An Instance of Happiness

by AidanMaxwell

Rating: everyone
Tags: Alternate Universe, Original Character, Spike, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Tragedy, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 27811

Three siblings discover the true meaning of family when a young orphan turns their world upside-down.

Tinder Lightheart, a compassionate colt nearing adulthood, operates an orphanage previously run by his parents, with help from his brother Warden and his sister Airy. Together, the Lightheart siblings raise young orphans and see them off to new homes, giving them a chance to experience what true love and a family feels like. One filly, Felicity Gardens, has been in the orphanage for far too long, and while Tinder's fears for her grow, an unseen entity looms ever closer that threatens to rip apart everything he has worked to achieve. A story of turmoil and misfortune, An Instance of Happiness follows Tinder Lightheart and his family as they learn what a true family is, and discover it through their hardships, complicated further by the meddling mischievousness of Felicity.

Published 2013-04-06 20:40:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-09-13 21:17:39 UTC

Chapter 1: A Twist of Fate

Chapter 1: A Twist of Fate

Something was wrong. It was too quiet.

The worst case scenario had finally manifested. Felicity was nowhere to be found, and that meant any variety of things may have happened. It could mean that she might have left the house. Slightly less likely but far more scary, somepony might have taken her. This was a disaster that Tinder had hoped could be avoided simply by never letting the little filly out of his sight, but it appeared that she was capable of eluding even him. His siblings had taken other jobs to help support their family, leaving Tinder to handle sitting the young ponies on his own. He’d thought he could handle it.

He had been dead wrong.

The crimson unicorn began flipping over the furniture in the room. Every other day seemed to be like this. He absolutely could not lose track of this kid. His entire life was on the line. If word got out that he had lost Felicity, or any of the other fillies under his supervision at the orphanage in Yearlingdale, he and his siblings would be kicked out of their apartment next door. This was the job that Tinder did every day for the orphans, one that barely paid for the rent and not much else. If he failed at it, his chances for being hired again elsewhere would be ruined. On top of that, his two siblings would be homeless if he lost this job. Losing track of a child in as big and dangerous of a city as Yearlingdale was a risk he couldn’t afford to suffer.

All that hung on the slim chance that the wily little filly had left the orphanage, of course. Tinder had taken measures to make sure none of his kids left the building, and as far as he knew, they were still intact. If Felicity had tried to exit the room, she would have triggered a magic spell that instantly notified the caster that somepony had crossed it. This had not occurred while he had been downstairs, and the spell remained intact. The other few fillies watched as Tinder almost tore the room apart looking for the mint green earth pony to no avail.

Tinder sighed in resignation. Somehow, she had managed to exit without triggering his monitor, and with no way of tracking her outside the room itself, that left the remainder of the building to check. With any luck, Felicity had not yet reached the front door, or attempted to exit through it. As Tinder fled from the room—being sure to lock the door behind him—the few orphans left began to play with the toys again, with no further commotion to keep them preoccupied. Then, and only then, did a small figure waltz into the room again through the supposedly locked door. Her signature amber bow danced along with her beautiful black mane as she skipped into the center of the playroom.

“Did ya' miss me?” asked Felicity heartily, carrying on her back a sack full of some unknown substance. She slammed the door behind her, reaching up from a stack of preemptively placed books to lock it again.

One pegasus filly, Feather Wingly, spoke up. “Where were you? Poor Tinder 'bout had a heart attack lookin' for ya'.”

“Wha'...I thought I made it clear where I went!” Felicity was dumbfounded. She'd only been planning the heist for a few days, but all four of the other fillies in her room knew about her scheme. “How can you not remember?”

“You didn't tell us what you were leavin' to get, Fel,” Feather replied.

Felicity slowly raised her chin to the right, squinting harder and harder as she did. It seemed to the others that she was staring into their souls. “You really don't remember...”

“What's in the sack, hun?” asked Maple, an earth pony like herself. Felicity sighed.

“Ladies. C'mon! Four days ago, Tinder put a stop to our raiding the fridge downstairs. So I, being the compassionate and fiendishly clever filly I am, concocted a plan of retribution. I set a stack of books outside the door and another inside, so that when Tinder was still setting up his spell, I was ready for him. The moment he left the room, I was on his heel, just close enough to get away without his notice. By the time he came back, I had secured the goods.” She opened the sack with her teeth, allowing a mountain of chocolate chip cookies to skid to the floor. The wide eyed fillies around her began to lick their lips. “Now do you remember?”

“Oh...but of course, Felicity!” came the hurried responses. Feather, in particular, was already making a break for the stack of chocolatey goodness. Felicity was one step ahead, however. She put a hoof down in front of the pile of cookies and glared sideways at her winged friend, who quickly diverted her course and hovered momentarily a few inches off the ground. “What do you want in exchange this time?”

“The usual,” Felicity replied smugly.

Feather sighed slowly. “Felicity, you're the smartest, awesomest, hardcorest, rockin'est pony ever. You're the envy of the entire orphanage.”

“And don't forget it,” replied the mint colored filly, lifting three cookies to her friend. She was preparing for the incoming assault of compliments and cruelly unnecessary flattery when, like a lightning bolt from the blue, the door burst open and revealed a very unhappy red unicorn. Felicity turned slowly to face her rival, the bane of her existence, and probably her closest friend.

“Tinder, welcome back.”

Tinder said nothing. When his alarm had triggered in reverse, he had raced upstairs. When he arrived to find the door locked, it took everything he had within him not to break it in. Tinder was panting heavily, and his horn was still glowing from manipulating the lock magically. He took almost immediate notice of the pile of cookies and everypony froze, making no move to partake from them.

“How in Equestria did you do it this time?!”

“A magician never reveals her secrets,” chided Felicity. It wasn't the first time she'd said that to him, yet he couldn't come to grips with the fact that she was more talented at magic acts than he ever was, despite the fact that she was an earth pony and he a unicorn. Tinder stomped a hoof into the floor and tried to catch his breath, exhausted from his rapid return to the playroom.

“Felicity...I love...you, but...you need...to stop.” He finally took a deep breath and regained his composure. “You truly are an aggravating little filly. I know you mean well, but these crusades you go on, no matter how harmless, really do get me in trouble. I can't afford to lose this job. Every single one of these bits goes toward paying for our apartment and supporting my siblings, who, by the way, paid for those cookies. The least you can do is behave. And another thing—”

“Tinder?” Felicity interrupted.

“I...what?!”

“Can we go on a field trip?”

Felicity's question rang across the room like a bell. Instantly all four of the other fillies were up in arms, demanding a field trip as well. Suddenly his irritated expression melted into resignation. Secretly, he cursed Felicity's natural cunning and skill with her silver tongue. She knew all too well how much prestige and clout she retained over the other fillies in the orphanage, and she was probably smarter than all of them combined. In a moment she had turned a situation that would not have ended well for her into one that would put Tinder in disfavor with the orphans if he declined.

“Fine,” Tinder conceded. “A field trip it is. But, mind you, this is not a reward, nor is it a punishment. This is compassion from the bottom of my heart.”

The other fillies rejoiced, but Felicity merely smiled her notorious, smug smile back at him. Compassion my flank, she thought to herself.

“Where are we going?” Felicity asked.

Tinder considered his options. The park was always the safe option, but he had errands to run in town. And he didn't want to leave the fillies alone. “We're going to the park. After we've been there awhile, you'll all come with me to the grocer. And you'll all stay where I can see you. Understand?”

Felicity needed no further understanding. She had come out victorious, with a large pile of cookies, a trip to the park, and the continued adoration of the other four fillies. What more need be understood?

-~-~-~-~-~

The problem with his fillies was that they couldn’t sit still, and Felicity only stirred up their excitement. As Tinder sauntered up Mane Street, he couldn't help but feel as though he was the one that should have been leading this group. But instead, as always, he had locked the door and turned to find his fillies were gone. Under Felicity’s guidance, they had arrived at the playground a few minutes ahead of him. The park wasn't a terribly long trek to begin with, but it was principle of the matter that bugged the him so much. He'd known Felicity since she was a baby, and he considered her like a sister. But she had been at the orphanage so long because she refused to act like a proper pony her age. When she wasn't insisting on burglarizing and outsmarting Tinder every chance she got or being the leader of a small group of orphans, she pretended to be an immature child, and it had cost her many adoption opportunities.

One time, she managed to completely topple the fridge in an attempt to pilfer a snack. This just happened to be while two prospective parents were in the kitchen with Tinder and his siblings, Warden and Airy, and the fridge just happened to land on the hoof of who might have been Felicity's new father. They left to have the injury checked by a medical professional, but never returned to finish the paperwork. On another occasion, the electricity went out during a meeting with another pair of nice ponies, and Felicity offered to light a match. Conveniently, it started a small fire on the prospective mother's tail. They left without her, to say the least.

Every time he probed Felicity for answers, all Tinder got in return was “It was an accident, I swear!” He had to believe her. The idea that she sabotaged her chances for a happier life just didn't compute with him. But it happened every blessed time. She remained, as he had once told his brother Warden, 'an enigma he had no hope of fully understanding, ever.' Despite all that, she continued to be a bright spot in Tinder's otherwise very dull day to day routine. He truly would miss her when she was gone. Still, he wanted that day to come sooner rather than later.

You can only survive so much of Felicity.

The park was bustling that day, more so than usual. The fillies were already in the middle of their play when Tinder finally caught up to them. He took a spot under a nice, large oak tree to lay down and enjoy the autumn weather. It was warm, not too hot and not very humid, probably because winter was fast approaching. Pegasus ponies darted around the skyline as time passed, and Tinder watched with jealous contempt at their passing. He longed dearly for the thrill of flight, despite his gift in magic. Others thought he was crazy, but he knew deep in his heart that if given the opportunity, he would trade his horn for a set of wings without a second thought.

One pegasus in particular was flying rather slow. Her wings were motionless, gliding rather than flying, and it was apparent she was making a descent. As she spun around, her red mane and tail fluttered gracefully behind her, not stopping their rhythmic dance until the pegasus was firmly planted on the ground next to Tinder.

“Could I assume they're doing alright today?” prodded Airy, poking her younger brother with a playful hoof.

“Sure,” he replied nonchalantly. His sister's presence at this moment was tolerable only because he needed somepony to talk to. Another hour alone would have been unbearable for Tinder. “How was your flight?”

“Turbulent. Those rowdy weather ponies accidentally started a hurricane off the coast, and I was about to head home, when WHAM!” Airy socked her brother as hard as she could in the shoulder. He toppled over from where he sat, thrown off balance by the sudden punch. “I got hit by a flying barn door. I was fine, of course, but my wings were shaky after that, and the high winds didn't stop until I was at least a mile from the shore. That cursed storm followed me all the way back, and stopped just before it reached Yearlingdale.”

“Sounds like fun,” replied Tinder absentmindedly, rubbing his shoulder.

Airy frowned. She had fabricated a funny story to amuse her little brother, but he had basically ignored her. “Snap out of it, Tinder! You're zoning again. How are you supposed to find a girlfriend if you can't even listen to me for five minutes?”

“I'm trying to watch Felicity,” came his reply.

Airy looked over at the playground to see the five orphanage fillies playing happily on the equipment with the other young ponies. Felicity, in particular, seemed to be leading an expedition into some make believe cave, with several ponies following behind her. She had wrapped her orange hair bow around one of her amber eyes, flattening a section of her black mane. Even Airy could not deny the girl was a standout. She looked like a pirate captain, and was acting like one, too. “Why just her? Why not all of them?”

“They follow her wherever she goes. If I just watch her, I know they’re not far behind.”

“What'd she do today?”

“Raided the cookie jar, outsmarted my proximity spell, and nearly gave me a heart attack. Again.”

“So, just another Thursday?”

“Just another Thursday.”

“Well, I've got another mail run to make. Here’s my wages. Warden’s expecting you at the markets.” The young pegasus mare dropped a sack of bits next to her unicorn brother. “Catch you later, pipsqueak.”

“I’m only a year younger than you,” Tinder said quietly. His gaze was transfixed on his little ponies, and only after Airy had taken off again and become just another colorful blur in the sky did he finally look around. His bleached yellow hair was in his eyes when he tried looking skyward again, but instead of trying to move it, he just looked back down at the playground. Another hour alone wouldn’t kill him.

-~-~-~-~-~

Tinder awoke with a start. He had dozed off under the tree while the fillies continued their play. It hadn't been long: perhaps, at most, forty-five minutes. He stood up slowly and put a hoof in his mouth, whistling to the orphans that it was time to leave. All five looked at him from a distance and sighed heavily, but they accepted their fate and, one by one, trotted over to him.

