The Sparkle Family Reunionby sunnypackChapters1 - Greetings, We Come In Peace2 - Family Matters3 - Casimir Effect4 - The Neighbour Exclusion Effect5 - The Family’s Familiar Familial Familia Familiar6 - It's Good To Have Family1 - Greetings, We Come In PeaceChapter 1: Greetings, We Come In Peace *BURP* Luckily, Spike was in the middle of dusting crystal shelves, or his breath will most likely have left permanent scorch marks. He wryly considered the scrolled parchment that had appeared in emerald flames. Emerald flames that would have carbonised the old library’s shelves. It was a good thing that their new residence was mainly fireproof, he wouldn’t know what to do if flames from a dragon set the whole place ablaze. Starting fires was something he was good at… stopping them was an entirely different matter. Looking back at the scroll, he realised the seal was from Princess Luna. Curiosity won over the little dragon and he broke open the seal, unwinding the parchment to read its contents. Dear Noble Dragon, Spike grinned. This was off to a good start. At least it wasn’t addressed to Twilight like it always was. ‘Noble Dragon’, eh? Nice title. Could he keep it? We regret to inform you that due to some confusing scheduling mishaps, we have received an inordinate amount of gems. It will be hard to process them all at Canterlot castle, what with the gem-obsessed nobility nearby. We’d come to a decision and we’d rather trust a gem-eating dragon than anypony in Canterlot with safeguarding these precious materials. My sister and I will be along sometime to drop them off. Please let Princess Twilight know. Fare thee well, Princess Luna P.S. No need for any fanfare, it wouldn’t do to let everypony know we’re lugging along a cartload of gems. The parchment fell to the floor. Gems?! They expected him of all creatures to safeguard gems?! His claws twitched, his mouth was already salivating at the delectable image of the veritable hoard of gems the Princesses were no doubt in possession of. He shook his head, trying to dispel the pleasant fantasy. No, no, no! Not good. He snapped his claws. Wait! Maybe Twilight could figure out a spell to stop him from eating the gems. He spotted Twilight scrabbling down the stairs. That was strange, she looked… He started. Twilight had that expression again. The ‘we have to save Equestria from certain death’ one. That, or it was ‘we ran out of quills again’. The behaviour was infuriatingly similar. Twilight scanned the chamber, spotted Spike with a reared head and beelined straight towards him. “What’s wrong, Twi’?” His voice warbled in the large chamber of the castle grounds. Twilight stumbled to a stop in front of the dragon, her antsy hooves unable to keep still as she regarded him with a look almost akin to pure unadulterated terror. “This is bad, Spike,” she groaned. “Really bad.” “Did you forget to order a book? Is Ponyville on fire? Are we under attack? No wait, Nightmare Moon has returned and we’re all going to get eaten alive?!” Twilight stopped fidgeting and stared at Spike. It looked like his unorthodox inferences had temporarily derailed her thoughts. “How the hay could any of those happen?” Twilight spluttered with a frown. “What? They really could. Crazy things tend to happen around here.” Finally, Twilight conceded the point with a dip of her head. Her gaze drifted out of focus. With the intensity of her concentration, the little dragon could almost see her weighing on a scale, in mid-air, of all of the potential disasters and comparing it to current situation at hoof. With a snap, Twilight savagely shook her head, the motion of it freeing a few mane strands, and she returned to her panicked state. “No, I’m pretty sure this is worse than all of them combined,” she surmised. Spike swallowed, his eyes widening apprehensively. “W-What’s happening?” he squeaked, almost afraid of the answer. Twilight hoofed over a letter wordlessly. Spike took it hesitantly. At least it wasn’t Princess-related. To my favourite daughter, It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen each other! I was getting worried that something might have happened, what with you disappearing off the grid and becoming a Princess. We know you like to make your own decisions and we respect that, goodness me, signing up to an exclusive school for gifted unicorns was something we were both proud to support! But I’d still like to keep in touch. I know, I know, I’m sure you’re busy with your studies and you’ve got your own life to live. Sometimes sending a letter once every half a year can get difficult. What would I know? I’m just your mother. Spike tore his gaze away from the writing, the last few sentences slowly sinking in, his jaw dropping. “Half a year?!” he spluttered. “It was a busy year!” Twilight mumbled. Spike considered the statement. He cast his mind back over the year. He accepted it with a diplomatic nod of his head. Then he glanced back at the letter. “She doesn’t sound too happy,” he added in the ensuing silence. The letter had been pretty snippy. Twilight clasped her hooves above her head, sinking to the floor with a pitiful moan. “I knooow, but it gets worse…” Spike returned his attention to the letter, quickly picking up where he left off. Since you’re too busy to write us a letter, I’ve decided to give you a lovely surprise! The whole family is coming to visit! We thought it would be a good idea since there’s a lot of space in that shiny new castle of yours. Yes, I do happen to keep up with the news, I’m in Canterlot, not Appleloosa. I think it’s a lovely opportunity to get together. This time you can’t beg off with saving Equestria again and if there is a national crisis, let your friend Discord handle it, he’s such a sweetie. Your helpful mother has included a list of the guests that are to come. Don’t worry, it’s only a small family gathering, just immediate members. Be sure to hide any cider from your grandmother, you know how she gets when she sees it. I’ve sent the invitation to your best friend as well, she’s practically family. Oh, I do look forward to catching up with my daughter, particularly with any new and exciting developments that may or may not be life-altering. We’ve got to talk about the thing. Your brother’s already doing it, dear! Oh, but I’m so excited to finally see you again! I should end this letter before I run out of ink! Best Wishes! See you soon! Your Mom P.S. Mind your mother, darling, I already went through my crisis. — Dad Spike shook his head, they were just as eccentric as he remembered them. Wait, there was something else in the letter… He cocked his head. “Best friend?” Spike queried. Twilight pressed her head to the crystal floor of the castle. “Moondancer? We’re not that close anymore!” Twilight moaned and pawed at the floor. “Ooooh, this is what I get for not putting my notes in the Cloud before the library exploded!” Spike glanced at the gentle puffs of ‘clouds’ floating around the room. If he squinted, he could see the fine layers of white paper and text that made up the wispy structures of the gently levitating magical constructs. With a faint pulse and silvered glow, the clouds of textual matter converged above Twilight and seemed to grow… heavier. “You know, Twi’, I don’t think these ‘Cloud’ things are ever going to take off. They seem so… transparent. Like anypony could read your notes.” He shrugged. “Besides, can’t only unicorns use them?” “THE CLOUD IS THE FUTURE!” Twilight shot back. Spike cringed. “Okay, yeesh!” He flapped the letter. Best not open that can of worms. “What are you going to do about the family reunion?” Twilight jolted up, her ears perking. “I know a spell!” she exclaimed, bolting across the room. “Twilight, TWILIGHT! Hang on, stop! No.” Spike skidded across the room and blocked the doorway. Twilight tried to edge past him, but he folded his arms and stared the frantic alicorn down with hooded eyes. “Come on, Twi’, why’s it so bad having them come over?” Twilight bit her lip. “It’s only a small spell,” she whined, eyes wide and pleading. Spike shook his head in response. It was obvious she was avoiding the question. “Twilight,” he stated flatly. “The last time I heard you say that, the kitchen exploded.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “I don’t get it, cooking should be like chemistry, but with food! Why is it so hard?!” Spike rubbed a weary claw over his face. Twilight was dodging the question. “Twi—” he started, but the alicorn wilted, a moan interrupting the beginnings of a misgiving lecture. “Oh I know, Spike! It’s just that… it’s just that…” She trailed off, a hoof tracing circles on the floor. “Just what?” “It’s just that Mom’s been getting this thing…” “A thing?” “Like all her recent letters have all been all about this… thing.” “What thing?” Spike’s nose wrinkled in confusion. Hooves flailed. “You know…” Twilight glanced around. “About things…” Spike shrugged. “I don’t get it.” Spike regarded Twilight as she worked her jaw, trying to frame her thoughts in a way that he would understand. “The thing!” Twilight stressed. “I don’t know what this thing is, but she sounds serious!” Spike blinked. “Woah,” Spike replied. He blinked, trying hard to understand the implications Twilight was stressing… and failing miserably to come to the same conclusions. “Woah,” he repeated. He shook his head, giving the alicorn a curious look. “So, what’s the thing?” Twilight’s right eyelid twitched. It should have been a warning sign, he should have backed out of the room right there. “I mean you know what the thing is, right?” A vein pulsed. “No I don’t, Spike! I need to know what this thing is, it’s driving me crazy!” “Calm down!” Spike exclaimed, his face full of Twilight’s snorting muzzle. He pushed it away with a claw. “Why don’t we approach this rationally?” Twilight was a logical mare. She’d calm down if she sat down and thought about it for a while… right? Twilight nodded glumly, most of the steam taken out of her with the simple statement of reassurance. The dragon relaxed as she nodded. “Right,” she said. “Rationally. Just gotta think about this logically.” Spike smiled. That seemed to work. Twilight just needed to think things through— “I know!” Twilight blurted. “I’ll just ask my friends! Surely they know what to do in this sort of situation?!” Then again, Twilight tended to overthink things. Spike recognised the mad gleam seeping back into her eyes. She was going into panic mode again. He tried one more last ditch tactic. If he could get her talking, then maybe surreptitiously signal to Owlowiscious. He glanced at the perch and saw the owl fast asleep. Traitor. He took a breath. He was on his own. “Listen, Twi’ I really think you should— woah! Hey!” The remaining words were slammed back down his throat. With a jerk, the dragon found himself enveloped in Twilight’s magical aura. He plopped on Twilight’s back as she took off. It was all he could do to grab her mane as she charged through the double doors and out of the castle. “It’ll be okay,” Twilight muttered more to herself, than to the dragon. “Applejack will know what to do. She’s got a big family… and a reunion…” Spike was impeded from making a reply with each juddering knock of Twilight’s bony shoulder to his face. The successive blows were doing a really good job of scattering his already jumbled half-formed thoughts. One or two managed to get through and a general feeling was nagging the dragon. Spike couldn’t help but wonder if there was something he was supposed to mention to Twilight… He strained for a while but eventually gave up and mentally shrugged. If he couldn’t remember then it couldn’t be important, right? Author's Note I haven't been terribly active lately, mainly because real life sort of sneaks up on you and delivers its blows straight to the kidneys. This story was a pretty fun idea and I'm going to go directions with this through my idea mill. Thanks for sticking around with me and as always, my temporally established readers, thanks for reading! 2 - Family MattersChapter 2: Family Matters It’s not everyday that an alicorn crash lands through a window while you were eating breakfast. One thing that never really crosses Applejack’s mind is, ‘Gee, Ah wonder how’d everypony would react to an alicorn crashin’ into our table while we’re tryin’ to have a meal’? But that particular question and more were answered as a purple blur tumbled through their centuries old vintage window and upended an equally aged vintage table. She eyed the suspicious pile of feathers, cracked glass and shifting wood, not knowing what to expect. She thought a large bugbear might have invaded her home. A purple bugbear. She bit her lip. Probably not as likely. There was a familiar moan from the wreckage. “What the—oh hickory haystacks! Twilight, are you alright?” From the debris and detritus, something that resembled a pony staggered out of the wreckage of what was to be a good family meal. Now the meal lay somewhere within the ruins and half-covering a bedraggled princess. Twilight clambered out and surveyed her attentive audience somewhat unsteadily. Apple Bloom had a spoon halfway to her mouth, but no table to set it back down on. Granny Smith held aloft a pie she had only just retrieved from the kitchen, while Big Mac looked at the broken table and silently added it to the ever-growing list of repairs scheduled for the week. The steadfast pony supposed having a princess crashing through your window and upending family furniture was a mild improvement to the Cutie Mark Crusaders doing it. “Twilight?” Applejack was worried for her friend, but even she couldn’t keep a glib undertone of exasperation. You’d think one would get used to property destruction in Ponyville, but every time it happens it’s a whole plethora of frustration. Little did she know, her brother was having the exact same thoughts. With the resounding scrape of a chair, Big Mac levered himself from his seating and dragged his hooves out of the room. “Gettin’ the—?” “Eeeyup,” the stallion replied, a little snippy, she didn’t really blame him. Applejack tried again. “Twilight?” This time the alicorn was able to focus on Applejack. She shook her head slightly and both eyes snapped to Applejack’s own. “Hey, Applejack! Just the pony I was looking for!” “Hay, sugarcube,” Applejack greeted hesitantly, she trailed off as she groped around for words and came up short. Granny Smith piped up in the ensuing silence. “Not that we sure ain’t happy to see you, Twilight, but why through the window?” Apple Bloom finally decided to place the spoon on her chair and clambered out of her seating. “Are you okay, Princess?” Twilight shook her head, but her eyes went slightly out of focus. “Fine!” she replied in a way that suggested it was anything but. “You’re good with families, right?” Applejack glanced back at Granny Smith and Apple Bloom. “Ah’m too old fer this,” Granny Smith replied to the pleading look. The mare got out of her chair and headed to the kitchen. “If you’ll pardon me, Ah have some cookin’ to do.” Applejack went back to eyeing the alicorn warily. “Now sugarcube, not that Ah don’t appreciate you… dropping by, but couldn’t you have used the front door? Even Rainbow checks to make sure the window was open.” Apple Bloom joined her sister during the observation of a rare moment when one of Applejack’s friends finally became aware of the destruction they’d caused. Twilight twitched, looked at the mess, and then let out a gasp. “Oh, Applejack, I’m so sorry!” “It’s alright, sugarcube,” Applejack replied uncertainly. “Yeah, it’s not like Ah liked that table anyway,” Apple Bloom put in helpfully. Applejack shot her sister a glance. She returned the look with an exasperated huff. “Did you see Big Mac? He looked mighty mad, sis’.” Applejack softened. “Yeah—” a thought struck her “—Apple Bloom, would you mind helpin’ him out?” Apple Bloom pouted. “Aww Applejack—” “Now, Apple Bloom.” The filly sighed, visibly trying to suppress her curiosity. Under Applejack’s watchful gaze, she retreated, going out the front door. Applejack returned to Twilight, watching the alicorn fidget. Something was definitely on her mind, and it wasn’t the fact that she had destroyed part of the house. The farmer lead her friend to the adjoining room, brushing off a few splinters of wood and glass along the way. She sat her down on the couch and looked her friend in the eye with an expression that brooked no concession. “Now, tell me what happened.” Twilight rubbed an embarrassed hoof through her mane. “It’s kind of stupid.” Applejack raised an eyebrow, but kept silent. Twilight pushed on. “It’s my family.” “Your brother?” Applejack tapped a hoof nervously. “Is something wrong with the Crystal Empire?” Twilight stared at her friend then shook her head. “No! I mean yes it has something to do with them, but no no, not the Crystal Empire. My family’s coming over.” Applejack took a few moments to digest the bombshell. “Hay that’s wonderful, sugarcube! When’s the gathering? How many are there? What would you like me to do?” Twilight looked liked she bit a lemon, but didn’t say anything. “Uh, Twilight? You don’t seem all that happy.” Twilight grimaced, but didn’t say anything, letting the silence speak for itself. Applejack hazarded a guess. “Is there some problem with your family?” Twilight hesitated then shook her head. “It’s not a problem, per se…” Now it was Applejack’s turn to let the silence speak for itself. “They’re a bit eccentric,” Twilight admitted. She nervously ran a hoof down a wing in a comforting gesture. “I mean Dad’s always been alright. Mom can be overprotective sometimes. Shining has been the best. Granny… she’s something special, and individually I can handle them…” Twilight shut her mouth and blushed when she realised she was babbling. “Anyway, it’s just that…” “Together they’re a bit of a hoof-full?” Twilight nodded. Applejack nodded genially. “Huh, it’s funny apart from your brother you’ve never really mentioned your family, but now Ah can see why.” She smiled at her friend. “It’s only natural to get a little antsy when they come. You want to make a good impression.” “More like damage-control.” “What?” “Nothing.” Apple Bloom’s voice called out from the front door. “Hay Twilight? Spike’s here and he’s a little grumpy.” Applejack glanced back quizzically at her friend. Twilight started, looking really guilty. “Why’s that, Apple Bloom?” Applejack called back. “He said she dropped him a while back.” Twilight groaned as Applejack shot her an unimpressed stare. “I’m sorry, I had a lot on my mind.” Twilight slided off the couch and took a deep breath, looking visibly calmer. She didn’t look convinced, but it didn’t look like she thought Equestria was on the verge of collapse anymore. “Thanks, Applejack.” “No worries, sugarcube. Just don’t get all tied up in the small stuff,” Applejack said, then gestured to the dining room. “And Ah’d be happy to help out if you need anythin’.” “No!” Twilight said quickly. Then she scrambled out of the room, darting around Apple Bloom returning. Applejack scowled, staring after her panicked friend. Apple Bloom sidled up to her sister and leaned in conspiratorially. “You’re totally spyin’ on her family, aren’t ya?” “You’re dang right, Apple Bloom.” ——————— Spike greeted Twilight with crossed arms and a tapping foot. “Hello, uhm, my number one assistant!” Spike raised an eyebrow, not looking as usually pleased with the title as he would be in normal circumstances. He kept silent, letting his posture do all the talking. “Hey, I’m sorry about—” Spike raised a claw and massaged his forehead with care. Claws were dangerous tools that should be kept away from the eyes most of the time. He took a deep breath and sighed. “That’s right,” Spike said. “I had something to tell you, except you went into ‘Twifright’ mode.” Twilight opened her mouth to retort, but closed it belatedly when she remembered that she had dropped him near thirty feet in the air. She cocked her head. How did he land safely? “You’re spacing out again, Twi’.” Spike’s irate undertone cut through her scattered thoughts. “By the way, I landed in a hay bale.” “How did you—” “You were talking to yourself.” “Oh.” “So?” “So…?” Spike huffed. “So what did you talk about with Applejack?” Twilight started. “Oh, right! She told me not to worry.” “That’s it?” “That’s it.” “And you believed her?” “Not in the slightest.” Spike snorted. “It’s probably good advice.” Twilight shook her head. “What are you talking about? That’s horrible advice. She’s never seen my family.” “Maybe you should, you know, invite your friends? It’d probably smooth everything over.” “No!” she exclaimed, then wiped a hoof across her face. “My brother is okay, but Mom? Dad? No way.” “Twi’…” Spike gave her the raised eyebrow look. “You’re overreacting.” “No I’m not. It’ll be fine, perfectly fine. Fine, fine, fine!” “You said fine like five times.” “That’s perfectly fine. I can say fine as many times as I like.” “That’s not the point Twi’.” He sighed. “Anyway, there’s this other thing I have—” “Wait! I can probably create an exclusion zone around my castle. If I time the spell right…” Spike watched as Twilight galloped down the path, neglecting the fact that she could have flown her way back to the castle. He shook his head and glanced back at Applejack who was standing a modest distance away. “You heard all of that.” It was not a question. “Eeyup.” “You know what we have to do, right?” “Eeyup.” Spike smiled gratefully. “You gather Fluttershy and Rainbow, I’ll get Pinkie and Rarity.” Applejack nodded, then hesitated. “Actually,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “Mind if I take Pinkie and Rarity?” “Shucks, almost got away with it,” Spike mumbled. Applejack chuckled and patted the little dragon on the head. “One day, Spike.” —————— It wasn’t long before Twilight was back in the castle. “Okay, all I need to do is find a spell, find a spell, find that one spell.” Her jittery gaze settled on a book recessed in a shelf. One labelled ‘Do not touch! Dangerous!’. Twilight bit her lip. Couldn’t hurt to take a look, right? —————— “Honey, dear, buttercup…” Night Light’s deep and soothing voice would usually be able to calm any histrionics, but the mellow tones fell on deaf, twitching ears. “We’re going and that’s final!” Twilight Velvet shot back. “Not writing back to all those letters I sent, the nerve of my daughter!” “I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it,” Night Light reassured. He tried a different tack. “She was awfully busy during this year. She’s saved Equestria numerous times, she’s a Princess now! We’re proud of her.” Remarkably, that argument seemed to take some of the steam out of Velvet. “Maybe we could just forget the whole thing and give her a chance to send us a letter?” An ear twitched, a tail flicked and a head cocked, considering. Then her eyes hardened and Night Light repressed the urge to sigh. “My boy Shiney has been able to send me replies and he’s a grown stallion! A Prince, too! My little colt is settled down with a wonderful mare. I bet I’ll have grandfoals within the year! I’m worried about Twilight, dear. She’s so wrapped up in her career, she’s bound to be lonely.” Night Light didn’t look so sure. “She seems happy.” Velvet shook her head. “No, no, no, she just seems happy. Behind that smile is the tinge of loneliness and heartache! She needs a family there to support her. She needs a special somepony.” “You want more grandfoals don’t you?” “Well it wouldn’t hurt! It’d give me a reason to visit too!” “Velvet, dear,” Night Light pressed. “Aren’t you… overreacting?” He hated using that word, but sometimes it worked. “I’m not overreacting,” Velvet replied a tad too quickly to suggest she wasn’t. “I’m fine! Perfectly fine!” Night Light put at his disposal all the years of experience his marriage had given him in one last effort. “Are you worried our foals don’t need us anymore? They grew up awfully fast.” Velvet fidgeted. “It’s not that…” Night Light drew a hoof around her neck and led her to the sofa. “Really, dear? Is that all?” Velvet played with a stray mane. “We’ve never had much of a connected family. When I see my little foals growing up and moving away, I feel like we’re cutting threads, one by one.” She sighed. “Dear Celestia, I hardly get letters, let alone see them.” Night Light finally realised the crux of the matter. He’d been easy-going, admittedly, but he did miss seeing their little bright faces around the house. “Okay, dear, I understand wanting to visit,” he said gently, giving her a light kiss on the forehead. “But really? Hinting at romance? You know how awkward our little Twilight is.” Velvet wrung her hooves. “That’s what I’m worried about! She’ll end up lonely like Miss. Wibbly!” Night Light raised an eyebrow. “The old mare that lives down the road?” “Yes!” “She’s happy, dear, someponies like being alone.” Velvet bit her lip. “Not my little Twi-twi!” Night Light patted his wife on her shoulder. “Love, my dear, comes differently to everypony. Just give her a while.” For a moment, Night Light relaxed as Velvet nodded slowly. Good, he thought. Disaster averted. Then Velvet’s ear twitched, her expression became a mixture of thoughtful and scheming. Night Light fought the urge to suppress a groan. He’d been with his wife long enough to recognise that look. “What is it, dear?” he asked reluctantly. “You know, we’re not experts in love,” she began, her hooves gesturing in the air like she were weighing her thoughts. Night Light rolled his eyes, sensing there was a trap, but not seeing the form of it. “Yes…” he replied cautiously. “So, maybe we should ask the opinion of sompony we do know who are experts!” Night Light gaped at his wife, knowing exactly what she was suggesting. “Hey now wait a minute—” “We’ll ask Shiny and Cadance to set them up!” Velvet exclaimed, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. Night Light gaped at her. “That’s got to be the most—” “Amazing idea ever, I know!” Velvet replied blithely ignoring her husband’s groan. “Remember why you married her,” he muttered to himself. “Remember why you married her…” “Nighty, dear, I want you to get a directory from Ponyville and Canterlot.” He took a deep breath, curious despite himself. “And why is that, honey?” She blinked at him as if he were a foal for asking such a simple question. “Why to make a list of all the potential partners my little Twi-twi can date! We can all go through the list together. I can wait to show this idea to Shiny and Cadance!” —————— Shining Armor shivered as he stepped on the train. “Is something wrong, Shiny?” The former Captain glanced back in the direction of Canterlot. “I-I don’t know,” he replied warily. “I felt an ominous premonition.” Cadance gave him a small peck on the cheek. “Ah, a dark and brooding Shiny… I like it.” She giggled as he turned blush red. “A cute Shiny is almost as nice.” Shining Armor shot Canterlot one more look. Maybe it was just a few misgivings about seeing his parents again. He shook his head. Mom was ecstatic when he revealed his feelings for Cadance. He had nothing to worry about… right? Author's Note Whooo update. In a looooong while. Yep, finally. Got around to it. Finally. As usual, bug me for updates and I'll prioritise around them. Next Chapter: The Power of... Matchmaking? As always, my ludicrous-speed readers, thanks for reading! P.S. One rough passthrough from editing, sorry! Some very minor edits. Some more minor edits, thanks cyberlord4444! 