it turned out to be a lot more than that. Mainly due to drugs; it seems that she was fucking anything that would supply her with drugs, and Dad just happened to be a bonus.

“The day she left us broke Dad’s and Cam’s hearts. Said she was running off with the guy who took care of the cars we had there; she really didn’t even tell us, just called the house from the Tahoe place. From that house, she stole a lot of shit and went off-the-grid. It took a long time for Dad to recover, but recover, he did: two years later, more worried about us than for his former love’s situation, he finally got a divorce in absentia. Turned out that was a bonus: the attorney that represented Dad eventually got together with him. Since then, as far as I’m concerned, Testament is the one I call ‘Mom’; she’s been more of a mother to me than my real mom ever was, and I would pick her over the druggie-slut in a heartbeat. Yeah, I said that.

“The next thing we’d heard about you-know-who was her stint in prison; apparently she’d been thrown in for child abandonment, but there was a lot more to that. Dad spent forever trying to track you down, Scootaloo, but by the time we did, we found out that you’d just been adopted by the family that lived next door to where Mom was using as a crash pad. We spoke to the adoption agency and they said that your family took you in, took the time to make sure you were fed, sheltered and educated, and even gave you a name when nobody even knew what yours was.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said. “And personally? Sweet Cicely sucks.”

“That’s what she picked for a name?” Rose scoffed. “Yeah, I don’t blame you for keeping your current name at all.”

“So where’s your brother?” Scootaloo asked.

“Cam…didn’t want to come. He used to love her and consider that bitch his mother, and leaving him just ripped his heart out. When he heard about all this, he told Dad that he was legally an adult and he wasn’t going to do shit to do with her. Like me, he considers Mom to be our real mother now.”

Rainbow was about to say something else, when the door to the living room opened, and the adults came in. “She’s here, girls,” Firefly said to the three. “It’s showtime.”

“What do you mean we’re not allowed in?!” Firefly shouted at Golden Brown’s lawyer.

“Exactly as was said, Mrs. Firefly,” the lawyer, Contempt O’Court, replied. “Ms. Brown wants to speak to her daughters in private, and that means you, your husband, or Mr. Branch are not allowed in. Neither, for that matter, are either of your attorneys, especially Mrs. Testament, given her conflict of interest.”

“I am not letting my daughter in with that woman alone,” Firefly shouted again, getting right in the man’s face.

“I’m afraid we didn’t agree to that deal.” Testament, with her fiery red hair and gray eyes, looked like a vision of legal loveliness as she stared at O’Court. “Nor would we ever.”

“But you did,” the man said, a vicious grin on his face. “I take it you did not read the fine print, which specified that the moment you stepped onto the grounds of the hotel it constituted an agreement of all conditions?” When all of them looked at him in surprise, O’Court smiled, a shit-eating grin if there ever was one. “Learned that trick while developing EULAs for a client. Comes in handy.”

“We can challenge that in court,” Jurisprudence interjected.

“Not in time, I’m afraid – and you all also agreed to the legal terms set by both the State of California and Equestria County, so backing out now exposes you all to potential lawsuits on my client’s behalf,” O’Court said, brushing his fingers against his suit as if it were nothing. “But…if you all are that concerned, I will discuss an intermediary with my client. However, the main conditions will stand: the three of you are not allowed in.”

“It’s okay, Mrs. Firefly,” Rose insisted. “I’ll make sure that nothing happens to Scootaloo. I promise.”

“Rose, no offense – but she’s my sister,” Rainbow said. She then looked to the lawyer. “You didn’t say anything about me.”

“Fine, we’ll let the kid in,” O’Court reluctantly grunted.

“‘We’ll?’” Testament scoffed. “Sounds like someone slept through class the day they were teaching the dirty hands doctrine.”

“Maybe,” O’Court said, “but let’s just say that apparently sleeping and dirty hands is something you’re more than aware of, Counselor.” Testament’s eyebrows narrowed and the man knew he won that session.

Before anyone else could say anything, Blitz said, “I trust my older daughter to be a good enough intermediary. Spruce?” The other man nodded.

“Well, now that that’s done, let’s get this little show on the road, shall we?” O’Court said, opening the doors to the conference room to usher the three girls in.

“Be careful, Rainbow,” Firefly said.

“Don’t worry, Mom – I got it covered,” the teen athlete insisted.

The trio walked in, to see an elegantly-dressed woman seated at the other end of the table. To Rainbow’s eyes, she hardly looked like the druggie type: the woman looked clean, and dressed in attire that would make Rarity proud. She had short-bobbed golden and pale-gold hair and with brown eyes. The look on her face was clear and composed and it reminded Rainbow a little too much of how Sunset Shimmer used to be; as a result, it put her on guard.

Golden looked at O’Court. “I thought I specified I wanted to see my children only,” she told him.

“They insisted on having a neutral party. The family Cicely’s been living with brought their daughter, so I thought it would be harmless enough.”

“You guessed wrong, dear,” she said sweetly, even though it didn’t reflect in her eyes. She then turned to Rainbow. “I don’t know what they told you, but this is a private conversation with my daughters. You may stay, but…this is frankly none of your business.” Turning back to O’Court, she said, “Now go set up our flight for Cloudsdale, and make sure we have an option for extra seats.” The man nodded, then departed the room.

Meanwhile, Rainbow was about to respond to Golden’s statement, when Scootaloo placed her hand on her sister’s. “It’ll be okay, sis. I know you’re here.”

“She’ll be fine, Rainbow. I’ll look after her,” Rose agreed. With that, both stepped forward to sit near the woman that had birthed them both.

“So, my sweet girls,” Golden began. “You have no idea how much I missed you.”

Rose’s eyes narrowed. “Do you really think either of us believes that?”

Scootaloo, for her part, laughed, the contempt in her tones as clear as a bell. “You know what? I was five when you abandoned me. And what did you teach me? Nothing. Not a damn thing. I couldn’t even speak. I didn’t know my name. And you want to claim that you missed us?”

The look on Golden’s face was one of shock; if it was genuine, it was a surprise to Rainbow. “But girls! I-I made a mistake! And I paid for it – in prison. A day doesn’t go by where I haven’t relieved my mistakes!”

“Too bad I don’t believe that,” Rose said, reaching for her phone as it beeped. “Too bad Cam doesn’t believe it either.”

“Where is your brother?” Golden asked.

“Oh, he didn’t bother coming: he doesn’t trust you, and I don’t blame him. Instead, he’s with his girlfriend right now – who programs computers. She also does white-hat hacking on the side, I should add. And oh, what a bonus she found!” Rose placed the phone in front of Golden, smiling. “Really? How much did your parents give you when you told them that you were going to be raising us?”

“What?” Scootaloo cried.

Golden looked at the phone and blanched: there, on screen, was a Google document detailing all of her conversations with her parents.

Rose, watching Golden’s response, grinned in triumph. “Yup – scammed our biological grandparents, who she probably convinced that she needed the money so she could win us over, to the tune of about $600K, give or take some change.” The girl then retrieved her phone and said, “You’re just the same as you were when you abandoned both of us: a sad, pathetic failure of a scam artist. The only difference is you at least tried to look better on the outside for us this time.” Rose got out of her chair, headed over to Scootaloo’s side in case something happened; she promised her parents and Scootaloo’s, and she would keep that promise. “C’mon, Scoots – you have your mother to return to,” and then she said to Golden, “and so do I.”

“How dare you even insist that I would scam my own parents?” Golden snarled, virtually launching herself out of her chair. “And frankly, you two should listen to me! I am your mother, for God’s sa—”

“My mother?” Scootaloo got right in Golden’s face. “You don’t know shit about being a mother! My mother was the one who found me, cleaned me up, and took me in when you abandoned me! My parents taught me how to read, write, speak and say the name they gave me! My dad was there for all my sports games! My mom spent hours making sure that I wouldn’t fall behind in my classes! My sister—” she said, pointing a finger at Rainbow, “—has been there in a way that no one else has been!

“Yes, you are my biological mother, I’m not going to deny that. But you robbed me of a chance to know my biological family, all because you wanted dick and blow! You even lost your own children to another woman, and they’re proud to know that woman as their mother. So yes, you may have birthed us all, but that’s all you did!”

“You smart-mouthed little brat!” Golden snarled, rearing her hand back to slap Scootaloo.

It never happened.

With a speed that surprised everyone in the room – with the exception of Scootaloo – Rainbow rushed from her side of the table to catch Golden’s hand fractions of an inch from Scootaloo’s wincing face. Rainbow, her eyes rose-colored discs of rage, got right into Golden’s face. “You lay one finger on my sister, or my friend Rose, and I swear as God’s witness I will fucking rip off your head and shit down your neck, got that?”

The woman, surprised by the blindingly-fast burst of speed Rainbow had put on, said nothing.

“Now, my sister and our friend are getting the fuck out of here,” Rainbow said in a calm voice that seemed all the more threatening, “and if you ever try to interfere in our lives, you better pray to God that my mom doesn’t find out about it.”