“How was your adventure, girls?” he asked.

“It was over too quickly,” Felicity whined. “We didn't find the lost treasure.”

“Do you know how hard it was to find the map?” Maple asked in disgust. “We'll have to come back tomorrow and find it again!”

“Nice try,” Tinder replied. He gave Felicity a stare of authority. “Line up. We're going to the market. And I'm leading.”

Felicity begrudgingly accepted these terms and joined the already formed line at the back. Just like her, Tinder and his siblings were orphans, so he knew what caused her various mood swings and incredible knack for trouble. She was, deep down, a very loving, tender filly, but used the facade of a rebel and a warrior because of her being deprived of attention. The other orphans never stayed long enough to become close friends, always being adopted right as a relationship was forming. It had hurt Felicity many times over. Tinder had heard her say that he was her closest friend, and that alone was why he tolerated her shenanigans.

Her childhood had been blessed, however grim it may have seemed. Felicity’s father was still alive, as far as Tinder knew. He had sent a birthday present last year—a very large, very delicious cake and a substantial donation for the orphanage—so Tinder knew that he still cared for his daughter. With his gift came a short letter addressed to the Lightheart siblings.

Dear Warden, Airy and Tinder Lightheart

You three have become my personal heroes. I thank you from the bottom of my pitiful pony heart for taking such good care of Felicity. My current line of work—and loss of my beloved wife at her birth—has not allowed me to return for her sooner. I promise, if she has not found a loving home by the end of the fall season, I will come back for her personally. Tell her I love her dearly, and I hope to see you all very soon.

From a pony who owes you three a debt that can never be repaid,
Dr. Gardens

That letter had given Tinder a hope for Felicity, who must have been cursed with an anti-adoptive spell or something. She was a charming and intelligent filly, but was always getting into trouble.

The Yearlingdale markets were bustling and loud. His little troupe of orphans were complaining of sore hooves and irritated ears, but they pressed on anyway, following Tinder as closely as they could. Even Felicity, who had accompanied the Lighthearts to the market several times before, was careful not wander from the trail of fillies behind him. Their destination was not far from the town center, where the park was, but getting back to the orphanage was a good hike, and they had a decent amount of supplies to get. Tinder sauntered up to a shelved stand, where a burly, dark blue stallion was rearranging vegetables in the back of the stall.

“Warden!” Tinder called. His astonished brother nearly fumbled the cabbage he was holding from the shock, and turned to look at his customer. Their eyes met in a brief stint of confusion, but it didn’t take long for a smile to break across their faces. Warden, the oldest of the three, was the only one that had been born an earth pony. Tinder took after his father’s side as a unicorn, whereas Airy had been born a pegasus like their mother. Neither disrespected their brother for his lack of special talents: in fact, he was often regarded to as a fatherly figure, due to his age and loving, supportive nature. “Have you got the stuff?”

“Yes, Tinder. It’s all here.” Reaching down, Warden grabbed a large sack of food in his mouth and placed it on the table in front of him. “Mr. Leaf was very gracious with our shipment today.”

“Wonderful,” Tinder replied happily. He handed Warden a sack of bits. “Courtesy of Airy.”

“Thanks. You better get back to the orphanage now. Is Felicity giving you trouble?”

“Nope, she’s doing—” Tinder turned to face his fillies and immediately noticed something was wrong. It was too quiet. Again. He mentally counted the girls and only turned up four: Felicity was missing in the markets. “-one of her vanishing acts right now.”

“What!?” Warden peered around his brother from behind the stall and confirmed Felicity was missing. “Quick, go find her. I’ll watch these four.”

Tinder didn’t argue. He immediately galloped into the crowd and started a fresh locator spell, trying to track Felicity as he went. Immediately after it started, his horn indicated he’d went the wrong way. He streamed past Warden as the fillies were filing into the booth beside him. For what felt like an eternity after that, Tinder followed his horn: the spell was guiding him on and on, as though Felicity was moving constantly forward.

“Why is she running away from me?” he wondered.

Eventually he broke free of the crowd and saw Felicity. She was on the back of a hooded pony, her mouth gagged, her legs tied, and her amber eyes filled with fear. The ponynapper darted behind a corner at the sight of Tinder, hoping to lose him. He was, however, already in full gallop, pursuing the pony with a speed and passion he’d never thought possible. This was his filly, and no one was going to take her from him. Plus, his job was on the line. Again.

The corner rounded into more busy market streets. His target was weaving the crowd, causing quite a ruckus as he went along. He took notice of his pursuer and began toppling ponies, carts and stalls in an attempt to slow Tinder down. One such stall spilled its contents into the street: a large collection of decorative snow globes. Unable to keep his pace and maintain his balance, Tinder tripped and eventually rolled right into another stall, where the impact sent even more objects into the air. It began raining vegetables like carrots and lettuce—whole ones, not just pieces. A particularly thick cabbage came down on Tinder’s head and caused his vision to swim for a moment, knocking him to the ground after he had just recovered from barreling into the stall.

After he could see straight, Tinder stood back up and began chasing again, maintaining his locator spell. He rounded another corner and found himself in a private warehouse district. The nearest building had its lights on inside, so he bolted toward the front door. When he reached it, he peered inside the window and saw two ponies, dressed in black and completely unrecognizable, stuffing Felicity into a burlap sack. Across from them was a back door that Tinder knew he could reach if he hurried. As he galloped around the warehouse, he prayed that the villains would be smart and use the back door. It would be foolish of them to escape through the way they came knowing Tinder was following them.

Sure enough, when Tinder reached the other side, the door was just starting to open. The two hooded ponies tiptoed outside and began their march across the flat courtyard between the warehouses. Tinder charged as hard as he could into the side of the one carrying the sack, knocking him over before he had a chance to react. The contents of his burlap bag spilled out onto the dirt, and that was where Felicity lay, squirming to get free of her bindings. Tinder put a hoof down in front of her and dared the two ponies to mess with him.

When the fallen one recovered, they both charged him headlong. Tinder, using his magic, whipped the burlap sack out of the air and shoved it over the head of the first pony. He tripped and fell so quickly that a sickening sound alerted the unicorn to a devastating injury that he could not identify. The other ponynapper bucked forward and shoved Tinder back, sending him toppling onto the ground. For a few moments, all was quiet: the hooded pony thought he’d won. But then a large, metal box slid into his side and pushed him across the yard, right into the wall of the nearest warehouse. As Tinder stood back up, he couldn’t help but appreciate his handiwork for a moment.

Then he remembered his duty, and he picked up Felicity with his snout and tossed her onto his back. Tinder made his way back to Warden by taking a shortcut around the warehouse district, doing his best not to shake Felicity up as he went. The older brother and the four orphans were all glad to see them back, but all of them had confused faces.

“Uh, why is Felicity tied up?” asked Warden.

“I’ll explain later. Warden, we need to talk. In private.”

“But, the stall—”

“Now, Warden.”

Warden opened the back door of his booth and allowed Tinder inside. Once the door was shut, the younger recalled the events that had taken place in the last fifteen or so minutes. While Warden was skeptical that his little brother had bested two full grown ponies in a street fight, he could not deny that Felicity had been fillynapped. “What should we do?”

“We need to alert the authorities. Surely they can track these losers down.”

“Not without some evidence.”

“The girl’s tied up.”

“Are we going to leave her like that until the police arrive?”

Tinder considered, but decided nothing would work. He couldn’t identify the two culprits, nor could he necessarily prove Felicity had been ponynapped. The police would have to take his word on it, and the department of justice in Yearlingdale did not respond to just anything. “What about the crowd of ponies I passed? They saw what happened.”

“Could you manage to get some to testify?” Warden asked.

“Certainly. It’ll be easy.” Tinder opened the stall door and walked outside. “I mean, we practically—”

“Halt! You’re under arrest!” Two armored officer ponies strode past the fillies and slapped hoofcuffs on Tinder. The surprised unicorn had no time to react.

“Arrest!? On what grounds!?”

“Vandalism, trespassing, and destruction of private property and merchandise.”

“Outrageous! I was trying to save Felic—”

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of pony law...”

-~-~-~-~-~

A very angry green pony paced back and forth in the foyer of his mansion. The beautiful estate in Canterlot was empty and devoid of life to him, and all of the time he spent waiting for that error to be fixed wrought nothing but more frustration. Herb Gardens had sent two agents to recover what he’d asked for. It had been two whole days since they departed, and they still weren’t back. The unicorn tried to locate his servant but could not do so without help.

“Orchid!” Herb bellowed. A young mare raced into the foyer. “Are they back yet?”

“Not yet, sir. I’ll notify you when they arrive.”

“Fetch me a bowl of soup. I don’t care what kind.”

“Right away, Mr. Gardens.”

The sound of hooves making all haste for the kitchen filled Herb’s ears as the maid pony left the room. Just as she left, two ponies in black entered the room from the side door. One was holding the other up, practically dragging him, and both appeared to be injured. “Sir.”

“What happened?”

“We failed. A young unicorn thwarted our efforts.”

“A unicorn? You got trumped by...who was it?”

“The young stallion that runs the orphanage, Tinder.”

“Oh. In that case...if the Lighthearts are still there...Very well. Your services are no longer required.”

The two ponynappers were shocked. “Wait, what?”

“I sent you to retrieve my daughter. Obviously your understanding of the legal system was insufficient to have her signed away to me, so I’ll just go myself. I need to speak to the Lighthearts anyway, so it’s no trouble at all. Your payment—”

“Uh, sir, you wanted us to ‘adopt’ Felicity?”

Mr. Gardens stopped. “Yes. Why? What did you do?”

“Well, we thought...you said ‘abduct’ her. So, we kinda...tried to abduct her.”

“YOU WHAT?!”

“Sir, it was—”

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

“We merely—”

“WHERE’S MY DAUGHTER?!”

“She’s fine! We didn’t harm her—”

“You two are fired! You hear me?! FIRED! Now, GET OUT!”

The two frightened ponies fled the room, leaving a seething Mr. Gardens alone in the foyer. A few seconds passed before the maid returned with a bowl of soup on a levitating tray.

“Sir, I brought the soup. And by the way, your two mercenaries came back. I don’t know why, but they were in quite a hurry to leave the premises—”

“I spoke to them. Soup can wait, Orchid. Take a letter. I need to get a message to Yearlingdale, tonight.”

“Why, sir? What’s the occasion?”

“I fear for the safety of my daughter...”

Chapter 2: A Glimmer of Hope

Chapter 2: A Glimmer of Hope

The day after the ordeal in the market, Tinder found himself in an orange suit, with cuffs around his hooves. He was standing awkwardly outside a courtroom, accompanied by his lawyer and young Felicity, both of whom were waiting solemnly for the session to start. Tinder’s lawyer, a slowly speaking pony wearing a black coat and tie, broke the tense silence. “Your situation is quite simple, Mr. Lightheart. We shouldn’t have any problems getting you out of here in a timely fashion.”

“Good. I need to get back to the orphanage and let everyone know I’ll be okay.” Tinder replied.

“That isn’t what I meant,” his lawyer corrected. “I mean, this looks bad for you. And this is why you should worry: I cannot guarantee your reinstatement as the supervisor of the orphanage. Due to the circumstances of the incident, you may be forced out of the job.”

Tinder went pale. His eyes began to mist up and his hooves started to go numb. He couldn’t believe his ears. “But everything that I did was a result of occurrences beyond my control! You told me earlier to tell the honest truth and that everything would proceed quickly!”

“I did not lie. However, quickly and optimally are not synonymous. The fact that Felicity was in your care when she was taken has added the charge of ‘child negligence’ to your case. And that’s why your ultimate fate rests in the hooves of the jury. What you say will make or break this for you, Mr. Lightheart, and I can’t stress enough that even the slightest hint of ignorance or bad behavior will cost you the case. All you can do is tell the truth, and I’ll do what I can to help.”

The courtroom doors opened and the trio was escorted inside. Tinder’s front hooves were cuffed together, so he had to be carried by the magic of the unicorn guards. They set him down next to a long table where both Felicity and the pony in a black coat were seated, the latter of whom looked over at Tinder and grimaced. At that moment the judge entered the room from the side door. As he did so, the guards asked the room to stand in his honorable presence, and the court case was again underway.

“Mr. Lightheart,” the judge boomed in his deep stallion voice, “come forward to the stand.”

Tinder moved his hooves but made no forward progress, as he was still cuffed. The guards eventually caught on and moved him to the podium. The judge waited patiently for the guards to return to their posts before proceeding. “Tinder Lightheart, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”

“Of—” Tinder stopped short bit his tongue. “Yes, I do.”

