Romantic Mischief

Chapters

Super cuddles! Starring: Starlight Glimmer (warning: excess amounts of cute)
A Very Happy Hearths Warming (by Peni Parker)
Meet the parents! Starring: Twilight Sparkle
How to prank your herd (by ThePinkedWonder)
Far too early (by Shimmer Code)
Jake and the Fiery Unicorn (by Peni Parker)
Just a liiiiiiiiitle too far, don’t you think?
A Tale of Two Mares (by Peni Parker (again))
Expansion? ...Maybe?
Herd Therapy (sort of) (by ThePinkedWonder)
I can’t believe you forgot! Starring: Starlight Glimmer
Going to the Gala Part 1: Invitations
Going to the Gala Part 2: Whispers
Going to the Gala Part 3: Promises
Bunch of Big News
Bro to Bro Advice
A true family
Time for a Wedding Part 1: Disagreements
Time for a Wedding Part 2: Parties
Time for a Wedding Part 3: Insanity (by Bumblebeau)
Time for a Wedding Part 4: Wedded (by Bumblebeau)
Extra Credit (by Peni Parker)
Protesters and... Parents?!
Unexpected arrival
We need to talk (by Bumblebeau)
Happy Disaster
How things are gonna be (by Bumblebeau)
Biggest Regrets (by Bumblebeau)
Starlight’s new friend (and Celestia’s obliviousness)
Four's a Herd, Five's a Crowd (by Bumblebeau)

Super cuddles! Starring: Starlight Glimmer (warning: excess amounts of cute)

I was in the library, looking through an old photo album that Twilight had somehow managed to salvage from the remains of Golden Oaks Library.

Some of these pictures, I could recognize instantly. Others, I had no idea where they came from. Either way, the trip down memory lane was just glorious.

I stopped at a particular picture, where Twilight and I were leaning our backs against each other and crossing our arms, trying to look cool for some reason.

It was too bad Twilight wasn’t actually here with me. She and Spike were off in Canterlot, visiting old friends of theirs. This time definitely would’ve been nicer with her here to reminisce with me. Maybe we could when she got back. Probably.

I flipped the page when I suddenly felt something weighing down on my back and a pair of hooves wrap around me.

“Whatcha lookin’ at?” asked the unmistakable, melodic voice of Starlight Glimmer.

“A few old pictures of me and Twilight, from before she became an alicorn,” I answered.

Starlight slid off my back to sit next me. “Mind if I look with you? I mean, I know I wasn’t there, but it’d still be nice to talk about fun memories.”

I leaned in and gave her a little kiss on her forehead. “Of course.”

We looked at a few pictures, a few of which I explained in detail to Starlight.

“Wow, Twilight was a lot...smaller as a unicorn,” Starlight giggled.

“I know. That difference isn’t huge, but it’s still noticeable,” I agreed.

Starlight suddenly looked at me. “Do you think I’d be any bigger as an alicorn?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. You’re definitely...larger than Twilight was when she was a unicorn...but I guess you could always be bigger. But then you probably wouldn’t be as cute.”

Starlight giggled cutely when I called her cute, and I gave her mane a little rub. In return, she gave my arm a playful nuzzle.

We turned our attention back to the album until we came across a picture I remembered all too well. Twilight and I were in a rather...comfortable embrace, and we both wore uncontrollable smiles. What kind of surprised me was that there was a large heart drawn around the picture.

I chuckled a little, remembering that day. “I guess that was when she fell in love with me.”

Starlight rested her head on my shoulder. “Why would that be? What happened?”

“This was a day after I moved out of Golden Oaks Library. Twilight was sad about the whole thing, said she missed me. So...I came by one day, and gave her...let’s just say, it was a friendly experience.”

Starlight smirked at me. I knew that look; that was the look that meant she wasn’t gonna let me drop something embarrassing.

“What do you mean?” she asked in a voice that sounded innocent at first, but slowly morphed into one of mocking the more I thought about it.

“I showed a few displays of what was then, just platonic affection, but judging by the heart around us here, I’m gonna guess she took it a little more seriously than it was meant to be,” I said, chuckling.

“Displays of platonic affection? Such as?” Starlight asked.

“It just started with a little scratching behind the ear, but I kinda got carried away and started stroking her chin and rubbing her belly like one would a...dog, as well as a few other things. At first, I thought she would be upset, since she’d seen me do the same to Winona, Applejack’s dog, but she said she really enjoyed it and that it was very relaxing,” I explained.

Starlight’s face scrunched up. “Ear scratches and belly rubs? It doesn’t sound that relaxing.”

I looked down at her. “Are you saying that you are resistant to ear scratches and belly rubs?”

She looked up at me and smirked. “What if I am?”

“I’d say you’re in desperate need of my super cuddles,” I said, returning her smirk.

She snorted. “S-Super cuddles?”

“That’s what I called it,” I admitted.

“You are such a doofus,” Starlight said, giving my shoulder a small shove.

“Oh yeah? How about a little wager?” I tempted.

She stopped giggling. “I’m listening.”

“If I give you super cuddles, and you even show the slightest hint that you’re relaxed, you have to...go a whole week without nighttime cuddles from me,” I said.

Her eyes became wide with surprise. “R-Really? A whole w-week?”

I had her right where I wanted her. Every week, for four days, Starlight and Twilight chose two nights to cuddle with me, and Starlight had admitted that she absolutely loved it every single time.

“Yep, a whole week, and Twilight would even get twice the amount of cuddles with me,” I added.

Her face suddenly turned into a smirk. “Fine then. If I feel relaxed by the end of your ‘super cuddles’ I’ll go a week without your regular nighttime cuddles. But if I’m not relaxed by the end, you have to spend every night of the week with me, and let me cuddle you any way I want.”

“I’ll tell you what. You’ve got yourself a deal,” I said.

“Alright then. Start when ready,” she said.

I started by wrapping my arm around her. “This super cuddle stuff isn’t too hard. All it really takes is to be a little playful.” I exaggerated my point by firmly giving her nose a little *boop*. Her muzzle scrunched up adorably, and she gave a cute snort. I repeated the action, and the snort turned into a giggle.

“You think that feels good, you should try...this,” I said, bringing my other hand up to her ear and giving it a light scratch at the base. At first, she tried to resist it, but she slowly leaned into me, her eyes becoming half-lidded...until I leaned back just enough for her to fall onto my lap. She giggled adorably, looking up at me, also adorably, with her hooves curled over her chest.

“This is just too easy,” I humbly bragged as I continued scratching her ear. With the same hand, I rubbed her cheek with my thumb and gave it a little squeeze. It was soft, and quite frankly, squishy. With my other hand, I rubbed her belly in a circular motion, noticing she has a little bulge where her tummy was, probably from eating so many sweets.

Meanwhile, Starlight’s smile was beginning to imitate Twilight’s in the picture, and her eyes were closed. I could tell she was trying to fight it, but it was a battle she would sorely lose. She was undoubtedly enjoying this.

I got an idea and stopped rubbing her belly to softly poke it with my index finger. It sinked in a few inches before I felt any resistance. I was right; she had a cute bit of tummy pudge there. I gave it another poke, squeezing it with my thumb as well. Starlight giggled and hummed in pure content. If she had the ability to purr, I’m sure she would have.

Suddenly, I got an even better idea. I poked her belly again, but this time, much more firmly. Starlight’s mouth tightened as she tried to hold in a giggle. I repeated the action a few times, even getting a few twitches from her forelegs and hind legs as well as another cute snort.

“Gotcha,” I whispered as I stopped poking her belly and squeezing her cheek, much to her dismay. I put my hands on either side of Starlight, who still lay on her back in my lap, and put both my thumbs back on her belly. As soon as she opened her eyes in curiosity, I quickly unleashed my attack. I repeatedly buried my fingers into her sides, and poked my thumbs back into her belly. She was wiggling and kicking her hind legs, all while laughing like a child. I heightened my tickles just a bit, and her laugh became much louder, occasionally turning into squeals of joy. My mind nearly drifted to focusing on how cute she was being, but I had to stay focused.

“Ja-ha-ha-ake, s-stop, i-it’s too much- AH!” she squealed. She shot her hooves up to try to stop me, but that was a big mistake. I shot my hands up, right to where her forelegs met her chest, and continued my assault. She was now screaming in pure joy, and her eyes began to water up.

“You’re just a little filly, aren’t you?” I teased, holding her down with my body.

“P-Please, sto-ha-ha-op, I can’t t-take anymore!” she screamed in reply.

“Say it! Say you’re just a cute, little filly!” I said, starting to laugh myself.

“AH! Never!” she yelled.

I tackled her to the ground and pinned her, doubling my efforts. She tried to get free, but she couldn’t move. “Say you’re just a cute, little filly, and I’ll stop!”

“AH ha, ha! Fi-hine, y-you win! I’m just a cute, little filly!” she screamed in submission.

I let up my tickles, but still held her down. “Yeah, but you’re my cute, little filly, and I love you.” I pushed my head down and held her against the floor with a kiss. I could still feel her giggling under me.

When we broke apart, Starlight had the exact same smile as Twilight did in the picture. “You win, that was great. At least, your cuddles won’t go to waste.”

I rolled onto my back, holding Starlight on top of me. “Hey, I was just kidding. I would never take away your nighttime cuddles. I love them just as much as you.”

“G-Good, because to be honest, I only teased you, so you’d do that with me like you did with Twilight,” Starlight admitted, still giggling from my tickle assault.

I kissed her again. “All you had to do was ask.”

Author's Note

Here’s a bit of cute fluff for you guys, since none of you want to contribute. Thanks to ThePinkedWonder (and his new creepy profile pic) for proofreading

A Very Happy Hearths Warming (by Peni Parker)

Hearths Warming Eve had arrived once again. And as usual, Twilight Sparkle had waited until the last minute to decorate the castle.

“Spike!” the alicorn princess yelled from in front of the library, “Spike, where’s that mistletoe?!”

“Coming right up, Twilight,” Spike yelled back as he dashed through the hallway heading towards the library.

Needless to say, Twilight was freaking out. It was her first Hearths Warming with Starlight and Jake, and she wanted everything to be perfect, which of course included having plenty of mistletoe hung throughout the castle.

“Here…you…are,” Spike said in between breaths as he reached the library.

“Perfect, thank you!” Twilight elated as she took the mistletoe from Spike with her magic and hung it over the library’s door.

“Don’t…mention…it.” Spike continued to pant.

Twilight looked down and Spike and, seeing how exhausted he was, decided that maybe it was time for them to take a break. After all, they had been working on the decorations since dawn.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so demanding today, Spike,” Twilight said as she made her way into the library. “It’s just, this is my first Heaths Warming with Jake and Starlight, and I really want to make it special,” She continued as she took a seat on the couch.

“It’s okay, Twilight,” Spike reassured as he took a seat next to Twilight. “I get it. And besides, all this decorating hustle-and-bustle isn’t any worse than last year.”

Twilight gave Spike a quick look that seemed to say ‘Really?’, but she just as quickly broke it and gave a small sigh.

“It’s just, I was kind of hoping we could all put up the decorations together,” Twilight lamented. “But Starlight wanted to spend time with Trixie today and Jake just disappeared saying he had stuff to do. What if they don’t want to spend Hearths Warming together at all?”

A tear began to form in Twilight’s eye as Spike put his claw on Twilight’s shoulder.

“I’m sure that's not true,” he comforted her. “Besides, Starlight said she’d be back before dinner, and Jake’s probably just doing some last minute shopping.”

Spikes words helped put Twilight at ease.

“You’re right, Spike,” she affirmed as she wrapped her wing around the little dragon. “I’m sure this is going to be the best Hearths Warming ever.”

“The best,” Spike reiterated.

Twilight broke the wing hug and stood up from the couch with vigor.

“Come on, let’s get the rest of the decorations up!” she enthusiastically stated as she started heading towards the door. Spike stood up and slowly followed.

“So much for a break,” he whispered to himself.

The rest of the decorating only took a few hours. Twilight and Spike were both resting in the Map Room when Starlight Glimmer returned.

“Hello? I’m back,” Starlight said as she poked her head into the Map room.

“Hi,” Twilight replied in a somewhat tired manner, not even bothering to get up from her seat. “How’s Trixie?”

“She’s fine,” Starlight answered as she made her way into the room. “But what happened to you two?” she inquired, noticing Twilight’s and Spike’s semi-exhausted states.

“We spent the whole day putting up decorations,” Spike stated somewhat dryly.

Starlight just looked at her two friends with a confused expression.

“Wait, why did you wait until Hearths Warming Eve to put up decorations?” she asked.

Twilight didn’t give an answer, she just gave a blank stare. Spike simply rolled his eyes. Rather than make things more awkward than they were already starting to become, Starlight changed the subject.

“So, where’s Jake?” She asked.

“No idea,” Twilight answered with a shrug of her shoulders. “He just left this morning saying that he had some things to take care of.”

The vagueness of Twilight’s answer was concerning to Starlight. On her way back to the castle it had begun to snow and as she looked out the window she noticed it was snowing even harder.

“He didn’t say where he was going or how long he’d be?” she asked for clarification.

“I’m afraid not,” Twilight somberly replied, picking up on Starlight’s concern.

“Jake’s a tough guy,” Spike spoke up. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon, safe and sound.”

Just as Spike finished speaking, the sound of the front door opening was heard. Twilight, Starlight and Spike all made their way out to the foyer to see Jake Taylor coming in from the cold, wintery weather with two boxes in his hands.

“Jake!” both mares said as they rushed over to their boyfriend.

“Hey girls, whoa,” he greeted his marefriends as they embraced him in a warm hug. “Everything okay?” he asked.

“Everything’s fine,” Starlight said as she tightened her hug. “We’re just glad you’re back safe.”

“Where have you been all day?” Twilight inquired.

“I had some last minute shopping to do,” Jake replied as he put his boxes down and returned the hugs. “Sorry if I made you worry.”

Twilight broke her hug, followed by Starlight doing the same, and started ‘Twilighting’, as her friends put it.

“Worry? No, we weren’t worried, at least I wasn’t worried, where you worried Starlight?” she said as she turned to her pupil.

“I might have been worried a little bit,” Starlight admitted, a light blush crossing her face.

Twilight turned back to Jake and continued her ‘Twilighting’.

“Well I wasn’t worried, I’m just glad your back because…now we can exchange gifts,” she fibbed. “Spike was getting tired of waiting but I told him we weren’t going to start without you, hehe.”

Jake turned to Spike to see him glaring at Twilight for clearly throwing him under the bus rather than admitting she was worried.

“Well, we can exchange gifts now if you want. Just give me a few minutes to get these wrapped,” he said as he picked his boxes up off the floor.

“Yeah, I gotta get my presents from my room,” Starlight said.

“Okay, let’s all meet up in the library in 10 minutes then,” Twilight suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement and went their separate ways, except for Spike who started following Twilight.

“Told ya he was just doing some last minute shopping,” he whispered.

Twilight, Starlight, and Spike were all seated around the fireplace in the library, waiting for Jake.

“Why is it that we keep waiting around for Jake today?” Spike commented.

Both Twilight and Starlight gave Spike a disapproving look just as Jake walked into the library with the two boxes from earlier, and a new third one, now covered in colorful wrapping paper and bows, though not well.

“Sorry for the wait,” Jake apologized as he sat down. “I’m not the best gift wrapper in the world.”

“Clearly,” Spike said softly. “Ow,” he said as Starlight gave him a light jab.

“No worries, Jake,” Twilight said. “But now that you’re here, we can get started. Who wants give out their gifts first?”

“Ooh me, me,” Spike excitedly volunteered.

Starlight playfully rolled her eyes as Twilight let out a small giggle.

“Okay, Spike, you can go first,” Twilight said.

“Sweet,” the little dragon said as he handed out his gifts. “Hope you guys like them.”

Twilight, Starlight, and Jake all opened their gifts at the same time. Twilight got a book about the history of the Greco-Pony Empire, Starlight got a new kite shaped like a dragon egg, and Jake got a Power Ponies comic book. All three of them thanked Spike for the thoughtful gifts.

“I guess I’ll go next,” Starlight stated as she levitated her gifts over to their recipients with her magic.

Once again, everyone opened their gifts at the same time. Twilight got a the new Daring Do book, Spike got a Power Ponies comic book (different for the one he’d given Jake), and Jake got a hoofmade coupon book containing such redeemable coupons as ‘Good for one free hug’ and ‘Good for one free cuddle’.

Twilight and Spike thanked Starlight for the gifts as Jake tore one of the coupons from the book.

“I think I’ll redeem this one now,” he said as he presented Starlight with the ‘Good for one free hug’ coupon.

Starlight giggled as she took the coupon with her magic and gave Jake the biggest hug she could.

“Thanks, Glimmy,” Jake said as he returned the hug.

“You’re welcome, “ Starlight replied softly.

The two broke the hug and Twilight volunteered to go next. She passed out her gifts and, to no pony’s surprise, they were all books. Starlight got a book of advanced spells, Spike got a book about various magical creatures, and Jake got what appeared to be a blank book.

“Uh, Twilight, there’s nothing in this book,” Jake commented.

“That’s because it’s a scrap book,” Twilight enthusiastically explained. “I figured you could put all the pictures from your travels in it.”

‘Leave it to Twilight to turn organization into a gift,’ Jake playfully thought to himself.

“Thanks, Twily, I love it,” he said aloud.

Twilight just smiled as she began to blush.

“I guess that just leave me,” Jake then said, “But before I give out my gifts I have a small request; is it alright if Spike gets his gift first, and then I give Twilight and Starlight their gifts at the same time.”

The two mares and dragon exchanged quizzical looks but didn’t object to the request.

“Okay then,” Jake said as he handed Spike his gift. “Here you go Spike.”

Spike quickly opened it to reveal an assortment of rare gems, causing his eyes to become as wide as dinner plates.

“Whoa, where did you get these?!” Spike said in disbelief.

“They’re from a cave Maud told me she discovered last week,” Jake clarified. “She took all the samples she needed out of it, so when I asked if it’d be alright to take some for you, she said okay.”

Spike could barely contain his gratitude as he leapt from his seat and hugged Jake.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” he exclaimed.

“Don’t mention it, buddy,” Jake replied as he gave Spike a few pats on the head.

Twilight and Starlight couldn’t help but giggle at the scene playing out before them.

“Okay, Spike,” Twilight spoke up. “I’m glad you like you like your present, but I believe Jake still has more gifts to give out.”

“Oh, yeah, hehe, sorry,” he said as he broke the hug and returned to his seat.

Jake couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, feeling happy that Spike liked his gift.

“Okay, now for Twilight and Starlight,” he said as he handed his marefriends their gifts.

Both mares opened them at the same time. At first, each mare gave a look of confusion at what they had received, but when they each held them up with their magic and saw what the other had gotten, they were at a loss for words.

Jake had given both of them half of a heart shaped necklace.

Starlight and Twilight could feel tears forming in their eyes as they turned to Jake.

“I wanted to give you both something that symbolized our relationship,” Jake explained. “I know that what we share is unconventional, and sometimes even a bit confusing, but it still means more to me than words can ever describe. Each of you holds a piece of my heart, and when we’re all together my heart is whole. I love you both so much,” he concluded as his emotions started to show.

At this point both Twilight and Starlight were unable to hold back their feelings any longer. They started crying tears of joy as they embraced their boyfriend.

“We love you too, Jake,” Starlight managed to say through her tears.

“So, so much,” Twilight added.

Jake hugged his marefriends back and started to cry himself but kept a better composure.

“So, I take it you like the necklaces?” He asked.

“They’re wonderful,” Twilight assured him, planting a small kiss on this cheek.

“They’re the perfect gift,” Starlight reassured as she planted a small kiss on Jake’s other cheek.

Jake pulled the two mares in closer as Twilight nuzzled his chest and Starlight nuzzled his shoulder.

“Aw geez, get a room you three,” Spike playfully commented in a choked-up tone.

Jake, Twilight, and Starlight all looked over at Spike, having forgotten that he was still in the room. The baby dragon was trying to hold back tears of his own, obviously having been affected by the powerful displays of affection he’d just witnessed.

Twilight broke the three-way hug first as she tried to compose herself.

“M-maybe we should all call it a night,” she suggested.

Starlight broke the hug next, also trying to get a better hold of her emotions.

“Y-yeah,” she agreed. “It’s been a long day for everypony.”

With that Spike quickly stood up and made his way towards the door.

“Thanks again for the presents, you guys,” he said on his way out.

After Spike had exited the library, Jake felt a twinge of guilt. It wasn’t his intention to cause such a scene over his gifts, and it certainly wasn’t his intention to make it right in front of Spike.

“I hope he’s okay,” he commented.

Twilight picked up on the distraught emotions behind Jake’s words and put her hoof on his shoulder.

“I’m sure Spike’s fine,” Twilight assured him. “He just got caught up in the state of the room is all.”

“Yeah, you know Spike,” Starlight interjected. “Deep down he’s just a big softie.”

Jake felt a bit better after hearing his marefriends reassuring words.

“Thanks girls.” He said.

Both mares gave Jake a warm smile as they all got up and made their way out of the library.

“Well, since it’s your night with Jake, Twilight, I’ll see you both in the morning,” Starlight said as she made her way back to her room.”

“Starlight, wait!” Jake yelled down the hall before Starlight got too far.

Starlight stopped and turned around to see Jake closing the distance between them.

“I was thinking,” he continued. “Since it’s Hearths Warming Eve, maybe all three of us could share a bed tonight.”

The suggestion caught both mares by surprise. In the time since their relationship with Jake had begun, there had never been a time when all three of them spent the night together. They quickly gave each other a look, but simply smiled.

“I’m okay with it if you are, Twilight,” Starlight said.

“I am, I think it sounds like a great idea,” Twilight affirmed.

Jake smiled back at his two marefriends as they all made their way to Twilight’s bedroom (since Twilight had the largest bed in the castle).

Once there, Jake took a seat on the bed as Twilight and Starlight took a seat on either side of him.

“So, how are we going to do this?” Starlight inquired.

“Well, I guess the simplest way would be for Jake to be in the middle and you and I will each take one side of him,” Twilight suggested.

“Makes sense to me,” Jake said as he laid himself in the middle of the bed.

Starlight moved over to Jake’s right side and Twilight to his left. They both wrapped their forehooves around his chest as he wrapped his arms around them as they began their first ever three-way cuddle session.

“Ah,” Starlight sighed in contentment.

“Hmmm, this feels nice,” Twilight softly whispered.

“Yeah, it really does,” Jake replied as all they all began to fall peacefully to sleep.

As the sun rose on Hearths Warming Day, Jake was the first to awaken, and to an unusual sight. Somehow during the night, Twilight had rolled over to his right side and ended up cuddling with Starlight. Not wanting to disturb them he slowly got up and made his way out into the hall, quietly closing the door behind him.

“I wish I could see the looks on their faces when they wake up,” Jake whispered to himself. “But I could really go for some breakfast right now.”

As he walked into kitchen he was surprised to see Spike already there, making enough toast, pancakes, and cinnamon buns for everypony.

“Morning, Jake,” Spike greeted him as he placed a fresh batch of toast on the table.

“Wow, Spike, how long have you been up making all this?” Jake inquired. It’s wasn’t that unusual for Spike to be up early making breakfast, but for him to make this much had to have taken him a while.

“Just about an hour,” Spike replied.

Jake took a seat at the table as Spike went back to preparing more breakfast.

“Hey Spike, about last night,” Jake started to say. “I’m sorry things got so emotional. I hope we didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

Spike looked over to Jake as he continued preparing more pancakes.

“It’s fine, Jake,” Spike solemnly stated. “I know you, Twilight, and Starlight are in a relationship, and I’m really happy for you guys, but sometimes it’s just difficult being on the outside looking in on that kind of stuff.”

Sensing Spike’s distraught state, Jake got up from the table and put his hands on Spike’s shoulders.

“Spike,” he said as he made the young dragon look him in the eyes. “I understand how you feel, but I don’t want you to ever feel like you aren’t a part of this family. We may not have an intimate relationship, but I still care about you a lot. You’re like a little brother to me, and I know Twilight and Starlight feel the same way.”

Spike simply smiled at Jake’s kind words and gave him a quick hug.

“Thanks, Jake. I care about you a lot too,” he said.

Before the situation could emotional elevate further, both Jake and Spike heard the sound of two mares screaming.

“Well, I guess Twilight and Starlight are up,” Jake said as he returned to his seat.

“Okay, but, why did they just scream?” Spike asked, having a feeling Jake knew something he didn’t.

“Oh, I’m guessing because they realized that at some point during the night they started cuddling with each other,” Jake answered nonchalantly.

Spike couldn’t help but laugh as he pictured Twilight and Starlight cuddling with each other.

It wasn’t more than a minute later that the two mares entered to kitchen.

“Morning,” they both said almost in complete unison, trying to hide the blush on their faces.

“Morning,” Spike reiterated.

“Morning girls, happy Hearths Warming,” Jake replied as he swallowed some toast.

“So, sleep well?” Spike asked in a sly manner.

Twilight and Starlight’s blushes only grew larger as they each took their seats at the breakfast table.

“Oh, yeah, super well,” Starlight said trying to act as normal as possible, and failing.

“Yeah, me too, best nights sleep I ever had,” Twilight said, also trying and failing to act normal.

Jake and Spike simply shared a small laugh.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Jake inquired as he took another bite of toast.

“Well, both of my parents are coming in from Canterlot this afternoon and Starlight’s dad is coming in from Sires Hollow. Until then I don’t think there’s anything else going on.” Twilight answered.

“I didn’t have anything else planned either,” Starlight added.

The two mares started digging into their Hearths warming breakfast as Jake offered a suggestion.

“How about we spend the morning putting my new scrap book together then. I’m dying to tell you guys about some the adventures I had. I know you’ll like my story about the Dragonlands, Spike.”

“Sure, can’t wait to hear it,” Spike said with a mouth full of pancakes.

“Yes!” Twilight said a bit more enthusiastically then she intended. “I mean, sure. I’d love to hear about your travels,” she recovered.

“Sound like a plan,” Starlight said.

Jake smiled as his family continued eating their breakfast, getting ready for what was sure to be the best Hearths Warming ever.

Author's Note

Shout-out to Peni Parker for writing this. see, folks, it's that easy. just write a story and PM it to me. Also, I know it’s nowhere near Christmas, but I don’t care.

Finally, I feel the need to point out that not all contributions have to be strictly romance. It can be comedy too, like the fist story was

Meet the parents! Starring: Twilight Sparkle

Twilight and I sat on the train to Canterlot. We were going to do something I had wanted to put off for as long as I could, but Twilight wouldn’t let me get out of it.

I looked out the window to see Canterlot Castle in the distance. I looked back and started tapping my heel on the floor of the train. I also started tapping my finger against the cover of the book I was reading, getting Twilight’s attention.

Twilight looked at me with a concerned expression. “Nervous?”

“Well...yeah,” I responded.

Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled. “There’s no reason to be. My family’s gonna love you!”

That’s right. Twilight and I were on our way to Canterlot, so we could meet her family, specifically her parents. I had already met her brother, Shining Armor, and her sister-in-law, Cadance, but I had never seen her parents.

“That’s what all girlfriends say before their parents tear their boyfriends to shreds,” I muttered.

“Okay, even if they don’t approve of you, that doesn’t matter. I’m a grown mare, and an alicorn at that, and I can make my own decisions, including who I want to love,” Twilight said, resting her hoof on my hand.

“But you see, where I come from, all girls are little girls to their parents. And those parents usually have a special attitude they like to express to the one who’s...romancing their little girl, especially if they share a bed,” I countered.

Twilight gawked. “Jake, please, we haven’t done anything like that! Or at least, not yet.”

“I know, but that probably won’t matter. Besides, it’s less the fact that we’re in a serious, romantic relationship that I think they’ll disagree about, and more the fact that I’m not a pony,” I explained.

Twilight actually chuckled. “Jake, what does species have to do with this?”

“To me, nothing. But to them, more than you may think,” I told her.

Twilight suddenly wrapped her hooves and wings around me. “Jake, I don’t care whether or not they approve of our relationship. I love you, I always will love you, and an argument with my family will never change that.” She exaggerated her point by giving me a peck on the cheek.

I felt my face melt into a smile and wrapped my arms around her. “How did I ever manage to get a marefriend as amazing as you?”

“By just being you.”

We now stood at the door to her old home, before she went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns...or whatever it was called.

We simply stood there, not moving. The only sounds we could really hear were our heavy breaths.

Suddenly, Twilight shook her head, breaking out of her trance. “We’re here. We should do this.”

I looked down at her and nodded. “Tell me why we’re doing this without Starlight?”

“Because rock crushes scissors,” she said nonchalantly as she knocked on the door.

A few moments later, the door opened, revealing a unicorn mare with a similar appearance to Twilight, but a grey coat and striped mane.

Twilight and the mare joined in a hug. “It’s great to see you, mom.”

“Oh you too, Twilight. You really need to visit more often,” the mare responded.

I simply stood there, completely silent, as the mares finished their hug. Once they did, Twilight looked at me with a blush. “Sorry, Jake. Where are my manners? This is my mother, Twilight Velvet.”

I blinked a few times to shake off my own trance. “N-Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“Why, you must be Twilight’s ‘boyfriend’. It’s nice to meet you as well,” Twilight Velvet responded.

We awkwardly shook hands and hooves as a unicorn stallion joined us at the door. He had a simple, blue coat. He wrapped a hoof around Twilight and chuckled. “About time you came ‘round to see us, honey.”

Twilight blushed. “Dad, not in front of Jake.”

The stallion let go of Twilight and faced me. “So, you’re Twilight’s ‘boyfriend’? The name’s Nightlight, pleasure to meet you.”

“Y-You too, sir.”

Nightlight looked back at Twilight. “Come on in. Cadance and Shining Armor are already here.”

“Alright, tell them we’ll be right there,” Twilight said. Once her parents stepped inside, she looked at me again. “See, I told you that you had nothing to worry about.”

I bashfully rubbed the back of my neck. “L-Let’s just see how it goes.”

Twilight turned to the door and motioned for me to follow. I stepped inside, and the front room was more or less what I was expecting. There were a simple couch, a fireplace, and a few cute pictures of a filly Twilight Sparkle and colt Shining Armor.

“In here, Jake,” Twilight called from what I was assuming was the kitchen. I moved toward where her voice came from, and sure enough, it was in fact the kitchen. In the kitchen, there was a table with Twilight Sparkle, Twilight Velvet (wow, that’s confusing), Nightlight, Shining Armor, who I had met once before, his wife Cadance, who I had also met, and a filly...alicorn?

“It’s nice to see you again, Jake,” Cadance greeted.

“Um, y-you too, princess,” I responded.

“Oh please, call me ‘Cadance’,” she giggled.

“By the way, this here’s Flurry Heart,” Twilight said, referring to the filly. I looked at the filly, who gave a cute snort.

“Why don’t you take a seat, dear? Lunch is nearly ready,” Twilight Velvet offered.

I looked at Twilight and saw an empty seat between her and Shining Armor. I quickly took my seat, and noticed I was directly across from Nightlight.

“Jake, nice to see you again,” Shining Armor said to me, offering his hoof.

“Shining Armor, you too,” I said, shaking his hoof.

Twilight Velvet levitated lunch onto the table. There were a few sandwiches, some fruit, and what I’m pretty sure was pasta of some sort.

“Do I need to get anything for Flurry?” Velvet asked Cadance.

“Oh no, I brought some of her food along with me,” Cadance answered, levitating out a jar of what I assume is baby -er, filly food.

Lunch was eaten in moderate silence, save for a few questions from Twilight’s parents concerning how we met. Safe to say it was going a lot better than I thought it would.

After lunch was finished, we all moved into the living room to play a few games. First up was charades. Twilight and I didn’t do too well, but we just laughed it off. Surprisingly, Twilight’s family wasn’t really grilling me about taking care of their daughter/sister like I thought they would. After a while, Flurry Heart fell asleep, so we decided to quiet down and just have a nice little discussion.

“Why, Jake, I must say, you and Twilight make a rather cute couple,” Cadance said matter-of-factly.

Twilight’s parents and brother looked at Cadance with confusion. I suddenly became a little worried.

“Couple? What are you talking about, Cadance?” Shining asked.

Twilight and I made eye contact and came to a silent agreement.

“Sweetie, what does Cadance mean by ‘couple’?” asked Nightlight.

“I said in my letter that I was bringing my boyfriend,” Twilight answered.

“What does that have to do with being a couple?” asked Velvet in a slightly irate tone.

“W-What exactly d-do you think b-boyfriend means?” I stammered.

“We assumed it was a friend who was also a human. What does it really mean?” Nightlight said, becoming slightly angry.

“I-It...um, it m-means,” I stuttered.

Before I could try to continue, Twilight rested her hoof on my hand. I looked at her, and she was looking back at me with a determined expression. I tilted my head as if to ask, “Are you sure?”

She nodded, as if saying, “I’m positive.”

“What. Does. It. Mean?” asked Nightlight through gritted teeth.

Twilight stood up and faced her parents. “Mom, Dad, Shining, Cadance was right. Jake and I are a couple, and we love each other.”

“What? Twilight Sparkle, are you trying to tell us that you’re in love with this...thing?” Velvet asked.

“Yes, mom, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” Twilight responded.

Nightlight glared at me. “How could you, precious? We thought we raised you better than that.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked.

“We raised you to marry a pony, not some other random creature,” Velvet replied angrily.

I looked over at Shining. Surprisingly, he wasn’t mad. Instead, he was standing in front of Cadance with a worried look on his face. Cadance was holding Flurry close as if to protect her from something.

“What does race have to do with this? Jake and I have been friends for years!” Twilight said, raising her voice.

“Being friends is one thing, being in a relationship is a whole other. Twilight, you don’t actually think you two can have a decent future, do you? Others will look down on you because of this. And besides, you can’t reproduce with him, and we want grandchildren!” Velvet yelled.

“And we certainly don’t want this thing putting its dirty...things on you,” Nightlight added.

“Jake is nothing but a true gentleman, something that isn’t exactly common in stallions nowadays. And besides, you already have a grandchild. My niece, who’s trying to sleep!” Twilight shouted.

I looked worriedly between Twilight and her parents. This is exactly what I was afraid would happen.

“Twilight, honey, we only want what’s best for you, and that can’t possibly be him,” Velvet pleaded.

“Wha-How can you possibly know what’s best for me?! I’m a grown mare, a princess even!” Twilight yelled, seemingly on the verge of tears.

“Speaking of which, how would Princess Celestia take it if she knew about this?” asked Nightlight.

“She does! And she took it just fine! I came here today, hoping you two would do the same! But clearly, I was wrong, and coming here was a mistake,” Twilight said, storming out of the room.

“Twilight Sparkle, you had better not come back here with this man,” warned Nightlight.

Twilight turned around to face her father. “Then I won’t be coming back for a while. I don’t care what you think. I love Jake, and you don’t get a say in that. I just can’t believe my own parents would treat someone I love so much so horribly.” Overwhelmed by emotions, Twilight ran out of her parents’ house in tears.

“I-I should probably go after her,” I managed to stammer out before leaving.

It took me a while, almost the whole day even, to do it, but I eventually found Twilight at the train station, bawling her eyes out.

I knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder.

She looked at me with tear-filled eyes. “T-The last train to Ponyville already left. I-I’m so sorry, Jake. You were right.”

I wrapped Twilight in my arms. “You have nothing to apologize for. Thank you for standing up for me. That couldn’t have been easy.”

“O-Out of everypony in Equestria, they were the last ponies I thought would look down on you,” Twilight admitted.

“I’m so sorry about what happened. What do you say we just get a hotel room somewhere?” I offered.

Twilight gave me a small smile. “I-I think I’d like that. S-Sorry for leaving you with...them.”

“It’s fine. Let’s just go find a place to stay for the night.”

A few hours later, Twilight and I sat on the edge of a bed. There were a lot of hotels that were willing to take us in, due to Twilight being a princess, but Twilight insisted we stay in a hotel close to the train station and far away from her parents’ home.

“How you doing?” I asked, wrapping my arm around her.

She leaned into my side. “Better. I still can’t believe my own parents said all of those horrible things about you.”

I slowly stroked up and down her back and planted a kiss on her head. “I know you’re mad at them, but they do still love you. Maybe...you should try to clear the air with them before we leave.”

Twilight shook her head in my embrace. “It wouldn’t do any good. They’re not gonna listen to me unless, for some reason, we break up.”

“Twilight, I don’t like the things they said either, but they’re still your parents. It’s okay to be upset with them for now, but you shouldn’t stay mad at them for too long,” I told her.

“How? They clearly don’t approve of our relationship, and you heard my dad. He said I wouldn’t be welcome as long as we’re together,” Twilight countered.

I cupped Twilight’s cheeks in my hands and looked into her eyes. “Listen, no matter what happens, they will always love you, and there is nothing that can change that, no matter how many fights you guys have. Take it from a guy who lost both of his parents. My advice to you is...cherish your parents while you still have them.”

Before Twilight could respond, there was a knock at the hotel room door. Twilight walked over to answer it.

“Hey, sis. Can we talk for a minute?” asked Shining Armor.

“Not if you’re just gonna act like Mom and Dad and put Jake down for being a human,” Twilight responded with a glare.

“I promise I won’t,” Shining said,

“Let him in,” I told Twilight.

She stepped aside as her brother made his way into the room. “I feel I should start by saying...I have no problem with your relationship, even though you aren’t a pony.”

Twilight was shocked. “Really?!”

“Yeah, hehe. To be honest, I didn’t know how slow dragons grew when you hatched Spike, so I thought you two would be a-“ Shining started.

“Nope, no, uh-uh, no way. I do not think of Spike that way,” Twilight cut off.

Shining chuckled. “Yeah, I know. But, like I said, I have no problems with you not being a pony,” Shining told me.

“T-Thank you,” I said.

“However, I do have doubts about you. Twilight is my little sister, after all, and I don’t want to see her get hurt,” Shining added.

“What are you saying?” Twilight asked, rubbing her face with her hoof.

“All I ask is that...I want to know that Jake is right for you,” Shining answered.

“A-Alright. Here, I’ll show you,” Twilight said. She then walked over to the light switch and turned off the lights. Then she took a seat next to me on the bed. “Watch this.”

Twilight’s horn lit up, and a screen appeared in between us and Shining Armor. On the screen, Twilight and I were in Golden Oaks Library. This was before Twilight ascended to an alicorn, so she didn’t have any wings. She was writing things on a notepad while I was talking and folding papers into miniature paper airplanes. She then looked up at me with sympathy.

This was when Twilight and I first met, and I was telling her about my parents.

The screen switched to another time where I was comforting Twilight after moving out of the library. She had been crying, but I was having none of it. I gave her hugs, ear scratches, and other things.

As I watched the memories play through, I looked at Twilight. She was smiling, and tears were starting to well up in her eyes. I smiled as well, and held her hoof with my hand.

The screen went to a time where I was the one with tears in my eyes. I remembered the day clearly, the 20th anniversary of my parents’ death. Twilight was the one to comfort me as I cried. We weren’t a couple at the time, but her hugs were still more than enough to cheer me up.

The memories moved by a bit faster after Twilight got her wings. We read together, ran together, cleaned the library together, hung out together. During all of this, I looked at my marefriend, thinking only one thing.

How did I never see it before?

After a minute, the screen faded, and Twilight turned the lights on.

Shining Armor was nodding to himself with a smile. “Well, it seems I have nothing to worry about. You make my sister happy, and that’s all I came here to find out.” He suddenly became very serious. “But if you ever do anything to hurt her, we will have a problem.”

“You have my word. I would never do anything to hurt her,” I assured.

“Alright then. I’ll see you around,” he said. With that, he left Twilight and me alone.

I sat back down next to Twilight and simply smiled, saying nothing.

Twilight giggled. “What’s wrong?”

I kept smiling, slightly shaking my head. “Nothing. That long, huh?”

Twilight gave me a little shove. “What are you talking about?”

“You had a crush on me for that long,” I explained.

Twilight suddenly blushed fiercely. “Umm, y-yeah. I-I wanted to say something, b-but I didn’t want to ruin-“

I cut her off by pressing my lips to hers. She melted into me, and that marked our longest and most passionate kiss to date.

I looked into her sparkling, beautiful eyes once again. “I’m so sorry it took me so long to notice you.”

A lone tear rolled down her cheek, and she even gave a cute giggle. “I told you, it’s fine. It...you were worth the wait.”

We kissed again and laced down on the bed. I thought we were about to start an extra cuddle session, but Twilight kept kissing me, instead of snuggling against my side, which she usually did.

I opened my mouth to say something, but she suddenly slipped her tongue into my mouth. My eyes went wide with shock, and my breath hitched. It was so long and...surprisingly soft and sweet.

After a few seconds, she opened her eyes, and quickly backed off. “A-Are you alright?”

I was breathing heavily. “Y-Yeah, you just usually aren’t so...active during our cuddle sessions.”

She blushed furiously again. “O-Oh, sorry, we can just go back to what we usually do then.”

“Hold on, I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” I countered.

Twilight’s blush somehow got even bigger. “Well, then...I-I was kind of hoping instead of our usual cuddle session, we could try a...make-out session.”

“Sorry, what was that?” I smirked.

“I thought we could try a-“

That was all the invitation I needed. I tackled her onto her back and kissed her furiously. I didn’t have a whole lot of experience kissing, or at least, making out, so I just did what she did before. I pushed my tongue into her mouth, but she pushed back with her own. As our tongues fought for control, Twilight used her wings to caress the sides of my body. I had to fight the urge to laugh because they were soft. I stroked her sides with my hands as well, and she suddenly hummed into my mouth. To make a long story short, we made out until we fell asleep.

The next morning, we were walking with determination back to Twilight’s parents’ house. Or at least, I was walking with determination. Twilight was behind me, trying to think of something to get me to stop.

“Are you sure you want to do this? They’re not gonna change their minds,” Twilight pleaded.