“What, do you think I’m afraid of a threat like that?” Golden said, having recovered slightly and trying desperately to regain ground on the metaphorical empire now slipping through her grasp.

“You’d better be: Mom’s a firefighter. Means she works out a lot and is built – and if that’s not enough for you, she also runs into burning buildings for a living. I’m an athlete, but I can’t hold a candle to the weights she can lift.” Rainbow gave the woman before her a wolfish grin. “I can merely hurt you.” She then put an arm around Scootaloo and then said, “Our mom? She will break you. And then she’ll get angry.”

Golden gulped.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Rainbow said. “Don’t ever bother mine or Rose’s families ever again. You want to be a mom? Fine – start over and learn. Rose and her brother have a mother, and it’s not you.” She then pulled Scootaloo close to her and said, “And we have ours.”

Dinner that night was at La Fantasie, courtesy of one very grateful Spruce and his family.

“Thank you, Rainbow,” Testament said, “for sticking up for my little girl here.” She put her arm around Rose. “I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

“Mom….” Rose said, blushing slightly from the embarrassment, but otherwise happy as a clam.

“No, seriously, Testy’s right,” Spruce said. “It could’ve gone very bad for both Rose and Scootaloo if you weren’t there, Rainbow, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.”

Rainbow grinned. “Hey, I only did what I had to do to protect my sister,” the spectrum-haired girl replied. “Just a simple recognition that I am the greatest is more than enough.”

Though she tried to be nonchalant about the whole thing, Rainbow felt as high as a kite at the moment. She was getting along great with Rose, who studied archery and a lot of other interesting sports at her own school; the latter promised the former that she would teach her the sport when they next saw each other. Meanwhile, Spruce and his wife were becoming friends with Blitz and Firefly and the two couples agreed to keep in touch once the others returned to Los Angeles. Friendships were the order of the evening, and to Rainbow, that was never a bad thing.

But for Scootaloo, something happened that she never realized she even needed: a hole in her heart was being filled. She was getting to know her biological father, as well as her biological sister, and the two agreed to keep in touch, as well as to introduce Camera when it was possible. The history of her biological family was being explained to her, and she was briefly stunned to know that her family had been in show business since show business existed. Still, it wasn’t her life: She had a different direction she was going, and that was very much due to the family she had: a father and mother she loved, and a sister she idolized.

Scootaloo reached over and hugged Rainbow. “Y’know, now that I have more siblings? I still think you’re the best, Rainbow.”

Rainbow hugged her sister back. “Yeah, I love you too, Scoots.”

Author's Note

Didn't explain it in the story since it would've corpsed it, but MainSix does not reference the "Mane 6". Rather, it's a pastiche of Big 5 Sporting Goods, a major West Coast sporting goods chain.

Why I felt the need to explain this is beyond me.

Otterley

Nestled on the northeastern city line that Canterlot shared with the suburb of Shasta View, the neighborhood of Otterley Road was filled with shops, apartment complexes and the occasional car dealership or two. People walked down and around the sidewalks and in the shops, filling the holiday period with a verve that seemed to bring hope and joy for the new year to come. As the shoppers prepped for the party tomorrow night, sorrow and tragedy was the last thing on their minds.

However, for the three people in the minivan pulling into one of the parking strips between two of the buildings, just south of the corner of Otterley Road and Windswept Avenue, that was the order of the night. The family that owned the minivan had been coming here for six years now, and was not likely to stop anytime soon; if anything, it was part of the weft and weave built into the family heritage as of recent. And while everyone else had come here to celebrate joy and the dawning of a new year, for the three exiting the vehicle, it was anything but.

Closing the driver’s door and sucking in the dry winter air, Applejack pulled her coat a little closer to her body and walked over to the passenger side of the car, where Apple Bloom was getting out. “Ready fer this, sugarcube?”

“Ah don’t know,” Apple Bloom replied, looking at her sister. “Ah’d like to say that Ah am, but you never really know, do you, sis?”

“Hey, we’re not th’ ones we gotta be worried ‘bout,” Applejack reminded her. And with that, she opened the side sliding door and looked in. “Can ya walk, Ma, or are ya gonna need th’ wheelchair?”

Inside the van, Cornflower brushed a lock of her long purple-and-white hair behind an ear. “As much as I’d like to walk on my own,” she sighed, “I think the wheelchair’s for the best, Applejack.”

Applejack nodded. “We’re on it, Ma.” She called out over her shoulder, “Apple Bloom, mind getting’ the wheelchair outta th’ back fer Ma?”

A few minutes later, Cornflower and her two daughters were at the corner of Otterley and Windswept. Despite the frigid winter weather, Cornflower carried a bouquet of white roses in her hands, shielding it as best as she could from the elements. “Hard to believe this used to be mostly undeveloped lots six years ago,” the woman voiced with a melancholy look on her face. “Only ones who came through here back then were taking the 299 to or from Bella Vista, really.”

“Ma, why do you come here so often?” Apple Bloom asked. Her mother had come here every year, to the minute, like clockwork, almost as if she was haunting the place.

“Because I feel like I left a part of me here,” Cornflower told her younger daughter, then looking down at her legs, added, “And maybe I did. It’s been six years and it’s still difficult for me to walk, especially in the wintertime. And maybe that’s my penance for what happened.”

“Ma, y’ shouldn’t blame yerself,” Applejack told her. “Granny said th’ car you were drivin’ had a faulty gas pedal that needed a safety recall – and th’ news came out about a month after your crash.”

“Not good enough,” Cornflower said firmly. “I killed a man. A man died because I lost control of the car your father and I were in, and because I was being selfish.” She gestured to her legs, adding, “This fate is the least of what I deserve, girls. It could have been so much worse for me – for you.” She looked at her girls, a bleak visage on her face. “I have nightmares sometimes…nightmares where your father and I were killed in the crash, leaving your grandmother to raise you all. And I thank the Good Lord every day that it didn’t happen…and then I wonder if that man had children too, and if he did…what did I do to that family?”

Bending down as far as she could, she placed the white roses on the corner, where the chipped concrete still showed signs of where the crash had occurred, and said a little prayer. “I hope that you’ll forgive me for what happened that day,” Cornflower said mournfully, “because I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive myself.”

Cornflower, however, was not prepared for what happened next as she heard a gasp behind her. She looked up to find a young woman standing there, slightly older than her son Macintosh, with dark skin, dusty-celeste feathered hair, and deep-red eyes. She was dressed elegantly, and carried two bouquets of red roses. The woman dropped the two bouquets in shock. “You….” she whispered.

Applejack knew her mother to be one of the bravest women she’d ever known in her lifetime. When the doctors told Cornflower that she would not only likely never walk again but there was a good chance she would end up quadriplegic, she defied the odds, improving to the point that she could walk with braces and a cane, and only really had to use the wheelchair when it was the worst of times. Needless to say, Applejack’s opinion of what a girl should grow up to be practically had her mother’s name and picture as the sole example. So to see her mother suddenly break down and cry in fear…it cut her to the quick.

“Apple Bloom, go back to the car,” Applejack ordered.

“Shouldn’t we help M—”

“Ah said go!” the older teen snapped, pointing sharply towards the direction of the van. A second later, she composed herself enough to say, “Please, li’l sis. Let me handle this.”

Seeing the fear and the worry in her older sister’s eyes didn’t help, but Apple Bloom nodded. “Come get me if things get bad, sis,” she pled, then scurried off.

“Ah will. Now go.” Not waiting to see Apple Bloom off, the blonde then moved to her mother’s side. “Ma, it’s okay,” she said, hugging her. “It’s okay.” Applejack then turned to the woman and said, “Look, lady, Ah don’t know what y’ want, but….”

“You were the one who killed my father in the car accident six years ago,” the woman said, matter-of-factly, to Cornflower.

Cornflower looked at the young woman with absolute fear. “I’m sorry,” she moaned, tears streaking down her cheeks. “It…I didn’t….”

What happened next, neither Applejack nor her mother could have expected: The woman got down on her knees to look at Cornflower face to face, and tears fell from her own eyes. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to meet you?” she asked in a choked, nearly inaudible voice. “And all this time you’ve been suffering? It’s not right…it’s just not right….”

“What?” Applejack gasped, not sure if she’d heard the other woman correctly.

“I’m so sorry,” Cornflower said to the woman. “I robbed you of your father, and I can never correct that error.”

But the younger woman shook her head. “No…you saved him.” When Cornflower and Applejack looked in shock at the woman’s teary yet grateful eyes, she nodded. “I think an explanation is in order. My name is Licorice Mint, and my shop is just down the road, if you would like to come and hear the story.”

For Cornflower, there would be no debate. “I think I would. Applejack, let’s get back to the van. Ms. Mint here can show us where to go.”