The prosecutor trotted forward to the podium from his table. He smiled wryly at Tinder and spoke with a very slow, meticulous drawl. “Mr. Lightheart, can you tell us what happened yesterday in the market square?”

“I can, sir. I had just finished supervising a playdate for the fillies at the orphanage, and I was escorting them home. I had to make a quick stop by my brother’s stall to get some groceries, paid for by my sister’s wages as a mail pegasus. During the transaction, one of my fillies, Felicity Gardens, was ponynapped.”

“Let me stop you there, Mr. Lightheart. You said this occurred while you were purchasing goods?”

“Yes.”

“How could somepony sneak up behind you, take one of the fillies under your care, and leave without anypony noticing? Surely you brother would have seen something, or perhaps one of the other fillies?”

“Well, it’s entirely possible she was taken before I arrived. I wasn’t paying—”

“—attention?” the lawyer finished. “Sounds to me like child negligence. Thank you, Mr. Lightheart, you may step down.”

Tinder was in shock. He had been up there for less than a minute and had succeeded in making his case even more hopeless than it already was. Everything in him wanted to argue further, but he knew in his heart that it would only make his situation worse, so he allowed the guards to escort him back to his table without a complaint. The judge called the ‘next witness’ forward and Felicity sulked to the podium, her eyes wide and full of worry. It was obvious she had been waiting a long time, and had maybe cried once or twice. When she arrived at the podium, she was given a stack of books to stand on so her head could be visible over the front.

“Felicity Gardens, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”

“Yes sir.” Despite her appearance, which betrayed her true feelings of sorrow and unease, she remained calm and level-headed. Tinder wished for a fraction of her bravery.

The other lawyer spoke up. “When were you separated from Mr. Lightheart?”

“When we were nearing the stall where Mr. Warden works.”

“And no pony noticed you were missing?”

“I had been at the back of the line. Somepony just came up behind me and put a hoof over my mouth so I couldn’t talk. Then he ducked behind a stand real quick and tied me up.”

“So they gagged you first, and then tied you up. And then what?”

“Then they took me away,” she replied, gesturing into the air with an exasperated hoof. She was young, and didn’t understand why she needed to repeat the story if they already knew what had happened.

“So you couldn’t talk or move?”

“No, I already said that. I tried to wiggle free, but they tied it really tight.”

“I understand. Now, where did they take you?”

“To the warehouses. One of them had a key.”

“Let the record show that one of the ponynappers in question had a key to a private warehouse.” The unicorn secretary next to the judge began scribbling a note on her parchment. “Now, Felicity, how did Mr. Lightheart rescue you?”

“I’m not sure how he found me, but he used magic to hurt them. He threw a bag over one, and smashed the other with a big box.”

“Very well, I’ve heard enough. The prosecution rests.”

“Ms. Gardens, take your place next to Mr.—” The judge hadn’t even finished when he noticed Felicity was standing next to Tinder. “—Lightheart. Err...Bring forward the final witness. Mr. Dainty?”

An unhappy earth pony, well on in years, meandered up to the podium from behind Tinder somewhere. The judge waited patiently for the newcomer to get comfortable, then said, “Mr. Dainty, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”

“Yep,” replied the elderly pony. “I do.”

Tinder recognized the witness as a friendly old salespony who had run one of the stalls in the market. He didn’t know the pony personally, nor did he understand his presence at the court hearing. The prosecutor began his questioning. “Mr. Dainty, you own and operate a stand at the marketplace, do you not?”

“I do, sir.”

“Were you at your stall the day Mr. Lightheart”—the lawyer motioned to Tinder with a hoof—“knocked it over?”

Tinder’s eyes widened.

“No sir,” Mr. Dainty said. “I came by to check on my newly hired employee, and found my stall in shambles. All of those snow globes were on the street, and some of them were smashed.”

“Do you blame Mr. Lightheart for this?” the judge asked. “Would you say it’s fair to have him repay you the cost of the damaged merchandise?”

“Objection, your honor,” Tinder’s lawyer interjected, “Does Mr. Dainty know the full story? The circumstances of the incident were far beyond the control of my client.”

“Objection sustained. Mr. Dainty has been informed of the situation,” boomed the judge.

“I know what happened.” Mr. Dainty confirmed before he addressed the prosecutor. “I don’t blame him for trying to protect the young filly, but the destruction of my stall is undoubtedly his fault. Even if he didn’t do it himself, someone does need to pay for the damages.”

“Thank you, Mr. Dainty.” The older pony stepped down, returning to his seat behind Tinder. The lawyers, both Tinder’s and the prosecutor, started off on equally lengthy tirades about how both sides of the situation needed to be carefully analyzed. One one hoof, Tinder had undeniably toppled over at least one stand’s worth of merchandise, and had trespassed onto private property to save Felicity. However, the fact that she had been ponynapped seemed to, in his mind, justify his actions regardless. Tinder’s lawyer pushed for a mere fine, while the other pony reassured the judge at every interval that not even a hero of the day was above the law, and deserved punishment. Almost a half an hour in, both lawyers finally gave their closing arguments.

The judge turned to the panel of ponies that had been observing from the side of the room. “Has the jury reached a verdict?”

“We need a moment, your honor,” said a tall stallion in the jury. For a few minutes, they conferred, until finally the murmuring ceased and he stood again. “Your honor, we find the defendant, Tinder Lightheart, guilty of the charges of trespassing, child negligence and vandalism.”

“Very well,” the judge said stoically. “Then I hereby sentence him to pay for the merchandise lost and for the repairs to the property destroyed. His duty as a civic worker is to be revoked as well. You are relieved of your management of the orphanage, Mr. Lightheart.”

“WHAT?!” Tinder burst.

“Case closed.” The judge pony exited the room, his secretary right on his heels. Tinder’s lawyer was shaking his head in dismay, saddened by the turn of events. Felicity looked up at Tinder, who was staring at the judge, and could swear she saw a single tear roll down his cheek.

-~-~-~-~-~

Two days later, the Lighthearts found themselves packing their belongings as they prepared to leave their home. Tinder lifted the picture frame of him and his siblings off the shelf in his room using his magic and held it at eye level. The three of them had been smiling stupidly at the camera, trying their best to look happy. That period of time, immediately following the death of their parents, had been one of great sorrow, but somehow they had found hope and support through their work at the orphanage. Only when the funds they obtained through that line of work ceased to meet their needs did Airy and Warden begin searching for others, leaving Tinder alone with the orphans. He didn't want to leave: he couldn't picture himself working anywhere else, as though this framed photo was proof of that fact.

Warden came into the room without knocking, trying to check on his brother. When he saw Tinder staring into the photo he held in the air, he sighed heavily. “This isn't helping you.”

“What else do you want me to say, Warden? That I'm okay with leaving the orphanage? You want me to lie?”

“No, lying isn't the answer. In fact, that's what I'm implying. Stop lying to yourself.”

“About what?! You seem convinced that nothing's changed!”

“I know things will be different, but things will get better. They always do.”

“Not this time.” Tinder stuffed the picture into the bag he'd been filling with his few earthly possessions. When the family lost their claim to the orphanage, they had been given three days to leave the staff apartments, but since they were the only residents, it felt like they were being evicted from their own home. They had to move, and even in the short time they'd been searching they had failed to turn up a new location to take residence. “We have nowhere to go, Warden.”

“That may not be true.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Warden began, “I reviewed our parents’ will. There was a part that referenced a letter mom and dad had written to us that they had left in a vault. Airy told the post office manager, and he went into the back and found the letter. It had been given specific instruction not to be delivered until we were forced out of the orphanage.”

The Lighthearts had operated the orphanage since Tinder was a foal. Their parents, before they died, had been in charge, whereas the siblings had more or less inherited it. The process had been written into their parents' living will, and it saved a lot of paperwork and training to let ponies familiar with the job take over. “And?”

“And, read it.” Warden took a letter out of his bag and held it out for Tinder, who levitated it to himself and opened it gingerly. He read every word carefully as though it would burst into flame if he touched it.

Our dearest children,

If you're reading this, we're long gone. We want you to know how much we love you and how proud you three make us. On a more serious note, this letter was also specified not to be delivered until you were done with your stay at the orphanage. If so, we are very sorry for that. Whatever your circumstances are now – whether you have found a new home and work or not – they will get better. If you need somewhere to stay and a place to work, a friend of ours can help you with that. We left the address at the bottom of this letter.

Warden: We love how strong and loving you are. Your gentle spirit is what makes you so appealing and adorable. Even as a colt you were tender and caring. Never give that up. We hope you will be like a father to your siblings, and that they will love you as much as we do.

Airy: You have very sturdy wings and are an excellent flier, and it would be a shame to see that talent go to waste. *hint hint* We are so proud of our daughter, and wish nothing but the best for you. Whoever your future husband turns out to be will be a very lucky pony.

Tinder: The one part about our relationship with you that we hate is that you are too young to understand how much we love you. If any of these words could convey our feelings, it would be these: any time you feel alone or hurt, simply remember that we still love you, even after we're gone.

We hope you three have a blessed and wonderful life.With all the love in Equestria,

Mom and Dad

Following that was the address of their contact. Tinder had done his best not to cry for the last couple of days, but now, after all that had happened, the tears finally came rolling. Their parents were still taking care of him, even after they had been dead for almost two years. Warden moved forward to comfort Tinder, and the two joined in a sorrowful, brotherly embrace. Only after Tinder stopped crying did either of them speak.

“Where's this pony?” Tinder asked, still a tad misty-eyed. “I don't recognize this street.”

“That's just it,” Warden replied slowly. “It's not in Yearlingdale.”

“How do you know?”

“I had Airy make an inquiry at the post office. It's the address of the mayor of Ponyville.”

“P-Ponyville?!” Tinder stammered. “We're moving to Ponyville?!”

“Yes, Tinder. We are.”

“But that's, like, a quadrillion miles away!”

“No, it's about a two day journey. Less, if we fly.”

Tinder tilted his head in confusion. “We're flying?”

“Yes. We rented a pegasus-drawn carriage. It'll cost the last of our money after we finish paying off these debts we owe, but it'll get us there quickly.”

“Yeah...okay, fine. But I don't want to leave the city. I like it here!”

“You'll like it there, too. It's quaint, and I've heard that it's less chaotic than Yearlingdale.”

“How can you be so sure?!” Tinder insisted. “This isn’t fair, Warden!”

The older brother was at a loss for words at that point. As bad as he wanted to, he knew nothing but time would placate Tinder’s temper. It took him a moment, and the smell from downstairs, to remind him of the real reason he had come to Tinder’s room in the first place. “Come to the kitchen with me. I need help making dinner. It’s your favorite, by the way: daffodil sandwiches and lemon meringue pie.”

-~-~-~-~-~

The five fillies in the orphanage had waited for a long time. For the last three days they had cried together, played as hard as they could, and said all of their goodbyes to one another, because this would be the last time any of them would see each other again. Felicity's fate was the last one to be decided, as all four of the others were to be moved to other orphanages across Equestria, and the establishment in Yearlingdale would be shut down until new ownership could be found. It was a sad day for the filly friends.

“I’m gonna miss you girls...” Feather said solemnly.

Maple was in the corner, crying her eyes out. None of them wanted to leave: they all loved each other, and they all loved the Lighthearts. The very thought that none of them would see Tinder again was enough to make them bawl. None more so than Felicity, who was sitting in the center of the room, crying softly as she indulged on one of the cookies she had stolen a few days ago.

“Girls,” Felicity said quietly, trying to be brave. “This isn’t goodbye forever. Just...for a long time.”

“Felicity, give it up. We ain’t never seein’ each other again.”

“Shut up!” she screamed, throwing a cookie at Feather. It shattered into crumbs on impact with the her flank. The room was quiet except for Felicity, who had taken over the job as primary filly in hysterics after Maple stopped to see what had happened. A knock on the door a few seconds later hushed the entire room as Tinder entered the scene. All of the fillies had either red eyes or fresh tears, and he was obviously not happy either.

“Girls...It’s time to go,” he said slowly. He had a lump in his throat that, no matter what he told himself, would not go away. As each one of the girls he cared for walked by him, down the stairs and into the carriages that awaited them, he couldn’t bear to look at them. Instead he focused on Felicity, who wasn’t moving from her spot. His heart was already broken, and he had no reassurance that her future was secure. Every one of the fillies had been claimed by another orphanage, save her. All they could do was wait for the messenger to arrive with news of her fate. “Felicity, come outside.”

“I don’t wanna.”

“Be a big girl for once in your life, sweetie. Sitting there isn’t getting anything done.”