“I know. I just need to say this,” I said, keeping on my journey. No one makes my marefriend cry without answering to me, not even her parents.

We finally got to the front door of her parents’ house, and I knocked on the door furiously.

After a moment, Twilight Velvet opened the door. “What are you doing here?” she growled.

“I love your daughter,” I said.

“I don’t care-“ she started.

“I’m not finished! I love your daughter, and she loves me, and there’s nothing you can say about it. You don’t have to like me, but I don’t really care. You’re not gonna find any creature in this world that loves Twilight more than I do. I don’t know if marriage is in our future or not, but either way, I ask that you get over yourself and make up with your daughter. If not...well, I can guarantee you’re gonna regret it. That’s all I have to say. Have a good day.”

With that, I stormed off toward the train station with Twilight.

Author's Note

Hey guys,
I hope you enjoyed this piece of half drama, half romance. Also, if you’re wanting to submit a chapter for this, here’s a challenge: see if you can write a chapter including Sunset Shimmer. You don’t have to, but I just wanna see if someone can do it. Also, I’ll be back in school tomorrow...yippee :ajbemused:

How to prank your herd (by ThePinkedWonder)

“Are you sure about giving them this ‘gift’, Jake?” Spike asked.

“I do, Spike. They might not like it at first, but in an hour or so we will all be laughing about it.”

“Well, okay, if you say so.”

Hey, Jake Taylor here. I have the two greatest, cutest marefriends ever, Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, and it is amazing how well we get along. And their kisses and cuddles...I can’t describe how great it feels.

But as wonderful as that all is, and it is so wonderful, my mischievous side felt that it was time to have some fun with them in a different way. Thinking about how much Rainbow Dash loves pranks, I thought that, with Spike’s help, I would prank Starlight and Twilight with a special “gift”.

“So, Twilight and Starlight are on the way, right?” I asked.

“Yeah. Twilight wanted to give Starlight a friendship lesson at noon, and you know how she likes to do things exactly when she plans to do them,” Spike answered.

“Oh yeah, and I will never forget when I learned that the hard way. But it’s another minute to noon, so they should be here in the library at any second.”

But, before Spike could say anything back, Twilight and Starlight came walking into the library through one of the green doors. I don’t know if Twilight Sparkle had ever been even five seconds late when she planned to do something at a certain time unless something was seriously wrong.

“Oh, hey, guys,” Twilight greeted.

“I didn’t expect to see you two here,” Starlight said.

Spike waved a claw in Twilight's and Starlight’s direction. “Hey, Twilight, Starlight, we thought you would be here soon.”

“And I’m glad you two are here because I have a surprise.”

“Really?” Twilight asked with a big smile on her face.

“What is it?!” Starlight asked with an even bigger smile. It hadn’t been too long since Twilight and our other friends befriended Starlight, and soon afterward she met me and became one of my two marefriends. Because she spent many years terrified of making friends and risk them leave her behind, like she thought happened once when she was still a filly, these moments are especially joyful for her.

“Well, you see those two boxes I have wrapped up?”

Twilight pointed a hoof at the two gifts I laid on a purple couch that she and Starlight like using when they are in the library. “You mean those two?”

“Yep! That green one on the right is yours, Twilight, and the one in blue is for you, Starlight.”

“Wow, you didn’t have to do this, Jake!” Twilight exclaimed, though I beg to differ.

“Yeah, what made you do it?”

“The better question is, why wouldn’t I get a gift for the two best marefriends a guy could ever have?”

With huge smiles, Twilight and Starlight ran to me, and I knelt down to give them a hug. I gave them each a kiss, then a *boop* on their muzzles at the same time, and I will never get used to the cute giggle they always give when I “boop” them. This was why I didn’t let them rise on their hind legs to hug me; giving them their dose of “boops” at face-level further adds to the cuteness of their giggles.

“Aw, Jake, you are too good to Starlight and me!”

“I seriously doubt it, Twi. But don’t you two want to open your gifts?”

“Oh, yes, yes, we do! Er, you do want to, right, Twilight?” Starlight asked.

“Of course I do! Your friendship lesson can wait another minute or two.”

“Wow, Twilight. You must be excited to not want to do something at exactly the time you planned to do it,” Spike said.

Twilight rolled her eyes at Spike’s little jab at her. “Oh, ha-ha, Spike.”

“I have an idea. How about you two open your gifts at the same time?” I suggested.

Twilight and Starlight turned their heads to each other, which I always find cute.

“Okay!” Starlight responded.

“So, on three?” Twilight asked.

“On three!”

“One...two...three!” Starlight and Twilight said at the same time.

On the count of three, my marefriends used their magic to pull off the white bow I tied on the boxes, then pulled off the wrapping paper to reveal a brown box. They did it in almost the exact same way.

But when they each opened their box, a bunch of confetti, plastic green snakes flew out and scattered in every direction.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Screaming, Twilight and Starlight ran out one of the library doors, and Spike and I had ourselves a big laugh at the prank we just pulled on them!

“Ha ha ha! Oh, Jake, that was just too good!”

“Yes, yes, it was, Spike!”

I leaned and extended my arm downward, with my hand in a fist, and Spike raised his claw in a fist. While still chuckling, we “fist-pumped”.

“Oh man, how long do you think they will keep running?” Spike asked.

“Well, I’ll give Twilight another seven seconds, and Starlight another five.”

“Why do you give Twilight more time?”

“Because not only did it scare Twilight, it was something she didn’t expect, and you know how she is about things happening that she didn’t plan for,” I explained.

“Ha, good point. But you better hope they are not mad about that!”

“Well, I was already planning to make it up to them by cuddling Twilight her way tonight, and cuddle Starlight the way she likes it tomorrow night.”

“I hope that will be enough to--”

Rainbow flew into the library with a concerned frown. “Hey, what’s going on?!”

“Oh, hey, Rainbow, and what do you mean?” I asked.

“Is something wrong?”

“Well, Twilight and Starlight are outside crying over something, and I thought you two might know what it is.”

“Wait, what?!” Spike shouted with his eyes widened.

“Oh, no, Spike! That prank worked too well, and it scared them more than I thought!”

“Wait, they’re crying over a prank you two did?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah, and I wish I never did it to my marefriends! What have I done?!”

“Well, you two better hurry up and get out there to calm Twilight and Starlight before their tears flood Ponyville!” Rainbow ordered, but not that she needed to!

With Rainbow staying behind, Spike and I ran out of the library as fast as our feet could go. I couldn’t believe that I scared Starlight and Twilight so much with that prank, and I planned to never prank them again!

After Jake Taylor and Spike had left the castle to calm down Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, Rainbow Dash peeked out the door the two worried friends sped out of and said, “Guys, I think it's okay to make yourselves visible again.”

As if out of thin air, Twilight and Starlight reappeared in the library, near the door Jake and Spike sped out of the room from. The three mares then laughed heartily.

“Ha ha ha! Oh, did you two see their faces?!” Rainbow asked.

“Ha ha ha! Yeah, and they looked and sounded so freaked-out!” Starlight answered.

“It’s a good thing we mastered the invisibility spell we used, Starlight, or you and I would have missed Jake’s and Spike’s reaction! And this is your friendship lesson: how to reverse prank your boyfriend.”

“We mean our boyfriend, Twilight. And it’s also a good thing you overheard Jake and Spike talking about that prank, Rainbow, or Twilight and I wouldn’t have known about it, and readied a prank of our own!”

“But, I can’t help but feel a little bad, Starlight. He loves us so much, and hates to think that he might have hurt us,” Twilight admitted in a guilty voice tone.

“Don’t worry, Twi. Knowing Jake, he’ll just be happy that he didn’t actually hurt your and Starlight’s feelings,” Rainbow pointed out.

“And we can make it up to him by you cuddling him the way he likes it tonight, Twilight, and I can cuddle him his way tomorrow night when it’s my turn to cuddle with him,” Starlight explained with a wink.

“That sounds good to me, Starlight,” Twilight replied.

As the three mares continued to chuckle at their reverse prank, they thought about how Twilight and Starlight wanted to make up to Jake by cuddling with him his way, because Jake had the same idea to make up to Twilight and Starlight, but by cuddling with them their way.

Perhaps it was a sign that the three were perfect for each other, and another reason why Jake Taylor couldn’t bring himself to choose just one of them.

Author's Note

Thanks to ThePinkedWonder for adding another chapter to this story. Seriously, people, it's not hard. Expect yet another chapter soon from yours truly

Far too early (by Shimmer Code)

Jake Taylor silently entered the room of his lovely marefriend Starlight Glimmer. She was nestled in her sheets, sleeping cutely, breathing soft and calm as her belly lifted in perfect harmony of sweet dreams.

Smiling happily, Jake made his way to the bedroom curtains clutching them tightly in his hands. It was such a shame to wake a such sleeping beauty, yet needed to be done. With a chuckle, he yanked open the curtains, a flood of warm shimmering sunlight bathed over Starlight much like an ocean wave.

“Ahhh!” Starlight flew into the air like a cat, bouncing hard on the bed before flying off to the floor below.

“Wakey-wakey!” Jake proudly yelled, dressed in a pair of summer shorts and a navy blue shirt.

“What the buck is wrong with you!?” Starlight lifted her head over the edge of the bed, heaving wildly from shock and her mane a complete mess of tangles.

“We're going to start an exercise routine!” Jake did a small spin showing off his new clothes.

“No exercise! Must become comatose…” Starlight shuffled adorably back under her sheets with a loud pout.

“Phst! Don't you remember last week!?” Jake yanked the sheets off the mare with force, Starlight gazing up to him with squinted eyes.

The mare let her mind drift back to the past like a calm flowing river. Memories of things once spoken lifting from the haze of forgetfulness. It was an exact week from this uncomfortable morning.

Jake and Starlight sat beside a nice cozy fire in the library, both reading their favorite genres of literature and having a lovely night.

“Oh yeah? We read together and I loved you!” Starlight gave a half-asleep smile.

“Yeaaah. More like…” Jake snorted sarcastically beside the bright glowing window.

Starlight simply couldn't enjoy her book that night, she found herself watching Jake read in complete awe of the moment. The young man was munching on a few nearby snacks on his lap, lost in his tale of the seven seas of Equestria. The mare frowning a bit annoyed, gently closing her book and popping her lips softly.

“You're getting...pudgy?” Starlight narrowed her eyes slowly towards Jake.

Starlight blew a loud raspberry into the air lacklusterly, rolling cutely onto her backside as she placed her hooves delicately upon her soft round belly.

“Wouldn't you rather cuddle?” Starlight giggled with a swish of her tail and a cute, pleading expression.

“Nice try, but I want you out of bed in five minutes!” Jake held his ground with dignity.

Starlight quickly let her smile fade into a disgruntled little frown. Groaning as if someone tossed her off a cliff, the mare slid out of bed, stretching her body in a feminine manner. Smacking her lips, the unicorn glared to Jake with squinted eyes once more.

“I'll meet you in the kitchen…” Starlight grumbled, engulfing her body in warm magic.

The mare vanished from view, teleporting towards the kitchen, yet simply reappeared in her own room just as quickly as she disappeared, running straight into her bedroom wall with a loud thud, falling over on her side pouting up a storm.

“I hate mornings!” She yelled in annoyance and vanished again, this time with more focus.

The kitchen was oddly silent as Starlight daintily sipped on her warm glass of coffee. Both had agreed that no exercise could begin without some proper brew. The unicorn loved her coffee warm with a dash of cream and a pinch of hazelnut. Jake, on the other hoof, was a simple man, one who enjoyed his brew piping hot and black.

Starlight sat at the table with her mug clutched in both hooves. Jake walked to her side taking a deep sip from his steaming hot mug, only to wince in place from the horribly scorching burn of his morning brew.

Starlight batted her long lashes in a deadpan manner, watching Jake take yet another sip from the mug, who winced even harder before letting out a slightly soft moan.

Starlight quirked her thin brow in absolute surprise when her boyfriend didn't bother to let the drink cool. Instead, he took a deep breath and pursed his lips together firmly, only to take another deep sip and moan in pain afterward.

With a roll of her eyes, Starlight shot Jake's mug with a bolt of magical energy. The young man whimpered in shock as the coffee froze into a block of ice around his lips. Jake pulled away only to have the black cube of ice dangle connected to his tongue.

Starlight lifted her hoof over her mouth cutely, soft soprano giggles filling the kitchen.

It wouldn't be until a bit later that both had walked over to the edge of The Everfree Forest, Jake happily stretching in place before the entrance in an attempt to limber up, and Starlight yawning at his side, her once vibrant eyes heavy with sleep.

“Whenever you're ready?” she yawned in slight annoyance.

“I'm ready baby!” Jake excitedly proclaimed to nopony in particular and taking a jumping start into the forest.

Two loud snaps filled the bright morning sky above. Jake screamed in agony as both of his ankles seemed to snap like twigs. Starlight frowned in anger, watching her boyfriend collapse on the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“Har-har! Get up and run!” Starlight snorted through her nostrils cutely.

“Argggh! I can't! My ankles snapped!” Jake groaned in pain on the ground as he rolled over onto his backside.

“Both of them!? What are you, made of glass!?” Starlight shook her head softly to the side, placing both hooves atop his chest and focusing.

“What are you doing!?” He grunted.

“I'm teleporting us home!” The unicorn replied with a cute, scrunched muzzle.

“No, too much pain! If I travel through an interdimensional highway, I'll vomit…” Jake gave a loud hiss of pain from below his marefriend.

“What can we do then!?” Starlight asked in utter confusion, her boyfriend flashing a sheepish gaze.

It would be about an hour later that the doors to the castle would open up widely to the world. Twilight worriedly paced around the main hall of her home, wondering where Starlight and Jake vanished to abruptly this morning.

Yet Twilight watched in stunned silence at the farce before her. Jake sat atop Starlight's back joyously as he rode her into the castle for everypony to see. Twilight bit her lower lip, holding back a wave of giggles.

“You're very gentle,” Jake cooed into Starlight's ear, wishing he had a Sugarcube to reward her with.

“What happ..ahahaha!” Twilight simply exploded into a fit of laughter.

Jake joined in with a hearty laugh, this being quite a sight to behold.

With a loud grumble, Starlight bucked her boyfriend off her backside. Jake toppled over onto the floor, quickly joined by Twilight rolling on her back in giggles. With one last huff of annoyance, Starlight began to canter off towards her room.

“I'm going to bed!” She snapped. It was far too early for shenanigans.

Author's Note

Shout-out to Shimmer Code for not only writing a chapter but making it a total comedy as well

Jake and the Fiery Unicorn (by Peni Parker)

Jake Taylor was reading in the castle library. It was rare that he had the castle all to himself, so he decided to make the most of the peace and quiet by catching up on some Daring Do books. At the moment, Starlight was on the road with Trixie, Twilight was in Canterlot with Rarity on a friendship mission, and Spike was at another rousing guys night with Big Mac and Discord playing Ogres & Oubliettes (which he was invited to but declined since Discord had magically turned him into an elder lich the previous guys night).

“Ah,” he happily sighed as he adjusted himself on the couch in order to get even comfier. “I love my marefriends more than anything, but I’m glad for the occasional alone time. Being the boyfriend of two mares isn’t always easy.... Why am I talking to myself like this?” he wondered.

Ignoring his own rhetorical question, Jake went back to reading his Daring Do book. He had just gotten to the part where Daring Do snuck into Dr. Caballeron’s camp to retrieve a golden statue when he heard a crashing sound coming from down the hall.

“Hello?” Jake asked as he put his book down, unsure whether he’d actually heard a noise or if his mind was just playing tricks on him.

A few seconds of silence passed before he decided to investigate. As Jake got up from his seat and made his way towards the library doors, he couldn’t help but wonder what the noise could have been.

’Could Twilight, Starlight, or Spike have gotten home early?’ He thought.

As Jake looked out the library’s doors, he turned his head to the right and saw nothing. When he turned his head left, however, he saw what appeared to be an amber colored unicorn with a crimson and yellow mane stumbling out of a room on the other side of the hall.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jake asked as he made his way over to the disoriented pony, wondering who she was and where she came from.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” the strange unicorn said as she slowly lifted her head. “The portal just threw me out a bit too…AAAAHHHH!”

“AAAAHHHH!” Jake screamed as he fell backwards, startled by the unicorn’s sudden outburst.

The strange unicorn just stared at him with a look of total shock.

“Y-Y-You’re human!” she blurted out.

“Um, yeah, last I checked,” Jake calmly replied as he got back on his feet, sensing the strange unicorn’s distress. “I’m Jake Taylor, and you are?”

“I’m...Sunset Shimmer,” the unicorn introduced herself as she calmed down a bit.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Sunset Shimmer,” Jake commented as he extended his arm.

Sunset Shimmer extended her right forehoof as Jake took it in his right hand and shook it.

“Y-Yeah, nice to meet you too,” Sunset said back, a hint of confusion in her voice.

Jake couldn’t help but get a strange feeling from Sunset. He was used to ponies freaking out a bit when they saw him for the first time, but this was different. Sunset’s reaction hadn’t been purely because he was a human; after all, she clearly knew he was a human. No, Sunset seemed to be startled by something else.

“So, um, Jake,” Sunset spoke up. “Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?”

“Uh, no, I guess not,” Jake answered.

“Why are you here? Where did you come from? Were you born in Equestria? If not, how did you get here and how come you didn’t turn into a pony? How long have you…” Sunset began spouting off so quickly Jake couldn’t get a word in edge wise.

As Jake listened to Sunset’s seemingly endless series of questions, he couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. The whole situation reminded him of his first encounter with Twilight.

“Um, did I say something funny?” Sunset inquired after slowing down her questioning and picking up on Jake’s amused state.

“No, no, it’s just, you’re reminding me an awful lot of Twilight right now,” he confessed.

“You know Twilight?” Sunset asked with a bit of surprise, before coming to an obvious realization. “Of course you know Twilight, you’re in her castle.”

“Yeah, Twilight and I are in a relationship,” Jake admitted.

“WHAT?!” Sunset inexplicably shouted. “Are you saying you and Twilight are in a…relationship-relationship; like boyfriend and girlfriend?!”

Jake had to take a moment to recompose himself after Sunset’s sudden, and loud, question before he could answer.

“Well, it’s…complicated,” he started to explain. “You see, I am in a relationship with Twilight, but I’m also in a relationship with a pony named Starlight Glimmer.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Sunset stated as she placed her left forehoof in the air. “You’re telling me that you, Twilight, and this Starlight Glimmer are in a three-way relationship?” she asked in disbelief.

“Sort of. It’s kind of a long story, but the short version is that they both fell in love with me, and I fell in love with both of them, so now we’re in all in a relationship together,” Jake clarified.

Sunset just stared at Jake with a vacant expression as she tried to process what she’d just heard.

“Are you kidding me?” she said so softly it was practically inaudible.

“Sorry, what was that?” Jake asked.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” Sunset repeated, once again inexplicably shouting, as she turned around and yelled down the hall with a white-hot fire in her eyes. “TWILIGHT HAS A BOYFRIEND AND A GIRLFRIEND?!”

“W-Well, I-I’m not sure I’d c-call Starlight Twilight’s g-girlfriend…” Jake tried to interject.

“I CAN’T GET A SINGLE DATE BUT TWILIGHT IS IN A THREE-WAY RELATIONSHIP?!” Sunset continued, completely ignoring Jake. “UUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!”

Jake didn’t know what to do. Sunset was clearly upset, and he wanted to help her, but he didn’t know how.

“Um, Sunset, maybe you should calm down a little,” he gently suggested.

Sunset turned back around to face Jake. She was breathing heavily from all her yelling and had a frustrated look on her face, and strangely enough, tears in her eyes.

“I-I’m sorry if I what I said upset you,” Jake stated, trying not to sound nervous. “B-But it’s probably best if you just calm down.”

As the tears continued to flow from Sunset’s eyes, her face slowly changed from one of frustration to one of sadness. She fell onto her rump and placed her forehooves over her eyes, trying to cover up her distraught state.

“I-I’m sorry I y-yelled like that,” she tried to say through her tears. “I-It’s just, h-how come Twilight g-gets to have two lovers, but I c-can’t even get one?”

The thought crossed Jake’s mind to once again state that Twilight and Starlight weren’t in an intimate relationship, but he quickly dismissed it. Instead, he approached Sunset, got down on his knees, and embraced the amber unicorn in a warm and supportive hug.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” he reassured her. “Just let it all out.”

Sunset lowered her hooves from her face as she returned the hug and placed her head against Jake’s chest. Her tears began to stain Jake’s shirt, but he didn’t care; he just wanted Sunset to feel better.

The two of them sat in the hallway for about five minutes as Sunset cried out her feelings. When Sunset’s tears started to dry up, she broke the hug and stood up on all four hooves, but avoided direct eye contact with Jake.

“T-Thank you, I needed that,” Sunset gratefully, but sullenly, stated as she turned around and started walking towards the room she’d emerged for earlier. “I’ll just be going now, sorry I bothered you.”

“Sunset, wait!” Jake said before she got too far.

Sunset turned around to face Jake but didn’t say anything in response, still trying to avoid eye contact.

“You don’t have to go,” he said as he approached the mare. “I know we just met, but if you want to talk about what’s going on I’m willing to listen. I promise I won’t be judgmental or anything.”

Sunset finally made eye contact with Jake and, upon seeing the sincerity in his eyes, decided that maybe it would be good to talk to him.

“O-Okay,” she said with a slight amount of hesitation.

Jake and Sunset were sitting together in the library. It had been about ten minutes since Sunset had agreed to stay and talk about her recent outburst and breakdown, though so far she hadn’t said a word. Jake contemplated getting the conversation started but figured it would be better for Sunset to make the first move.

“Sorry again for all of that,” Sunset finally spoke up. “It’s just, the whole reason I came here was to ask Twilight for relationship advice, and when you told me about how you, her, and this other mare are all in a relationship together, I got a little…jealous.”

Jake nodded his head in acknowledgment but remained silent.

“I mean, I’ve been trying so hard and for so long to find someone who will love me, and it’s just so frustrating,” Sunset continued as fresh tears started to form in the corners of her eyes. “W-what if there’s something wrong with me? What if…what if I never find someone?”

Sunset closed her eyes in an effort to stop the tears, but they started to flow anyways. She felt embarrassed at crying in front of Jake again, until she opened her eyes to see Jake sitting right in front of her, his hands on her shoulders and a serious look in his eyes.

“Sunset, listen to me,” he sternly said. “There is nothing wrong with you. You just haven’t found the right someone yet is all.”

Sunset felt her tears begin to dry up as the power of Jake’s words rang in her ears.

“And even if you never do find someone, you’ll still have your friends,” Jake continued as a small smile crossed his face. “Friends like me.”

Sunset’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates.

“Y-You consider me a…friend? Even after the way I’ve acted today?” she asked in sheer disbelief.

Jake simply nodded his head as small tears started to form in his own eyes.

“Of course, I do,” he said. “And I hope that you can consider me a friend too.”

Once again, tears formed in Sunset’s eyes, only this time they were tears of joy. She quickly lifted her fore hooves and wrapped them around Jake’s neck in a hug.

“I can see why Twilight likes you,” she softly said. “You’re a really nice guy.”

Jake returned the hug as his own tears of joy started to flow.

“Well, I try,” he jested, happy that his new friend was feeling better.

Twilight Sparkle was just returning home from her friendship mission in Canterlot with Rarity. It had been a long day, and she was eager to see have a relaxing evening with Jake, knowing that Starlight and Spike, in all likelihood, wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

As Twilight opened the front door to the castle, she swore she could hear laughter coming from the library. One of the voices was clearly Jake’s, but the other she couldn’t place. Wondering who else was in the castle, she made her way over to the library.

“Hello, Jake?” Twilight asked as she poked her head into the library.

The sight that Twilight saw filled her with mixed emotions; she saw Jake sitting on the couch with Sunset Shimmer to his left, the two of them looking at what appeared to be the scrap book Twilight had given him for Hearths Warming.

’What is going on here?’ She thought with varying degrees of confusion and apprehension.

“Oh, hey, Twilight,” Jake said as he noticed his marefriend in the doorway.

“Hey, Twilight,” Sunset reiterated.

Twilight forced a smile as to not let her emotions show.

“Sunset, so good to see you!” she said as she approached the two, trying to sound as natural as possible. “I see you’ve met Jake.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sunset affirmed. “I actually came here to talk to you, but it turns out Jake is a really great listener and was able to help me instead.”

“Really? That’s great,” Twilight said through her forced smile as she took a seat to Jake’s right. “So, what are guys doing now?”

“Oh, I was just showing Sunset some of the pictures from my travels,” Jake explained.

“It’s really quite astonishing how many places he’s been,” Sunset commented. “I can’t believe you went to the Dragonlands and came back in one piece.”

“Well, I found that beneath their fiery exterior most dragons are big softies, not unlike a certain fiery unicorn I know,” Jake said as he gave Sunset a small nudge with his elbow.

“Oh stop, you’re embarrassing me,” Sunset retorted with a giggle as a small blush appeared on her face.

“Ahahaha,” Twilight nervously chimed in. “Wow, you two really seem to have become close in such a short time.”

“Hey, like I said, Jake’s a great listener,” Sunset said as she wrapped her hooves around Jake’s arm, causing Jake to now smile and blush as well.

Twilight took notice of just how close Sunset was getting to Jake and wrapped her own hooves around his other arm.

“That he is,” she said as she began to nuzzle his arm as well. “I’m so glad that he’s my boyfriend.”

Sunset gave a coy smile upon hearing Twilight emphasize the word ‘my’.

“From what I understand you already share him with another mare,” she slyly commented. “Maybe he wouldn’t mind having a third girlfriend?”

Sunset’s less-than-tactful suggestion caused Twilight to cease her nuzzling and stare daggers at the mare on the other end of the couch, while Jake’s eyes widened to their limits as he blushed even more.

“Alright, that’s it, come on, Jake,” Twilight authoritatively said as she got up from the couch and used her magic to pull Jake’s hand behind her.

“Wait, where are we going, Twilight?” Jake asked as the two of them crossed the room.

“We’re going to bed, and we’re going to cuddle like we’ve never cuddled before because you are my boyfriend,” Twilight replied.

“But what about Sunset?” Jake asked.

“She knows the way out,” Twilight pointedly stated as she turned around. “Good seeing you again, Sunset!” she half-heartedly shouted at the mare still on the couch.

“Um, uh, goodbye Sunset,” Jake also shouted as he and Twilight exited the room.

Sunset laughed a bit at the scene that had just unfolded in front of her.

“Goodbye, Jake,” she shouted back, unsure if he could actually hear her.

“Be seeing you around,” Sunset continued, much more impishly, as she got up and made her way to the portal room, a coquettish smiling forming on her face as she did so.

Author's Note

Huge shout-out to Peni Parker for not only writing another chapter, but for also taking up my Sunset Shimmer challenge. Don’t be surprised if I decide to write a second part to this

Peni Parker: Thanks for reading my chapter, everyone. Writing Sunset Shimmer into Romantic Mischief wasn’t easy, but I had so much fun doing it

Just a liiiiiiiiitle too far, don’t you think?

I don’t know why, but I have been looking forward to this night for a while now...and by a while, I mean one whole day. Nothing really special was going on, I was just about to spend the night cuddling with Twilight as per usual. But something just told me this time was going to be extra special.

Anyhow, I climbed into bed, and Twilight quickly joined me. Ever since the meeting with her parents went...let’s just say ‘south’, we both felt a lot closer, more than ever, in fact.

She eagerly pushed herself against my body, and I wrapped my arm around her. She gave me a small peck on the cheek and settled next to me.

“Goodnight, Jake. I love you,” Twilight whispered.

“Hold on, I wanna talk for a minute,” I said, resting my palm on her cheek.

She looked up at me with those big, violet eyes. “About what?”

“Well, don’t you feel like our cuddle sessions have been...better since I met your parents?” I asked.

“Umm...I guess,” Twilight admitted.

“Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with it. I’ve just been thinking about it for a while,” I said.

She tilted her head in thought. I don’t know why, but I always thought her thinking face was cute.

“I guess it’s because even though my parents don’t approve of you, I love you more than anything, and I would stand up to anypony for you,” she said.

This brought a huge smile to my face, and I could almost feel myself tearing up. “R-Really? You love me that much?”

Twilight simply nodded. “Of course!”

I allowed tears to fall down my cheeks as I rolled over to take Twilight in an even bigger hug. “Oh...I love you too. Even now, I just still can’t believe someone as amazing as you would fall in love with a hunk like me.”

Twilight moved her head up to face mine. Then, she suddenly held her lips against mine as we shared a passionate kiss. It felt like hours, though I’m not complaining, before she pulled away with tears in her eyes as well.

“Jake, don’t you ever think down about yourself. You are an amazing person, friend, and lover. I wouldn’t trade you for anything,” she said, her smile wide as ever.

We shared another passionate kiss...until she literally yawned in the middle of it. I snickered as she blushed with embarrassment.

“Alright, I can tell you’ve had a long day, so let’s settle down and enjoy this moment,” I said as I moved into a position more comfortable for sleeping. She rested her head on my chest, and we both slowly fell to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up to a particularly loud snort. I shot my eyes open as Starlight slowly woke herself up.

Now, I’m a huge Jeff Foxworthy fan, so I had memorized a lot of his jokes. So, as Starlight woke herself up, one joke in particular came to mind.

”Fact of life: If you wake yourself up with a snore...the first thing you do is look around to see who’s laughin’ at ya’.”

Sure enough, Starlight darted her gaze every which way, until her eyes rested in me. I, for one, was laughing so hard and so quiet that my head actually felt like it was going to burst.

Starlight blushed furiously, put on one of her trademark nervous smiles, and rested her head back on my chest.

As my laughing became a bit more...audible, I felt the annoyance coming from the unicorn on my chest. I gently rubbed her mane, still laughing. “I love you. I’m sorry.”

Starlight let out a sigh. “It’s fine.”

It took me a minute to calm down before I pulled up Starlight’s chin to make her look at me. “Look, I’m sorry I’m laughing at you...it’s just a small joke where I come from. I would’ve done the same with literally anypony else, even...” I trailed off.

“‘Even’ who?” Starlight asked.

“Twilight.” I then came to a conclusion. “Wasn’t I cuddling with Twilight last night?”

“What? No, you cuddled with her two nights ago for the second night in a row, so she agreed let me cuddle with you for two nights,” Starlight answered.

I rapid-fire blinked in conclusion. “W-What?”

“Oh come on! You were there when we made the deal!” Starlight countered.

She was right. Twilight had cuddled with me for two nights in a row, but there were a few things Starlight was missing. When the deal was made, Twilight convinced Starlight to let her cuddle with me for one more night in return for me getting to cuddle with Starlight for an extra night.

“That was yesterday, and my extra night with Twilight was last night.”

“No, that was two nights ago,” Starlight countered, becoming a little annoyed.

“I-I don’t remember that,” I said.

“Oh, I think I know what’s going on. Yesterday was pretty dull, so you probably don’t remember a whole lot that happened, including last night. Happens to me all the time,” Starlight assured.

“I don’t know.”

“Come on, let’s just get up and have a great day, so you can actually remember it,” Starlight said, playfully poking my shoulder.

“A-Alright, I guess,” I said.

With that, we both went to have breakfast.

After breakfast, Jake went over to Sweet Apple Acres, leaving Twilight and Starlight alone for a friendship lesson.

“So...” Twilight said, interrupting the lesson. “Did it work?”

Starlight put on a tiny smirk. “You bet. Same thing again?”

“Alright, as long as this doesn’t go too far.”

I lifted the covers, so Starlight could wiggle up next to me. While Twilight enjoyed sleeping at face-level with me, Starlight preferred to wrap her forehooves around my stomach, so I had easy access to pet her mane.

“Hey, Starlight, still awake?” I asked gently.

“Mmmm...mhm,” she hummed.

“Have...have you ever considered me meeting your family?” I asked.

She looked up at me. “Are you sure? Twilight told me how much of a disaster meeting her parents was.”

“I know, but don’t you at least want them to know that you’re...dating?”

“I guess *yawn*, but can we talk about this in the morning? I’m exhausted,” Starlight said.

I giggled. Today was a really long day. After meeting up with the Cutie Mark(ed) Crusaders, Starlight and I had the times of our lives.

“Of course. I love you,” I said, planting a kiss on her head.

“Love you too,” she said, closing her eyes.

The next morning, the sun didn’t shine directly into my eye, but it bounced off the wall, and the glint caught my eye. Talk about bad luck.

I groaned and sat up, waking up Twilight.

“Morning, Jake,” she said.

“Morning, Twi. You really need some better...curtains,” I trailed off again.

“Everything alright?”

“Am I going crazy?” I asked sternly.

Twilight snickered. “What are you talking about?”

“I could’ve sworn I went to bed with Starlight last night!” I yelled.

Twilight furrowed her brow and tilted her head in confusion. “What? You two aren’t gonna cuddle ‘till tonight.”

“Wha-That’s exactly what she said!”

“Are you feeling alright, Jake?” Twilight asked with seemingly genuine concern.

“I DON’T KNOW!” I yelled as I stormed out of the room. “Don’t you dare follow me!”

On my way to the library, I ran into Starlight.

“Is everything okay? I heard yelling,” she said.

“Tell me, when did Twilight convince you to let us cuddle for one more night?!” I asked.

Starlight flinched from my volume. “Umm, that was yesterday. We were gonna cuddle tonight...but I guess if you don’t want-“

I cut her off with a groan. “What is going on with you two?! First, I somehow wake up with you, and you say I had a boring day and forgot about it. Then, I wake up with Twilight, and she says that never happened! I swear, if this is some sort of time spell gone wrong!”

Starlight suddenly looked as if she were about to cry. “J-Jake, I-I would never d-do such a thing.”

Seeing her expression made me calm down a little. “Sorry, it’s just...ugh! I’m gonna go clear my head. Is it alright if we postpone our cuddles until tomorrow?”

Starlight blinked a few times before slightly nodding. She still looked a little down, so I gave her a quick hug. Right before I let go, I gave her a quick kiss, just for good measure.

I stood back up and made my way toward my room.

Starlight looked down the hall Jake just went down.

“We’re going just a little too far, don’t you think?” asked Twilight, joining her student.

“Yeah, I think we’ve officially crossed the line,” Starlight agreed.

“Think we should tell him?” Twilight asked.

“Definitely,” Starlight answered. “But I have a good idea for how to do it.”

The day went by rather slow. I was so confused, I only left my room a total of three times. Twice to go to the bathroom, and once to go eat. I tried explaining my dilemma to Spike, but he wasn’t much help.

Surprisingly, I started to tire out pretty early in the day. I’ve never been lazy, and I didn’t exactly do much, but I just felt...tired. Not really caring, I fell asleep.

A few hours later, I woke up on my side. There was something directly in front of me, and something else directly behind me. I blinked a few times and realized I was spooning Starlight, while simultaneously being spooned by Twilight, who was behind me. I had my arms around Starlight, and Twilight had her hooves around me.

That is...until I shot out of bed.

“SERIOUSLY?!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Both of my marefriends caught air out of surprise, and looked directly at me.

“W-What’s wrong?” asked Twilight.

“I know for a FACT that I fell asleep without either of you here!” I bellowed.

Twilight and Starlight looked at me with confusion...until they looked at each other, giggling.

“What the hay is going on here?!” I shouted.

The both broke out laughing and looked at me.

“S-Sorry, Ja-hake. We’ve been messing with you the entire time,” said Twilight.

“We planned the entire thing out,” Starlight added.

I panted a few times. “...WHAT?!”

“Here us out! We came up with the idea a few days ago. When you fell asleep cuddling Twilight, we moved you to my room to make it look like you were cuddling me instead. Then, we did the same thing yesterday and moved you to Twilight’s room. Finally, we decided to break it to you by double cuddling you,” Starlight said, still laughing.

“We made sure everything was the exact same by the time you woke up. What position we were in, the way you were sleeping, down to every wrinkle in the bed sheets,” Twilight added.

I started to calm down a little. “Wha-Bu-but...ho-how did I not wake up when you were moving me?”

“We cast a sleeping spell on you, so you wouldn’t feel a thing,” Twilight explained.

“S-Sorry for making you think you were going crazy,” Starlight added, calming down as well.

“S-So, that whole thing, acting oblivious and almost crying...that was just an act?” I asked.

“Well...being oblivious was an act...but to be honest, the time spell accusation really did strike a nerve,” Starlight answered. “But it’s fine. It was totally worth it!”

I took a minute to process everything they told me. After I went through it a few times, I started to break down and laugh. “Heh, eheh, haha, AHA HA!”

All three of us spent the next couple minutes laughing it off.

“You two...are geniuses,” I said, catching my breath.

“Thanks,” said Twilight.

I sat in between them on the bed. Suddenly, I came up with a way to get back at them.

“So...which one of you came up with this prank?” I asked slyly.

“It was my idea,” Twilight admitted, not realizing her mistake.

I tuned my entire body to face her. I felt Starlight backing away from me.

Twilight looked at me with confusion. “What are you-“

I cut her off by tackling her onto her back and digging my fingers into her sides. She started squealing and squirming adorably.

There was just something about seeing her smile and hearing her laugh that warmed my heart. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. I had to get even.

I continued my assault of tickles on her as she tried to get me off of her. I used one hand to tickle her side, just below her wing, and my other hand to tickle her neck. She tried to scrunch her neck up, but I just switched to the middle.

“JAKE! HAHA! STOP, PLEASE. I’M AHHH! I’M SORRY!” Twilight screamed.

“Not until I say so!” I yelled back.

Twilight continued to squeal and fight me, while Starlight just watched, giggling to herself.

I suddenly got the idea to grab onto one of her hooves and dug my fingers into that. Her eyes widened, and her screams intensified.

“NO FAIR! AHH! IT’S TWO AGAINST ONE!” Twilight yelled.

I looked behind me to see Starlight was holding Twilight’s back hooves and running a feather across them. I turned back to Twilight and focused on her neck.

“Are you ever gonna mess with me again?” I asked.

“N-AH! NO! I’M NEVER GONNA MESS WITH YOU AGAIN!” Twilight squealed.

“Are you gonna be a good little filly?” I asked.

“Wha-AAAAAHHHHH!”

I upped the ante as Starlight tickled her hooves with two feather now.

“Are you gonna be a good little filly?” I repeated.

“AHAH! YE-HES! I”LL BE A GOOD LITTLE FILLY!” she screamed.

“Promise?”

“YES! PLEASE, STOOOOOP!”

“‘Yes’ what?”

“I PROMISE I’LL BE A GOOD LITTLE FILLY!” she screamed.

I let go and got off of her, shooing away Starlight feathers. Twilight simply lay there with her hooves in the air, giggling like an infant.

I looked over to Starlight, who was still giggling as well.

“Oh? Do you want some?” I threatened, poking her sides.

“No! Get away! Not again!” she said, stumbling away from me.

I stood up and ran after her a little, even landing a tickle on her sides before she bolted out the door, screaming.

I went back to Twilight, who still lay on the floor, giggling. To my surprise, she hadn’t wet herself from how much she was laughing. I heaved her up onto the bed and got next to her under the covers.

“Let’s cuddle for real this time,” I said, giving her a kiss which she eagerly, passionately returned. For almost the rest of the day, we lay there in each other’s embrace.

Author's Note

Hey guys,
I’ve had this prank in mind ever since the first chapter. Tell me what you thought in the comments

A Tale of Two Mares (by Peni Parker (again))

Twilight Sparkle was in her bedroom, getting ready to turn in for the night. It was Starlight’s turn to spend the night with Jake, which meant that she’d be sleeping alone tonight. She didn’t mind sleeping alone, of course, but she did love it when she and Jake would cuddle on the nights she had him. The alicorn princess gave a small sigh just as she heard a knock on her door.

“Who is it?” Twilight asked, curious as to who would be knocking on her door at such a late hour.

“It’s Starlight,” came a voice from the other side of the door. “Can we talk, Twilight?”

Part of Twilight wanted to ask Starlight if whatever it was she wanted to talk about could wait until morning, but another part of her didn’t think that would be a good idea. The way Starlight had said, ‘Can we talk’ made Twilight feel that this was something that couldn’t wait.

“Sure, come on in,” she said.

Starlight opened the door and slowly walked inside. She had her head down and had a sad but serious look on her face.

“Is everything alright, Starlight?” Twilight asked out of concern for her friend.

“Y-Yes, but the thing is…” Starlight began to say before pausing to take a deep breath. “We need to talk...about us.”

“Us?” Twilight repeated, confused by what Starlight meant. “What do you mean by ‘us’?”

Starlight took another deep breath before answering.

“I mean us; you and me. More specifically, what you and I are in this relationship with Jake.”

Twilight’s confusion didn’t dissipate much with Starlight’s explanation.

“I’m still not sure I follow,” she said. “I thought we agreed that we were going to share Jake; we’d be his marefriends, and he’d be our boyfriend.”

“Yes, but...what are you and I in relationship to each other?!” Starlight clarified, raising her voice a bit. “I mean, you’re my friend and teacher, obviously, but are you my marefriend now too? Am I your marefriend? What are we, Twilight?” she concluded as small tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

It wasn’t that difficult for Twilight to pick up on how distraught all these questions were making Starlight. She’d sometimes thought about them herself but hadn’t given them any serious consideration. But Starlight, however, seemed almost obsessed with them.

“It’s okay, Starlight,” Twilight reassured her friend as she moved toward her and wrapped her in a wing hug. “Come on, let’s sit down and talk about this.”

Twilight broke the wing hug and led Starlight over to her bed. Both mares took a seat on the plush mattress as Starlight composed herself a bit better before speaking.

“I’m sorry I sprung this on you so late,” Starlight said. “But I’ve been asking myself these questions for a while now, and every time I ask them the need for answers becomes greater and greater. Now it’s to the point that they’re all I think about.”

Twilight placed her hoof on Starlight’s in a sign of support.