A few minutes later, all three Apples were in Licorice’s shop, a whimsical little tea shop called Monkey Picked. Despite the cute name, the place was elegant and refined, so much so that Applejack made a mental note to tell Rarity about the place sometime as the fashionista had a penchant for tea and would appreciate the recommendation. Licorice had closed her store for the holidays – a regular thing, she insisted, as she tended not to be in town around this time – and had poured the four of them tea from an ornate Chinese set she said she picked up while on business in Hong Kong.

She then sat down and, gently pouring herself a cup, said, “So, as I said earlier, my name is Licorice Mint, and I’m the daughter of Chamomile Blend and Bronze Shield. The former was my mother; the latter, my father. And please, Mrs. Cornflower – I’m very sincere when I said that the car crash saved my father even though it cost him his life. I cannot even begin to thank you, and it truly pains me to see that you’ve suffered as a result of it all, both in body and mind.”

“I’m guessin’ there’s quite a tale to tell, isn’t there, Ms. Mint?” Applejack inquired.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” the girl said with a soft smile. “And please, call me Licorice. Anyway, my family was originally from Atlanta. Daddy accepted a position out here with the Darkwood Police Department, worked himself up to assistant chief. Meanwhile, Momma opened up a tea shop; it was a long-time dream of hers, and one that eventually became my passion as well. I grew up here, but we had family back in Atlanta, so when it was time for me to go to college, I went back to attend Georgia State.” She looked down into her cup as she stirred, but kept speaking: “And that, in hindsight, was the biggest mistake of my life.”

“How so?” Cornflower asked.

“The month I got out there, the DPD Scandal occurred.” Cornflower let her mind wander for a second to attempt to recall the whole event, but soon did: During the Darkwood Police Department affair, it was discovered that the mayor and chief of police, as well as several police officers and members of the city government, had run an illegal traffic ticket ring. Both the County DA’s office and the state Attorney General had gotten involved, and by the time it was done, all involved had been sentenced to fifteen-to-thirty years in prison. But the bigger thing was that the new mayor of Darkwood had disbanded the DPD and had handed over law enforcement duties to the Equestria County Sheriff’s Department.

“Daddy had never been involved in it, you see – they hadn’t even told him,” Licorice said, speaking to no one in particular. “I suspect that if he knew, he would’ve blown the whistle himself; Daddy was an upstanding gentleman and a man of the law, and he wouldn’t cotton to things like that.” She then sighed. “But it didn’t matter: he was ruined by the firing of the whole force, and nobody believed him. Sure, he was never charged, but he was the assistant chief – the second-in-charge shoulda known, or probably cut a deal, or something like that, right?” Another tear slid down her cheek as she said, “Best job he could get after that was security guard – and that hurt Daddy something fierce.”

“You don’t have to tell us anymore, Licorice,” Cornflower replied.

“I do. You need to hear this, if only so that it’ll stop haunting you,” Licorice replied. “The person you killed? Daddy died a long time before that, and the man that was left behind was an alcoholic monster who beat Momma and put her in the hospital more than once.”

“I’m sorry that happened. But I’m at a loss to see how the crash helped, instead of making things worse.”

“You see, when he died, Momma went to go live with my aunt in Athens, and was filing for divorce. Daddy was on the way to see her…and he had guns on him. I don’t think I need to tell you what that means.” The reaction from the Apples was one of complete and utter shock; how could anyone sink so low?

“He…there’s no way he could’ve, Licorice, not if’n you say your pa was the man he was!” Applejack insisted.

“But Daddy wasn’t that man anymore,” Licorice mourned. “He’d lost his dream. Momma was supporting the household. And nobody believed he was tellin’ the truth. So he hid in a bottle…and what came out I’m not sure was human anymore. When I met Momma at Aunt Sasparilla’s house, she was telling me stuff Daddy did to her…stuff I know he wouldn’t have if he was in his right mind. But he wasn’t anymore. All that drinking after he lost his job? It turned him into a shell of the man I knew.

“The police told me and Momma that he was headed to the airport with tickets to Atlanta, and all those weapons, fully loaded. I know he wouldn’t have made it on the flight…but that wasn’t my worry. Daddy told me that when he was with the Atlanta PD, and before that the Army back in Iraq during the first Gulf War, he’d had to do his hard duty, and that it took a toll on a soul.” Licorice’s voice was nearly gone as she continued. “I don’t think that, as gone as he was, for one moment any of those people at the airport would’ve seen another day if you hadn’t had your accident.”

Cornflower, despite the fact that she was shocked, nonetheless still felt she had to say her piece. “But I—”

“Didn’t intend for what happened, I know. No one ever does. But I honestly think that, indirectly, you saved countless lives that night. Truthfully? I loved my Daddy, more than I can ever say. But my Daddy died the day he started raising his hand against Momma, and all that was left was a demon a bottle created. And that is the monster that you killed. And I can never even begin to repay you for that.”

Dinner that night was at The Finest Cut, an expensive steakhouse that was just down the street from Licorice’s shop. It had to be the finest cut of sirloin that the trio had ever had, and as Licorice and Cornflower continued to talk during the course of the night, Applejack began to wonder if she saw the inklings of a friendship there. Applejack hoped that the two would have something more to bond with than just their mutual pain. Plus, though the teen would never tell Cornflower directly, it would be good for her: after all, her mother had very few friends to begin with and her accident had left her with even less – the only one she could really think of off the top of her head that had been a longtime friend of her mother’s was Ms. Luna. It was good to see her mother so excited and enjoying herself.

“Hey, sis?” Apple Bloom said in hushed tones while the two adults talked.

“Yeah, what’s up, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“Ah have to admit, it’s great to see Ma talking to someone else. Ah think the only friends she has are Ms. Luna and Mrs. Philodendron down at the florist, right?”

The older teen let a bemused look appear on her face; apparently she hadn’t been the only one who’d noticed their mother’s social status. “Ah guess,” she replied glibly. “Ah really don’t keep track o’ her friendships, why?”

“Something bothering me, Ah guess,” Apple Bloom said. “Ma said that she’d made a ‘selfish mistake’. Do you know what’s she was talking about?”

Applejack shook her head. “Not a clue, sugarcube, an’ now’s not the time to ask. Ah’ll talk to her later and find out, okay?”

The conversation never happened that night. Licorice and Cornflower, having traded phone numbers, promised to meet again soon. Apple Bloom had become a victim of food coma and Applejack and Cornflower were driving back to the Apple homestead. But as Applejack turned onto the Interstate for the short jaunt down it towards their home, Applejack briefly looked at her mother. “Ma, Apple Bloom wanted t’ ask ya something, but Ah think she’s a little bit on the asleep side right now.”

Cornflower smiled. “I would assume so, sweetheart. What was it?”

“She wanted t’ know what you meant by you having made a ‘selfish mistake’ back then.”

The smile that had worked its way onto the matron’s face disappeared almost instantly. “I…I’m not going to discuss that with you right now. Not because I don’t think you deserve to know, but because I don’t think Apple Bloom’s ready for it, and I’d rather her wait until she’s old enough.”

That answer seemed extremely odd to Applejack; usually neither of her parents shied away from telling their children anything they didn’t want to hear. “Ma, she’s a teenager. Ah can guarantee Ah heard a lotta ‘objectional’ stuff when Ah was her age.”

“Sweetheart, just…talk to your brother. He knows. Tell him that I said it was okay to tell you. And….”

“And?”

Cornflower reached over and caressed her daughter’s face. “Remember that I love you, Applejack. No matter what, I couldn’t be more proud to be your mother.”

If the statement her mother had made earlier seemed out of bounds for her personality, the second one filled her with dread. And Applejack made a mental note to talk to her brother first thing in the morning.

“Hey, bro,” Applejack said the following morning, meeting him outside, where her brother was loading up the store van to ready to head out. The snow was falling heavily, enough so that she’d thrown on a hat, which generally annoyed her; she hated messing up her hair and hathead was a major offender. Still, it was that or end up with a cold in the long run, so she put on a Stetson her father had given her a few years ago. It was bad enough that it had been a sleepless night for her, but she forced herself to get up so that she could talk to Macintosh. She needed answers, and if he was the only one that could give them to her, then she would get it from him.

“Hey, perfect timin’ sis,” Macintosh said with a laconic smile, dipping the brim of his baseball cap slightly, before picking up one of the boxes and heading towards the van to put it in. “Ah could use some help gettin’ this stuff in the van, if you’re okay with that. We got a big shipment last night delivered here by accident, an’ we want to make sure that we get it to the store before we close up shop for New Ye—”

“What did Ma mean when she said that she made a ‘selfish mistake’ the day she had the accident?” Applejack asked. Her brother’s response was to practically freeze where he stood, as if he’d had ice cold water dumped on him.

“AJ, if’n ya knew what was good for ya, you’d mind your own business and not ask again,” he said in a cold tone that she’d never heard from her brother before.

However, that wasn’t going to dissuade her. “Ma told me to ask you, Mac. She seemed really scared to tell me herself.”