3 - Casimir EffectChapter 3: Casimir Effect Shining Armor saw Night Light pacing restlessly in front of the station. Somehow he didn’t think their arrival was the source of his father’s agitation. Was it the upcoming gathering? His parents had seemed fine then, though his mother’s letter was worrying to some extent… To my little colt, We’re holding a gathering soon! The first one, I know! Listen, Shiny, I’d really like to see you there and Princess Cadance. Especially Cadance. We haven’t had much time to catch up with your sister, so we’re hosting the event at her castle. Everypony will be there, your grandma, your aunt and uncle on your father’s side, if I can track them down—heavens if I’ll know where they’ve been. So bring whoever you’d like, but don’t forget Cadance! With love, Your Mom P.S. Mind your mother, remember what she was like before the wedding. — Dad What really puzzled him was the repeated mentions to bring Cadance. Of course he was going to bring his wife. Why wouldn’t he? “Do you think something’s wrong?” Shining confided to his partner. The alicorn smiled giving a half-hearted shrug. “Nothing’s wrong,” she said dreamily. “As long as you’re here.” Shining smiled, it was hard to get worried when Cadance wasn’t. “You’re right. Maybe it’s nothing.” Cadance tapped him on the nose. “Okay, you’ve piqued my curiosity, what is it? Let me guess. Your mother?” Shining nodded. “You know me too well,” he admitted. “I mean I love my Mom and my sister to death, but sometimes…” “They can get too excited?” Shining’s nose scrunched up as his eyebrows drew down. “I was going to say crazy, but yeah, let’s go with that.” “Oh Shiny, the world isn’t made of black and white. I love you too, but sometimes it’s hard for me to explain how we feel.” “We?” “Those of us who have feelings, dear.” Shining sighed. How could he explain to his wife that he knew exactly what they were talking about, but he just didn’t think it was a big deal? He skirted around the potential trap. “Of course.” Cadance raised an eyebrow. “I know from that tone that you’re not convinced.” Shining shook his head. “No, you’re right, it’s probably nothing.” “And when you say it’s nothing, it’s definitely something.” Cadance pursed her lips. “Come on, out with it.” “I can’t help but feel that this is going to be a disaster.” Cadance smiled. “Oh please, every family meeting’s a disaster.” Shining scuffed a hoof. “Well, I don’t know about that.” “I think I would know what qualifies as an unusual family, just think of my aunt.” “Celestia is perfect. Why would that be a problem?” Cadance rolled her eyes. “Ponies like you would say that. Ponies are never perfect, but that’s not the point, the point is I never felt like I could match up to her at all.” Shining blinked. “But you’re always so great!” he said. “You haven’t got her legacy but you’ve definitely lived up to expectations!” She rolled her eyes but also smiled. “Of course you would say that. Stop being so sweet; you’ll give me a toothache.” Cadance nudged him with her flank. “What I’m trying to say is that families are often not what you’d expect, and having a rocky extended family is just par for course.” Shining let out his pent-up anxiety in one big breath. “Okay, yes. You’re right of course.” There was an awkward silence between them both for a few moments. “Should we go meet your father?” “What? Oh yes!” he started forward, but drew back when Cadance caught him by the fore leg. “Wait Shiny.” Cadance eyed the letter. “What’s it say, anyway?” Shining shrugged. “Here,” he said with a reassured smile. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Cadance took the letter. Her face began with an amused expression, but it soon rapidly progressed to caution, worry and finally, abject horror. “Shiny?” “Hmm?” “I-I think we should go back to the Crystal Empire.” Shining gave Cadance a beatific smile. “It’s too late for that, dear.” “Why?” “Because Mother’s found us. There’s no escape now.” “Cadance!” “Mrs. Sparkle.” Velvet gave her a stern look. “Now, now, what did I say?” Cadance amended herself hastily. “M-Mother.” “Oh Cadance, you’re looking lovely as always,” Night Light said. He glanced meaningfully at his son. “We need to talk?” “About what?” Velvet cocked her head with curiosity. “Nothing, dear, just some catching up on the recent hoof-ball tournaments.” “Oh, well, you two have fun, I’ll spend some quality time with my daughter in law.” It was hard to miss the not-so-subtle gleam in Velvet’s eyes. ‘Help me,’ Cadance mouthed to her husband as she was dragged by her hoof. Shining couldn’t say much as he was dragged away by the shoulder in the opposite direction. “I love you!” he shouted desperately. —————— “Why did you drag me away?” Shining whispered irritably. He sported an annoyed frown. He had no real need to whisper, but his mother had the best ears for gossip. At least, the kind that concerned her family. The first time he shared a kiss with Cadance, his mother had known before their lips were dry. He shivered with the thought of her plans. Whatever they were, they were probably a bubble of fussing, overprotective advice, and a heavy dose of smothering affection. “What’s going on, Dad?” Night Light took a deep breath, looking around as if he would find his wife behind a barrel or a door frame. As it happened, they were in a rustic-looking bar, but there weren’t anything sold at this time of day. It was mainly a restaurant rather than a bar. Shining’s father lead his son to a booth and sat down heavily. “It’s not looking good, son.” Shining blinked. “I’ve seen Mom worked up before, we can handle it.” Night Light waved a weary hoof. “Not this time, son.” He fixed him with a heavy look, laden with hidden meaning. “Your mother has it in her mind to, uhh, help your sister.” “Twily? Why? She’s practically perfect!” Night Light chuckled heartily. “I’m very proud of her too, but your mother worries, no matter how accomplished you’ve gotten.” Shining knew the truth of that. Even after graduating the top of the class in the Military Academy, achieving the rank of Captain, marrying a Princess, becoming a Prince, and fending off a horde of changelings with the power of Love, Mom had insisted in coming along with him to the Crystal Empire for the first few days. She would have come if Cadance hadn’t persuaded her that there would be a sensitive diplomatic situation with neighbouring countries that required certain delicacy. Due to diplomatic security reasons, she couldn’t come along. At least, that was what she told her. Even then, she’d kept sending letters that arrived at the strangest hours, often during the middle of meetings. Mail was forwarded to their rooms, but the backlog just kept getting higher and higher. Well, he had tried answering most of them, but there were other duties, a million other matters that clamoured for his attention. He sighed. This week was a stroke of luck. Some time to themselves, a little escape from the burden of ruling for a while. The Crystal Empire was mostly stabilised, and there was time once again for family. The letter, though, had concerned him. His mother had sounded different. “Anyway, you must be wondering why I’ve drawn you away from your wife. It must have looked like I’ve tossed her to the timberwolves, so to speak.” Shining met his Dad’s sheepish expression with a raised eyebrow. Night Light cleared his throat. “Son, it’s for your own good,” he said gravely. “Trust me, you don’t want to go to the house right now.” Shining narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What’s so bad back there?” Night Light closed his eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath. Shining knew that tic, his father often did that when he was breaking bad news and he needed a moment to ‘lay it all out’ as he would say. “Remember that time during Hearth’s Warming when your mother and your wife were in the kitchen discussing Twilight?” Shining frowned as he tried to recall the memory. “Yes… I got out of there as fast as I could, they were starting to match every bachelor and bachelorette out there for Twily.” Shining shrugged uncomfortably. “The thought of potential suitors for my sister was kind of disturbing, but they loved it.” A sudden thought occurred to him. “Wait, you don’t think—” Night Light nodded, licking his lips. “This time, your mother’s got it in her head to do it again. This time for real. You shouldn’t go in there, it’s a war zone.” Shining blinked. “Well it can’t be too ba—” He stopped himself and remembered stumbling across one of the spare guest rooms that Cadance had claimed was under renovations. Curious about a room that had been under renovations for years on end, Shining had taken a quick peek inside. He’d had to clamp a hoof around his own mouth to suppress the gasp of shock. The walls had been plastered ceiling to floor with every pony they had ever met or known for the past few years. Dots had been connected with strings in an intricate web that looked more like the den of a crazed rainbow-obsessed spider, than a guest room of a royal castle. “Oh dear Celestia,” Shining whispered as it sunk in. “They’re going to destroy Equestria.” Night Light glanced outside, his eyes shying away from the bright sunlight that contrasted his troubled mood. “Well, son, I doubt even she could help.” ————— Twilight fumbled among the books, skimming some, delving briefly into others, before tossing them into a pile of books at the centre of the room. Spike was busy reshelving the books, one by one, but for every book he shelved, three more took their place as another casualty in the grand massacre of Twilight’s book crusade. Very soon, he threw up his arms in frustration and threw a book in her direction. “Twilight, you’re acting crazy!” he yelled. “I’m not crazy!” she belted back. “I’m absolutely, sane, composed, logical, reasoned, lucid, rational, coherent, stable, normal, and any other synonym you care to name that proves my absolute sanity!” “Really?” he asked, unable to keep the frustration creeping into his tone. He gestured with a claw outside. “What do you call that?” Outside the window, a faintly sparkling shield shimmered around the town. Ponies outside gazed up in concern, or perhaps at the blue pegasus that was slamming into the shield and yelling inaudible profanities. “You do know Rainbow Dash’s house is outside the shield, right?” Spike saw Rainbow scream a few more things, then back up, preparing to dive at the barrier, presumably giving everything she got. Twilight glanced outside started. “Oh!” she said. “Easily fixed!” She turned back to Spike, concentrated briefly, and made a hole at the precise moment that Rainbow attempted a Sonic Rainboom. The pegasus went straight through the gap without any of the expected resistance, and ploughed through at lightning speed… all the way to Applejack’s newly-raised barn. Even from the castle, Spike could hear Applejack. “Dang nabbit, Twilight!” “It’s fine!” Twilight replied to his shocked expression. “Perfectly fine! I’ve seen Applejack raise a barn in less than an hour! If that doesn’t work, magic fixes everything!” “What about Rainbow Dash?” Twilight flicked a hoof. “She’s fine, everything’s fine!” “Ahhhh! It hurts! Everything hurts! Don’t get me wrong, I’m hardcore, but I think something’s broken!” “Magic can fix bones!” Twilight said. “As long as there aren’t too many—” “All of them hurt, I think I broke all my bones! Call a doctor!” Twilight smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “Rainbow Dash sure knows how to exaggerate, am I right?” “I’m not kidding this time, I think several of my bones are broken!” Twilight strained in the ensuing silence, but when there were no further comments, her friend or otherwise, Twilight sunk to the ground with a moan. Spike tapped his foot and crossed his arms as he waited for Twilight to finally realise what a mess she’d made. “I’m not…” she trailed off under his unimpressed, judgemental, unfair… concerned gaze. “Oh Spike, what am I going to do?!” The dragon sighed as he rubbed the back of his head and held out his paw, counting off points with each claw. “Well you’ve tried running away from it, hiding away from it, ignoring it, denying it, throwing magic at it, and talking to your friends about it.” “Oh Spike, but that’s everything!” Spike raised an eyebrow. “There’s one thing you haven’t tried.” Twilight perked up hopefully. “What? What haven’t I tried.” Spike crossed his arms. “Dealing with it.” Twilight shrunk back. “Oh,” she said. “Right.” ——————— Over Ponyville, Luna and Celestia arrived with a contingent of guards surrounding a carriage of gems. They stopped outside the faintly glowing bubble. “It appears to be a shield,” Celestia remarked casually. She studied it, blinking with surprise at the creative combinations of cryptological calculations created comprehensively within the complete conjuration. Luna poked it with a hoof. “A mighty one, sister. One only an alicorn with an extensive reserve of magic can cast, and even then only after extensive training in all forms of magic.” They looked at each other. “Twilight?” Luna said. “Twilight.” Celestia sighed. Author's Note The Casimir Effect is the force observed at the quantum level when two conductors are placed very close to each other. Next Chapter: It's... complicated, Mom. As always, my thematically themed readers, thanks for reading! 4 - The Neighbour Exclusion EffectChapter 4: The Neighbour Exclusion Effect “There, everything is perfect.” Spike congratulated himself on a job well done. The table was set, the dishes had been cleaned and wiped down, the food was being prepared, only… He peeked under the table. “You’re going to have to come out of there one day.” “No, I don’t!” Twilight shot back. “I have everything I need. Food, books, bedding, books, water, and books!” Spike wiped a claw over his snout. “What if you need to go to the toilet?” “Magic!” “Listen, Twi’, you can’t use magic to solve all your problems.” “Magic has literally solved every major problem I’ve had!” Spike considered this, then rejected it outright. “That just sounds like a convenient plot hole cover. You’re not thinking things through.” “If the magic is powerful enough, then the spell will work! Transversal correlative magical efficacy! I merely have to apply the theory, match the right equations, account for all the variables, make a model, test the model and gather data! If the data doesn’t fit the model you just have to iterate—” Spike bent low, flopping down on the ground next to her. “You know this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I told you that you had to confront them.” He reached out with a claw and patted her shoulder. Twilight made to say something, but stopped, and merely traced a hoof along the floor. She looked like she wanted to encase herself in the crystal that made up its surface. “I know, Spike, it’s just… what if they’re… you know?” “They’re not that bad.” He cast his thoughts back in recollection. “I mean, I’ve only met them once or twice, but each time was totally fine.” Twilight rested her head between her legs, her eyes looking up at him soulfully. “Mom keeps feeding you gems when you’re around. You haven’t seen the other side of her.” “What other side?” “You know when Cadance is around and she’s talking to Rarity?” “Rarity…” “Focus, Spike.” “Okay, sorry.” Twilight pursed her lips. “What do you think their conversations were all about?” Spike made a face. “Ergh, yuck, all the lovey-dovey stuff. I mean I can take a little mush, but that was like a day-old porridge.” “See, Spike? It’s not that easy when they’re around.” Spike shrugged uncomfortably. “I guess not.” “Right. I don’t want to go there. Not yet, at least.” “You’re going to have to come out of there someday, Twi’.” “I know,” Twilight grumbled, “but I like it down here. It’s warm and cosy and very predictable. It fits my model of reality perfectly.” Spike didn’t comment on her answer, he just stared at her with a raised eyebrow. When Spike wants to look unimpressed, he can really pull it off. With a tortured groan, Twilight crawled out from beneath the table. “Come on,” he told her with a smile. “There’s still stuff to do before they arrive.” Twilight blinked. “Stuff?” “Like apologising to Rainbow—hey come back!” ————————— Both stallions froze at the unexpected sight that greeted them. They had steeled themselves with several beverages before coming back, but nothing could quite prepare them for their respective beloveds, especially with those expressions. Especially with those expressions. “Exit strategy?” Night Light mumbled. “None, sir,” Shining answered. “Blast.” “Hello, dears,” Velvet began smoothly. Her voice seemed to be spun of silk and satin. “We need some help.” “Shining. Father.” Cadance’s was warm honey and syrup. “We need your help with this.” Both stallions couldn’t help it, they both took a step back. “Night Light, dear, you don’t seem well, perhaps you’d like to sit down?” Velvet drew up a chair. “Shining, we’ve made tea and biscuits,” Cadance continued with mesmeric eyes. Shining felt like he was squirming helplessly in a web of wifely impressions. He could almost see the concealed fangs. “Nice knowing you, son,” Night Light whispered. “You were always my favourite dad.” “What?!” “Nothing.” ———————— Velvet rolled her eyes. “We can hear you both, you know.” “Point still stands,” Shining mumbled. Cadance tutted. “It’s not much, but after I got over the initial shock, it was quite interesting, really.” Shining shared a look with his father. They nodded. So far they didn’t seem as bad as they thought. “You see we’ve come to a conclusion,” Cadance continued. “Twilight needs some guidance.” Wariness returned to both stallions. “And how can we help?” Shining slowly eased himself into his chair. Velvet tittered. “This is a family thing, you know? We need to set an example.” Shining glanced at her wife. Her wife held his gaze. The comfortable chair suddenly felt rough and uneven. He found himself shifting uncomfortably. “You don’t mean—?” Velvet lifted an eyebrow meaningfully. Shining cast a look to Cadance. “Can I have a word with you?” “Excellent idea,” Velvet said, “I would like a word with my husband too.” —————— Closing the door to his former room, Cadance looked around with mild interest. “You know, I’ve never been in your room before. College dorms, military bunkers… not the most private places, or romantic ones.” Shining caught the undertone and held out his hooves. “I know that line of thought, but this is Twilight we’re talking about, not us.” Cadance smiled. “You risk the wrath of your wife over your sister?” Shining lifted his chin. “I believe we both have the best interests of Twilight at heart.” Cadance glanced at the door. “Good, because your mother is crazy.” “No way, even if you—wait, what?” “Your mother,” Cadance hissed. “She’s totally lost it.” “Oh, I thought this was going to go in a totally different direction.” “I’m all for setting Twilight up with somepony so she’d find some romance in her life, goodness me that mare’s a shut-in.” Shining blinked. “Uhh…” He felt like he needed to say something in his sister’s defence, but Cadance did have a point. “She’s not exactly… well…” “I’m all for setting her up with somepony—” Cadance rolled her eyes “—but your mother was considering every stallion in the district and beyond!” Shining shifted his hooves uncomfortably. “See I thought that because you came over last time…” “Oh please, give me some credit.” Cadance tapped the floor with her hoof impatiently. “They were just hypotheticals. It needs something real. Close proximity, some interaction, or a good crush to build on. Like that guard we have? Or maybe Applejack’s brother?” “A-Applejack’s brother?!” “No, you’re right. Friendship friction. Maybe another stallion in Ponyville? There’s bound to be other cute ones. Oh! A pegasus! She can fly with them now.” “Woah, woah, woah, let’s back up a bit, I thought we were talking about my mother being crazy?” Cadance snorted. “Well, yeah, your mother even considered the mailpony. That’s just fantasy snuff.” She tilted her head and frowned. “You know she asked me if alicorns, uhh, did it, the same way normal ponies did?” “Huh?” “Yep. Then she asked if we should consider ‘broadening our borders’.” “To what?” “To other species.” “What?” Shining wrinkled his muzzle. “That doesn’t make any sense—” “Unless you’re in a mid-life crisis. Which your mother is. Except it’s more of an empty-nest thing. Or maybe she’s got some issues with grandma—” “—Grandma is coming?!” Cadance blinked. “You didn’t know?” Shining’s forehead broke out in cold, frosty sweat. He gulped audibly. “She’s not really coming, right?” Cadance patted him on the back. “It’ll be fine, Shining. We’ll deal with it when it gets here. In any case, I can’t really pin a reason down for Velvet’s heel-turn, it’s a bit of a train wreck.” “Alright, alright, alright,” Shining said hastily. “What do we do?” Cadance blinked at him. “Are you kidding? We don’t do anything. If we get in between your mother and Twilight, we’ll be trampled in the Velvet shipping express.” She shook her head. “Just play along, follow my lead, and make sure you just smile and nod, no matter how crazy it sounds.” Cadance sighed. “She’ll quickly realise that it isn’t going to work, whatever her plan is.” Shining hooked an arm around her as she turned to the door. “Cadance, I’m worried about Twilight.” “What?” He shifted his hooves uneasily. “I mean if Mom sent me a letter, then she would have sent Twiley one.” Cadance’s eyes widened. “You don’t think she’ll…” Shining swallowed. “She’d probably be freaking out right now.” Cadance rushed to the window and peered out the window towards Ponyville. Though mostly obscured by a few other buildings, Cadance could make out the faint glow of a magical shield. She’d know, there was one for her wedding. “Shining,” she murmured faintly, “look at this.” Shining scrambled to the window, sweeping the landscape until he found out what Cadance was talking about. “That’s… my Twiley.” ———————— “Velvet, dear…” “Night Light.” She was smiling giddily. “I have made a list.” Night Light knew better than to argue against the list. He knew Twilight also kept lists, but at least she had toned down on them in recent times. He used to think it was cute when she was a foal, showing him a sorted list on organising her books, a list for things to do, a list for the lists of things to do, a checklist for the lists, a checklist for the checklist for the— Night Light shook his head. On that road was the abyss, and it didn’t bode too well to stare. “A list?” he ventured. It was an innocuous query, but the path was fraught with marital dangers. “A list!” Velvet repeated, pulling out an incongruous parchment. It must have been magic, because when she had unfurled it, the scroll bounced off the chair, rolled across the wooden floor and exited out the kitchen. He hoped the door was closed, because he was pretty sure it might end up in Manehatten. Though the question sent tingles of unease through his frame, Night Light had to ask it. “A list of what?” “Topics to discuss with my daughter, of course!” “That many?” Velvet gave him a look as if to say he was daft. “Of course, it’s half a year’s worth! There’s so much to catch up on.” Night Light sagged in relief. “Here I thought you were going to ask me about Twilight’s love life.” Velvet giggled. “Oh don’t be silly. You have no role in that.” She smacked him on the arm. “Just stand there with mild approval and you’ll be the favourite parent.” That was no fun. If he couldn’t freak out his daughter’s future partner, what was the point of being a father? “It’s tradition.” He huffed. “I should be grudgingly disapproving so I can fulfil the cliché of a doting father.” Velvet rolled her eyes. “You mean suffocating, just let the poor mare have whoever she wants. I want a family.” Night Light frowned. “You already have one.” “I want a bigger one. One that I can be a part of.” “Oh alright.” He suddenly thought of something. “When is your mother coming?” Velvet sighed. “Oh, she said she would visit directly. You know how she is. She invites herself.” Night Light winced. “You know the last time she came…” “Oh don’t be a worrywart, I’m sure it will be fine.” But even she didn’t sound sure of her reassurance. “Now, let’s go through the list.” Night Light had forgotten about the mile-long document. He showed his wife a gritted smile. “Of course, dear.” ———————— Luna and Celestia stood outside the barrier. “What shall we do, sister?” Luna peered at the shielding. She was probably thinking of taking it down by brute force. “It would be a good idea to send her a message, first.” Celestia summoned a parchment, quill and ink pot. “Hmm. Mayhap this is a bad time to visit with the diplomatic cache of gems for the dragons?” “I’m sure Twilight will have let us know if there were any pressing issues. Just in case, I will send a letter.” Celestia hastily scribed her message and then sent it in a puff of magic smoke. The letter went through the barrier as Celestia heaved a sigh of relief. She didn’t know what she would do if that didn’t go through. “Superb strategy, sister,” Luna commented with a proud smile. “I had forgotten about dear Spike.” “Indeed,” Celestia replied, “and now we wait.” ———————— A steady knock on the door jolted Twilight out of her book. She remembered starting on a reference on dealing with family, but ended up in the philosophy section on life, the universe and everything. She gaped at the incriminating trail of books that led straight to her. How much time had she wasted? But it was just one more book at the time… Spike poked his head in. “Hey I thought you said you were heading out to dispel the spell?” He caught the trail of books. “Oh, right.” With a stifled groan he started gathering up the books. “Somepony’s at the door to see you, you better go take a look.” “My family?” “No,” he replied wryly. “Your friends.” “Oh,” Twilight said in relief. “Thank you Spike!” Twilight made her way to the main entrance. If it was her friends, then she could ask them for help. Twilight took a deep breath, then opened the door. Rainbow was there in a few bandages with Pinkie smiling brightly next to her. “Hiya Twilight!” Pinkie greeted. “Rainbow said she wanted to see you, so I told her you were hiding under the table in the castle!” She grinned easily over the withering corpse of Twilight’s smile. “Hello, Rainbow,” she muttered. Rainbow didn’t say anything, which made it all the more frightening. Twilight had expected Rainbow to snap at her. “Uhm… you both better come inside.” “Okie dokie lokie!” ————————— Applejack and Apple Bloom were outside Carousel Boutique. “Ah swear…” “You didn’t think Rainbow was gonna crash into the barn, right?” Apple Bloom giggled. “Saved us the trouble, we were going to knock it down next week.” “Ah’m concerned about Rainbow.” “Pinkie said she was going to handle it” Apple Bloom didn’t look concerned at all, having accepted that Pinkie could solve any problem. “She Pinkie Promised, so Ah think it’ll be alright.” Applejack was doubtful. Rainbow had been shouting a lot when she’d crashed into the barn. “Ah think it’s a good idea to get together an intervention of sorts. Twilight’s a good pony, but sometimes she overthinks things. A smart pony like her sometimes makes me think her head’s full of hay.” Apple Bloom seemed to agree. “So we gonna see Twilight’s family? Ah