“I understand your need for answers, Starlight,” she comforted her friend and pupil. “To be honest, I’ve thought about those questions too, but I’ve never come up with any definitive answers.”

“It’s not just about not knowing the answers,” Starlight continued. “It’s the consequences that the answers could bring.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“I mean, suppose we agree that we are marefriends,” Starlight elucidated. “How will that affect our student-teacher relationship? What will other ponies think of us? W-What will J-Jake think of us? Would he…would he s-stop l-loving us?”

Starlight could no longer fight back against her emotions as she asked her final question. She broke down and started crying like she’d never cried before, tears flowing down her cheeks like rivers as she sobbed at the thought of Jake no longer loving her. Embarrassed, she brought her fore hooves up to her face in an attempt to hide her current state, but to no avail.

Twilight quickly wrapped Starlight in a full hug. Starlight returned the hug and placed her head against Twilight’s chest as cried out her feelings.

“I’m sure Jake would never stop loving us because of that,” Twilight softly whispered.

Neither mare said anything further for about ten minutes. Eventually, Starlight was able to compose herself a bit and broke the hug.

“I-I’m sure you’re right about Jake, b-but it’s just so s-scary to think about.” she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Starlight,” Twilight spoke up as gently as she possible. “Is the reason for all of this because you already do have feelings for me?”

Starlight didn’t answer. She just stared at the floor as she bit her lower lip.

“It’s alright if you do, Starlight,” Twilight reassured her as she placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “I promise I won’t think any differently of you.”

Again Starlight said nothing, but she did nod her head up and down as new tears ran down her cheeks.

“Oh, Starlight,” Twilight said as she too started to cry. “I’m so sorry that this has been upsetting you for so long.”

Starlight looked up and made eye contact with Twilight through tear-filled eyes.

“D-Do...do you have feelings for m-me?” she asked.

Twilight quickly broke eye contact as she lowered her head. A million thoughts ran through her head as she contemplated what she was about to say next.

“Starlight,” she started to say as she resumed eye contact. “The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you, but...I-I don’t know if I have those kinds of feelings for you.”

Starlight could feel her heart breaking upon hearing Twilight’s words.

“I’m not saying that I for sure don’t like you that way,” Twilight continued. “But right now I just don’t know how I feel. This whole relationship with you and Jake is wonderful, but it’s also confusing at times. I know that I love Jake, but I’m just not sure if I love you in the same way or not.”

Each word only made Starlight feel more heartbroken. She wanted to just run out of the room before she felt even worse, but she couldn’t bring herself to move an inch.

“I want to know though,” Twilight confessed. “I want to explore my relationship with you as much as my relationship with Jake, so...you think you can you give me some time for that?”

Starlight was still feeling a bit heartbroken, but she felt a little better knowing that there was still hope that Twilight might reciprocate her feelings for her one day.

“Y-Yeah, I can do that,” she said with a small smile.

Twilight returned the smile as she and Starlight once again hugged. New tears started to flow from each of them, but now they were tears of friendship and hope.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, though neither mare heard it.

“Hey, Twilight, have you seen Starlight?” Jake Taylor said from the other side of the door.

Starlight and Twilight both immediately broke their hug as they heard the sound of their boyfriend’s voice.

“J-Jake, i-is that you?” Twilight said, trying to sound as composed as possible.

There was a brief moment of silence before Jake spoke up again.

“Twilight, are you alright in here?” Jake asked, a clear hint of concern in his voice.

“W-We’re fine, Jake.” Starlight spoke up.

“Starlight?” Jake said with a mix of confusion and concern. “Okay, I’m coming in.”

“N-No, don’t…” Starlight tried to say just as the door opened.

As soon as Jake walked in the room he stopped dead in his tracks as his heart began to sink. The sight of his marefriends on the bed with tears in their eyes filled him with feeling of dread the likes of which he’d never felt before.

“Oh my gosh,” he anxiously said as he rushed over to the bed and placed a hand on each mare. “Are you two alright? What happened?”

“We’re fine, Jake,” Twilight confirmed. “We were just talking and got a little emotional is all.”

“Actually,” Starlight added. “There’s something I need to tell you, Jake.”

“Of course, Starlight, anything.” Jake replied as he turned his attention to his other marefriend.

“I-I...I have feelings for Twilight,” Starlight nervously confessed. “And I was afraid of what that would do to our relationship. I-I was afraid that you wouldn’t love me anymore if you knew I had feelings for her too.”

Jake wasted no time pulling Starlight into a warm and supportive hug.

“Starlight, I would never stop loving you for having feelings for Twilight,” he confided. “Our whole relationship is about sharing love with one another. If I can love both you and Twilight than of course you can love both me and her.”

Starlight couldn’t help but get emotional again as she heard Jake’s loving words.

“T-Thank you, Jake,” she happily cried. “I needed to hear that.”

Twilight started to get emotional as well as she joined in the hug.

“I don’t know what the future holds for the three of us, but I promise I’ll never stop caring about you both.” She commented.

“Same here,” Jake affirmed.

“S-Same here,” Starlight reiterated.

Author's Note

Not that I don't appreciate that you're writing so many great chapters, Peni, I just wish you weren't the only one.

Anyhow, again, don't be surprised if I do a second part to this, like the Sunset Shimmer chapter. Or one of you readers could do it if you wanted

Expansion? ...Maybe?

Author's Note

Hey guys,
In case you can’t tell by the title of the chapter, this is that second part to Peni Parker’s “Jake and the Fiery Unicorn”. Also, this does maintain continuity with Peni’s “Tale of Two Mares”. I hope you enjoy 😉

Expansion? ...Maybe?

For the last couple of days, Starlight’s been kinda down, understandably so. I mean, it’s not like she knew she would develop feelings for Twilight.

Speaking of which, Twilight was having a rather...hard time figuring this all out. I would go into better detail, but I’m not exactly a mind-reader.

I wanted so badly to try to help, but I had absolutely no idea what to do. Starlight confessed, so all that was left to do was for Twilight to figure out how she felt. There was nothing I could do to make it easier, other than provide comfort.

Anyhow, right now, Starlight and I were snuggled up under a blanket in the library, reading a book together. I was doing my best to take Starlight’s mind off of her worries, and as far as I know, I was succeeding. She wasn’t sad or distracted. She seemed really happy.

Starlight had her head rested against my shoulder, warming it up. She also had her hooves around me as I had one arm wrapped around her.

A few hours into reading, there was a loud flash, followed by a crash, from another room. Starlight tightened her hooves around me as we both looked toward the door to the library.

Through the door walked a familiar unicorn with a familiar red and yellow mane and a familiar orange coat.

“Twilight has really gotta either fix the force from the portal or stop putting stuff right in front of it,” the unicorn mumbled.

“Well, I’ll be darned. I didn’t expect to see you here today, Sunset Shimmer,” I said with a small laugh.

Sunset suddenly blushed. “Oh, h-hey, Jake. How’ve you been?”

“Fine, and you?”

“F-Fine,” she stuttered.

Starlight looked at me with a questioning look, clinging to me for dear life.

Sunset looked to Starlight and gasped. “Oh, uh, sorry. You must be...Starlight Glimmer?”

Starlight looked cautiously at Sunset and slowly nodded. “So...somepony wanna catch me up here?”

“Oh, right. I’m Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset said, extending her hoof.

Starlight hesitantly shook it. “So...how do you two know each other?”

“Oh, uh, a few days ago, Sunset came, and we had a little chat. Speaking of which, how did it go with that guy you wanted to ask out?” I explained.

Sunset blushed furiously upon hearing my question. “A-Actually, I kinda got over him before I got the chance to ask him out.”

“Oh, well, that kinda sucks. Anyhow, if you’re here to talk to Twilight...” I paused to glance at Starlight, who looked down. “...she’s a little busy right now.”

Sunset’s blush somehow managed to increase as she rubbed the back of her head nervously. “I-I actually came here to talk to you.”

Starlight looked at the unicorn with a shocked expression.

“Me?” I asked.

“Heh, yeah. You see, ever since you talked to me the last time I was here...you’ve just kinda been on my mind a lot-“ Sunset started.

“Woah, woah, woah. Where are you going with this?” Starlight sternly cut off.

“Oh, you’re the other mare. Great,” Sunset muttered to herself.

“‘Other mare’? How much do you know about me?” Starlight asked, getting off the couch to walk towards Sunset.

“Not much...just that you and Twilight share a relationship with Jake,” Sunset said with a sheepish smile.

Starlight eyed Sunset with apprehension. I felt the tension in the room increase threefold.

“Starlight, why don’t we just hear what Sunset has it say? Maybe it’s not exactly what you think it is,” I said, trying to calm Starlight down.

“It’s not that. It’s just, you look familiar,” Starlight told Sunset.

“R-Really?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we’ve met before,” Starlight answered.

“Wait a minute, now that I think of it, so do you,” Sunset agreed.

“So you two’ve already met?” I asked.

The two mares ignored my question as they studied each other’s features.

“I know! You were my brother’s best friend back in Sire’s Hollow,” Sunset perked up.

“Your brother’s best friend...oh, now I remember you. You’re the mare who held me down and swatted my flank with a broom...repeatedly,” Starlight deadpanned.

“Well...you wouldn’t get out of my room!” Sunset retorted.

“Sunburst invited me over!” Starlight countered.

“Girls! Calm down! Now, how do you two know each other?” I asked.

Starlight turned to look at me. “Well, remember when I was telling you about my fillyhood friend Sunburst? Well, this is his sister.”

“Oh,” I said with a chuckle. “So, anyhow, what were you saying a minute ago, Sunset?”

Sunset’s blush from before returned with a vengeance. “I-I-I...y-you see, umm...I, uh, think this would be better if we were...alone.”

“Why? Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Starlight,” I replied.

Sunset took a deep breath. “Iwashopingyoucouldextendyourrelationshiptome!”

“O-Okay, a little slower,” I pleaded.

“I...was...hoping...” Sunset began.

“Just say it already!” Starlight begged.

Sunset groaned. “I was hoping you could extend your relationship...t-to me.”

In that moment, I felt as if a ton of bricks hit me right upside the head. Sunset was an undeniably attractive mare...but we hardly even knew each other.

“W-What? Why?” I asked.

“It’s just...when we met, you were just so easy for me to talk to, and you were just so nice to me for no reason. So when I heard about your relationship with Twilight and Starlight, I just thought...I don’t know, why not me too?” Sunset stammered.

“I, uh, but we...we hardly know each other. We only met like...four days ago!” I countered.

“Well, how long did it take you to fall in love with me and Twilight?” Starlight smirked.

“For Twilight, two years. For you, two...days,” I said, realizing her point.

Starlight rolled her eyes.

“Wait, you’re not against this?” Sunset asked.

“Well, to be honest, no. I think this would be great to help get my mind off of...other things,” Starlight answered.

I quickly shook my head. “So you’re actually willing to share me with not only Twilight, but a mare you just met, only you knew since you were kids?”

“When you say it like that, it just sounds weird,” Starlight answered.

“That’s because it is! No offense, Sunset, but I don’t even know you that well! All I know about you is that you and Twilight have some weird history together that she wont talk about! Besides, there’s almost no way Twilight would allow this,” I countered.

Sunset sighed. “I knew it was a long shot.”

“Hold on. Jake, I see how you were looking at her a minute ago. You can’t possibly look me in the eye and tell me you don’t think she’s at least a little hot,” Starlight said smugly.

I felt my face heat up as Sunset looked back at me. “W-Well, I-I’m not gonna lie, you look...kinda hot...but that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know you or that we have nothing in common.”

“Oh, we have more in common than you think,” Sunset replied.

“And if you’re worried that you hardly know Sunset, I’m pretty sure that issue can easily be dealt with,” Starlight added.

“How?” I asked, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

“Simple: you two can spend some time together!” Starlight answered.

“That’s a good idea,” Sunset agreed.

I wanted to say something, but my mouth wouldn’t cooperate.

“So, you and Jake can spend, say, a week together, and after that, you can tell for sure if you really wanna be part of our herd!” Starlight cheered.

“Herd?” Sunset asked.

“That’s what we call our relationship,” Starlight explained.

“Oh. So, yeah, I think that would work. The only thing is, do we tell Twilight?” Sunset asked.

“Probably a good idea. But like I said, she’s busy right now.” Starlight repeated

“Right. So...should we just start kissing or something-?”

“No! I mean, just like...get to know each other. Anyhow, I’ll leave you two alone, so you can talk,” Starlight said, leaving the library.

Sunset looked back at me. “So...wanna like...cuddle or something?”

I recovered from being left out of the conversation and looked at the amber unicorn, seeing that Starlight had left. “Wait...WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!”

Author’s Note: Since I can’t put an author’s note at the top and bottom, this is the next best thing. Anyhow, whether or not I make Sunset part of the herd will rely solely on your comments. Also, just a quick disclaimer here. The Sunset and Sunburst in my stories are brother and sister.

Herd Therapy (sort of) (by ThePinkedWonder)

“How could you do it, Starlight?!”

“How could you not believe me when I tell you I didn’t do it, Jake?!”

“Because you’re the only one that could have taken and lost it!”

“Even if I did, I wouldn't have ‘taken' it but ‘borrowed’ it, and I didn’t ‘borrow’ anything this morning! And why are you so upset anyway? It’s just a brush, and I can get you another one!”

“It’s not just that you ‘borrowed’ it, but it’s that you’re lying about it!”

Not long ago I woke up and looked for my hairbrush to brush my hair, obviously. But it wasn’t in my pack, where I always keep it, and the only one that could’ve taken/borrowed it was one of my two marefriends, Starlight Glimmer, because last night was her turn to cuddle with me.

Starlight can be impulsive and occasionally acts without thinking things through. She loves using my hairbrush for her coat and has "borrowed" it before. She said it felt “different” compared to Equestrian brushes, and she enjoys the different feel, so I never minded her borrowing it. However, this time she lost it and then claimed that she had nothing to do with it!

Before we could continue our argument, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy all walked through one of the library’s green double-doors, Pinkie Pie hopping in with them. I still have no idea how she creates the springing sound effect from her hops. They all understandably gasped at Starlight’s and my yelling, and Pinkie stopped hopping.

Applejack asked, “Whoa, whoa, what in tarnation is goin’ on in here?!”

“Well, Starlight ‘borrowed’ something from me, lost it, and now she’s saying she didn’t do it!” I yelled and glared at Starlight.

Starlight returned the glare and screamed, “And for the hundredth time, I didn’t ‘borrow’ it!”

“Okay, let us calm down and talk this out,” Rarity suggested.

“Yeah, let’s settle this like grown ponies! Er, adults,” Rainbow chimed in.

“Fine!” Starlight and I both exclaimed.

Starlight and I stomped to and each sit in one of two chairs near one of the library’s bookshelves. We usually sit beside each other on a couch, but this time, we weren’t exactly in the mood to sit on the same couch. The others walked to and formed a semicircle in front of us. The tension in the library was chilling, and it's not something I would want to experience again anytime soon; even if half of the tension did come from me.

Applejack asked, “Okay. First, what was ‘borrowed’?”

I explained, “It’s my hairbrush, and when I looked in my pack, it was gone, and now I can’t find it!”

Pinkie asked, “And why does that mean Starlight borrowed it?”

“Because she’s the only one that was in my room last night, she likes using it to brush her coat, and she’s borrowed my brush before. Twilight never used it and Spike doesn’t have hair or fur, so it couldn’t be one of them.”

“I see. So, Starlight, let’s hear your side of the story,” Fluttershy suggested.

“Gladly! When Jake was still asleep, I left his room to eat breakfast, then came to sit in the library. A minute ago, Jake came in and claimed I ‘borrowed’ and lost his brush because he couldn’t find it!”

“Well, could your brush be anywhere else, Jake?” Rarity asked.

”It can’t be, because I always keep it in my pack when I’m not using it.”

Applejack rested a hoof on her cheek. “Okay, so from what Jake said, his brush is gone and only Starlight could’ve taken, er, borrowed it, right?”

“Yep,” I answered.

Rainbow added, “And from what Starlight said, she left his room to eat breakfast, came into the library and saw her, then he said she borrowed and lost it?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, let us figure this out.” Rarity turned her head to look directly at me. “Jake, is there any other place the brush might be? Where were you the last time you had it that wasn’t your room?”

“Well...that would be here in the library. Last night, I relaxed in here while reading books.”

“Where in the library did you ‘relax’?” Fluttershy asked.

I pointed to a purple couch behind where the others stood. “On that couch, but I already searched the library.”

Right after I answered, Spike walked into the library. “Hey, what’s going on?”

We all turned to Spike and Applejack explained, “Well, Starlight and Jake are fightin’ over some brush that Jake thinks Starlight ‘borrowed’, and--”

Spike interrupted, “Wait, you mean a blue brush?”

I responded, “Yeah?”

Spike rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, well...this is awkward. Last night, I saw that brush on the couch.”

“Really, Spike? Where is it?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, and I wanted to bring it to Jake, but he was in his room with Starlight, and I didn’t think he would want to be...disturbed. So I took it in my room to give to him later.”

Oh, no. I screwed up bad this time. Last night, I was going through the things in my pack and suddenly remembered how late it was, and Starlight would come to my bedroom soon. I picked up my bag in a huge hurry and sped to my room, and the brush must have fallen out as I did. A half-hour later, because of how fast I ran out, I came back to the library to check if anything fell out of my bag. But by that point, Spike must have picked up my brush. Twilight went to bed early and I thought Spike did too, so I didn’t think they saw and picked it up. This is why I suspected Starlight ‘borrowed’ my brush. If I thought Twilight or Spike might have taken it, I wouldn’t have accused Starlight for doing it.

I was screwed. But hoping I could avoid getting an earful from Starlight, I started, “Oh, well that’s a relief! So how about we put this--”

“Jake?” Starlight seethed and glared at me.

“Yes?” I answered sheepishly. So much for hoping to get out of this mess.

“You accused me of borrowing and losing that brush, despite me telling you over and over I didn’t.”

“Yeaaaah, and I was wrong and out of line, and--”

“And not only that, you called me a liar! That really hurt!”

“I-I know, Starlight, and I should have never done it. I’m so sorry.”

“I need some time by myself, and away from you, Jake.”

“Uh, this is probably a dumb question, but I’m not getting any cuddles tonight am I?” I foolishly asked. There are times when I ask dumb questions, and this is one of those times.

Starlight deeply sighed and deadpanned, “What do you think, Jake?”

“I’m not?”

“At least you got something right today!” Starlight shouted, and stormed out of the library.

I just couldn’t believe I could have been so stupid to accuse Starlight of something like that, and I planned to do something big to make it up to her. Trying to hide my shame, with my head down, I covered my face with my hands. “Well, I deserved every bit of that for treating Starlight that bad and I feel horrible.”

But Fluttershy, with a comforting smile, walked to me and sat a hoof on my knee. “It’ll be fine. You made a mistake, but it doesn’t make you a bad guy now.”

Still with my hands on my face, I countered, “Yeah, a ‘mistake’ as in I accused my marefriend of something she didn’t do. Not only that, I refused to listen when she told me she was innocent.”

Applejack said, “But ya realized your mistake and, as Princess Celestia or Twilight might say, ya learned a ‘friendship lesson’ today.”

“Starlight’s mad, but she still loves you and she’ll calm down after a while,” Rainbow explained.

“Yeah, and it’s not like Starlight never makes mistakes, like when she almost destroyed Equestria,” Pinkie pointed out. Though I’d rather that Pinkie would use...other examples to prove that Starlight sometimes makes mistakes.

“And not only that, darling, every couple, or herd in your case, has misunderstandings and arguments sometimes, and yours is no exception. However, when you and Starlight make up, you two will be closer than ever.”

I will admit, I was surprised at what Rarity told me. I uncovered my face and looked directly at Rarity. “Really, Rarity?”

“Really. Fair-weather relationships only last if nothing ever goes wrong. However, relationships which have, and move past, the occasional fights are the ones that grow into the best ones.”

“Hmm, that’s deep, Rarity,” Rainbow admitted. “You know more about relationships than I thought.”

“Yes, well, I do like to think I...wait.” Rarity scowled at Rainbow. “And what does that mean, Rainbow? Is it because I don’t have a special somepony right now? Because I will have you know that--”

But before Rarity and Rainbow could go at it, Applejack interjected, “Calm down, Rarity. We already settled one fight, and we don’t need another one.”

“Well, hopefully, I can become closer to Twilight without fighting with her.”

An angry voice declared, “Well, Jake, I don’t know about the ‘become closer to Twilight’ part, but you might have a fight with her.”

My heart sank and I gasped. We all faced to where the voice came from, and we saw Twilight Sparkle. She was staring daggers in my direction, and I had a feeling why. This was looking to be one of those days I wish I stayed in bed; at least until Spike brought me back my brush.

“Wait, Twilight? What’s wrong?” Rainbow asked. Guess she didn’t figure it out already.

“I just heard that Jake accused Starlight of losing his brush, and she didn’t do it.”

“Uh-oh,” Pinkie muttered, and I’m sure we were all thinking that, save for Twilight.

“Oh, well, yeah, I-I did, but--” I stuttered, hoping to dig out of this hole I buried myself in.

“I can’t believe you! How could you do that to her, Jake?!"

Applejack sighed and facehoofed. “Well, y’all, I guess we got another fight to settle.”

“And even if we do, I wouldn’t count on getting any cuddles from Twilight tomorrow night either, Jake. Let alone any ‘make-out’ sessions,” Spike whispered to me.

“I’d just be happy with not being turned into an orange or something for this.”

Author's Note

I feel the need to remind all of you that none of these chapters maintain any continuity with each other, unless otherwise stated

I can’t believe you forgot! Starring: Starlight Glimmer

Silent Library (My Flank!) (By Heartland Picker)

Twilight was particularly chipper this morning. “Alright, I’m off to Canterlot. Are you three going to be able to hold down the fort while I’m gone?”

Starlight spoke up first. “Yep, I’m just going to some new materials to make kites. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

Twilight simply nodded in approval. “Sounds good, have fun. Jake, Spike, are you guys sure you can keep the noise down while you’re playing Ogres and Oubliettes this afternoon?”

Spike, despite his habitual need to keep everyone happy, answered this with as realistic of an answer as he could think of. “Twilight, as much as I would like to keep it silent, you know how Discord gets when we get caught up in the action. However, I think we can keep him reeled in given the setting that I have in mind for today’s scenario.”

I, however, could only feign my interest at this point. “Yep, today’s game shouldn’t get terribly out of hand.”

However, I kept his silence about my honest opinion. Especially since I have a good idea of what this game is. I swear, having to hear my little dragon half-cousin harp on about Dungeons and Dragons fanfare like crazy is not something I’m looking forward to. The Renaissance fair was bad enough during high school.

Twilight, who had me read like a book, knew exactly what I meant by that. “Oooookay. I’m hoping that my parents are at least a little calmer after we saw them last.”

Spike just brushed off the comment. “Come on, they're you parents. They can't hate you forever.”

Twilight said, “Thanks Spike. Well, I better not miss the train. I know I can teleport long-distance faster, but I’d rather not stink up their house from my sweating with a spell that drains my energy like that. I’ll see you this evening!”

With that, Twilight took off.

An hour later…..

Spike and I were wrapping clearing up Twilight’s notes from yesterday’s “study marathon” when the sound of thunder came from overhead. I had originally suspected Rainbow Dash of attempting another ill-attempted prank and was ready to give her a bored look.

Spike, however, was smirking, “Captain Wuz has entered the game……a bit early for once.”

The clouds cleared with Discord descending towards the floor.

“Garbunkle, you really know how to spoil my fun with the newcomer. I see that Sir McBiggun is running late. I guess I should fix that.”

With the snap of his lion paw, there was a flash of light near the door that revealed Big Mac in full armor, but he wasn’t alone. He was lip-locked with Sugar Belle and had his eyes shut: the lovebirds oblivious to where they were.

That is, until Discord spoke up again with his usual mischievous grin. “Oh my!”

The lovely couple opened their eyes and froze, thus causing us three stooges to crack up laughing. Big Mac and Sugar Belle broke apart with blushes on their face.

Sugar Belle, however, took the opportunity to take a good look at him in his armor. As she was leaving, she gave him “the look” that drives all men crazy, and further proceeded to sashay out the door.

Big Mac was flustered to the point of shaking. I stepped in and said, “I may not be into this kind of game, but you really should be overjoyed. She clearly likes what she sees now.”

Discord followed up with a jab, “Oh, I bet she tackles you to the floor when you get home, thus I suggest you keep it on when you get home. Hahahaha!”

I suddenly had a look of fiendish delight, and without missing a beat, Discord floated over to him. “I sense a disturbance in the chaos in the vicinity of your skull. Care to enlighten me, oh thief of nerdy hearts?”

I responded, “Hold that thought for a couple minutes.” I ran out of the room with a laugh to only-I-know-where. After five minutes of the guys setting the room up for the first round of Ogres and Oubliettes followed by waiting, I returned with Starlight in tow and the biggest smile she had ever seen on my face.

“Discord, come over here for a second.” The avatar of bedlam came over and joined what was now a huddle. “Okay, since Twilight is supposed to come back later, I say we pull a fast one on her. Now listen carefully….”

Spike and Big Mac, unable to hear the conversation, were getting a little anxious. Their wariness suddenly skyrocketed when they saw the lightbulb appear over Discord’s head, followed by Starlight’s giggling.

Now Discord decided to pipe up, “Listen boys, I know we normally jump straight into the skeleton battles at this point, but Jake has made the perfect recommendation to shake things up a bit for the late hours……..MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

That evening…..

Twilight had just walked in the foyer, when she heard a commotion coming from the one room that should never be the source of any racket. She teleported to the library door, where she found Starlight, struggling to get the knob to turn.

“Starlight, what in Celestia’s sunrise has gotten into those guys!?” she shouted.

The unicorn turned to Twilight and said “I have no idea. Why else would I be trying to get in!?”

At this, the purple princess charged up a spell, blasted the door open with more force than a pack of C4 in the hands of Wile E Coyote, and flew straight into the last thing she would have suspected.

The floor had been turned into a makeshift American football field with Astro Turf and all the yard markings. The boys were playing two on two and were all decked out in professional football gear with copies of Discord serving both as referees and the pep band. It seemed like they had been at this for hours, since there were several books that had fallen to the floor and had the look of being trampled several times. The boys were mid play and tackling each other senselessly.

In short, the library was a wreck, and Twilight went full-blown ape shit.

“WHAT!? I LEAVE FOR A DAY AND YOU GUYS HAVE TURNED THE LIBRARY INTO A CAGEMATCH ARENA!? HOW COULD YOU GUYS EVEN THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I REALLY CAN’T LEAVE YOU ALONE!!! MEN ARE SO DUMB, I SWEAR!!!”

To this, the boys had ceased their antics and the stadium had reverted to normal (compliments of Discord, of course).

After a tense moment silence, the room was filled with the laughter of five voices simultaneously. Twilight turned around to see her herd-mate struggling to stay upright.

“You can’t be serious, Starlight. How do find this remotely funny?” Twilight shot with indigence.

“Oh, Twilight,” the unicorn started with a smirk. “I was in on this prank. Jake talked us into it to get his revenge for the cuddling prank a few weeks ago. To be honest, doing this in the library was brilliant. I couldn’t have staged this better myself! Bahahahahaha!!!”

Twilight had the biggest deadpan look on her face, followed by, “Ugh, I swear I’m going to turn grey faster than my mother did.” She walked out the door in a huff.

Everyone only laughed even harder at this. Then everyone but Big Mac shouted simultaneously, “TOTALLY WORTH IT!”

Author's Note

Shout-out to Heartland Picker for this latest chapter. If you haven't already read his story, Starlight's New Drinking Buddy, you totally should. It's hilarious.

Anyhow, I feel I should mention that you readers can still contribute to this story. Just type something up, and PM it to me

Going to the Gala Part 1: Invitations

I can’t believe you forgot! Starring: Starlight Glimmer

Starlight Glimmer walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water out of the fridge.

“Morning, Starlight,” Twilight Sparkle happily greeted.

Starlight, however, could barely contain herself. She drank up her water and faced her teacher. “Morning.”

Twilight giggled at Starlight’s chipper mood. “You seem in a good mood this morning. Anything going on?”

Starlight was about to respond when she remembered something. ’Does she not remember? I told her...right?’

“Not much, as far as I know,” Starlight replied slowly.

“That’s nice. Oh! I heard Trixie was in town if you wanted to go see her,” Twilight suggested.

Starlight did her best to keep a straight face. “Sure, I think I will.”

Just then, Jake Taylor walked into the room with them. “Morning, girls.”

“Morning, Jake,” Twilight greeted before craning her neck to give him a kiss as he walked past.

“Morning, Jake!” Starlight said, trying not to sound expecting.

“Morning, Starlight,” Jake simply greeted as he just walked past.

Starlight kept up a smile, but felt her eyelid twitch. ’Okay, I may not have told Jake, but not even a ‘good morning kiss’ like he did for Twilight?’

Jake grabbed his own glass of water out of the fridge and sat down next to Twilight, wrapping his arm around her. “Any plans for today?”

Twilight tilted her head in thought. “Nothing comes to mind.”

Starlight felt her heart shatter on the inside. ’They couldn’t have actually forgotten...could they?’

Jake’s face lit up. “Oh that’s right!”

Starlight’s hope arose as her boyfriend began to remember that it was her-

“Why don’t we go antiquing?” Jake suggested.

Starlight grit her teeth so hard she felt one of them crack.

“That sounds like a great idea! Ponyville has some of the best antique shops in Equestria. Every time I go into one of those shops, I always come out with something beautiful and priceless,” Twilight agreed.

“Alright then, antiquing it is. Starlight, you wanna come with?” Jake asked.

Starlight felt the need to go somewhere desolate and explode. “No...thanks,” she said, barely retaining herself.

“Oh, right, you were gonna go hang out with Trixie. Well, you have fun with that,” Twilight said, waving a hoof.

“I think I will,” Starlight said again before she exited the kitchen.

Once outside, Starlight felt her hooves start to wobble, and her head ache with anger.

“I can’t believe they forgot my bucking birthday!” she said to herself.

It was then that Spike had approached the unicorn, though he had not heard her. “Hey, Starlight. What’s up?”

Starlight’s head shot up. ’Maybe Spike remembers’

“Ooh...nothing much, just gonna go hang out with Trixie later...” Starlight said, blatantly hinting at something more.

Spike, however, did not appear to get the hint and walked past her. “Okay then. You have fun with that, and tell Trixie I said ‘hi’.”

As Spike walked into the kitchen, Starlight was barely able to hold herself together. She ran out of the castle as fast as she could without letting tears flow.

Spike quickly and quietly joined Twilight and Jake in the kitchen, making sure Starlight had left the castle. “Guys, I think this was a bad idea. Starlight’s in pretty bad condition.”

Twilight and Jake looked at each other with worry.

“I was afraid this might happen, Jake,” Twilight said.

“I thought it might too, but it’ll be fine. We’ll just have to make the payoff that much better,” Jake countered.

“Umm, speaking of which,” Spike interjected. “We should really get over there. Pinkie Pie’s already here, and she looks like she’s gonna explode if she doesn’t get started soon.”

“Alright, is Starlight out of the castle?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, she just left,” Spike responded.

“Let’s get to work, then,” Jake said.

The trio made their way through the halls into one of the many, large closets within the castle. Inside was a bunch of streamers, an assortment of cakes, a number of neatly wrapped gifts, and a pink pony, who looked like she was, in fact, about to explode.

“She’s gonna blow!” Spike yelled.

Thinking quick, Jake grabbed a nearby pillow and held it up to Pinkie Pie’s muzzle. “Scream into this.”

Pinkie stuffed her muzzle into the pillow and let loose. Jake had trouble keeping the pillow in front of Pinkie, but held firm.

Once Pinkie finished screaming, Jake dropped the now ruined pillow.

“Feel better now?” Twilight asked.

“Yepperooni. Now let’s get to work!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“You three start moving the decorations into the foyer. I’ll round up our friends and make sure Starlight stays out of the castle,” Twilight instructed.

Starlight walked through Ponyville, looking for Trixie’s wagon, but she couldn’t find the cyan unicorn anywhere.

“I still can’t believe they forgot my birthday,” Starlight mumbled to herself.

After a few more hours of searching, Starlight just gave up and went to one of her favorite resting spots. It was a hill just on the edge of Ponyville, overlooking the town on one side and a lake on the other. It also just so happened to be the place where she started to fall in love with Jake.

The thought brought a tiny smile to Starlight’s lips, almost causing her to forget about what was bothering her, but not quite.

“Guess I can’t be too upset. It’s not like I’ve celebrated any of my other birthdays,” she groaned to herself.

She spent a few minutes just looking out at the lake, running happy memories with Jake and Twilight through her head, before getting up and going back through town.

She was halfway through the village when she finally heard the voice she was looking for. “Starlight! I was looking for you everywhere!”

Starlight gasped and looked to where the voice was coming from. “Trixie!”

Trixie ran through the crown of ponies and embraced Starlight with both of her hooves. “I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long; my schedule got really out of control.”

“It’s fine. I’m just so happy to see you again,” Starlight replied. When she broke the hug, however, she noticed something was missing from the magician. “Where’s your cloak? And you wagon?”

“Oh, there parked right behind that building over there,” Trixie answered, pointing to the popular store of Quills and Sofas. “Wanna go catch up? I have snacks~”

Starlight giggled at her friend’s playful antics. “Sure, I could use a bite.”

The pair walked around to the back of the store to where Trixie said her wagon was. Once there, Trixie laid out a blanket and got some tea cakes.

“What, are we having a picnic all of the sudden?” Starlight joked.

Trixie chuckled along with her friend. “Sure. Here, try some.”

Starlight took a tea cake in her magic and took a bite. “Delicious!”

“Thanks...Appleoosa, 15 bits for 5,” Trixie responded.

Starlight rolled her eyes and finished her tea cake.

“So, what’s been going on with you?” Trixie asked out of the blue.

Starlight took a breath to say something, but stopped herself. ’Should I really tell her?’

“Something wrong?” Trixie asked with a concerned tone of voice

“I-It’s nothing. There’s nothing going on with me,” Starlight tried to assure Trixie.

The performer, however, rested a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Like I said before: you can tell me anything.”

“Alright, there is something. You see, when I woke up this morning, Twilight and Jake kinda...forgot it was my birthday-“

“Oh my Celestia, it’s your birthday?!” Trixie asked in excitement. “Wait, your herd forgot?!”

“It’s not that big a deal,” Starlight said.

“Starlight, what are you talking about? It’s your birthday; it’s a huge deal!” Trixie countered.

“Well, don’t ponies ever forget your birthday?” Starlight re-countered.

“Well, yeah, but I’m always on the road. You live in a castle! With the Princess of Friendship, no less!” Trixie re-re-countered.

“W-Well...” Starlight tried to re-re-re-counter.

“Are you trying to tell me that you have no problem that your own herd forgot about your birthday?” Trixie cut off.

Starlight actually thought about the question before she answered. “I guess it kinda hurts a little.”

“That’s it. I will be right back, and then we’re gonna go give those two a piece of our minds,” Trixie said before storming off.

“Trixie wait!” Starlight said, but made no attempt to stop the unicorn.

Trixie was walking to Sugarcube Corner with a vengeance.

“The nerve of that Twilight. Even I wouldn’t forget somepony’s birthday like that, let alone my best friend’s,” Trixie said aloud, not caring who heard her.

Once inside Trixie quickly calmed down and walked up to the counter. “Hi, I need five chocolate cupcakes and a candle.”

Mrs. Cake typed the order in on her register. “Okay, dearie, that’ll be six bits.”

Trixie payed Mrs. Cake and hummed a tune while waiting for her order.

Suddenly, there was a bright *flash* accompanied by a loud *pop* of magic. “Trixie!”

Trixie turned her head around to see Twilight Sparkle. “You! How dare you forget Starlight’s birthday?!”

“Trixie, you have to listen to me-“ Twilight tried to say.

“You and I may not get along, but it is completely unacceptable for you to forget your own student’s birthday!” Trixie cut off.

“Trixie, you don’t understand-“

“No, you don’t understand. Just because you may or may not have gone without birthday’s doesn’t-“

“Trixie, of course, I didn’t forget her birthday!” Twilight this time cut off.

Trixie just stared in shocked silence.

“Look, my friends and I have been planning this for weeks. We were going to pretend not to remember, but secretly set up without Starlight knowing. We would’ve let you in on it, but none of us had any idea how to find you,” Twilight explained.

“Ooooooooooohhhhh, that’s genius. Sorry I get mad like that,” Trixie said.

“It’s fine,” Twilight waved off. “But I need you to keep Starlight out of the castle until we’re done setting up.”

“Sure. How long do you think that’ll take?” Trixie asked.

“Anywhere from ten minutes to half an hour. Just keep starlight occupied, and I give you some sort of signal to let you know it’s ready.”

“Can do,” Trixie replied.

A few minutes later, Trixie returned to her wagon with five cupcakes, one of which had a candle.

“Happy birthday to you~” Trixie sang.

Starlight turned a little red at the gesture. “Come on, Trixie. You didn’t have to do this.”

“Hush, I’m not finished,” Trixie responded. “Happy birthday to you~”

Starlight felt both embarrassed and flattered at her friend’s actions.

“Happy birthday dear Starlight~” Trixie continued, pulling forth the cupcake with the candle.

“Happy birthday to you!~” Trixie finished.

Starlight blew out the candle and laughed, Trixie quickly joining in.

“Seriously, you didn’t have to. I really am fine,” Starlight said between laughs.

Trixie calmed down and answered, “Nonsense! You’re my friend, and apparently nopony else remembered.”

Starlight suddenly felt like crying. “Thank you so much, Trixie.”

“Of course,” Trixie replied. She then looked past Starlight and nodded at something.

Starlight looked behind her to see what Trixie was nodding at, but didn’t see anything. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Trixie asked.

“That thing you just nodded at, over there,” Starlight answered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but enough talk! You and I are going straight to that castle. And you’re gonna give that princess a piece of your mind!” Trixie said, basically ignoring the question.

“A piece of my mind? I’m not mad at Twilight and Jake, just a little-“

“I won’t have any of it. Forgetting one’s birthday is unacceptable. Come on, now,” Trixie countered, heading away from the wagon.

Starlight rolled her eyes and groaned. “Castle’s the other way.”

Trixie quickly changed directions without even looking at Starlight. “I knew that.”

The pair of unicorns were now at the front castle doors, Starlight trying to get out of the inevitable confrontation she was about to have with her herd.

“Right inside,” Trixie said, opening the doors.

“For the millionth time, Trixie, it’s not that big a deal!” Starlight tried to say one last time.

Trixie rolled her eyes, walked around to Starlight’s flank, and shoved her inside the castle foyer. Inside, Starlight took a look around. There were streamers all over the place, a few gifts here and there, and a hue banner that read ‘Happy Birthday, Starlight!’.

Before Starlight could say anything to Trixie, all of Starlight’s friends, Sunburst included, jumped out of various hiding spots, and yelled, “Surprise.”

Starlight jumped and nearly teleported herself out of the castle. “W-Wait, you guys didn’t forget?”

“Forget?! Of course not! We were just pretending, so the party would have a bigger effect,” Jake explained.

“Quite frankly, I’m surprised Pinkie Pie didn’t give us away,” Twilight added.

“So...you guys were just acting this morning?” Starlight asked, still not sure what was going on.

“Of course we were. We’ve been planning this for weeks. We’d never really forget your birthday,” Jake assured.

Starlight struggled to hold in a laugh while turning to Trixie. “Were you in on this?”

“Not at first, but then Twilight told me about it, and I just went along,” Trixie answered.

Starlight looked back at all the decorations and started to laugh. By the time she lost it, so did all of her friends.

“Y-You guys are the best. You even got Sunburst to come in from the Crystal Empire?,” Starlight said once she started to calm down.

“Are you kidding? This was my idea!” Sunburst replied.

“Enough chit-chat, let’s party!” Pinkie shouted.

A few hours later, pretty much everypony had gone home. Sunburst got a last minute ticket to take him back to the Crystal Empire, after wishing Starlight a happy birthday for about the tenth time that day. Trixie had gone back to her wagon, taking a cupcake with her.

It was now just Starlight, Twilight, Jake, and Spike. The guys had done most of the cleaning, while Twilight had tended to Rainbow Dash, who had gone way too far with the sweets.

“Thank you, again. This has been, by far, my best birthday ever,” Starlight thanked. She was wearing the silver half-heart necklace Jake have bought her for Hearths Warming. He had gotten in shined and engraved to say: ‘To Starlight, my first love’. She swore to never take it off.

“Don’t mention it. This was a lot of fun to pull off. Sorry if we took it a bit too far with the antiquing thing,” Twilight responded.

“About that. Jake, would you have actually gone antiquing with Twilight on any other day?” Starlight asked.

Jake shook his head. “Nope, I kinda can’t stand it.”

“That makes two of us,” Starlight agreed.

Spike stood up and stretched his arms, giving a yawn in the process. “Well, guys, I’m gonna turn in. I hope you enjoyed your party, Starlight.”

“I did. Goodnight,” Starlight responded.

“Night, Spike,” Jake called out.

“*yawn* I think I’m gonna go to bed too. Goodnight, guys,” Twilight said, getting up to leave. “Oh, and Jake, not too loud,” she added with a wink.

“I’ll try to keep it down,” Jake chuckled.

“Not too loud?” Starlight asked.

“Come on, let’s get to bed first,” Jake said, standing up and offering his hand.

Starlight took it, and the two walked to the unicorn’s room. Once there, Jake got under the covers and patted the bed next to him, inventing Starlight to join him. She eagerly did and laid down to cuddle with him.

“Hoooold on there a second,” Jake said, pulling her up to her haunches.

Starlight was confused, but sat up anyhow.

“I know I’ve said it about a million times today, but happy birthday,” Jake said.

Starlight chuckled. “Thanks. Never gets old, though.”