“I don’t want to leave, Tinder!” she cried. “I don’t want to go to some other home! I want to stay with you!”

That statement clicked in Tinder’s head. Somehow, everything made sense. “Felicity, have you been purposely sabotaging your chances of adoption just to stay here at the home?”

She nodded slowly, tears still streaming down her minty cheeks.

“You really wanted to stay with us that badly?”

Another nod.

“Felicity...” Tinder couldn’t find words. “I...we love you so much...but...”

“Tinder!” came a cry from outside. It was Airy. “Come out here! Bring Felicity!”

The unicorn remained still, trying to find his voice again. Finally he put up a fake smile and tried to be an adult.“Come on, you silly filly. It’s time to grow up and face the future. This hasn’t been easy for me, either.”

“No!”

This is getting ridiculous. “Felicity, I will drag you outside, even if it kills me to do it.”

“I’m not moving!”

-~-~-~-~-~

The front door of the orphanage swung open and out walked Tinder, levitating a thrashing, screaming Felicity over his head and carrying a sack of her belongings in his mouth. Airy and Warden, along with two other pegasus ponies he didn’t know, were standing in confusion as the scene progressed in front of them.

When Tinder finally subdued Felicity and set her bag down, he looked up and smiled wryly. “That wasn’t as painful as I thought. Now, let’s hear it.”

“Well,” said one of the pegasus, “I arrived first with orders from the judge. He says that no home nearby could accept Felicity. She needs to get a place to live, and if one isn’t found in a certain amount of days, she’ll be taken into foster care.”

“I, on the other hoof,” chimed the other, “have a priority letter from a one Dr. Gardens addressed to Warden, Airy and Tinder Lightheart regarding his daughter.”

“And?” Tinder asked hurriedly.

“He says to do everything in our power to keep her safe,” explained Warden, the letter on the pavement in front of him. “He’s terribly sorry about some ‘incident’ and will meet us in two weeks to take his daughter home.”

“But we leave for Ponyville today,” Airy pointed out. “We can’t let Felicity be taken into foster care. We have to take her with us!”

“Why?” Warden countered. “If she’s in foster care, she’ll be easy to locate.”

“And easily adopted. Her father will be devastated.”

“Can we just take her like this?” Tinder said nervously. “I’d prefer to go through the necessary channels to avoid any more court hearings. I’ve had enough for one lifetime.”

“PLEASE LET ME GO WITH YOU!” Felicity pleaded to Warden.

The oldest pony was torn. He didn’t want to see any of the fillies taken from him, despite four of them already having left. Felicity was all they had left of the orphans. They also had an unspoken agreement to Mr. Gardens, whom they’d never met, to keep his daughter safe. If she was in foster care, they couldn’t protect her, now could they?

“A promise is a promise, I suppose,” he finally conceded. “One way or another, the filly stays with us.”

The pegasus messengers nodded and took flight, heading back to the post office. Airy and Tinder converged to discuss their plan, and Felicity jumped in between them to listen. “So now what?” she asked excitedly.

“Let’s just not go to Ponyville,” Tinder offered. “We can find work here.”

“Not likely,” Warden said. “We’re guaranteed a new home if we follow mom and dad’s advice, and a job will take second priority to a stable home.”

“Plus I hate the city,” Airy commented. “Just sayin’.”

“Well I for one would rather not risk the trip. Who knows what that backwater town is like! It could be filled with boring ponies that do nothing but watch the sun rise and set every day! I’ve heard stories of how truly plain Ponyville is compared to the city.”

“It’ll be an adjustment,” Warden admitted, “but we can’t turn down help when it’s offered. If it means avoiding living on the street, I vote we go to Ponyville and at least request the Mayor’s help. Who knows? Maybe this will be the change of pace we need to finally get our hopes up.”

“Our flight leaves in fifteen minutes. Are we going or no?”

Tinder wanted to fight it, but he knew he was overruled. “Yeah, I guess. But if we get turned down, we’re coming right back here.”

“Very well. And what of Felicity?”

The little filly’s eyes were large and her lip was pushed out in a show of pitiable sorrow.

“Of course we’re taking her with us,” Tinder said. “No question.”

Her eyes lit up and a smile broke across her face. Felicity started jumping up and down next to Tinder, giggling happily at her fortune.

“Yeah, I think we established that,” Airy said dryly. “What do we do about her food and boarding situation? We can’t really afford to feed another mouth.”

“We have in the past,” Warden pointed out. “We’ve actually been spending all of our extra money on food for the orphans. Remember how we budgeted for that one year when the home was full, and the city council cut funding to our merry band for a couple months?”

“I guess.”

“There’s been a lot of guessing and thinking going on,” Tinder commented. “Now is a ‘let’s get this over with’ kind of moment.”

“I concur. Let’s do our best not to miss our flight, and go from there.”

-~-~-~-~-~

Chapter 3: A Melting of Hearts

Chapter 3: A Melting of Hearts

The chariot raced across the clouds as the siblings headed toward their prospective new home in Ponyville, along with Felicity, who was nearly bursting with excitement about flying for the first time. To make room for the filly, Airy had elected to fly on her own. It was obvious that, by the time the two escort ponies were nearing the town, that the poor pegasus girl was worn out from so much constant flight. The trip had been long with not many stops to rest, but after a great many hours, they had finally arrived. The two ponies pulling the cart touched down just on the edge of the road and bid them all a good day before turning right around and heading back the way they came.

“So....hardcore!” Airy gasped, landing shortly after. “They fly....forever....”

“Yes, they’re quite hardy,” Warden remarked. “It took quite some time for them to take a rest long enough for me to grab some food. Speaking of which, you guys hungry?”

“Starving,” Felicity cut in.

“Well, we have no money, so don’t get your hopes up,” Tinder sneered.

“No need to be spiteful, Tinder. Here, Felicity, I have some bread left over from the trip.” Warden gave the filly a half of a loaf of white bread, which Felicity started munching on immediately. “Now, which way to the Mayor’s house?”

“I’d start with his office, I think.” Tinder pointed out a slightly tall, round building near the center of town. “It’s still bright out, and I doubt highly he’d lock up for the night so early in the afternoon.”

“How do you know that’s it?”

“I don’t. It’s just the only one that isn’t some quaint little hut or country-style general store.”

“Just because the buildings aren’t all three or more stories high doesn’t mean their quaint, Tinder. Ponyville is a simpler place to live than Yearlingdale, for sure, but ponies are still ponies no matter where they live. I’m sure everything will be perfectly normal.”

When the group arrived at the town gate, a pink mare with a bubbly magenta mane was standing nearby, looking the other direction. Airy took a few bounding steps ahead and extended a hoof to the pony.

“Hello, I’m-”

The pink mare rapidly turned around and jumped into the air, gasping loudly. Before anyone could try to understand what was happening, she vanished in a cloud of smoke, running full gallop back into the center of town. Tinder sauntered up next to his sister and smirked. “We’ve been in town for five seconds and you’ve already scared off the locals. Good work, Airy.”

“No, no, she’s just being Pinkie Pie,” said a voice from nearby. The group looked to see a lavender alicorn trotting up to them from the other direction. “She doesn’t know who you are, and is probably planning a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party for you as we speak.”

“I’m sorry,” Tinder said quickly, bowing his head reverently. “We didn’t mean to-”

“Oh, no, don’t apologize. I’m not very good at explaining Pinkie Pie. I’m Twilight Sparkle. I live here in the Ponyville library.”

“I’m Tinder Lightheart,” he replied. “This is my sister Airy and my brother Warden, and the filly is Felicity Gardens.”

“Gardens?” Twilight repeated. “Are you by chance related to the royal chef in Canterlot?”

“I dunno,” replied Felicity. “My daddy lives in Canterlot, but I’m an orphan.”

“We’re all orphans,” Tinder added. “We used to work at the orphanage in Yearlingdale.”

“Yearlingdale?” Twilight repeated. “That’s quite a distance away. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard it’s very busy. Probably quite a change for you city ponies to be here in quiet old Ponyville.”

“You have no idea,” whispered Tinder. “Oh, Princess-”

“Just Twilight is fine. No need to be so formal.”

“Right. Twilight, where is the mayor?”

“She’s probably in the pavilion, over by town square,” Twilight replied, pointing a hoof toward the large round building Tinder had identified earlier. “If that’s all you need, I had best get going. I probably need to go check on Pinkie, but if you need anything else, anypony here would be willing to answer your questions.”

“Oh, the mayor is a mare? I didn’t... well, thank you, Prin... err, Twilight.” Tinder nudged Felicity on with his snout, and together the four proceeded on, leaving Twilight behind them. When they were out of earshot, Tinder leaned in close to Airy and smirked. “She was nice.”

“I guess. We didn’t get to talk for very long, so I can’t make an accurate judgment.”

“Don’t act so serious, Airy,” Tinder whispered harshly. “She was being friendly.”

“I’m trying to learn how everyone acts in this town. So far, I’ve gotten mixed signals.”

“Just be yourself. It’s not hard.”

“And risk doing something wrong and labeling myself as an imbecile?” Airy said, shocked. “Not happening.”

“Airy, you care more for your personal image than anything else.”

“We can’t all be Tinder Lighteheart, more practically minded than waterproof boots.“

“You need to lighten up.”

“Let’s just go meet the Mayor so we can get home,” Airy replied flatly. “I think my mane is starting to frazzle.”

Warden snickered at his sibling’s pointless bickering and opened the door of the pavillion. The Mayor was supervising a remodeling project, watching ponies fix some loose rails on the upper balcony. A few pegasus ponies were raising a beam when she noticed her visitors and trotted over to greet them.

“Good day, everypony,” said the Mayor cheerfully. “How may I assist you?”

“Ms. Mayor,” Warden began, “we are Warden, Airy and Tinder Lightheart, as well as our young friend Felicity Gardens. We were the supervisors of the Yearlingdale orphanage before we were, due to an unfortunate accident, evicted.” Tinder turned away, unable to make eye contact with Warden as he spoke. “A letter we received from our deceased parents told us we could find you here, and that you would be able to help us.”

“Lightheart? I knew your mother and father, alright. Wonderful ponies, excellent with kids. When they were still young, they worked for me as assistants around town. I told them if they ever needed my help, they could ask me. They never did redeem that favor. I suppose this was it, then. So, Warden, may I assume you’re the legal guardian of these three?”

Warden nearly blurted out that Felicity wasn’t technically their legal responsibility, but thought better of it. “Yes ma’am.”

“As repayment of the favor I owe your parents, I can give you all a permanent residence here in Ponyville. It’s a house that was built not too long ago, near the front gate of town. Very beautiful, built for a family of five or six. It was....your parent’s home, actually. We put it up for sale a few years back, but no one ever bought it.”

“Wait,” Airy blurted. “Mom and dad used to live here in Ponyville?”

“Yes, my dear. I already said they worked for me for many years.”

“How did they get to Yearlingdale, then?” she persisted. “Why’d they leave?”

“That, I can explain,” the Mayor replied. “They left right after Warden was born. It had something to do with their lack of income. If one of them had to stop working to take care of a foal, and they needed more money to support themselves, naturally they’d move to somewhere they could find better wages.”

“Well, thank you so much, Ms. Mayor,” Warden interjected, trying to stop them there. Tinder looked at him quizzically, but the older brother ignored his gaze. “We best be going on our way-”

“Not so fast, Mr. Lightheart. We need to arrange employment for you three.”

“You’ve done so much for us, though. We couldn’t ask-”

“Nonsense. You must work to earn your new home, and I have the perfect jobs for each of you. Airy, my dear, are you a skilled flier?”

“I....am.”

“Then you are now a member of the weather patrol. You can report to Rainbow Dash sometime tomorrow for training. I don’t recommend the early mornings, though, because she tends to sleep in.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Warden, what are you talented at?” the Mayor asked abruptly, turning to him.

“Well, let’s see....I was a grocer back in Yearlingdale, so I have sales experience. I cooked meals for my family, and I-”

“You can cook?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“How good of a chef are you?”

“I’m experienced. My mom taught me how to bake.”

“I’ll assign you to Sugarcube Corner tomorrow. They need another good pastry chef to work while Mr. and Ms. Cake are away on business this week.”

“I’ll be there bright and early, ma’am.”

“And Tinder....Oh....Where shall I assign you? What did you do in Yearlingdale?”

“I singlehoofedly supervised the orphans back home.”

“So I can assume you love kids. That you know how to handle them, I mean.”

“Yes, Ms. Mayor.”

“Then you may go to the schoolhouse tomorrow and ask Cheerilee about seeking employment as an assistant. I have a feeling you’d be very good at that.”