wonder how they’re going to be different to ours?” Applejack grinned. “Oh, hopefully not like the Oranges. I couldn’t stand all that prim and proper stuff.” Apple Bloom glanced at the boutique. “Then why’re we outside Rarity’s house?” “Well Apple Bloom—” Applejack paused “—actually, watch this.” Applejack pounded on the door to the boutique. “Hey Rares!” Rarity opened the door, looking concerned. “What is it Applejack? All that banging and yelling, is there an emergency?” Applejack grinned. “Better than that. Rarity, you would not believe what’s going to happen.” ————————— “Ooooooooooooh!” Rarity’s squeal was as undignified as it was high-pitched. She clapped her hooves together and grinned ear to ear. “See, Apple Bloom? Ah told ya. She does sound like her.” Apple Bloom giggled. Rarity broke from her excited reverie with a shake of her head. “Told her what?” “Nothin’ Rarity, we just need some advice to do with Twilight’s family.” “Her family, you say…” Rarity was definitely intrigued. “I believe we might have met her parents briefly at the coronation, but not enough for an impression.” She grinned. “We simply must meet them!” With a rush, Rarity swept into the back of her shop. Faint sounds of ‘no this isn’t good’, ‘the coordination might work’, ‘oh, the frills!’, and other fashion-related statements that made Applejack’s skin crawl, filtered back to the dining room. Despite that she smiled. “See, what’d Ah say?” Apple Bloom nodded. “Ah can’t believe Rarity squealed like Piggington.” Applejack chuckled. Apple Bloom looked over her shoulder. “Do you think Rarity is going to try an’ help?” Rarity swept back into the room, equipped with a stunning white summer dress with lacy frills and a levitating parasol. “What are we waiting for? We must go tell Fluttershy and bring her along!” Applejack smiled. “Ah can always trust Rarity to share juicy gossip and stick her nose into other ponies’ business.” —————————— Rainbow sat down at the table as Twilight busied herself in the kitchen. It was taking a while, and with each second that passed, Rainbow fumed a little more. “What’s taking her so long?” Rainbow muttered. “Maybe she’s whipping up something special for us to eat!” Pinkie’s eyes widened and her mouth watered at the prospect of delicious snacks. “Maybe it’ll be cupcakes! Oh wait!” As if reminded, Pinkie lifted her tail and curled it around, then rummaged around in it and fetched out a cupcake. “I have one right here.” Licking her lips, Pinkie bit into the cupcake and chewed loudly. “Mmmm yum!” Rainbow didn’t know how Pinkie kept the cupcakes, but sensing that thinking about it was a dangerous topic, instead focused on whether the cupcakes would have hair from her tail in them. She wouldn’t want to eat a cupcake with pink hair all over it… Wait, she was off track. “What’s taking her so long?” Rainbow was annoyed, but not angry. She had clamped down on most of her anger at Twilight for erecting the shield without telling her, mainly because she was partially at fault by flying into it so hard. Luckily, Rainbow had sped up instead of slowing down so that she could use a shockwave generating manoeuvre to demolish Applejack’s barn. She hadn’t been hurt except for a couple of bruises and sore joints. Nothing out of the usual for an unpredictable practice session. Still, she had expected some sort of apology and mostly an explanation, and Twilight still hadn’t come back. “What’s—” A clatter from the kitchen interrupted Rainbow. “Oooh! Let’s go check it out,” Pinkie said brightly, leaping from the chair. In the kitchen, Twilight was half-hanging out of the window, having tried to escape a moment before. Her rear-end dangled precariously in mid-air as she writhed in the aperture. “… What are you doing, Twilight?” Twilight struggled a little, but only succeeded in entrenching herself further into the window. She was stuck. “…Are you trying to run away?” The figure sagged. Rainbow shook her head in mute surprise. “Can’t you, like, teleport?” Twilight stiffened. There was an awkward pause. Then with a flash, Twilight reappeared in the kitchen, looking like that one time she accidentally spilled coffee on an essay she’d spent all night writing. ——————————— Rainbow was not impressed, but ran a hoof through her hair and nodded. “Gees Twi’, I came here all annoyed and ready to spit you out, but…” Rainbow left unsaid that Twilight looked worse than when she was organising the Grand Equestria Pony Summit by herself. She looked like the Wonderbolts had run her through the ringer. Several times. “Twilight, you look horrible!” Pinkie’s lack of tact was astounding in itself. But Rainbow had to admit that when the truth was laid out like that that topic was easier to approach. “I know!” Twilight moaned and sunk her head to the table, her mane falling into a disarray around her. Twilight’s breath made little misting circles on the crystal as she sighed like her soul was leaving her body. “It’s all been a mess. My family is…” she winced “A little strange. I didn’t want you to meet them, I tried to talk to Applejack, then found this spell, and saw you and then you hurt yourself and then I hid under the table, when that didn’t work and you showed up I—” “Woah, woah, Twilight, slow down!” It wasn’t like Rainbow couldn’t sympathise, family gathering of all kinds were hectic and rowdy in her house, but it was all worth it when the time came around. “Aww, Twilight, it won’t be so bad!” Pinkie exclaimed with a passionate grin. “We’ll just throw a party!” Twilight grinned weakly. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. A quick lunch, a tour of Ponyville and then… dinner.” “That doesn’t sound so bad,” Rainbow replied. “It’s just dinner.” “You don’t get it,” Twilight said, gritting her teeth. “It can get a little intense.” Rainbow and Pinkie shared a look of confusion, but Twilight simply pulled out a letter and wordlessly handed it over to them both. Rainbow read the contents. Then reread the contents. “This… this is something,” was all she could say. “Half a year!” Pinkie shouted. “That’s no good you should see them more often!” Rainbow was confused. “You know that Canterlot’s like one stop away, right?” Twilight gripped her head in her hooves. “I know,” she moaned. “I feel so guilty! I’m pretty sure I also visited Canterlot a couple of times without visiting them either!” Wow, Rainbow thought. That’s pretty bad… ———————— A bright flash lit the room. “Wowee that spell’s still got some kick in it!” The mare’s voice faded as the sudden arrival announced herself in a spectacular fashion. In the centre of a smoking circle was a pony that was swathed in a black cloak, had donned a pointy hat and clutched a staff in her right hoof. She leaned on it almost casually as she stuck a strange pose while grinning at the shocked faces that greeted her. Twilight gaped. “Grandma?” “Grandma?!” Rainbow spluttered. The mare looked barely older than Twilight. “Her?!” The mare flicked back her purple and pink mane. “Call me Satin, Twilight dear. Calling me grandma makes me feel old, you know?” The frivolous mare swept up Twilight in a crushing hug as she ruffled her hair. “You are such a little cutie pie.” Then she gasped, rubbing Twilight’s feathers. “Oh look at those wings, are those new? You are definitely going places, let me tell you. I think you’ll do well if you want to come with me.” “B-But you’re not supposed to arrive until noon!” “Oh you know how I am with schedules and the like.” Satin cackled, her hooves coming down with a clatter as she swept the room with a mischievous gaze. “Ooh, are these your friends?” Pinkie raised her hoof. “Oh, pick me!” Satin grinned. “I like this one. Energetic! Go ahead.” “I’m Pinkie Pie the Premier Party Pony Planner in all of Ponyville!” Pinkie leapt up and threw confetti, a couple of party cannons going off as she ended her introduction. “Oh this one is a natural. She should come along too!” “Come along where?” Pinkie asked. “Don’t worry about that,” Twilight said hastily. “It’s not important.” Twilight started herding Rainbow and Pinkie towards the door. “I’m sure my friends are busy and have lots to do so they should be going now.” Rainbow was drawing a blank. “What?” Satin leaned on her staff again and stuck out her tongue. “No Twilight, they should stay.” Twilight made to say something, but Satin cut in. “Listen to your elders and all that.” She touched her staff and the doors closed with a ponderous click, sealing the three to their fate. She turned to Rainbow and smiled. “I’m sure you both have a lot of questions.” ———————— “Oh? That’s your first question? Who am I?” Satin sipped at the tea and replaced the cup on the saucer with a delicate gesture. She waved a dismissive hoof. “It’s a boring question with many boring answers. I guess the best one to come up with is that I’m Twilight’s adoring Grandma.” She reached over and ruffled Twilight’s mane as the alicorn sat with her head sunk onto the table. Satin grinned at her. “Cheer up, little Twilight, I am a bit early, but you need to relax. My crazy daughter isn’t here yet.” “Twilight’s mom?” Rainbow asked curiously. “Oh she’s a handful, alright. Always fretting about this and that. Never could relax. I really wanted her to take over my mantle but I guess adorable Twilight will now be doing so!” “I-I didn’t agree to that!” Twilight retorted, but Satin didn’t seem to hear. “Ah, it’s nice having such a capable family. I would love to meet your brother again. Last I hear he was romping off in the military while you were off in your magical studies. I’m so proud of you!” Twilight mumbled a ‘thank you’ into the table, while Pinkie and Rainbow listened in with mild curiosity. Rainbow asked the question that hung in the air like loose laundry. “What do you do, exactly?” Twilight, who had been giving her frantic eye signals, flopped back onto the table. Satin’s grin could outdo a shark’s. With the way she leaned on the table, the light from the window struck at just the right angle to cause her coat to come alive with a golden splash of colour. She waggled her eyebrows. “Well, all sorts of things. Ever heard of jelly ponies?” “Huh?” “Ponies made of jelly. Crazy experiment by an insane wizard. He went by the name of Stark White. Lived in the land of perpetual snow and ice.” “Up in the north?” Rainbow was intrigued. “No.” Satin laughed. “South, very far south.” “What about the jelly ponies?” Pinkie looked a little hungry. Satin grinned, having captured their attention. “Well,” she said, “it goes like this…” ———————— Rainbow didn’t know what to say. Satin was a heck of a mare, if her adventures were anything to judge by. She was kind of like Daring Do, but with a lot more magic. Luckily, she was saved from making a reply as Spike half-vaulted, half-skidded down the stairs yelling out Twilight’s name. “We’ve got a problem!” He waved a scroll bearing a familiar royal seal. Twilight lifted her head from the table, she could feel a couple more mane strands pop out. “What now?!” Spike, seeing the new pony at the table, slowed down, but handed Twilight the scroll in the meantime. “Hello, Spike.” The mare smiled warmly. “I believe you’re too young to remember me. I’m Satin, pleased to meet you.” “Uh, hi?” Pinkie decided to be helpful. “Satin is Twilight’s Grandma!” Satin grinned. Author's Note The neighbour-exclusion effect is the general principle of excluding intercalation of bis-intercalators between adjacent DNA base-pairs. It's also a good title. Because metaphors. Next Chapter: Satin v. Princess v. Gems v. Daughter v. Grand-Daughter v. Grand-Daughter's Friends v. Everything As always, my eternally epistemologically empathic readers, thanks for reading! P.S. I'm way too busy, recently. Sorry for updating delays. Also, the google docs importer seems broken so I've used a workaround, but not sure if it works properly. Let me know if you spot errors (of any kind). P.P.S. The formatting is a little wibbly wobbly due to google docs importer being broken, so I guess I'll hang tight until it's fixed. Hopefully the slight changes in the lack of indentation hasn't turned anybody off. P.P.P.S. Formatting is still broken! I added descriptions for Satin. P.P.P.P.S. Thanks to TheGreatEater for fixing my stupid mistakes :) 5 - The Family’s Familiar Familial Familia Familiar5 - The Family’s Familiar Familial Familia Familiar Chapter 5: The Family’s Familiar Familial Familia Familiar When Twilight read the contents of the letter, Rainbow could see her face lose its colour, even through her coat. Twilight looked ready to have a nervous breakdown, so Rainbow decided to lend a helping hoof. “It’ll be alright, Twi’. What’s this about, anyway?” When Twilight merely groaned and sank back onto the table as Satin regarded the gesture with amusement, Spike filled everypony in instead. “I… uhh… kind of forgot to tell Twilight that the Princesses would be dropping off some gems at the castle.” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Just how many gems?” ————————— When the barrier was dismissed, Celestia let go of a breath she didn’t even know she held onto. “Well, that is a relief,” Luna said, echoing her own thoughts. “Yes, now to—” The rest of her sentence was choked back. “Satin?!” The pony tilted her head, then her eyes bulged wildly as she recognised the pair. “Hmm… oh! Erk! Hide me!” Satin dove behind Twilight, then peeked over her head. Twilight flipped around, confused, but then had to shield her eyes from the flash as Satin winked out of existence, teleporting away. “What? Why did she teleport away?” Celestia, head still reared in shock from the fleeting appearance of Satin, shook her head to clear the confusion. Luna swallowed. “Sister… was that—?” Celestia nodded. “Satin Splash, the Grand Archmage of the West.” Twilight frowned. “The what now?” Celestia seemed to finally notice the presence of her former student. “Oh, Twilight, I’m glad you’re here.” Her gaze skimmed across the ground where the barrier used to be. “I was worried something might have happened. Is there something wrong? Is that why the barrier was up? You took it down because you’ve handled it, right?” Twilight bit her lip, looking like she was about to rip a bandaid off. “Well Princess… I didn’t exactly take it down…” she trailed off, groping for words. Celestia knew that look. Twilight often wore the same expression when something had gone horribly, horribly wrong, and that it had been, at least in part, her fault. From the way her shoulders sagged, the weight of guilt looked as if it was going to crush her. “Twilight,” Celestia said gently, “why don’t we head to your castle? You can explain what is going on, while my sister stays with this convoy—where is Spike by the way.” Twilight twisted around. “Oh he was helping out with a few things before—oh there he is!” ———————— “Spike!” Luna called out, seeing the dragon running along. “Sorry—” huff “— I had to set out the table!” He bent down, claws on his knees as he caught his breath. “Just a sec. Phew.” Luna gestured to the guards towing the gems. They inclined their heads, bringing forward the cartload of gems. “We apologise for the short notice, but these gems only recently arrived. They’re supposed to be for diplomatic meetings, but I’m afraid we’ve not the space nor the personnel to keep track of these gems. At least for a few days.” Spike nervously chewed a claw. “A-And you’re trusting me to guard them?” Luna tilted her head. “Why yes, of course, Spike. You’ve proven yourself trustworthy for situations more dire than this.” She smiled warmly. “After this is over, we’ll even let you keep a few.” “Oh! Thanks!” With the prospect of a reward already making his mouth salivate, Spike renewed his determination and put his misgivings to the side. Peering at the trailer of carts, Spike could see that it held all manner of precious jewellery, not only gemstones. Rings, necklaces, some ancient-looking gold coins and other gem-encrusted accessories were heaped into dazzling piles. Unlike the ones he usually mined with Rarity, the gems in the carts had a deep pure lustre and brilliance that showed its quality. Spike’s cheeks billowed in consternation. “These are very expensive, aren’t they?” Luna laughed, contrasting his wary look. “Indeed! I’m sure they’ll be safe inside the castle. Let us move forth.” ——————— Twilight swallowed back her reservation and told the Princess everything. Celestia, for her part, seemed neither angry or disappointed for her part. If anything she looked sympathetic. “You aren’t mad?” “Why would I be mad, Twilight?” The answer carried a hint of stern reproach, but it was far from the reprisal that Twilight expected. In some ways, the agony of expecting more made it worse. “I-I mean—” Celestia touched her on the shoulder with a wing. “Twilight, perhaps the spell was a little over the top, but I could not fault you for what you’re feeling about your family.” She smiled, somewhat painfully. “If anything I understand what it is like to have a rough time with family.” Twilight stared at the ground, watching the grass sway in the gentle breeze. The day was amazing, the perfect weather, but her roiling thoughts and feelings pooled deep inside, blotting out the otherwise picturesque scenery around her with painful strokes. Despite that, the Princess’ words brought her a measure of sanity back, an assurance that perhaps… perhaps she wasn’t alone in having a family that was just a tad strange. “Thank you, Princess.” Celestia nodded. A wry gesture sprung to her face. “Now onto other matters. That was Satin, was it not?” Twilight nodded. “Yes, my grandmother.” “Your grand—” Celestia’s eyes widened and Twilight could almost swear she heard Celestia choke back some words, but she must have misheard, because the Princess would never do something that ungraceful “—well… talent does run in your family.” “Thank you, Princess.” Though she hadn’t the faintest idea why she thanked her. “But Satin as your grandmother? Well, that does explain a lot.” “About what, Princess? Who exactly is my grandmother? My mother used to say that she was just a slightly eccentric traveller. When I asked her, she winked and told me the same.” Celestia shook her head. “Your grandmother is the Grand Archmage of the West.” Celestia’s eyebrow raised a couple of notches. “She’s a powerful unicorn with immense abilities in the arcane that I fear may have surpassed the legendary Star Swirl the Bearded himself.” Twilight swallowed, ears twitching with nervous excitement. “How come I’ve never heard of her? Surely such a unicorn would be mentioned once or twice in literature?” Celestia sighed. “Satin is a very private pony. I’ve tried to persuade her to stay as the Court-appointed mage, but she dislikes titles and rules. Instead she travelled the world, after talking me into removing her existence from Equestrian records. She was instrumental in beating Discord back then. I think even Discord is a little afraid of her.” “Discord?!” Twilight spluttered. “Really?” Twilight’s scoff died in her throat when Celestia’s expression remained grave. Then, like the sun bursting out of the clouds, Celestia grinned heartily. “Well, today we try again! Now that we know Satin is your grandmother, perhaps you and I could convince her to become a Court-appointed mage.” “I…” The last time Twilight had seen Satin was on her fifth birthday, having been accepted into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She remembered the fact that she was a traveller and was identical in appearance back then as she was now. Her memories back then were tinged with warmth as Satin held her up with sparkling eyes, telling her of a new story… Celestia sighed contentedly. “Think of all the good we could do with Satin at the helm! Such an experienced and powerful mage, we could get a lot done.” Celestia’s eyes locked with Twilight’s own. “Would you help me convince her?” Never in her life had Twilight told the Princess no, and this time was no different. Though something was niggling her from the back of her mind, Twilight’s mouth opened and she responded— “Yes.” ——————— Velvet was beside herself with excitement. Her husband, for some reason, lacked the energy to stay awake on the train, only Celestia knew why. To her left sat Cadance with a demure smile on her face and Shining, her little colt, was seated opposite to her and was looking wide-eye and excited for the family gathering! The fact that he kept sending his shy looks to his wife and her was proof that he was so sweetly looking forward to the family reunion. To her right, the scenery of the verdant countryside whizzed by, showing a wondrous panorama to anypony that cared to look. Velvet was too preoccupied with the scroll in her hooves to notice. In her hooves was the conversation list she had created. To be sure she checked it twice, and for safety, had written another list to check for that list. In her saddlebags, another list of her discarded conversation topics were hidden, in case she ran out of all twelve thousand or so things to talk about in her master list. She always told herself to be organised and be prepared! There was nothing worse than doing something spontaneously. At least Twilight had taken her teachings to heart with that. Shining cleared his throat. “Uhm, mom?” Velvet, who was humming a pleasant tune at the time, stopped and smiled at her sweet little son. “Yes, Shiny?” Shining looked more excited by the second. Maybe he was as excited to see Twilight as she was? Those two siblings were awfully close most of the time. In fact, she was pretty sure they saw each other more than they saw her—she quashed the flash of jealousy before it could burn through her thoughts. That wouldn’t do, it wasn’t their fault. She would fix this. It was fine. Everything was going to be fine. She smiled extra wide to convey this to her nervous colt. For some strange reason he looked more apprehensive. Well the boy was a sensitive little thing, that’s what made him so sweet. Shining gulped audibly and settled back into his seat. “Never mind.” ——————— Much could be gleaned from the shoulder of the Grand Archmage of the West. From the perch of Satin’s shoulder, the diminutive mouse had seen empires rise and fall, oceans sweeping from horizon to horizon, and the lands both bountiful and desolate in the many adventures she’d been a part of since accidentally falling asleep in her saddlebags after eating almost all of her cheese. Her grey coat, now silver, stood in stark contrast to Satin’s plain dark robes. Having slept most of the way, Minnie had elected to wake when a primeval urge had filtered through her senses. “Who!” “Eek!” Wide, predatory eyes pinned the quivering mouse to her spot. Seeing now that she was still in the saddlebags of her facetious mistress, Minnie saw that there was no escape. She elected for negotiation instead. “Don’t eat me! I’m bony and chewy! I’d probably give you indigestion.” In case the owl decided to eat her anyway, she didn’t want to have her last image before passing on to be wicked talons and an outstretched beak. She covered her eyes with her little paws. “Who?” “You!” “Who?” “You—why do you keep asking? Just end the torment!” Minnie peeked out from behind her paws. The owl was perched on the bow of the saddle, seemingly smug with its playful nettling. “You’re… not going to eat me?” “Who?” “…I’m not going to fall for that. Aren’t you going to say anything other than ‘who’?” The owl fluffed its chest and tilted its head almost ninety degrees. “Don’t do that, it’s creepy.” The owl hopped into the saddlebag and snuggled up next to her. “Woah—hey, what are you doing?” “Who?” “…You, who else?” Her voice was tinged with annoyance, but she didn’t push him away. ——————— Velvet stood outside the shimmering barrier, mouth agape. Night Light glanced between the barrier and Shining. Shining shook his head and prompted him with the frantic flick of his hooves for him to do something about it. He shifted his gaze to Cadance, who looked apprehensive, but merely shrugged. “I’m sure… there’s an explanation for this.” Velvet took it entirely the wrong way. “She’s… locking me outside of her life now?!” Night Light took a deep breath. “Now I’m sure she didn’t—” “Unacceptable! I will tear down this shield myself if I have to. Shining, Cadance, Night Light, help me!” Shining shared a look with his father, Night Light could only shrug. With three unicorns and an alicorn, surely they could take down the shield? ——————— Satin appeared back in the castle. “You two!” “AH! What?” Rainbow and Pinkie froze mid-step, being halfway to the kitchen to bake something. Actually, Pinkie had wanted to bake something and she was in the process of roping Rainbow Dash into baking something with her. “Don’t tell Celestia or Luna I was here,” Satin said quickly. “I was never here.” “What? Wait!” Satin ignored Rainbow’s calls and headed to her saddlebags. “Minnie—woah, what happened?” Rainbow followed, but stopped in surprise when the saddlebags spoke back to her. “Don’t ask me. There’s an owl that is sleeping next to me, I don’t know why.” Satin looked confused. “I didn’t cast a spell did I?” The bag answered back. “No, you didn’t.” Rainbow approached cautiously. “Uhh, why is your bag speaking?” Satin glanced back at Rainbow, a picture of confusion that cleared in a few moments. “Oh, wait, I haven’t shown you Minnie, this is Minnie.” Satin reached inside the saddlebag and pulled out a small rodent. The mouse waved a small paw. “Hello.” Rainbow’s jaw dropped. “What? Mouse got your tongue?” Minnie cocked her head. “No, that was bad.” “Sure was. Now we gotta get rid of the owl and leg it—” “Who!” “Oh!” Rainbow recognised the bird. “That’s Owlowiscious.” Satin blinked. “Owl—what now?” Rainbow shrugged. “Don’t ask me, that’s what Twilight named him.” The owl fluttered out the bag and landed on Satin’s outstretched hoof. He began preening Minnie’s fur, all the while as she squirmed and called for help. “No, not there! Oh sweet Mus in heaven why?!” Satin grinned in amusement. “Enjoying yourself?” “Get this bird of prey off me! Or do you not realise I’m actually prey! Stop it! I don’t know if you’re just toying with your food or being nice!” With a flash, another pony entered the room. “Gah!” Rainbow yelled. “Doesn’t anypony use the door?” “Nope!” Pinkie called back cheerfully from the window. “I heard Applejack, I’m going to step out!” Rainbow blinked, as a positively livid mare stood huffing in the centre of the room. “Where’s Twilight?!” Satin tilted her head in mild curiosity. “Oh hello, daughter, fancy seeing you use a teleportation spell.” “Mother? Twilight—where is she?” Satin glanced back at her saddlebags and sighed. “Ah well, best deal with this first. Rainbow? Will you be a dear and fetch Twilight for me?” Rainbow glanced between Satin and Twilight’s mother. She looked ready to break down a brick wall with her bare hooves. Seeing Rainbow’s hesitation, Satin gave her a smile of reassurance. “I’ll make sure things don’t get too crazy. Please fetch her.” “Alright…” Rainbow left the room, but before the door could fully close she winced at the explosive yelling that leaked out. “Yeesh, now I get it.” —————— Tired and exhausted, Shining Armor, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Night Light, collapsed at the base of the now-dissipated barrier. Night Light tried mightily to choke out a few strangled words, but could not muster a comprehensible sentence before Velvet disappeared in a flash of light, signalling her teleportation to what he could only surmise was Twilight’s castle. “She—” cough “—was furious!” Shining gasped. The others settled for silent agreement. They lay there puffing for a few more moments, trying to recover the spent energy from blasting an nigh-impenetrable shield. “Twilight is getting really good at these.” Cadance pursed her lips. “I thought we were the experts in the shield business.” “Sometimes—” huff “—I wish my sister wasn’t quite so talented in magic.” Night Light agreed, but didn’t say anything, catching himself feeling mildly guilty about being overly proud of his daughter. Then again, if Twilight kept in contact and didn’t focus so much on being a career mare, maybe this problem wouldn’t have existed in the first place. “…We better get going. The thought of leaving Velvet alone with Twilight is not sitting right with me.” Shining and Cadance started getting up immediately. Cadance touched her horn, and quickly took her hoof away. It was still smoking hot after the plethora of energy expended. “I hope this is the last bit of drama before the day is up, I don’t think I can take much more of this.” ——————— “Mother.” “Velvet, honey.” The frosty silence between them was almost unbearable. Despite that, her mother seemed not to mind, merely smiling as usual. Velvet found, as always, a feeling of irksome exasperation at her mother’s blatant gall. She sat there, pleased as punch, as she fumed with the fire of motherly care. She was passionate about her family. Not like her mother who went gallivanting off on an adventure at every opportunity she got, even when Daddy had passed— No! This wasn’t about mother, this was about her family. “I only invited you as a courtesy you know.” It was true, she half expected her not to show up. Fanciful thoughts had swirled through her head when she had invited her, but now… she wasn’t so sure. Especially since she was blocking her way between her little Twilight’s reunion. Mother had always been nice, though… Velvet shook her head. She was nice, but she was never there. She took a deep breath, forcing the anger to go. She must set a proper example to her daughter. And show her mother that she was in control. Her mother’s lips twitched upwards, settling into a satisfied smugness that jerked at her reins of control. “Good,” she said, with a tone that hinted praise. “Now we talk about Twilight.” “Twilight?” Velvet let drop a dramatic scoff. “You’ll do no such thing. She’s my child, if you haven’t realised. One I’ve put a lot of time and effort into loving and caring for. Much more, I might add, than you.” Velvet allowed herself to lean back in the chair, sporting a smug grin on her face to match. Her mother’s eyes boggled, much to her pleasure, but she fought the surprise with a narrowing of her eyes and a slight tightening of her jaw. “Nonsense, Twilight has so much potential! She should go on a journey with me. There’s so much of the world to experience, she wouldn’t want to be stuck in one place.” Velvet raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I disagree, you do not know Twilight a single bit! She would love to settle down and have a family, I believe she’s already thought about it once or twice.” “Hah!” Her mother tossed her head in disbelief. “You would know! Twilight hasn’t sent you a letter in half a year!” “That’s more than zero! Which is what you’ve gotten!” The atmosphere seemed charged, like ponderous clouds brewing above a plain, waiting for the moment that lightning would strike. Velvet was savagely gratified to see that her mother was no longer aloof from the fray and that she had successfully gotten under her coat. “I would know what’s best for Twilight,” she finally said, through gritted teeth. Velvet flicked a dismissive hoof. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Of course I do!” Her mother slammed a hoof into the table. “How about we ask her friends then? They’re right outside listening to the conversation now!” Velvet was surprised to hear the scramble of hooves knocking against a hard floor from behind the door. Her mother’s magic was quicker though, and the door was flung open, showing six shocked faces. Though their hooves skidded against the crystal in an effort to resist the magic, her mother’s magic was strong enough to drag the whole group to the table. “Twilight’s friends? Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and…” Velvet stared at the foal. “Ah yes, Apple Bloom.” She was a little confused as to how Apple Bloom fitted in, but didn’t say anything. “While it is lovely to meet you all, I think—” “Were you all listening in?” Her mother cut in. After a slight hesitation, there was a collection of ashamed nods and murmurs of agreement. “Sorry,” Apple Bloom said, eyes wide with remiss. Velvet’s heart melted. “Oh you, run along now, sorry but we need to… talk to your sister and her friends.” After a brief hesitation, Apple Bloom nodded, leaning in to listen to something Applejack said and then dashing out the door. “Now,” Velvet stated, staring at each pony with a measured gaze. “Who’s right?” —————— After a brief hint of silence, Applejack spoke up. “Now though Ah’m keen on the idea that Twilight should have a family, Ah do think she has some time to think about it. Twilight’s keen on magic, and Ah think she’d like to go around the world explorin’. Goodness, she’s not shy about doing that, though Ah’m all for roots.” “See?” Satin grinned triumphantly at Velvet. Rarity flicked her hair. “Of course you’d be against any idea of romance, Applejack.” Applejack’s eyebrows drew down slowly. “Now what’s that supposed to mean?” Rarity rolled her eyes. “It’s clear that Twilight needs a special somepony in her life. Didn’t you see her looking enviously at couples during Hearts and Hooves Day?” “Ah ain’t seen nothin’ like that, Rarity.” “Of course you haven’t, don’t tell me you haven’t caught Twilight staring at your brother?” “My b-brother?! What the hay are you on about?” “Goodness me, Applejack, I thought you were rough around the edges, but you can’t be that oblivious. Your brother has caught the eye of many a mare.” “Now hold on just a minute—” Rarity raised her hoof. “Alright, alright, Applejack, if not your brother, there are certainly many other candidates. Maybe even better.” “Exactly!” Velvet cried. “We need to consider them all! One has to be a match for Twilight.” “Hang on just a dang moment, are you two implying my brother isn’t good enough for Twilight?” Rarity pursed her lips, looking both offended and imperious at the same time. “I never said a word about that.” “Now look here, my brother is every bit just as good for Twilight, and you know it!” “Really?” Rarity replied mildly. “Are you willing to test that?” “You’re dang right Ah am!” Satin slammed her hoof on the table, startling everypony. “Stop right there! My little Twilight is going places. She will not be tied down by some pony I don’t even know.” Applejack glared at Satin. “You too?” Satin glared back. “I thought you were for Twilight making her own way.” “Ah changed my mind,” Applejack shot back. “Twilight would be happy with a family of her own. I guarantee it!” “Haybales.” Satin rolled her eyes. “Well, what about Rainbow, Pinkie or Fluttershy? I want to hear their opinions.” Rainbow jumped forward. “Twilight’s gotta follow her dreams.” She shrugged at Rarity’s expression. “Sorry Rarity, but Twilight loves magic, she’d probably love to go with Satin.” “Yes!” Satin crowed. “That’s what I want to hear.” She turned to Fluttershy. “And you, little one, what are your thoughts?” “Uhm, well, if it’s not too much trouble, I agree with Rainbow. I can see how family’s important, but taking care of somepony or being with somepony seems like a lot of uhm… responsibility and pressure. I’m not sure I’d be up to that. Twilight has a lot on her plate, so…” She trailed off as half the room started glaring at her, whilst the other half grinned. “Two for, and two against,” Velvet muttered. “So Pinkie, you decide! Who’s more important?” Pinkie jumped forward. “I agree with Applejack. Family is important, but home is where your heart is!” Satin and Velvet shared a look and then looked back at Pinkie. “So who are you with?” they both pressed simultaneously. “Neither!” Pinkie replied in a sing-song fashion. Then she cocked her head. “We should ask the Princesses! Oooh, look at the time!” Pinkie gestured to the door, diverting everypony’s attention to it. When Satin glanced back, Pinkie was gone. “Where’d she go?” “Don’t worry about it,” Rainbow said, “you’ll burn yourself out trying to figure it out.” She paused, recalling Twilight. “Literally.” The door opened, admitting Celestia and Luna. “Sister, we’ve secured the gems above this floor. I am certain that nothing will go wrong. I am looking forward to meeting—oof—why did you stop?” It was then that Luna realised that both of them were the centre of attention. “Sister,” she whispered. “We should leave.” “Too late,” Celestia replied from the corner of her mouth. “They can see us.” Velvet strode forward. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, we were having a discussion as to whether Twilight would benefit from following in Satin’s hoof steps, or if she should settle down for a family.” Luna shared a look with her sister. “We wouldn’t want to get in between,” Celestia said quickly. “Not at all!” Satin replied. “There’s no hard feelings either way, right everypony?” “Of course not!” Velvet said smoothly. “We simply want the perspective of the Royal Sisters. They are, after all, a big part of Twilight’s life right now.” “I don’t know…” Luna started, but Satin interrupted. “I was going to offer Twilight a chance to go on a journey with me. If she completes her training she can be an Archmage easy! Then I could don my hat and cloak… who knows? I might take a cushy job somewhere, in some Royal Court.” Celestia sprung forward. “I recommend Twilight go with Satin Splash. I think this would greatly benefit Equestr—I mean her.” “Sister!” Luna was taken aback. “I would think family would be important! Thinking about a special somepony, gazing at the stars and future… not to mention the delightful foals!” “Foals!” Velvet squealed. “Foals!” Rarity joined in. “Luna,” Celestia pleaded. “Twilight would love to study more magic, she would be a great Archmage!” “She’s already accomplished a lot,” Luna shot back, “she can rest on her laurels for a long while yet!” “Still a tie?” Satin rolled her eyes. Velvet huffed. “This would be over if Shining and Cadance were here!” “Where are they?” Satin asked. “Weren’t they with you and your husband? Where is your husband anyway?” “Or why don’t we ask don’t we ask Twilight herself?” Celestia posed. “She should be here any moment—” As the door opened once more, a hush fell over the room. Twilight stood in the doorway of her dining room and froze as eleven ponies turned as one to stare at her. She took an involuntary step back. “W-What? Why are you all staring at me like that?” Author's Note Well there's only one chapter left. I've been writing until 6 AM in the morning, so forgive the messiness. Next Chapter: Breaking Point As always, my undulating readers, thanks for reading! P.S. Thanks for the edits, I was pretty out of it. 6 - It's Good To Have FamilyChapter 6: It’s Good to have Family Velvet’s voice was deceptively calm. “Twilight, dear, we would like your opinion on something…” Twilight swallowed a lump of anxiety that was rapidly rising. “Yes?” Celestia smiled reassuringly. “Satin would like to make you an offer, a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Satin cleared her throat. “Twilight, it’s clear you have a gift for magic. You’ve exceeded my expectations long before I even thought about setting them. I think you should come on a journey with me. Learn new magic and become an Archmage.” “Uhh…” “You don’t have to give a response straightaway,” Velvet cut in, glaring at Satin. “Not until you’ve heard what I have to say.” She smiled sweetly. “My dearest daughter. Why don’t you consider settling down? I might not have been clear enough in the letter, but you’ve certainly grown into a bold, strong mare, and you’ve achieved a lot that you and I can be proud of.” Twilight flushed at the public praise. “Thanks, Mom.” Velvet waggled a hoof. “I think the next step is to create a family of your own.” “Okay—” Then it sunk in. “Wait, what?” “Think about it, Twilight!” Velvet continued. “You need to consider the future! You’ve achieved a lot, but maybe settling down should be on the table. There are some great stallions—” “What!” “Or mares, if that’s what you prefer—” “What?!” “You can adopt, I’m not fussy. There are wonders of medical treatments. You can certainly have a foal—” “WHAT?!” ‘Oh Twilight, you don’t need to be such a drama queen about it. Motherhood is great! Imagine a family of your own! Look how happy Shining and Cadance are!” “I-I—” “Oh quiet you,” Satin cut in. “Twilight doesn’t need the pressure, poor mare.” Twilight sighed in relief. But Satin continued. “She’s got a lot on her mind to think about. Family is a decision you can make later, but being Archmage, that’s a decision you can make now.” “Uhm, what does being an Archmage involve?” Twilight asked tentatively. “Oh travel around the globe. Adventure—” “Yes!” Rainbow cheered. “Great knowledge and power for good—” Celestia smiled as Luna frowned. “The freedom to pursue your own interests and passions at your own leisure—” Fluttershy tilted her head at that. Twilight considered all this. It was tempting. “You mentioned a journey. Last time you were back…” Satin chuckled. “Oh right, I forgot to mention. With all the travelling you have to do, there’s no time to come home.” “But my friends—” “You make new ones.” “My family—” “You’ll see them eventually. They’re not going anywhere.” “Being Princess—” “Being Archmage will allow you to be a great force of good in this world,” Celestia answered for Satin. Satin, for her part, nodded sagely. “But you won’t be seeing your friends and family here!” Velvet exclaimed, injecting herself back into the conversation. “I think that Twilight should stay where her family is. There’s no rush. Time enough to make her own.” “Easy for you to say,” Satin shot back, “what about the good work she can do? Not anypony can be an Archmage. Especially when the predecessor quit halfway through!” Velvet sucked in a shocked breath. “You bring that up now?! What about all the times you’ve been on journey, leaving Dad and I by ourselves!” “I can’t help it, there was—” “An emergency! There’s always an emergency! See, this is what happens when you’re the Archmage. No time for family!” Velvet turned in Twilight’s direction, but her words were aimed at Satin. Satin went red. “I have to think about other ponies too! Being an Archmage is about hard work and perseverance. Putting the good of other ponies above yourself!” “What would you know, you were barely a mother! I worked hard to raise a daughter that was brought up in the right environment. With friends and family for support! I did everything!” “Friends, huh? You must have been amazing, because she certainly had many during school!” Satin shot out, sarcasm practically dripping from the words. “Grandma!” Twilight blurted, shocked. Velvet narrowed her eyes dangerously. “You wouldn’t know a thing about that, unless you were sneaking around when Twilight was growing up! You didn’t visit me? Your own daughter? You’re a poor excuse for a mother.” “Mom!” Twilight could feel tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, my daughter stopped being mine when she refused to continue her journey.” Frosty silence followed as mother and daughter glared at each other with seething rage. Twilight was the first to break it. “I don’t want either.” Satin and Velvet turned to Twilight in shock. “But Twilight—” “Twilight, honey—” “No!” Twilight shouted. Then she took a deep breath and spoke again, in a softer tone. “No. Both of you, I’m… I don’t want to see you both until you’ve sorted out everything.” “But Twilight, we were only thinking about you—” “Don’t give me that!” Twilight snapped. Again, she took another breath to steady herself before ploughing on. “You’ve both used me like a tool for a fight between you two. Worse, you dragged my friends and the Princesses, some of the closest ponies to me, into that fight.” She stared at Satin. “Is this how an Archmage operates?” Satin shifted her gaze to the floor. Twilight turned to Velvet. “Is this how my Mom would want to celebrate a reunion?” Velvet joined Satin in staring at their hooves. Twilight felt the anger cascade out, leaving her weak and exhausted. She blinked away a couple of tears. To think, the most she was worried about was some embarrassing antics at dinner, not a out-of-proportion feud. “I will give you two some time alone. Come on girls, Princesses, let salvage some of the day back.” —————— Apple Bloom had wandered around Ponyville asking around, but couldn’t find hide or hair of Twilight. “Drat,” she muttered, making her way back to the castle. “Where’d she go?” It was difficult to find an alicorn that could teleport. Apple Bloom met Spike in the foyer as he was coming down the stairs. “Spike! Have you seen Twilight?” “Apple Bloom? What are you doing here?” “Ah came with Applejack, something about Twilight’s reunion. She thought she’d be with you.” “Oh, well, Twilight came in with Celestia and went to put back that book on complex barriers. She was going to join the Princesses once they made it to the room. I was just finishing up something with Princess Luna.” Apple Bloom drooped. “Aw fiddlesticks, so Ah looked around for nothing?” Spike patted her on the head, trying to think of a way to cheer her up. “Hey, want to see something cool?” Apple Bloom perked up. “What is it?” “A literal hoard of gems.” Apple Bloom’s eyes sparkled. “Sooooo like treasure?” Spike grinned. “Yep. Want to take a look?” “Yeah!” They raced upstairs and into the room. A finely dressed pony was in the midst of shovelling the gems and jewellery in the bag. He froze as they spotted him. “Toodles!” he sang out, burning a pony-sized hole in the floor with his horn. “Who the hay was that?” Apple Bloom cried. “Never mind that, the Princess is going to kill me if we don’t stop him! How in the world did he get in?!” —————— The silence was unbearable. Neither had said anything when Twilight had stalked off with the Princesses and her friends. The room was empty save for the two of them and a table set for seven. Velvet and Satin found something interesting to look at in the floor. “Look—” Satin began, then the ceiling fell in. “Ahahahaha!” A unicorn cackled as he dragged a bag in his telekinetic grip. Velvet and Satin stared in shock as he burst out through the door. Spike and Apple Bloom poked their heads through the hole. “Get him!” he yelled. “They stole the Princesses’ gems!” Velvet and Satin sprung into action. “Teleport!” “Right!” They both flashed outside, where the brown-coated stallion stumbled to a stop and darted around the pair. “Haha, try again!” Velvet narrowed her eyes. “How dare you steal from my daughter’s castle!” “Your daughter must be stupid to leave a bunch of gems just lying about!” The pony stuck out a tongue as he galloped around the corner. “Stupid?!” Satin growled. “That does it, I’m going to flatten that pony.” “Agreed,” Velvet said with murderous intent. “He’s the halfwit to pick a fight with a mother and her daughter.” “Launch me!” Velvet said, and instantly she was in the air, flung by Satin’s magic as she catapulted her above the houses. Velvet spotted the thief and threw a spell at him. He stumbled slightly, but kept running. “Hah!” he called back. “Didn’t hurt at all!” Velvet cushioned her fall with a hasty shield, glad she still remembered some of her training. Then she teleported. Satin was already there, binding the pony’s arms and legs with an elegant restraining spell. “Nice work with the tracer… daughter.” “Thank you… mother.” “I would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for you meddling ponies!” “Oh shut up,” Satin said, gagging the pony. “Aw yeah! You caught them!” Spike waddled up with Apple Bloom, followed by a contingent of guards. “Good thinking, Spike,” Velvet said. “Yeah, he said we’d need them,” Apple Bloom said with a smile. Her expression turned serious. “We should get all the gems back and leave the guards there so it won’t happen again.” “Nice one, Apple Bloom,” he said, “you’re thinking like Twilight.” Spike gestured to the guards and they picked up the struggling pony and the rest of the gems between them. Spike and Apple Bloom followed the contingent, chattering excitedly between them. “Spike has really grown up, hasn’t he?” Satin remarked. Velvet nodded. “I guess Twilight did a great job in raising him. I guess she doesn’t need any help from me with her foals.” Satin snorted. “Are you kidding? She’ll need all the help she can get, especially with a dysfunctional mother’s side like ours.” There was a pause between them. Velvet bit her lip. “We better get to Twilight.” “Hold it.” Satin reached out and touched Velvet’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I brought it up again. The journey, I mean. When you told me you were quitting halfway it killed me at the time. I thought you were throwing away five years of work and abandoning all the ponies in need… Every time I think back on it, I blamed you, then I hated myself for blaming you, because I should really be blaming myself. When I realised how much time had passed, I found it hard to see you again.” Velvet bit back a caustic remark and instead shook her head. “Not after so many years?” Satin hung her head. “It was hard the first day, then a little easier the second, then the third, a week… a month, then years. I just put my full effort into my job. Fighting, that’s what I do. When I fight, though, I think about how I’m protecting you.” She sighed despondently. “But now I know how weak and shallow that excuse was.” Velvet felt a prickling sense of shame wash over her. “It’s not weak,” she muttered in a small voice. “I’m sorry I said all those things about you. You’re right. I couldn’t handle it. It broke me too, I wanted to make you proud.” “Oh Velvet, you’ve always made me proud. When I see Twilight, see how happy she is, it reminds me how sad you looked when I left. I always thought that Twilight would never be sad, at least, not like that because you’d always be around. You’ve always been so gifted in dealing with other ponies.” “You’ve always had a good eye for bringing out the best potential out of somepony. It was your idea to try and enrol Twilight into Celestia’s School.” She swallowed. “You’re right though, I saw Twilight consume herself in studies, if it weren’t for Celestia’s intervention, I’m afraid Twilight wouldn’t have made any friends. You probably would have made that happen.” “I guess we’re both getting good at regretting decisions.” “I’m sorry, Mom.” “I’m sorry too, Velvet.” “There you are!” A purple blur swooped low and landed next to the surprised pair. “I forgot she could fly,” Velvet murmured. “Tell me about it. She was a unicorn not long ago.” Twilight glanced between them. “I’ve been looking all over for you two! You weren’t at the castle, I was getting worried!” Velvet and Satin both crushed Twilight in a hug. “Oh, I’m so, so sorry!” Velvet cried. “Me too,” Satin mumbled into Twilight’s mane. “I’ve been so horrible to you.” “Urk—uhhh…” Twilight awkwardly wrapped her hooves around them both. “It’s alright,” she mumbled back, somewhat embarrassed. “I said some bad things and I’ve made some pretty horrible mistakes today as well. I guess family makes me crazy, but I can’t have a party without my Mom and Grandma.” Velvet pulled away. “A party, sweetie?” Twilight nodded. “Dad, Shining and Cadance organised with the Cakes to have a party at Sugarcube Corner, they thought it would be a good idea to have backup arrangements, in case something went wrong in the castle.” Twilight frowned. “They were worried it’d be a smoking crater or something by now, but that would be ridiculous.” Velvet and Satin chuckled nervously. Maybe they shouldn’t tell her the story of how Peacock Plains became the Burning Barren Wastes in a day. Twilight smiled. “Come on, the whole family’s waiting.” ———————— The party was filled with the sounds of animated conversation, laughs, shouting and carousing. Ponies gathered around talking about the last half a year and catching up on the all the gossip and history in the time they hadn’t seen one another. Even the pets were having a party in the corner, with Minnie being introduced to Opalescence, Angel, Winona and Tank, who had all come along. Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were camped in the other corner, playing cards and besting each other in various party games that Pinkie had brought along, or made up. Twilight drifted between each party member, giggling and guffawing and groaning at the myriad of jokes, stories and anecdotes. Especially the anecdotes, those never seemed to end, and they were all about her. “Hey Twilight!” It was Applejack, looking slightly red, as if she were embarrassed about something. As Twilight approached, Applejack cleared her throat and continued, after a slight hesitation. “Ah’d like to apologise. It was my idea to round up our friends to join in and we butted into your family’s business. It was none of my business to come poking around, especially all nosey-like between your ma and granny.” Rarity caught the conversation and dropped by. “Yes, well, I’d like to add my apologies as well, Twilight. You weren’t there, but we got carried away picking and choosing for you without really asking you for your opinion.” “There’s no need,” Twilight replied with a smile. “But—” “But nothing, you all had my best interests at heart, and you’ve learned your lesson, right? It’s a party, we should enjoy ourselves.” Applejack’s smile came easier. “Thanks, Twi’.” “Thank you, Twilight,” Rarity added with her own demure smile. “By the way, who’s at the door?” Twilight whipped around to the door and almost did a double-take. “Moondancer?!” The pony stood awkwardly, half-leaning on the door frame. “Hi, I’m not too late am I? I started reading then lost track of time.” She coughed politely. “I didn’t know if I should come, because it said it was a family gathering…” “Of course you can come! Come in!” Twilight ushered her in. “All my friends are pretty much my family.” Moondancer took a cup of punch and settled in. “Did I miss anything?” Twilight skipped a step, but then shook her head with a self-conscious laugh. “No, everything is fine.” ———————— “Come on, get a move on!” The guard spoke roughly. The unicorn rolled his eyes, the sclera flashing momentarily yellow. “How about no?” he snarked, before simply disappearing before their eyes. “What?” The guard cast around. “Didn’t he have an inhibitor on?” “Yeah,” the other one said, “oh we’re in so much trouble! Find him!” Discord watched the two guards milling about, chuckling to himself. “Well, I hoped that helped, Twilight.” He spared a quick glance in the direction of Sugarcube Corner, then sighed and shook his head. With a quick snap he was back home, in an empty cottage. “It’s good to have a family…” Author's Note Well it ended on a somewhat poignant note, but I think all endings are complex. Next Chapter: Family Business As always, my familiar readers, thanks for reading! P.S. If you're new to my fics, I always put a 'Next Chapter' for somewhat romantic reasons. This is the end of this fic, sorry!