Jake chuckled as well before he continued. “Look, I know I’ve been spending a lot of time with Twilight lately, and I wanna make up for that.”

“It’s no problem. You and Twilight have way more history between you two,” Starlight responded.

“But still, like your necklace says; you were my first love, and I’m gonna show you just how much I really love you,” Jake countered.

Starlight felt herself go a little red. “What exactly did Twilight mean when she said ‘not too loud’?”

“Oh that? She was talking about my second gift to you,” Jake answered.

Starlight felt her breath hitch and her body begin to shake with excitement and anticipation. “W-Which is?”

Jake, instead of answering, cupped Starlight’s cheeks in his hands and gave a deep, warm, intimate kiss, laying her down on the bed in the process.

“Now’s not the time to ask questions,” Jake said, laying over Starlight, caressing body. “Now’s just to time to enjoy what I have planned.”

Author's Note

Hey guys,
Let’s give these two lovebirds some privacy, shall we?

This story is officially back up and running, so if you guys have any stories you wanna see, PM me with a 1,000+ word story, and watch it become canon in the Taylorverse (yes, I just called it that)

Going to the Gala Part 2: Whispers

Going to the Gala Part 1: Invitations

Spike and I were in the library, messing around with some pillows that were in the unused rooms in the castle. We had each set up our own walls, using books and tables. We peeked our heads out every so often to try and hit each other with pillows.

“Come on, Spike, you know it’s inevitable,” I taunted, holding my pillow at the ready.

“No way, Jake! You’ve won too many times! No more!” Spike replied.

I laughed a little bit. Despite how mature Spike can act, I can sometimes forget he’s still a child. And, being completely honest, I had a bit of a childish side myself.

I launched my pillow as Spike went to reach for one that was a distance from his fortress. Spike dodged my attack and grabbed the pillow, only to get hit by a second one that I threw. Spike puffed smoke out of his nostrils and threw his pillow at me. I ducked into my bunker as the pillow soared overhead. I peeked out to get hit by another one Spike had thrown.

“You may have hit me this time, but this is far from over!” I declared.

Suddenly, I heard the library doors open. “What are you two doing?”

“Spike, time out,” I called as I looked toward the doors. It was Starlight, laughing her head off.

“Just your average pillow war,” Spike said, matter-of-factly.

Starlight blinked a few times, as if she didn’t immediately understand...which made sense the more I thought about it.

“W-W-What?”

I laughed, realizing Starlight had yet to see this side of me. “We used to do this sort of thing all the time at Golden Oaks Library, only now, we have way more pillows.”

“Okay, but ‘pillow war’?” Starlight asked.

“We got carried away with a pillow fight one time, and it’s been getting bigger and bigger ever since,” Spike explained.

Starlight laughed again. “Sounds like fun. Mind if I join in?”

“Sure, but I must warn you, pillow war is not something to be taken lightly,” I joked.

Starlight put on a mischievous grin. “Oh really?” She then picked up a pillow with her magic and launched it straight at me. It hit me with so much force that it actually knocked me down.

“Ready to kick some flank, Spike?” Starlight asked, still wearing the look of mischief.

“Oh no,” I said, realizing that asking Starlight Glimmer to partake in a pillow war may have been a bad idea.

“Let’s do this!” Spike yelled, grabbing as many pillows as he could.

Starlight picked up a bunch of pillows in her magic, and by ‘a bunch’, I mean about fifty.

“Rapid fire!”

I ducked behind my barricade as the assault began. I could feel my wall shake under the force of the pillows being thrown at it. I knew it wasn’t long before it would fall down.

“No fair! It’s two against one!” I yelled.

“All’s fair in pillow war, Jake,” Spike reminded. I grumbled, remembering that I had used that exact same line after I beat Spike.

The pillows kept coming, and I had nowhere to go. There was only one thing to do. I grabbed as many pillows as I could and charged at Spike and Starlight. They paused their attack as I drew closer and closer. It wasn’t long until Starlight started firing again. I took the shots the best I could and kept running. Once I reached their base, I dove with two pillows in hand. As I went down, I unleashed my pillows. They hit straight home, knocking both Starlight and Spike onto the ground.

I crawled from the remains of the fallen base as best I could, but I ran out of energy. The war was officially over.

Then...I heard laughing. I looked up to see Twilight had entered the library in the midst of our pillow war. She was also holding a scroll in her magic.

“What?” I asked as Starlight and Spike stood up as well.

Twilight wiped her brow with a wing as she stopped laughing. “Your pillow wars never get old. Anyhow, we got a letter from Princess Celestia that has to do with all of us.”

Starlight quickly stood the tables back up and placed the books in all of their respective places with her magic. “What’d she say?”

Twilight unrolled the scroll and cleared her throat. “My dearest Twilight, as you know, the Grand Galloping Gala is coming up, so I wanted to give you your tickets personally. My apologies for there only being three tickets with this note; I tried to convince the committee to give a fourth ticket for Jake, but you know how they are. But that doesn’t mean you can’t bring him as a plus one. Hope to see you there, Princess Celestia.”

I rolled my eyes. I knew how Canterlot ponies could be: stuck up and fake-happy. It reminded me a lot of how people could be from my old world, and was one of the few things I could do without in Equestria. Even so, I never really let that bother me, as I didn’t actually live in Canterlot.

“Well, it’s too bad, Princess Celestia couldn’t get a ticket for Jake,” Spike said.

“It’s fine. I don’t usually take a plus one, so I’ll take him. Is that alright, Jake?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I guess. Who knows, maybe I’ll have a bit more fun this time,” I answered.

“Trust me, it’s gotten a lot better since you last went,” Twilight told me.

“Alright, but I’ll hold you to that.”

Grand Galloping Gala huh? Sounds like fun

Twilight had let me borrow the journal she uses to communicate with Sunset Shimmer. It had been a while since I’ve seen her, so I wanted to talk to her.

That makes one of us. I just don’t really look forward to something this formal

You’ll be fine. You just gotta ignore everypony else. And besides, you’ll have all of your friends there with you, not to mention Twilight and Starlight

Speaking of which, how’s everyone over there doing? It’s been a while since I’ve seen them

Everyone over here’s doing good. Twilight even got herself a boyfriend

Good for her. Tell her I said ‘congratulations’

I will

Twilight walked into the library and picked up a book she had been reading. “Hey, Jake. How’s Sunset doing?”

“She’s doing good,” I answered. I then got an idea. “Hey, do Starlight or Spike usually take a plus one to the Gala?”

Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof. “Let’s see, Starlight said Sunburst got his own ticket since he’s Flurry Heart’s crystaller, and Spike doesn’t usually take anypony. Why do you ask?”

“You think one of them would be okay with taking Sunset as their plus one?” I asked.

Twilight blinked a few times before sharing her head. “Woah, woah, woah, that’s not a good idea. Sunset left Princess Celesita on terrible terms. If those two get together, things could get really ugly, really fast. Ask Sunset; she’ll tell you the same thing.”

“Oh yeah, she told me about that,” I said rubbing my forehead.

Twilight sighed. “Look, Jake, your heart’s in the right place, and it’s one of the things I love about you. This time, it’s just a better idea to leave it alone.”

I figured Twilight was right...but still shook my head. “Twi, do you know how close exactly Sunset and Princess Celestia were?”

Twilight tilted her head in thought. “Umm...Princess Celestia told me that she considered Sunset a daughter.”

“Do you know if Sunset felt the same?” I asked.

“As far as I know,” Twilight answer.

I rubbed my chin in thought, memories and ideas stirring about in my head. “So, they were like mother and daughter that were separated.”

Twilight blinked a few times. “I-I guess you could say that. Why do you...Jake, please don’t start this.”

“Start what?” I asked.

“I know losing your parents was hard on you and you don’t want that to happen to anypony else, but this isn’t as simple,” Twilight said, raising her voice.

“Twilight, you have no idea how much I hate to see a suffering family,” I responded, my voice raising as well.

“Jake, listen to me. This isn’t something you can fix.”

“Twilight, if this were anyone else, I would leave it alone. But Sunset...I really care about her, just as much as I do you and Starlight. And Princess Celestia? I highly doubt she’s the type to hold this kind of grudge,” I countered.

“Okay, say Sunset agrees to go. What if your wrong? What if Princess Celestia does still hold a grudge?” Twilight asked expectantly.

“Then we won’t go into this blind and just hope for the best,” I answered.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“I’ll...ask Princess Celestia if it’s alright if Sunset comes. That way, we’ll know for sure if it’s a good idea or not,” I reasoned, making it up as I went.

“I don’t know, Jake. I usually try not to medal in my friends’ lives,” Twilight said.

“Then you don’t even have to be there. Princess Celestia doesn’t even have to know you were a part of this,” I responded.

Twilight closed her eyes, trying to come up with a good counter argument.

“Please, Twilight? You know how I feel about this kind of thing.”

Twilight sighed. “Fine.”

“Thank you.”

Jake? You still there?

I turned my attention back to the journal.

Yeah, I’m here, Sunset. I have to go do something, talk to you later

Alright, talk to you later

A few minutes later, I was waiting in the foyer of the castle. Spike had sent a letter to Princess Celestia, telling her that I had something I wanted to ask her.

My nerves were starting to tense. ’Maybe Twilight’s right about this, and I should leave it alone’

I shook my head. There was only one way to find out.

A few seconds later, there was a brilliant flash of golden light, and Princess Celestia appeared before me.

“Hello, Jake Taylor. Spike sent a letter saying you wished to speak with me,” she said.

I bowed my head and replied, “Yes, there’s something I wish to talk to you about. I’m sorry if I pulled you away from anything.”

Princess Celestia raised my chin and smiled. “It’s not a problem. With the Gala coming up, there’s nothing to be done for now. Speaking of which, my apologies for not getting a ticket for you.”

“It’s no problem. Twilight agreed to take me as a plus one,” I responded.

“That’s good. Now, what did you wish to speak to me about?”

I took a deep breath and steeled myself for a variety of possible outcomes.

“Well...I’ve recently become...very acquainted with one of your old students...Sunset Shimmer,” I said.

Princess Celestia’s eyes went wide with what I hoped was just shock, and not horror. Her gaze quickly returned to normal and away from me. I closed my eyes, expecting a full-blown outburst.

“I see. How is she?” was all Princess Celestia asked.

“Good,” I responded. “...I-I understand you two parted ways on rather bad terms-“

“That doesn’t even begin to explain it,” she cut off. Then, very much to my surprise, she chuckled. “But...Twilight’s told me she’s changed very much since then. If you don’t mind my asking, how exactly are you two acquainted?”

“Well...she visited one day, that’s how we met. I went to see the world she lives in, and...she kinda joined the herd,” I explained.

“Really? Okay then,” she said.

There was a bit of silence between the two of us. I could tell Princess Celestia was holding back a substantial amount of emotions. I couldn’t tell if it were anger, sadness, regret, joy, or curiosity.

“Twilight told me you two were very close,” I said, piercing the silence.

“Once again, that doesn’t even begin to explain it. She...she was the closest thing I ever had to a daughter. When we had our fight, I...I just couldn’t believe myself. Especially when I had heard she had fought through a few of my guards and fled to another world. It...it broke my heart. And our fight...it was about the dumbest thing.” Princess Celestia’s eyes began to fill with tears, and tears of my own were coming as well. “I-I was pressuring her to make new friends. I should’ve let her do things at her own pace...” Her voice trailed off.

I walked up to her and rested my hand on her shoulder as tears started to flow down my cheeks. “I understand how you feel. When I lost my parents, my entire world was turned upside down.”

Princess Celestia stayed silent, save for a few sobs.

“Do you wish you could see her again?” I asked.

“Of course I do. I would give anything to have her back,” she responded.

“I-I can probably convince her to come over here for the Grand Galloping Gala, i-if that’s okay with you,” I said, glad my request was finally out in the air.

Princess Celestia closed her eyes and attempted to get her emotions under control. When she opened them, she looked directly at me. “Yes, please do,” was all she said.

Princess Celestia had left a few minutes ago. I managed to convince Spike to take Sunset as his plus one, since she wouldn’t have her own ticket. I was sitting alone, in the library, with Twilight’s journal.

Hey, Sunset, you there?

A moment of silence passed by.

Yeah, I’m here, Jake

Something I wanna ask you

What’s up?

I told you the Grand Galloping Gala was coming up. I was wondering of you wanted to come? Spike said he would take you as

I didn’t manage to finish writing before hysteric scribbling appeared under my writing.

No, no, no, no, I can’t, Jake! Princess Celestia always goes to the Grand Galloping Gala. I’m nowhere near ready to see her again. Not after everything I put her through

Sunset, it’s okay. I talked to

Once again, Sunset cut me off.

No, it’s not. She was like a mother to me, and I took her for granted. I yelled at her and called her a hypocrite, and then I ran away through the mirror. I just can’t see her!

Sunset just listen to me!

I paused to see if Sunset would actually hear me out or not. I took the absence of her writing as a sign she would to the former.

I talked to Princess Celestia about it. I wasn’t gonna ask you if I didn’t know for sure. She misses you. She wants to see you again

I don’t know. I just...what if I screw things up again?

Let me ask you something. Do you miss her?

Yes

Do you want to make up with her?

Of course

Then what’s stopping you? Here, I’m gonna tell you something you don’t know about me

What is it?

I didn’t tell you this when I was visiting you before because I didn’t want you or your friends to feel bad for me, but when I was four years old, my parents’ house caught fire. I was fine, but my parents didn’t make it out

Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry. But...why did you tell me that now?

Because I can’t stand it when someone as close to me as you are has problems with their family. I would give anything to speak to my parents again, but I can’t. So you should make up or at least apologize to Princess Celestia before you don’t have that chance

I waited a while for Sunset to respond. I didn’t know if she put her journal away and forgot about it or was just thinking it over herself.

Come on, Sunset. Do this for me?

It was dead silent. Time itself seemed to stand still. Until the words finally appeared on the page.

Okay, I’ll do it

Author's Note

Hey guys,
So, as you can guess, this is gonna have a second part. I don’t know when it’ll come out, but hopefully it won’t be long. As for this chapter, it came out a lot better than I expected in my opinion. Tell me what you thought in the comments

Going to the Gala Part 3: Promises

Going to the Gala Part 2: Whispers

Tonight was the night. We were officially headed to the Grand Galloping Gala. Surprisingly, I felt a little excited. I had just finished getting dressed and met Spike out in the hall. He was wearing a tuxedo with a purpling bow tie.

“Looking good,” he said.

“Not too bad yourself,” I replied.

“Yeah, I guess you look pretty good too,” Spike joked.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. Together, we strutted down the hall to meet Twilight and Starlight in the foyer.

“Hey, by the way, I don’t have to like...dance with Sunset, do I? No offense, I’m just not into her like that,” Spike said to me.

“Nah...not unless she asks you to, which she may or may not,” I replied, smirking down at the little guy.

Spike stopped walking and turned toward me. “Seriously? Come on!”

I stopped walking as well. “What’s the big deal, Spike? I thought you were a gentledrake.”

“Fine,” Spike muttered, followed by some incomprehensible mumbling.

Down at Carousel Boutique, Rarity was busy poking needles into Sunset Shimmer’s mane.

“Ow! Rarity, I appreciate you making this dress for me on such short notice, but-Ow! I feel like you’re getting a little carried away with my mane,” Sunset complained.

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt so much if you would just hold still,” Rarity replied, sticking another needle into Sunset’s mane.

“If it makes ya’ feel any better, Sunset,” Applejack called from one of the dressing rooms. “We all had to go through the same thing.”

“Tell me about it, “ Rainbow Dash added, stepping out of her dressing room, wearing a smooth gown with distinct, fluorescent colors. “She tried to tie my mane into a bun.”

“It would have looked gorgeous!” Rarity replied, taking her attention away from Sunset.

Sunset fixed the neck of her dress with a hoof and stepped off the podium. “You know, I already had to deal with the Rarity back where I live. I’m pretty sure I look fine.”

Fluttershy stepped out of her dressing room as well, wearing a green dress with a flower wreath around her head. “Oh, I think she looks beautiful, Rarity.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” Sunset responded.

Rarity took one last look at Sunset before rolling her eyes and levitating her eyeglasses onto the table. “Oh, fine. I do suppose you look rather nice.”

Sunset turned to a mirror and inspected her dress. It was a deep shade of orange with gold accents. It covered half of her hooves, but didn’t run behind like the other dresses Rarity had made. It was more like a mini-skirt.

“How come this one ends so quickly at the back?” Sunset asked.

“Well, one, I only had a day or two to complete your dress,” Rarity answered. “But I also wanted to make a dress that matched your sense of style. Twilight tells us your a bit of a...what did she say? A ‘rebel, but in a good way’ I think.”

Sunset smiled at herself in the mirror.

“Now, if you don’t mind my asking, why exactly were you having such a hard time staying still?” Rarity asked.

Sunset suddenly remembered why she was here. It had slipped her mind a moment ago, but now it was back, and it terrified her.

“Well...it’s not exactly every day I return to my home world and my adoptive mother, who I treated so horribly that I can’t imagine she’d ever want to see me again,” Sunset said, her legs starting to wobble beneath her. “I still can’t believe Jake talked me into this.”

“Jake can be extremely persuasive. You know, he once convinced me to not only sponsor, but also lead a Filly Scout fundraiser. I was already gonna help, but I had no intention of being in charge of it,” Rainbow Dash said, putting a hoof around Sunset’s back.

“Jake just seems to bring out the best in all of us,” Applejack said, walking out of her dressing room, wearing a light red dress with her trademark hat.

Pinkie was the last to bound out of her dressing room with a baby blue, poofy dress. “That’s right! One time, when I was watching the Cake Twins and I thought I was in over my head, Jake told me to slow down and take my time, and it worked!”

Applejack rolled her eyes and looked back at Sunset. “Mah point is, Jake’ll probably be there with you, every step of the way. And Princess Celestia? You’ll be fine with her.”

Sunset smiled. “I’m glad you girls are as easy to get along with as my friends.”

“Well, from our understanding, they’re literally us,” Rarity responded.

“Come on, girls! Let us in!” Jake yelled through the foyer doors.

“Not yet, Jake. Not until Sunset gets here,” Twilight responded.

Twilight and Starlight had the doors locked, so Jake and Spike wouldn’t see them in their dresses until Sunset got to the castle.

“Come on, at least let me in,” Spike pleaded.

“No can do, Spike. Sunset’s your plus one, remember?” Starlight teased.

“Jake said it wasn’t a big deal!” Spike shouted back.

Twilight looked back to the front doors. “What is taking her so long?”

“Well, you know Rarity,” Starlight replied.

Jake banged on the door as hard as he could. “For crying out loud, we’re going to the Grand Galloping Gala, not getting married!”

Starlight turned to face the locked door again. “We know, but it’s still bad luck~”

Jake could be heard groaning on the other side of the door.

Suddenly, the castle doors opened, and Sunset came running through. “Sorry I’m late, Rarity just...Raritied.”

“Not a moment too soon. We’re not sure how much longer we could’ve held Jake and Spike in there,” Twilight said.

Starlight got a good look at Sunset’s dress. “Oh my gosh, Sunset, you look beautiful!”

Sunset blushed and looked at Starlight’s and Twilight’s dresses. Twilight wore a long, silky dress with purple sparkles that ran across it and a small, golden tiara. Starlight wore a shorter, frilly, light blue dress that had shining swirls running down it. “So do you two!”

“I can here Sunset over there! Can we come out now?” Jake yelled.

“Why exactly are you holding Jake and Spike back there?” Sunset asked.

“We wanted to wait until you got here, so he could see all three of us at once,” Twilight answered.

“Alright, Jake, on the count of three. One!” Starlight said.

“Two!” Twilight added.

Both Twilight and Starlight looked at Sunset expectantly.

“Three!” I could hear Sunset yell.

The door quickly opened, and I was struck with awe as I saw my three marefriends. They all looked amazing in their unique dresses.

“Wow, Jake, looking sharp,” Sunset complimented.

I blinked a few times as my senses returned to me. “You three look...a-amazing.”

I looked down at Spike, who seemed to be getting restless.

“Calm down, Spike. The sun hasn’t even gone down yet!” Starlight said.

“Sorry, I’m just really excited,” Spike answered.

“What’s got you all riled up? Last time, you weren’t nearly this excited,” Twilight asked.

Spike suddenly stopped moving. “I don’t know.”

The three mares all shared a giggle.

“Come on, let’s get going. It’s a long trip to Canterlot,” I reminded.

“Right, and the chariots I called for us aren’t gonna wait forever,” Twilight added.

“Wait, you called chariots for us?” Sunset asked.

“Well, I thought the trains would be packed tonight, so I reserved us some chariots,” Twilight answered. There was suddenly a loud whistle outside the castle. “That must be them, so let’s go.”

The five of us walked outside the castle, and, sure enough, there were two golden, close-topped chariots with two pegasi guards in front of each.

Our friends walked up to the castle as well, each in their own dress, staring at the chariots with surprise.

“What’s with these, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Surprise!” Twilight said in response. “Now, I’m pretty sure they can each hold up to five of us?” One of the guards nodded their head. “Right, so you five wanna take that one, and we’ll take this one?”

“Sounds good to me. Just don’t get carried away in there with the romance,” Applejack teased.

I couldn’t help but blush at Applejack’s statement.

“By the way, Rarity, you really out did yourself with these outfits,” Spike complimented.

Rarity simply waved a hoof in response. “Oh, think nothing of it. It’s what I do, after all.”

The five of them boarded their chariot and took off. One of the guards with our chariot gave a grunt. Twilight went to open the door with her magic, but I stopped her by putting my hand on the door first.

“Not so fast,” I said, opening the door myself. “M’ladies.”

The three of them giggled and started to board.

“Thanks, Jake,” Twilight said, giving me a smooch on the cheek as she got on.

“Thanks, Jake,” Starlight said, giving me a smooch on the exact same cheek as she got on.

Sunset rolled her eyes and said, “Thanks, Jake,” giving me, you guessed it, a smooch on the cheek as she got on.

Spike walked up to the chariot and attempted to jump on, but came up a little short.

I chuckled and helped him up.

“Thanks, Jake,” Spike said, but no, he didn’t give me a smooch on the cheek as he got on.

I got into the chariot myself and closed the door. We quickly started moving, throwing us a little off balance. We quickly sat down as to not fall anymore. I looked out the window and noticed we were already pretty high off the ground.

“None of you are afraid of heights, are you?” I asked.

The others looked at each other and shook their heads at me.

I took another look outside. “Wow, we’re moving pretty fast.”

Twilight walked up next to me and looked out the window as well. “You’re right. At this rate, we should be there in just a few minutes.”

I heard what sounded like a whimper coming from behind us. Twilight and I turned our heads to see where it was coming from. Sunset had her front hooves wrapped around her legs, and she looked like she was about to puke.

“You...okay, Sunset?” I asked.

“G-G-G-Great! J-Just...fine!” Sunset squeaked in reply.

I looked at Twilight and Starlight, coming to a silent agreement with the both of them. I went over to Sunset and wrapped an arm around her. Starlight did the same, and Twilight rested a hoof on her chest.

“We know you’re nervous about seeing Princess Celestia again, and we don’t blame you, Sunset,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, you have every right to be. But she’s not going to be mad at you,” Starlight added.

I put my hand under Sunset’s chin and moved her head, so she was now looking at me. “You have nothing to be afraid of. Princess Celestia really misses you. She’s going to be overjoyed to see you.”

Tears started to form in Sunset’s eyes. “But.......I just don’t know what to expect.”

“Don’t expect anything. Walk up to her, say what you want to say, and listen to what she has to say. Just take away whatever you gain from the experience, and don’t assume anything more,” I told her.

“Wow, that’s...really good advice,” Twilight admitted.

I chuckled at Twilight before turning my attention back to Sunset. “Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. I’ll even be right by your side if you need me.”

Sunset sniffed. “R-Really?”

I looked at Twilight and Starlight, silently asking for their approval. They both nodded, and I answered, “Of course I will.”

Out of nowhere, Spike cleared his throat. “Not to kill the moment, but...we’re here.”

We all looked toward Spike. Sure enough, he was standing next to an open door. We all separated and walked out the chariot door. As the pegasi took off, however, I could’ve sworn I heard one of them say, “He looks so weird.”

We were quickly joined by our friends. We all walked up to the front doors.

“You guys go on ahead. Sunset and I’ll catch up,” I said.

“Sure thing, Jake. We’ll save you a dance,” Starlight said with a wink.

“And good luck, Sunset,” Twilight added with a sincere tone.

With that, the eight of them walked into the ballroom.

Sunset stood in place, shaking. I could easily tell she was still scared. The sun had just gone down as our friends walked inside.

I knelt down next to Sunset. She had tears still running down her face. “I’m...so scared. I-I...I don’t think I can do this,” she said, barely above a whisper.

“It’s okay to be scared. But you’ll be fine. All you have to do is go in there and see Princess Celestia,” I said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I’ll be with you, every step of the way.”

Sunset sniffed again. “Thank you, Jake. You’re a really good boyfriend.”

I wrapped my arms around her in a deep, sincere hug until I felt her calm down. Once we separated, I asked her, “Are you ready to do this?”

Sunset took an extremely deep breath. So much so, that I thought she was gonna pass out. “As...I’ll ever be.”

With that, we finally walked through the looming doors of the ballroom. Inside, Twilight was having a conversation with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. She set eyes on us and whispered something to Princess Luna. Then, the two of them went into another room.

Princess Celestia bid them farewell and finally sat eyes on us, and on Sunset.

Hey, guys, bit of an intermission before you get to the big reunion scene. I really hope I did well enough for you guys. I was under so much pressure with this bit. Alright, here we go

Sunset looked at me, I nodded, and we slowly walked forward. Princess Celestia’s gaze remained on us, devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

Once we reached her, Sunset clenched her eyes shut and looked down. She didn’t say anything, but started hyperventilating. I knew I had to do something if this was gonna work.

So, I knelt down a put my hand on her. She looked at me with tears eyes. I looked back at her with a sincere look. “Just say what you gotta say.”

Sunset nodded and turned toward Princess Celestia as I stood back up. “I-I’m so, so, sorry!”

Princess Celestia blinked and looked down at Sunset.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you; I’m sorry I took what you were trying to teach me for granted; I’m sorry for doing forbidden research on the mirror; I’m...I’m sorry for running a-away; I’m s-sorry...f-for e-e-everything...” Sunset trailed off.

I couldn’t help but shed a tear at the scene unfolding before me.

Princess Celestia rested a hoof under Sunset’s chin. Sunset looked up with teary eyes. Princess Celestia began to tear up as well and smiled. “Oh, Sunset, all’s forgiven. I-I’m just glad you’re back.”

To my surprise, Sunset backed away a little. “W-W-What? Y-You...a-aren’t angry o-or upset at me?”

Princess Celestia shook her head. ”Of course not. Twilight’s told me all you’ve accomplished. Quite frankly, I’m surprised you didn’t walk in here with wings.”

“B-But...I was so horrible to you, a-and after everything y-you d-did for me. I-I thought you’d...” Sunset pleaded.

“What? Lock you away? Banish you for eternity? How could I? I’ve missed you, so, so much. W-When Jake told me you were coming, I-I could barely contain myself,” Princess Celestia cut off.

“But...I-I was sure I’d b-broken your...your heart,” Sunset said.

I wasn’t entirely sure why Sunset was trying to argue. Princess Celestia was welcoming her back with open arms. I guess she’d just forgotten my advice in the heat of the moment. I definitely would in her place.

“It’s true, you did, but it was just as much my fault as it was yours. I shouldn’t have tried to force you to make friends. I should have let you do things your way,” Princess Celestia replied.

“B-But I-I-I-“ Sunset started.

“Sunset, it’s okay,” I cut off myself. “She’s long gotten over it. You should do the same.” I knelt down and put a hand on her back. “Don’t expect anything, remember?”

Sunset looked at me and then Princess Celestia. And just like that, Sunset ran to Princess Celestia like a filly to her mother, and the two joined a deep hug, like a mother finally reunited with her long lost daughter.

I had pretty much lost control of my emotions right then. I did my best to hide it from the incoming ponies, but they just gave me puzzled looks.

Princess Celestia raised her head and smiled at me. “Thank you, Jake, for bringing my daughter back to me after so long.”

“N-No problem.” A few more ponies walked past me. “Ponies are starting to arrive. I-I’m gonna go inside.”

Sunset pulled away from the hug. “I-I’ll join you.” She then gave the princess one last hug.

“I’ll be out here for most of the night, but promise you’ll come see me before you leave again?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Of course! I wouldn’t dream of leaving without saying goodbye again,” Sunset replied. With that, she walked up to me, and we made our way inside.

Phew, that was not easy to do. I hope that was satisfactory enough for you guys. Either way, we’re not quite done yet

Sunset and I walked into the main ballroom and joined our friends. Twilight was quick to notice Sunset’s tears. “Did it not go well? I’m so-“

“No, it went...great, a lot better than I thought it would,” Sunset cut off.

“So...you two are good?” Starlight asked.

All Sunset could really do was nod while she tried to wipe the tears off her face.

“That’s great! We told there was nothing to worry about, darling,” Rarity cut in.

“Th-Thanks, guys. I couldn’t have done this without you.” Sunset turned towards me and added, “And thank you, Jake, for convincing me to do this.”

“No problem.” I heard a few other voices and saw the ballroom was starting to fill up. “I think we should get going here.”

“Good idea. I’m gonna go see if the Wonderbolts are here yet. See you guys later,” Rainbow Dash said, flying off.

Everyone said their goodbyes and went off in different directions. It was now just Twilight, Starlight, Sunset, and me.

“So, one of you girls wanna dance?” I asked, reaching out my hand.

“I’m still feeling a little emotional right now, but thanks. Maybe when I’m feeling a bit better,” Sunset said.

“Twilight, why don’t you take the first dance? I’ll stay with Sunset and keep an eye out for Sunburst,” Starlight added.

“Thanks,” Twilight said before turning to me. “So...”

I held out my hand, and Twilight held it with her hoof. Together, we went out to the dance floor.

“I’m not really sure how to do this,” Twilight mumbled.

“Umm, I’ll just-“

Twilight then stood up on her hind legs while holding onto me with her front hooves.

“Uh, sure, that works,” I said. I wrapped my hands around her waist. We took a step forward and a step back. Twilight struggled at first to keep her balance, but we quickly got the hang of it.

“I’m not sure if I’ve told you this yet, but you look beautiful,” I said.

Twilight blushed and looked away. “T-Thanks. You look handsome.”

I ran a hand up and down her back, earning a content hum from Twilight. I caught a whiff of her lavender perfume, and my mind went hazy at the scent.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you too,” Twilight replied.

We spent the next few minutes in silence while the music kept playing. I heard a few whispers around us, but kept my focus on Twilight.

Then, however, I heard one sentence in particular that caught my attention and couldn’t have been about anyone except for me: “He looks so weird.”

I suddenly became aware of what everyone around me was saying.

“I’m not sure it’s safe.”

“I can’t believe Princess Celestia allowed it inside.”

“I don’t know what that thing is, but keep him away from my children.”

“What is Princess Twilight doing dancing with it? I wouldn’t get within twenty feet of that thing.”

I felt thousands of eyes on me. All sound around me became nothing but a high pitched ring. My vision began to blur, and my body began to tremble and burn up.

“Jake, are you okay?” I barely heard Twilight ask.

“I-I...” I trailed off as more and more ponies whispered about me.

“It must be dangerous.”

That was it, the breaking point. I let go of Twilight as tears started to form in my eyes. I quickly wiped them away and said, “I’m s-sorry. I-I-I gotta g-go.”

I turned and walked toward the outside garden, doing my best to ignore the whispers, but I tripped over something. It was a waiter, holding drinks for guests. I had knocked him over too, and spilt the drinks. I could feel the sheer anger and judgement from the ponies watching me.

“I-I-I-I’m s-s-sorry,” I stuttered before finally getting out of there.

I crouched down and let my tears flow. I haven’t felt this way in four years. I felt judged. I felt misplaced.

I felt............unwelcome.

Author's Note

Hey guys,
So, how’d you like the reunion scene? I hope I did it justice. Also, what’d you think of the conflict I set up for Jake?

Will he ever feel welcome? What will his herd do to cheer him up? Can he even be cheered up? Find out next time on...nope, can’t do it, it’s just too cheesy

Bunch of Big News

Author's Note

Hey, guys
This was way harder to write than I thought. I know some of you may find this to be a bit of a let down after the last chapter, but I’ll explain anything necessary in the comments. I don’t know for sure what my next big project will be, but I’ll think of something

For now, though, just enjoy the chapter

P.S. I meant to get this out this morning, but I forgot, so...sorry about that

Going to the Gala Part 3: Promises

As Jake ran outside, Twilight was left in confusion. He said he had to go and...left. He did seem to bet distracted by something before he did though, the more she thought about it. The question was, what?

“Twilight, what was that? What’s going on with Jake?” Starlight asked, coming over with Sunset.

“I-I’m not sure. He just...left,” Twilight responded.

Sunset looked to the door Jake had just gone through. “Think we should we go after him?”

Both unicorns looked at Twilight for an answer. “Not quite yet. We should find out what’s wrong first.”

“Good idea,” Starlight agreed.

“So, split up and meet up when we have an answer?” Sunset asked.

“Sounds good,” Twilight said.

With that, the three mares went in different directions.

Starlight walked around the dance floor, looking for Spike. Other than Twilight, Spike knew Jake best, so he would likely know what was going on.

“He just looked so...weird. I can’t believe Princess Twilight was dancing with him,” said a nearby voice that made Starlight pause.

Starlight looked to where the voice was coming from and saw two mare earth ponies conversing.

“I know right. Those...things on his hooves were so dumb,” said the one with the dark blue coat.

“And his mane was so short, I could almost see his scalp,” replied the other one with a light yellow coat and a feathery hat.

Starlight nearly blasted the two to kingdom came, but wisely decided against it. Instead, she slowly, carefully levitated a nearby pepper shaker with her magic, unscrewed the lid, and poured the contents into the mares’ drinks.

The two went to take a sip, but when they tasted their drinks, they instantly spat it out and cried out in disgust.

Starlight walked away with a pretty satisfied smirk on her face.

After about five minutes of looking around, Sunset was getting nowhere. All she had managed to find was a tipped over flower vase, courtesy of her’s truly.

Luckily, after a while, she came across a waiter on the ground, his suit covered in wine.

“Here, let me help you up,” Sunset said, offering a hoof.

The waiter took it and stood up. “Thank you. I have no idea what that thing was, but it certainly needs a crash course in basic etiquette!”

Sunset didn’t quite let go of the water’s hoof. “E-Excuse me?”

“Some kind of animal wasn’t looking where it was going, and knocked me over,” the waiter explained, trying to get Sunset to let go.

“Animal?!” Sunset let go, only to grab onto the waiter’s suit with a scowl. “For your information, that was my boyfriend!”

The waiter tried to respond, but it just came out as shaky mumbling.

Before Sunset could do anything to actually hurt the waiter, she remember where she was. She let go and gave the waiter a shove, and mumbled, “You’re not worth it.”

Sunset walked off with a bit of a scowl.

“Princess Celestia, Jake just ran out of the ballroom in a panic. Do you have any idea why?” Twilight asked as she approached her former mentor.

The aforementioned princess was currently talking with a pegasus noble with a white coat.

“As a matter of fact, Twilight, I think I do. This here is Mist,” Princess Celestia introduced, though she had a small scowl on her face.

“Ah, Princess Twilight, I was hoping to speak to you,” Mist said with a heavy accent.

“Umm, what about?” Twilight asked.

“That...creature you were dancing with. That was highly uncouth of you,” Mist said in an extremely condescending tone.

Twilight, taken highly aback, grit her teeth and asked, “P-Pardon?”

“It looked like a griffon with no wings or feathers. I don’t know anypony who would even entertain the thought of even speaking with such a creature, let alone dance with one.” Mist turned his gaze to Princess Celestia and added, “Or invite one to the Grand Galloping Gala.”

With a deep breath to suppress her anger, Princess Celestia asked, “Does that answer your question, Twilight?”

Twilight, with her eyes closed, nodded. She then walked up to Mist, opened her eyes, and asked, “Say, Mist, what is it you do for a living?”

“Air patrol, obviously,” Mist scoffed.

“So...you do a lot of flying?” Twilight asked, her horn aglow.

“Y-Yes, I do. Why is it you ask?” Mist asked.

Instead of answering verbally, Twilight picked up Mist in her magic, and threw him across the room, into a large cake.

Twilight turned to Princess Celestia and said, “I’m sorry. I should probably go apologize to him before I leave.”

Before Twilight could walk away, Princess Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder. “He is one of the most annoying, condescending nobles in Canterlot. Tell me, Twilight, how good did it feel to do that?”

Twilight, taken by surprise, couldn’t help but blush. “Honestly, really good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find Jake.”

“Of course, and tell him he has my sincerest apologies,” Princess Celestia replied as Twilight ran off.

A few minutes later, Twilight, Starlight, and Sunset all ran toward each other as soon as they saw each other.

“I think I know what’s going on,” they all said in unison.

“Wait, one at a time,” Twilight said.

The three of them paused before they all spoke again at once. “Jake feels unwelcome here.”

They all groaned, also in unison.

Starlight looked to Twilight. “Has anything like this ever happened with Jake before?”

“Yeah, you’ve known him the longest,” Sunset added.

“Well...” Twilight replied. “There was this one time, but...”

“What? What happened?” Starlight asked, getting anxious.

“It was almost four years ago, just a little after Jake and I first met. Spike had warmed up to him pretty quick but...” Twilight trailed off.

“But what? Twilight, we need to know what’s going if we’re gonna be able to help Jake,” Sunset said.

“My friends...didn’t exactly trust him right away,” Twilight finally admitted.

“What? I thought you’ve all been friends for years,” Starlight countered.

“And my friends got along with him just fine,” Sunset added.

“Well...Jake himself was really different back then. He was closed off...secluded,” Twilight explained, much to Starlight’s and Sunset’s shock. “Still though, he took it personally. Eventually, my friends, and most of Ponyville for that matter saw he wasn’t much different from them. That was when he started to really become friendly.”

“So when he heard everypony here saying those horrible things about him, they must have made some bad memories resurface,” Sunset concluded.

“Seems like it,” Twilight agreed.

“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go talk to him,” Sunset said, walking toward the door Jake had ran out of.

“Hold on, Sunset. Jake’s...stubborn when it comes to dealing with things,” Twilight said, stepping in front of Sunset.

“Yeah, I remember. He doesn’t like others trying to help him deal with his issues,” Starlight agreed.

“Girls, I’ve been where Jake is now. There’s no way he can work through this on his own,” Sunset countered, trying to get passed Twilight.

“I know, but Jake...” Twilight sighed. “He thinks he’s insignificant.”

“What?!” Sunset nearly shouted. “That’s ridiculous. ‘Insignificant’ is the last thing I’d call him!”

“I know, and I get it. But...how can I put this?” Twilight responded. “Most of the time, Jake thinks too much about others and too little of himself. He puts other in front of him, which is good, but he never thinks about himself.”

“But we can’t just leave him out there,” Sunset pleaded.

“I know, but it’s not like we can do anything. Jake’ll just tell you to forget about him and have a good time without him,” Starlight countered.

“Then what do we do, just let him suffer out there?” Sunset asked. “It’s just not fair. He always does his best to help others around him, but there’s nothing we can do to help him? We have to do something.”

Twilight and Starlight looked at each other, realizing Sunset had a point.

“He’s such a good boyfriend, but we never show him how much we love him,” Twilight admitted.

“He always knows what to say and do to make us feel better when we’re feeling down, but now that he’s feeling down...we don’t know what to do,” Starlight agreed.

The two of them looked back at Sunset.

“You’re completely right, Sunset. We have to do something to help Jake,” Twilight finally said.

I was sitting in Canterlot’s garden. Usually, I’d highly admire it’s natural beauty, but I couldn’t right now.

The things those ponies said...I thought I was finally past this. I thought ponies didn’t mind my appearance. I thought...I was welcome in Equestria.

Then again, it’s not like that was the first time that’s ever happened.

The other kids from my old school:

”Jakey’s an orphan~
Jakey’s an orphan~”

My first few guardians before I went to my first orphanage:

”Oh my God, Jake, I get it; your parents died. But that was five years ago! Get over it already!”

Even here in Equestria a few years back:

”Ah don’t know, Twilight. He’s just gotta be hidin’ somethin’.”

“Yeah, and he eats meat too. Meat, Twilight!”

I don’t know why I was so surprised at those ponies.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a snapping twig. I looked over to where the noise came from and wiped my eyes. Twilight, Starlight, and Sunset were all standing in front of me.

“W-What do you girls want?” I asked, trying my best not to sound rude.

“We heard what those ponies in there said, and we’re sorry,” Twilight said, walking up next to to me.

I scooted away a little and replied, “What are you sorry for. It’s not like you can do anything about it.”

“Because we love you, Jake. And we can’t stand to see you get hurt like that,” Starlight answered.

“And you’re right, we can’t change their minds, but that doesn’t matter to us or your friends,” Sunset added.

Once again, I turned away from the three mares. “Look, don’t worry about me. Just go have fun.”

Starlight and Twilight stayed silent, but Sunset marched in front of me. I tried to turn away again, but she didn’t let me.

“No,” Sunset declared.

“No?” I repeated.

“No, I can’t have fun while you’re out here sulking,” Sunset explained.

I ran a hand down Sunset’s cheek. “Look, Sunset, I appreciate-“

“No! I’m not letting you stay out here like this. I couldn’t call myself your girlfriend if I just dismissed your problems!” Sunset interrupted.

“Sunset, really, it’s okay,” I said.

Sunset put both of her hooves on my shoulders. “No it’s not! You’re always the one who’s there for us! For once in your life, let us help you. You’re one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. I can’t just let you get hurt and do nothing about it. Not after all you’ve done for me!”