“I‘ll do it. Sounds a lot better than anything I could have asked for.”

“Then it’s settled. Welcome to Ponyville, Lightheart family.”

Felicity cleared her throat unnecessarily loudly.

“Oh, and of course, Felicity Gardens. By the way, you will accompany Tinder to school tomorrow. You’re just old enough to attend, now, and school starts tomorrow, so there’s no reason not to.”

The filly’s eyes began to glow again: for the first time in her life, she was going to make friends. Better yet, if everything went well, she was going to be there with Tinder, her only real friend. Hope—something she thought had abandoned her in the orphanage that morning—was restored to her life once more.

-~-~-~-~-~

The Lightheart’s new home was an average looking house, if not a bit cozy, with very large windows and a second floor balcony. The roof was a dull ruby color and comprised of newly installed shingles. One could not see it clearly in the bad lighting this late in the evening, but the chimney on top was also in pristine condition despite the age of the house itself. Everything, from the layered wood structure to the recently reapplied daisy yellow paint job, was beautiful and new. When the Mayor had said they’d tried to sell it, Tinder couldn't imagine why they hadn’t, and the fact that they had refurbished it only drove his curiosity further.

But it wasn’t so much the house itself that caught his attention. The lights were on in the door window, and it unnerved Tinder just a bit. “Airy? Warden? The lights are on.”

“Thanks, captain obvious, I hadn’t noticed,” replied Airy.

“Perhaps the Mayor sent someone to show us inside?” Warden offered.

“We would have beaten them here,” Tinder noted. “Unless we took the long way, that is. Burglars, maybe?"

Airy charged up to the front door, taking flight from the rest of the group. Felicity, Warden and Tinder watched as she stepped inside and froze halfway through. “No one’s here!” she called.

The other three caught up to her and peered inside. The house was very spacious, as the mayor had mentioned, but judging from the humble exterior one would not have guessed as much. The only lights on in the house were those in the doorway. All of the rooms in view were darkened. Although they had expected silence, there were many creaking and random snorting sounds in the darkness around them. Tinder put a hoof on Felicity and pushed past Airy, taking his young friend with him as they slowly edged into the living room ahead. The door across from them was shut, but the strange noises were issuing from behind it. The Lighthearts, along with Felicity, eventually had made it there and slowly opened the door, expecting to find someone trying to jump them.

They had not been wrong. The lights flipped on as the door swung open and a pink mare sprang from the illumination onto him, knocking Tinder flat to the ground. A very loud “SURPRISE!” rang out through the house as confetti and streamers flew from the door, leaving a very confused Warden and Airy, an amused Felicity, and a bewildered Tinder covered in party supplies.

“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie!” the mare said into Tinder’s face. Her eyes were enormous—and slowly adjusting to the new lighting—and she was smiling ear to ear. She looked up at the other siblings and gave them the same toothy grin. “We threw this party just for you, to help you get acquainted with Ponyville! It’s your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party!”

“Oh, my!” Airy exclaimed. “But....we’ve been here less than half an hour. How did you manage to put this together so quickly?”

Warden peered into the next room, extending his neck over the fallen Tinder. It was full of ponies he didn’t know. “And how did you get so many ponies here?”

“She had some help,” came a familiar voice from inside as Twilight Sparkle trotted through the crowd. “When I found Pinkie, she was baking a huge cake. She asked for my help organizing a party, so I rounded up every available pony in town. Isn’t this exciting? I’ve never thrown a surprise party before.”

“Yeah, and we got almost every pony in Ponyville to come!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

Tinder finally recovered, brushing off his legs as he spoke. “As thoughtful as this is, we-”

Warden shoved a hoof in his mouth. “-are very grateful for it. Thank you so much, Pinkie. And to you as well, Twilight.”

“Oh, silly! We had to throw you a party.” explained Pinkie Pie. “I know every pony in town, so when I saw you, I was all, like, They’re new! They need a party! Because if you’re new, you must not have any friends.”

“This is....a tradition,” Twilight clarified further. “Pinkie throws a party for everyone.”

“Well, it was very thoughtful, regardless.” Warden pushed past Pinkie Pie and Twilight, disappearing into the crowd of ponies behind them. Airy simply nodded before following after him. Felicity, when Tinder looked back to check on her, was unsurprisingly missing.

“I’m gonna go mingle,” Pinkie said. And then she, too, retreated into the next room.

Twilight, however, stayed. “You look a bit unhappy,” she noted to Tinder.

“I’m tired. I don’t see the point in a party when our whole lives are shifting uncertainly, and right now, I just wanna sleep it away. I do have work in the morning, after all.”

“I was like you when I first arrived in Ponyville,” Twilight said. “Pinkie had thrown me a party the day I arrived, and I went to bed instead of enjoying myself. I learned that following day what a foal I had been, thinking that friendship wasn’t important. If I had listened to Spike, I would have had a good time instead of just lying awake all night by myself.”

“Who’s Spike?” asked Tinder.

“My assistant at the library. And a good friend.”

“Well, no offense, Twilight, but I’m not exactly in the same boat as you. I’ve just been cleared out of my lifelong home, forced out of my favorite job, and sent to a whole new place against my will. I just don’t feel up to a party right now.”

“Your situation is only as hopeless as you make it, Tinder.” It startled him that she remembered his name, but it never occurred to him that he’d see her ever again. “I was a student under Princess Celestia in Canterlot before I was sent here. The princess had asked me to make some friends, and all I wanted to do was study. I loved Canterlot, and I loved my time as a student. But if I had to do it over again, I would only change how I reacted to it. Instead of resisting, I would just make friends like the Princess had instructed. That would have saved us a lot of grief, too, with the Nightmare Moon incident.”

“Oh, that was you?” Tinder asked. “I heard a rumor that the banished Princess had been reinstalled up in Canterlot. How were you involved in that?”

“Me and my ‘new friends’ harnessed the power of the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon. Princess Luna reemerged when we broke her free from that evil form.”

“So you did make friends,” Tinder confirmed, suddenly interested.

“That’s what I said,” Twilight replied. “But that’s my point. If you fight it, it’ll only be that much worse for you.”

“Maybe you’re right....” Tinder reluctantly said. “Thank you....Twilight.”

“You’re quite welcome. Why don’t I introduce you to my friends?” Together the two ponies walked into the next room, where loud music, colorful streamers and assorted balloons filled the air, and the party was in full swing.

-~-~-~-~-~

A few hours later, long after the party had ended and everypony else had gone home, the Lighthearts were still learning their way around their new home. Tinder found the inside of the cozy house to be exactly how he'd pictured it, despite having no idea what it could have been. It was similar to their apartment back in Yearlingdale: both had been decorated by their mother, so that came as no surprise. The same wallpaper in the tiny kitchen back in the apartment ran throughout the posh kitchen, and the same was true for the dining room and living room.

Tinder's room – he could tell it was his because of the crib in the corner, which had not been moved with the rest of their furniture – had a window facing the town. Through it he could see the town lights shining dimly, blurring together when his eyes started closing. Ponies were all in their homes at this time, probably talking about the party and enjoying each other’s company. Tinder couldn't help but feel jealous that they had so much happiness to spare and he had only enough to stay alive. Warden, Airy and Felicity were all that was left of his former life, and were the only source of hope he had for any sort of positive future.

Some of the comforts of home had been provided for the Lightheart family plus Felicity – no, Tinder considered her part of their family – and that had included a few beds. His was in the corner under the window, and as he climbed into it, he couldn't help but keep staring outside. It wasn't terribly late, but he had a lot on his mind, and the lights were calming. His eyes were locked on the slowly darkening sky until they finally nodded off to sleep on their own.

-~-~-~-~-~

Herb Gardens paced anxiously around his vast study. Orchid was late getting back from her errands, and he expected some form of reply from the city council about news of his daughter. It was getting darker as the sun was starting to vanish from view, and every passing minute only ate away at his normally rock-solid resolve. His years in service to the Princess had taught him a great many things, and one of them was that eating was not a way to deal with nervousness. But he did that, too.

The plate of chocolate almonds was nearly clean, and his thoughts were racing like mad. Had something happened to Felicity? Was he going to get her back after all this time? Or was she long gone? He plopped another almond into his mouth and continued doing laps around his desk, trying to think of something to stay sane. All he could see was the face of a small, crying filly with the cutest black mane and beautiful amber eyes, that were then shut and shedding tears of hunger. The first time he’d met his daughter.

It had been far too long. When Rose Gardens died, Herb’s job had been put at risk. He could not take care of a child and keep working as a chef in the castle. The Princess had done everything she could for him, but the decision had been made to send Felicity into the adoption program when he had failed to take proper care of her. They had sent two guards to take her away from him, and Herb had fought the legal system as hard as he could to get her back. But he knew, deep down, it was in her best interest, even if it would kill him to see his only daughter taken from him this way.

But now he had money. He had a beautiful, luxurious home in Canterlot with a wonderful maid who could watch Felicity when he was working. His job situation had become more fortuitous: instead of a lowly chef in the kitchen working thirty hours a week, he was now the head baker and able to come and go as he pleased. He had developed a personal relationship with the Princess, who supported his endeavor to find his daughter. Everything had seemed opportune.

Up until three days ago, when he’d learned of the incident in Yearlingdale.

Orchid busted through the door, shocking Mr. Gardens rather badly.

“Ah!” he cried. It didn’t take long for him to regain his composure. “Orchid, welcome back. Any mail for me?”

“There is, sir.” She snatched a letter from her saddlebag and held it out for him. He levitated it to his side and opened it, reading carefully every word on the page. “Sorry I’m late, by the way. I was held up at the grocer.”

Herb wasn’t paying attention, as Orchid had expected. He was lost in the letter.

Dear Mr. Gardens,

We regret to inform you that the Yearlingdale orphanage offices are closed until further notice. Please redirect any further inquiries to the Head of Public Services. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Regards, City Council

“The orphanage is....closed?” Herb echoed. “How is this possible? Surely they didn’t evict the Lighthearts over this....”

“It’s very possible, actually,” Orchid offered. “There may be more to this incident than you think.”

“Pack my suitcases, Orchid. I will meet with the Princess tomorrow morning, and then I depart for Yearlingdale. One way or another, I will sort this out.”

“What would you have me do in your absence, sir?”

“Just....” Herb stopped. It occurred to him how short he’d been with his servant since this quandary had arisen. “....watch the house. Do as you please, but don’t make a mess.”

“Yes, sir.” She turned to leave the room, to begin her chores.

“Orchid?”

“Yes sir?”

“I’m sorry.”

She stopped, turning again to face him. “For what?”

“I’ve been very impatient with you this last week. I feel I need to apologize.”

“It’s quite alright, sir. You’ve been under a lot of stress with this problem.”

“You’ll be expecting a bonus in your check this coming payday, Orchid.”

“Thank you kindly, sir. Please excuse me.” Then she left the room, leaving Herb Gardens alone with his thoughts once more. He would not be able to sleep that night.

Chapter 4: An Acceptance of Change

Chapter 4: An Acceptance of Change

The schoolhouse was very quaint, just like everything else in rural Ponyville. The playground outside was quiet; the swings were swaying slowly in the fall wind, clicking softly with every nudge. Red and orange leaves dotted the stone path leading up to the one room building, and more were falling from the trees nearby. Despite all of the appeal the city had for him, Tinder couldn’t help but admire the beauty of an autumn day in the country. Felicity, too, was enthralled.

“Tinder, how come there’s no trees in the city?”

“Uhh, think for a moment. Where would the trees be if there were any?”

“Under the buildings.” Felicity concluded thoughtfully.

As beautiful as the scene was, the unicorn had to stay focused. He was here for a job interview. The pair opened the front door of the schoolhouse and walked inside. A purple earth pony was busying herself with cleaning and preparing the inside for class that day. She wasn’t expecting to see Tinder and Felicity when they entered.

“Oh, my!” she cried in surprise. “I’m sorry, class hasn’t started yet.”

“Actually, miss...”

“Cheerilee.”

“Right, Ms. Cheerilee. I’m Tinder Lightheart, and this is my...young friend, Felicity.”

“Oh! You’re Mr. Lightheart? You’re younger than I assumed.”

“Sorry. Will that be an issue, Ms. Cheerilee?”

“Of course not!” She smiled apologetically. “I'm glad the Mayor recommended you to help me. The students might feel more comfortable around somepony closer to their age.”

“Right,” Tinder said nervously. “Well...what would you like to know?”

“How long can you stay?” she asked.

“All day.”