“Smartest thing our mother’s ever done,” he told her, then set the box down in the van before turning to look at her. “Y’know that website that Ah like to fool around on occasionally? TVTropes? There’s a phrase there that comes to mind: ‘there ‘re things man wasn’t meant t’ know’, er something like that. Ah never really put anything on that page.” He took off his hat, scratched the top of his head more in though than to take care of an itch, then put it back on. “That’s what this whole bucket o’ shit is, sis.”

“Ah think Ah have the right to know, Mac. Me an’ Apple Bloom.”

“Y’do,” he replied, but the look on his face was somber. “But you may not want to. There are times Ah wish Ah didn’t know it.”

“Tell ‘er.” Both of them took a look back towards the house, to find the family matriarch, Granny Smith, standing there, in her sweats, getting ready for a morning walk. Given her age, it was surprising how spry and agile she was, when so many her age were using canes or walkers. It wasn’t surprising, given that when she was in her prime, Applesmith had been an Olympic swimmer.

“Granny….” Macintosh began.

“Tell ‘er, or Ah will, youngin’,” she said, her voice firm. “Lord knows Ah love both yer ma an’ yer pa t’ death, but neither o’ them was at their most shinin’ moment back then. Ah hate t’ say it, but th’ accident wuz th’ best thing that coulda happen’d t’ them – an’ y’all.”

Macintosh sighed, as if in defeat then stood up straight. Looking his sister straight in the eye, he said, “Ma an’ Pa were plannin’ t’ get a divorce…because Ma had an affair.”

The look in Applejack’s eyes turned from surprise to outright disbelief. “It…it can’t be,” she murmured.

“It’s true,” Smith replied. “Yer father…we Apples love th’ land, and when we all had t’ move here to take over yer Grandpa’s shop, yer father hated t’ sell th’ farm, even though yer uncle an’ aunt took it over. He blamed yer mother fer that, an’ she ran inta th’ arms o’ another man fer solace; cain’t say Ah totally blame her; Appleseed was bein’ downright stupid.

“But…but they never argued!” Applejack protested. “How could they have been plannin’ a divorce, if’n they never told us?”

“Too ‘fraid to, Ah reckon,” Macintosh replied. “Ah’m guessin’ we woulda found out the hard way if’n it wasn’t fer the accident.”

Applejack felt tears sting her eyes. Her family’s love for one another was an utter lie. They were destroying each other six years ago – more than that, given that they’d moved from the farm the year before – and were headed for a ruined relationship. Applejack knew the toll of that well; Fluttershy’s parents were divorced, and from the few times she met her mother, Dr. Posey looked as though she ran herself ragged taking care of her two children, something that wouldn’t have happened if her father had stayed behind.

But that brought up a new question in Applejack’s mind: Why had her father stayed behind? Her mother had been unfaithful, and her father had more than enough reasons to call the relationship quits, kids or no. And if her grandmother was correct, her father had been the indirect cause of that infidelity, treating his wife to the point that she felt she could only get solace in the arms of another man. What had happened to change all of that?

Smith looked at her two grandchildren, then at the road that led out of their housing subdivision and towards the other parts of Canterlot. “Looks like Ah’m not gettin’ a mornin’ run in,” she sighed. “We need t’ put this t’ rest for once and fer all. Put th’ boxes in the van, then come in. Ah’m gonna wake up th’ others, an’ then we’re gonna talk about all this.” She smiled sadly. “Looks like a French toast kinda mornin’.”

Both Applejack and Macintosh nodded agreement with that statement; their grandmother only made her family-renowned cinnamon French toast only when there was something to discuss over breakfast.

The French toast turned out to be vitally needed. Seated there and looking very ashamed, both of Applejack’s parents were resigned to the fact that Smith that the news had to come out, one way or another. With that, the Apple matriarch then recounted everything she knew, every sordid detail of the whole event over a half-decade past.

Sure enough, Cornflower’s comment that Apple Bloom wasn’t ready turned out to be right; she bawled on her sister’s shoulder enough that when this was all done, Applejack was going to have to change her shirt. Macintosh was reliving all the hell he remembered from those years, and given that save for their father’s light-brown hair, both father and son were practically as identical as Posey and Fluttershy were, Applejack had a pretty good feeling her father had the same look on his face when he found out about his wife’s scandal.

As for Appleseed himself, he cleared his throat then looked at his wife, who kissed him the cheek and leaned closer to him for comfort. He then looked at his mother, who nodded, then finally to his three children. “Ah reckon y’all shoulda known this sooner,” he began.

“Should’ve known this sooner?” Apple Bloom shouted. “How can any of us believe a single thing you two say?”

“Apple Bloom,” Macintosh interjected, “they’re our parents. Ah think y’ owe them respect…so show it.” Though Applejack sympathized with her sister’s feelings, she had to agree with her brother. Flawed or not, they were their parents.

“No, Mac,” Cornflower said softly. “Your sister’s right. We’ve lied to you – though omission – and kept a lid on something we should’ve told you three about from the very beginning. We never really handled it right, and we’ve been too ashamed of what we did back then to tell you what you all had the right to know. But now the truth is out, and here we are.”

Appleseed began. “It was partially mah fault. Ah pushed the woman Ah loved inta th’ arms of another man – an’ we ain’t gonna tell ya who that was; that ain’t none o’ yer beeswax – but it wouldn’t’a happened if’n Ah’d just…let th’ farm go.” He looked at his children. “Y’know the family motto, right? ‘Apples t’ the Core’? Ah shoulda remembered it. It’s not ‘bout the farm, it was about the family. An’ Ah looked at it th’ wrong way.”

“And as for me,” Cornflower added, “I felt betrayed. I loved your father, but it was clear to me – at the time – that he loved the farm more than me. And as for me and my paramour? I….” She paused, as if to recollect her thoughts. “He’d been coming on to me in front of your father, but at the time, I thought it was just friendly flirting. I didn’t know he was serious…but I still found out otherwise.” She sobbed, her body shaking as the memories came through. “When your father and I started fighting, we started taking long drives just to do that, so we wouldn’t fight in front of you. It was both the right thing to do and a mistake. The former because it shielded you from all the pain…but the latter, because we never really discussed, just fought.

“The day of the accident, your father was telling me he was leaving, going back to Heavener to return to the farm. And I….” She turned and leaned against her shoulder, sobbing quietly.

Appleseed bent down and kissed her on the head. “It’s okay, sugar. It’s in th’ past.”

“No,” she sobbed into his shoulder. “They deserve to know.” She pulled away and looked at her children. “Despite meeting with Licorice, despite the fact that the accident was due to the faulty pedal? In the end, I know it was divine punishment for my sins. Because…I was pregnant with the other man’s child.” Her three children gasped as they realized what their mother had said: the three would’ve had another sibling, but not a full one.

“When we came to, we were both in th’ hospital,” Appleseed said. “Ah got off easy, since Ah only had a busted leg, coupl’a crushed ribs on th’ left side, whiplash and cuts on mah right arm from where th’ glass had cut it. The police told me that when they had to cut me out o’ th’ car, though, there was a jag o’ metal from th’ engine that had stopped just inches from piercin’ mah chest. Ah tell ya, Ah thanked th’ Good Lord that Ah survived. But when th’ doctors told me yer ma was in a coma, that done broke mah heart.”

“The doctors told me I was comatose for about a week and a half,” Cornflower continued, “and that I had to have three surgeries to remove all the debris that had impaled me. And when it was all done, they told me that I wasn’t going to be able to walk again, but that the baby had survived.” She then looked at her husband and said, “The first time we saw each other after all was said and done? We couldn’t face one another. I had a child in me that was another man’s. Your father was ready to walk out because he resented me for our move here.”

“But when Ah saw her lyin’ there, Ah knew ‘twas mah fault,” Appleseed said. “Ah drove her t’ that man. All because Ah couldn’t give up th’ farm in mah heart. Ah nearly ruined mah family because of mah selfishness.”

Cornflower raised her hand and delicately caressed her husband’s face. “I wanted to die that day, love…but you didn’t give up. You were willing to forgive everything – my selfishness, my betrayal….”

He held her hand to his face. “No more than you were willin’ t’ forgive me fer treatin’ like worse than dirt. Ah spit on yer father, yer mother…and on our own children by extension.”

The three Apple children watched as their parents looked at each other with nothing less than love in their eyes. It was clear that they’d been through a complete and utter gauntlet, and somehow managed to last together – the past six years had been a testament to that. But one question was Applejack’s mind, something she had to know.

“Ma…the baby….”

At that point, Cornflower broke down in tears against her husband’s shoulder, and Appleseed put his arms around her. “It’s okay, honey,” he told her. “Ah’m here fer ya.”

The intensity of the situation started to bring tears to everyone’s eyes as Smith told her son, “Take ‘er up, son. Ah’ll take care o’ the rest.” As Appleseed took his wife back upstairs, Smith looked at her grandchildren. “Yer ma miscarried two months later. She an’ yer pa wanted t’ keep the baby, but…there was nothin’ that could be done.”