1 - Greetings, We Come In PeaceChapter 1: Greetings, We Come In Peace *BURP* Luckily, Spike was in the middle of dusting crystal shelves, or his breath will most likely have left permanent scorch marks. He wryly considered the scrolled parchment that had appeared in emerald flames. Emerald flames that would have carbonised the old library’s shelves. It was a good thing that their new residence was mainly fireproof, he wouldn’t know what to do if flames from a dragon set the whole place ablaze. Starting fires was something he was good at… stopping them was an entirely different matter. Looking back at the scroll, he realised the seal was from Princess Luna. Curiosity won over the little dragon and he broke open the seal, unwinding the parchment to read its contents. Dear Noble Dragon, Spike grinned. This was off to a good start. At least it wasn’t addressed to Twilight like it always was. ‘Noble Dragon’, eh? Nice title. Could he keep it? We regret to inform you that due to some confusing scheduling mishaps, we have received an inordinate amount of gems. It will be hard to process them all at Canterlot castle, what with the gem-obsessed nobility nearby. We’d come to a decision and we’d rather trust a gem-eating dragon than anypony in Canterlot with safeguarding these precious materials. My sister and I will be along sometime to drop them off. Please let Princess Twilight know. Fare thee well, Princess Luna P.S. No need for any fanfare, it wouldn’t do to let everypony know we’re lugging along a cartload of gems. The parchment fell to the floor. Gems?! They expected him of all creatures to safeguard gems?! His claws twitched, his mouth was already salivating at the delectable image of the veritable hoard of gems the Princesses were no doubt in possession of. He shook his head, trying to dispel the pleasant fantasy. No, no, no! Not good. He snapped his claws. Wait! Maybe Twilight could figure out a spell to stop him from eating the gems. He spotted Twilight scrabbling down the stairs. That was strange, she looked… He started. Twilight had that expression again. The ‘we have to save Equestria from certain death’ one. That, or it was ‘we ran out of quills again’. The behaviour was infuriatingly similar. Twilight scanned the chamber, spotted Spike with a reared head and beelined straight towards him. “What’s wrong, Twi’?” His voice warbled in the large chamber of the castle grounds. Twilight stumbled to a stop in front of the dragon, her antsy hooves unable to keep still as she regarded him with a look almost akin to pure unadulterated terror. “This is bad, Spike,” she groaned. “Really bad.” “Did you forget to order a book? Is Ponyville on fire? Are we under attack? No wait, Nightmare Moon has returned and we’re all going to get eaten alive?!” Twilight stopped fidgeting and stared at Spike. It looked like his unorthodox inferences had temporarily derailed her thoughts. “How the hay could any of those happen?” Twilight spluttered with a frown. “What? They really could. Crazy things tend to happen around here.” Finally, Twilight conceded the point with a dip of her head. Her gaze drifted out of focus. With the intensity of her concentration, the little dragon could almost see her weighing on a scale, in mid-air, of all of the potential disasters and comparing it to current situation at hoof. With a snap, Twilight savagely shook her head, the motion of it freeing a few mane strands, and she returned to her panicked state. “No, I’m pretty sure this is worse than all of them combined,” she surmised. Spike swallowed, his eyes widening apprehensively. “W-What’s happening?” he squeaked, almost afraid of the answer. Twilight hoofed over a letter wordlessly. Spike took it hesitantly. At least it wasn’t Princess-related. To my favourite daughter, It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen each other! I was getting worried that something might have happened, what with you disappearing off the grid and becoming a Princess. We know you like to make your own decisions and we respect that, goodness me, signing up to an exclusive school for gifted unicorns was something we were both proud to support! But I’d still like to keep in touch. I know, I know, I’m sure you’re busy with your studies and you’ve got your own life to live. Sometimes sending a letter once every half a year can get difficult. What would I know? I’m just your mother. Spike tore his gaze away from the writing, the last few sentences slowly sinking in, his jaw dropping. “Half a year?!” he spluttered. “It was a busy year!” Twilight mumbled. Spike considered the statement. He cast his mind back over the year. He accepted it with a diplomatic nod of his head. Then he glanced back at the letter. “She doesn’t sound too happy,” he added in the ensuing silence. The letter had been pretty snippy. Twilight clasped her hooves above her head, sinking to the floor with a pitiful moan. “I knooow, but it gets worse…” Spike returned his attention to the letter, quickly picking up where he left off. Since you’re too busy to write us a letter, I’ve decided to give you a lovely surprise! The whole family is coming to visit! We thought it would be a good idea since there’s a lot of space in that shiny new castle of yours. Yes, I do happen to keep up with the news, I’m in Canterlot, not Appleloosa. I think it’s a lovely opportunity to get together. This time you can’t beg off with saving Equestria again and if there is a national crisis, let your friend Discord handle it, he’s such a sweetie. Your helpful mother has included a list of the guests that are to come. Don’t worry, it’s only a small family gathering, just immediate members. Be sure to hide any cider from your grandmother, you know how she gets when she sees it. I’ve sent the invitation to your best friend as well, she’s practically family. Oh, I do look forward to catching up with my daughter, particularly with any new and exciting developments that may or may not be life-altering. We’ve got to talk about the thing. Your brother’s already doing it, dear! Oh, but I’m so excited to finally see you again! I should end this letter before I run out of ink! Best Wishes! See you soon! Your Mom P.S. Mind your mother, darling, I already went through my crisis. — Dad Spike shook his head, they were just as eccentric as he remembered them. Wait, there was something else in the letter… He cocked his head. “Best friend?” Spike queried. Twilight pressed her head to the crystal floor of the castle. “Moondancer? We’re not that close anymore!” Twilight moaned and pawed at the floor. “Ooooh, this is what I get for not putting my notes in the Cloud before the library exploded!” Spike glanced at the gentle puffs of ‘clouds’ floating around the room. If he squinted, he could see the fine layers of white paper and text that made up the wispy structures of the gently levitating magical constructs. With a faint pulse and silvered glow, the clouds of textual matter converged above Twilight and seemed to grow… heavier. “You know, Twi’, I don’t think these ‘Cloud’ things are ever going to take off. They seem so… transparent. Like anypony could read your notes.” He shrugged. “Besides, can’t only unicorns use them?” “THE CLOUD IS THE FUTURE!” Twilight shot back. Spike cringed. “Okay, yeesh!” He flapped the letter. Best not open that can of worms. “What are you going to do about the family reunion?” Twilight jolted up, her ears perking. “I know a spell!” she exclaimed, bolting across the room. “Twilight, TWILIGHT! Hang on, stop! No.” Spike skidded across the room and blocked the doorway. Twilight tried to edge past him, but he folded his arms and stared the frantic alicorn down with hooded eyes. “Come on, Twi’, why’s it so bad having them come over?” Twilight bit her lip. “It’s only a small spell,” she whined, eyes wide and pleading. Spike shook his head in response. It was obvious she was avoiding the question. “Twilight,” he stated flatly. “The last time I heard you say that, the kitchen exploded.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “I don’t get it, cooking should be like chemistry, but with food! Why is it so hard?!” Spike rubbed a weary claw over his face. Twilight was dodging the question. “Twi—” he started, but the alicorn wilted, a moan interrupting the beginnings of a misgiving lecture. “Oh I know, Spike! It’s just that… it’s just that…” She trailed off, a hoof tracing circles on the floor. “Just what?” “It’s just that Mom’s been getting this thing…” “A thing?” “Like all her recent letters have all been all about this… thing.” “What thing?” Spike’s nose wrinkled in confusion. Hooves flailed. “You know…” Twilight glanced around. “About things…” Spike shrugged. “I don’t get it.” Spike regarded Twilight as she worked her jaw, trying to frame her thoughts in a way that he would understand. “The thing!” Twilight stressed. “I don’t know what this thing is, but she sounds serious!” Spike blinked. “Woah,” Spike replied. He blinked, trying hard to understand the implications Twilight was stressing… and failing miserably to come to the same conclusions. “Woah,” he repeated. He shook his head, giving the alicorn a curious look. “So, what’s the thing?” Twilight’s right eyelid twitched. It should have been a warning sign, he should have backed out of the room right there. “I mean you know what the thing is, right?” A vein pulsed. “No I don’t, Spike! I need to know what this thing is, it’s driving me crazy!” “Calm down!” Spike exclaimed, his face full of Twilight’s snorting muzzle. He pushed it away with a claw. “Why don’t we approach this rationally?” Twilight was a logical mare. She’d calm down if she sat down and thought about it for a while… right? Twilight nodded glumly, most of the steam taken out of her with the simple statement of reassurance. The dragon relaxed as she nodded. “Right,” she said. “Rationally. Just gotta think about this logically.” Spike smiled. That seemed to work. Twilight just needed to think things through— “I know!” Twilight blurted. “I’ll just ask my friends! Surely they know what to do in this sort of situation?!” Then again, Twilight tended to overthink things. Spike recognised the mad gleam seeping back into her eyes. She was going into panic mode again. He tried one more last ditch tactic. If he could get her talking, then maybe surreptitiously signal to Owlowiscious. He glanced at the perch and saw the owl fast asleep. Traitor. He took a breath. He was on his own. “Listen, Twi’ I really think you should— woah! Hey!” The remaining words were slammed back down his throat. With a jerk, the dragon found himself enveloped in Twilight’s magical aura. He plopped on Twilight’s back as she took off. It was all he could do to grab her mane as she charged through the double doors and out of the castle. “It’ll be okay,” Twilight muttered more to herself, than to the dragon. “Applejack will know what to do. She’s got a big family… and a reunion…” Spike was impeded from making a reply with each juddering knock of Twilight’s bony shoulder to his face. The successive blows were doing a really good job of scattering his already jumbled half-formed thoughts. One or two managed to get through and a general feeling was nagging the dragon. Spike couldn’t help but wonder if there was something he was supposed to mention to Twilight… He strained for a while but eventually gave up and mentally shrugged. If he couldn’t remember then it couldn’t be important, right? Author's Note I haven't been terribly active lately, mainly because real life sort of sneaks up on you and delivers its blows straight to the kidneys. This story was a pretty fun idea and I'm going to go directions with this through my idea mill. Thanks for sticking around with me and as always, my temporally established readers, thanks for reading!
2 - Family MattersChapter 2: Family Matters It’s not everyday that an alicorn crash lands through a window while you were eating breakfast. One thing that never really crosses Applejack’s mind is, ‘Gee, Ah wonder how’d everypony would react to an alicorn crashin’ into our table while we’re tryin’ to have a meal’? But that particular question and more were answered as a purple blur tumbled through their centuries old vintage window and upended an equally aged vintage table. She eyed the suspicious pile of feathers, cracked glass and shifting wood, not knowing what to expect. She thought a large bugbear might have invaded her home. A purple bugbear. She bit her lip. Probably not as likely. There was a familiar moan from the wreckage. “What the—oh hickory haystacks! Twilight, are you alright?” From the debris and detritus, something that resembled a pony staggered out of the wreckage of what was to be a good family meal. Now the meal lay somewhere within the ruins and half-covering a bedraggled princess. Twilight clambered out and surveyed her attentive audience somewhat unsteadily. Apple Bloom had a spoon halfway to her mouth, but no table to set it back down on. Granny Smith held aloft a pie she had only just retrieved from the kitchen, while Big Mac looked at the broken table and silently added it to the ever-growing list of repairs scheduled for the week. The steadfast pony supposed having a princess crashing through your window and upending family furniture was a mild improvement to the Cutie Mark Crusaders doing it. “Twilight?” Applejack was worried for her friend, but even she couldn’t keep a glib undertone of exasperation. You’d think one would get used to property destruction in Ponyville, but every time it happens it’s a whole plethora of frustration. Little did she know, her brother was having the exact same thoughts. With the resounding scrape of a chair, Big Mac levered himself from his seating and dragged his hooves out of the room. “Gettin’ the—?” “Eeeyup,” the stallion replied, a little snippy, she didn’t really blame him. Applejack tried again. “Twilight?” This time the alicorn was able to focus on Applejack. She shook her head slightly and both eyes snapped to Applejack’s own. “Hey, Applejack! Just the pony I was looking for!” “Hay, sugarcube,” Applejack greeted hesitantly, she trailed off as she groped around for words and came up short. Granny Smith piped up in the ensuing silence. “Not that we sure ain’t happy to see you, Twilight, but why through the window?” Apple Bloom finally decided to place the spoon on her chair and clambered out of her seating. “Are you okay, Princess?” Twilight shook her head, but her eyes went slightly out of focus. “Fine!” she replied in a way that suggested it was anything but. “You’re good with families, right?” Applejack glanced back at Granny Smith and Apple Bloom. “Ah’m too old fer this,” Granny Smith replied to the pleading look. The mare got out of her chair and headed to the kitchen. “If you’ll pardon me, Ah have some cookin’ to do.” Applejack went back to eyeing the alicorn warily. “Now sugarcube, not that Ah don’t appreciate you… dropping by, but couldn’t you have used the front door? Even Rainbow checks to make sure the window was open.” Apple Bloom joined her sister during the observation of a rare moment when one of Applejack’s friends finally became aware of the destruction they’d caused. Twilight twitched, looked at the mess, and then let out a gasp. “Oh, Applejack, I’m so sorry!” “It’s alright, sugarcube,” Applejack replied uncertainly. “Yeah, it’s not like Ah liked that table anyway,” Apple Bloom put in helpfully. Applejack shot her sister a glance. She returned the look with an exasperated huff. “Did you see Big Mac? He looked mighty mad, sis’.” Applejack softened. “Yeah—” a thought struck her “—Apple Bloom, would you mind helpin’ him out?” Apple Bloom pouted. “Aww Applejack—” “Now, Apple Bloom.” The filly sighed, visibly trying to suppress her curiosity. Under Applejack’s watchful gaze, she retreated, going out the front door. Applejack returned to Twilight, watching the alicorn fidget. Something was definitely on her mind, and it wasn’t the fact that she had destroyed part of the house. The farmer lead her friend to the adjoining room, brushing off a few splinters of wood and glass along the way. She sat her down on the couch and looked her friend in the eye with an expression that brooked no concession. “Now, tell me what happened.” Twilight rubbed an embarrassed hoof through her mane. “It’s kind of stupid.” Applejack raised an eyebrow, but kept silent. Twilight pushed on. “It’s my family.” “Your brother?” Applejack tapped a hoof nervously. “Is something wrong with the Crystal Empire?” Twilight stared at her friend then shook her head. “No! I mean yes it has something to do with them, but no no, not the Crystal Empire. My family’s coming over.” Applejack took a few moments to digest the bombshell. “Hay that’s wonderful, sugarcube! When’s the gathering? How many are there? What would you like me to do?” Twilight looked liked she bit a lemon, but didn’t say anything. “Uh, Twilight? You don’t seem all that happy.” Twilight grimaced, but didn’t say anything, letting the silence speak for itself. Applejack hazarded a guess. “Is there some problem with your family?” Twilight hesitated then shook her head. “It’s not a problem, per se…” Now it was Applejack’s turn to let the silence speak for itself. “They’re a bit eccentric,” Twilight admitted. She nervously ran a hoof down a wing in a comforting gesture. “I mean Dad’s always been alright. Mom can be overprotective sometimes. Shining has been the best. Granny… she’s something special, and individually I can handle them…” Twilight shut her mouth and blushed when she realised she was babbling. “Anyway, it’s just that…” “Together they’re a bit of a hoof-full?” Twilight nodded. Applejack nodded genially. “Huh, it’s funny apart from your brother you’ve never really mentioned your family, but now Ah can see why.” She smiled at her friend. “It’s only natural to get a little antsy when they come. You want to make a good impression.” “More like damage-control.” “What?” “Nothing.” Apple Bloom’s voice called out from the front door. “Hay Twilight? Spike’s here and he’s a little grumpy.” Applejack glanced back quizzically at her friend. Twilight started, looking really guilty. “Why’s that, Apple Bloom?” Applejack called back. “He said she dropped him a while back.” Twilight groaned as Applejack shot her an unimpressed stare. “I’m sorry, I had a lot on my mind.” Twilight slided off the couch and took a deep breath, looking visibly calmer. She didn’t look convinced, but it didn’t look like she thought Equestria was on the verge of collapse anymore. “Thanks, Applejack.” “No worries, sugarcube. Just don’t get all tied up in the small stuff,” Applejack said, then gestured to the dining room. “And Ah’d be happy to help out if you need anythin’.” “No!” Twilight said quickly. Then she scrambled out of the room, darting around Apple Bloom returning. Applejack scowled, staring after her panicked friend. Apple Bloom sidled up to her sister and leaned in conspiratorially. “You’re totally spyin’ on her family, aren’t ya?” “You’re dang right, Apple Bloom.” ——————— Spike greeted Twilight with crossed arms and a tapping foot. “Hello, uhm, my number one assistant!” Spike raised an eyebrow, not looking as usually pleased with the title as he would be in normal circumstances. He kept silent, letting his posture do all the talking. “Hey, I’m sorry about—” Spike raised a claw and massaged his forehead with care. Claws were dangerous tools that should be kept away from the eyes most of the time. He took a deep breath and sighed. “That’s right,” Spike said. “I had something to tell you, except you went into ‘Twifright’ mode.” Twilight opened her mouth to retort, but closed it belatedly when she remembered that she had dropped him near thirty feet in the air. She cocked her head. How did he land safely? “You’re spacing out again, Twi’.” Spike’s irate undertone cut through her scattered thoughts. “By the way, I landed in a hay bale.” “How did you—” “You were talking to yourself.” “Oh.” “So?” “So…?” Spike huffed. “So what did you talk about with Applejack?” Twilight started. “Oh, right! She told me not to worry.” “That’s it?” “That’s it.” “And you believed her?” “Not in the slightest.” Spike snorted. “It’s probably good advice.” Twilight shook her head. “What are you talking about? That’s horrible advice. She’s never seen my family.” “Maybe you should, you know, invite your friends? It’d probably smooth everything over.” “No!” she exclaimed, then wiped a hoof across her face. “My brother is okay, but Mom? Dad? No way.” “Twi’…” Spike gave her the raised eyebrow look. “You’re overreacting.” “No I’m not. It’ll be fine, perfectly fine. Fine, fine, fine!” “You said fine like five times.” “That’s perfectly fine. I can say fine as many times as I like.” “That’s not the point Twi’.” He sighed. “Anyway, there’s this other thing I have—” “Wait! I can probably create an exclusion zone around my castle. If I time the spell right…” Spike watched as Twilight galloped down the path, neglecting the fact that she could have flown her way back to the castle. He shook his head and glanced back at Applejack who was standing a modest distance away. “You heard all of that.” It was not a question. “Eeyup.” “You know what we have to do, right?” “Eeyup.” Spike smiled gratefully. “You gather Fluttershy and Rainbow, I’ll get Pinkie and Rarity.” Applejack nodded, then hesitated. “Actually,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “Mind if I take Pinkie and Rarity?” “Shucks, almost got away with it,” Spike mumbled. Applejack chuckled and patted the little dragon on the head. “One day, Spike.” —————— It wasn’t long before Twilight was back in the castle. “Okay, all I need to do is find a spell, find a spell, find that one spell.” Her jittery gaze settled on a book recessed in a shelf. One labelled ‘Do not touch! Dangerous!’. Twilight bit her lip. Couldn’t hurt to take a look, right? —————— “Honey, dear, buttercup…” Night Light’s deep and soothing voice would usually be able to calm any histrionics, but the mellow tones fell on deaf, twitching ears. “We’re going and that’s final!” Twilight Velvet shot back. “Not writing back to all those letters I sent, the nerve of my daughter!” “I’m sure she didn’t mean anything by it,” Night Light reassured. He tried a different tack. “She was awfully busy during this year. She’s saved Equestria numerous times, she’s a Princess now! We’re proud of her.” Remarkably, that argument seemed to take some of the steam out of Velvet. “Maybe we could just forget the whole thing and give her a chance to send us a letter?” An ear twitched, a tail flicked and a head cocked, considering. Then her eyes hardened and Night Light repressed the urge to sigh. “My boy Shiney has been able to send me replies and he’s a grown stallion! A Prince, too! My little colt is settled down with a wonderful mare. I bet I’ll have grandfoals within the year! I’m worried about Twilight, dear. She’s so wrapped up in her career, she’s bound to be lonely.” Night Light didn’t look so sure. “She seems happy.” Velvet shook her head. “No, no, no, she just seems happy. Behind that smile is the tinge of loneliness and heartache! She needs a family there to support her. She needs a special somepony.” “You want more grandfoals don’t you?” “Well it wouldn’t hurt! It’d give me a reason to visit too!” “Velvet, dear,” Night Light pressed. “Aren’t you… overreacting?” He hated using that word, but sometimes it worked. “I’m not overreacting,” Velvet replied a tad too quickly to suggest she wasn’t. “I’m fine! Perfectly fine!” Night Light put at his disposal all the years of experience his marriage had given him in one last effort. “Are you worried our foals don’t need us anymore? They grew up awfully fast.” Velvet fidgeted. “It’s not that…” Night Light drew a hoof around her neck and led her to the sofa. “Really, dear? Is that all?” Velvet played with a stray mane. “We’ve never had much of a connected family. When I see my little foals growing up and moving away, I feel like we’re cutting threads, one by one.” She sighed. “Dear Celestia, I hardly get letters, let alone see them.” Night Light finally realised the crux of the matter. He’d been easy-going, admittedly, but he did miss seeing their little bright faces around the house. “Okay, dear, I understand wanting to visit,” he said gently, giving her a light kiss on the forehead. “But really? Hinting at romance? You know how awkward our little Twilight is.” Velvet wrung her hooves. “That’s what I’m worried about! She’ll end up lonely like Miss. Wibbly!” Night Light raised an eyebrow. “The old mare that lives down the road?” “Yes!” “She’s happy, dear, someponies like being alone.” Velvet bit her lip. “Not my little Twi-twi!” Night Light patted his wife on her shoulder. “Love, my dear, comes differently to everypony. Just give her a while.” For a moment, Night Light relaxed as Velvet nodded slowly. Good, he thought. Disaster averted. Then Velvet’s ear twitched, her expression became a mixture of thoughtful and scheming. Night Light fought the urge to suppress a groan. He’d been with his wife long enough to recognise that look. “What is it, dear?” he asked reluctantly. “You know, we’re not experts in love,” she began, her hooves gesturing in the air like she were weighing her thoughts. Night Light rolled his eyes, sensing there was a trap, but not seeing the form of it. “Yes…” he replied cautiously. “So, maybe we should ask the opinion of sompony we do know who are experts!” Night Light gaped at his wife, knowing exactly what she was suggesting. “Hey now wait a minute—” “We’ll ask Shiny and Cadance to set them up!” Velvet exclaimed, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. Night Light gaped at her. “That’s got to be the most—” “Amazing idea ever, I know!” Velvet replied blithely ignoring her husband’s groan. “Remember why you married her,” he muttered to himself. “Remember why you married her…” “Nighty, dear, I want you to get a directory from Ponyville and Canterlot.” He took a deep breath, curious despite himself. “And why is that, honey?” She blinked at him as if he were a foal for asking such a simple question. “Why to make a list of all the potential partners my little Twi-twi can date! We can all go through the list together. I can wait to show this idea to Shiny and Cadance!” —————— Shining Armor shivered as he stepped on the train. “Is something wrong, Shiny?” The former Captain glanced back in the direction of Canterlot. “I-I don’t know,” he replied warily. “I felt an ominous premonition.” Cadance gave him a small peck on the cheek. “Ah, a dark and brooding Shiny… I like it.” She giggled as he turned blush red. “A cute Shiny is almost as nice.” Shining Armor shot Canterlot one more look. Maybe it was just a few misgivings about seeing his parents again. He shook his head. Mom was ecstatic when he revealed his feelings for Cadance. He had nothing to worry about… right? Author's Note Whooo update. In a looooong while. Yep, finally. Got around to it. Finally. As usual, bug me for updates and I'll prioritise around them. Next Chapter: The Power of... Matchmaking? As always, my ludicrous-speed readers, thanks for reading! P.S. One rough passthrough from editing, sorry! Some very minor edits. Some more minor edits, thanks cyberlord4444!