“Wonderful. Today will be an easy day for you, since there are no papers and not a very long lecture. But, some days, when I’m busy giving a lesson, I’d like to have you grading tests. Some days I may be sick, so I’d like to have you study the curriculum and know what assignments for a day are, in case you need to substitute. And don’t worry: even if you have no formal experience, you can teach this class simply by following my notes. I’ll have them ready for you beforehand.”

“Oh, wow. You thought that far ahead, Ms. Cheerilee?”

“I did. Although, I’m thinking this particular method needs testing. Would you like to try teaching class today?”

Tinder was taken aback at first, thinking she was kidding. But then, when he picked up that she was serious, he smiled at Cheerilee. “I...would love to.”

“Yay, Tinder’s teaching class today!” Felicity proclaimed. She began dancing in place as Cheerilee smiled at her. Tinder didn’t share her happy outlook, and instead jumped to the worst case scenario. Despite his worry, he kept his mouth shut about the issue; perhaps Felicity wouldn’t act up, and everything would go smoothly.

-~-~-~-~-~

The students were all at their desks, talking amongst one another loud enough for Tinder to hear them at random intervals. Snippets of “Great, first day is always the worst” and “I hate school” seemed to permeate the otherwise happy scene. Cheerilee was shaking her head at Tinder, who was quivering uncontrollably where he stood. He’d never taught a class, and he had every right to be nervous. The school bell rang outside, symbolizing the start of the class for the day; Tinder’s heart dropped into his legs as Cheerilee went up to her desk.

“Good morning, class.”

“Good morning, Ms. Cheerilee,” replied the class, half of which said it with a thick, droning sound that gave Tinder even more reason to worry.

“Today, we have a new teacher I’d like to introduce to you.” She beckoned to Tinder, who reluctantly put on a brave face and skipped up to the desk. “This is Mr. Lightheart, an unicorn from Yearlingdale. Everypony say hi.”

“Hello, Mr. Lightheart,” hummed the class. Amid the droning, one voice sounded happy, almost melodic, and stood out over the rest. Tinder looked to see Felicity on the front row, wide eyed and smiling ear to ear. He’d never expected to see a filly her age enjoying school. But her smile gave him reassurance where Cheerilee’s speech about education had not. It took a moment, but he gained his composure as best he could and reacted naturally.

“Good morning, class,” Tinder replied slowly, mockingly. The class giggled as his imitation of them, which boosted his spirits even more.

“Mr. Lightheart will be giving today’s lesson while I watch from the back of the room. I’ll be keeping my eye on all of you, to make sure you’re paying attention.” Then Cheerilee made her way past the students to the back of the one-room schoolhouse, where she stood smiling at Tinder.

“Right,” Tinder said. Using his magic, he picked up a piece of chalk and wrote his name on the board behind him, as well as the date and time. “Today’s lecture is on the various locations in Equestria, including those you may have heard of and some you may not have. We’ll try to make this brief so all of you may go to recess early today; I, for one, don’t want to spend the first day of school in class.”

The students cheered loudly, a response Tinder had hoped to elicit. Cheerilee smiled.

“We’ll start with my hometown of Yearlingdale. Who here has been to, or heard of, Yearlingdale?” A few students raised their hooves, including Felicity. Tinder took the chalk he was levitating and began to draw a large mass, one that was supposed to represent Equestria in map form. He made a very obvious dot near the center and wrote the word Ponyville above it. Then he made another dot further to the right and put the word Canterlot near it. Beyond that, a long distance up on the board, he made one more, and labeled it Yearlingdale. “Well, for those of you who haven’t been there, it’s north of Canterlot. It takes a long time to travel from there to here, and that’s why not many ponies make the trip.”

A unicorn filly raised her hoof. “Mr. Lightheart, what is Yearlingdale like?”

“It’s a bustling city. Many of the buildings are several stories high, but there are also many small houses and apartments that aren’t so tall. The ponies there are very business-minded and no-nonsense, which basically means they would rather work than have fun. It’s a place you go when you’re out to make a lot of money.” Tinder didn’t want to talk about Yearlingdale as though it was a bad place to live—he had loved the city dearly—but the truth was that the city couldn’t be described as anything else but a hive of financial business and constant work. Adult ponies usually worked day and night in Yearlingdale, trying to find ways to make more money.

“Did you like to make money when you lived there?”

Tinder blinked. “Umm...In a sense. Let me explain where I come from. In the city, many ponies were so busy with work that they couldn’t take care of their foals; my parents got money from the city council to open an orphanage to try and fix that. When my parents...left...me and my two siblings started working there. So, yes, we did like making money, but only because any extra money we had was spent on food and on the many young ponies we took care of there.

“But that’s not to say that we were poor. We weren’t wealthy, but we made a living and took care of the orphans as best we could. My sister was a mail pegasus and my brother worked part time as a clerk selling produce in the city market. I usually stayed home and watched the colts and fillies play together. That’s why my cutie mark is a heart.” Tinder showed his flank to the class, revealing a purple heart on his maroon coat. “It means I love kids and can relate better to them.

“On that note, let’s go back to the lecture.” The class moaned in unison. “South of Yearlingdale, closer to Ponyville, is Canterlot. Canterlot is the city where the Princesses live...”

-~-~-~-~-~

School, as promised, had let out half an hour early for recess. All of the students had raced onto the playground as Cheerilee and Tinder walked side by side out the door. The scene of frolic and laughter that met him was not unlike the one at the park those few days ago; it seemed to him to be an eternity ago, when it had only been less than a week. Felicity was notably taller than a good number of the students, despite not being too much older. As such – and because her amber bow and well-groomed black mane stood out in a crowd – she was easy to specifically track. Tinder found, to no great surprise, that she had already recruited a student as her new underling. Cheerilee was impressed.

“She certainly doesn't waste time making new friends, does she?” she remarked.

“Nope,” Tinder concurred. “Felicity is fast to make friends.”

“Apple Bloom certainly has taken a shine to her.”

“That's the filly with the red mane, right?”

“Yes. She's Applejack's sister.”

Tinder had briefly met Applejack at the party last night, but could only remember her face. “Oh, okay. I know her.”

“Oh, right, pardon me. I'd almost forgotten you were new to Ponyville. By the way, you did an excellent job with the students today. They really like you.”

“Thank you, Ms. Cheerilee-”

“Oh, please, just call me Cheerilee.”

“...Right. Cheerilee.” I still have some growing up to do, Tinder reminded himself.

Over on the playground, Felicity and Apple Bloom were chatting as they walked. They had no destination, although they kept walking anyway. Apple Bloom was introducing Felicity to the different fillies in her class, saving two in particular for last. “...And that's Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They're bullies, so tra'h to avoid them when you can.”

Felicity giggled. “Have I told you I like your accent, Apple Bloom?”

“Ma'h accent? What accent? Ah don't have no accent.”

“Never mind. You were saying?”

“Oh, right.” Apple Bloom led Felicity to the edge of the playground suddenly, diverting from the path they had been aimlessly walking on. Two fillies were waiting conspicuously near the swing set. “And lastly, this here's Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, ma'h best friends.”

“Hey there,” the orange one, Scootaloo, said excitedly. “Apple Bloom, you didn't tell us the new student had no cutie mark.”

“Wait, where were you two in class?” asked Felicity.

“I sit near the front,” replied Sweetie Belle cheerfully. “I was actually right behind you.”

“Oh...”

“I like your bow, by the way. My sister Rarity would probably comment on how it matches your eyes.”

“She did,” admitted Felicity. “I met your sister at the party last night.”

“There was a party last night!?” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“Yeah, the Lighthearts got a big house-warming party from Pinkie Pie,” Felicity explained. “Your sister and Apple Bloom's sister were both there. So, now I need to know why it matters if I have a cutie mark or not.”

“Oh, right,” Apple Bloom said. “I forgot to mention we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

“The Cutie Mark Who-say what now?”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders!” cried all three of the friends in unison. “Yay!”

Felicity had to tilt her ears in to dampen the sound of the yell. “Owwie...”

“We're on a crusade for our Cutie Marks. We've tried a lot of things, but I'm sure that we'll find out our special talents today.” Scootaloo said triumphantly.

“Or maybe tomorrow,” Apple Bloom said hopefully.

“Or sometime soon,” Sweetie Belle said glumly.

“Why does it matter?” Felicity asked. The crusaders stared at her blankly for a long, silent moment. They couldn’t fathom anyone not valuing their Cutie Mark. But in the city, growing up, it had not been a priority for Felicity, or for any of the orphans. “You make it sound as though finding your Cutie Mark is a big deal.”

Scootaloo recovered first. “It IS a big deal.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “We're the only three-”

“-four-” Apple Bloom corrected.

“-four fillies in our class that don't have them yet!”

“We need to find out who we are, and get our Cutie Marks!” finished Scootaloo.

The mint green filly sighed heavily, but then smiled smugly. She'd spotted an opportunity. “You don't understand how to get a mark, do you?”

The trio blinked simultaneously.

“Don't you think it's odd that you guys are the only ones without them? That's because you're going about it the wrong way.”

“Oh yeah?” said Scootaloo, defiant. “And you know what the right way is?”

“Yup. I should tell you how. It's not a much of a secret.”

“What is it?” asked Apple Bloom anxiously.

Hook, line and sinker. “First, I want to be accepted into your 'crusaders' group. I need a solid circle of friends that I can rely on, for...support. You three are really nice, and I feel like we share a common cause.”

“Finding our Cutie Marks, you mean?”

“Yeah, sure...Umm, secondly, you need to help me with something. I'm kinda hungry, and lunch isn't for another hour...So, do you know if Ms. Cheerilee has any snacks?”

“There's a jar of candy in a drawer under her desk,” said Scootaloo. “She keeps it hidden so no one can take any from it. You usually get some as a reward for answering questions in class.”

“Well that simply won’t do. I need food now,” Felicity whispered. “So, here's the plan...”

-~-~-~-~-~

About a half of an hour had passed since recess started, and the students not stopped for a moment since. As time had passed, Tinder noticed random intervals when he couldn’t locate certain students, but there was one section of the playground obscured from his view by a large tree, and he assumed they were over there. Sure enough, after a few minutes, they would turn up in that general area before another set of kids went missing. As conspicuous as he found it, Cheerilee never caught on, so he assumed it was normal and said nothing. Now it was time to return to class.

“Well, Tinder, let's call them back.” Cheerilee put a hoof to her mouth and started to call out. “EVERYOPONY BACK-”

“MRS. CHEERILEE!” came a sudden cry. Cheerilee and Tinder looked over to see two students – Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom – racing up to them. “Felicity left the playground!”

“WHAT?!” Tinder snapped. “Why would she do that?”

“We don't know,” Apple Bloom said. “She went lookin' for somethin'! Scootaloo went after her!”

Tinder nearly throttled Apple Bloom when he grabbed her shoulders. “Which way?!”

“This way! C'mon!” Together the two raced out of the playground, leaving a befuddled Cheerilee alone with the rest of the students. Sweetie Belle looked up at her and frowned.

“Are they going to be okay?” she asked solemnly.

“Of course they will,” Cheerilee replied. “Felicity probably just got a bit stir crazy. She's not used to rural Ponyville yet.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“Well, not right now. Mr. Lightheart can handle it.”

“But I don't wanna just sit here and do nothing!” cried Sweetie Belle. Then she suddenly took off after Tinder, bolting from the playground. Cheerilee tried to stop her, but ended up on her face when she tried reaching for the filly.

Without thinking, she sprinted after her, leaving everyone at the playground unattended. It was not until then that a mint green filly with beautiful black hair waltzed out of the bushes and skipped inside. She returned a moment later with a mouth full of candy and a large jar, the latter of which she promptly hid in the bush she'd concealed herself in previously. Not even two seconds later did Tinder round the corner of the schoolhouse to find his filly friend sitting innocently – fiendishly – in the center of the playground. She appeared to be looking off into space. “Hey, Tinder, is it just me, or are the clouds puffier in Ponyville?”

“Where the blazes did you actually go? And don't lie to me.”

“I've been here the whole time,” Felicity promised. She didn't turn to look at him. “Where’s Apple Bloom?”

“With Cheerilee. I told her to go find Scootaloo, and that I’d go look for you.”

“That was smart.”

“Who's in on it?”

“Everypony except you and Ms. Cheerilee,” she replied. There was an air of victory in her demeanor.

“What did you promise them?”

“Cutie marks and candy.”

Tinder’s hoof shot to his face. “If I was anypony else, I'd expel you from school, but I'm not going to. I've got a much worse punishment in mind this time.”

“Oh?” Felicity finally reared her head to him. Her eyes were filled with malice and determination. “You still sure you can win this? Even when it's you versus the students?”