“W-What do you mean ‘all I’ve done for you’?” I asked.

“Wha-What do I mean?! How about reuniting me with my surrogate mother?!” Sunset suggested.

“Or being my friend when I thought I wasn’t good enough for that,” Starlight added.

“Or standing up to my parents for me, even after they treated you so horribly,” Twilight added as well.

I felt more tears roll down my face as I looked at my three marefriends. I tried to say something, but I was speechless.

“The truth is, Jake...we don’t deserve you. You’ve always been there for us, and we’ve never been able to make it up to you,” Sunset stated.

“And yet you ask nothing in return, and love us anyway. We don’t care if you look different. If anything, we love that about you too,” Twilight agreed.

“Those ponies in there may not like the way you look, but who cares? You’re nicer, smarter, and way more considerate than any of them combined. We’re lucky to have someone like you as our boyfriend,” Starlight added.

I looked at my herd. There were tears running down their faces as well.

“Please, Jake, let us try to make all of that up to you. Let us make you feel better,” Twilight pleaded.

That was all it took. I embraced the three of them in one, big hug. I let all of my emotions run free as they returned the hug. “You don’t have to.”

Twilight pulled away and looked into my eyes. “Jake, seriously-“

“Because you already have. You think you don’t deserve me? You think you don’t make up in return how much I love you? You do, just by being here. The truth is...you three let me know just how much you love me everyday, just by being with me, and I could never ask you to do anything more,” I lamented.

The three of us embraced once again, and we stayed out in the garden for the rest of the night, crying, laughing, and loving each other.

It was two days later, and we were back at Twilight’s castle.

Sunset had just said her goodbyes to Princess Celestial and was going back to her world today, and I was seeing her off.

“Tell them all I said ‘hi’,” I told her before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“I will, but before I go, I want you to make me a promise,” Sunset responded.

“Anything,” I said.

Sunset took one of my hands in her hooves and looked my in the eyes. “Promise me that, whenever you feel down, let your friends help you. Don’t tell them they’re above helping you. Let them try to cheer you up. Do it for me, okay?”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Sunset kissed me on the cheek and walked through the portal, giving me one last wink before walking through.

“I will, Sunset Shimmer,” I said, doubting she could actually hear me.

I walked out into the hall and found Twilight and Starlight in the library, going through a friendship lesson.

“Sorry if I’m interrupting anything,” I said.

“It’s fine, Jake. What’s going on?” Twilight asked.

“I just wanted to say...thank you, for loving me,” I said.

The two of them smiled.

“I’ll get out of your way now,” I said, leaving the library.

“Jake wait!” Starlight called.

I walked back into the library. “Yeah?”

“We want to give you this,” Twilight said, levitating a necklace toward me with her magic.

I took the necklace in my hands and saw it was actually a locket. I opened it and saw three pictures: one of Twilight, one of Starlight, and one of Sunset. They were all smiling, and I could see their love for me in their eyes.

I felt my emotions getting the best of me again, so I put the locket around my neck, looked at the two mares, and said, “I’ll never take it off.”

Bro to Bro Advice

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

A true family

Bro to Bro Advice

“Hey, Jake? Can I ask you something?” Spike asked, peeking his head into my room.

“Sure, Spike, what is-Ow!” I said, regretting turning my head. There was a huge crick in my neck that kept me from turning my head more than seventy-five degrees to the right.

Spike quickly rushed over to me and hopped up onto my bed. “Are you alright?” he asked, placing a claw on my neck.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just slept a little weird,” I responded. “So what did you want to ask me?”

Spike had a bit of an embarrassed look on his face as he looked down at his claws.

“Come on, you can tell me. We’re like brothers,” I said, giving him a gentle nudge with my elbow.

“I know, it’s just...I-I don’t know who else to turn to,” Spike said, not able to look at me.

“Whatever it is, I swear I won’t judge you in any way, shape or form,” I promised.

Spike still couldn’t look at me and nearly left even, but eventually looked me in the eye and said, “Hearts and Hooves Day is coming up...”

’There you go, buddy’

“...No! I can’t do this!” Spike yelled, running out of my room.

’Nevermind’

I got up, winced a little due to the pain in my neck, and followed him out.

“Spike, wait! Just tell me! It can’t be that bad,” I pleaded.

Spike turned around...and around...and around...until he finally said, “Fine! But can we go back in your room please?”

“Sure, whatever makes this easier for you,” I said, leading Spike back to my room.

Once we were there, I pulled up a chair for Spike to sit on, myself sitting on a different one to face him.

“So? What’s goin’ on, bro?” I asked, hoping to make Spike feel a bit more comfortable.

It he was, he didn’t show it. His face turned a deep shade of red as he bit his lip. After a few second, he quickly yelled, “I have a crush on Rarity!”

My expression didn’t change.

“W-What? Why are you looking at me like that? I just told you that I have a crush on Rarity,” Spike repeated.

“Spike.........I know,” I told him.

“You know?” he reiterated.

“E-Everyone knows. It’s kinda obvious, no offense. In fact, I’m pretty sure the only one who doesn’t know is Rarity.”

Spike sighed. “Sorry for waisting your time,” he said as he started to get up.

“Spike, sit down,” I told him before he got too far. “I know you didn’t just come in here to tell me that you like Rarity. What else is going on? You said something about Hearts and Hooves Day coming up, didn’t you?”

Spike’s face grew hotter and hotter as he struggled to look at me. “Y-Yeah, I-I wanted...I w-wanted...I wanted to ask her out f-for Hearts and Hooves Day...l-like a-as a date.”

“Okay. So why did you come to me?” I asked.

“B-Because you have three marefriends. Well, technically you have two marefriends and a girlfriend, but you know what I mean. I just thought...you’d have some sort of advice you could give me,” Spike admitted.

I couldn’t help but blush a little at Spike’s praise, but there is one thing I should probably tell him.

“Spike, just because I have three marefriends, that doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing.”

Spike’s shoulders drooped a little. “Th-That makes sense. Sorry for bothering-“

“Ep ep ep, that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna help you,” I said.

“R-Really?” Spike asked.

I shrugged. “Yeah. Like I said, you’re like a brother to me. Now, let’s see what we can do to help you. What is stopping you from asking Rarity on a date.”

“Well...I’m not sure how to ask her. A-And I’m afraid she might say no,” Spike stammered.

“Alright, those are fair reasons to worry. For your second problem, you can’t be afraid of being rejected,” I told him.

“B-But what if she says no and thinks it’ll be too weird for us to be friends after?” Spike asked, clearly having thought about this for a while.

I stood up and walked around to the back of Spike. “Well, imagine this. You never ask Rarity out on a date or even tell her how you feel, but you’re always crippled with wondering what would’ve happened if you did. You’d be second guessing everything.”

“I-I guess that makes sense,” Spike admitted.

“Good. Now think about this. You tell Rarity how you feel, but she rejects you. In fact, she doesn’t want to have anything to do with you ever again. You’re devastated...but you now know at least how to admit your feelings to someone you like, and aren’t as afraid of doing it again.”

Spike looked like he wanted to say something doubtful, but I spoke again before he could.

“Now, imagine this,” I said, putting my hands on his shoulders. “You tell Rarity how you feel. She’s a little shocked at first, but she hears you out. She thinks about all the time she’s known you and all the time you’ve spent together, and slowly realizes...she loves you too.”

Even though I couldn’t see his face, I knew Spike was smiling. He clearly liked what he was hearing. I knew he was just thinking about being with Rarity with all the joy in the world.

“How does that sound, buddy?” I asked, rousing him from his daydream.

“G-Good,” he stuttered.

I started applying a little pressure to his shoulders with my hands to start massaging him. “Now, close your eyes and think. Think about why you like-no, why you love Rarity, and tell me.”

I could feel Spike’s head dip a little to the side as I kept massaging him.

“W-Well, what’s not to like? She has an amazing personality, her voice is as sweet as harmony itself...she has the biggest heart in Equestria, she...she’s beautiful...I could go on forever.”

“Alright, now what I want you to do is open your eyes. When you do, you’re going to go over to Carousel Boutique, and tell Rarity everything you just told me. I can’t tell you how she’ll respond, but I promise it’ll be better than keeping it to yourself.”

Spike took a deep breath as I slowly moved my hands away from his shoulders. “You know what? You’re right, Jake. I’m gonna go tell her right now.”

“Now that’s more like it. You go, bro. I’ll be behind you all the way,” I said, patting him on the back.

“Actually, if it’s not too much to ask, I was hoping I could maybe do this...alone,” Spike said, moving away from my hand.

“Alright, that’s fine,” I replied as he left the room. A few seconds after he did, I said to myself, “Yeah, like that’s happening.”

I followed Spike to Carousel Boutique, somehow without him noticing me, and was currently trying to listen in on what he was saying to Rarity. A had my ear propped up to the door, and my hand over the other ear. I knew this was wrong, but I wanted to see if my advice would actually work.

After a few minutes, I heard rapid footsteps coming toward the door. I quickly got out of the way as the door opened, and Spike ran out, a claw over his eyes. I couldn’t really hear anything that was said and thought about going after Spike to help him, but instead went inside to hopefully avoid an outburst.

“Anyhow, Spike, what was it you wanted to ask me?” Rarity asked as she folded up some fabric.

“Umm, Spike just left,” I said.

Rarity snapped her head over to me in surprise. “Jake?! But I was just talking to Spike a moment ago. Where is he?”

“He ummm...he just ran outside,” I replied. “W-What exactly did he say to you?”

Rarity walked up beside me and looked in the direction Spike had just gone. “He just came in and said he had something he wanted to talk about if I were free. I told him I was, and even said I would always have a moment for him, having been one of the best friends I could ask for.”

“Friendzoned, poor little guy,” I said to myself.

“W-What?” Rarity asked.

I mentally slapped myself for having said that out loud. “N-Nothing.”

“No, I heard exactly what you said. I meant, what do you mean by that?” Rarity explained.

“Umm...I feel a little bad saying...” I stopped, coming up with a bit of a plan. “I feel like there’s something you should know.”

Rarity burst into the library, startling Twilight and Starlight.

“Have either of you seen Spike? It’s very important that I speak to him,” Rarity asked.

“No, he’s in his room if anything,” Twilight answered, catching her breath.

“Good, sorry for interrupting,” Rarity said, running toward Spike’s room. On the way, she couldn’t help but wonder how she’d missed everything.

Once she reached the dragon’s room, she composed herself and opened the door. Inside, Spike was on his bed, his face buried in his pillows.

“S-Spike?”

The aforementioned dragon quickly wiped his eyes and face the alabaster unicorn as best he could.

“We need to talk,” Rarity said.

“S-Sure, make yourself comfortable,” Spike replied, making room on his bed for her.

Slowly, Rarity went over to Spike’s bed a sat down. “Why exactly did you come to my boutique?”

Spike’s face immediately turned a deep red as he turned away. “I-I-I...”

Rarity put her hoof on his cheek and moved his face to look at her. “Spike...Jake told me.”

Spike blinked, not showing any clear emotion. “H-He did?”

All Rarity could do was nod and say, “Y-Yes. He told me...everything.”

Spike dejectedly lay back down on his bed. “So you know.”

“I-I do,” was all Rarity could say. Before long though, she used a hoof to roll him over. “Spike, I am so sorry. I don’t know how I missed all the signs, everything you’ve done for me, all the times you looked as if you were distracted when we were together.”

Spike rolled back over and didn’t say anything.

“Please, Spike, listen to me. For so long, I’ve been worried that I would never find love, not knowing it was right in front of me,” Rarity pleaded, moving closer to Spike.

“W-What are you saying?”

“What I’m saying is...I’ve been chasing after all of these stallions who aren’t right for me...and neglecting to look at the one who is really for me,” Rarity said, her muzzle just a few inches from Spike.

Spike looked up just in time for Rarity to plant her soft, white lips onto Spike’s, releasing years and years of desire and heartache within the dragon. Once the kiss broke, Spike found himself wanting more.

“W-Wow,” he said.

“Spike, listen to me. I am so sorry that I haven’t taken the time to consider what you’ve meant to me, and I’m sorry I never bothered to slow down and look in front of me, but I want to make up for that,” Rarity told him.

“W-What do you mean?” Spike asked.

Rarity lay completely down in front of Spike. “I want you to say everything you’ve ever wanted to say to me, all while showing me how much you treasure me, so I can know and fully understand what I’ve been so blind to.”

Just like that, Spike quickly wrapped his arms around Rarity, slowly laying down with her. “I’ve loved you since the day we met, and I’ll love you until the day I die. Your generous heart, your wonderful, gleaming eyes, your wonderful voice, everything about you is beautiful. Any stallion would be beyond lucky to have you, even if they take you for granted. Nopony will ever make me feel the way you make me feel.”

Rarity felt tears forming in her eyes as Spike continued to speak his heart, knowing she felt the same way about him. After Spike had finished, Rarity held him closer and closer in her hooves.

“Oh, Spikey, I...I don’t know what to say,” Rarity said through her tears.

“I do,” Spike responded. When Rarity looked at him, he told her, “I love you.”

“Spike!” Rarity cried, tears flowing without limit. “I love you too! Please, I don’t want to leave you, now or ever. Treasure me like you’ve always treasured me.”

All Spike had to do was wrap his arms further around the mare of his dreams.

The next morning, the crick in my neck had only gotten worse. I tried forcing my head to the right, and while that helped a little, it didn’t quite do the trick.

But all of the sudden, I felt a pairs of hands, or more accurately, claws on the sides of my head and twist it until the crick went away.

“Ow! Thanks, Spike,” I said in pain.

“No problem, bro. And thank you...for your help with Rarity,” Spike replied.

“Don’t mention it. So I take it things went well between you two?” I asked.

Spike’s head turned the same shade of red it did yesterday. “Well? More like great!”

I nodded in approval. “I’m happy for you, bro.”

Author's Note

As much as I like Sparlight, she’s taken, so I had to go with the next best thing. After all, I can always settle for a good bit of Sparity every now and then. Though I gotta admit, Rarity’s name is a huge pain in the neck to type over and over.

Anyhow, it’s strange to see no one wanting to write a chapter for this story. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s 1,000+ words and has something to do with Jake Taylor.

Time for a Wedding Part 1: Disagreements

Four's a Herd, Five's a Crowd (by Bumblebeau)

“Where is that Carriage? I'm going to be late!” a panicked Twilight said while triple checking her bags for the upteenth time to make sure she didn’t forget anything.

Twilight had an important Summit to attend in Canterlot today, and pretty much every delegate from Saddle Arabia to Manehattan was gong to be there. She was waiting for a private carriage to pick her up at the butt-crack of dawn and escort her directly there.

“It will be here any minute Twi,” I tried to assure her while placing my hand on her saddlebags. “And I’m pretty sure you’re prepared for this meeting and the next.”

Unfortunately my efforts seemed fruitless as her ears perked up with anxiety.

“What if I fall asleep at the meeting?! I NEED TO PACK COFFEE!!!!”

She rushed towards the kitchen but stopped midway.

“But what if that gives me coffee breath and everypony smells it?! I NEED MY TOOTHBRUSH!!!!”

Now she was headed towards her bathroom but again stopped.

“What if the water system is under construction and we can’t get clean water?! WATERBOTTLE!!!!!”

I caught her as she flew towards the kitchen again.

“Woah woah, calm down Twilight, you’re over-preparing again.”

She struggled a bit in my arms before finally taking a deep breath. Once I was sure she wouldn’t literally fly out of my arms, I set her down so she was resting on her haunches, and I started scratching behind her ear.

“I’m sorry this is just a huge meeting for me, historical even,” she said while showing calm anxiety. “We’re going to discuss how we should handle the Changlings now that they don’t serve Chrysalis anymore. This is a big moment for everypony, for all of Equestria!”

“I’m so happy for you Twi, this is such a great opportunity for you, this will definitely put your name in the history books, if it wasn’t already.”

She gave a small smile before looking away sadly.

“What if I mess up? What if I say something wrong, or I choke on my words, or...”

I stopped scratching her ear and placed my hands on both her soft cheeks and wiped a tear away with my thumb. I gently forced her to make eye contact with me again.

“Twilight, it will be fine,” I said in the softest voice I could manage. “Celestia, Luna, and Cadence will be there too, and even if they weren’t, I’d believe you would do great all the same. Remember the Grand Equestria Pony Summit? You were able to organize it for three days straight, without any rest in between. I can’t imagine having that much strength or dedication to do that. I’m so proud of you Twilight, and I know you’ll do great.”

True, I wasn’t actually there at the last summit, I was away on my travels, a decision I still regret to this day. I had heard about it when we last met with Cadence for some tea; she also brought up the trouble that “Princess Spike” got into at the time as well. I’d teased him about it relentlessly for days.

Twilight gave me a soft smile as another tear dropped down her cheek. She then put both her forelegs behind me and nuzzled the side of my neck. I felt her tear go down my shoulder.

“I love you, Jake,” she said in a soft voice.

I placed my arms around her in a gentle but firm hug, my fingers being tickled as I caress her fur.

“I love you too, Twilight.”

As we were enjoying each other’s presence, time just seemed to stop, with no other sounds then our breaths and heartbeats.

“Are you going to be okay by yourself?” Twilight asked me while rubbing behind my neck.

Starlight had made plans to hang out with her childhood friend Sunburst today, and Sunset made plans with her friends in their world after school today. Rarity needed Spike’s help with gathering gems, and he left so quickly he didn’t even have time to make breakfast. And the rest of Twilight’s friends have their own plans and responsibilities to do today, so they didn’t have time to hang out hang.

Twilight’s meeting may take up the entire day, meaning I could have the whole place to myself until this evening.

“I’ll be fine; it will be nice to have some peace and quiet for once.”

“I wish you could come too.”

“Me too, but somebody needs to watch the castle while you’re away, especially with literally everypony else too busy to come on by.”

Twilight continued to look at me with her beautiful amethyst eyes.

“Why does it have to be Starlight’s turn to cuddle tonight? I just know I’m going to be so stressed out.”

“Well hey, here’s the deal,” I replied as I break the hug to make eye contact with her. “If you can make it through the entire meeting on your own, we can spend the whole day tomorrow snuggling the stress out of you.” I ended the sentence by booping her on the nose.

She gave a small snorting giggle. “I would love that,” she said while continuing our staring contest. Placing my hand behind her head, my fingers gliding through her mane, I pulled her in for a passionate kiss. As our lips pressed against each other, time just seemed to once again come to a halt.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

The sudden noise startled us both as it broke our trance and snapped us back to reality.

“Princess Twilight? Your carriage is here!” we heard from outside the castle doors.

“Looks like its time for me to go,” Twilight said while sounding disappointed. I felt the same.

I grabbed her saddlebags and placed it on her back. We gave each other one last small kiss before she left.

“Bye, Jake, see you tonight!”

“Bye, Twily! Show those big wigs who’s boss!”

Twilight gave me a glance back before finally disappearing behind the castle doors.

Now time for some breakfast.

After a few failed attempts at making pancakes, I decided to just have some eggs and toast. Spike makes it seem so easy.

As much as I loved each of my marefriends, even I needed a little time to myself. So today, after breakfast, I planned to have a peaceful afternoon reading the latest Daring Do. Now that I have poured myself a cup of coffee my peaceful day can...

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

...be interrupted by someone else banging at the front doors. Needless to say, I was not expecting any company today.

It couldn’t have been Twilight or the others, it hasn’t even been half-an-hour since she left. I soon got my answer after another set of loud knocks echoed throughout the castle.

“Jake Taylor! The Great, and Powerful Trixie demands your audience this instant!”

It was too early in the morning for a pony this loud. Maybe if I’m quiet she’ll think I’m not home.

“I know you are there Jake Taylor! Princess Twilight’s assistant the Small and Feeble.... um, Spit the Dragon has informed Trixie that you would be home today!”

Danggit Spike! I really didn’t want company today, but knowing Trixie she would not stop until I at least speak to her. So much for a quiet day.

I approached the doors right when another set of knocks rang in my ears. “I’m here Trixie! What do you want?” I spoke with the doors closed, hoping this would be a quick conversation. Looking back I was way too optimistic, or maybe just too tired to think straight.

“The Great, and Powerful Trixie demands to speak to you face-to-face! She has a matter of great importance to discuss with you!”

“Uggh, fine, hold on a sec!”

After letting out a silent curse under my breath, I unlocked the doors to let in the Loud and Intrusive Trixie.

“Alright Trixie what do you-”

POOF!

Suddenly, a large puff of smoke appeared, some of it entering my lungs, causing me to cough.

“COUGH! COUGH! Trixie! What was that for?!”

Amidst my shouting and coughing, I heard another set of coughs, supposedly from my unexpected guest.

“The Great, *COUGH COUGH* and Powerful Trixie must always make a grand entrance, especially since she has a matter of great importance, which is sure to benefit the both of us wondrously!”

She entered the castle before I could even ask what she was talking about. “Why don’t you come in?” I said with fatigued sarcasm. It was too early in the morning for me to deal with whatever this pony had planned, and I haven’t even had my coffee yet.

I can get along with Trixie just fine, but now was not a good time.

“Why thank you, Jake Taylor, you truly know how to make a mare feel welcome!” she said while eating my eggs and toast. I grabbed my coffee and took a sip before she could even think of taking that too.

“So what is it that was so important you had to come by this early?”

Trixie scowls at my question while eyeing my coffee mug. “Not even going to offer a drink to the Great-”

“Trixie! It is eight in the morning! I just now had some coffee, and you just ate the last of our eggs! Can you please just tell me what you need?”

Trixie recoils a bit at my outburst, but soon recomposes herself and clears her throat.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has graced this castle with her presence in order to finally accept her place as part of Jake Taylor’s Herd!”

“......What?”

“I have decided to become your marefriend, and allow you to give me some cuddles and kisses just like you do with Princess Twilight and Starlight Glimmer!”

I took another sip of coffee so that I could be more awake for what was undoubtedly going to be a long conversation.

“You may begin your duties Jake Taylor! Trixie thinks you should start by carrying her upstairs and give her some cuddles, and if you are satisfactory enough, I shall allow you to-”

“Listen Trixie, I’m sorry to say this, but although I do think of you as a good friend...” when she’s not intruding on people’s homes and stealing their breakfast “...I’m afraid I don’t see us as being anything more than that. I’m sorry Trixie.”

Trixie just looked at me with an offensive stance. “But why not?! Didn’t you include Twilight Sparkle in your herd just because you felt sorry for her?”

I got a little mad at her statement, but I let it go. “It’s a bit more than that. Twilight and I, along with Starlight, have a deep connection with each other. And without that connection, I cannot accept anypony into my herd.”

Trixie huffed her breath and continued her tirade. “I do not need your ‘connection.’ I only require you to give me cuddles and smooches, along with the occasional kind affectionate words of encouragement. You don’t need a ‘special connection’ to provide that do you?”

I got a bit upset at her statement. “Trixie! I am not some piece of meat! I only do those things for mares that I have a special connection with, like I do with Twilight, Starlight, and Sunset. If there’s no spark between us, I cannot wholeheartedly do anything even remotely close to what you want!”

Trixie is silent for a bit, with her hat covering her eyes.

“I see... The Great and Powerful Trixie realizes that her time is wasted here, Jake Taylor. I shall take my leave and perhaps find a herd of my own, one that knows to serve scrambled eggs instead of over easy!”

Trixie got up from the table and pushed away her cape as she made her way to the castle doors.

I considered just letting her go, but a small voice in my head was nagging me to figure something out.

“Trixie wait!”

Trixie stopped in her place, but didn’t look my way.

“Why did you even want to be part of the herd if you don’t feel anything for me?”

After a few moments, Trixie finally broke the silence.

“Every time Starlight Glimmer is with Trixie, she speaks very highly of you, Jake Taylor. She speaks of how you accepted her, despite her terrible past, how you give her confidence and comfort when she feels like she’s the last pony in Equestria that deserves it.” She paused for a moment before speaking again. “How you make her feel like no matter what happens in her life, she is never alone.”

The atmosphere in the room started to feel heavy and cold.

“I just wanted to experience it for myself because I have not been as..... greatly praised as I deserve to be.”

“But whenever I go to your shows with Starlight, I see lots of ponies cheering you on; they really do enjoy your performances.”

Trixie just blew a sour raspberry at my statement.

“They are only fans who just want to see me disappear from boxes and get eaten by Manticores. They don’t care who I am outside of the show. And once they have their fun they just leave and I am left behind, alone.... with nopony to share in my great and powerfulness.”

“But Trixie you’re not alone, doesn’t Starlight help you out during your shows? I’m sure she lets you know how much of a good friend you are to her.”

“IT’S NOT THE SAME!” Trixie’s yell echoed throughout the entire room.

After some moment of silence, Trixie finally recomposed herself and spoke again.

“I am glad to have Starlight Glimmer in my life, and I appreciate her words of encouragement, but there are some things that can only be said by a special somepony, or maybe even..... a boyfriend.”

I suddenly became cautious about what her next set of words will be.

“I just want to see what it is like to have somepony who cares for me. I am so tired of going to bed every night and waking up every morning knowing I won’t have anypony to share my life with. How did Starlight end up with multiple special someponies when I can’t even find one?!”

I considered correcting the fact that Starlight is only dating me, not Twilight or Sunset, but something told me that wouldn’t be the best thing to say right now.

Trixie finally turned her head around and made eye contact with me. Her eyes were flooding with tears as she removed her hat and gave the saddest puppy dog face I’d ever seen her make.

“Jake Taylor, after hearing how miserable I am, can you honestly say you don’t want to help me? Can’t we just be together for now and see if we get this ‘special connection’ thing later? Please?”

She gave me a look that was both sad and hopeful. Honestly this conversation was starting to remind me of when Sunset and I first met, and she told me about her problems. But unlike with Sunset, I didn’t feel anything for Trixie. No spark, no connection, no attraction, nothing that made me even want to consider pursuing whatever feelings that may or may not be there. A lump in my throat formed as I knew what I had to say next.

“Of course I want to help you, Trixie, but I don’t see us as being anything more than just friends. I’m sorry Trixie, but I don’t love you. And I cannot accept anyone in my herd I don’t love.”

The look on Trixie’s face made me feel her crushed hopes. Her bottom lip was quivering violently as she did everything she could to hold back tears. But her fight was in vain as she completely covered her face with her hat. She immediately turned away from me and headed for the nearest chair where she curled into a ball and started crying.

I felt bad for what I did, but deep down I knew that I couldn’t let Trixie, or any mare for that matter, have hope for a relationship that wouldn’t happen.

After several minutes of crying she was finally able to speak in comprehensive words.

“Maybe the reason why I can’t find anypony is because I'm supposed to be alone and loveless.”

“Don’t say that Trixie, everyone deserves to feel loved and cherished, and you won’t be alone forever,” I said as I approached Trixie and got to eye level with her.

“What gives you the right to tell me this?! You have your own herd to not let you feel lonely.”

“Trixie, I don’t know what the future holds for any of us. But I do know that before I came to Equestria, I felt nothing but lonely after my parents died. I had nobody who wanted to comfort me or even try to understand what I was going through. And after 27 years of my life, I finally ended up with not one, but three of the best marefriends anyone could ask for. And every single one of them was worth the wait!”

Trixie’s looks away from me. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” she said without hiding the skepticism in her voice.

“What I’m saying is that you just need to be patient; give it time and you will find somepony who will make all the pain and loneliness you feel into something wonderful. Until then, just focus on your own goals and continue making yourself Great and Powerful, so when you do meet them, you’ll be able to give it your all, and create the ultimate love story.”

“How am I supposed to know when I found my special somepony?”

“Because they will be somepony who will see you as everything you are, good and bad, and won’t see you as anything short of special. They will see endless potential in you, and you will start to see yourself as somepony special in their eyes, somepony who matters. Because you, Trixie Lulamoon, are a mare worth waiting for, and they won’t let you believe you are anything less.”

Trixie finally gave me a warm smile. I offered her a hug, and she happily accepted it.

We held that hug for a while, and I felt the chill of her tears on my chest.

“Starlight is so lucky to have you as a boyfriend.”

“And I hope you know that she is lucky to have you as a best friend.”

Trixie looked up at me. “R-Really?”

I smiled at her with confidence. “Oh yeah, she tells me all the time about how you stand up for her, and every now and then you can come up with some really good ideas when you put your mind to it!”

Trixie rubbed her muzzle and sniffled, then regained her previous confident composure.

“Well of course! The Great, and Powerful Trixie is always looking to do her best for her dear friends!”

She suddenly pointed a hoof at me.

“And you, Jake Taylor, I consider to be one of my Greatest, and most Powerfulest of friends!” she said with a bow. Then she took her hat back off and looked at me sincerely. “Thank you, Jake.”

I gave her a small chuckle. “Anytime Trixie. I know I said I don’t feel the same way I do for you as I do Starlight, but I will always consider you as a dear friend as well.”

Trixie placed her hat back on her head and looked at me with a big smile.

“Well since Trixie will not be receiving any cuddles, it is best she be off now,” she said while pushing back her cape. “Until next time, Jake Taylor!”

“Until next time, Trixie,” I said as she made for the door.

As much of a handful as Trixie was today, I was glad she came over. Helping her with her problem made me realize how special the connection between me and my marefriends really is. I’m not with Twilight, Starlight, or Sunset because of pity or because of how lonely I can be, but because of how much I love them. And the next time I see them, I’m going to show each one how much they truly mean to me.

But for now I decided to head towards the kitchen so I could remake breakfast and finally get some peace and quiet. Or so I hoped, Because just before Trixie left through the doors she suddenly stopped in place.

“By the way Jake, I have to ask you something else...”

I looked at her curiously and with some hope that she doesn’t ask if my feelings have changed for her or not.

“....who is this Sunset?”

“Sunset Shimmer? Oh yeah, this you never met her did you!?”

“This me?”

“Yeah, its kinda hard to explain, but Sunset is my girlfriend, and she is lives in an alternate version of Equestria. There she hangs out with other versions of our friends like Twilight, Spike, Rarity, you...”

Trixie was stunned by the realization of another version of her existing.

“Woah woah! There is another Great, and Powerful Trixie?!”

“Yeah and she’s a-lot like you, except she’s a human like me and....”

Thinking about the other Trixie, I suddenly remembered another detail about her I learned while I was with Sunset. I don’t know if relationships that work in that world work in this one, but it was worth a try. Love is always worth a try.

“Say Trixie, do you know anypony named Flash Sentry?”

Author's Note

Finally! An entry for the damn contest!

I think I know who the winner is :ajbemused:

Time for a Wedding Part 2: Parties

Time for a Wedding Part 1: Disagreements

“So let me get this straight,” said Starlight. “You want me to plan your bachelorette party while Jake goes to Sunset’s world to have his bachelor party?”

Starlight, Sunset, and Twilight were together in the castle, planning for Twilight and Jake’s upcoming wedding, four months after Jake’s proposal to Twilight.

“For the millionth time,” Twilight replied, looking through the resumes for the ministers. “It’s a bridal shower. I don’t want to wake up with a hangover, not knowing where I am on the day of my wedding.”

“Bridal shower, got it,” Starlight said as she went back to looking for possible locations. “I still think you two should just have the wedding here in the castle. The foyer’s more than large enough to hold that many ponies.”

“We’ve thought about it, but we want to look for other locations, just to be sure.”

Sunset was busy looking through catalogs from her home about infant care advice and tools. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for Jake to have his bachelor party at my place? It’s getting pretty close to where I shouldn’t be going through the portal.”

“It’ll be fine,” Twilight responded. “The wedding’s in just a little longer than a week, so as long as Jake knows where he is, nothing should go wrong.”

“You two still waiting till birth to find out the gender?” Starlight asked.

Sunset simply nodded.

She and all of her friends had come up with a temporary plan to deal with Sunset’s pregnancy. She would continue her everyday life in the human world for the first five months, coming to Equestria a bit more often to make sure the baby was healthy, and come back for the last four months to have the baby in Equestria. During that time period, Twilight insisted on being married to Jake before the baby was here, so the two could feel more like a real family, hence the rushed wedding planning.

Princess Celestia, as far as Sunset knew, didn’t know about Sunset’s pregnancy, and she wanted to keep it that way. She had just gained her trust and love back, and felt this would betray her trust yet again.

“Equestria to Sunset. You in there?” Starlight asked, getting Sunset’s attention.

“Hmm?”

“I asked you how the search for supplies and stuff for the baby is coming,” Starlight repeated.

Sunset tilted her head. “So-so. If anything, I still have no idea what to expect, but from what I’ve seen in movies, giving birth to this thing is gonna be painful.”

“Don’t worry. Cadence had to give birth to an alicorn. I don’t care if she is a princess, that’s an impressive feat. If anypony can pull that off, you’ll do just fine,” Twilight reassured.

Sunset chuckled. “I’ve still yet to meet the little rascal.”

“Should you be so lucky,” Starlight said under her breath.

“What?” asked Twilight.

“Nothing,” Starlight replied with a smile.

I was at Rarity’s boutique with Spike (no surprise) getting fitted for my tuxedo. Rarity was going a bit overboard with the measurements (still no surprise), declaring they all had the be perfect.

If I knew this was coming, I’d have let Twilight tell her friends about the wedding herself and hide in the closet until the day of.

Regardless, here I was, in the boutique, letting Rarity take my measurements while she and Spike made eyes at each other, often slowing her down...

She’s made clothes for me before; doesn’t she have my measurements memorized by now?

“Rarity, the tape measure’s starting to get tight!” I said.

Rarity blinked a few times and shook her head, loosening the tape measure around my waist. As she went to go write that down, I walked over to Spike and grabbed him by the frill.

“Outside until I’m done,” I said, dragging him along.

“Ow, ow, ow! Okay, okay, fine,” he said, slipping out of my grip and out the door.

The rest of the fitting went on fine, but as soon as I left, of course Spike went back inside. I just sighed and made my way to the castle.

Once there, I found Twilight, Starlight, and Sunset in the library, looking through catalogs.

“Hey, girls,” I greeted.

Without missing a beat or moving an inch, hey all said, “Hi, Jake,” in unison.

“Spike still at Rarity’s?” Sunset asked.

“Where else would he be?” I replied sarcastically.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’m happy for those two, but it’s been getting out of hoof lately. At this rate, he’ll be making googly eyes at her during the wedding.”

Starlight simply waved a hoof at her. “I happen to find it charming, kinda like how you and Jake were after...this.”

It was honestly true. Spike had loved Rarity for years without her noticing, just as Twilight had loved me without my noticing...

I shook it off and went to my room to drop off my jacket before joining them. “Whatcha lookin’ at?”

“Starlight and I are looking through catalogs for the wedding, and Sunset’s looking for stuff for the baby,” Twilight answered.

“Oh,” I replied, trying to show a bit of interest.

After a while though, I think it got obvious that I was bored.

“Jake, if you want, you could look through the seating arrangements,” Twilight offered, levitating the sheet of paper over to me.

“Alright,” I said with a bit of forced glee. I had no idea what I was supposed to do to prepare for this wedding except...well, show up, but I had no clue it took this much planning. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, I’m pretty sure Twilight was coming up with a silverware arrangement.

I scooted over a bit and looked at the seating. Starlight and Sunset were at the alter, Starlight being the maid-mare of honor (because ponies) and Twilight insisting Sunset be up there as well in case she fainted. Spike would be up there as well as my best man (apparently, it’s “best mare” here in Equestria). In the front row was all of our friends, as well as the princesses and Shining Armor. The rest of the rows were filled with the citizens of Ponyville, some having to be put in certain spots due to their attitude or dealings with others. However, there was one thing that stuck out to me.

“Twilight, why aren’t your parents anywhere on here?” I asked.

My fiancé just looked at me with confusion. “I didn’t think you’d want to invite them.”

“That’s your call though,” I corrected.

“Oh,” Twilight replied. “Still though, I’m not sure inviting them is a good idea.”

“Twi, they’re your parents. How do you think they’ll respond when they found out that they’ve missed your wedding day?”

“Probably the same way they’d react if they find out we were getting married in the first place.”

“You don’t know that,” I countered.

“Really?” Twilight asked, her voice raising. “Do I need to remind you how they treated you the last time they saw you?”

I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t like that either, but still, they’re your parents. The least you could do is give them an invitation and see if they turn it down.”

“Why don’t we get a second opinion then, shall we? Starlight, Sunset, what do you think?” Twilight asked.

The two unicorns in question looked at us and froze like deer in headlights. Before either of them said a word, Starlight put her hoof over Sunset’s and teleported them both away.

“You know what, if you wanna push your parents away like this, that’s fine with me,” I said, storming out of the library. I entered my room and sat down.

Twilight and I never fought like this, and we were supposed to get married soon. Maybe this was a mistake...No! I loved Twilight more than anything. I just want her to be happy.

I grabbed my jacket, a few bits, a spare wedding invitation, and left the castle for the train station. I was going to the one place I never thought I’d go to again.

“One ticket to Canterlot please,” I told the ticketmaster.

Twilight lay on her bed, thinking about the argument she’d just had with Jake. How were the two supposed to get married of they fought over small details like this?

And since when was Jake even interested in details like this? Up until now, he’d left all of the planning to Twilight and her friends.

Twilight’s thought’s were interrupted by a knock at her door.

“Who is it?” she called out, kinda hoping it wouldn’t be Jake.

Luckily, the door opened, and Starlight peaked inside. “Everything alright?”

Twilight sighed. “Yeah, I’m just trying to cool down after that argument with Jake.”

Starlight opened the door a bit more, walking all the way inside. “Sunset went back home for now. Sorry for teleporting away like that. I just didn’t wanna get caught in the middle of your fight.”

“It’s fine. I’m still a little surprised Jake and I even had a fight, especially so close to our wedding,” Twilight replied, her head resting on the bed. “We never fight like that, except for when he wants me to stop feeling sorry for him.”

“Well, he did have a bit of a point,” Starlight pointed out.

Twilight tilted her head. “I know. I think that was just leftover anger at my parents for how they treated Jake.”

“Either that, or you two are going through your pre-wedding fight phase,” Starlight corrected.

“Huh?” Twilight asked.

“You know, when two loving ponies feel they should finally tie the knot and get married, only to start noticing things about each other that drives them crazy, like Jake’s extreme affection,” Starlight explained.

Twilight lifted a hoof to her cheek in thought. “I’ve never thought of it like that.”

“Yeah, the most you can do is try to make it to the wedding, and all of that goes away,” Starlight added.

Twilight nodded. “You know what, you’re right. I just have to focus on making this wedding the best I can for us. Thanks, Starlight. You know, you’d make a good guidance counselor.”

Starlight blinked before breaking out in a fit of laughter. “Me as a guidance counselor. Nice one, Twilight.”

I’d arrived at Twilight’s parents’ home, wedding invitation in hand. Summoning all the courage I could, I knocked on the door.

The door opened, revealing Night Light, Twilight’s father. His face contorted with anger, but I lifted my hand before he could speak.

“Before you say anything, I’m just here to give you this,” I said, handing him the invitation.

He took it in his magic and opened it. “Honey, can you come here for a minute?”

Soon enough, Night Light was joined by Twilight’s mother, Twilight Velvet. “What’s he doing here?”

“He came to deliver this to us,” Night Light answered, holding up the letter. The two of them set their eyes on in, Velvet gasping as she read it.

“A-A w-wedding?” she stuttered.

Night Light glared lightly at me. “She really does love you, doesn’t she?”

I nodded. “And I love her, and nothing you two say will change that. Twilight won’t admit it, but she wants you to be there. I just hope you two can get over yourselves long enough to come through for her.”

With that, I turned to walk away.

Before I got too far, however, Velvet called out, “Wait!”

I turned around.

“Does she really want us to be there?”

I nodded.

“And you’d never do anything to harm her, in any way, shape, or form?”

“Of course not,” I replied.

The two of them shared a glance before Night Light spoke up.

“We’ll be there, but if you are so much as one minute late, you will regret it for the rest of your life,” he told me.

“I know,” I replied. “Your daughter is an amazing mare. I love her more than anything, and I’d never do anything to hurt her.”

“Alright, you’ll just have to prove that to us, won’t you?” Velvet nearly threatened.

“Looks like I will.”

Author's Note

Well, we’re getting close to the wedding. I’ll still accept submissions for the story, but not having to do with the wedding itself or anything after. Keep in mind this is season seven too

Time for a Wedding Part 3: Insanity (by Bumblebeau)

Author's Note

Warning: this chapter contains use of alcohol and very little plot drive

Time for a Wedding Part 2: Parties

“I really do want my parents to be there, but I don’t want Jake to get hurt,” Twilight lamented to Starlight.

The two of them were in Twilight’s room, talking through the argument between Twilight and Jake. Jake had insisted on giving Twilight’s parents an invitation to their upcoming wedding, but Twilight didn’t want a repeat of what happened when Jake had met her parents.

At least, Twilight was talking about it. Starlight was doing all of the listening...sort of. Her feelings for Twilight were in full effect, causing her to simply smile and stare at the distraught and, quite frankly, beautiful alicorn.

“What if I overreacted? Maybe Jake’s right, I should just go see my parents and invite them to the wedding,” Twilight wondered aloud.

Starlight, having heard a small bit of what Twilight was saying, nodded.

“You’re right. I’m gonna go talk to Jake about this whole thing,” Twilight said, getting off of her bed, alerting Starlight to her sudden lack of presence. “Thanks for letting me vent.”

Starlight simply blinked as Twilight left. “Yeah, no problem.”

Twilight wandered through the halls, looking for Jake, but coming up short. After a while, she came into the foyer just as Jake came through the castle doors.

“I-I think we should talk,” Twilight said.

“No need. I just got back from Canterlot,” Jake replied.

“Canterlot? That’s at least a three hour trip,” Twilight said. She then looked out the window and saw that the sun had long gone down. “Oh, never mind. But what were you doing in Canterlot?”

Jake didn’t respond, just looked down at something in his hand. Twilight followed his eyes and saw a letter in his hand.

“This is for you,” he said.

