Your Family and You

The next morning brought with it an uneasy halt to the rain, although the cloud cover remained. A thick, dark layer of swirling clouds hung low over Ponyville, and there was a heaviness to the air that promised more rain in the future. It seemed the weather team decided to let the storm work itself out instead of clearing the cloud-choked skies.

Breakfast had barely finished when Cadance snatched up Twilight and ferried her away for some “much-needed de-stressing and girl time!”. The only thing I could catch before the two of them disappeared out the door was something about the spa, and Cadance calling back over her shoulder “come join us when you finish up~~~!”

That left me to clean up the library by myself.

Well, I guess not exactly by myself. Spike was tending to the upstair rooms, and every so often I’d hear faint singing drifting down the stairs. Then there was the sound of Primrose and Ebony moving about downstairs, Avera having already left before the sun had even risen. And that just left…

“Alpha, up-up? Yes?” Pyresteed chirped. Above her head, she held the couch aloft like it was nothing more than a plushie. Her shirt had acquired several holes recently, and through one of said holes, I could see her abdominal muscles rippling as she pranced about. Pausing, she looked down at the floor and her face lit up. “Oh! Oh! Oh!” She bent down (with the couch still held high) and quickly snatched up the item that had been hidden beneath the piece of furniture.

“No, wait!” I shouted, moving to stop her, but it was too late.

Pyresteed stared at me with wide, innocent eyes, her cheeks bulging. “Alpha want crunch-crunch?” she asked around her mouthful, chewing all the while.

I just shook my head, a hand covering my mouth. “I… have no idea how long that burrito was down there. Like… no clue. Oh god, I think I’m gonna be sick.” Swallowing down the rising bile in my throat, I waved a hand at her. “P-put… put the couch down before you break something. Or find something else to eat.”

She cocked her head to the side before gently placing the couch back down where it had been, only slightly tilted to the right. Still chewing, she skittered away to another part of the room, leaving me to my task of sweeping up the dried mud that we—or more specifically, I—had tracked in last night. Luckily, it had dried enough that I didn’t have to put too much force into gathering up the detritus.

Sweeping around the main area, I gathered up the various leftover items from last night as well: dirty dishes left out because of tired individuals, discarded clothing that had dried overnight, and Cadance’s luggage. They were all spread out around the sitting area because Twilight and Cadance had gossiped and perused her album until the wee hours of the morning.

After making sure Cadance’s things were safely back in her saddlebags and taking the dishes into the kitchen, I moved to collect my dirt when a muffled whine suddenly filled the air. “Alpha! Help! No, help help!”

Looking around in alarm, I searched for the cause, only to sigh in resignation when I found the source of the noise. “Oh come on…”

Pyresteed had somehow, through some unknown means, gotten herself stuck in the book return box. Her entire upper half was cramped in the box’s slot up to her waist. Which didn’t physically make any sense. The slot was smaller than both her head and breast, but somehow she had managed to squeeze herself in up to her stomach, the narrow opening squishing her chub. Only her butt and legs were free, her shirt pulled down to expose herself to the open air. She kicked her legs frantically, all while whining. “Alpha! Alpha, help! Stuck! Stuck, Alpha, stuck! Help!”

I watched her struggle for a moment before picking up my broom again. “Nah, I think you’re good. You got this,” I called to her as I returned to cleaning. “If you can get yourself in there, I’m sure you can get yourself out again!”

“Alpha, pls!”

“No, no, you’re fine! I believe in you.”

“Alpha! Nooo!”

Whistling to myself, I headed back over to the fireplace, intent on cleaning up the ash that had gotten smeared upon the hearth last night, though I only made it halfway when the cabinet beneath the stairs caught my attention. The sight of it jogged my memory.

“Oh, right,” I muttered. “I should probably get my stuff back while she’s gone.” Placing the broom against the wall, I opened the door and crawled inside. It took a second for my eye to adjust to the dim light, but when it did, I looked around in awe.

The small nook was crammed full of various things, most of which consisted of all my missing shirts. There were blankets and pillows as well, all pushed up against the sides of the cupboard in a style that made the entire space look like a giant nest. Several books were stuck in between the walls of pillows, most of them from Twilight’s personal library.

Sitting in the middle of her makeshift nest, I tried my best to take it all in. “I don’t… what is she… huh?” Something crinkled beneath me, and after some digging, I pulled several bags of chips out from under a bunch of shirts.

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered as I opened one of them. Munching on my snack, I looked around the cupboard again and shook my head. “I have no comment for this. This shit crazy, yo.”

I decided the best course of action would be to start with my shirts and go from there. They’d have to be washed first, but that was something else I could take care of while the pair of alicorns were out. As I picked up the shirt nearest to me though, something small and hard fell out of it.