Tinder noticed the other children were converging on him. They said nothing, but stared at him furiously and refused to back down. He was impressed and frightened at the same time. This was much larger than any of the plots she'd hatched back in Yearlingdale. These students would not listen to him if he made them upset, especially when sweets were on the line. Felicity truly was a brilliant filly. “...I'll let it slide this time.”

Felicity beamed. The other students, their only mission complete, started to dissipate just as Cheerilee came back into view with the crusaders in tow. They each had confused, unhappy faces. “I found Scootaloo just behind the schoolhouse...Tinder, what happened here?”

Tinder blinked at her. “False alarm, I guess. Felicity just got lost.”

“Lost?”

“Yeah, I already took care of it. EVERYPONY BACK INSIDE!” he called. And with that, all of the students began their march back into the schoolroom. Felicity grinned widely to Tinder as she passed, as did Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. The crimson unicorn could tell this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the four of them. Beside the door of the schoolhouse was a bush, behind which Tinder could see a slight bulge. For safety's sake, he left the jar of candy alone and proceeded inside to finish the day's lesson.

He would explain everything to Cheerilee after school had finished. He needed the students to like him for now, at least.

-~-~-~-~-~

Felicity sulked alongside Tinder as the pair walked into the center of Ponyville later that afternoon. She had been thoroughly scolded by Cheerilee when Tinder had ratted her out, and she hated being scolded. It made her feel like she had done something wrong. Her plan had worked in the end—she’d gotten candy to all of the students and succeeded at establishing her place as the martyr—but her actions had elicited a strict warning that if anything like that happened again, she’d be suspended from school. New, experimental strategies would have to be implemented to enable under-the-radar missions, something that had been on Felicity’s to-do list anyway.

Her defeat earlier today would not be forgotten, but for now, it was probably better to wait.

Tinder could see she was deep in thought as they walked together. “Don’t worry, you’ll get me next time.” He was half joking, but expected a serious response anyway.

“I will get you next time,” Felicity replied spitefully.

“Hey, for what it’s worth, it was a very clever plan. If I hadn’t been there, it would’ve worked.”

“Yeah, yeah...”

“Kiddo, as much fun as your admittedly clever schemes are, they do get you in trouble. It’s worth noting that you’re smart. But you apply your brains to some of the most childish things you can think of. Someday I’d like to see you use your smarts to benefit others and not just yourself.”

Felicity went silent. Instead of staring wrathfully at the pavement, she was looking straight ahead, thinking deeply about something. He entertained the thought that she was actually considering Tinder’s words for once.

It didn’t take long for the pair to make it to their destination. The Ponyville library was a monstrous tree near the north end of town; one as large as a small building in Yearlingdale. The front door was unlocked when Tinder pushed it open with a hoof. Immediately he was greeted by a purple baby dragon with green scales. Felicity went wide-eyed.

“Hello, and welcome to the Ponyville Library,” the dragon said excitedly.

“Good afternoon. I’m Tinder Lightheart, Cheerilee’s assistant.”

“I didn’t know Cheerilee had an assistant,” he replied.

“I’m...new. Anyway, I have a book of hers that I need to return, and I have one I need to check out. May we come in?”

“Sure, just let me tell Twilight you’re here.” Then the dragon scurried upstairs and out of sight. Tinder and Felicity sauntered in unattended and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“A dragon,” Felicity breathed. “I’ve never seen one outside of the orphanage books before.”

“Me neither,” said Tinder quietly. “Do be courteous, Felicity. There are sophisticated, intelligent stallions in here trying to read dusty books.”

Felicity looked around and noticed two other ponies in the room, looking at the shelves of books. One of them was the pink mare from yesterday who had thrown them a party, Pinkie Pie, and the other both of them recognized as the eldest Lightheart sibling. Warden turned to look at his brother and his friend when Tinder made the joke about being quiet. “So funny,” was all he could manage.

“What’re you doing here?” asked Tinder.

“Helping Pinkie Pie find a new cookbook.”

“We’re baking a super-duper awesome new cake,” she spouted, jumping up and down in place.

“Oh really?” asked Tinder, legitimately curious. “What kind?”

“We don’t know yet,” Pinkie replied. “That’s why we need a new cookbook, silly!”

Warden chuckled lightly. That had been the answer he had expected. “How was school?”

“Felicity got into more trouble, started a riot, and managed to sneak all of the candy out of the building without so much as a challenge.”

“So, just another Monday?” Warden commented.

“That seems to be a recurring theme in my life,” Tinder thought aloud. “For once, I’d like a not-normal day.”

“You got to assist at a schoolhouse,” said Warden. “That’s not typical.”

“Yeah...Oh, I didn’t just assist. I’m a substitute teacher now. I even got to do the lecture today.”

“That’s actually really cool. I’ve been baking all day.” There was a silence that last about four seconds. “Literally. All day.”

“You don’t sound happy.”

“Have you ever tried baking all day? It wears you out.”

“You just gotta have fun with it,” Pinkie interjected. “I even made a song about it-”

“No more singing,” Warden cut in. “Two in one day is enough...”

“Okie dokie lokie. Let’s go, Warden.”

“Wait, what about the cookbook?”

“I already got it.” Pinkie pulled a book out from behind her somewhere.

“Where’d you find that?”

“It was under ‘R’.”

“Wouldn’t it be under ‘C’ for cookbooks?” asked Tinder.

“No, silly,” Pinkie corrected. “‘R’ for recipes.”

“Oh, never mind then.”

“C’mon, Warden, we’ve got baking to do!” Pinkie bounced out of the library with the book in tow, and Warden began followed her out to resume cooking.

Tinder stopped him suddenly. “Bro, you seem a bit down. You’ve been acting funny ever since we arrived in town. What’s up?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Warden replied. Tinder had first picked up on it during their visit with the mayor, and again during the party. This confirmed his suspicion that his brother wasn’t feeling optimal. When the older sibling had left, Felicity finally spoke up.

“What’s wrong with Mr. Warden?”

“I couldn’t tell you,” Tinder replied glumly. He hated when his brother was upset or disgruntled.

A noise upstairs reminded the unicorn of what he was here for, and soon Twilight Sparkle appeared at the top of the stairs. “Good afternoon.”

“Hello,Twilight. I have a book to return.”

“That's good. I was hoping to read it again after Cheerilee had borrowed it.” She accepted the book and walked over to the desk by the window, where she set it down. “What else can I do for you?”

“Actually,” Tinder replied, “Cheerilee wanted to do a segment on Equestria's history. She had a book in mind, but I can't remember the title...”

“Equestria: A History?” Twilight offered.

“Yeah, that's it.”

“I just got it in. It’s filed to be inspected for damage, so it should be ready later today. Would you like me to send for you when it’s ready?”

“No, it's fine. If you know it'll be ready soon, I can just stay in town.” Tinder really liked the library, and truthfully didn't want to leave. “I don't have anywhere else to be today.”

Felicity coughed very loudly. When Tinder looked at her, she was staring him down with a wide grin plastered on her face. She was implying something, but he had no idea what.

“Well in that case,” Twilight said, “I’d like to invite you and Felicity to stay for dinner. I was getting ready to make something for Spike and myself, and we have plenty of food.”

“Oh,” Tinder replied, surprised. “I couldn't ask that. I would hate to impose-”

“No, really, it's no trouble at all. Consider it a town-warming gift.”

Tinder hesitated. As nice of an offer as it was, his practical side did not want to be a nuisance. Two extra mouths for dinner seemed like a big deal to him, but Twilight made it sound trivial at worst. It didn't take long for the conflict inside him to subside, because while he was thinking about it, the door of the library opened to reveal a pair of earth ponies. Tinder recognized the taller one as Applejack and the younger one as her sister Apple Bloom.

“Howdy there, Twilight,” said Applejack merrily. “And Tinder Lightheart; how ya' likin' Ponyville so far?”

“I'm adjusting,” Tinder lied. “Hello again, Apple Bloom.”

“Hello, Mr. Lightheart...” she replied remorsefully. Her eyes were large and her ears were down, as though she was deeply saddened.

“We were told by Ms. Cheerilee that Mr. Lightheart would be headin' to the library,” explained Applejack. “Ah had a long talk with Apple Bloom about her behavior earlier today, an' she has somethin' to say.”

“I'm rilly sorry,” she moaned painfully. Tinder could tell she was sincere, even if her sister had forced the apology.

“Apology accepted,” said Tinder stoically. “Felicity, would you go play with Apple Bloom outside for a few minutes?”

“Uh...okay.” Felicity skipped past Tinder toward the door, followed closely by a relieved Apple Bloom. Once they were outside and the door was shut behind them, Tinder addressed Applejack.

“I, actually, feel like I should apologize myself.”

“Wha-...Whatever for, sugarcube?”

“To be honest, I saw this coming. What happened at school today is what I would define as 'normal behavior' for Felicity, who, by the way, convinced Apple Bloom to do what she did with promises of candy and the secret to finding a cutie mark. I can't expect someone so young to be able to resist that kind of temptation, and it was wrong of Felicity to put that out there in the first place.”

“Oh,” said Applejack slowly. “Apple Bloom had said somethin' about a cutie mark, but Ah thought she was just spoutin' a lotta hooie. Ah'm glad you cleared that up for me, ‘cause ah knew somethin' was up. It's just not like her to act up in school.”

“I understand. Actually, if you'd believe it, I think Felicity would consider Apple Bloom a friend.” Tinder sauntered over to the window and peered outside. The two fillies were talking excitedly with one another; he couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was obvious that they were enjoying themselves. Any grief or remorse Apple Bloom had felt a few seconds ago was gone. “In fact, they're out there talking right now.”

Applejack appeared beside him and likewise observed the conversation outside. “Well, shoot, ain't that just the sweetest thing.”

“So, Apple Bloom didn't mean to cause trouble. It's actually partially my fault for seeing this coming and not addressing it sooner. I hope it hasn't been too much trouble.”

“Naw, sugarcube, I'm glad we came to find you. Felicity's a very pleasant little filly.” Before Tinder could reply, Applejack fired off a suggestion. “Hey, why don't we invite her to spend the night at the farm? She an' Apple Bloom can have a slumber party.”

Tinder stayed silent for a moment, taken aback by the sudden idea. But when he realized it was in his authority to allow or deny it, he responded. “I'll have a talk with Felicity first. But, sure, I don't see why that would be a problem. That way they can get to know each other better. When would you like me to bring her over?”

“Well...maybe ah could take her with me an' Apple Bloom when we leave.”

“Would you feed her dinner?”

“Of course! And breakfast tomorrow. We'll bring her to school in the mornin'.”

“Well, I’ll talk to her about if first. But, honestly, I don’t think it will be a problem.”

At the moment, Felicity and Apple Bloom entered again through the door. They were smiling happily at each other until they looked up at the adult ponies, at which time they frowned.

“Felicity,” Tinder began, “would you like to go to Apple Bloom's house for a sleepover?”

Felicity beamed suddenly. “Yeah!”

“You promise not to cause any problems?”

“Yup!”

“And you'll get some sleep, so you aren't completely exhausted at school tomorrow?”

“Sure!”

Tinder looked to Applejack. “Make sure she gets some sleep. I don't trust her that much.”

“You can count on it,” she reassured, winking at Tinder. Then the mare escorted the two fillies out the door, and they disappeared into the afternoon with a passing ‘goodbye’.

Twilight, who had remained silent throughout the ordeal, finally spoke up. “I'm a little hungry. You ready for dinner?”

“Oh, yeah. Are you sure about having me for dinner, Twilight?”

“Like I said, it's no trouble. It's not every day I get to use what I learned from my 'Fine Dining At Home' readings, and I enjoy the company. It's way too quiet in here most days.”

“Well, it is a library,” Tinder pointed out.

Twilight giggled at the comment. He decided then and there to visit the library more often. He could probably think of an excuse to hang around, but he liked the peace and quiet. And the resident staff weren't bad, either...

Chapter 5: An Assortment of Surprises

Chapter 5: An Assortment of Surprises

Spike and Tinder were sitting at a table nicely decorated with a flower in a vase, a large checkered tablecloth and fine china. When Twilight had said it would be no trouble to make dinner for the three of them, Tinder had not been convinced she was telling the truth. She was frantically going from the back room to the front parlor, setting things down and picking things up. It took almost half of an hour to finally serve the food: a wonderful smelling soup that Tinder didn’t recognize. Twilight levitated the large pot onto the table under a wooden plank and picked up her guide book again, flipping to the next page.

“Then set the soup to cool for a few minutes before serving. So…that’s it? I’m finally done?”