Twilight slowly took the letter in her magic. The second she saw who it was from, she was both shocked and furious.

“You went to Canterlot to see my parents? Behind my back?!” Twilight asked.

“Before you blow your lid-“ Jake started, but Twilight wasn’t having any of it.

“I told you that I didn’t want my parents to come to our wedding!” she yelled. “I was trying to protect you! I know how Canterlot ponies make you feel unwelcome here, and I didn’t want you to feel that on the happiest day of our LIVES! But now, now they’ll probably try to get it shut down, and-“

“They’ll be there,” Jake cut off before walking in the direction of his room.

“W-What?” asked Twilight, confused beyond anything. She then realized that she hadn’t actually read the letter her parents had sent her. Gingerly, Twilight undid the scroll and read it.

Dear Twilight,

Your ‘boyfriend’, Jake Taylor came by today, telling us you two are getting married. We still don’t approve of him, but seeing as you’d agree to marry...him, we can see that you really do love him. That being said, we wouldn’t miss your wedding for Equestria.

Please understand, we only wanted what we thought was best for you, but perhaps we were wrong. If Jake truly makes you happy, then we’re happy for you,

Signed, Twilight Velvet and Night Light

By the end of the letter, Twilight was in tears. Jake Taylor, while he did go behind her back, had convinced her parents, who completely despised Jake for his appearance, to attend their wedding, and she’d just yelled at him for it.

Without thinking, Twilight ran in the direction Jake had gone, determined to find him and make up for everything she’d done and said. Before long, she found him in his room, just sitting on his bed in thought.

“Jake,” Twilight said.

Jake turned his head toward her. “Twilight, I-“

She cut him off with a kiss, one which he quickly returned.

By the time Twilight had broken the kiss, she’d immediately wanted to kiss him again and again, telling him how much she loved him and how sorry she felt. Instead, she forced herself to open her eyes and gaze into his.

“I’m sorry I went behind your back,” he said.

Twilight was unable to hold back a giggle. Always thinking about others

She wrapped her hooves and wings around him and kissed him again, this time with more passion, using a few of the techniques she’d learned from Cadance, moving her lips, pressing her tongue against his own.

After she broke away, Twilight said, “I’m sorry I yelled at you. No more fighting, not this close to our wedding. Please?”

Jake wrapped his arms around her body. “Deal,” he said, gently laying her down on the bed.

It was time.

No, not for the wedding.

I was just going to Sunset’s world for my bachelor party while Twilight stayed here for her bridal shower. I still didn’t like using the portal, but since intergalactic travel from Equestria to Earth wasn’t possible, I had no choice.

I forced myself to walk through the mirror and into the realm of dizzying and sickening light. The journey sucked, but at least in was short.

I landed on the other side, surprisingly on my feet, but directly into the hands of an unseen person. Before I could look to see who, something was placed over my eyes, blinding me.

“You’re not allowed to see where we’re going quite yet,” said a deep, feminine voice.

I rolled my eyes under the blindfold. “Gee, nice deep voice, Sunset.”

“Just shut up, and get in the car,” Sunset grunted.

Starlight and Spike led Twilight through Ponyville to Applejack’s farm where her bachelorette party was taking place.

“Is there going to be alcohol?” Twilight asked nervously.

“I don’t know, probably,” Starlight replied. “You’ve spent so much time planning for the wedding that you haven’t told us what you really want for a bachelorette party, so we kinda had to wing it.”

Twilight stopped walking. “Wait, I had to plan my bridal shower along with the wedding?”

Spike sighed and rolled his eyes. “Well, from what I’ve seen in the magazines you’ve given me, most ponies get a planner for one or the other.”

“Well, at least Pinkie Pie probably had a large hoof in it,” Twilight said, continuing the walk.

Once they arrived at the barn, it was deserted. Starlight was confused, but Twilight knew what was going on. She started counting down from three, and sure enough, when she got to one, all of their friends jumped out.

Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash was the first to approach them. “Well, Twilight, welcome to your bachelorette party. Now,” she said, holding up a small glass of Aj’s cider. “I’m gonna need you to chug this.”

Starlight slipped over to Applejack. “You have non-alcoholic stuff, right? Booze and I don’t. Really go well together.”

“Yeah, Ah got some right here,” Applejack replied.

Twilight sighed. “So much for a simple bridal shower.”

With that, she dipped her head back and chugged the glass Rainbow gave her, eliciting a few cheers and claps from her friends, and some coughs from her throat.

I’d assumed we were simply going to Sunset’s house, but the car ride had taken longer than I remembered. Whether Sunset was stalling for something or my bachelor party was taking place somewhere else, I didn’t know.

“Sunset, how much longer are we gonna have to drive?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost there. Speaking of which, when you get out of the car, just sit on the chair that’ll be behind you and put your hands behind your back,” Sunset replied.

I rolled my eyes under the blindfold.

After about another five minutes of driving, we came to a stop. Sunset helped me out of the car and into a chair. I put my hands behind my back, and of course, they were tied together. I heard a few whispers behind me, probably to confirm something that was to take place, and I was being moved. The trip inside was bumpy, due to the sidewalk and the doorstep, but I got inside regardless.

Just as quickly as it had come on, the blindfold was suddenly removed. I found myself surrounded by all the friends I’d made here, including Flash Sentry, Trixie, and Soarin, though neither Sunset nor Twilight were present.

Suddenly, they all started skipping around me, singing.

~For he’s a jolly good fellow
For he’s a jolly good fellow
For he’s a jolly good fellooooooooow
Which nobody can deny~

“Alright, now before the main event,” Sunset shouted, pushing a large, obviously fake cake. “I’m gonna need you to drink this.”

She held in front of me a small bottle of cinnamon whiskey. I was surprised she even had it, knowing she was well under age, but decided not to question it.

“I’m gonna need my hands for that,” I argued.

“You’ve got your mouth,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Trust me when I say you’re gonna be hearing that a lot tonight. I was let in on this plan,” Flash said.

“Oh God, what did I get myself into?” I sarcastically asked as I took the bottle in my mouth and dipped my head back, swallowing every drop of the whiskey.

“Should I give him one more?” Sunset yelled aloud, receiving shouts of approval in response. With that, she held up another one. “Alright, Jake, one more.”

“Something tells me I’m not gonna remember much, nor will I want to,” I said, taking the second bottle.

“Alright, let’s bring her out!” Rarity yelled, seemingly at the cake.

Confirming my suspicions about the cake being fake, a purple hand burst out of it. The cake split open, and out came Twilight, the human one, in a black bikini and covered in frosting. It was hard for me not to blush at the sight, and I was even a little surprised Twilight’d agreed to do this.

“Now, Jake,” Sunset said, putting her hands on Twilight’s shoulders. “We’re gonna need you to pretend that this Twilight right here is the same Twilight back in Equestria and lick every inch of her body until it’s clean of any frosting while I catch up with everyone else.”

“Catch up?” I asked. Looking around though, it was pretty clear everyone else present was already drunk. “Well, since no one else is gonna remember this.”

With that, I leaned forward and started licking the frosting off Twilight’s body, starting with her neck.

Twilight’s bachelorette party had gone off without a hitch. Sure, everypony left drunk and Spike had passed out, but wasn’t that the point?

Starlight, the only one to stay sober, was laughing as she walked Twilight and Spike back to the castle, carrying Spike on her back. Twilight kept wandering out of her grip, her steps far from straight.

Starlight didn’t want to laugh at her drunk friend, but it was impossible not to. Luckily, they’d arrived at the castle before things got too out of hoof.

Once inside, Starlight waisted no time in running Spike to bed, leaving him a bucket for when he woke up. Coming back to Twilight, the princess and soon-to-be bride was drunkenly levitating a couple of books around the library.

Starlight rushed over and easily overpowered Twilight’s magic, putting the books back in there spots.

“Woah! You’re strong,” Twilight praised, her words very slurred and nearly unintelligible.

“Thank you,” Starlight replied, knowing better than to argue with a drunk pony.

“And pretty too,” Twilight added.

Starlight blushed, not wanting to say anything in case Twilight wasn’t finished speaking.

“I may be marrying Jake.” Twilight nearly fell, causing Starlight to catch her. “But you are the prettiest mare here in...the place where we are right now.”

Starlight smiled and rolled her eyes. “Alright, Twilight, let’s get you to bed.”

“Is true. You’re...powerful, full of power, too, fought me to a sta... a tie!” Twilight added.

Twilight’s room was coming into view. Part of Starlight wanted to let Twilight finish her praise, but she knew it was probably just drunk talk.

Right before Starlight could get the door open, Twilight made a huge shift in weight and planted her lips right on Starlight’s, her eyes barely open. Starlight probably would’ve kissed her back, if Twilight’s mouth didn’t taste like rotten apples.

Eventually, the kiss broke, and Starlight got Twilight into bed, fast asleep and with a bucket for when she awoke. Starlight sighed and walked back out the to the library, where Jake had just come bursting through the portal.

“Y-You! Star pony!” he slurred, pointing his finger at her.

Starlight couldn’t hold back a groan; Jake was obviously drunk too, and she didn’t look forward to having to force him into bed as well.

“Now, now, before you say anything,” he said, hobbling over to the couch. “Let me save you some trouble by just...going to sleep right here.”

With that, Jake fell down and to sleep right there on the couch. Starlight walked off to her own room, glad she was done for the night.

Time for a Wedding Part 4: Wedded (by Bumblebeau)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Extra Credit (by Peni Parker)

Author's Note

I might do another separate chapter with this, but I'm not sure when. Also, sorry this is so long. Bumble wrote the first 6000 words, and I added the last coupe hundred myself

Time for a Wedding Part 4: Wedded (by Bumblebeau)

"Sunset wait!" I cried out to the mare in question as I ran after her.

Sunset had just been running forward ever since what happened. I didn’t even know if she has a specific destination in mind, or not.

Sunset then tripped on her dress and landed on her side.

I rushed to her side and cradled her in my arms.

"It’s over! It's all over!" she finally managed to say.

"Don't say that Sunset! We can still fix this!"

Sunset just cried into my chest.

"Trixie was right! I am a coward! I had so many opportunities to tell Princess Celestia about our baby, but I was so afraid of what she would say that I couldn't say anything at all!"

"Sunset..."

"And now she hates me! The one pony I looked up to the most, probably thinks I'm some.... whorse!"

I tried to think of something, anything that will make her feel better.

"That’s not true Sunset!"

We both turned our heads to the voice and noticed Princess Celestia standing there while out of breath. Sunset got up and hid behind me.

"I could never hate you! Especially after you have changed so much, you are nothing like the filly I sent away all those years ago," Celestia said with tears in her eyes.

Sunset peaked from behind me. "S-So you're not mad about the baby?"

Celestia shook her head. "Of course not! I’m so happy for you and... I want to help you."

Sunset was silent for a moment before breaking down into tears and rushing towards her.

Celestia caught her and pulled her into a hug, she then covered her in her wings in order to fully engulf her in their embrace. Sunset continued crying her eyes out.

I couldn’t help but feel teary eyed; if I didn’t know better I would think they really were mother and daughter.

After several minutes of them crying, Sunset finally found the words to say. "So you're really not upset about me being pregnant?"

Celestia wiped a tear away and answered, "Of course not, I just wish you had told me sooner."

Sunset spoke again. "And you really don’t hate me?!"

Celestia looked at Sunset with a smile warmer than the sun. "As you know, Sunset, I never had children of my own, but if I did have a daughter, I would be proud if she was exactly the way you are."

Sunset had a huge smile on her face upon hearing this, and went to Celestia for one more hug.

"I love you, Princess Celestia."

Celestia tightened her embrace. "I love you too, Sunset Shimmer."

As they hold each other, I started to miss my own mother, wishing I could hold her and tell her I love her one more time as well.

Celestia broke their hug and looked at me with a stern look.

"Don’t think I forgot about you Jake Taylor!" Celestia looked right at me and heads towards me with literal fire in her eyes.

"You got my daughter pregnant?! How COULD YOU?!?!" As she said that her rainbow like mane became engulfed in flames.

"I’m sorry!" I just barely squeaked with the sudden desire to get on my knees and start praying for forgiveness.

"Did you even use protection?! How could you be so careless???"

Sunset got between me and Celestia and faced the fiery horror in front of her.

“Princess Celestia please don’t hurt him! I was being careless too! This is just as much my fault as it is his.”

Upon seeing Sunset defend me, Celestia decided to take a deep breath, and as she exhaled the fire in her mane and eyes died down until she was her calm and collected self again.

"Fortunately for you Jake Taylor, I already know you as a kind and honest soul. So I will forgive you so long as you promise to support Sunset, and help her to raise your child to the best of your ability."

"O-Of course!"

Celestia then turned to Sunset again. "And you Sunset, promise me that the next time you have a child you'll tell me sooner."

"Yes Celestia, I will!"

"Then all is well!" Celestia said with a cheerful demeanor.

"Sunset!" We heard another set of voices coming from the other side of the hallway, and discovered that it is Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.

"There you are partner! We were worried sick about ya!" AJ said.

"Are you all better?" Fluttershy asked.

Sunset looked at her friends with a smile "Thank you everyone, everything is fine now."

As the four elements got closer they give Sunset a group hug.

I looked at the crowd and feel a sense of unease. "What happened to Twilight's parents? They didn't leave did they?!"

AppleJack answered. "Nope, Trixie put her hoof down and convinced them to stop actin' like little foals."

I looked at her, surprised. "Really?!"

"Yeah, you totally should have seen her!" Rainbow Dash said. "She really told them off!"

"And she cursed too!" Pinkie said.

"She stood up for both you and Twilight," Fluttershy added.

I couldn't believe what I heard. The same Trixie that started this mess... also fixed it? Imagine that!

As the girls left towards the doors, Trixie sat by herself from the opposite side of the room with a tear in her eye as she thought about the look Jake gave her before he left.

After a few moments of being alone with her thoughts, a voice called to her from behind. "Are you okay?"

Trixie gave a small yelp as she looks behind her to see the pegasus guard from before. She quickly rubbed away her tear and looked at him with a scowl on her face.

"What are you doing here, Creep?!"

The guard looked at her with concern. "I saw you were by yourself, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Trixie gave a pouting lip and crossed her forelegs together. "The Great and Powerful Trixie does not need your sympathy!"

The guard looked hurt at her words. "I’m sorry, I guess if everything is fine I'll just go."

As he turned around, he looked at Trixie one more time.

"Can I just say that I thought it was really cool how you spoke your mind like that? It was really impressive."

Trixie looked at him with an interested look, but then retreated back to her former stoic pout.

"And the way you stood up for your friends was even more awesome, you must be an amazing pony."

Trixie said nothing. The guard decided to leave but was interrupted by her voice.

"If Trixie hadn't said what she said beforehoof, it wouldn't have been necessary."

"How do you mean?"

"If Trixie didn't consider that Sunset Shimmer hadn't said anything yet, she wouldn't have caused so much trouble. If Trixie had kept her big mouth shut, her friends wouldn't have hated her."

Trixie was silent for a bit before remembering who she was talking to.

"B-But why do you care?! Any problems Trixie may or may not have are no concern of yours!"

"Because like I said, you are an amazing pony, and I don't want to see you be so hard on yourself for an innocent mistake."

"My 'innocent mistake' cost me one of my dearest friends."

"Everypony makes mistakes, what matters is how you own up to them"

“But what if they don’t forgive me?”

“I'm sure that they will. Because of what you did for Jake and the princess, a lot of ponies now know that even with all your shortcomings, you care deeply about your friends, and would do anything to defend those you care about. And I believe that is the greatest and most powerful thing about you.”

Trixie had a blush on her face and started playing with her cape.

“H-How can you say such things about me? You don’t even know me!”

“I’d like to get to know you. Maybe... over dinner?”

Trixie suddenly went into a full panic as she looked at him with her blush on full display.

“D-Did you really just ask me out on a d-date?!”

“Y-Yes,” the guard replied with a nervous smile.

Trixie was filled with more emotions than she knew what to do with.

“S-So you think you are worthy of the Great and Powerful Trixie?! You are either brave or a fool.”

The guard’s confidence remained fortified until he heard an answer. Trixie noticed this and looks away for a moment.

“Very well! Since you did listen to Trixie’s problems, the Great and Powerful Trixie will give you a chance to prove yourself worthy of her affection. But be warned! Trixie has a very specific taste in both her food and stallions, and if you fail to meet her exact requirements, Trixie will openly voice her disapproval!”

“Thank you Trixie! You won’t regret this!”

Trixie then hid her face with her hat.

Unbeknownst to both of them, Cadence was looking right at them on the other side of the room with a smile on her face.

"OWW!!"

"I'm sorry Darling, but if you would just stop moving, it wouldn’t happen so much!"

"Sorry Rarity, I'm just so nervous."

“Everything will be alright Twilight!” Starlight said while holding a checklist. Starlight was helping Twilight calm down by helping her go over her vows and the wedding procedures, so that she could be ready for the real thing. As she was reading about the wedding, she couldn’t help but feel a teensy bit jealous that Twilight wasn’t wearing that dress for her. A sudden knock on the door broke Starlight out of her daydream.

“OWWW!”

“Sorry Darling!” Rarity said as she checked to make sure her latest poke didn’t cause any damage to the dress,.

....or to Twilight.

Starlight opened the door to see Spike standing there twiddling his fingers. “Oh hey, Spike, what’s ....up?” Starlight paused when she noticed that he wasn’t alone.

“H-Hello, is Twilight there?”

Twilight recognized that voice as none other than her father Night Light.

“We really need to talk to her.”

Twilight heard her mother’s voice as well, and noticed how melancholic it sounded.

Starlight was unsure of what to do and looked at Twilight.

Twilight pondered for a moment and nodded at Starlight, indicating it was okay to let them in.

“S-She’s inside, come on in.” Starlight stepped aside and let their new guests in.

When they entered, the first thing they noticed is Twilight in her wedding dress.

Night Light was simply paralyzed at the sight, while Velvet gasped and put a hoof on her heart as they both suppressed tears at the sight of their daughter looking so beautiful and grown up.

Twilight's dress was mainly white, but it also had layers of pink and gold. She also wore a regalia on her chest that had a star similar to her Cutie Mark. There were also intricate details on her dress that looked like flowers or perhaps stars. Twilight also wore crystal slippers that were custom fit for her hooves. She also had a small, golden tiara on her head. Twilight wanted a more simple wedding dress, but Rarity insisted on going all out for her best friend.

“I-I'm.... glad you could make it,” Twilight said, breaking the silence.

Her words broke their trance and snapped them back to reality.

“Oh, yes... we’re glad too...” Night Light said, embarrassed about his musing.

There was another awkward silence before Velvet spoke.

“Twily... can we have a moment to talk?”

Twilight was a little stunned by her question but then looked at Starlight and Spike.

“Hey guys, would you mind if we were alone.”

“Alright we’ll be outside if you need us,” Spike said as he left, with Starlight behind him.

Once they left, Twilight was about to speak again before she noticed Rarity was still there.

“Uh Rarity, would you mind leaving too?”

“So sorry darling, but I'm not really in a place where I can stop. So if you could just pretend I'm not here.”

Twilight groaned, but accepted her friend sticking around.

“So what did you want to talk about?”

After a moment of hesitation, Night Light finally spoke up.

"We just wanted to say that we were sorry for judging your relationship with that..... with Jake... too quickly."

"We should have tried harder to understand him, but instead we chased you both away," Velvet added.

“I just don’t understand why you were so hostile against Jake to begin with.”

“Well, after your friend gave us a much needed reality check, we realized how selfish we were,” said Night Light.

“And which friend was that Darling?” Rarity asked like she was looking for gossip material.

Twilight gave her the stink eye.

“Right, right, sorry not here!” Rarity said, continuing her work.

Night Light continued, "Twilight, we hear all the time about how you and your friends save Equestria from unspeakable evils. And although we are so proud of you, we can't help but feel worried about you all the time. We are always so terrified that one day we are going to hear that... that you will never come home again."

"And when we heard you were in a relationship with a creature we didn't recognize, and couldn't possibly have foals with, we felt like you didn't care about your own welfare, and we snapped because of it," Velvet added.

"After you didn't listen to us we just decided that when Jake finally did something wrong, you would come back home to us and... want to be our baby again," Night Light said with a lump in his throat.

"Why that is just awful parenting!" Rarity objected. "If my parents ever did that to me, I would have half a mind to..." Rarity stopped once Twilight silently informed her that she was invading the conversation once again.

"She's right, Twilight, we should have realized that you are not a foal anymore and are a grown mare now; you're smart enough to know if Jake wasn't good for you or not on your own, and if he did treat you horribly, you would've been strong enough to leave him without us having to say anything. Because tha'ts the kind of mare we raised you to be," Velvet ended her words with a smile.

"We were both such fools who only cared about what we wanted out of you, we didn't care how you felt at all," Night Light said with tears in his eyes.

"Could you ever find it in your heart to forgive us?" Velvet said with equally flooded cheeks.

Twilight was hesitant, but decided to ask them one final question before making her decision. "Are you really going to give Jake a chance this time?"

"Just tell us this, does he truly make you happy?" Velvet asked.

Twilight looked at each of them right in the eyes as she answered assertively and without hesitation, "Yes he does! He loves me with all his heart, and I love him too."

Night Light and Velvet looked at each other, then back at Twilight with smiles.

"Then we will trust you, and support you all the way Twilight," Night Light answered.

After hearing their answer, Twilight broke down into tears and invited them for a hug, which they both immediately accepted.

"I missed you both so much."

"We missed you too, sweetheart!"

"We're sorry we were so awful!""

As they held each other, Rarity was crying her own eyes out. "Oh I just love happy endings!!!!"

Upon hearing Rarity cry Spike burst through the doors. "Rarity?! Is everything alright?!"

"Everything is fine Spike!" Twilight answered. Spike relaxed, seeing Twilight and her parents happy again.

"I think we all can learn a valuable lesson here today," Twilight said preparing her friendship speech voice. "I think we all learned that if we just- OWWWWW!!!!! RARITY!!!!"

"Sorry! I'm Sorry!" Rarity apologized.

"Aren't you done yet?" Starlight asked.

"Juuuuust aboooooooout...." Rarity then cut some string and tied it with her magic. "DONE!"

Once Rarity completed her work, Twilight stepped in front of the mirror to see the results.

"You look so beautiful, sweetheart," Velvet told her daughter.

"Spike how are the preparations?" Twilight said in a commanding tone.

"We should be good to go, assuming they found Sunset."

"What's wrong with Sunset?" Twilight asked anxiously.

Night Light and Velvet explained the whole situation as far as they knew.

"Wow, Sunset can’t catch a break keeping the baby a secret can she?" Spike asked while remembering his blunder.

Twilight put on her Princess face and started barking orders.

"Spike! You and Rarity find the Cutie Mark Crusaders and tell them to be on standby to be our flower girls!"

They both nodded their heads.

"Starlight! Go find Jake and make sure everything is alright!"

"On it!" Starlight said before teleporting away. Spike and Rarity quickly rushed out to do what they were told as well.

"And what should we do dear?" Velvet asked.

Twilight brought up three seats with her magic.

"Take a seat, we have some catching up to do!"

As we finally made it back to the foyer, we saw Starlight appear out of nowhere. Once she saw us, she headed towards me as I caught her in my arms.

"Jake! Sunset! We heard what happened, is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine now. Did Twilight make up with her parents?" I asked, silently admiring her purple dress.

"Yes, everything is fine now."

Looks like Trixie really did come through.

“Hey where is Trixie?” I asked as I put Starlight down.

“I'm here, Jake!” a new voice said, revealing to be Trixie, who had finally joined everyone else, along side the pegasus guard from before.

Trixie recoiled a bit when I look at her, but her new friend nudged her, and she made her way towards Sunset. She looked at me with a guilty look as she passed me. When she finally reached Sunset, she stopped and took off her hat.

“Sunset Shimmer.... I’m sorry I ruined your surprise. I honestly thought you'd told everypony you wanted to tell, so I didn’t think it mattered anymore. I'm also sorry I called you a coward too, you’re actually such a brave pony because of how you aren’t afraid to go forward and own up to your mistakes.”

Sunset gave a small smile and put a hoof on Trixie’s shoulder.

“It's alright Trixie, I forgive you. Truth be told, you were right about one thing: I should have told Princess Celestia way sooner.” Once she was done talking, Sunset hugged Trixie. She hugged back and gave one of those ‘squee’ sounds these technicolor ponies are famous for.

Trixie then came towards me. “S-So Jake, do you forgive me too?”

I was stoic for a moment, but then I offered a small smile. “Well, since Sunset forgives you, then I will too.” Then I knelt next to Trixie and scratched her behind the ear. “Also, thanks for standing up for Twilight and me.”

Trixie squeed again and hopped away.

Cadence handed Applejack Flurry and went to Sunset with a makeup bag.

“Now that that's done, lets fix you up,” Cadence said while fixing Sunset’s makeup.

While that was happening, I heard Trixie talking to her new friend.

“Great job, Trixie! I told you everything would be alright!”

Trixie took her original proud stature and posed. “Was there any doubt?”

I rolled my eyes as I listened in.

The guard gave a small chuckle.

“Oooooh Trixie, is this your coltfriend?” Starlight teased.

Trixie looked her way and realized they were not alone.

“H-He is not my coltfriend! Trixie just simply agreed to go on a date with him. ONE DATE!!!!”

Fluttershy approached Trixie and patted her back. “Congratulations Trixie!” she said in her usual soft voice.

I shot her a thumbs up. “Way to go, Trix.”

Trixie looked at me with an awkward frown, like she was trying really hard to suppress a smile.

Shining Armor goes to the guard and gives him a noogie. “Way to go, Flash! You really picked up quite the cutie.”

Both Trixie and I looked at them with shock.

“Flash!?” we both asked.

“Oh right I never introduced myself, did I?” The guard took of his helmet, revealing his blue mane. “My name is Flash Sentry. I'm an officer of the royal guard!”

That’s why his voice sounded familiar! He’s this world’s Flash Sentry!

Trixie had another blush on her face as she realized who he was. I told her before that Flash was someone close to her, however, I left out the part that he was her boyfriend because I wanted them to become a couple naturally. Looks like it worked.

It was time! And yes, this time I mean the wedding is about to begin, and I was currently standing in front of our little chapel, more nervous now than I have ever been in my whole life. I looked back at the crowd of mixed creatures that have decided to join the celebration; friends, family, and political figures who attended this celebration for social status, filled the seats behind me. Not just guests from Ponyville have arrived, but also from several parts of Equestria. Such guests included Thorax of the Changelings and Prince Rutherford of the Yaks.

"Don't worry, You'll be fine!" Celestia told me, noticing my anxiety.

I shot her a nervous smile in response.

Suddenly, we heard the front doors open and saw Spike giving us a thumbs up. We signaled to Fluttershy to begin the bird choir.

Here we go.

As the music started, the main doors fully opened up to reveal the Cutie Mark Crusaders, spreading flowers on the carpets, and right behind them was Night Light walking down the isle with my bride.

When she finally reached the steps, I knelt down next to her and lifted her veil to reveal the most beautiful face I have ever seen; her alluring amethyst eyes were complimented by her makeup and blush.

"You look so beautiful," I whispered.

"T-Thank You," Twilight replied with a tear in her eye.

Then the music stopped, and Princess Celestia finally started the invocation.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Twilight Sparkle and Jake Taylor. In the years that they have been together, their love for each other has grown, turning them into the couple you see before you. Now, they are ready to spend the rest of their lives together as husband and wife. A true marriage begins well before the wedding day, and the efforts of marriage continue well beyond the ceremony. Because it takes a lifetime of love, commitment, and compromise to make marriage durable and everlasting, this contract is not to be entered into lightly, but thoughtfully and seriously with a deep realization of its obligations and responsibilities."

As Celestia spoke her words, I could only stare into Twilight's gorgeous eyes and admire the beauty I see before me.

"If there is anyone present who may show just and lawful cause why this couple may not be legally wed, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

As Celestia ended her sentence, both Twilight and I look at her parents. They simply smiled at us and shook their heads, indicating they had no plans to come between us anymore.

Once Celestia was positive there were no objections, she continued the ceremony.

"These two have written their own vows and wish to declare their them to each other before their family and friends."

Twilight started with her vows first:

"Jake, even after everything I have accomplished in my life, both by myself and with my friends, I sometimes felt like I was alone and undeserving of the things I have. But you were always there to bring me comfort and joy, to remind me that I am so much stronger than I believe I am. And because of that, I vow to always be your sanctuary and your strength, to guide you from your darkest times, and to always remind you that you too are worthy, and oh so loved."

I could feel my heart feeling warm and fuzzy as she spoke her words. I fought back tears so that I could give her my vows.

"Twilight, before I came to Equestria, my life was nothing but a dull nightmare. I had lost my only family, and every house I went to after that never felt like home. The worst part is that, after all the pain I went through, I never once found someone who genuinely cared about me or that I was hurting, until I met you. You were there for me when no one else cared, you were there for me even after I was such a jerk at first. You never abandoned me, even after I left you so long ago. But I vow here and now that I will always be the one friend who will never abandon you no matter what, I will never let you feel like you have to deal with everything on your own. A-And even if fate makes us be so far apart from each other, no matter what I will always return to you, b-because you are my home, Twilight."

Twilight bit her lower lip, and I could tell it was taking all her willpower to not skip straight to the kiss.

"Twilight Sparkle, upon hearing this man's vows do you take him to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in matrimony, to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, to have and to hold, from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Twilight said with a nod, tears in her eyes and a smile on her face.

"And do you, Jake Taylor, take Twilight to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do you part?"

I breathed in and said the words I've been wanting to say ever since I'd returned from Ponyville.

"I do."

"Twilight and Jake have chosen rings to exchange with each other as a symbol of their unending love."

Upon hearing this, Spike came forward with the rings.

"Jake, please take the ring you have selected for Twilight. As you place it on her horn, repeat after me."

I did as I was told and repeated the words Celestia told me. "Twilight Sparkle, with this ring, I thee wed, and pledge to you my love, now and forever."

Once I placed the ring, Twilight's breathing became faster. Good thing it's almost over, otherwise, I don't know how much more of this she can take.

She lifted my ring with her magic and repeated after Celestia, "Jake Taylor, with this ring, I thee wed, and pledge to you my love, now and forever."

The ring slid on my finger, and I was instantly filled with euphoria.

Celestia spoke again and finally said the pronouncement.

"In so much as the two of you have consented together in matrimony, and have witnessed the same before this company, by the authority vested in me by the Kingdom of Equestria, I now pronounce you both husband and wife."

Celestia then looked at Twilight with a smirk. "Twilight, you may now kiss your groom!"

The second Celestia finished, her sentence, Twilight practically leaped at my face, and our lips finally met for the first time as husband and wife.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, may I present to you for the first time Jake and Twilight Taylor!" Celestia announced.

Suddenly, Fluttershy's birds started singing again, and Pinkie Pie let loose a battery of confetti filled party cannons. Then we heard the roar of the crowds as they joined us in our happiness and joy.

After what felt like an eternity, but still an eternity too short, our lips parted, and we stared at the crowd around us. One of the first things I noticed was Shining Armor and Night Light holding each other while bawling their eyes out. Like father, like son I guess.

As I continued to scan the crowd, time seemed to stop as I looked at the main entrance and saw the image of my parents smiling at me. I blinked several times and rubbed my eyes, and when I looked back, I saw only the doors.

"Jake, is everything alright?"

I looked at Twilight and saw she was concerned. I smiled back at her and answered, "Yes Twilight, everything is perfect."

The rest of the evening blew by extremely quick. We went through the usual traditions: the bouquet toss (which Rarity was all too eager to try to catch, yet it ironically landed in Trixie's hooves) , cake cutting, and dinner toasts. We were finally at the dance floor, and Twilight and I were now sharing our first dance.

"This is really happening, right?" Twilight asked as I held her hooves. "I'm not going to wake up and realize this is all a dream?"

"Nope, this is not a dream... Mrs. Taylor," I assured her.

She had a huge grin on her face, and flew up so she could hug me and gave me a kiss on my cheek. I wrapped my arms around her back and under her hind legs to support her as we dance in a circle.

"I'm really happy you convinced my parents to come. I'm sorry I was so hard about it. I just didn’t want to see you get hurt, because when I see you hurt, I feel hurt too."

"No worries. I’m sorry I went behind your back about it though. I know we may have our disagreements, but always remember that I am ultimately on your side no matter what."

She tightened her hug. "I love you Jake! I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Twilight Taylor," I said, tightening my hug as well.

She gave a small squeal at the name.

Shortly after the song ended, her parents came up to us for the father-daughter and mother-son (or in this case, mother-son-in-law) dance.

Night Light took his daughter, and I took Twilight Velvet. She struggled a bit as she was not used to being on two legs, but after I took it slow, she eventually got the hang of it.

"I just wanted to apologize again for our thick-headedness; we really should have gotten to know you before we judged you. I'm so sorry."

"I forgive you; you were just worried about Twilight. I'd ask questions about who my daughter was dating too, although I would have tried to get to know him before kicking him out."

Velvet blushed in embarrassment at what I said.

"So Night Light and I were thinking: sometime after your honeymoon, we should try again with dinner, and we promise to be better hosts this time."

"I'd love that, and I'm sure Twilight would too."

Velvet giggled. "We look forward to it."

As we continued our dance, I looked at Twilight and her father, and I noticed they were laughing. I was so glad everything worked out in the end.

I looked around some more and noticed Flash and Trixie enjoying their first dance too. Quite impressive that Flash can dance so well in a full suit of armor.

"Um, Jake..." Velvet said, breaking my thoughts.

"Huh, Yes?"

"Twilight told me that talking about your parents is a sensitive issue, and I understand why. But I just wanted to say that if you wanted to call me 'Mom,' I wouldn't object to it. A-And Night Light said he wouldn’t mid if you called him 'Dad' too."

"I-I'm going to need to think about that..." I replied.

"I understand, I just wanted you to know it was alright if you did want to."

"Thank you."

After our conversation, I noticed that Twilight was talking to Starlight, looking quite worried. The two of them walked towards us.

"Jake! I'm sorry but we need to go now if we're going to make it to our honeymoon!"

"Already? Okay then." I helped Velvet down and gave her a hug.

"It was great seeing you again! Don't be a stranger, alright?" Velvet said to me.

"You too."

"Bye dad!" Twilight said, hugging her father.

"Bye Sweetheart, I hope you enjoy yourselves," Night Light replied.

Night Light then walked over to me as both Twilight and Velvet shared a hug with each other.

"Goodbye Jake, I'm sorry for how we acted before, and I hope we can be friends the next we meet."

"No worries." I said as I shook his hoof.

"Please promise me you'll take care of her."

"I will, I swear it!"

With that, Starlight, Twilight, and I headed to the Library.

Twilight and I both wanted our honeymoon to feel different and special, so Sunset gave us the idea to have it in the human world. She even made some arrangements with her CHS friends. The best thing about this plan is that I'll be able to use my tips.

When we arrived at the library, all our friends were there. We all gathered for a group hug before we gave our goodbyes.

As Twilight gave each of her friends hugs, I went over to Sunset and Starlight and knelt down to meet them. "Hey girls, I'm going to get going with Twilight, but before I do I just wanted to say again that even though I'm marrying Twilight nothing is going to change between the four of us. I love all three of you with all of my heart.

Both Sunset and Starlight giggled and kissed me on my cheeks "We love you too Jake!" they say at the same time.

I felt my face burning up, and turned to Sunset. "Will you be okay here?"

"Actually, I had a talk with Princess Celestia, and she's okay with me staying with her for a bit. Just until you two get back. Plus it will give us some time to catch up," she replied.

Satisfied with her answer, I turned to Starlight. "Then I guess that means you're in charge while Twilight and I are gone."

"Don't worry about me, you just focus on making Twilight the happiest mare in both worlds."

After giving a nod, I picked myself up and went to Twilight.

"Ready, Sweetie?"

"Ready, Honey!"

I held her hoof in my hand, and we both jumped into the portal.

As we landed through the portal, I first noticed was that we landed on a pile of mattresses. The next thing I noticed was the roaring crowd right across from us. I saw everyone I made friends with at CHS, along with some new, but familiar faces as well, clapping and cheering.

"Uggh I forgot what going through the portal feels like; no wonder Sunset gets so sick." Twilight said as her head stopped spinning.

I looked at my wife and saw her in a truly captivating sight. Normally, when Sunset or I enter the portal, we have the bodies of teenagers that are around sixteen to seventeed years old. And even though this is true for Twilight as well, she came through the portal with her wedding dress on. And thanks to her makeup, she looked like she could pass as someone in her early twenties.

I couldn't believe that this beautiful creature was in fact Twilight, my wife.

"A-Are you going to help me up?" Twilight said, noticing I was staring at her her.

"O-Oh right! Sorry." I got up and assisted Twilight as she get up and readjusted to having only two legs. We then made our way to the crowd of people cheering us on.

...And then got pelted with bird seed.

The first people to join us were the human versions of Twilight's friends, who she also grew a bond with when she had her adventures here. They gathered around her and gave her a group hug.

"I missed you girls so much!" she said.

"We missed you too, Princess Twilight!" they each said collectively.

The next one to join us was this world's version of Twilight, who was admiring her counterpart's wedding dress.

She then turned her head to the crowd and used her hand to beckon someone over.

"Jake, Princess, this is my boyfriend, Timber Spruce."

Timber simply waved his hand at us and said, "Hello."

He seems like a pretty chill guy.

"Timber is so cool, and helpful, and supportive," Twilight Sparkle gushed.

"Congratulations you two," Twilight Taylor replied back.

We then saw another familiar sight.

"Congratulations, bro! We're so happy for you two!" said this world's Flash Sentry, who then noticed Twilight. “It’s good to see you again too, Princess."

Twilight giggled. "Its good to see you too Flash," she said with a hug.

"hey, dude, I'm the one who married her," I joked.

"Don't think that just because you are a princess, you can be fresh with my man!" said a very familiar feminine voice.

"Babe don't worry about it. I told you, we we're old news," Flash said to this world's Trixie. "You know, you're kinda cute when you're jealous."

Trixie blushed. "I-I am not cute!!! Don't say things like that, you creeper!"

We then heard a car honking at us. We looked to the source and saw... a limousine?!

"Is that for us?!" Twilight ogled.

"We spared no expense, darling," Rarity said with pose. "We packed you some clothes inside, just so you have something else to wear besides your wedding ensembles."

"Thank you!" my Twilight said in reply.

Flash pulled me to the side and spoke in a whisper, "We figured you didn't want to get Twilight pregnant yet, so we also packed you some... protection. you’ll see it in your bag.

The moment he said, that I got mama sun pony flashbacks that made me shudder. "Th-Thanks."

With that, we waved goodbye to everyone and got inside.

Once we took our seats, we held each other close.

"So, any idea where we're going?" I asked, caressing her cheek with my right hand.

Twilight leaned into my touch, moaning happily. "They wouldn't tell me. I just know they said it was a very romantic spot where we could get some alone time."

"Oh well, I like surprises, on occasion," I replied while reaching my other arm around her waist.

"They also said it could take a little while before we get there," she informed me as she placed her hands under my vest to feel my chest.

"I'm in no hurry to be anywhere else," I said as I moved the hand on her cheek to behind her neck, without breaking contact with her skin.

She shuddered and moaned at the feeling. We pulled each other close and shared our first kiss in her human form.

I don't know where this road will take us, but I’m going to enjoy every bit of it along with my bride, Twilight Taylor, the Sparkle of my eye.

"Jake! Jake, where are you?!" Twilight cried out as she wandered the barren wasteland. She'd woken up here, a world which was worse than any of the alternate worlds Starlight had accidentally created. And worse, she was without Jake.

The wind pushed against her, trying to bring her to her knees. She wouldn't give up, she couldn't, not after she'd finally married Jake.

"Jake, please, where are you?! I need you!" she screamed as tears began to form in her eyes.

The wasteland was completely devoid of any life, yet it still seemed to call out to her, "You are all alone! Your precious Jake is gone!"

"No!" Twilight yelled. "He's not gone! He can't be gone! I love him too much!"

"It is no use, Twilight Sparkle. Give up," the wind taunted. "Jake has."

Twilight went wide-eyed before she shouted in defiance, "You're lying! Jake would never give up, and neither will I! I love Jake more than anything, and nothing will keep me from him!"

"Then you really do care for Jake as much as you let on," said a much more calm, female voice.

The wind around Twilight stopped, and the sun rose over the wasteland. Twilight could only stare in astonishment as the wasteland became a beautiful meadow.

"Be at ease, Twilight Sparkle, you are safe now, and so is Jake," said the same voice that had taunted her before.

"W-Who are you? D-Do I-I know you?" Twilight stuttered as she scrambled to find where the voices were coming from.

"You do not know us, but you have done us a favor we could never repay you for," said the male voice.

"W-What do you mean? I don't understand."

"You saved our son. You took him in and showed him peace, friendship, and love. Without you, Twilight Sparkle, our Jake would still be alone, or even dead," answered the female voice.

"Y-Your Jake?" Twilight asked. And just like that, the ones who spoke to her became visible. Twilight couldn't recognize them, but she knew she had seen them before.

"Sorry for scaring you like that, but we needed to make sure you truly loved our son," said the male as he approached her with his arm stretched out. "I'm Ben, Ben Taylor."

Twilight then remembered who they were: Jake's parents.

"B-But Jake told me you were...gone," Twilight stammered.

"Oh, we are, but we're always in the heart of our little Jake," the female said as she joined her husband. "Maggie Taylor. Nice to meet you."

Twilight hesitantly shook their hands. "W-Where's Jake?"

"He's here. We just wanted to meet you first. Let's find him shall we?" Ben answered.

"Twilight? Twilight, where are you?" Twilight could hear Jake calling out to her.

Twilight was instantly filled with relief and excitement. "Jake! I'm here!"

Jake turned to face her. "Twilight!" he shouted as he started running toward her, not yet noticing his parents.