The trio looked at one another, feeling completely and utterly drained. Just a simple conversation of a minute had destroyed everything they’d known about their family and the reason they’d moved to Canterlot. But their grandmother was nothing if not smart, and had prepared for that.

“So, y’all feel like things have been ripped out from beneath you, dontcha? Well, Ah know how y’ feel. Ah feel it in mah bones every time Ah hear ‘bout how yer uncle and aunt an’ cousin Braeburn are, back on th’ farm. Ah hear it every time yer ma takes me t’ the doctor, or every time yer pa watches out fer me. None of it’s easy, Ah know. But y’ see: that’s the real truth about th’ family motto. ‘Apples t’ th’ Core’? Ain’t got nothin’ t’ do with farms or stores or nothin’ like that. It’s about family.” She pointed upstairs. “All about yer ma and yer pa, and y’all and me, and anyone that’s a member o’ th’ Apple clan, not that yer other kin aren’t any less important, mind.

“Okay, Ah think that’s ‘nough fer today. Ah wantcha three t’ cover th’ store fer now. Ah think they’re gonna need some time t’ recover from this.” She rose from the table and went and gave each of her grandchildren a kiss and a hug. “They’ll be there some time in th’ afternoon, Ah’m sure. As fer me, Ah gotta get mah workout in. Gotta keep this ol’ body runnin’ ya know.”

The afternoon came and Applejack’s parents had come in, as if nothing had ever been wrong. But to Applejack and her siblings, they saw something in both their parents’ faces: that they were free of the lies and the shame that they’d hidden from their three kids for so long. It was a good feeling, both for them, Applejack was sure, and for her as well.

But that wasn’t the only interesting thing that was going on in the store right now. Rainbow, Scootaloo and a strange girl that Applejack had never met before were here, stocking up on a case of Apple Zap, Rainbow’s favorite soda. To both her and Apple Bloom’s surprise, the girl turned out to be Scootaloo’s biological sister, a girl named Melancholy Rose, and something had gone down the past couple of days that ended up with Rainbow’s younger sister meeting her biological family.

“And hey, even though she met Rose and she’s cool and all, it still feels great that at the end of the day, Scootaloo still calls me her big sis,” Rainbow said to her friend as they watched Scootaloo excitedly introduce Rose to one of the former’s best friends. “I know it feels kinda dumb, but for a moment there, even though I knew that I wasn’t going to lose her…it felt like that.”

“Yeah,” Applejack said quietly, digesting all the things she’d discovered about her family the past couple of days. In a sense, the world felt more muted now, less realistic and bright knowing that she almost had a little sister or brother that would now never live, or that she’d almost lost her mother and father to divorce, not just the chance of death that had been earlier.

“Something wrong?” Rainbow asked.

“Nothin’,” Applejack evaded, hoping Rainbow wouldn’t pick up on that. She wasn’t going to lie to her friend – she wasn’t good at it and it went against her principles, personally – but she didn’t think Rainbow would understand.

And just like that, her friend surprised her.

“Okay. Heh – y’know, I think I learned a lesson in all this: it’s that family sticks together no matter what, through thick and thin. Scootaloo was really worried that she was going to be taken away from us, and Mom, Dad and I showed her that’s never going to happen. And in the end? Not only did it not happen, her biological family wants to get to know her, but know her home’s here. So, teal deer version: Family always trumps problems, and as long as you stay together, you’ll always stay together. How cool is that?”

Somehow, it was the words that Applejack needed to hear. Reaching over, she hugged her friend. “Thanks, Rainbow. Y’don’t know how much Ah needed t’ hear that.”

Rainbow looked at her friend oddly as they embraced. “You sure you don’t want to talk about anything?”

“Naah, Ah’m good. It’s just…it’s good t’ have a friend who can explain things so clearly.”

“Uh, you’re…welcome? I mean…yeah, I’m no egghead like Twily, but…uh, nevermind.”

“Yeah, Ah think Ah’ll just do that.” The door chime rang, and Applejack turned in the direction of the door. “Welcome to the Sweet Apple Supply St – oh, hi, Licorice! What brings y’ here?”

Licorice stood at the door, a smile on her face. “I was wondering if your mom was here, Applejack. Wanted to talk to her about a business idea I had that could help both of our stores.”

“Really? Well, don’t let me stop ya, sugarcube. She’s in the back with Pa. Trust me, you’ll like him. Apple Bloom, show her the way, wouldja?” Apple Bloom nodded and signaled for Licorice to follow.

“So, looks like you have a story to tell as well, huh?”

“Maybe,” Applejack admitted. She could tell Rainbow an edited version, now that it occurred to her. Her friend didn’t have to know about her family’s past, but telling her about her mother’s newfound friendship and how that came about would help; Rainbow did know about the accident, after all.

“Oh? Do tell.”

“Yeah. Tell ya what: gather up Scoots an’ Rose, an’ Ah’ll get Apple Bloom, an’ we can head over t’ Sugarcube Corner. If’n Sunny’s there, and it’s slow enough, maybe she’d want t’ hear it too. It’s one of those stories Ah just gotta get off mah chest.”

“That good, huh?” Rainbow inquired.

“Yeah. Years in th’ makin’, Rainbow. Years in th’ makin’.”

Donimo

“This is a love story.”

If I remember correctly from one of Spike’s comics – Superman’s narration, specifically – that’s what it’s says. And it’s so very true.

“This is a love story.
Not a love story in the sense of a man and a woman.
But more about a family who grows to love each other.
They don’t tell stories like these anymore.”

I don’t know who wrote that dialogue…but he’s right: here in America…or even back in Equestria…they don’t tell stories like these anymore.

But I’m glad there’s one story left…

…and it’s mine.

There are things on this world that I’ll never get used to. Like looking at the moon, situated in the afternoon sky, and not having to freak about all the Nightmare Night tales that were nothing but myth on my homeworld. Sure, I’m guessing there was once a warlord named Nightmare Moon that tried to challenge Celestia for the throne, but…no matter how powerful a mage you are, you can’t beat the mare who moves the fucking sun and moon around the world. So, obviously all the legends about her being an all-powerful monster that Celestia sentenced to the moon is nothing more than heavily-embellished myth, pure, plain and simple. Furthermore, I asked her about it once; she told me she wasn’t even going to justify the question with an answer, which to me says that it’s nothing more than a historical incident that got turned into a macabre holiday, just like Halloween is here in the US, or, for a better parallel, how the Gunpowder Plot over in Britain that turned into Bonfire Night, with all those people wearing Anonymous masks – and this was before the hacker group took the man’s name as their own.

Yes, I read up on that. It’s interesting the things you find out when you’re no longer reading things like The Book of Five Rings or The Anarchist Cookbook. Besides, I pride myself on being familiar with esoteric things, and here in the US, something like the history of Bonfire Night tends to be a little off the beaten path.

But I’m digressing. Back to the moon and its melodies. Like I said, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the moon hanging in the sky like that, or the fact that winter’s caused by the shifting of the planet on its axis and air pressure patterns, rather than the fact that the Princess doesn’t want to bake the planet year round, as she does with her sun and Equus. As it is, I’m still getting used to the fact that Earth circles Sol – wonder how the name came about, yet everyone still calls it “the sun”; I’m not sure Equus’ sun has a proper name – rather than the other way around, as I’ve been used to for nearly all of my life.

But there are some advantages to living like this, I suppose. Seeing Earth’s moon, with its unusual markings – some cultures think it’s the face of a man, and some a rabbit with a pestle and mortar – reminds me of how much my life has changed. I used to think of this place as the bolthole from where I would plan my invasion of Equestria. Then, once Princess Twilight defeated me, then it became a hell of my own making, complete with nightmares and stupid things I did.

Now? It’s home. And there’s a big reason why.

“Sunny?” I hear a bright, chipper voice behind me and it fills my heart with warmth. Twilight Sparkle. Not the alicorn that defeated me, but her counterpart.

My sister.

I’m not sure when I started thinking of the family I live with as mine, but they did long before I even came to that realization. I’ve been living with them just a hair over two months now and they treat me as one of their own, not simply as a foster child that they took in out of charity. I’m…loved. And I don’t mean the same way that my friends care about me, or that stereotypical “true love” garbage that, somewhere in the deepest parts of my soul, I hoped Flash felt about me. No, with my family I’m loved in the same way that I’d once hoped that Celestia felt about me, that my parents might have felt about me if I’d stayed with them. Of course that last part’s probably a fallacy; I have no idea who or what my parents were.

“Sunny?” I turn this time to look at Twilight – Twily, that is. She prefers that and besides, it helps me to disambiguate her from the alicorn princess. Not that a human is generally hard to tell from a pony, but the mind works in funny ways.

I rub the back of my head, searching for an excuse. “Sorry, I kinda spaced out there,” I tell her; it’s not exactly wrong. “Just…not used to seeing the moon in the sky like that.”