3 - Casimir EffectChapter 3: Casimir Effect Shining Armor saw Night Light pacing restlessly in front of the station. Somehow he didn’t think their arrival was the source of his father’s agitation. Was it the upcoming gathering? His parents had seemed fine then, though his mother’s letter was worrying to some extent… To my little colt, We’re holding a gathering soon! The first one, I know! Listen, Shiny, I’d really like to see you there and Princess Cadance. Especially Cadance. We haven’t had much time to catch up with your sister, so we’re hosting the event at her castle. Everypony will be there, your grandma, your aunt and uncle on your father’s side, if I can track them down—heavens if I’ll know where they’ve been. So bring whoever you’d like, but don’t forget Cadance! With love, Your Mom P.S. Mind your mother, remember what she was like before the wedding. — Dad What really puzzled him was the repeated mentions to bring Cadance. Of course he was going to bring his wife. Why wouldn’t he? “Do you think something’s wrong?” Shining confided to his partner. The alicorn smiled giving a half-hearted shrug. “Nothing’s wrong,” she said dreamily. “As long as you’re here.” Shining smiled, it was hard to get worried when Cadance wasn’t. “You’re right. Maybe it’s nothing.” Cadance tapped him on the nose. “Okay, you’ve piqued my curiosity, what is it? Let me guess. Your mother?” Shining nodded. “You know me too well,” he admitted. “I mean I love my Mom and my sister to death, but sometimes…” “They can get too excited?” Shining’s nose scrunched up as his eyebrows drew down. “I was going to say crazy, but yeah, let’s go with that.” “Oh Shiny, the world isn’t made of black and white. I love you too, but sometimes it’s hard for me to explain how we feel.” “We?” “Those of us who have feelings, dear.” Shining sighed. How could he explain to his wife that he knew exactly what they were talking about, but he just didn’t think it was a big deal? He skirted around the potential trap. “Of course.” Cadance raised an eyebrow. “I know from that tone that you’re not convinced.” Shining shook his head. “No, you’re right, it’s probably nothing.” “And when you say it’s nothing, it’s definitely something.” Cadance pursed her lips. “Come on, out with it.” “I can’t help but feel that this is going to be a disaster.” Cadance smiled. “Oh please, every family meeting’s a disaster.” Shining scuffed a hoof. “Well, I don’t know about that.” “I think I would know what qualifies as an unusual family, just think of my aunt.” “Celestia is perfect. Why would that be a problem?” Cadance rolled her eyes. “Ponies like you would say that. Ponies are never perfect, but that’s not the point, the point is I never felt like I could match up to her at all.” Shining blinked. “But you’re always so great!” he said. “You haven’t got her legacy but you’ve definitely lived up to expectations!” She rolled her eyes but also smiled. “Of course you would say that. Stop being so sweet; you’ll give me a toothache.” Cadance nudged him with her flank. “What I’m trying to say is that families are often not what you’d expect, and having a rocky extended family is just par for course.” Shining let out his pent-up anxiety in one big breath. “Okay, yes. You’re right of course.” There was an awkward silence between them both for a few moments. “Should we go meet your father?” “What? Oh yes!” he started forward, but drew back when Cadance caught him by the fore leg. “Wait Shiny.” Cadance eyed the letter. “What’s it say, anyway?” Shining shrugged. “Here,” he said with a reassured smile. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Cadance took the letter. Her face began with an amused expression, but it soon rapidly progressed to caution, worry and finally, abject horror. “Shiny?” “Hmm?” “I-I think we should go back to the Crystal Empire.” Shining gave Cadance a beatific smile. “It’s too late for that, dear.” “Why?” “Because Mother’s found us. There’s no escape now.” “Cadance!” “Mrs. Sparkle.” Velvet gave her a stern look. “Now, now, what did I say?” Cadance amended herself hastily. “M-Mother.” “Oh Cadance, you’re looking lovely as always,” Night Light said. He glanced meaningfully at his son. “We need to talk?” “About what?” Velvet cocked her head with curiosity. “Nothing, dear, just some catching up on the recent hoof-ball tournaments.” “Oh, well, you two have fun, I’ll spend some quality time with my daughter in law.” It was hard to miss the not-so-subtle gleam in Velvet’s eyes. ‘Help me,’ Cadance mouthed to her husband as she was dragged by her hoof. Shining couldn’t say much as he was dragged away by the shoulder in the opposite direction. “I love you!” he shouted desperately. —————— “Why did you drag me away?” Shining whispered irritably. He sported an annoyed frown. He had no real need to whisper, but his mother had the best ears for gossip. At least, the kind that concerned her family. The first time he shared a kiss with Cadance, his mother had known before their lips were dry. He shivered with the thought of her plans. Whatever they were, they were probably a bubble of fussing, overprotective advice, and a heavy dose of smothering affection. “What’s going on, Dad?” Night Light took a deep breath, looking around as if he would find his wife behind a barrel or a door frame. As it happened, they were in a rustic-looking bar, but there weren’t anything sold at this time of day. It was mainly a restaurant rather than a bar. Shining’s father lead his son to a booth and sat down heavily. “It’s not looking good, son.” Shining blinked. “I’ve seen Mom worked up before, we can handle it.” Night Light waved a weary hoof. “Not this time, son.” He fixed him with a heavy look, laden with hidden meaning. “Your mother has it in her mind to, uhh, help your sister.” “Twily? Why? She’s practically perfect!” Night Light chuckled heartily. “I’m very proud of her too, but your mother worries, no matter how accomplished you’ve gotten.” Shining knew the truth of that. Even after graduating the top of the class in the Military Academy, achieving the rank of Captain, marrying a Princess, becoming a Prince, and fending off a horde of changelings with the power of Love, Mom had insisted in coming along with him to the Crystal Empire for the first few days. She would have come if Cadance hadn’t persuaded her that there would be a sensitive diplomatic situation with neighbouring countries that required certain delicacy. Due to diplomatic security reasons, she couldn’t come along. At least, that was what she told her. Even then, she’d kept sending letters that arrived at the strangest hours, often during the middle of meetings. Mail was forwarded to their rooms, but the backlog just kept getting higher and higher. Well, he had tried answering most of them, but there were other duties, a million other matters that clamoured for his attention. He sighed. This week was a stroke of luck. Some time to themselves, a little escape from the burden of ruling for a while. The Crystal Empire was mostly stabilised, and there was time once again for family. The letter, though, had concerned him. His mother had sounded different. “Anyway, you must be wondering why I’ve drawn you away from your wife. It must have looked like I’ve tossed her to the timberwolves, so to speak.” Shining met his Dad’s sheepish expression with a raised eyebrow. Night Light cleared his throat. “Son, it’s for your own good,” he said gravely. “Trust me, you don’t want to go to the house right now.” Shining narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What’s so bad back there?” Night Light closed his eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath. Shining knew that tic, his father often did that when he was breaking bad news and he needed a moment to ‘lay it all out’ as he would say. “Remember that time during Hearth’s Warming when your mother and your wife were in the kitchen discussing Twilight?” Shining frowned as he tried to recall the memory. “Yes… I got out of there as fast as I could, they were starting to match every bachelor and bachelorette out there for Twily.” Shining shrugged uncomfortably. “The thought of potential suitors for my sister was kind of disturbing, but they loved it.” A sudden thought occurred to him. “Wait, you don’t think—” Night Light nodded, licking his lips. “This time, your mother’s got it in her head to do it again. This time for real. You shouldn’t go in there, it’s a war zone.” Shining blinked. “Well it can’t be too ba—” He stopped himself and remembered stumbling across one of the spare guest rooms that Cadance had claimed was under renovations. Curious about a room that had been under renovations for years on end, Shining had taken a quick peek inside. He’d had to clamp a hoof around his own mouth to suppress the gasp of shock. The walls had been plastered ceiling to floor with every pony they had ever met or known for the past few years. Dots had been connected with strings in an intricate web that looked more like the den of a crazed rainbow-obsessed spider, than a guest room of a royal castle. “Oh dear Celestia,” Shining whispered as it sunk in. “They’re going to destroy Equestria.” Night Light glanced outside, his eyes shying away from the bright sunlight that contrasted his troubled mood. “Well, son, I doubt even she could help.” ————— Twilight fumbled among the books, skimming some, delving briefly into others, before tossing them into a pile of books at the centre of the room. Spike was busy reshelving the books, one by one, but for every book he shelved, three more took their place as another casualty in the grand massacre of Twilight’s book crusade. Very soon, he threw up his arms in frustration and threw a book in her direction. “Twilight, you’re acting crazy!” he yelled. “I’m not crazy!” she belted back. “I’m absolutely, sane, composed, logical, reasoned, lucid, rational, coherent, stable, normal, and any other synonym you care to name that proves my absolute sanity!” “Really?” he asked, unable to keep the frustration creeping into his tone. He gestured with a claw outside. “What do you call that?” Outside the window, a faintly sparkling shield shimmered around the town. Ponies outside gazed up in concern, or perhaps at the blue pegasus that was slamming into the shield and yelling inaudible profanities. “You do know Rainbow Dash’s house is outside the shield, right?” Spike saw Rainbow scream a few more things, then back up, preparing to dive at the barrier, presumably giving everything she got. Twilight glanced outside started. “Oh!” she said. “Easily fixed!” She turned back to Spike, concentrated briefly, and made a hole at the precise moment that Rainbow attempted a Sonic Rainboom. The pegasus went straight through the gap without any of the expected resistance, and ploughed through at lightning speed… all the way to Applejack’s newly-raised barn. Even from the castle, Spike could hear Applejack. “Dang nabbit, Twilight!” “It’s fine!” Twilight replied to his shocked expression. “Perfectly fine! I’ve seen Applejack raise a barn in less than an hour! If that doesn’t work, magic fixes everything!” “What about Rainbow Dash?” Twilight flicked a hoof. “She’s fine, everything’s fine!” “Ahhhh! It hurts! Everything hurts! Don’t get me wrong, I’m hardcore, but I think something’s broken!” “Magic can fix bones!” Twilight said. “As long as there aren’t too many—” “All of them hurt, I think I broke all my bones! Call a doctor!” Twilight smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “Rainbow Dash sure knows how to exaggerate, am I right?” “I’m not kidding this time, I think several of my bones are broken!” Twilight strained in the ensuing silence, but when there were no further comments, her friend or otherwise, Twilight sunk to the ground with a moan. Spike tapped his foot and crossed his arms as he waited for Twilight to finally realise what a mess she’d made. “I’m not…” she trailed off under his unimpressed, judgemental, unfair… concerned gaze. “Oh Spike, what am I going to do?!” The dragon sighed as he rubbed the back of his head and held out his paw, counting off points with each claw. “Well you’ve tried running away from it, hiding away from it, ignoring it, denying it, throwing magic at it, and talking to your friends about it.” “Oh Spike, but that’s everything!” Spike raised an eyebrow. “There’s one thing you haven’t tried.” Twilight perked up hopefully. “What? What haven’t I tried.” Spike crossed his arms. “Dealing with it.” Twilight shrunk back. “Oh,” she said. “Right.” ——————— Over Ponyville, Luna and Celestia arrived with a contingent of guards surrounding a carriage of gems. They stopped outside the faintly glowing bubble. “It appears to be a shield,” Celestia remarked casually. She studied it, blinking with surprise at the creative combinations of cryptological calculations created comprehensively within the complete conjuration. Luna poked it with a hoof. “A mighty one, sister. One only an alicorn with an extensive reserve of magic can cast, and even then only after extensive training in all forms of magic.” They looked at each other. “Twilight?” Luna said. “Twilight.” Celestia sighed. Author's Note The Casimir Effect is the force observed at the quantum level when two conductors are placed very close to each other. Next Chapter: It's... complicated, Mom. As always, my thematically themed readers, thanks for reading!
4 - The Neighbour Exclusion EffectChapter 4: The Neighbour Exclusion Effect “There, everything is perfect.” Spike congratulated himself on a job well done. The table was set, the dishes had been cleaned and wiped down, the food was being prepared, only… He peeked under the table. “You’re going to have to come out of there one day.” “No, I don’t!” Twilight shot back. “I have everything I need. Food, books, bedding, books, water, and books!” Spike wiped a claw over his snout. “What if you need to go to the toilet?” “Magic!” “Listen, Twi’, you can’t use magic to solve all your problems.” “Magic has literally solved every major problem I’ve had!” Spike considered this, then rejected it outright. “That just sounds like a convenient plot hole cover. You’re not thinking things through.” “If the magic is powerful enough, then the spell will work! Transversal correlative magical efficacy! I merely have to apply the theory, match the right equations, account for all the variables, make a model, test the model and gather data! If the data doesn’t fit the model you just have to iterate—” Spike bent low, flopping down on the ground next to her. “You know this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I told you that you had to confront them.” He reached out with a claw and patted her shoulder. Twilight made to say something, but stopped, and merely traced a hoof along the floor. She looked like she wanted to encase herself in the crystal that made up its surface. “I know, Spike, it’s just… what if they’re… you know?” “They’re not that bad.” He cast his thoughts back in recollection. “I mean, I’ve only met them once or twice, but each time was totally fine.” Twilight rested her head between her legs, her eyes looking up at him soulfully. “Mom keeps feeding you gems when you’re around. You haven’t seen the other side of her.” “What other side?” “You know when Cadance is around and she’s talking to Rarity?” “Rarity…” “Focus, Spike.” “Okay, sorry.” Twilight pursed her lips. “What do you think their conversations were all about?” Spike made a face. “Ergh, yuck, all the lovey-dovey stuff. I mean I can take a little mush, but that was like a day-old porridge.” “See, Spike? It’s not that easy when they’re around.” Spike shrugged uncomfortably. “I guess not.” “Right. I don’t want to go there. Not yet, at least.” “You’re going to have to come out of there someday, Twi’.” “I know,” Twilight grumbled, “but I like it down here. It’s warm and cosy and very predictable. It fits my model of reality perfectly.” Spike didn’t comment on her answer, he just stared at her with a raised eyebrow. When Spike wants to look unimpressed, he can really pull it off. With a tortured groan, Twilight crawled out from beneath the table. “Come on,” he told her with a smile. “There’s still stuff to do before they arrive.” Twilight blinked. “Stuff?” “Like apologising to Rainbow—hey come back!” ————————— Both stallions froze at the unexpected sight that greeted them. They had steeled themselves with several beverages before coming back, but nothing could quite prepare them for their respective beloveds, especially with those expressions. Especially with those expressions. “Exit strategy?” Night Light mumbled. “None, sir,” Shining answered. “Blast.” “Hello, dears,” Velvet began smoothly. Her voice seemed to be spun of silk and satin. “We need some help.” “Shining. Father.” Cadance’s was warm honey and syrup. “We need your help with this.” Both stallions couldn’t help it, they both took a step back. “Night Light, dear, you don’t seem well, perhaps you’d like to sit down?” Velvet drew up a chair. “Shining, we’ve made tea and biscuits,” Cadance continued with mesmeric eyes. Shining felt like he was squirming helplessly in a web of wifely impressions. He could almost see the concealed fangs. “Nice knowing you, son,” Night Light whispered. “You were always my favourite dad.” “What?!” “Nothing.” ———————— Velvet rolled her eyes. “We can hear you both, you know.” “Point still stands,” Shining mumbled. Cadance tutted. “It’s not much, but after I got over the initial shock, it was quite interesting, really.” Shining shared a look with his father. They nodded. So far they didn’t seem as bad as they thought. “You see we’ve come to a conclusion,” Cadance continued. “Twilight needs some guidance.” Wariness returned to both stallions. “And how can we help?” Shining slowly eased himself into his chair. Velvet tittered. “This is a family thing, you know? We need to set an example.” Shining glanced at her wife. Her wife held his gaze. The comfortable chair suddenly felt rough and uneven. He found himself shifting uncomfortably. “You don’t mean—?” Velvet lifted an eyebrow meaningfully. Shining cast a look to Cadance. “Can I have a word with you?” “Excellent idea,” Velvet said, “I would like a word with my husband too.” —————— Closing the door to his former room, Cadance looked around with mild interest. “You know, I’ve never been in your room before. College dorms, military bunkers… not the most private places, or romantic ones.” Shining caught the undertone and held out his hooves. “I know that line of thought, but this is Twilight we’re talking about, not us.” Cadance smiled. “You risk the wrath of your wife over your sister?” Shining lifted his chin. “I believe we both have the best interests of Twilight at heart.” Cadance glanced at the door. “Good, because your mother is crazy.” “No way, even if you—wait, what?” “Your mother,” Cadance hissed. “She’s totally lost it.” “Oh, I thought this was going to go in a totally different direction.” “I’m all for setting Twilight up with somepony so she’d find some romance in her life, goodness me that mare’s a shut-in.” Shining blinked. “Uhh…” He felt like he needed to say something in his sister’s defence, but Cadance did have a point. “She’s not exactly… well…” “I’m all for setting her up with somepony—” Cadance rolled her eyes “—but your mother was considering every stallion in the district and beyond!” Shining shifted his hooves uncomfortably. “See I thought that because you came over last time…” “Oh please, give me some credit.” Cadance tapped the floor with her hoof impatiently. “They were just hypotheticals. It needs something real. Close proximity, some interaction, or a good crush to build on. Like that guard we have? Or maybe Applejack’s brother?” “A-Applejack’s brother?!” “No, you’re right. Friendship friction. Maybe another stallion in Ponyville? There’s bound to be other cute ones. Oh! A pegasus! She can fly with them now.” “Woah, woah, woah, let’s back up a bit, I thought we were talking about my mother being crazy?” Cadance snorted. “Well, yeah, your mother even considered the mailpony. That’s just fantasy snuff.” She tilted her head and frowned. “You know she asked me if alicorns, uhh, did it, the same way normal ponies did?” “Huh?” “Yep. Then she asked if we should consider ‘broadening our borders’.” “To what?” “To other species.” “What?” Shining wrinkled his muzzle. “That doesn’t make any sense—” “Unless you’re in a mid-life crisis. Which your mother is. Except it’s more of an empty-nest thing. Or maybe she’s got some issues with grandma—” “—Grandma is coming?!” Cadance blinked. “You didn’t know?” Shining’s forehead broke out in cold, frosty sweat. He gulped audibly. “She’s not really coming, right?” Cadance patted him on the back. “It’ll be fine, Shining. We’ll deal with it when it gets here. In any case, I can’t really pin a reason down for Velvet’s heel-turn, it’s a bit of a train wreck.” “Alright, alright, alright,” Shining said hastily. “What do we do?” Cadance blinked at him. “Are you kidding? We don’t do anything. If we get in between your mother and Twilight, we’ll be trampled in the Velvet shipping express.” She shook her head. “Just play along, follow my lead, and make sure you just smile and nod, no matter how crazy it sounds.” Cadance sighed. “She’ll quickly realise that it isn’t going to work, whatever her plan is.” Shining hooked an arm around her as she turned to the door. “Cadance, I’m worried about Twilight.” “What?” He shifted his hooves uneasily. “I mean if Mom sent me a letter, then she would have sent Twiley one.” Cadance’s eyes widened. “You don’t think she’ll…” Shining swallowed. “She’d probably be freaking out right now.” Cadance rushed to the window and peered out the window towards Ponyville. Though mostly obscured by a few other buildings, Cadance could make out the faint glow of a magical shield. She’d know, there was one for her wedding. “Shining,” she murmured faintly, “look at this.” Shining scrambled to the window, sweeping the landscape until he found out what Cadance was talking about. “That’s… my Twiley.” ———————— “Velvet, dear…” “Night Light.” She was smiling giddily. “I have made a list.” Night Light knew better than to argue against the list. He knew Twilight also kept lists, but at least she had toned down on them in recent times. He used to think it was cute when she was a foal, showing him a sorted list on organising her books, a list for things to do, a list for the lists of things to do, a checklist for the lists, a checklist for the checklist for the— Night Light shook his head. On that road was the abyss, and it didn’t bode too well to stare. “A list?” he ventured. It was an innocuous query, but the path was fraught with marital dangers. “A list!” Velvet repeated, pulling out an incongruous parchment. It must have been magic, because when she had unfurled it, the scroll bounced off the chair, rolled across the wooden floor and exited out the kitchen. He hoped the door was closed, because he was pretty sure it might end up in Manehatten. Though the question sent tingles of unease through his frame, Night Light had to ask it. “A list of what?” “Topics to discuss with my daughter, of course!” “That many?” Velvet gave him a look as if to say he was daft. “Of course, it’s half a year’s worth! There’s so much to catch up on.” Night Light sagged in relief. “Here I thought you were going to ask me about Twilight’s love life.” Velvet giggled. “Oh don’t be silly. You have no role in that.” She smacked him on the arm. “Just stand there with mild approval and you’ll be the favourite parent.” That was no fun. If he couldn’t freak out his daughter’s future partner, what was the point of being a father? “It’s tradition.” He huffed. “I should be grudgingly disapproving so I can fulfil the cliché of a doting father.” Velvet rolled her eyes. “You mean suffocating, just let the poor mare have whoever she wants. I want a family.” Night Light frowned. “You already have one.” “I want a bigger one. One that I can be a part of.” “Oh alright.” He suddenly thought of something. “When is your mother coming?” Velvet sighed. “Oh, she said she would visit directly. You know how she is. She invites herself.” Night Light winced. “You know the last time she came…” “Oh don’t be a worrywart, I’m sure it will be fine.” But even she didn’t sound sure of her reassurance. “Now, let’s go through the list.” Night Light had forgotten about the mile-long document. He showed his wife a gritted smile. “Of course, dear.” ———————— Luna and Celestia stood outside the barrier. “What shall we do, sister?” Luna peered at the shielding. She was probably thinking of taking it down by brute force. “It would be a good idea to send her a message, first.” Celestia summoned a parchment, quill and ink pot. “Hmm. Mayhap this is a bad time to visit with the diplomatic cache of gems for the dragons?” “I’m sure Twilight will have let us know if there were any pressing issues. Just in case, I will send a letter.” Celestia hastily scribed her message and then sent it in a puff of magic smoke. The letter went through the barrier as Celestia heaved a sigh of relief. She didn’t know what she would do if that didn’t go through. “Superb strategy, sister,” Luna commented with a proud smile. “I had forgotten about dear Spike.” “Indeed,” Celestia replied, “and now we wait.” ———————— A steady knock on the door jolted Twilight out of her book. She remembered starting on a reference on dealing with family, but ended up in the philosophy section on life, the universe and everything. She gaped at the incriminating trail of books that led straight to her. How much time had she wasted? But it was just one more book at the time… Spike poked his head in. “Hey I thought you said you were heading out to dispel the spell?” He caught the trail of books. “Oh, right.” With a stifled groan he started gathering up the books. “Somepony’s at the door to see you, you better go take a look.” “My family?” “No,” he replied wryly. “Your friends.” “Oh,” Twilight said in relief. “Thank you Spike!” Twilight made her way to the main entrance. If it was her friends, then she could ask them for help. Twilight took a deep breath, then opened the door. Rainbow was there in a few bandages with Pinkie smiling brightly next to her. “Hiya Twilight!” Pinkie greeted. “Rainbow said she wanted to see you, so I told her you were hiding under the table in the castle!” She grinned easily over the withering corpse of Twilight’s smile. “Hello, Rainbow,” she muttered. Rainbow didn’t say anything, which made it all the more frightening. Twilight had expected Rainbow to snap at her. “Uhm… you both better come inside.” “Okie dokie lokie!” ————————— Applejack and Apple Bloom were outside Carousel Boutique. “Ah swear…” “You didn’t think Rainbow was gonna crash into the barn, right?” Apple Bloom giggled. “Saved us the trouble, we were going to knock it down next week.” “Ah’m concerned about Rainbow.” “Pinkie said she was going to handle it” Apple Bloom didn’t look concerned at all, having accepted that Pinkie could solve any problem. “She Pinkie Promised, so Ah think it’ll be alright.” Applejack was doubtful. Rainbow had been shouting a lot when she’d crashed into the barn. “Ah think it’s a good idea to get together an intervention of sorts. Twilight’s a good pony, but sometimes she overthinks things. A smart pony like her sometimes makes me think her head’s full of hay.” Apple Bloom seemed to agree. “So we gonna see Twilight’s family? Ah wonder how they’re going to be different to ours?” Applejack grinned. “Oh, hopefully not like the Oranges. I couldn’t