Twilight ran toward Jake as well, her wings involuntarily spreading. Jake was here, Twilight was here, everything was perfect. The two newlyweds collided into each others' embrace, blissfully unaware of the world around them. They belonged together, and they didn't want to be anywhere else.

"Twenty three years, and we don't even get a 'hello'?" Ben asked as he and Maggie approached them.

The second Jake set eyes on them, his heart felt like it was going to burst.

"Well, don't just stand there, get over here!" Maggie playfully chastised.

Jake set Twilight down as she emotionally prepared herself for what was about to happen.

"M-Mom? D-Dad? I-I-Is that...you?" Jake asked, breath failing him.

Ben nodded as Maggie's smile became wider.

"It's us, sweetie," she said.

In an instant, Jake burst forward and took both his parents and a hug, which they both returned.

"I-I never th-thought I'd s-see you again," Jake cried. "I-I've m-missed you...s-so much."

"We've missed you too, son," Ben replied. "We're sorry we've missed out on your life."

"At least you've found someone who loves you just as much as we do," Maggie added.

Slowly, and very, very hesitantly, Jake stepped back. "W-Will I-I ever see you again?"

"Only time will tell, sweetie," Maggie answered.

"For now, cherish the one you love. After all, you two still have your honeymoon ahead of you," Ben said.

Jake Taylor simply nodded as Ben and Maggie Taylor turned away and disappeared into the distance.

"I love you!" Jake yelled out.

He then turned toward Twilight, who was an emotional mess. "J-Jake, that was beautiful. I wish they could've-"

Jake cut her off as he scooped her up into a tight hug. "It was all I needed."

Finally at ease, Twilight and Jake walked off into the meadow to spend their lives together, finally as husband and wife.

Protesters and... Parents?!

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Unexpected arrival

Protesters and... Parents?!

Starlight awoke with a loud yawn, having heard some faint noises outside. Slowly, begrudgingly, she made her way to the kitchen.

Twilight and Jake were still on their honeymoon, and would be for a few more days, and Sunset had gone with Princess Celestia to Canterlot, so it was just her and Spike... and probably Rarity.

On the inside, Starlight felt very jealous. She still loved Jake, but it felt like he’d been spending less and less time with her, considering she’d been his quote ‘first love’.

It didn’t help that Sunset’s pregnancy was taking even more of his attention than Twilight. Starlight was still honestly surprised that Sunset could get pregnant, and even though she didn’t envy what would happen to Sunset when it came time to deliver the baby, Starlight still wanted the attention.

She finally made it to the kitchen and opened the fridge. There wasn’t much, just some milk, shredded cheese, eggs, and other stuff. Not having much option, Starlight pulled out the eggs and cheese. She didn’t know if Spike was awake or alone and didn’t want to disturb him.

She set a pan on the stove top with her magic and let it preheat. She then cracked the eggs and mixed the yolks in a separate bowl.

“Hey, Starlight,” said Spike, walking into the kitchen. “Need any help?”

Starlight stayed focused. “Nah, I got it.”

Spike yawned. “Alright. Hey, do you hear those noises outside?”

“That’s what woke me up,” Starlight answered. “I was gonna go see what it was after I ate. Want some? There’s more than enough for both of us.”

“Sure,” he replied, sitting down at the table.

Starlight poured the mixed yolk into the pan and let the eggs cook. After a bit, she began stirring, allowing the eggs to harden a bit.

“Cheese?” Spike said, holding up the aforementioned item.

“I figured since Twilight wasn’t here, I’d try it,” Starlight answered, taking the cheese from Spike.

Once the eggs were cooked enough, Starlight turned off the stove, sprinkled some cheese on the eggs, and covered the pan with a lid.

“Coffee?” Spike offered.

Starlight sat down across from him. “Sure, thanks.”

Spike handed her a cup and took a sip of his own. “How’d you sleep?”

“Surprisingly well, considering the chaos of the day before,” Starlight answered, sipping her own coffee. “Sunset still here?”

“No, she went back to Canterlot with Princess Celestia,” Spike replied.

Starlight chuckled. “I swear, with those Cutie Marks, those two have gotta be related somehow.”

Spike laughed as well. “Nope. Sunset claims to know her birth mother, though she did have a few... colorful names to call her.”

“Yeah, I’ve met Stellar Flare,” Starlight agreed. “She’s got the next two hundred years planned out for Sunburst, and that’s not even counting the time Sunburst was still living in Sire’s Hollow.”

Before Spike could say anything more, Rainbow Dash and Rarity came inside the kitchen.

“Hey, guys. What are you talking about?” Rainbow asked.

“Umm, Sunset and Princess Celestia. I didn’t hear the doors open,” Spike said with a confused look on his face.

“We had to come in through the window. There’s not a back door to the castle, and there’s a bunch of ponies out front who want to see Twilight,” Rarity answered.

Starlight and Spike shared a glance before looking out the window. Sure enough, there were a lot of ponies in front of the doors, some of which were yelling, others slamming their hooves against the doors.

“I’ll go see what they want,” Spike said.

“I-I’ll go with you,” Starlight volunteered.

As the two of them walked through the halls, Starlight felt surprisingly lonely. Jake or Twilight was usually here to greet her. Even before Jake arrived, Twilight was always there to make sure she was feeling okay, and while Starlight didn’t like being treated like a filly, she still more than appreciated it.

Now... the castle just felt empty. No Jake, no Twilight, just her.

“Starlight? You okay?” Spike asked, rousing her from her thoughts.

“Yeah, I‘m fine. Just not used to the castle being so... so quiet,” she answered.

“You know you can talk to me about anything right?” Spike reminded.

“I know. Let’s just see what these ponies want,” Starlight said, causing Spike a bit of confusion.

Regardless, Spike shrugged as he and Starlight pulled the doors open. Instantly, dozens of ponies swarmed around them, each demanding to see Twilight and yelling something about something being unacceptable.

It quickly became too much for Starlight, who clenched her eyes shut, cast as strong a voice amplifying spell she could and shouted, “STOP!!!”

All the shouting ponies quickly quieted down and backed off.

“Thank you,” said Starlight. “Now, what are you all doing here?”

When all of them started talking at once, Starlight again yelled, “One at a time!”

A stallion unicorn with a blonde mane and white coat stepped forward. “We wish to see Princess Twilight Sparkle at once. Her recent action of marrying this... foul creature is deemed absolutely unacceptable and must be undone.”

Starlight quickly put two and two together and asked, “Let me guess: you’re all from Canterlot?”

She was met with a chorus of agreement.

This was all too familiar with Starlight. Last time Jake had interacted with ponies from Canterlot, other than Twilight or Sunset of course, things had gone less than well.

“What is it any of your business who Twi-“ Spike started shouting until Starlight cut him off with a spell.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to explain to me in very specific detail what your problem is,” Starlight said softly.

The stallion, as well as every other pony there, scoffed. “The problem is, servant, that Princess Twilight is required to marry to an official noble or royal as to seal loyalty or increase royal status of the family she marries into.”

“I am sorry, but what did you just call me?” Starlight asked, her anger rising.

“I called you ‘servant’, because you are living in Princess Twilight’s castle, and you are clearly not Princess Twilight,” the stallion answered condescendingly.

Starlight closed her eyes and let out a little laugh. “Is that so? What might your name be?”

“I,” he began in a similar way to Trixie, “am Prince Blueblood, nephew of Princess Celestia herself.”

“Well then, Prince Blueblood”- Starlight said, her horn lighting up - “Why don’t you get your lazy, condescending, twisted-“

“Why, how dare you speak to me that way?!” Blueblood scoffed.

“No good flank out of this castle before I do it myself!” Starlight finished.

“Oh, when Princess Celestia hears of this-“ Blueblood began before he was lifted into the air and shot out of the castle like a cannonball.

“Anypony else wanna take a shot at Jake?!” Starlight challenged as red smoke began to pour from her horn.

In less than five seconds, the foyer was cleared of any presence aside from Starlight and Spike.

“Mmmmhh!” Spike mumbled.

“Oh, sorry, Spike,” Starlight said, undoing her spell from earlier.

“That was awesome! Prince Blueblood is such a prick, and you... you just shut him right up!” Spike praised.

Starlight couldn’t help but blush. “Thanks, Spike. But something tells me that won’t be the last protest we hear of Twilight and Jake’s marriage.”

Once again, I was woken up by the sun just barely piercing my eye. I simply decided to shift a little and hold Twilight a bit closer.

I still couldn’t believe it. After four years of friendship, and just a few months after finding out how she felt about me, Twilight and I were married!

I was still getting used to Twilight’s human form, but it made no real difference. I loved her all the same. She was still asleep, a large, beautiful smile on her face.

Rarity was not kidding when she said no expense was spared. The limousine first took us to a five-star restaurant, where we ate on the house, and now we were at a five-star hotel. Don’t ask how they afforded that.

In the end though, it didn’t matter. None of it mattered. All that was important was that Twilight and I were together. It took way too long to realize it, but I knew that we belonged together.

There was a light knock at the door that drew my attention. Twilight stirred, but didn’t wake up.

I gave her a kiss on the back of her head and whispered, “Be right back, sweetie.”

I slowly, quietly, got up and put on a shirt and some pants. I looked through the peephole, expecting to see someone with breakfast, but instead, I saw Principal Celestia.

What she was doing here was beyond me, but I opened the door.

“Principal Celestia, I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” I said just barely above a whisper.

“Actually,” she replied with a slightly worried look, “I’m not Principal Celestia.”

I was confused, but upon looking a little closer, I realized that she appeared the same age and height as me.

“Princess?!” I asked, my voice raising.

“I am sorry to disturb you so soon into your honeymoon, but there is something that I need to speak to you about,” she replied.

“O-Of course,” I said, closing the door behind me. “Is everything alright in Equestria? Is something wrong with Sunset?”

“Oh no, Sunset’s fine. She’s just going to stay at Canterlot with me for a few days,” she answered. “There... There is something that I must discuss with you.”

“Is it about the baby?”

Celestia shook her head. “No, but it does have to do with Sunset. It’s actually a long story that not even Luna knows about. I need your word that you won’t tell anypony.”

“Of course. Just tell me what’s going on,” I agreed.

Celestia took a deep breath and began, “After I banished Nightmare Moon to the moon, I quickly became very... lonely. Life as the ruler, with everypony looking to you for guidance was very stressful to say the least.”

I nodded, signaling for her to keep going.

“So, any many occasions, I would... change my appearance to that of a normal citizen and try to make friends with those in society. For a while, I was unaware how to act, but quickly began to fit in.

“This went on for a couple hundred years. Friends would come and go, and I would have to occasionally change my name so nopony I interacted with would become suspicious that I didn’t age.

“But one fateful day, I met a stallion. If I remember correctly, his name was... Prism Shine, I believe. He... astounded me, caught my attention more than any other stallion. Then one night, we both got a little tipsy and...”

“The next thing you knew, you were waking up in his apartment,” I finished for her.

She nodded. “Precisely. In a panic, I got away from his house and vowed to never go out in public again.”

“Let me guess; a few weeks later, you started feeling and looking different?” I guessed.

Celestia couldn’t look at me, but said, “That is correct, Jake. I became pregnant.

“I was lost. I couldn’t let the nobles find out; they would have ridiculed and disgraced me, not to mention imprison Prism Shine. All I could do was turn to my most trusted friend. We had met while I was... pretending, and I had let her in on my true identity. That pony was... Twilight Velvet, your mother-in-law.”

“Oh, wow,” I said. “What happened to the baby?”

“Well, I declared illness and left ruling to my most trusted advisors. During that time, Velvet helped me take care of myself and eventually deliver the baby, a beautiful little girl. That was when I had realized... I couldn’t raise her myself. Ruling Equestria would take too much of my time, and the nobles would have the baby disgraced due to not knowing the father.

“Velvet helped find a proper foster home for the child, a mare named Stellar Flare who had just suffered a miscarriage, and I wrongfully thought that would be the end of it.”

“I’m sorry. Giving up a baby can’t be easy,” I sympathized.

But then something occurred to me. Princess Celestia had told me that this had to do with Sunset, but she had yet to actually mention her...

“A-Are you saying that... th-that Sunset i-is-“ I stuttered.

She simply nodded. “Yes, Sunset Shimmer is my biological daughter.”

I leaned back against the door and rubbed my forehead. “I-Is that why she has a sun for a Cutie Mark?”

Celestia actually chuckled a little. “I wouldn’t be surprised. You can only imagine my shock when Sunset came back to Canterlot to enroll in my school. I recognized her by her mane.”

“I... I never would’ve thought. I mean, you two are already so close,” I said.

“Needless to say I was biased when taking her on as my personal student,” she replied. “And when she left, my heart wasn’t just broken, it was shattered. Not only because she left, but because it made me realize that I had failed, as a teacher and a parent. I’d thought that maybe if I had told her or didn’t give her up in the first place, maybe things would’ve been different.”

“Forgive me for asking,” I asked, “but what’s stopping you from telling her now?”

“Call it whatever you wish; fear, regret, maybe even protection but-“ she replied.

I cut her off, “But you’ll never know if you don’t try.”

“Jake, for years, Sunset was too afraid to see me out of fear of what I’d say,” she countered.

“But she did! And look where you are now,” I replied. “Forgive me for saying, but you realize you have to tell her this, right? This isn’t just common gossip or an everyday secret from a friend. This has to do with you being Sunset’s mother.”

Celestia sighed. “Perhaps you’re correct. I just really needed to get this off of my chest, what with the baby coming and all.”

“Well, look on the bright side,” I said, trying to cheer her up. “You’re going to have an actual grandchild.”

It got her to chuckle. “Thank you for letting me share. If you must tell Twilight because she is your wife, I understand, but please let me tell Sunset myself.”

“Of course. In fact, I should probably get back to Twilight and see if she’s awake,” I replied.

“And I should go too before Sunset realizes I’m gone,” Princess Celestia agreed.

With that, I went back inside and got back into bed with Twilight. This new information felt a bit heavy, but it was nothing we couldn’t make it through together.

After all, Twilight and I can make it through anything and everything as long as we are together.

Author's Note

Shoutout to ThePinkedWonder for proofreading the first half of this chapter

Just a little idea I came up with to stir the pot a bit

We need to talk (by Bumblebeau)

Author's Note

For those of you who were blown away by the last twist

Unexpected arrival

It was three months later, time for Sunset to come back through the portal for her third trimester. I’d been checking in on her from time to time, making sure she was okay. We’d gotten a few ultrasounds, but decided not to learn the gender of the baby.

Personally though, my money’s on a boy.

I was in front of the portal, waiting for her to come through. I had a bucket at the ready for the inevitable puke when she got here. Everything was ready; Twilight had plenty of doctors on standby in case something went wrong, and Starlight and Spike had done plenty of research to determine what foods she could and couldn’t eat.

The only thing I was worried about was letting Princess Celestia’s secret slip. Luckily, I had a pretty good feeling the Celestia would keep pretty close quarters with Sunset and the baby, so she’d be able to tell her herself.

I’d still neglected to tell Twilight due to... well, confusion I guess. I don’t want to be the kind of husband to keep secrets, but I just didn’t know how to tell her.

The portal lit up in front of me, and I held up my arms to catch Sunset. Sure enough, she shot right at me. I caught her and held up the bucket. She made eye contact with me, but immediately dipped her head into the bucket and hurled.

That sound will never cease to make me feel sick to my stomach.

As soon as she was done, she looked at me and chuckled. “I, uh, see you took precautions.”

“After the last time you came through, you bet your flank I did,” I replied.

The portal lit up again, to my surprise, and through came a wheelchair.

“What’s this for?” I asked.

Sunset heaved herself onto the chair, with a bit of difficulty, and answered, “Well, I went to the doctor a few days ago, and he said I’d been spending too much time on my feet. He suggested that I spend the rest of the pregnancy in bed as to avoid a heart attack or something, and I suggested that he go screw himself. Hence, the wheelchair.”

“Oh yay, the hormones are finally kicking in,” I said sarcastically.

“Hey, at least the baby’s perfectly healthy,” she responded.

It was then that I noticed that Sunset was really showing. Part of me was excited, and part of me was a little sorry that I’d done this to her.

I knelt down and got a better look. “Hey, sweetie. I’m your daddy,” I said, giving it a rub.

Sunset chuckled again. “Alright, I promised myself that the first thing I’d do is go see a doctor. Also, my friends say ‘hi’.”

She tried to use her hooves to move the wheels, but to not much avail. “Little help?” she asked, looking very embarrassed.

It was now my turn to chuckle as I pushed Sunset out the doors and through the hall. “So, how’re things back at CHS?”

“Surprisingly good,” she answered. “I didn’t get a lot of flack for the baby. In fact, a lot of people actually offered to help. I told them I appreciated the offers, but I already had plenty of help. Speaking of which, is Princess Celestia here?”

A few hours later, Sunset was at the doctor’s office. We also got a letter from Princess Celestia saying that she’ll be here as soon as she’s done with her business with the nobles.

I have a feeling I’m gonna be seeing a lot more of her.

It was just me and Twilight in the library, with my photo album.

“You’ve babysat for Flurry Heart before. You’ve gotta have some experience,” I pleaded.

“Jake, Flurry Heart is an alicorn. I’m pretty sure raising your child is gonna be miles easier than raising her. By the way, do you know the gender yet?” Twilight replied.

“Nope, but it won’t matter. Boy or girl, I’ll love it the same,” I answered.

Before Twilight could say anything, a loud ringing sound drew our attention.

“Somepony must be at the door. I’ll get it!” she said, getting up.

I, however, was confused. “I didn’t know there was a doorbell.”

Twilight ignored my comment and simply walked through the foyer toward the doors. I followed her as she opened them to reveal her brother, Shining Armor, Sunburst, and Flash Sentry.

“Sorry to bother you, but there’s something out here you should see,” Shining said.

“Is it something Flurry made?” Twilight happily asked.

Sunburst shrugged. “I doubt it, but it is a possibility. Nopony’s sure what happened exactly.”

“Jake’s gonna get a kick out of this too,” Flash chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. “This oughta be good.”

The five of us went outside and up to a chariot. Sunburst walked up to the door and put his hoof on the handle.

When the door opened, I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was a human! Like, an actual person with hands, fingers, feet, and toes.

He wore a dark pair of jeans and a black hoodie.

“...Ow,” he slurred. “Hey... this isn’t Pizza Hut!”

“He kept asking for... ‘Taylor Jake’. We thought of brining him here anyhow, so here we are,” Shining said.

“Did... did he give you a name?” I asked, kneeling down to the person.

“Nope, we just found him, wobbling through the streets. His reaction to us was... strange, to say the least,” Flash answered.

“We’ll, uh, we’ll take him off your hooves,” Twilight told her brother.

“Alright. I’ll tell Cadance and Flurry you said ‘hello’,” Shining replied with a hug.

I waved goodbye, and the three of them made their way out of Ponyville.

The man simply stared up at me, his entire head unable to remain still. “You look like me.”

From the way he was talking, and the scent of liquor on his breath, I could easily tell he was drunk.

“Here, let’s get you inside and sobered up,” I said, offering him a hand.

He simply went wide-eyed. “Woah! You have hands too! Everyone here just has those weird stubby things.”

“Okay, let’s just get you up and inside!” I said, heaving him up, having lost my patience.

We quickly came into the library, and I let the man fall onto one of the couches. I pulled up a few chairs for Twilight and me.

“Those three horses told me that your name is... Take Jaylor,” he drunkenly slurred.

Twilight laughed, I glared at her, and she stopped.

“My name’s Jake Taylor. What’s yours?” I asked.

He straightened up a bit. “I’m... Louis Moxon, friends call me ‘Mox’,” he replied.

“Would you, uh, like some coffee... Mox?” Twilight asked.

“You know what?” he said, his tone of voice raising. “That would be great. Thank you, miss... whoever you are.”

Twilight smiled. “I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

With that, Twilight went off toward the kitchen, leaving me with Louis.

“So, Louis, what you doing here?” I asked.

“Well, that depends. Are you Jake Taylor? Because if you are... that’s why I’m here,” Louis answered.

I leaned forward. “Do I know you? Because if not, I’m not sure why you’d be looking for me.”

“No, no you don’t know me. It’s a bit of a long story. I was on my motorcycle when I suddenly hit something and slammed into a tree. I woke up here, laid low, heard about... you, and got a bit excited,” he explained.

“By excited, I’m assuming you mean...”

“Drunk, yes. That’s something to know about me right off the bat... I’m a bit of an alcoholic. Hey, you don’t suppose you could drive me to my AA meeting on Tuesday do you?” he asked.

“Umm, we’ll see,” I answered. I heard Twilight walk back in.

“Wow, you’re right, Twilight, it is like looking in a mirror,” I heard Spike.

I turned my head to see Twilight had brought Spike and Starlight back with her.

“Hey, guys, this is... Louis,” I greeted. “Louis, this is Spike and Starlight Glimmer.”

“Hello, Spike and Starlight Glimmer. Call me ‘Mox’,” Louis said.

“Nice to meet you, Mox,” Starlight said, sitting next to me.

Spike handed Louis a cup of coffee before sitting down as well. Louis took a sip of the coffee and grinned. “This is good. Hey, do any of you want pancakes?”

“No thanks, Louis,” I said with a chuckle.

“Now, wait a second,” Starlight joked.

We all shared a small laugh before I got us back to the topic. “So, Louis-“

“Mox!”

“Mox, why exactly were you looking for me?” I asked.

“Well, I’d thought you were dead before I got here. You were in the morgue and everything!” he said.

“I’m sorry, but... morgue?!” Starlight asked, alarmed.

“That’s right, I only told Twilight. I was on my death bed before I came here. Now, Mox, why were you looking for me again?” I asked again.

“Well, my foster parents, Johnny and, uh, Jewels, got really sick a few weeks ago and told me about my birth parents. They said my birth parents were called... Ben and Maggie Taylor,” he explained.

“I’m sorry, Ben and Maggie Taylor? There must be some mistake; those are my parents, and I’m an only child,” I countered.

“Apparently,” he continued, ignoring my statement, “they were all good friends in college or something, and when Maggie got pregnant with twins, she gave one of them to my foster parents. That was... me? Or was it you?”

“Wait, wait, are you saying that you and I... are brothers?!” I cut off.

“That’s great! Now you have family here with you!” Twilight cheered.

“I guess, man. Here, my foster parents gave me a photo; I’m assuming it’s me and you,” he said, handing me a photo.

I took it and looked at it. Sure enough, it was of my parents, my mother holding me right after I was born. I’d seen this photo before, but only half of it. The other half was of my father, holding another baby, probably Louis.

“I’ll be damned. I’ve got a twin brother,” I chuckled. Only, when I looked at Louis, he was passed out.

“And he didn’t even make us pancakes,” Starlight complained.

About half an hour later, Sunset was back at the castle with, no surprise from me, Princess Celestia.

“So, let me get this straight; you have a twin brother that you never knew about, and he’s passed out drunk?” Sunset asked.

“Pretty much, yeah,” I answered. “Oh, and he offered to make pancakes... if he even remembers that when he wakes up.”

Sunset laughed.

“It is good to hear you have family of your own in Equestria,” Celestia said with a warm smile. “I still remember your parents’ mock funeral. It will be good for you to be able to bond with someone so close.”

“Thanks, Princess. I just hope he wakes up soon,” I said.

As if on cue, the doors to the kitchen opened, and in walked Louis, holding his head.

“Speak of the devil. Hey. Louis, glad you’re awake,” I greeted.

Louis smiled. “Seriously, man, call me ‘Mox’.”

“Alright, Mox, I want you to meet Sunset Shimmer and Princess Celestia,” I introduced.

He grunted, but waved. “Nice to meet you. Full name’s Louis Moxon, if you need it.”

I stood up. “Here, take a seat. You look like you need it more than I do.”

Louis nodded and sat down. “Sorry about earlier. I’ve been trying to quit drinking for a while now.”

“May I ask you something, Mox?” Sunset asked.

“Is that it?” Louis joked.

Sunset giggled. “How come you aren’t so... freaked out? I mean, talking ponies aren’t exactly a thing where you come from.”

“I’ve been here a lot longer than you think, just been out of sight,” he answered.

“Out of sight? How have you managed that for so long?” Celestia asked.

“Oh, um, back where I came from, I served in the army for a year in Iraq. I was taught basic stealth techniques and the like,” Mox replied. “Hey, what ever happened to... oh what were their names?”

“Twilight, Starlight, and Spike? They’re... out,” I answered.

“Well, if I remember correctly... and I’m not sure I do, I told them I’d make pancakes,” he said.

“In that case,” I said, standing up, “I’ll go get them while you get started.”

“I thought you said they were out,” Sunset whispered.

“Yeah, out of this room.”

“So, Mox, how long have you been in Equestria?” Twilight asked, taking a bite of her pancakes.

Louis turned away from the stove in thought. “Well, best guess, two to three weeks. The calendars here are a bit different than the ones back home.”

“You sure you don’t need any help with those?” I offered, standing up.

“Well, I guess you could get another pan,” he said, scraping out the last pancake. “This one’s kinda... used up.”

I took a look at what he meant, and he was right; the pan had a bit too much leftover pancake to be used again. I opened the cupboard and grabbed a new pan. Unfortunately, I accidentally pulled more than one out, and a few crashed onto the ground right next to Louis’s foot.

“Dude, what the hell!” Louis shouted. “You could’ve broken my foot!”

“My bad,” I said, picking up the pans. “Should’ve been more careful.”

“Damn right, you should’ve been more careful! I got a fragile toe implant that I can’t replace!” he yelled.

Twilight stood up and got between us. “Hey, he said it was an accident.”

“You stay out of this!” Louis screamed.

I pushed Twilight out of the way and got into Louis’s face. “Don’t you yell at her.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, or what?”

“Or I’ll kick your ass,” I whispered.

He scoffed. “Oh really, you kick my ass? Yeah right; I’m outta here,” he said, leaving the kitchen. “Enjoy the freakin pancakes.”

We were all silent as he slammed the door shut behind him.

No one said a word until Starlight spoke up. “That was... dramatic.”

“He’s either on steroids, or he’s pregnant too,” Sunset stated.

“No,” I said, shaking my head, “I think I know what’s going on.”

A few hours later, I found Louis by the back of the castle, sitting next to a campfire.

“Hey,” I said, getting his attention.

“Hey,” he replied.

“Mind if I join you?” I asked.

“Go ahead, I’m making some fried potatoes,” he offered as I took a seat across from him.

For a long while, the only sounds around us were the birds chirping, the fire crackling, and the potatoes frying.

“Listen, I’m sorry about earlier-“ he started to say.

“Hey, there’s no need to apologize. You just freaked out a bit; happens to all of us,” I cut off.

“Well, it seems to happen to me more than anything,” he replied.

We were silent again. I had to choose my next words very carefully or he might freak out again.

“Did... does this happen very often?” I decided to ask.

“Sometimes. When there’s a sudden, loud noise nearby, I just... go off like I did before,” he explained.

I leaned forward. “Did this start happening after Iraq?”

“Sure as hell never happened before Iraq,” he answered. “I was a driver for a convoy. For the most part, I was told I did pretty good. Then one day, we had to go through one of the most dangerous cities in the country.

“I was told that as long as I kept moving and didn’t stop for anything, we would be okay. But then, a little kid, couldn’t have been older than four or five, ran out into the middle of the road, right in front of me.

“We locked eyes, I stopped, and...”

He paused, his eyes tearing up. Mine were quickly doing the same.

“And next thing I knew,” he continued, “we were under such heavy fire... that I couldn’t see anything in front of me. By the time the rescue convoy got there to get us out... it was just me left, no one else.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. It couldn’t have been easy,” I sympathized.

“That’s not even the worst part. I was sent back in a few weeks later, same city and everything. Only now, I had no choice but to adapt to the enemy’s tactics,” he said, his breath hitching. “If they sent a little kid into the middle of the road as a decoy... which they did... I couldn’t stop.”

I moved next to him and put my arm around him.

“I-I had to... to keep g-going,” he said, tears running free.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I said, rubbing his back. “Did... did you ever try to get psychological help?”

He shook his head. “I tried, but... I just got buried under all the red tape. Had to back out before it took everything from me.”

I thought of my next move. If I mess this up, he may leave and never come back.

“I... I may know a guy who might be able to help you. He, uh, used to be a soldier too,” I offered.

“I can’t accept that. I don’t want you to be in the middle of this,” he said, standing.

I stood up as well. “Come on, you’re my brother. I want to get to know you, I want you to meet your niece, I want you to get over this.”

“I wanna know you too,” he replied. “If you’re sure this guy will be able to help me... I’ll give it a shot.”

“Thanks, man,” I said, pulling him into a hug.

Once again, there was silence between us. I had a brother, a family member whom I’d never thought existed. I wasn’t just going to let him leave.

“Wait, I have a niece?” he suddenly asked.

“Story for another day, Mox.”

Happy Disaster

We need to talk (by Bumblebeau)

It was a lovely day in the library, and Twilight had just finished organizing her shelves with her new and improved Twily Decimal System; thanks to her new system, anypony would be able to find whatever book they were looking for in three-point-seven seconds flat. Twilight looked at her work and marveled in her own brilliance.

“What could be better then the feeling of a well organized library?” Twilight said to herself with a sense of accomplishment.

She soon got her answer as she heard the doors open behind her to reveal Jake Taylor, her husband, and her soulmate.

With the biggest smile on her face, she rushed to her consort and leaped into his arms. She puckered her lips and gave him the biggest kiss of her life; she expected to meet his lips but instead found his cheek. She opened her eyes to see Jake with a dismal expression.

“Jake, honey, is everything alright?” Twilight asked.

“Twilight, we need to talk,” Jake said with sorrow as he placed her down and knelt beside her.

“What’s wrong? Whatever it is you can tell me anything,” Twilight said with concern.

Jake took a deep breath before he continued. “I’ve been talking with Sunset...”

“Yes?” Twilight asked.

“...And we both agreed it would be best for our children if Sunset and I were together to raise them,” Jake continued.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked with a sense of anxiety.

“I mean that I’m going to live with Sunset from now on... without you.”

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Didn’t they agree they would all be one big family?

“But what about me? What about us?” Twilight said placing a hoof on Jake’s knee.

Jake said nothing as he took off his wedding ring. “I’m sorry Twilight, but I need to do what’s best as a father,” he said while placing his ring in front of her.

Twilight looked at the ring, tears running down her cheeks. When she looked up she saw Jake and Sunset at the mirror to the human world; Jake held Sunset’s hoof as they prepared to go in.

“JAKE, WAIT! DON’T LEAVE ME!!!” Twilight shouted as she rushed towards the mirror as fast as her hooves could take her; as she ran, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Before Twilight could reach them, they had jumped into the portal, leaving her behind.

“JAKE!!!” Twilight shouted as she tried to enter the mirror; when she placed her hoof on the mirror, instead of going into the portal, she felt only a solid surface like a regular mirror.

“JAKE! I NEED YOU JAKE! PLEASE COME BACK!” Twilight shouted as she stared at her mirrored clone with tears flooding her face.

“Did I do something wrong? Do you just not l-love me anymore?” Twilight asked as she collapsed in front of the mirror. She curled into a ball and continued crying in her confusion.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!”

Twilight broke out of her saddened state and shot her head towards the voice to see her former teacher.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said. “You won’t believe what happened. Jake...”

“I saw the whole thing Twilight, and I am so disappointed in you!” Celestia said with an elevated voice.

“W-What?!” Twilight said with another bewildered look.

“If you couldn’t even keep your marriage in tact, how can you possibly be expected to act as a princess?” Celestia said with a hoof on her face.

“B-But... but I...”

“Clearly, I have chosen the wrong pony for the job,” Celestia said while shining her horn in Twilight’s direction. When the light cleared Twilight discovered that her wings were missing; Twilight was just a regular unicorn again.

“The position of Princess of Friendship will be given to a mare more worthy of such an honor.”

Before Twilight could ask any questions a large cloud of smoke gathered around her. As the smoke entered her lungs, sending her into a coughing fit, she heard sounds of laughter coming from the smoke.

“And who is more worthy than I-” the voice shouted while clearing the smoke around her, revealing to be Trixie with a new set of wings, “-Trixie, the greatest and most powerful of all alicorn princesses?”

“Trixie?!” Twilight shouted in bewilderment.

As Trixie laughed on her new throne, groups of ponies bowed before her, including Princess Celestia herself.

Twilight saw two humans chained to her throne: Flash Sentry, and Timber Spruce; both were ripped, oiled up, dressed in slave outfits, and messaging Trixie’s hooves with smiles on their faces.

“Princess Trixie can get used to this,” Trixie said while holding a small bell.

Once she rang the bell Starlight appeared from behind the throne wearing a belly-dancer outfit and carrying a platter of grapes. “I’m here, mistress,” Starlight said in a seductive tone. Once Starlight got close enough she started to feed Trixie the grapes with her mouth.

While dazed and confused, Twilight heard a sound from the mirror. When she gazed upon its glow, she saw Jake and Sunset together with several children; they were all laughing and smiling together, clearly happier without Twilight there.

“Jake...” Twilight said in response to what she saw.

“I have an announcement everypony!” Celestia announced with pride. “Luna and I have decided to retire, and hereby declare our successor to be none other than the Great and Powerful Princess Trixie!”

While Twilight stood there with her mouth agape, everypony else was cheering in honor of their new matriarch. Celestia placed a crown on Trixie’s head, but not just any crown: it was Twilight’s crown, with her Element of Harmony.

“And now for my first decree as ruler of Equestria, we will send this miserable excuse for a pony somewhere where she will never be a nuisance again!” Princess Trixie exclaimed while her horn glowed.

Before Twilight had a chance to object, Trixie shot at the floor beneath her, and Twilight fell into the darkness below.

The last thing she saw was the image of Trixie, Celestia, and all of Twilight’s friends laughing at her misery, then everything faded to black.

“NOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Twilight screamed in her sleep, waking Jake up in the process.

Jake got up in my half awaken state as Twilight flailed her hooves around.

“Twilight... is everything alright?” Jake said while rubbing his eyes and turning a table lamp on.

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized Twilight was still asleep; he grabbed her by the shoulders and gently shook her.

“Twilight! Twilight wake up!” His words finally woke her, and she slowly opened her eyes. When she saw him, she burst into tears and held him tightly.

“JAKE!!! YOU CAME BACK! I WAS SO WORRIED I WOULD NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!!!” she cried while sobbing into his chest.

“It’s okay sweetheart,” he said while stroking her mane. “You were having a bad dream, but it’s all over now.”

“It was so horrible,” Twilight said with tears. “Princess Celestia called me a failure, Trixie took my place as a princess, and...” Twilight got up and looked straight into his eyes. “...and you left me.”

Jake looked at her with my eyes as wide as he could make them. “Leave you? Why would I do that?”

“Because you said it was better for the baby if you were with Sunset... instead of me...”

With the exception of her crying, Twilight was silent; Jake simply smiled and held her head close to his heart.

“That’s never going to happen, Twilight,” Jake said with a soft voice. “If you meant that little to me, I never would have married you.”

Twilight said nothing, but pushed herself closer into his chest.

“I made a promise to you, Twilight: I will never abandon you. Even if I ever did decide to live in the human world with Sunset, you and Starlight would be right there with me, because I love you, Twilight, and that’s never going to change!”

Twilight put her hoof on his arm. “I love you too, Jake!”

After about a minute in this position, Jake decided to turn off the light and pulled them both back to a lying down position. Twilight held him close while tucking us into the covers with her magic. They gave each other a kiss before saying their goodnights.

“Goodnight, Twilight...”

“Goodnight, Jake...”

“Goodnight, you two!”

Jake’s eyes shot wide open as he turned the light back on and looked around the room for the third voice. Suddenly, they both felt something moving under the covers; Jake lifted the comforter, and a certain draconequus popped his head out with a message:

“Happy April Foals Day everypony!”

Author's Note

April :scootangel: king fools

How things are gonna be (by Bumblebeau)

Biggest Regrets (by Bumblebeau)

Once Twilight left the room, I stared at the light above my bed, thinking about the last vision I had with my father. One phrase he said stood out to me: “You’ve forgotten who means most to you, your alleged ‘first love’.”

It would not take a genius to know who he was referring to: my first marefriend, and the first person I truly fell in love with, Starlight Glimmer.

The more I thought about, it the more it made sense; I have not been spending as much time with Starlight as I have Twilight or Sunset. In fact, I don’t remember doing anything special for Starlight in the last few months. What if it is tearing her apart on the inside?

Right as I was beginning to really berate myself, I heard a light knock on the door. It opened, revealing the mare in question.

“Jake, are you awake?” Starlight whispered as she poked her head into the room.

I nodded my head and beckoned her to come closer. “Yes Starlight, I’m still awake. C-Can you come closer? I want to talk to you.”

“O-Of course,” Starlight said with a small smile as she drew closer.

As Starlight approached me, I could not help but admire how beautiful she was. Her curled mane bounced with every step she took, her eyes glimmered like the stars, and her coat was so fluffy I could stroke it all day if she let me.

Starlight took a seat in the chair right next to the bed and scanned me with a worried expression.

“How do you feel? Are you in any pain?” Starlight asked with a soft voice.

“I’m alright, as long as I don’t move around too much, I’ll be fine. More importantly, how are you feeling?”

Starlight looked at me with a confused glare. “You almost got killed by an apple cart, yet you’re worried if I'm the one having a bad day?” she said with a small chuckle.

“No, no, I don’t mean like that!” I said while giving a small smile at her remark. “What I meant was, over the last few months, I feel like I might not have given you the attention you deserve.”

Starlight looked at me with a wide-eyed expression, which then became gloomy as she looked away from me.

“I-I guess… I have been feeling a little… left out,” Starlight said while hanging her head down.

“I know, and I’m so sorry, Starlight,” I said with my own glum expression. “You mean the world to me, and I’ve been practically ignoring you all this time.”

“That’s putting it lightly…” Starlight said with a soft, yet serious tone.

“How do you mean?” I asked with concerned interest.

Starlight rubbed her nuzzle, and then looked right at me with a stern look. “Ever since your honeymoon, you and Twilight have been acting like such newlyweds! I rarely see you two apart, and every time you see her at the castle, you get all lovey-dovey and start calling each other pet names!” Starlight said with her voice slowly elevating.

“I… I guess I have been giving Twilight some extra attention lately,” I said, feeling embarrassed.

“And it’s not just Twilight! Anytime Sunset is over, you can’t help but rub her belly all day long or talk to it like the baby can understand speech already!” Starlight added, this time not hiding the anger in her voice.

“I-I’m just trying to-”

“But what about me?! Anytime we’re alone you’re always talking about how adorable Twilight’s been lately, or what you think the baby is going to be like when it grows up!”

“Starlight-”

“And when we share a bed together, you usually just go straight to sleep! I used to think it was because you were just tired, but now I'm starting to feel like I’ve been left on the back burner!”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“Oh, but you absolutely give priority to the mare you shoved into a wedding dress, and the other you squeezed a baby into!!!” Starlight yelled out.

“I did not plan on getting Sunset pregnant!” I said with a voice more aggressive than I meant for it to be.

“Oh, was getting married to Twilight an accident too?! Is giving your vows the human way of asking permission to use the toilet?!”

“If you had such a problem with our marriage why didn’t you say anything?!” I said with more unintentional agitation as I felt my eyes become damp.

“I didn’t have a problem with it, until you…” Starlight paused while making a painful face and pushed back tears. “…Until you let me feel alone!”

I stare at Starlight and whatever anger that was building up simmered down.

“When you married Twilight, you said that ‘nothing would change between us,’, but now we don’t kiss or cuddle or… or anything anymore!”

As Starlight sat in her chair sobbing, I looked at her while thinking how much of an idiot I have been. I tried to lean over so I could hold her, but pain flared in my chest as I tried getting up.

“Starlight, I’m really sorry I haven’t been paying more attention to you. I promise, once I get out of here, I’ll make it up to you; you won’t ever feel alone again.”

“How do I know that?” Starlight said, wiping her tears away. “How do I know you won’t completely ignore me once the baby gets here?”

“Of course I won’t! Because you’re my-”

“Your what? Your marefriend?! Twilight is your wife, Sunset is going to be the mother of your first child, and I am just the marefriend who lives with you?! What makes me so special?”

I paused for a moment, replaying her words in my head, but before I could give her my answer a nurse with pink hair and a white coat opened the door.

“I’m sorry miss, but visiting hours are over. We need to let Mr. Taylor rest.”

Starlight looked at me with tear stained eyes and spoke softly. “I guess I’ll go now, goodbye Jake.” She then leaned in like she is going to kiss my cheek but paused and gave me a sorrowful expression. She then got down from her chair and headed for the door.

“S-Starlight…” I said as the mare I love walked away.

I tried to get up, but my arms and legs were barely cooperating with me.

“Starlight…”

The pain in my chest was manifesting itself again as I tried to raise myself up, but I refused to just let Starlight go without her knowing how much she meant to me. I refuse to let things end like this.

“Mr. Taylor, please don’t try to get up! You’re going to make it worse!” the nurse said to me with a panicked voice.

“N-No!” I tried to speak despite the pain in my chest. “Starlight… don’t… go!”

Starlight turned and looked right at me while the nurse dug through the drawers. The pain was becoming unbearable, but nowhere near as unbearable as the thought of Starlight possibly leaving the herd.

As I gave a small growl of pain, Starlight looked at me with a wide-eyed expression “J-Jake, stop! If you keep going like this…” I looked her right in the eyes with tears of both sadness and pain running down my face.

“Starlight… I... lo-” before I could finish the nurse pins me back down on the bed with a syringe in her mouth.

“I said LAY DOWN!!!” she said after taking the syringe out of her mouth and inserting its needle into my arm.

As the liquid in the syringe was pushed into me, all the pain in my chest went away, and I became limper than I was before. As my vision grew darker, I looked right into Starlight’s eyes; a hoof covered her mouth, and I saw more tears falling down her cheeks. Her beautiful face was the last thing I saw before everything faded to black.