“Really?” she asks me. “That’s perfectly normal this time of year, I guess; I’ve never really given much thought to it.”

“Just not used to it,” I repeat as she hands me something.

“Yeah, I guess,” she says in that way that indicates she knows there’s a story, but she’ll wait for the day that I’ll tell it. Twily, you’ll probably be waiting a long time for me to tell that one. “Oh, here’s the caramel apple cider you wanted. Sorry I took so long; they had a line at the coffee shop.” She favors me with a smile and it lightens up my day. Is this how family’s supposed to feel? Is this what I’ve been missing my entire life?

“You okay?” Twily asks me as I take a drink from the cup. “You seem a little out of it.”

“Just…adjusting to the holidays. It’s unusual for me to spend any time with anyone.” I see the sad look in her eyes and it breaks my heart in more than one way. For starters, I hate seeing that look on her face; it makes me want to do whatever it takes to make sure it goes away. Second, it’s the truth. This is the first real Christmas and New Year I’ve had. The previous couple of years, I spent doing stupid shit I now regret, and the year of my arrival, I was studying as much as I could in order to get used to the strange new world filled with monkey people and the fact that I would be here, mostly sealed away from my magic abilities save for what I could scrimp and scrape from the moon’s aura.

“Well, I still have to buy a few more presents, so we’re not quite done with the shopping just yet,” she says, reaching down and taking my free hand. “C’mon, that looks like a nice place to get some stuff!” I see the sign on the building she’s pointing at, a structure that looks like a medieval-style home, or something in one of the villages that dot Equestria. I also notice the sign on the wall: PRECIOUS MEMORY’S MUSIC BOX AND MORE EMPORIUM.

Well, I still have to get Mom…I mean, Mrs. Velvet…a gift. Maybe I can think of something there.

I tighten my right hand around the mouse and aim carefully. If I miss, we all die. But if I hit….

My arrow flies from my bow, a dart of illuminated red, powered by magic, cutting through to hit the creature in the chest. At the same time, three others, two carrying jian swords and the last a fighting monk throwing a perfectly-timed punch, make their strikes perfectly. The last of the group of bandits blocking the path to the footbridge fall, leaving us a clear path to the village.

I look down at the chat window and see Twily’s response. As usual, even though we’re all wearing headphones, she still likes typing her responses instead. “Twily,” I remind her, “It’s okay to talk, you know. In fact, it’s preferable when you’re in a combat situation.” On screen, her avatar stands there, green hair tied in a bun and popping healing potions.

“Yeah, too bad Fluttershy couldn’t play tonight. We could use the healing spells,” Rainbow says over the teamtalk channel. I don’t disagree; when we first started to play this MMO, Fluttershy tried to play a monk, just like Applejack. Of course, her proclivity to not wanting to hurt things made it hard for her to play, and in a game where there was no dedicated healer class, it was going to be difficult for her. However, thankfully two weeks ago they opened up the Scholar class, which was essentially a mage class – something else missing from the game prior – and made it easier for her to play, especially with the weak but available group heal spell.

“Ah heard she’s on a date with her new guy,” Applejack replies. Fluttershy, dating? I didn’t know that; her crush with her boss, yeah, but apparently this is an entirely new thing. Then again, given that I was getting into the positive aspects of my friends’ lives only as of recent, maybe it’s for the best that I didn’t know about that.

“Well, I gotta get ready for dinner and tomorrow’s shit,” Rainbow adds. “It’s a long story, but I promise I’ll tell you guys later.”

“Yeah, Ah gotta go as well,” Applejack chimed in as well. “Gotta take mah ma somewhere t’night.”

“Yeah, let’s call it a night, then. Twily, I’ll head over to your room.” She, of course, types her answer. I log off the server, then put my laptop into hibernate, take off the headphones, and walk over to my sister’s room.

She rushes past me, blurting a “Sorry!” before rushing into the bathroom. I try not to giggle at my sister’s antics, but it’s hard. Really hard.

“Sunny? Have you seen Twily?” I turn my head to see my foster father standing there. To be honest, it’s been a long time since I used the foster in my mind. To me, he’s just “Dad”, even if I can’t call him that. I think he knows that, too, but as Mo—Mrs. V. told me, there are rules we have to follow, and even she can’t break them.

“She just went into the bathroom,” I informed him.

“Okay. When she gets out, I need both of you two downstairs,” he said. “Family meeting.” For a family like ours, family meetings tend to happen a lot. It’s probably why my family’s so hyper-organized. Of course, that wasn’t how I reacted the first time I heard the term. It was for a meeting the second night back from the hospital after I got stabbed, and that night I had a fuck ton of nightmares about how they were going to just declare me a loss and toss me out. It didn’t help that week Twily was having her period and so preferred to sleep by herself, so I got lonely being in bed by myself.

Yeah, twenty-nine-year-old mare/sixteen-year-old girl was uncomfortable sleeping by herself after spending four years alone in a near-condemned warehouse. It’s a wonder I don’t just go out and buy a night light sometime. “Night Light.” Yeah, don’t know if I should be making jokes about Dad’s name, or singing the lyrics to “Birdhouse in Your Soul.”

Yeah, Dad’s a They Might Be Giants fan. I love the guy, but…seriously, Dad’s taste in music is weird.

“Sure, I’ll let her know,” I tell him with a smile, while he heads over to Spike’s room to tell him – and I don’t envy Dad that one bit. I know he’s just a kid, but the given the family he’s growing up in, he’s well above his peers, and so that makes him even more of an annoying little snot. Plus…I have to admit that some of it’s probably my fault as well. I’m still trying to figure out all those interactions that humans are born with or learn from a lifetime of being together, and sometimes, well…I fuck up. Still doesn’t mean I forgive Spike for walking in on me while I was showering two weeks ago because he was too lazy to use another bathroom. Really not happy about that one. Besides, like I said, he’s just a kid; with a little luck, he’ll convert from snot-nosed brat to over-hormoned teen in a few more years.

Twily picks that moment to step out of the bathroom and I tell her exactly what’s going on. She looks at me with a resigned face; apparently she knows more than I do. “Want to update me?”

“Oh, it’s nothing bad, Sunny, you know that.” Yeah, I’ve long since learned that if I really screwed up, either of the ‘rents would’ve talked to me separately by now. Like when I was grounded the week after the stabbing, because I wasn’t supposed to go over there. I get that. Even still, I sometimes get the feeling that this is all a dream and that it’s going to go away and I’ll be back in that warehouse….

No, Sunny. Get a grip. Or, to quote Rainbow’s favorite quote for the moment, “Check yourself before you wreck yourself.” I swear, she can’t pass a test to save her life, but she can memorize more memes than the combined brainpower of the population of Know Your Meme.

Twily and I walk downstairs, followed with Spike and Dad behind us. Mom’s already sitting on the couch, apparently focused on the tablet in her hand, but I already know her far better than that. She’s listening – and I mean listening: she’s probably been focused on the brief snippets of convo that Twily and I had, Dad and I had, as well as other things related to the situation, such as breathing and such. As we’re almost completely down the steps, she puts down the tablet and looks at us with a smile, and that smile, just like Twily’s or Tavi’s, warms my heart. Mom was the one to really reach out to me the first day, when I was frightened and defensive, just like a caged animal…which I probably was little better than. I think it’s more than fair to say that if it was my friends that turned me from a monster into a girl, it was Mom that turned me from a girl into a daughter. I love her, simple as that – I love all of them, my family.

I would do anything for them, without hesitation. Even Spike.

As Twily and I plop on the love seat, Dad sits down next to Mom on the couch and Spike hops onto the recliner. Once that happens, Mom looks at all of us and says, “Well, kids, here’s the thing: the family has an invitation for a dinner party and ball on the 2nd of January. It’s a state function for various city and county social service programs. Since it’s on the Second, it’ll be after the party you two, Tavi and your friends will be attending. Also, since it’s on a Sunday, we don’t expect to be out long, and since your aunt and uncle will be travelling again as of tomorrow, Tavi will be staying with us.

“What I want to know is if you two would like to attend; I already called Tavi and she said she’d be willing to go if you were. Spike, since you’re a little too young for this and I assume you’d rather be anywhere else in any case, you’re going to spend the night with your brother and Cady, unless one of the girls decides to stay home. But again, that’s up to them.”

I think about that for a second: a party held by the state in honor of the various county and city social service programs…like the one that has me here with my family. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against the idea at all; even if I didn’t like it – and for the record, I do – as a “recipient” of social welfare, I’d be a hypocrite to complain. Plus, if this gets Mom a higher profile, I’d do it just to make her look good. But that’s my worry: not that she’s doing it to look good – Mom’s not that kind of person – but rather, their concerns that I might see it that way. I mean, family or not, we’ve only been together a shade over two months.

“So….” I begin.

Dad sees that look on my face. “Sunny, even though this is a state function, this isn’t just so Velvet can parade you around. You’re much too important to us to use you like that.”