stand all that prim and proper stuff.” Apple Bloom glanced at the boutique. “Then why’re we outside Rarity’s house?” “Well Apple Bloom—” Applejack paused “—actually, watch this.” Applejack pounded on the door to the boutique. “Hey Rares!” Rarity opened the door, looking concerned. “What is it Applejack? All that banging and yelling, is there an emergency?” Applejack grinned. “Better than that. Rarity, you would not believe what’s going to happen.” ————————— “Ooooooooooooh!” Rarity’s squeal was as undignified as it was high-pitched. She clapped her hooves together and grinned ear to ear. “See, Apple Bloom? Ah told ya. She does sound like her.” Apple Bloom giggled. Rarity broke from her excited reverie with a shake of her head. “Told her what?” “Nothin’ Rarity, we just need some advice to do with Twilight’s family.” “Her family, you say…” Rarity was definitely intrigued. “I believe we might have met her parents briefly at the coronation, but not enough for an impression.” She grinned. “We simply must meet them!” With a rush, Rarity swept into the back of her shop. Faint sounds of ‘no this isn’t good’, ‘the coordination might work’, ‘oh, the frills!’, and other fashion-related statements that made Applejack’s skin crawl, filtered back to the dining room. Despite that she smiled. “See, what’d Ah say?” Apple Bloom nodded. “Ah can’t believe Rarity squealed like Piggington.” Applejack chuckled. Apple Bloom looked over her shoulder. “Do you think Rarity is going to try an’ help?” Rarity swept back into the room, equipped with a stunning white summer dress with lacy frills and a levitating parasol. “What are we waiting for? We must go tell Fluttershy and bring her along!” Applejack smiled. “Ah can always trust Rarity to share juicy gossip and stick her nose into other ponies’ business.” —————————— Rainbow sat down at the table as Twilight busied herself in the kitchen. It was taking a while, and with each second that passed, Rainbow fumed a little more. “What’s taking her so long?” Rainbow muttered. “Maybe she’s whipping up something special for us to eat!” Pinkie’s eyes widened and her mouth watered at the prospect of delicious snacks. “Maybe it’ll be cupcakes! Oh wait!” As if reminded, Pinkie lifted her tail and curled it around, then rummaged around in it and fetched out a cupcake. “I have one right here.” Licking her lips, Pinkie bit into the cupcake and chewed loudly. “Mmmm yum!” Rainbow didn’t know how Pinkie kept the cupcakes, but sensing that thinking about it was a dangerous topic, instead focused on whether the cupcakes would have hair from her tail in them. She wouldn’t want to eat a cupcake with pink hair all over it… Wait, she was off track. “What’s taking her so long?” Rainbow was annoyed, but not angry. She had clamped down on most of her anger at Twilight for erecting the shield without telling her, mainly because she was partially at fault by flying into it so hard. Luckily, Rainbow had sped up instead of slowing down so that she could use a shockwave generating manoeuvre to demolish Applejack’s barn. She hadn’t been hurt except for a couple of bruises and sore joints. Nothing out of the usual for an unpredictable practice session. Still, she had expected some sort of apology and mostly an explanation, and Twilight still hadn’t come back. “What’s—” A clatter from the kitchen interrupted Rainbow. “Oooh! Let’s go check it out,” Pinkie said brightly, leaping from the chair. In the kitchen, Twilight was half-hanging out of the window, having tried to escape a moment before. Her rear-end dangled precariously in mid-air as she writhed in the aperture. “… What are you doing, Twilight?” Twilight struggled a little, but only succeeded in entrenching herself further into the window. She was stuck. “…Are you trying to run away?” The figure sagged. Rainbow shook her head in mute surprise. “Can’t you, like, teleport?” Twilight stiffened. There was an awkward pause. Then with a flash, Twilight reappeared in the kitchen, looking like that one time she accidentally spilled coffee on an essay she’d spent all night writing. ——————————— Rainbow was not impressed, but ran a hoof through her hair and nodded. “Gees Twi’, I came here all annoyed and ready to spit you out, but…” Rainbow left unsaid that Twilight looked worse than when she was organising the Grand Equestria Pony Summit by herself. She looked like the Wonderbolts had run her through the ringer. Several times. “Twilight, you look horrible!” Pinkie’s lack of tact was astounding in itself. But Rainbow had to admit that when the truth was laid out like that that topic was easier to approach. “I know!” Twilight moaned and sunk her head to the table, her mane falling into a disarray around her. Twilight’s breath made little misting circles on the crystal as she sighed like her soul was leaving her body. “It’s all been a mess. My family is…” she winced “A little strange. I didn’t want you to meet them, I tried to talk to Applejack, then found this spell, and saw you and then you hurt yourself and then I hid under the table, when that didn’t work and you showed up I—” “Woah, woah, Twilight, slow down!” It wasn’t like Rainbow couldn’t sympathise, family gathering of all kinds were hectic and rowdy in her house, but it was all worth it when the time came around. “Aww, Twilight, it won’t be so bad!” Pinkie exclaimed with a passionate grin. “We’ll just throw a party!” Twilight grinned weakly. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. A quick lunch, a tour of Ponyville and then… dinner.” “That doesn’t sound so bad,” Rainbow replied. “It’s just dinner.” “You don’t get it,” Twilight said, gritting her teeth. “It can get a little intense.” Rainbow and Pinkie shared a look of confusion, but Twilight simply pulled out a letter and wordlessly handed it over to them both. Rainbow read the contents. Then reread the contents. “This… this is something,” was all she could say. “Half a year!” Pinkie shouted. “That’s no good you should see them more often!” Rainbow was confused. “You know that Canterlot’s like one stop away, right?” Twilight gripped her head in her hooves. “I know,” she moaned. “I feel so guilty! I’m pretty sure I also visited Canterlot a couple of times without visiting them either!” Wow, Rainbow thought. That’s pretty bad… ———————— A bright flash lit the room. “Wowee that spell’s still got some kick in it!” The mare’s voice faded as the sudden arrival announced herself in a spectacular fashion. In the centre of a smoking circle was a pony that was swathed in a black cloak, had donned a pointy hat and clutched a staff in her right hoof. She leaned on it almost casually as she stuck a strange pose while grinning at the shocked faces that greeted her. Twilight gaped. “Grandma?” “Grandma?!” Rainbow spluttered. The mare looked barely older than Twilight. “Her?!” The mare flicked back her purple and pink mane. “Call me Satin, Twilight dear. Calling me grandma makes me feel old, you know?” The frivolous mare swept up Twilight in a crushing hug as she ruffled her hair. “You are such a little cutie pie.” Then she gasped, rubbing Twilight’s feathers. “Oh look at those wings, are those new? You are definitely going places, let me tell you. I think you’ll do well if you want to come with me.” “B-But you’re not supposed to arrive until noon!” “Oh you know how I am with schedules and the like.” Satin cackled, her hooves coming down with a clatter as she swept the room with a mischievous gaze. “Ooh, are these your friends?” Pinkie raised her hoof. “Oh, pick me!” Satin grinned. “I like this one. Energetic! Go ahead.” “I’m Pinkie Pie the Premier Party Pony Planner in all of Ponyville!” Pinkie leapt up and threw confetti, a couple of party cannons going off as she ended her introduction. “Oh this one is a natural. She should come along too!” “Come along where?” Pinkie asked. “Don’t worry about that,” Twilight said hastily. “It’s not important.” Twilight started herding Rainbow and Pinkie towards the door. “I’m sure my friends are busy and have lots to do so they should be going now.” Rainbow was drawing a blank. “What?” Satin leaned on her staff again and stuck out her tongue. “No Twilight, they should stay.” Twilight made to say something, but Satin cut in. “Listen to your elders and all that.” She touched her staff and the doors closed with a ponderous click, sealing the three to their fate. She turned to Rainbow and smiled. “I’m sure you both have a lot of questions.” ———————— “Oh? That’s your first question? Who am I?” Satin sipped at the tea and replaced the cup on the saucer with a delicate gesture. She waved a dismissive hoof. “It’s a boring question with many boring answers. I guess the best one to come up with is that I’m Twilight’s adoring Grandma.” She reached over and ruffled Twilight’s mane as the alicorn sat with her head sunk onto the table. Satin grinned at her. “Cheer up, little Twilight, I am a bit early, but you need to relax. My crazy daughter isn’t here yet.” “Twilight’s mom?” Rainbow asked curiously. “Oh she’s a handful, alright. Always fretting about this and that. Never could relax. I really wanted her to take over my mantle but I guess adorable Twilight will now be doing so!” “I-I didn’t agree to that!” Twilight retorted, but Satin didn’t seem to hear. “Ah, it’s nice having such a capable family. I would love to meet your brother again. Last I hear he was romping off in the military while you were off in your magical studies. I’m so proud of you!” Twilight mumbled a ‘thank you’ into the table, while Pinkie and Rainbow listened in with mild curiosity. Rainbow asked the question that hung in the air like loose laundry. “What do you do, exactly?” Twilight, who had been giving her frantic eye signals, flopped back onto the table. Satin’s grin could outdo a shark’s. With the way she leaned on the table, the light from the window struck at just the right angle to cause her coat to come alive with a golden splash of colour. She waggled her eyebrows. “Well, all sorts of things. Ever heard of jelly ponies?” “Huh?” “Ponies made of jelly. Crazy experiment by an insane wizard. He went by the name of Stark White. Lived in the land of perpetual snow and ice.” “Up in the north?” Rainbow was intrigued. “No.” Satin laughed. “South, very far south.” “What about the jelly ponies?” Pinkie looked a little hungry. Satin grinned, having captured their attention. “Well,” she said, “it goes like this…” ———————— Rainbow didn’t know what to say. Satin was a heck of a mare, if her adventures were anything to judge by. She was kind of like Daring Do, but with a lot more magic. Luckily, she was saved from making a reply as Spike half-vaulted, half-skidded down the stairs yelling out Twilight’s name. “We’ve got a problem!” He waved a scroll bearing a familiar royal seal. Twilight lifted her head from the table, she could feel a couple more mane strands pop out. “What now?!” Spike, seeing the new pony at the table, slowed down, but handed Twilight the scroll in the meantime. “Hello, Spike.” The mare smiled warmly. “I believe you’re too young to remember me. I’m Satin, pleased to meet you.” “Uh, hi?” Pinkie decided to be helpful. “Satin is Twilight’s Grandma!” Satin grinned. Author's Note The neighbour-exclusion effect is the general principle of excluding intercalation of bis-intercalators between adjacent DNA base-pairs. It's also a good title. Because metaphors. Next Chapter: Satin v. Princess v. Gems v. Daughter v. Grand-Daughter v. Grand-Daughter's Friends v. Everything As always, my eternally epistemologically empathic readers, thanks for reading! P.S. I'm way too busy, recently. Sorry for updating delays. Also, the google docs importer seems broken so I've used a workaround, but not sure if it works properly. Let me know if you spot errors (of any kind). P.P.S. The formatting is a little wibbly wobbly due to google docs importer being broken, so I guess I'll hang tight until it's fixed. Hopefully the slight changes in the lack of indentation hasn't turned anybody off. P.P.P.S. Formatting is still broken! I added descriptions for Satin. P.P.P.P.S. Thanks to TheGreatEater for fixing my stupid mistakes :)
5 - The Family’s Familiar Familial Familia Familiar5 - The Family’s Familiar Familial Familia Familiar Chapter 5: The Family’s Familiar Familial Familia Familiar When Twilight read the contents of the letter, Rainbow could see her face lose its colour, even through her coat. Twilight looked ready to have a nervous breakdown, so Rainbow decided to lend a helping hoof. “It’ll be alright, Twi’. What’s this about, anyway?” When Twilight merely groaned and sank back onto the table as Satin regarded the gesture with amusement, Spike filled everypony in instead. “I… uhh… kind of forgot to tell Twilight that the Princesses would be dropping off some gems at the castle.” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Just how many gems?” ————————— When the barrier was dismissed, Celestia let go of a breath she didn’t even know she held onto. “Well, that is a relief,” Luna said, echoing her own thoughts. “Yes, now to—” The rest of her sentence was choked back. “Satin?!” The pony tilted her head, then her eyes bulged wildly as she recognised the pair. “Hmm… oh! Erk! Hide me!” Satin dove behind Twilight, then peeked over her head. Twilight flipped around, confused, but then had to shield her eyes from the flash as Satin winked out of existence, teleporting away. “What? Why did she teleport away?” Celestia, head still reared in shock from the fleeting appearance of Satin, shook her head to clear the confusion. Luna swallowed. “Sister… was that—?” Celestia nodded. “Satin Splash, the Grand Archmage of the West.” Twilight frowned. “The what now?” Celestia seemed to finally notice the presence of her former student. “Oh, Twilight, I’m glad you’re here.” Her gaze skimmed across the ground where the barrier used to be. “I was worried something might have happened. Is there something wrong? Is that why the barrier was up? You took it down because you’ve handled it, right?” Twilight bit her lip, looking like she was about to rip a bandaid off. “Well Princess… I didn’t exactly take it down…” she trailed off, groping for words. Celestia knew that look. Twilight often wore the same expression when something had gone horribly, horribly wrong, and that it had been, at least in part, her fault. From the way her shoulders sagged, the weight of guilt looked as if it was going to crush her. “Twilight,” Celestia said gently, “why don’t we head to your castle? You can explain what is going on, while my sister stays with this convoy—where is Spike by the way.” Twilight twisted around. “Oh he was helping out with a few things before—oh there he is!” ———————— “Spike!” Luna called out, seeing the dragon running along. “Sorry—” huff “— I had to set out the table!” He bent down, claws on his knees as he caught his breath. “Just a sec. Phew.” Luna gestured to the guards towing the gems. They inclined their heads, bringing forward the cartload of gems. “We apologise for the short notice, but these gems only recently arrived. They’re supposed to be for diplomatic meetings, but I’m afraid we’ve not the space nor the personnel to keep track of these gems. At least for a few days.” Spike nervously chewed a claw. “A-And you’re trusting me to guard them?” Luna tilted her head. “Why yes, of course, Spike. You’ve proven yourself trustworthy for situations more dire than this.” She smiled warmly. “After this is over, we’ll even let you keep a few.” “Oh! Thanks!” With the prospect of a reward already making his mouth salivate, Spike renewed his determination and put his misgivings to the side. Peering at the trailer of carts, Spike could see that it held all manner of precious jewellery, not only gemstones. Rings, necklaces, some ancient-looking gold coins and other gem-encrusted accessories were heaped into dazzling piles. Unlike the ones he usually mined with Rarity, the gems in the carts had a deep pure lustre and brilliance that showed its quality. Spike’s cheeks billowed in consternation. “These are very expensive, aren’t they?” Luna laughed, contrasting his wary look. “Indeed! I’m sure they’ll be safe inside the castle. Let us move forth.” ——————— Twilight swallowed back her reservation and told the Princess everything. Celestia, for her part, seemed neither angry or disappointed for her part. If anything she looked sympathetic. “You aren’t mad?” “Why would I be mad, Twilight?” The answer carried a hint of stern reproach, but it was far from the reprisal that Twilight expected. In some ways, the agony of expecting more made it worse. “I-I mean—” Celestia touched her on the shoulder with a wing. “Twilight, perhaps the spell was a little over the top, but I could not fault you for what you’re feeling about your family.” She smiled, somewhat painfully. “If anything I understand what it is like to have a rough time with family.” Twilight stared at the ground, watching the grass sway in the gentle breeze. The day was amazing, the perfect weather, but her roiling thoughts and feelings pooled deep inside, blotting out the otherwise picturesque scenery around her with painful strokes. Despite that, the Princess’ words brought her a measure of sanity back, an assurance that perhaps… perhaps she wasn’t alone in having a family that was just a tad strange. “Thank you, Princess.” Celestia nodded. A wry gesture sprung to her face. “Now onto other matters. That was Satin, was it not?” Twilight nodded. “Yes, my grandmother.” “Your grand—” Celestia’s eyes widened and Twilight could almost swear she heard Celestia choke back some words, but she must have misheard, because the Princess would never do something that ungraceful “—well… talent does run in your family.” “Thank you, Princess.” Though she hadn’t the faintest idea why she thanked her. “But Satin as your grandmother? Well, that does explain a lot.” “About what, Princess? Who exactly is my grandmother? My mother used to say that she was just a slightly eccentric traveller. When I asked her, she winked and told me the same.” Celestia shook her head. “Your grandmother is the Grand Archmage of the West.” Celestia’s eyebrow raised a couple of notches. “She’s a powerful unicorn with immense abilities in the arcane that I fear may have surpassed the legendary Star Swirl the Bearded himself.” Twilight swallowed, ears twitching with nervous excitement. “How come I’ve never heard of her? Surely such a unicorn would be mentioned once or twice in literature?” Celestia sighed. “Satin is a very private pony. I’ve tried to persuade her to stay as the Court-appointed mage, but she dislikes titles and rules. Instead she travelled the world, after talking me into removing her existence from Equestrian records. She was instrumental in beating Discord back then. I think even Discord is a little afraid of her.” “Discord?!” Twilight spluttered. “Really?” Twilight’s scoff died in her throat when Celestia’s expression remained grave. Then, like the sun bursting out of the clouds, Celestia grinned heartily. “Well, today we try again! Now that we know Satin is your grandmother, perhaps you and I could convince her to become a Court-appointed mage.” “I…” The last time Twilight had seen Satin was on her fifth birthday, having been accepted into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She remembered the fact that she was a traveller and was identical in appearance back then as she was now. Her memories back then were tinged with warmth as Satin held her up with sparkling eyes, telling her of a new story… Celestia sighed contentedly. “Think of all the good we could do with Satin at the helm! Such an experienced and powerful mage, we could get a lot done.” Celestia’s eyes locked with Twilight’s own. “Would you help me convince her?” Never in her life had Twilight told the Princess no, and this time was no different. Though something was niggling her from the back of her mind, Twilight’s mouth opened and she responded— “Yes.” ——————— Velvet was beside herself with excitement. Her husband, for some reason, lacked the energy to stay awake on the train, only Celestia knew why. To her left sat Cadance with a demure smile on her face and Shining, her little colt, was seated opposite to her and was looking wide-eye and excited for the family gathering! The fact that he kept sending his shy looks to his wife and her was proof that he was so sweetly looking forward to the family reunion. To her right, the scenery of the verdant countryside whizzed by, showing a wondrous panorama to anypony that cared to look. Velvet was too preoccupied with the scroll in her hooves to notice. In her hooves was the conversation list she had created. To be sure she checked it twice, and for safety, had written another list to check for that list. In her saddlebags, another list of her discarded conversation topics were hidden, in case she ran out of all twelve thousand or so things to talk about in her master list. She always told herself to be organised and be prepared! There was nothing worse than doing something spontaneously. At least Twilight had taken her teachings to heart with that. Shining cleared his throat. “Uhm, mom?” Velvet, who was humming a pleasant tune at the time, stopped and smiled at her sweet little son. “Yes, Shiny?” Shining looked more excited by the second. Maybe he was as excited to see Twilight as she was? Those two siblings were awfully close most of the time. In fact, she was pretty sure they saw each other more than they saw her—she quashed the flash of jealousy before it could burn through her thoughts. That wouldn’t do, it wasn’t their fault. She would fix this. It was fine. Everything was going to be fine. She smiled extra wide to convey this to her nervous colt. For some strange reason he looked more apprehensive. Well the boy was a sensitive little thing, that’s what made him so sweet. Shining gulped audibly and settled back into his seat. “Never mind.” ——————— Much could be gleaned from the shoulder of the Grand Archmage of the West. From the perch of Satin’s shoulder, the diminutive mouse had seen empires rise and fall, oceans sweeping from horizon to horizon, and the lands both bountiful and desolate in the many adventures she’d been a part of since accidentally falling asleep in her saddlebags after eating almost all of her cheese. Her grey coat, now silver, stood in stark contrast to Satin’s plain dark robes. Having slept most of the way, Minnie had elected to wake when a primeval urge had filtered through her senses. “Who!” “Eek!” Wide, predatory eyes pinned the quivering mouse to her spot. Seeing now that she was still in the saddlebags of her facetious mistress, Minnie saw that there was no escape. She elected for negotiation instead. “Don’t eat me! I’m bony and chewy! I’d probably give you indigestion.” In case the owl decided to eat her anyway, she didn’t want to have her last image before passing on to be wicked talons and an outstretched beak. She covered her eyes with her little paws. “Who?” “You!” “Who?” “You—why do you keep asking? Just end the torment!” Minnie peeked out from behind her paws. The owl was perched on the bow of the saddle, seemingly smug with its playful nettling. “You’re… not going to eat me?” “Who?” “…I’m not going to fall for that. Aren’t you going to say anything other than ‘who’?” The owl fluffed its chest and tilted its head almost ninety degrees. “Don’t do that, it’s creepy.” The owl hopped into the saddlebag and snuggled up next to her. “Woah—hey, what are you doing?” “Who?” “…You, who else?” Her voice was tinged with annoyance, but she didn’t push him away. ——————— Velvet stood outside the shimmering barrier, mouth agape. Night Light glanced between the barrier and Shining. Shining shook his head and prompted him with the frantic flick of his hooves for him to do something about it. He shifted his gaze to Cadance, who looked apprehensive, but merely shrugged. “I’m sure… there’s an explanation for this.” Velvet took it entirely the wrong way. “She’s… locking me outside of her life now?!” Night Light took a deep breath. “Now I’m sure she didn’t—” “Unacceptable! I will tear down this shield myself if I have to. Shining, Cadance, Night Light, help me!” Shining shared a look with his father, Night Light could only shrug. With three unicorns and an alicorn, surely they could take down the shield? ——————— Satin appeared back in the castle. “You two!” “AH! What?” Rainbow and Pinkie froze mid-step, being halfway to the kitchen to bake something. Actually, Pinkie had wanted to bake something and she was in the process of roping Rainbow Dash into baking something with her. “Don’t tell Celestia or Luna I was here,” Satin said quickly. “I was never here.” “What? Wait!” Satin ignored Rainbow’s calls and headed to her saddlebags. “Minnie—woah, what happened?” Rainbow followed, but stopped in surprise when the saddlebags spoke back to her. “Don’t ask me. There’s an owl that is sleeping next to me, I don’t know why.” Satin looked confused. “I didn’t cast a spell did I?” The bag answered back. “No, you didn’t.” Rainbow approached cautiously. “Uhh, why is your bag speaking?” Satin glanced back at Rainbow, a picture of confusion that cleared in a few moments. “Oh, wait, I haven’t shown you Minnie, this is Minnie.” Satin reached inside the saddlebag and pulled out a small rodent. The mouse waved a small paw. “Hello.” Rainbow’s jaw dropped. “What? Mouse got your tongue?” Minnie cocked her head. “No, that was bad.” “Sure was. Now we gotta get rid of the owl and leg it—” “Who!” “Oh!” Rainbow recognised the bird. “That’s Owlowiscious.” Satin blinked. “Owl—what now?” Rainbow shrugged. “Don’t ask me, that’s what Twilight named him.” The owl fluttered out the bag and landed on Satin’s outstretched hoof. He began preening Minnie’s fur, all the while as she squirmed and called for help. “No, not there! Oh sweet Mus in heaven why?!” Satin grinned in amusement. “Enjoying yourself?” “Get this bird of prey off me! Or do you not realise I’m actually prey! Stop it! I don’t know if you’re just toying with your food or being nice!” With a flash, another pony entered the room. “Gah!” Rainbow yelled. “Doesn’t anypony use the door?” “Nope!” Pinkie called back cheerfully from the window. “I heard Applejack, I’m going to step out!” Rainbow blinked, as a positively livid mare stood huffing in the centre of the room. “Where’s Twilight?!” Satin tilted her head in mild curiosity. “Oh hello, daughter, fancy seeing you use a teleportation spell.” “Mother? Twilight—where is she?” Satin glanced back at her saddlebags and sighed. “Ah well, best deal with this first. Rainbow? Will you be a dear and fetch Twilight for me?” Rainbow glanced between Satin and Twilight’s mother. She looked ready to break down a brick wall with her bare hooves. Seeing Rainbow’s hesitation, Satin gave her a smile of reassurance. “I’ll make sure things don’t get too crazy. Please fetch her.” “Alright…” Rainbow left the room, but before the door could fully close she winced at the explosive yelling that leaked out. “Yeesh, now I get it.” —————— Tired and exhausted, Shining Armor, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Night Light, collapsed at the base of the now-dissipated barrier. Night Light tried mightily to choke out a few strangled words, but could not muster a comprehensible sentence before Velvet disappeared in a flash of light, signalling her teleportation to what he could only surmise was Twilight’s castle. “She—” cough “—was furious!” Shining gasped. The others settled for silent agreement. They lay there puffing for a few more moments, trying to recover the spent energy from blasting an nigh-impenetrable shield. “Twilight is getting really good at these.” Cadance pursed her lips. “I thought we were the experts in the shield business.” “Sometimes—” huff “—I wish my sister wasn’t quite so talented in magic.” Night Light agreed, but didn’t say anything, catching himself feeling mildly guilty about being overly proud of his daughter. Then again, if Twilight kept in contact and didn’t focus so much on being a career mare, maybe this problem wouldn’t have existed in the first place. “…We better get going. The thought of leaving Velvet alone with Twilight is not sitting right with me.” Shining and Cadance started getting up immediately. Cadance touched her horn, and quickly took her hoof away. It was still smoking hot after the plethora of energy expended. “I hope this is the last bit of drama before the day is up, I don’t think I can take much more of this.” ——————— “Mother.” “Velvet, honey.” The frosty silence between them was almost unbearable. Despite that, her mother seemed not to mind, merely smiling as usual. Velvet found, as always, a feeling of irksome exasperation at her mother’s blatant gall. She sat there, pleased as punch, as she fumed with the fire of motherly care. She was passionate about her family. Not like her mother who went gallivanting off on an adventure at every opportunity she got, even when Daddy had passed— No! This wasn’t about mother, this was about her family. “I only invited you as a courtesy you know.” It was true, she half expected her not to show up. Fanciful thoughts had swirled through her head when she had invited her, but now… she wasn’t so sure. Especially since she was blocking her way between her little Twilight’s reunion. Mother had always been nice, though… Velvet shook her head. She was nice, but she was never there. She took a deep breath, forcing the anger to go. She must set a proper example to her daughter. And show her mother that she was in control. Her mother’s lips twitched upwards, settling into a satisfied smugness that jerked at her reins of control. “Good,” she said, with a tone that hinted praise. “Now we talk about Twilight.” “Twilight?” Velvet let drop a dramatic scoff. “You’ll do no such thing. She’s my child, if you haven’t realised. One I’ve put a lot of time and effort into loving and caring for. Much more, I might add, than you.” Velvet allowed herself to lean back in the chair, sporting a smug grin on her face to match. Her mother’s eyes boggled, much to her pleasure, but she fought the surprise with a narrowing of her eyes and a slight tightening of her jaw. “Nonsense, Twilight has so much potential! She should go on a journey with me. There’s so much of the world to experience, she wouldn’t want to be stuck in one place.” Velvet raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I disagree, you do not know Twilight a single bit! She would love to settle down and have a family, I believe she’s already thought about it once or twice.” “Hah!” Her mother tossed her head in disbelief. “You would know! Twilight hasn’t sent you a letter in half a year!” “That’s more than zero! Which is what you’ve gotten!” The atmosphere seemed charged, like ponderous clouds brewing above a plain, waiting for the moment that lightning would strike. Velvet was savagely gratified to see that her mother was no longer aloof from the fray and that she had successfully gotten under her coat. “I would know what’s best for Twilight,” she finally said, through gritted teeth. Velvet flicked a dismissive hoof. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Of course I do!” Her mother slammed a hoof into the table. “How about we ask her friends then? They’re right outside listening to the conversation now!” Velvet was surprised to hear the scramble of hooves knocking against a hard floor from behind the door. Her mother’s magic was quicker though, and the door was flung open, showing six shocked faces. Though their hooves skidded against the crystal in an effort to resist the magic, her mother’s magic was strong enough to drag the whole group to the table. “Twilight’s friends? Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and…” Velvet stared at the foal. “Ah yes, Apple Bloom.” She was a little confused as to how Apple Bloom fitted in, but didn’t say anything. “While it is lovely to meet you all, I think—” “Were you all listening in?” Her mother cut in. After a slight hesitation, there was a collection of ashamed nods and murmurs of agreement. “Sorry,” Apple Bloom said, eyes wide with remiss. Velvet’s heart melted. “Oh you, run along now, sorry but we need to… talk to your sister and her friends.” After a brief hesitation, Apple Bloom nodded, leaning in to listen to something Applejack said and then dashing out the door. “Now,” Velvet stated, staring at each pony with a measured gaze. “Who’s right?” —————— After a brief hint of silence, Applejack spoke up. “Now though Ah’m keen on the idea that Twilight should have a family, Ah do think she has some time to think about it. Twilight’s keen on magic, and Ah think she’d like to go around the world explorin’. Goodness, she’s not shy about doing that, though Ah’m all for roots.” “See?” Satin grinned triumphantly at Velvet. Rarity flicked her hair. “Of course you’d be against any idea of romance, Applejack.” Applejack’s eyebrows drew down slowly. “Now what’s that supposed to mean?” Rarity rolled her eyes. “It’s clear that Twilight needs a special somepony in her life. Didn’t you see her looking enviously at couples during Hearts and Hooves Day?” “Ah ain’t seen nothin’ like that, Rarity.” “Of course you haven’t, don’t tell me you haven’t caught Twilight staring at your brother?” “My b-brother?! What the hay are you on about?” “Goodness me, Applejack, I thought you were rough around the edges, but you can’t be that oblivious. Your brother has caught the eye of many a mare.” “Now hold on just a minute—” Rarity raised her hoof. “Alright, alright, Applejack, if not your brother, there are certainly many other candidates. Maybe even better.” “Exactly!” Velvet cried. “We need to consider them all! One has to be a match for Twilight.” “Hang on just a dang moment, are you two implying my brother isn’t good enough for Twilight?” Rarity pursed her lips, looking both offended and imperious at the same time. “I never said a word about that.” “Now look here, my brother is every bit just as good for Twilight, and you know it!” “Really?” Rarity replied mildly. “Are you willing to test that?” “You’re dang right Ah am!” Satin slammed her hoof on the table, startling everypony. “Stop right there! My little Twilight is going places. She will not be tied down by some pony I don’t even know.” Applejack glared at Satin. “You too?” Satin glared back. “I thought you were for Twilight making her own way.” “Ah changed my mind,” Applejack shot back. “Twilight would be happy with a family of her own. I guarantee it!” “Haybales.” Satin rolled her eyes. “Well, what about Rainbow, Pinkie or Fluttershy? I want to hear their opinions.” Rainbow jumped forward. “Twilight’s gotta follow her dreams.” She shrugged at Rarity’s expression. “Sorry Rarity, but Twilight loves magic, she’d probably love to go with Satin.” “Yes!” Satin crowed. “That’s what I want to hear.” She turned to Fluttershy. “And you, little one, what are your thoughts?” “Uhm, well, if it’s not too much trouble, I agree with Rainbow. I can see how family’s important, but taking care of somepony or being with somepony seems like a lot of uhm… responsibility and pressure. I’m not sure I’d be up to that. Twilight has a lot on her plate, so…” She trailed off as half the room started glaring at her, whilst the other half grinned. “Two for, and two against,” Velvet muttered. “So Pinkie, you decide! Who’s more important?” Pinkie jumped forward. “I agree with Applejack. Family is important, but home is where your heart is!” Satin and Velvet shared a look and then looked back at Pinkie. “So who are you with?” they both pressed simultaneously. “Neither!” Pinkie replied in a sing-song fashion. Then she cocked her head. “We should ask the Princesses! Oooh, look at the time!” Pinkie gestured to the door, diverting everypony’s attention to it. When Satin glanced back, Pinkie was gone. “Where’d she go?” “Don’t worry about it,” Rainbow said, “you’ll burn yourself out trying to figure it out.” She paused, recalling Twilight. “Literally.” The door opened, admitting Celestia and Luna. “Sister, we’ve secured the gems above this floor. I am certain that nothing will go wrong. I am looking forward to meeting—oof—why did you stop?” It was then that Luna realised that both of them were the centre of attention. “Sister,” she whispered. “We should leave.” “Too late,” Celestia replied from the corner of her mouth. “They can see us.” Velvet strode forward. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, we were having a discussion as to whether Twilight would benefit from following in Satin’s hoof steps, or if she should settle down for a family.” Luna shared a look with her sister. “We wouldn’t want to get in between,” Celestia said quickly. “Not at all!” Satin replied. “There’s no hard feelings either way, right everypony?” “Of course not!” Velvet said smoothly. “We simply want the perspective of the Royal Sisters. They are, after all, a big part of Twilight’s life right now.” “I don’t know…” Luna started, but Satin interrupted. “I was going to offer Twilight a chance to go on a journey with me. If she completes her training she can be an Archmage easy! Then I could don my hat and cloak… who knows? I might take a cushy job somewhere, in some Royal Court.” Celestia sprung forward. “I recommend Twilight go with Satin Splash. I think this would greatly benefit Equestr—I mean her.” “Sister!” Luna was taken aback. “I would think family would be important! Thinking about a special somepony, gazing at the stars and future… not to mention the delightful foals!” “Foals!” Velvet squealed. “Foals!” Rarity joined in. “Luna,” Celestia pleaded. “Twilight would love to study more magic, she would be a great Archmage!” “She’s already accomplished a lot,” Luna shot back, “she can rest on her laurels for a long while yet!” “Still a tie?” Satin rolled her eyes. Velvet huffed. “This would be over if Shining and Cadance were here!” “Where are they?” Satin asked. “Weren’t they with you and your husband? Where is your husband anyway?” “Or why don’t we ask don’t we ask Twilight herself?” Celestia posed. “She should be here any moment—” As the door opened once more, a hush fell over the room. Twilight stood in the doorway of her dining room and froze as eleven ponies turned as one to stare at her. She took an involuntary step back. “W-What? Why are you all staring at me like that?” Author's Note Well there's only one chapter left. I've been writing until 6 AM in the morning, so forgive the messiness. Next Chapter: Breaking Point As always, my undulating readers, thanks for reading! P.S. Thanks for the edits, I was pretty out of it.
6 - It's Good To Have FamilyChapter 6: It’s Good to have Family Velvet’s voice was deceptively calm. “Twilight, dear, we would like your opinion on something…” Twilight swallowed a lump of anxiety that was rapidly rising. “Yes?” Celestia smiled reassuringly. “Satin would like to make you an offer, a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Satin cleared her throat. “Twilight, it’s clear you have a gift for magic. You’ve exceeded my expectations long before I even thought about setting them. I think you should come on a journey with me. Learn new magic and become an Archmage.” “Uhh…” “You don’t have to give a response straightaway,” Velvet cut in, glaring at Satin. “Not until you’ve heard what I have to say.” She smiled sweetly. “My dearest daughter. Why don’t you consider settling down? I might not have been clear enough in the letter, but you’ve certainly grown into a bold, strong mare, and you’ve achieved a lot that you and I can be proud of.” Twilight flushed at the public praise. “Thanks, Mom.” Velvet waggled a hoof. “I think the next step is to create a family of your own.” “Okay—” Then it sunk in. “Wait, what?” “Think about it, Twilight!” Velvet continued. “You need to consider the future! You’ve achieved a lot, but maybe settling down should be on the table. There are some great stallions—” “What!” “Or mares, if that’s what you prefer—” “What?!” “You can adopt, I’m not fussy. There are wonders of medical treatments. You can certainly have a foal—” “WHAT?!” ‘Oh Twilight, you don’t need to be such a drama queen about it. Motherhood is great! Imagine a family of your own! Look how happy Shining and Cadance are!” “I-I—” “Oh quiet you,” Satin cut in. “Twilight doesn’t need the pressure, poor mare.” Twilight sighed in relief. But Satin continued. “She’s got a lot on her mind to think about. Family is a decision you can make later, but being Archmage, that’s a decision you can make now.” “Uhm, what does being an Archmage involve?” Twilight asked tentatively. “Oh travel around the globe. Adventure—” “Yes!” Rainbow cheered. “Great knowledge and power for good—” Celestia smiled as Luna frowned. “The freedom to pursue your own interests and passions at your own leisure—” Fluttershy tilted her head at that. Twilight considered all this. It was tempting. “You mentioned a journey. Last time you were back…” Satin chuckled. “Oh right, I forgot to mention. With all the travelling you have to do, there’s no time to come home.” “But my friends—” “You make new ones.” “My family—” “You’ll see them eventually. They’re not going anywhere.” “Being Princess—” “Being Archmage will allow you to be a great force of good in this world,” Celestia answered for Satin. Satin, for her part, nodded sagely. “But you won’t be seeing your friends and family here!” Velvet exclaimed, injecting herself back into the conversation. “I think that Twilight should stay where her family is. There’s no rush. Time enough to make her own.” “Easy for you to say,” Satin shot back, “what about the good work she can do? Not anypony can be an Archmage. Especially when the predecessor quit halfway through!” Velvet sucked in a shocked breath. “You bring that up now?! What about all the times you’ve been on journey, leaving Dad and I by ourselves!” “I can’t help it, there was—” “An emergency! There’s always an emergency! See, this is what happens when you’re the Archmage. No time for family!” Velvet turned in Twilight’s direction, but her words were aimed at Satin. Satin went red. “I have to think about other ponies too! Being an Archmage is about hard work and perseverance. Putting the good of other ponies above yourself!” “What would you know, you were barely a mother! I worked hard to raise a daughter that was brought up in the right environment. With friends and family for support! I did everything!” “Friends, huh? You must have been amazing, because she certainly had many during school!” Satin shot out, sarcasm practically dripping from the words. “Grandma!” Twilight blurted, shocked. Velvet narrowed her eyes dangerously. “You wouldn’t know a thing about that, unless you were sneaking around when Twilight was growing up! You didn’t visit me? Your own daughter? You’re a poor excuse for a mother.” “Mom!” Twilight could feel tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, my daughter stopped being mine when she refused to continue her journey.” Frosty silence followed as mother and daughter glared at each other with seething rage. Twilight was the first to break it. “I don’t want either.” Satin and Velvet turned to Twilight in shock. “But Twilight—” “Twilight, honey—” “No!” Twilight shouted. Then she took a deep breath and spoke again, in a softer tone. “No. Both of you, I’m… I don’t want to see you both until you’ve sorted out everything.” “But Twilight, we were only thinking about you—” “Don’t give me that!” Twilight snapped. Again, she took another breath to steady herself before ploughing on. “You’ve both used me like a tool for a fight between you two. Worse, you dragged my friends and the Princesses, some of the closest ponies to me, into that fight.” She stared at Satin. “Is this how an Archmage operates?” Satin shifted her gaze to the floor. Twilight turned to Velvet. “Is this how my Mom would want to celebrate a reunion?” Velvet joined Satin in staring at their hooves. Twilight felt the anger cascade out, leaving her weak and exhausted. She blinked away a couple of tears. To think, the most she was worried about was some embarrassing antics at dinner, not a out-of-proportion feud. “I will give you two some time alone. Come on girls, Princesses, let salvage some of the day back.” —————— Apple Bloom had wandered around Ponyville asking around, but couldn’t find hide or hair of Twilight. “Drat,” she muttered, making her way back to the castle. “Where’d she go?” It was difficult to find an alicorn that could teleport. Apple Bloom met Spike in the foyer as he was coming down the stairs. “Spike! Have you seen Twilight?” “Apple Bloom? What are you doing here?” “Ah came with Applejack, something about Twilight’s reunion. She thought she’d be with you.” “Oh, well, Twilight came in with Celestia and went to put back that book on complex barriers. She was going to join the Princesses once they made it to the room. I was just finishing up something with Princess Luna.” Apple Bloom drooped. “Aw fiddlesticks, so Ah looked around for nothing?” Spike patted her on the head, trying to think of a way to cheer her up. “Hey, want to see something cool?” Apple Bloom perked up. “What is it?” “A literal hoard of gems.” Apple Bloom’s eyes sparkled. “Sooooo like treasure?” Spike grinned. “Yep. Want to take a look?” “Yeah!” They raced upstairs and into the room. A finely dressed pony was in the midst of shovelling the gems and jewellery in the bag. He froze as they spotted him. “Toodles!” he sang out, burning a pony-sized hole in the floor with his horn. “Who the hay was that?” Apple Bloom cried. “Never mind that, the Princess is going to kill me if we don’t stop him! How in the world did he get in?!” —————— The silence was unbearable. Neither had said anything when Twilight had stalked off with the Princesses and her friends. The room was empty save for the two of them and a table set for seven. Velvet and Satin found something interesting to look at in the floor. “Look—” Satin began, then the ceiling fell in. “Ahahahaha!” A unicorn cackled as he dragged a bag in his telekinetic grip. Velvet and Satin stared in shock as he burst out through the door. Spike and Apple Bloom poked their heads through the hole. “Get him!” he yelled. “They stole the Princesses’ gems!” Velvet and Satin sprung into action. “Teleport!” “Right!” They both flashed outside, where the brown-coated stallion stumbled to a stop and darted around the pair. “Haha, try again!” Velvet narrowed her eyes. “How dare you steal from my daughter’s castle!” “Your daughter must be stupid to leave a bunch of gems just lying about!” The pony stuck out a tongue as he galloped around the corner. “Stupid?!” Satin growled. “That does it, I’m going to flatten that pony.” “Agreed,” Velvet said with murderous intent. “He’s the halfwit to pick a fight with a mother and her daughter.” “Launch me!” Velvet said, and instantly she was in the air, flung by Satin’s magic as she catapulted her above the houses. Velvet spotted the thief and threw a spell at him. He stumbled slightly, but kept running. “Hah!” he called back. “Didn’t hurt at all!” Velvet cushioned her fall with a hasty shield, glad she still remembered some of her training. Then she teleported. Satin was already there, binding the pony’s arms and legs with an elegant restraining spell. “Nice work with the tracer… daughter.” “Thank you… mother.” “I would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for you meddling ponies!” “Oh shut up,” Satin said, gagging the pony. “Aw yeah! You caught them!” Spike waddled up with Apple Bloom, followed by a contingent of guards. “Good thinking, Spike,” Velvet said. “Yeah, he said we’d need them,” Apple Bloom said with a smile. Her expression turned serious. “We should get all the gems back and leave the guards there so it won’t happen again.” “Nice one, Apple Bloom,” he said, “you’re thinking like Twilight.” Spike gestured to the guards and they picked up the struggling pony and the rest of the gems between them. Spike and Apple Bloom followed the contingent, chattering excitedly between them. “Spike has really grown up, hasn’t he?” Satin remarked. Velvet nodded. “I guess Twilight did a great job in raising him. I guess she doesn’t need any help from me with her foals.” Satin snorted. “Are you kidding? She’ll need all the help she can get, especially with a dysfunctional mother’s side like ours.” There was a pause between them. Velvet bit her lip. “We better get to Twilight.” “Hold it.” Satin reached out and touched Velvet’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I brought it up again. The journey, I mean. When you told me you were quitting halfway it killed me at the time. I thought you were throwing away five years of work and abandoning all the ponies in need… Every time I think back on it, I blamed you, then I hated myself for blaming you, because I should really be blaming myself. When I realised how much time had passed, I found it hard to see you again.” Velvet bit back a caustic remark and instead shook her head. “Not after so many years?” Satin hung her head. “It was hard the first day, then a little easier the second, then the third, a week… a month, then years. I just put my full effort into my job. Fighting, that’s what I do. When I fight, though, I think about how I’m protecting you.” She sighed despondently. “But now I know how weak and shallow that excuse was.” Velvet felt a prickling sense of shame wash over her. “It’s not weak,” she muttered in a small voice. “I’m sorry I said all those things about you. You’re right. I couldn’t handle it. It broke me too, I wanted to make you proud.” “Oh Velvet, you’ve always made me proud. When I see Twilight, see how happy she is, it reminds me how sad you looked when I left. I always thought that Twilight would never be sad, at least, not like that because you’d always be around. You’ve always been so gifted in dealing with other ponies.” “You’ve always had a good eye for bringing out the best potential out of somepony. It was your idea to try and enrol Twilight into Celestia’s School.” She swallowed. “You’re right though, I saw Twilight consume herself in studies, if it weren’t for Celestia’s intervention, I’m afraid Twilight wouldn’t have made any friends. You probably would have made that happen.” “I guess we’re both getting good at regretting decisions.” “I’m sorry, Mom.” “I’m sorry too, Velvet.” “There you are!” A purple blur swooped low and landed next to the surprised pair. “I forgot she could fly,” Velvet murmured. “Tell me about it. She was a unicorn not long ago.” Twilight glanced between them. “I’ve been looking all over for you two! You weren’t at the castle, I was getting worried!” Velvet and Satin both crushed Twilight in a hug. “Oh, I’m so, so sorry!” Velvet cried. “Me too,” Satin mumbled into Twilight’s mane. “I’ve been so horrible to you.” “Urk—uhhh…” Twilight awkwardly wrapped her hooves around them both. “It’s alright,” she mumbled back, somewhat embarrassed. “I said some bad things and I’ve made some pretty horrible mistakes today as well. I guess family makes me crazy, but I can’t have a party without my Mom and Grandma.” Velvet pulled away. “A party, sweetie?” Twilight nodded. “Dad, Shining and Cadance organised with the Cakes to have a party at Sugarcube Corner, they thought it would be a good idea to have backup arrangements, in case something went wrong in the castle.” Twilight frowned. “They were worried it’d be a smoking crater or something by now, but that would be ridiculous.” Velvet and Satin chuckled nervously. Maybe they shouldn’t tell her the story of how Peacock Plains became the Burning Barren Wastes in a day. Twilight smiled. “Come on, the whole family’s waiting.” ———————— The party was filled with the sounds of animated conversation, laughs, shouting and carousing. Ponies gathered around talking about the last half a year and catching up on the all the gossip and history in the time they hadn’t seen one another. Even the pets were having a party in the corner, with Minnie being introduced to Opalescence, Angel, Winona and Tank, who had all come along. Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were camped in the other corner, playing cards and besting each other in various party games that Pinkie had brought along, or made up. Twilight drifted between each party member, giggling and guffawing and groaning at the myriad of jokes, stories and anecdotes. Especially the anecdotes, those never seemed to end, and they were all about her. “Hey Twilight!” It was Applejack, looking slightly red, as if she were embarrassed about something. As Twilight approached, Applejack cleared her throat and continued, after a slight hesitation. “Ah’d like to apologise. It was my idea to round up our friends to join in and we butted into your family’s business. It was none of my business to come poking around, especially all nosey-like between your ma and granny.” Rarity caught the conversation and dropped by. “Yes, well, I’d like to add my apologies as well, Twilight. You weren’t there, but we got carried away picking and choosing for you without really asking you for your opinion.” “There’s no need,” Twilight replied with a smile. “But—” “But nothing, you all had my best interests at heart, and you’ve learned your lesson, right? It’s a party, we should enjoy ourselves.” Applejack’s smile came easier. “Thanks, Twi’.” “Thank you, Twilight,” Rarity added with her own demure smile. “By the way, who’s at the door?” Twilight whipped around to the door and almost did a double-take. “Moondancer?!” The pony stood awkwardly, half-leaning on the door frame. “Hi, I’m not too late am I? I started reading then lost track of time.” She coughed politely. “I didn’t know if I should come, because it said it was a family gathering…” “Of course you can come! Come in!” Twilight ushered her in. “All my friends are pretty much my family.” Moondancer took a cup of punch and settled in. “Did I miss anything?” Twilight skipped a step, but then shook her head with a self-conscious laugh. “No, everything is fine.” ———————— “Come on, get a move on!” The guard spoke roughly. The unicorn rolled his eyes, the sclera flashing momentarily yellow. “How about no?” he snarked, before simply disappearing before their eyes. “What?” The guard cast around. “Didn’t he have an inhibitor on?” “Yeah,” the other one said, “oh we’re in so much trouble! Find him!” Discord watched the two guards milling about, chuckling to himself. “Well, I hoped that helped, Twilight.” He spared a quick glance in the direction of Sugarcube Corner, then sighed and shook his head. With a quick snap he was back home, in an empty cottage. “It’s good to have a family…” Author's Note Well it ended on a somewhat poignant note, but I think all endings are complex. Next Chapter: Family Business As always, my familiar readers, thanks for reading! P.S. If you're new to my fics, I always put a 'Next Chapter' for somewhat romantic reasons. This is the end of this fic, sorry!