“We’re home!” Twilight said as happily as she could as she opened the doors to her castle; her echo carried itself all throughout the foyer. As the lights crystals on the walls slowly glowed brighter, everyone else (Sunset, Louis, Spike, and Princess Celestia (who decided to follow them home)) entered the castle.

“I’m gonna get some sleep. Night!” Louis said nonchalantly as he headed to his room.

“Goodnight, Louis!” Twilight said after him. Louis shot his hand up, showing acknowledgement to her voice.

Once Starlight finally came inside, everyone else looked at her anxiously. Starlight had not told anyone else about her fight with Jake yet. In fact, she was silent the entire way home.

“Starlight… is everything alright?” Spike asked while putting a claw on her foreleg for comfort. Starlight placed a hoof on Spike’s claw and gave a sad smile.

“I’m sorry, Spike,” Starlight said as she slid his claw off her. “I just really need to be alone right now. Goodnight, everypony…” Once everyone said their goodnights to her, Starlight headed towards her room with her head hung low, and her mind full of thoughts.

As everyone watched Starlight leave, Twilight placed a hoof on Spike’s shoulder and gave him a comforting smile. “Come on Spike, let’s get you to bed.” Spike returned the smile and did as he was told.

“I need to get going too; I actually forgot something back home and don’t wanna forget it. Goodnight, everyone!” Sunset said as she used magic on her wheelchair to head towards Twilight’s library, where the mirror to her world was.

“Goodnight, Sunset!” Twilight said while waving her hoof. “We’ll let you know if Jake gets better!”

Sunset turned to wave her hoof back and noticed Celestia approaching her.

“Sunset, would you mind if I saw you out? I’d love to talk with you some more,” Celestia said as she followed Sunset by her side.

“S-Sure! If that’s what you want to do,” Sunset said with a smile.

Celestia nodded and pushed Sunset with her magic. She then looked towards Twilight with a nervous glare. Twilight simply smiled back and gave an encouraging nod, knowing full well what Celestia was planning to do.

As the two mares engaged in small talk during their walk, Celestia looked down at her daughter and smiled. She started to think various things about Sunset, such the time she first met her after giving her away many years before, and making Sunset personal her apprentice, studying various magical subjects under her care. She then fantasized about how things would be if she’d kept Sunset as her daughter and raised her to grow up to become a smart, strong, and beautiful mare.

Those thoughts soon ended as the mares entered Twilight’s library and saw the portal to Sunset’s world.

Celestia looked around the library and saw that the decorations were still up, and the food was still out on the tables; Celestia was especially eyeing the cake, which looked like there were a few good slices left. After scanning the entire room a few more times, she was convinced that nopony else was in the library with them.

“Looks like this is it, thank you for walking with me, princess,” Sunset said.

“Hmm? Oh, yes. N-No trouble at all…” Celestia said grimly.

Sunset caught the tone in her voice and looked at her with a concerned glare.

“Is everything alright Princess?”

“Oh, nothing’s wrong. I just… I…”

Celestia looked into Sunset’s eyes and started to feel a wave of doubt hit her.

Celestia wished to tell Sunset the truth, about who she really was. But every time Celestia found one reason to tell her the truth, a voice in her head gave her ten reasons why she should not.

“Princess Celestia?” Sunset said to her former mentor with concern.

Celestia had lived longer than many ponies before her, she’d fought alongside her sister to defeat enemies powerful enough to be deities, and for a thousand years had single handedly ruled an entire nation. The feeling of Sunset hating her for hiding the truth felt worse than any trial Celestia had faced before.

Impatient from Celestia’s silence, Sunset got out of her chair and placed her hoof over Celestia’s.

“Princess Celestia whatever is bothering you, you can tell me,” Sunset said as she comforted the alicorn princess. “Please trust me, like I trust you.”

“S-Sunset… I am…” Celestia paused as she struggled to get any more words out.

“Yes?” Sunset said with her eyes filled with expectancy.

“…I am just wondering if it is the right time to give you this.” Celestia’s horn glowed, and a book materialized in front of Sunset. The cover of the book had a symbol, which the left half was of Celestia’s Cutie Mark, and the right half was of Sunset’s.

“It looks just like my old journal!” Sunset said with a huge smile, believing she understands Celestia’s intention.

The old journal she was referring to allowed her to be able to communicate with Princess Celestia while Sunset was banished to the human world. However, since Twilight had to use Celestia’s journal to keep the bridge between worlds open, she could not use it anymore.

“I thought that with this you would be able to talk to me whenever you wanted. I had to get us a new pair since... you know.” Celestia pointed her hoof at the part of the portal that contained her old journal. “I can’t promise I’ll always answer right away, but I do promise to always respond if you ever need my wisdom, or if you just wish to engage in small talk.”

Sunset hugged her new journal and looked at Celestia with joy in her heart. She then approached Celestia and gave her the biggest hug she could possibly give. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me. I love you, Princess Celestia!”

Celestia hugged her back as she felt her eyes becoming watery. “I love you too Sunset. You’re going to be an amazing mother; I just know it!”

They held their hug for a few moments before Sunset had to break it off.

“I need to go now; I’ll be sure to write to you when I get home. Goodnight Princess Celestia!”

“Good night Sunset, sweet dreams!” Celestia said as she smiled and waved goodbye.

Once Sunset pushed her wheelchair into the portal, she looked back at Celestia with a warm smile; Sunset then walked through the portal herself, disappearing from Celestia’s sight.

Even after Sunset was gone, Celestia continued to smile and wave. Tears then started to fall down her face like two small waterfalls. Her waving slowed to a halt, and her smile slowly melted away.

“I am your mother…” Celestia said to a nonexistent Sunset Shimmer.

“I’m your mother…” Celestia got down on her knees and let her tears hit the floor.

“I’m your mommy, Sunset… y-your real m-mother...” Celestia spoke her last words with a broken voice as she allowed her sadness to completely overtake her. Even when she banished Luna to the moon, Celestia had never cried so excessively in her entire life as she did this very moment.

As her cries filled the library, the doors opened, revealing Twilight Sparkle, who gazed upon the scene with a worried expression. She then approached her former teacher and embraced her in a hug. Silence was shared between the princesses as Celestia returned the hug and continued to cry her eyes out.

Author's Note

Of all the chapters I’ve gotten from Bumble, this one was the easiest to edit.

Also, sorry I haven’t been updating a lot lately. Life’s been a little hectic lately, and I’ve been trying to work on Wattpad more than anything

Also also, this marks the thirtieth chapter of Romantic Mischief, so expect a few top tens dedicated to this story

Biggest Regrets (by Bumblebeau)

Happy Disaster

“I know, I’ve seen stuff like that first hoof,” Shining Armor told my brother. “All you can do is move past it.”

Louis nodded. “I guess you’re right. I mean, I can’t exactly do it over.”

I shouldn’t have been there, but I couldn’t help it. My own brother, who I didn’t even know existed until seventy-two hours ago, had PTSD, and I wasn’t going to let him go through that alone.

I’d asked Shining Armor to come by and talk with Louis as a bit of therapy. Louis had shared his story, and Shining had done the same. The two had talked about how they’ve never forgotten the faces they’d seen, friend or foe, and the actions they had to take, no matter how drastic.

In complete honesty, it was a bit jarring. I knew people could be corrupt, but... hearing it in close detail sent a chill down my spine. I could only count my blessings, not having gone through it myself.

“One soldier to another... did you ever go through something like this?” Louis asked.

Shining chuckled. “I did for a bit, but... then I met my wife, and we had our daughter.”

I heard him get up.

“Having somepony around really helps to move on,” he said.

Louis sighed. “Somepony. I’m never gonna get used to that word.”

They both laughed, and I had to hold my own laughter in.

“Thanks for this, it means a lot,” Louis thanked.

“Of course,” Shining replied. “I’d better be getting back. Don’t hesitate to call me if you ever need any help.”

Shining Armor walked out the door and right past me, seemingly unaware of my presence. My brother followed, but I said, “Hey.”

Louis jumped a little. “Dude, don’t do that.”

“Sorry,” I replied. “How are you feeling?”

Louis didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked away.

“You alright?” I asked.

“It’s just... how can even the most peaceful have to endure so much? I thought humans were messed up,” he answered.

I nodded, not knowing how to respond.

We both just stood there for a minute before I spoke up. “I was, uh, gonna swing by Sweet Apple Acres to see if I could get my old job back. You could, uh, join me if you wanted.”

“Sweet Apple Acres? Isn’t that the orchard on the other side of town?” he asked.

“Yeah, but it’s not that far a walk,” I replied. Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to get out of the castle and get to know Louis, and heading to Sweet Apple Acres, which I’d been meaning to do anyhow, was the perfect excuse.

Louis looked hesitant. “You sure? There’s a pretty good possibility I might... freak out again.”

“Well, you gotta get outta here sometime, so why not now?” I coaxed.

He sighed again. “Fine, fine. But if I go off, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Twilight Sparkle looked as Jake Taylor and Louis Moxon left the castle. As soon as the doors closed, she faced the room and said, “They’re gone, release the Pinkie.”

As soon as Twilight was finished talking, the pink blur zipped around the large room, hanging up streamers and balloons. Spike and Starlight got busy bringing out tables and posters. Twilight busied herself with setting up gifts and the like.

It was currently the three of them, as Sunset was still suffering from morning sickness, and Princess Celestia was helping her work through it.

As she set up, Twilight couldn’t help but reminisce about the first time everyone had celebrated Jake’s birthday in Equestria. He didn’t tell them for months until Pinkie got it out of him. Since then, he’d forgotten nearly every year, not really needing to remember so long as Pinkie Pie was around.

Now, not only was it Jake’s birthday, but Louis’s as well. Twilight had no idea what Louis liked or was into, so she told Pinkie to be as generic as possible.

...Probably not gonna happen.

“Twilight? You okay?” Spike asked, getting Twilight’s attention.

Twilight blinked a few times and cleared her throat. “Umm, yeah. I’m just... thinking.”

“Oh?” Spike replied. “What about?”

Twilight shrugged. “Nothing in particular, really. Just that this is gonna be Jake’s first birthday as my husband... and that I wanna go all out.”

Just then, Pinkie came to a screeching halt, directly in front of Starlight, nearly knocking her down.

“Did I just hear what I thought I heard?!” Pinkie excitedly asked.

Twilight nodded. “Yes. Go all out with the decorations!”

Pinkie gave a girlish squee as she continued to do what she, and only she, did best. Meanwhile, Starlight stood up and dusted herself off.

“Twilight, not that I don’t trust your judgement or anything, but... are you sure going all out is a good idea? What with Mox’s... condition?” she asked.

“I already thought of that,” Twilight answered. “That’s why we’re not having it in the foyer. Sound doesn’t echo or carry as much in here, and besides, we won’t yell ‘surprise’ or anything like that, just let them discover the party for themselves.”

“O-Okay, if you’re sure,” Starlight hesitantly responded. For whatever reason, she wasn’t sure having such a big party for Louis so soon after his arrival was a good idea for his state. In fact, Starlight had been thinking a lot about Louis lately, the way he talked, the way he looked, the way he smiled, it... fascinated her to say the least.

Especially since Jake and Twilight got married and Sunset came to have the baby, Starlight had felt... lonely.

Louis and I were at Sweet Apple Acres, helping Applejack and Big Mac put everything away. Apparently, it was supposed to be extremely cold tonight for whatever reason. The most explanation Applejack could give me was that winter was quickly approaching, which it was.

However, she also seemed a bit anxious to get to the castle for whatever reason.

...Scratch that, I knew exactly why, but wanted to feign ignorance toward Louis.

Speaking if which, he’d just finished moving all the movable equipment into the barn and walked up to me. “Need any help with that?”

“No, I’m almost done,” I replied. I was currently digging in a few holes to keep one of the heavier wagons from rolling off. Big Mac would usually do this sort of thing, but he was nowhere to be found. “Go ahead and head to the castle, I’ll be right behind you.”

Instead of leaving, Louis knelt down to face me. “Actually, there’s something we should talk about. Something about you listening in on my and Shining Armor’s conversations that last few days.”

I looked up at him. “Yeah, and?”

“And, I don’t want you burdening yourself with my problems,” he answered.

I rolled my eyes. “You’re my brother; what am I supposed to do, stay out of it?”

Louis scoffed and stood up. “Uh, yeah. Do you know how many issues I had to go through on my own back home?”

I got up as well and looked him in the eye. “Well, you’re not back home, are you?”

“I appreciate that you’re trying to help me,” he said, “but stop, or I’m gonna somehow bring you down with me.”

“You know,” I said, letting out a sigh, “I used to be just like you, too prideful to ask for anything. But you know what? That doesn’t get anyone anywhere.”

“Don’t push it,” he said, giving my shoulder a serious poke.

I didn’t respond right away. Looks like we really were brothers. Bickering, arguing, fighting brothers.

“Just go to the damn castle, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Fine,” he said, storming off.

I groaned and got back to work. A few minutes later, once I had all the wheels set in place, I stood up and admired my work, giving the wagon a good push to make sure it wasn’t going anywhere.

The second I turned away, however, I heard something creak. I looked back at the wagon just in time for it to roll right at me, push me back, and pin me to a tree.

I pushed against it as hard as I could, but it wasn’t going anywhere. I tried calling for help, but it was resting right on my chest, constricting my breath. I also noticed that the sun was beginning to sink below the horizon, signaling it would be nighttime. And it was already starting to get cold.

I tried to shimmy my way away from the tree, but to make matters worse, I was on a slight incline, so gravity was against me as well.

“H-Help!” I wheezed into the air. “Mox, please help me!”

I got no response. Breathing was already becoming more and more difficult, and the air got into my lungs, causing me to cough. I had to get lout of there fast.

Louis knocked on the castle doors and waited for an answer. He was still a little upset at Jake, but tried his best to hide it. Apparently, that Twilight Sparkle pony was his wife or something, Louis wasn’t entirely sure.

Jake had attempted to explain his relationship status to Louis, but he didn’t do a very good job. All Louis really took away was that Jake was a lucky bastard with not only a wife, but two girlfriends, one of which he knocked up.

After not getting an answer for a hot minute, Louis slowly opened the door on his own, finding it was unlocked. He stepped inside and found a note waiting for him.

Jake and/or Louis,

Come into the library for a special surprise. Don’t worry about Louis, we have a plan to deal with that

Twilight

Louis shrugged and slowly made his way to the library. The entire castle was built like a maze, with hallways twisting and winding so that no one knew where they were going unless they had a map or something. Jake had tried to give Louis a decent layout of the castle, but it didn’t do much good; that knowledge was gone by next morning.

Instead of aimlessly wandering, Louis opened one door and called out, “Hello?”

When he got no response, he did the same for another door. This time, Twilight appeared to him out of nowhere.

“Hey, Mox, guessing you don’t know your way around yet?” she politely asked.

Louis simply shook his head.

“That’s alright, just follow me,” she said before walking through one of the many doors. “Where’s Jake?”

“He’s, uh, back at Sweet Apple Acres, finishing up some work. He said he’d be right behind me,” Louis answered. Truth be told, Louis didn’t really care to see Jake for a while, at least until one of them got over whatever they needed to, and Louis would probably have to be the bigger man... again.

“Oh, well, that’s okay. Did he, um... did he tell you what today is exactly?” Twilight asked.

“No... should he have?” Louis answered.

Twilight looked a little anxious. “You’ll... find out in a second.”

Louis shrugged and continued to follow Twilight through the halls until she told him they had arrived at the library. She opened the door and stepped out of the way, revealing the library’s features.

Inside were several hung decorations that Louis guessed would’ve taken all day, all of the ponies he’d met so far and then some, and a huge banner that read ‘Happy Birthday, Jake and Mox’.

“Wait,” Louis said, “today’s my birthday?”

“Surprise!” Twilight giggled. “Since you and Jake are twins, it only makes sense that your birthdays are, well, on the same day. You... didn’t know?”

“Twilight, I didn’t know I had a brother until a month ago,” Louis joked. With that, the two of them went inside.

My arms gave out once again. I’d been trying to get out of this for what felt like hours. Calling for help was pretty much out of the question, but simply pushing seemed useless as well; this wagon wasn’t going anywhere.

I have to admit, things were not looking good for me at the moment. Breathing was becoming harder and harder, and the air around me was getting colder and colder.

This could not be happening, not now. I just met my brother, I finally married Twilight, the baby with Sunset was on the way.

...Five years ago... five years ago, I probably would’ve been just fine with this, but not now, not with so much going for me. I couldn’t bare to think of Twilight, what she’d think if she saw me like this, cold and... dead. I had to get to her, to everyone. I couldn’t go like this.

I took as deep a breath as possible and pushed against the wagon as hard as I could, but... no luck, whatsoever.

“H-Help! Some... someone, please!” I yelled as loud as I could as I continued to push. “Come on! Happy freakin’ birthday to me!”

“And why should anyone help you?” a strangely familiar voice called out to me.

“W-Who... is that? Mox?” I shouted.

“You’re a terrible person, whether you know it or not!” the voice shouted.

“Discord? I-Is that you? Come on... stop messing with me. Just... just help me!” I pleaded.

“You’ve been undermining your long-lost brother’s wishes!”

I pushed harder. “Please, stop!”

“You’ve been keeping secrets from Twilight, your wife!”

“I have... too much to live for! I... I can’t go now!” A tear began to make its way down my cheek.

“You’ve utterly ruined the teenage life of Sunset Shimmer!”

The wind was getting to me, beginning to make me feel numb. It didn’t feel like I had long.

“And you’ve forgotten who means most to you, your alleged ‘first love’.”

“S-Starlight? W-What are you talking about? I... I love Starlight!” I refuted.

“She doesn’t seem to believe that!”

I shook my head; this couldn’t be the end. With all the strength I had left, I pushed against the tree and the wagon, doing all I could to separate them... until my strength finally gave out.

“But... I forgive you... son.”

I looked up in confusion. “Who are you? What do you want from me?!”

A large, bright light appeared before me, and also appeared a shadowy figure within.

“Cock-o-doodle-doo, Jakey,” the figure said, his voice much more clear now.

More tears fell down my face. There are only two people who have ever said that to me... my parents.

“D-Dad? I-I-Is that... you?” I cried.

“It’s me, son,” he answered. “Everything will be okay.”

“I-I’m so... scared. I can’t d-die like this,” I sobbed.

My father reached his hand down toward me. “It is alright. I’m here now. Just take my hand, and it will be all better.”

I almost reached for him right away, but... didn’t. “W-What about... Twilight... a-and Louis?”

“They’ll be fine. Your loss will surely be devastating, but I assure you that they will recover.”

I forced myself to look away from him. The warm that was coming from his light vanished and was quickly replaced by the harsh, cold night air.

“M-My child... I can’t leave Sunset like this. I can’t leave my child behind.”

I felt my father’s hand caress my cheek, warming it up in an instant.

“You can see them anytime you like. Please, son, you’re family is here, and you will never be separated from them again, old family or new.”

“N-Never?” I asked, looking up at him.

“Never,” he reiterated.

One of my hands were still free to move. I slowly, shakily reached up to take my father’s hand.

“Something’s not right,” Twilight whispered to herself. Louis seemed to be enjoying the party, but... where was Jake? He’d just... never shown up.

“You okay, Twilight?” Starlight asked, bringing Twilight out of her thoughts.

Twilight shook her head. “No... have you seen Jake at all lately?”

Starlight looked down, her eyes facing the ground. “No, not really.”

“Mox said he’d be here right behind him,” Twilight thought out loud.

“Maybe Mox knows where he is?” Starlight suggested.

Twilight shrugged, and the two of them walked over to Louis.

“He was at Sweet Apple Acres, planting down a wagon; he told me to come here and that he’d be here right after me,” he told them.

“You don’t think he’s still out there?” Twilight asked. “It’s... beyond freezing out there.”

Louis looked toward the door and got up. “I’ll go look for him.”

“Are you... crazy? It’s well below freezing. Jake wouldn’t just... stay outside,” Starlight said.

“Well, I’m gonna go look anyhow,” Louis replied. “I’m supposed to be a soldier; I never leave another man behind, let alone my own brother.”

“I’m going with you,” Twilight stated, joining Louis at the door.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Pinkie appeared in front of Louis and Twilight. “Where ya’ going?”

“Where... How... What?” Louis stammered.

“Pinkie, we’re going out to look for Jake, he never showed up. Party’s over,” Twilight answered.

Pinkie let out a sad sigh. “But... but it’s a birthday party, and Jakey didn’t even get to see it,” she pouted.

“If we don’t find Jake, there’ll be no point to a party to begin with,” Louis countered, putting on his jacket. “Now, if either of you want to help me, I’m leaving, now.”

Twilight followed him. “Yeah, I’m coming too.”

With that, the two of them left the castle and entered the harsh, cold winds that came with this particular night.

“If Jake is out here, we need to find him fast,” Louis shouted over the wind.

“Jake’s smart,” Twilight informed. “He wouldn’t stay out here unless it was an emergency. You said Jake was at Sweet Apple Acres when you came to the castle right?”

Louis nodded. “Yeah, which way’s that?”

Twilight pointed a hoof in the northwest direction. “That way.”

Without saying another word, Louis took off in the direction Twilight had pointed in. “Wait for me!” Twilight struggled to keep up with Louis. She’d considered simply teleporting to Sweet Apple Acres, but she’d didn’t want to find Jake if he was there, and leave with him before Louis got there. So, she stuck to running. Flying was pretty much out of the question, due to the strong winds; she’d simply be flapping her wings as hard as she could without getting far.

Once Sweet Apple Acres came into view, Louis slowed down, so Twilight took the opportunity to catch her breath.

“He was grounding a wagon when I left. If anything, we should check there before anything,” Louis told her before taking off again.

Not having much of choice, Twilight sighed and followed Louis’s direction. But the sight she came upon was truly horrifying.

Jake was passed out, pinned by a wagon to a very thick tree. The wagon was at perfect height to reach his chest, being perfectly able to cut off his breathing. Coupled with the fact that Jake wasn’t conscious, Twilight was easily able to put two and two together.

“Twilight, help me!” Louis shouted, trying to move the wagon, but to no avail.

Twilight was snapped out of her daze by Louis’s command and quickly used her magic to roll the wagon away from Jake, allowing his body to fall. Louis quickly caught him, moved him away from the tree, and poked two fingers into Jake’s neck vein.

“His heart is racing; we need to get him to a hospital,” he said.

Twilight sniffed and nodded, a small team of tears freezing on her cheeks. Louis heaved Jake over his shoulder, and Twilight led the way to Ponyville hospital, crying all the way.

“The hell was I thinking?!” Louis chastised himself as he paced through the hospital lobby. “I never should’ve let him stay.”

“Calm down, there was no way you could’ve known,” Applejack comforted.

Everyone was at the hospital, Twilight having told them what happened as soon as Jake got treatment. The alicorn in question was the only one actually with Jake at the moment.

“No way I could’ve known?! You told us it was gonna get bad, but that didn’t stop me from leaving Jake alone,” Louis countered.

“Dude, your ranting isn’t gonna help Jake get any better any quicker, so chill,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Sure, and when your sibling is in here on account of you, I’ll say the exact same thing, and we’ll see how you react.”

Rarity put a hoof up to her chin. “Why do I have a feeling this isn’t the first time this has happened to you?”

“I don’t know, because you’re reading too far into it?” Louis grunted before sitting down, burying his face in his hands.

The lobby was quiet, the only noises being doctors and nurses walking in and out. The only news given of Jake’s state was that he was alive, but unconscious, his body temperature being far too low, and his lungs having been compressed.

“I really wished they’d tell us something,” Sunset said.

“I know, it’s the not-knowing that’s killing me,” Fluttershy agreed.

After another moment of silence, Louis spoke up. “I could’ve driven her.”

All eyes went to Louis with confusion. “Her?” Rarity asked.

“My foster-sister,” Louis answered. “A month ago, she had to take a plane to a conference. She... she called a day before she left to ask if I could give her a ride.

“I told her I was busy, made her get a cab. She... had a heart attack on the way to the airport. She... she was... gone before... I could g-get to the h-hospital.”

The ponies present all shared sad, sympathetic looks, none of them wanting to approach Louis.

When no one else, said anything, Starlight cleared her throat and spoke up. “L-Louis...”

“Don’t say it,” Louis cut off. “I’ve heard it too many times. Let’s just sit here and wait for some news about my brother.”

Strange, I didn’t know death felt so... comfortable. Well, it wasn’t king-sized bed of five-star hotel comfortable, but... not too bad. It was also warm, very warm in fact, and soft too. I slowly opened my eyes, and as expected, I was blinded. All I could hear was a sharp ringing in my ears, and a dull but familiar voice saying something incomprehensible. I turned my head to see a blurry, lavender figure beside me, holding onto my hand.

“T-Twilight?” I slurred. My head wasn’t exactly at its full capacity.

My vision began to slowly clear up, revealing Twilight was in fact beside me, seemingly crying.

“You’re so... beautiful... a-and soft,” I said, rubbing her hoof with my fingers.

“Jake! You’re awake!” her voice distortedly rang. “W-We found you at... S-Sweet Apple Acres, n-nearly f-frozen. I’m so glad you’re alive.”

So I wasn’t dead, and this wasn’t the aftermath. Dad...

“Don’t do that!” Twilight playfully chastised before wrapping her hooves and wings around me, a hug I slowly returned.

While feeling had come back to my face, my arms and legs were still a bit numb, so moving wasn’t a possibility at the moment. But there was something bothering me...

’You’ve been keeping secrets from Twilight, your wife’!

“Twi, sweetie, I have to tell you something,” I said.

Twilight broke the hug and looked at me. “Yeah? What’s wrong?”

“Sit down, this is gonna be... shocking. But I don’t wanna be the kind of husband who keeps secrets from his wife.”

She nodded and hesitantly sat down. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s nothing.”

I took a deep breath and prepared to tell Twilight everything.

Twilight walked out into the lobby with her head down. Immediately, she was surrounded by her friends.

“Is Jake okay?” Starlight asked.

“He’s... awake, and he actually asked if he could see you,” Twilight answered. She then looked to a nurse and asked, “Is that alright?”

“As long as Mr. Taylor’s awake,” the nurse answered.

Starlight took a step back. “Me? Umm, okay.”

The nurse nodded and lead Starlight down the hall. Everyone went back to their seats, and Twilight sat next to Princess Celestia, who she poked to get her attention. The princess looked at Twilight, who motioned for her to come close.

“Jake told me... about you and Sunset,” Twilight whispered.

“He did... did he?” Celestia whispered back.

Twilight nodded. “He told me that you wanted to be the one to tell Sunset. But you do have to, before the baby comes, or else she’ll feel even worse about your fight.”

“...Understood,” Celestia replied.

Author's Note

Okay, if I don’t end this chapter here, I never will, so I’m gonna make this one a two-parter... unless someone gets to it before me Looking at you, Bumble

Also, since this one’s so long, I may have forgotten to proofread it thoroughly, so I would appreciate it if some of you could point out some of my errors in the comments

Starlight’s new friend (and Celestia’s obliviousness)

“Are you sure you don’t want me to be there?” I asked. My name is Jake Taylor. Right now, I was with one of my marefriends, Twilight Sparkle, in the dining room, discussing the dinner to be had with Princess Celestia.

“I’m sure, Jake,” Twilight answered, putting a plate down in its “proper place”.

“Why? I get you want Starlight to have some sort of ‘confidence boost’ by bringing her own friend, but I don’t see a reason I can’t be there too.”

Twilight hesitated a moment, trying to think of an answer. “B-Because if you’re there, Starlight might get a little too...distracted. Also, Princess Celestia is...unaware that you’ve returned to Ponyville.”

“Nice try. Luna knows I’m back, so I doubt Princess Celestia doesn’t. Besides, even if she didn’t, we still got along great. I’m sure she would be happy to see me,” I countered.

“Not in every purpose,” Twilight muttered, just loud enough for me to hear.

Before I could respond, Starlight Glimmer, my other marefriend and Twilight’s pupil came running in with a smile stretched across her face. “Twilight, Jake, guess what? I made a new friend!”

Twilight quickly turned her attention to her pupil, trying to hide a nervous blush. “That’s fantastic news.”

I rolled my eyes and smirked at Twilight.

“She’s great!” said Starlight.

“Great!” agreed Twilight.

“She’s powerful!” added Starlight.

“Oddly specific,” I muttered.

“Powerful?” Twilight asked.

“She’s-“ Starlight was cut off.

“Hello...Princess,” said a familiar, prideful voice, one I recognized almost immediately.

Through the doors, walked an azure blue unicorn with a white mane, and eyebrows that just seemed to stick out.

“Trixie?!” said Twilight, shocked.

A few minutes later, after Starlight and Trixie left, Twilight and I were left in the dining room, alone again.

“Well...that was a...surprise, to say the least,” I said, trying to lighten Twilight’s mood. She hid it well in front of Starlight, but I could tell she didn’t approve of Trixie.

“You could’ve been a little more...present, you know,” said Twilight. She was right; I had stayed absolutely silent during the conversation, save for a simple “hello,” to Trixie.

“I know, but since I’m apparently not coming to the dinner, what’s the point?” I countered.

Twilight sighed and rubbed her face with her hoof.

“What’s wrong with Trixie being Starlight’s friend anyhow?” I asked, legitimately curious.

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just not sure Trixie would be a good influence on Starlight,” Twilight explained.

“Why? They’ve both been down similar paths. Sure, Trixie didn’t stick around for the friendship lessons, but...let’s just say I know for a fact that Trixie is not the same mare that took over Ponyville that one time,” I said.

“How?” Twilight asked.

“I ran into her during my time on the road. At first, I was a little...spooked, remembering our last interaction, but we got to talking, and I could tell she definitely wanted to get better,” I explained.

“Oh yeah, you never told me what happened to you specifically the last time Trixie was here,” Twilight said.

“Let’s just say it was...uncomfortable and leave it there,” I said, shivering at the memory. For those of you who want to know, when Trixie took charge of Ponyville, she was astounded by my appearance. So much so, that she wanted a...closer inspection, way too close for my liking.

“I-I just don’t know. Trixie just still had that...snarkiness she had before,” Twilight countered.

I rolled my eyes and gave Twilight a little poke. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I would say you’re jealous of Trixie.”

Twilight shook her head and backed away from me. “Jealous?! Of what?!”

“Since Trixie and Starlight have something really personal in common, I think you’re jealous that Trixie might become a closer friend to Starlight than you are,” I said, giving a smirk to the princess.

Twilight blushed, but still tried to hold her ground. “W-What? That’s insane! Of course I want Starlight to have something in common with a friend, but-“

“Look, you and Starlight are in a herd, remember? She’s not gonna forget about you,” I cut off.

“I guess you right,” Twilight said with a defeated sigh.

“Now back to our other conversation,” I said.

“Seriously?” Twilight deadpanned.

“I just wanna know why you don’t want me to come. It’s not like Princess Celestia and I have never met,” I said.

“I know but-“ Twilight started.

“And besides, the three of us always have dinner together, like a herd. The only difference is that Princess Celestia and Trixie...” I paused, putting two and two together. “Princess Celestia doesn’t know about the herd, does she?”

Twilight’s blush returned.

“And you’re afraid if she found out,” I added.

“What?! No, it’s not that. It’s just...I try to keep the herd out of Starlight’s friendship lessons, so if she finds out now, she’ll wonder why you’re not with us, and it’ll become a whole big thing, and...ugh,” Twilight countered.

I rolled my eyes.

“Please?” Twilight said, giving me the eyes that she always gave me whenever she wanted something...usually cuddles, which I never turned down.

I squinted, trying to look away, but I was glued to the irresistible cuteness that was Twilight Sparkle.

“Fine! I’ll hang out with Spike and the guys...on one condition,” I said.

“Name it,” said Twilight with a triumphant smirk.

“Before she leaves, you have to tell Princess Celestia about the herd, or I’m gonna tell her myself. Deal?” I state, holding out my hand.

Twilight walked up to me and shook my hand with both of her hooves. “Deal.”

I held on as she tried to pull away. “And you owe me extra cuddles tonight too.”

“Well, I can’t say no to that,” Twilight scoffed.

I pulled her close. “My way.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed. “Oooookay?”

“So, how do you and Jake know each other?” asked Starlight.

“Well, we met the last time I was in Ponyville, which was rather...interesting, and we ran into each other again in the road. I think it’s safe to say we hit it off,” replied Trixie.

“So...the last time you came to Ponyville was-“ Starlight started.

“I’ll tell you about it another time,” Trixie said through gritted teeth. “Anyhow, how do you and Jake know each other?”

Starlight visibly blushed. “We met when he came back to Ponyville, and we just kinda...became friends! Y-Yeah.”

Trixie rose an eyebrow. “Is that all, or is there something the Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t know?”

Starlight’s blush intensified.

“Come on, we’re friends. You can tell me anything,” Trixie insisted.

“Well...Twilight and I kinda...share him,” starlight muttered.

“I didn’t quite catch that,” Trixie smirked.

“Twilight and I share him,” Starlight repeated.

“Just a little louder,” Trixie pleaded.

Starlight sighed. “Twilight and I share him...romantically.”

Trixie tilted her head. “How does that work?”

Starlight shrugged. “I don’t know; it just kinda...does.”

Trixie paused a minute, making Starlight nervous. Then she smiled. “Okay then.”

“Really? You’re not...put off by that?” Starlight asked.

“Like I said, you can tell the Great and Powerful Trixie anything,” Trixie smirked while Starlight simply giggled.

Later that night, I was simply laying on my bed, reading a book. Spike had fallen asleep early, and the rest of my friends all went to see a magic show. I would’ve gone with them, but I wanted to make sure Twilight told Celestia the truth about us.

This was not shaping up to be a very exciting night.

Deciding it wasn’t gonna get much better, I made my way to the kitchen. I planned to simply grab something to eat, and go back to my room. I didn’t plan on intruding on the dinner.

That is, until I took a wrong turn and came into the dining room. Inside, Princess Celestia sat at a well set up table, bored out of her mind. There was also a half-melted ice statue of her on the table.

“Princess Celestia, nice to see you again,” I said, giving a little bow.

“Oh, Jake Taylor, nice to see you too,” Celestia responded.

“Umm, where are Twilight and Starlight?” I asked.

“Not a clue,” the princess replied.

I awkwardly rubbed my hands together. “So...”

The princess shrugged.

“Should I...join you?” I asked.

“I don’t see why not. I doubt Twilight’s coming back anytime soon,” Celestia replied.

I pulled out a chair and grabbed a plate. “So, how are things back in Canterlot?”

“Same old, same old. Anything new with you?”

“Well...I guess since Twilight isn’t here to tell you, I may as well,” I said.

The princess suddenly became intrigued. “Tell me what?”

I smirked. Twilight was gonna hate me for this...but it’s her fault for not being here.

“Well, you see, Twilight, Starlight, and I are...” I started, pausing to pique the princess’s curiousity.

“Yes?” she asked.

“...in a herd,” I finished.

The rest if the dinner was filled with nothing but laughter, and the princess left before Twilight returned.

Author's Note

Hey guys,
A few things:

First, this is just a bunch of one-shots that are in no way connected to each other unless otherwise stated.

Second, this will be updated very rarely, so track at your own risk.

Third, that being said, you can contribute as well. Just type of a small story to fit this universe, and PM me if you want to see it uploaded. My only requirements are that it has to be 1,000+ words, and it has to have something to do with Jake Taylor. It can be an Alt. Version of a canon episode, or just something random. You decide

Four's a Herd, Five's a Crowd (by Bumblebeau)

Author's Note

Hey guys, this is a sequel to Bunch of Big News. Enjoy!

A true family

As Jake fell unconscious, all three mares tried their best to catch him, thankfully succeeding. Without hesitation, they got him onto the couch.

Spike was the first to speak, “I am so sorry, it just...came out.”

“It’s fine, Spike,” Sunset replied. “It’s not like I was gonna have the courage to tell him anytime soon. I...I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Why exactly did you not want to tell Jake? I mean, sure he passed out, but you didn’t know that was gonna happen?” Starlight asked, coming up next to Sunset.

Sunset sighed. “Well...I came here because Twilight said she and Jake had something they wanted to tell me. I just didn’t wanna...like, upstage you or something like that.”

Twilight put her hoof on Sunset’s shoulder. “That was very thoughtful of you, but being pregnant...j-just trumps everything.”

“How can you say that?” Sunset asked, stepping away from Twilight. “You and Jake are getting married. For humans, a married man having a baby with another girl...it’s kinda frowned upon.”

“But we’re not human, or...you know what I mean. Jake, I’m sure he’ll be fine. If anything, he’ll be thrilled to have a kid,” Starlight countered.

“Umm, girls? We should probably focus more at the problem at hoof. As in, the unconscious human who just heard he was gonna be a father of Sunset’s...child,” Spike intervened.

“Spike’s right. All we can do right now is wait for Jake to wake up. When he does, we’ll just hear what he has to say,” suggested Twilight.

“You’re right. I’ll stay with him,” Sunset offered. “Whether he’s pissed or excited, he’s gonna want me to know.”

“Alright. Spike’s right though, it’s probably not a good idea to go through the portal right now with the baby,” Starlight replied before walking out of the library.

“Please tell me when he wakes up,” Twilight said.

Sunset nodded and said, “I will.”

With that, Twilight and Spike followed Starlight out of the library.

Sunset looked at Jake, who was still asleep. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

The fiery-maned mare curled up next to him and closed her eyes.

I was in a pitch black void. I couldn’t see anything, hear anything, feel anything. I couldn’t remember anything after I’d proposed to Twilight, but I knew something happened after that.

Let’s see, I proposed to Twilight, all of our friends congratulated us, Shining Armor had given me a stern warning to take care of his sister, Cadance told him to back off, everyone went home except for Sunset...Sunset!

She was pregnant...with my baby...that I had impregnated her with...like the damn moron I was.

I...I didn’t know what to think. On the one hand, I was terrified...but on the other hand, I loved Sunset...but on the first hand, what the hell was she even pregnant with?!

As my thoughts intensified, so did the void around me. I could hear a loud ringing noise around me and feel an intense vibration.

There was no way I was ready for a baby. I don’t have any experience with children, and Twilight...oh God, Twilight! What’s she gonna say? A herd is one thing, but a baby-

“Greetings, Jake Taylor,” said a grand voice that pulled me out of my inner thoughts.

I looked around and saw the environment around me start to change. The black, empty void slowly morphed into the castle library. Sunset was lying next to me on the couch. I reached out to touch her so I could talk to her, but my hand just fell through her mane.

“She cannot hear you. This is a rather lucid, but not too lucid that I cannot enter such,” said the same voice from earlier.

“P-Princess Luna?” I asked.

Before me appeared the princess of the night in all of her glory. “Yes, ‘tis I.”

“W-What are you doing here?”

“It is uncommon for me to detect a dream at such an early hour, so when I sensed yours, I made no haste,” she answered. “Now, may I ask why you are having such a dream?”

“I...I think I passed out,” I answered. “She...she told me she was...and I-I passed out. What kind of boyfriend am I?”

“Please, I would like to help, but I required more detail,” Luna said.

I blinked a few times and realized there was no way I couldn’t tell her. “Have you ever been...attracted to someone? So much that you act on instinct and forget something so important and suddenly you don’t know what to do?”

I paused in case Luna had wanted to say something, but she didn’t.

“I...I got Sunset pregnant!” I finally blurted, even emitting a gasp from Luna.

“I must admit, I know nothing of this sort of event. How do you feel about it?” Luna asked.

“Well, I don’t know. I’ve never even thought about a family! But...I don’t want to leave Sunset on her own like this,” I lamented. “I guess having a family would be great, but I wouldn’t know the first thing about raising a child. And I don’t even know what Sunset’s gonna give birth to! I mean, is it gonna be some sort of half pony half human thing? I guess that wouldn’t really matter, but still...”

“Perhaps this is something you must speak to Sunset about,” Luna informed.

“Yeah, you’re...you’re right. Thanks for letting me vent,” I said.

Luna gave a bow as the world began to crumble around me. “‘Twas my pleasure, Jake Taylor.”

I woke up in the exact same surroundings as in the dream. Sunset still lay next to me, seemingly asleep. I could only imagine what was going through her head. Well, time to find out.

“Sunset, wake up,” I whispered, tapping her back a little bit.

Her turquoise eyes slowly opened and set themselves on me. Immediately, she got off the couch. “Jake, you’re up! I am so sorry about all fo this. I swear, I planned to tell you-“

“Sunset,” I cut off. “Sit down, we need to talk about this.”

Sunset seemed a little shocked. “A-Are you sure?”

I cupped Sunset’s cheeks in my hands and knelt down in front of her. “We need to get everything out in the air now.”

Sunset looked down, then back at me. “Alright.”

As Sunset took a seat on the couch, I turned to face her. “How do you feel about this?”

Sunset looked everywhere in the library but at me. “S-Scared. I don’t know how to raise a kid, I’m not even out of high school yet.”

I put a hand to her cheek and asked, “Do you want to have this child?”

“Do you?” she asked in response.

“That’s not important,” I countered. “What matter is, do you want to go through with this? Because if you don’t, I will support you in absolutely any way I can.”

I could see tears begin to glisten her eyes. “I-I don’t know. This is all just happening so fast.”

I took the opportunity to hold Sunset in a deep hug as she started to cry. “No matter what, you will always have me. I will be there every step of the way, making sure that you are never going through this alone.”

Sunset looked up at me. “R-Really?”

I nodded. “Of course. No matter what you give birth to, human or pony, I will love it just as much as I love you.”

Sunset tucked her head into my chest. “Th-Thank you. I’m still scared of what’s gonna happen...but knowing you’ll be here makes it a little easier.”

I stroked her mane a little bit as tears started to form in my eyes as well.

“So you’re okay with this? With having a baby?” she asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

I nodded. “Yes. I’m more than happy that we’re going to have a baby.”