It was a picture frame.

Gingerly picking it up, I turned it over and peered at the photo within. It was a snapshot taken of one of our trips to the beach last year. In it, I was buried in the sand up to my neck, my head the only thing visible. Above me, Twilight was posed with her wings fanned out over me like a peacock, the feathers acted as a makeshift umbrella, shading me from the sun. My head was backward slightly, and I was giving her a bemused look, mostly because she had her forehooves planted on my forehead.

I eyed the picture before feeling around for any others. There was a second one hidden in the corner, this one depicting me with the Cutie Mark Crusaders draped over my shoulders and head. It appeared to be taken shortly after my stint in the hospital due to the human pit fight, as I still had bandages around my bad eye. From the angle of the picture, it looked like the pony that took it did so while trying to remain hidden. A pink hoof could be seen in the corner though.

Rummaging around found a third photo, this one bearing a depiction of me and Twilight out in the snow. Our faces were flushed with the cold, but we were both smiling. Behind us, several snowmen (or snowponies as Twilight kept reminding me) stood, most of them looking about ready to collapse. One of the few that looked sturdy was a snow unicorn that looked suspiciously like Rarity, a grinning Spike perched on her back and giving the camera a thumbs up.

I studied the pictures, the memories dancing about in my head. As I lowered them, my gaze drifted around the cupboard again, taking it all in again. My shirts, the blankets, the pillows, surrounding herself with happy memories; I played around with an idea that was taking shape in my mind revolving around the objects. I had entered the cupboard intending to clean it out, but now…

Slowly, I nodded my head. “Yeah… yeah, I can work with this.” Putting the pictures down, I crawled back out of the cupboard and began my search. It only took me about five minutes to find everything I needed and, returning to the cupboard, I got to work. Hammering in the nails took some effort in the cramped space, but I finally managed to hang the pictures up at various points on the walls. Then, taking a few of the blankets, I draped them from the corners and across the ceiling in an attempt to make the small space cozier. Lastly, I placed multiple bags of chips and cookies in the corner where the ceiling was the lowest due to the steps above. A few pillows around the snacks to keep them safe but visible wrapped everything up nicely.

Exiting the cupboard again, I stepped back and eyed my work. It was certainly better than it had been—looking more like something I would have made as a kid than a pile of dirty laundry—but it was still missing something but what?

“Oh, duh.” I slapped my forehead. “It’s Twilight.”

Not being as versed with the library’s layout as Twilight or Spike, I had to reference the directory to find what I needed. Pyresteed was still trying to free herself from the return box as I pulled the large book out from behind the reception desk and, unable to resist the opportunity, I propped the tome open upon her butt as I flipped through the pages. She froze, her legs stiffening before she asked timidly.“Alpha, mount? Mount rump?”

“Nope, just borrowing for a moment,” I said distractedly as I dragged a finger down the index. “You can have it back in a second.” It took a few pages (and some steadying of the book as Pyresteed squirmed beneath me) but eventually, I found the location of what I needed. Returning the directory to its original spot, I moved through the library’s shelves and collected the books I wanted.

“Let’s see here…” I muttered, fingers dancing across the book spines. “Ah, good. There’s one. And here. And… yup, there’s one too. Excellent.” One by one, I pulled the books free, the stack in my arms growing with each new addition. Despite being scattered about the library, they all had the same theme. I read each title out loud as I grabbed them. “Expecting a Filly? That might be useful… maybe. One in the Oven, yeah gonna need that one. Big Book of Baby Biology and Basic Birthing. Check. An Egghead’s Guide to Pregnancy… yeah, that one too. Mothering is Loving Foals. A little weird, but eh… what the hell. Mommy’s Little Mistake?” I paused, staring down at the book in my head, the cover of which depicted a confused-looking pink unicorn foal with a curly purple-and-cyan mane. After a moment, I shrugged. “Eh, couldn’t hurt.” And it joined the pile.

I grabbed a little over a dozen books before making my way back to the cupboard. Carefully crouching down, I placed the books along a horizontal-running support beam against the far wall, using the plank of wood as a makeshift bookshelf.

“There!” Straightening up, I dusted my hands off on my pants and studied my handiwork. “That should do it! One super-duper-secret hidey-hole. We’ll see how she likes it when she gets back. For now…” My eyes drifted back to the broom. “...I better finish cleaning up.”

Whistling a happy tune to myself, I picked up where I left off with the hearth. At least, until I heard something disturbing coming from the book return box. Slowly, I turned my head to stare at Pyresteed’s bouncing posterior. “Are… are you eating something in there?”

“Crunch-crunch!”

“Oh my god!”