I give him a smile. “I know, and I appreciate that. Plus, that was never on my mind. If anything, it was the opposite.” At that, I see Mom relax; she’s always been fiercely protective of me, and I guarantee that if I even hinted that I was worried, she would’ve pulled the plug on it immediately. Not as in not insisting that I go, but more like refusing to have anyone in the family attend, even if it meant her job. She’s just principled like that.

Makes me proud to be her daughter.
Makes me wish I were her real daughter.

Meanwhile, Twily looks at me. “Well, if we can get Rarity to make us dresses in time….”

I give my sister an askance look. She should know that when prompted, Rarity can whip up incredible garments, complete and total works of art in practically hours. Plus, she’s made a lot of them for people, even when underpriced or for people who couldn’t afford them at all – like Princess Twilight, for example, as there’s no exchange rate for bits. That being said, I would insist on paying Rarity, regardless. I’m not the kind of mare that would steal anymore.

Wait, did I just refer to myself as a mare? I mean, yeah, technically that’s what I am, but…nowadays, it feels wrong. I feel more like the teenage human girl I am than the almost-thirty mare that I should be. Maybe it’s just the human hormones in me currently, or maybe the result of having lived here on Earth for almost five years now. Or maybe…it’s because I have a family. Because I have a sister, brothers, and parents, whether official or not.

“C’mon, Twily, you know that Rarity can hook us up. I’ll give her a call afterwards.” I then turn to Mom and said, “I think we’re in.”

“Good,” she says with a smile. “That’s what I was hoping for. Well, that’s all this was for. Spike, time for you to go to bed. And girls? Nothing too revealing, okay? No little black dresses or anything; think ‘prom’ or ‘homecoming dance formal’ and you’ll get what I mean.” I wince involuntarily, and I suddenly feel Twily’s hand on mine. I confessed to her my fears just the other day and how much I was afraid that I would do to them what I once did to the people I now call my friends; Twily had the courage to tell me otherwise and to let me know I was family.

Twily has been there almost since day one – and only missed that first day because she was on travel. And she has cared about me since the day we met. She has called me her sister since the day she first learned of the homeless runaway her brother almost arrested. To her – a monster like I was, an alien to this world, like I am…have someone who cares about me. Truly cares about me.

I’ve gotta be the luckiest mare in the world. Actually, I probably am.

“Quit squirming, Sunset, darling,” Rarity tells me as she takes my measurements. She’s fussing over me, and I can see that she’s already making me, Twily and Tavi matching dresses. Since I’m the one who has the most extreme measurements out of the three of us – Twily and Tavi have almost the exact same measurements, save that Tavi’s got a thinner waist, and Twily the slightly larger bust. On the other hand, I have a much larger bust, larger waist – but not that much larger, thankyouverymuch – and I’m taller, though not by much in that department, either.

“Sorry, Rares,” I tell my friend. Out of all of our friends, she’s probably the one I’m closest to. She’s the first one that I showed what I really look like, and she’s the one that I naturally get along with the most. That’s not to say that I don’t get along with the others; they are my friends after all, but you always have your friends you’re closest to, I guess – not that I would really know until now. “You know me, always in motion.”

“Oh, hush,” she responds tartly, though I see an impish gleam in her eyes. “I would expect that sort of response from Rainbow, not from you. Didn’t you say that unicorns are the soul of grace in Equestria?”

“Unicorns are the soul of grace in Equestria?” I hear Tavi repeat, and my blood freezes. I didn’t think that Rarity spoke that aloud, and from the brief glance she gave me, she hadn’t either. I know she’s going to regret having said that, and we’re going to have to be a lot more careful from now on.

“Oh, just thinking about a bit of poetry I’d read as of late,” Rarity says in a breezy tone, throwing up her hands and acting as though it was of no issue.

“I…think I’ve read that poem. Translation from French, but isn’t the line ‘But a unicorn’s soul be an equestrian’s grace’?” Twily replies. Yeah, she would happen to find the only link between our statement and reality. I had a theory once that there are similarities between the realities that I’ve lived in, and given two Twilights, two Celestias and the fact that I have – or had – a counterpart here on Earth, it stands to reason there are others. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was.

“Perhaps; it’s been a while since I’ve read it and my French wasn’t as good as it is now,” Rarity replies without so much as skipping a beat. Her penchant for drama really comes in handy at times, I have to admit. I just wish I’d noticed them a lot sooner. We could’ve been friends then. But then again, if I’d been able to notice any of that sooner…I probably wouldn’t have left Equestria. I wouldn’t have met the people I care about, met the people I love. And I would’ve remained as the faithful student of Princess Celestia.

A student, a mentee, a protégé, an apprentice – never a daughter.

As Twily steps up to be measured, Tavi looks at me. “Something bothering you?”

“Yeah. I take it that Twily told you about our little talk from the day before you got back?”

She nods but says, “You really don’t have to worry about that. I’ve known you long enough to see you as a good friend and a cousin, of sorts. Whatever sort of person you were in the past is that – the past. If Aunt Velvet believes that you belong with the family, it’s not for me to say – and frankly, I agree with her.” She pats me on the shoulder and smiles. “Plus, Twily’s come out of her shell a little since you joined us, and that makes me smile. We’ll probably go to separate colleges, and I’m not going to be there for her forever. The fact that you’ve introduced us to your friends and come into our lives helps more than a lot for getting her out more.”

“Hey, Sunny? Tavi? What do you think?” Twily asks, getting our attention. We look up to see her standing there with two rolls of silk, held in front of her. “What do you guys think: dark purple—”

“Actually, Twilight, dear, that’s eminence,” Rarity replies. “Dark purple makes the shade of your hair a little too bright.”

“And what’s the other choice?” I ask.

“It’s artist’s purple. It’s a similar shade to red-violet, but not precise, as the other color would make her skin look too sallow.”

“I’d say go with that. It looks like it would match the amber of my dress.” I then look at Tavi and add, “Better find something that doesn’t clash with ours.” Behind me, I can hear both Twily and Rarity giggling.

Tavi then looks at me and sighs. “Fine, fine. I guess I’m up next?”

My family’s asleep. It’s the last night for a long time that I have the opportunity to do this, but this is my choice. Sneaking out of the house, I walk down to the small copse of trees at the end of the block. At one time this used to be part of the Everfree, but even though San Palomino has expanded well into what used to be the forest, the neighborhood kept these trees for some reason. I guess I shouldn’t complain; it does make the neighborhood look good and probably brings up the property values or whatever.

Far enough into the glade and pausing to make sure that there’s no homeless people or animals around, I cast my spell. It generates enough light that I would’ve easily woken up Twily or Tavi, which is why I’m out here freezing my ass off at three in the morning. Thankfully I don’t have to go to school tomorrow, or I’d be toast. Anyway, I have to do this.

The last divination spell I ever intend to cast. The last glimpse I ever intend to see of Equestria.

Okay, that sounds melodramatic, but I’ve come to two conclusions. The first is that I want nothing to do with Equestria any longer. It’s nothing but pain for me, and I have a death warrant hanging over my head. I’m more than lucky that Princess Twilight didn’t drag me back in chains, and if she left me here to learn a lesson, I’ve learned it in spades. The other conclusion is that…I have no reason to go back any longer. I have friends and family, everything that I should’ve had in that other world, and didn’t. That’s not Celestia’s fault – it’s mine. That was everything that I should’ve paid attention to, and I didn’t. All I wanted was power, to please her and prove that I was worthy of her, and when that didn’t happen, well, I went apeshit.

Maybe Earth was meant to be my prison…but now this is my home. I guess that makes me like an Australian or something.

The disc of blue before me grows larger and larger until it forms a circular mirror floating in the air.

“Show me my parents,” I tell the spell. Of course, that doesn’t happen, because I don’t know who my biological parents are…and at this point, those who I consider my parents are asleep in the house a quarter-mile behind me. This kind of divination spell doesn’t show what goes on in this world, and I’d probably better get a move on before I become exhausted.

“Show me Celestia.” The mirror shimmers, and I see her lying in her room. I’m taking a very big chance by doing this. I was able to find out all I could about Princess Twilight by doing this; whatever magic skills she has, counteracting subterfuge spells isn’t one of them. But Celestia taught them to me. Celestia taught me to be prepared for them. So I know she’ll see this. If I’m lucky, she’ll think this is just another one of those “spy on the princess” spells every teenage unicorn tends to use. If not, I’m doomed.

Sure enough, she sees it; I see the flicker in the corner of her eyes. Others wouldn’t notice that sort of thing, but I lived with her long enough to learn her nuances, and besides, I’ve seen that look in person whenever somepony was using that sort of spell on her. The spell fuzzes for a second, and when it’s back, I’m staring at the Equestrian sky, except for magical words written in the air – NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY! YOU SHOULDN’T DO THINGS LIKE THAT – PRINCESS CELESTIA. I exhale in relief; she thought it was the former than the latter.

One last thing to do before I go home. “Show me Twilight Sparkle,” I command the spell, and it shifts, apparently to another part of the castle, if the marble’s any indication. Sure enough, it’s the castle’s Ivory Tower, the library that I once lived in and I guess Twilight does now – I wonder if the slang meaning for “ivory tower” exists in Equestria as well. Either way, she’s reading a large book, which is typical for her, I suppose. At last the spell’s going to run out for me, and I need to dissipate it.

Seeing here there reminds me of what I have at home. And with that, I rush back home. Maybe I can get back in time to get some sleep.

Uggh, I feel like shit.

“Sunny!” I can hear Twily call out. “Are you going to get up? You gotta go to work in an hour, right? Don’t worry about the dresses; Tavi and I’ll go by Rarity’s house this afternoon to pick them up.” She opens the door to my bedroom but then says, “Oh, and don’t forget about the dance tonight!”

“Okay,” I utter in something that approaches either Equish or English, take your pick. Why the hell did I stay up so damn late? I’m going to be dead by midnight.

“Wow, they really decorated the place!” Twily’s right – I almost don’t recognize this as the place where I performed my impromptu magic show just a few weeks ago.

A second later, Applejack agrees. “Y’ got that right, sugarcube.”

Meanwhile, I’m making an ass of myself and I’m not too worried about that. I’ve got my headphones on, listening to Jamiroquai’s “Return of the Space Cowboy” – unlike Dad, I think I prefer Mom’s music collection – and I know that dancing in public looks goofy, but it’s New Year’s Eve. Everyone’s supposed to look a little goofy now and then, right?

I hand my jacket to Twilight, who looks like she’s trying not to laugh at my antics. Oh well, let’s up the ante. I turn and grab Tavi’s hand and start dancing with her. Ladies and gentlemen, I just broke Rainbow, if her falling to the ground, laughing her ass off is any indication.

Tavi stops and pulls the earbuds out of my ears. “Hey, would you mind leaving the interplanetary good-vibe zone for a second?”

I blush in embarrassment; Tavi was the one who told me about it and I didn’t listen at first. Shows me right for listening to nothing but hard rock; that’s an indicator that I gotta broaden my horizons musically. “Okay, okay, you were right – I like the song. Happy?”

“Ecstatic. I told you some of Aunt Velvet’s CD collection is worth listening to if you just find the right gems.”

Rarity looks at all of us and adds, “Well, darlings, shall we start mingling?”

I look at Vinyl Scratch, who’s just setting up. Granted, I really don’t like her, and the feeling’s mutual, but I’m not going to miss this fun just because the DJ’s a bitch. “Hey, let’s wait until some more people show up, Rares,” Sunset said. “We don’t want to look like we’re the only girls in here besides the deejay.”

Finally, about twenty minutes later the shindig starts and we start dancing. I’m having fun, and I don’t care. I’m with most of my friends – Pinkie doesn’t come back for a few more days – and family. I’m in my comfort zone and I’m perfectly happy with that. If you want to know the truth, I would happily trade all my years as solitary training under Celestia just to have learned this lesson much earlier. But if wishes were fishes, I’d have been an alicorn by now. And a really, really fucked up one, too. So maybe I should just be happy for what I have.

Seeing my friends, my sister and my cousin here, I am. And I hope it stays that way.

“Oh, great – what’s he doing here?” I hear Tavi mutter. Yeah, learn to open my big mouth….

“Something wrong, Tavi?”

She nods. “Yeah, I thought I just saw that guy I told you I went on a date with. Mr. Grabbyhands?”

“Hey, you’re with friends,” I remind her. “No way in hell is he touching you or starting anything.”

“Yeah, I know…. Sorry, just…bad memories,” she tells me. From the look on her face, I know it’s gotta be bad.

“Well, don’t worry; you’re safe with us,” I promise her, but as I look at her, I swear I see Flash out in the distance, and he’s talking to that boy Tavi gestured towards. I have no idea if that’s good, but I’m not going to let Flash screw this up for me.

Well, as long as it doesn’t affect me, no skin off my teeth. Problem is, with my luck….

Sunny, just relax – how bad can it get?

“Here we go!” Fluttershy shouts excitedly, and the rest of us cheer.

We all shout in unison, “3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The ceiling erupts with a spray of confetti that almost makes me wonder if Pinkie’s hiding in the rafters, while Vinyl plays an electric guitar version of “The Promise of a New Year”, or as it’s known here on Earth, “Auld Lang Syne.” It’s a new year, and with it a promise of change. And for me, it will be. I am a human girl, and that’s what I want to be.

A feel a peck on my cheek; I look out of the corner of my eye to see that it’s Twily. “Happy New Year, sis,” she said, a soft smile on her face. Ah, my sister. Anyone else would see that move as one hundred percent incestalicious, but my sister doesn’t think that way. And I’m not going to be the one to break that news to her.

I throw my arm around her, then around Tavi. And before I know it, we’re all in a group hug. “Happy New Year, everyone,” I say, enjoying this group hug. If this is how the year’s going to be, it’s going to be a great one.

The following day I’m treated to another ritual that pretty much indicates that this family is mine: everyone just lounges around the house the whole day in pajamas, and we watch the Rose Parade, and a bunch of other family friendly things – Spike is here, after all. Lying in front of the TV, Twily, Tavi and I are inhaling our second bucket of popcorn and watching 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s always amazed me that my adopted species has dreamed about going to space – but not only dreamed it, actually achieved it. Ponies…we look at the night sky with amazement, but have never really thought about heading out there into the stars. Maybe that’s the thing about having an omnipresent goddess-princess living in a castle that you can see from nearly every direction in Equestria: when you have that sort of being that can take care of virtually your every need, you don’t need to seek more.

We have nearly no poverty, minor disease, and almost no war in Equestria. Can’t say the same about here. But at least here, we try. We don’t have Celestia or Faust before her, or the kings and generals during the Warring States Era to keep the peace – and they certainly didn’t during that last group of leaders. But we do it on our own here. I don’t know if the various gods and goddesses and spirits that humans believe in are real – I’m going to assume so, even though many beliefs contradict each other – but I know this much: they let humans handle things on this plane of reality. Right or wrong, they trust in humans to do their thing. Celestia has always said she has wanted that for ponydom, but her reign? Sometimes, I wonder.

Eh, not my problem anymore. Only problem now? Getting more popcorn!

Finally, the day of the ball comes. Dad really rocks a tux, I have to say, though this is the second time he’s worn one in as many weeks. Must’ve been a real busy season for academics and dinner parties, I guess. Mom? She looks stunning, a real knockout. If I were a guy, yeah, I could see why Dad married her – he’d have been a fool not to.

Tavi, in her black dress, looks incredible, as does Twily. I don’t look half bad either, if I do say so myself. We check in our half-capes – only Rarity would think of half-capes to cover our bare shoulders instead of coats – along with Mom’s faux-mink coat and Dad’s longcoat and head over to the anteroom, where they’re serving light refreshments prior to dinner and the eventual ballroom dancing.

An old man comes up to Mom, and she introduces him as Dr. Charitable Soul, her predecessor in her position. He already knows Dad, as the two chat breezily for a few minutes about minor stuff. Finally, he turns to look at us, and asks, “And who are these three beauties you’ve brought with you, if I may be so bold as to ask?”

I hear Mom chuckle. “Well, the one to my closest left is my niece, Octavia Melody.”

Tavi offers her hand and Dr. Soul, apparently a gentleman, kisses it. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Melody.”

Mom continues. “The middle one is my younger daughter, Twilight Sparkle.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Sparkle,” Dr. Soul says, repeating the same gesture for my sister.

Wait, did Mom just say “younger daughter”?

“And, last but not least, the one at the end is my older daughter, Sunset Shimmer.”

I’m stunned and I can barely hear Dr. Soul’s greeting to me or his attention. I’m too out of it. And I’m barely recovering when I hear Twily whisper in my ear, “Well, shall we go get something to drink, big sis?”

I nod, not daring to say anything further as I resist the urge to break into a smile that would make me look either like an axe-carrying maniac…or Pinkie. In any case, I think I’ve just reached the happiest moment of my life.

Nothing can be better than this moment.

Author's Note

Well, that's that; hope you liked the little detour back into the past of 7DSJ Book I.

Now I'm sure there's a few of you out there who are asking: "Why doesn't Tavi have a chapter?" That's deliberate for two reasons:

The first reason is: for most of the events depicted in 7DSJ: Treasure, she was at her grandparents' place in New York, and the disaster there I feel is one that is better in everyone's heads than I could ever write out. Keeping in mind how Tavi's grandparents instilled rivalries in their daughters and in at least one granddaughter, you can imagine how far south that went.

the other reason is that during the recording of Treasure, Elizabeth Fraser (lead singer of Cocteau Twins) penned a song that never made it onto the album because of lack of time to record it. Though bits and pieces of the lyrics made it into other songs, the whole has never been completed. The missing song's name? Reputedly, it was "Octavia".