“Twilight, this looks delicious,” Spike remarked, licking his lips. “But aren’t you going to set yourself a chair?”

Twilight looked at the table and seemed to notice for the first time that there were only two chairs, two bowls and two sets of cutlery. “But…but I followed the instructions to the letter! This shouldn’t have happened!”

“Is it possible,” Tinder offered, “that you merely read a section on two-pony dining?”

“Huh?”

“Well, think about it. Two chairs, two bowls, the really nice, ambient table decor, and fine china? Seems more like you set up a date rather than a dinner.”

“It...but...at the time...” Twilight began frantically flipping through the pages of her book, desperately trying to find the name of the chapter she was in. Her eyes widened when she found it. “'Dinner for two'...Shoot! I was in such a hurry, I didn’t even notice.”

“It’s alright, Twilight,” Spike reassured, getting up from his seat at the table. “I’ll set up another chair. You take mine.”

Before she could reject the offer, Twilight found herself being escorted to the now vacant chair. She sat down when she realized it was futile to resist, and Spike went to find another seat for himself. Tinder glanced at Twilight every so often as they sat in silence. She was looking around the room, too ashamed to make eye contact. The situation did seem rather odd, having just the two of them at a table.

“Thanks again for dinner,” Tinder piped up, trying to break the tension. “I really… appreciate the invitation.”

“Oh, of course,” replied Twilight sweetly. “I wish your siblings could have come, too. I made plenty of soup, and it’s a very easy recipe. Tastes wonderful, as well.”

“It smells wonderful.”

“Uh huh...”

Silence took over once again. It remained quiet until Spike finally dragged a large chair over to the table and plopped down on it. Then, realizing he’d forgotten silverware, he got up again and vanished into another room, returning a few seconds later with a clean bowl and a spoon. Twilight magically floated the ladle into the air and served each of them a helping of soup. Tinder blew on his before taking a large spoonful and shoveling into his mouth. It burned his tongue just a bit, but it had cooled sufficiently, and it tasted amazing.

Dinner was not nearly as quiet. Twilight asked about the first day of school, and Tinder promptly retold the events of that afternoon. The discussion eventually became more broad, and the focus of the evening drifted from eating to talking. Spike ate in silence as the two ponies rambled on through dinner about spells, and life, and their various interests and hobbies. After a while, he got up and left to do his chores before bed, and the two ponies continued on.

“So, Tinder,” Twilight asked cautiously after a discussion about magic, “I meant to ask earlier, if it’s not too much trouble, why you have such a funny name.”

Tinder thought for a moment. The question was one he was familiar with, and though he hadn’t given it much consideration, he had an answer. “It has significance. Maybe it’s not a traditional pony name, but my parents were…idealists. They wanted us to know we were special, I guess.”

“So what you’re saying is, your name has a special meaning?”

“Yeah. My siblings do, also. Mine means ‘Fire,’ Airy means ‘Light,’ and Warden’s…means something along the lines of ‘Home Keeper.’ To the credit of my parents, they all fit each of us perfectly. I’m the passionate one who loves what I do, Warden takes care of us, and Airy keeps us on track.”

“How well do you get along with your brother and sister? Being adopted must be quite—”

“Woah, wait. We’re not adopted.”

Twilight blinked. “You’re not?”

“No. It’s not typical, but it’s perfectly possible to have a unicorn, a Pegasus and an earth pony born to the same two parents.”

“I need to brush up on my genetics, it would seem,” Twilight thought aloud, staring off into the distant bookshelves.

“And I get along with them just fine. Airy can push my buttons sometimes, but that’s expected. Warden and I confide each other all the time. We’re best friends, and I respect him.”

“Is that so? Warden was here not too long ago, you know, and he seemed pretty upset about something. Do you know what it was?”

Tinder shook his head solemnly. “I confronted him about it, but he told me to ask him later.”

“You should probably go do that. It’s getting late, and Spike needs to do his chores anyway—” Then Twilight noticed Spike was missing for the first time. He’d already done most of his chores, and was cleaning the dinner dishes as they were speaking. “—and…stuff.”

“Well…yeah, you’re right,” Tinder conceded. “This was a great evening. I feel alot better now. Earlier I’d been upset about leaving the city, but now I think Ponyville won’t be nearly as bad as I thought.”

“I’m glad. That was the whole idea, after all.”

It dawned on Tinder that he had not been on a date, and that Twilight was in fact just warming him up to life in Ponyville this whole time instead. He started to blush in embarrassment and hid his face before the heat in his cheeks became apparent. “Thanks again,” he said as he started for the door.

“Wait, Tinder!” Spike called. “You forgot your book!”

In the commotion of the afternoon, he’d nearly forgotten what he’d come to the library to get in the first place. His face turned even more red, and both Twilight and Spike could see it when Tinder turned around. He took the book from Spike, set it in his bag, and bolted for the door. Once he was outside, the cool evening air began to reduce his rising body temperature. His day had not amounted to anything significant, but Tinder had gotten to know some of the ponyfolk in town. In that short time over dinner, he’d discerned what kind of pony Twilight was as well: kind, generous, talented and smart.

Pretty, too, he thought to himself.

But suddenly that wasn't important to Tinder. Right now, he had an older brother who needed his attention, and family always came before new friends. He rushed into town, heading to Surgarcube Corner as fast as he could.

-~-~-~-~-~

Felicity bounced alongside Applejack as the trio made their way to Sweet Apple Acres. The sun was still setting, and Ponyville was starting to wind down for the day. Apple Bloom made a remark every few minutes about how hungry she was, much to Felicity’s irritation. She was hungry also, and her new friend’s constant reminders were not helping her cope. As they passed by Sugarcube Corner, Apple Bloom let slip another comment.

“Hey Applejack, can we get some food at Sugarcube Corner?” she asked.

“We’re gettin’ dinner when we get home, so no.”

“Ms Applejack,” Felicity tried, “I’d like to say ‘hi’ to Mr. Warden, and he’s working the day shift with Ms Pinkie Pie. Could we stop here please? I promise not to ask you for food.”

“Oh...well, alright. Ah guess we can pop in there. But remember, we’re not buyin’ anythin’.” Applejack looked to her sister. “Understand, Apple Bloom?”

“Uh huh,” she replied, disappointed. Applejack strode ahead to open the door, and Felicity nudged her friend with a wink and a smile. Together they waltzed inside and immediately saw what they wanted: sweets. Pies, cakes and muffins lined the interior of the shop, filling the air with a delectable scent that left the fillies drooling in place.

“Hey there, Pinkie Pie,” said Applejack, addressing her friend. The mare was moving a pie from the foyer to the kitchen, accompanied by a burly blue stallion. “Hello again, Warden.”

“Evening, Applejack,” replied Warden evenly.

“Hey!” burst Pinkie. “What’re you guys doing here?”

“Felicity wanted ta’h say ‘hi’. Oh, an’ I wanted ta’h ask ya’h if there was a chance ya’ll still had that delicious recipe for candy apple coating?”

“Nope! We just returned it to the library,” said Pinkie, dismayed. “Sorry.”

“Actually, Pinkie,” Warden interjected, “I wrote that recipe down after we found it. I have it in the kitchen, if you want me to get it.”

Pinkie blinked at Warden. “Why’d you write it down? It was in the cookbook!”

“I wanted to be able to make it again. That batch of candy coating we made earlier was delectable, but I neglected to save any for my family. I figured I could take it home.”

“Well, shoot, that’s convenient,” said Applejack happily. “Mind if I get a copy of that there recipe, chef Lightheart?”

“Your flattery has swayed me,” laughed Warden.

He led Applejack into the kitchen and disappeared behind the swinging doors. Pinkie watched them until they were gone, then turned to Apple Bloom and Felicity, who were staring wide-eyed at her.

“Pinkie Pie, we’re rilly hungry,” explained Apple Bloom quickly. “Got any free goodies?”

“Well, let’s see...” replied Pinkie, thinking for a moment. “I don’t know about free, but I do have some delicious cookies—”

“They have to be free,” Felicity cut in. “And Applejack can’t know about it, see?”

The mare’s eyes lit up. She understood what they were getting at. “Okie dokie...lemme see what I can do.”

Then Pinkie peered around behind the counter and started rummaging through the objects behind it. Every passing second, the two filly friends grew more and more impatient. Felicity began tapping her hoof rapidly in an attempt to remind Pinkie Pie that time was an issue. Finally, after many aggravating seconds, the pink mare returned to view with a large, gray jar. She opened the lid, reached inside, and grabbed two wrapped pieces of candy.

“Ah!” exclaimed Felicity. “Perfect.”

“This is my leftover stash from Nightmare Night,” explained Pinkie. “It’s not much, but...it’s free!”

“Well, it’s good enough f’er me,” said Apple Bloom, taking the piece of candy in her hoof and unwrapping it. “Thank ya’h kindly, Pinkie Pie.”

“Don’t mention it!” Then she skipped back into the kitchen to fetch Applejack and Warden.

Felicity looked around at the various sweets and pastries, unable to decide what was the correct course of action. She had to be an example to Apple Bloom, so stealing was out of the question, but on the other hoof she was really hungry. It wasn’t until the three older ponies returned from the kitchen that her mind was made up. “What’d you make, Warden?”

“Huh? Like, just now?”

“No,” Felicity corrected, “today! Like, what’ve you been doing all day?”

“Baking,” he replied flatly. “I made a batch of cookies, a few pies, a birthday cake—”

Pinkie Pie jumped in front of him. “—for somepony! That you don’t know.”

“I also made a few cupcakes, with Pinkie’s help. They turned out really good.”

“Really?” Felicity’s voice implied disbelief, and Warden gave her a quizzical stare. “I didn’t know you could bake so many sweets. I’m sure Ms Pinkie Pie helped you out a lot, though—”

“Hey now,” Warden argued. “I’m a decent baker, I’ll have you know. I used to make the orphans sweets all the time! Don’t you remember—”

“Yeah, yeah, you made really nice cookies. I’m talking about this cake you mentioned.”

Warden stopped cold. He dare not fall into the trap. He would not succumb to her provoking. “No, you can’t have any.”

“Then I don’t believe you made a cake at all,” she replied flatly. “I want to see the cake, or I’ll just assume you’re lying to impress me.”

Applejack opened her mouth to say something, but Warden beat her to it. “Little Missie, I’m not falling for it. Applejack has already told me what you two are having for dinner, and if I were you, I’d leave room for plenty of real food.”

That got Apple Bloom’s attention more than anything else. “What’d she say? What’d you say, sis? What’s fer dinner?”

Applejack laughed. “We’re havin’ a good ol’ fashioned Apple Family dinner. Ah even invited Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle an’ Rarity over; that’s how much food there’s gonna be.”

At the mention of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, Felicity lost control of Apple Bloom. “C’mon, Felicity! We need to get ta’h the farm, now!”

“What?!” Felicity cried, unable to fathom being beaten twice in one day. “Why?”

“Ah can’t tell ya’h. It’s somethin’ ya’h gotta experience.”

“What, a good ol’ fashioned Apple Family dinner?” She tried and failed to copy the southern accent. “It sounds nice, but what does it entail?”

By then, Applejack had already started for the door, and Apple Bloom lacked the patience to answer more questions. Instead, she dragged her slightly taller friend out the door and into the evening sunset as they made all haste for the farm. Inside the Corner, Warden was breathing slowly, trying to get a grip on himself.

“You almost blew it!” Pinkie finally exploded.

“I’m aware,” Warden replied glumly. “Sorry, Pinkie.”

She perked up. “It’s okay. I don’t think she caught on.”

“I appreciate the help with all this. I’m glad the Mayor put me here as my job.”

“Me too! I love meeting new friends.” Then Pinkie hopped toward the kitchen. “Now, c’mon! We need to get this party set up, and we’ve only baked one layer of the birthday cake!”

Warden obliged her, following back into the kitchen. It was going to be a long night of endless baking, but it would be worth it. Come tomorrow, everything would be ready, and he could relax for a little while.

-~-~-~-~-~

Felicity's eyes widened as she stepped into the Apple family dining room. A burly red stallion was carrying out a large plate of steamed vegetables while an elderly green mare set plates around the table. The expansive chamber was very plainly decorated, but the table itself had been specifically dressed up with white candlesticks and a horn of plenty. Various scents emanated from the kitchen area beyond, all of them suggesting apple-related desserts. Apple Bloom, trying to be a good host, pulled a chair out for her friend. “Sit next t'ah me, Felicity!”

She obliged, taking a seat at the chair offered to her. The rest of the Apple family sat down as well, with all the food on the table before them.

Applejack spoke up. “Well, let's dig in—”

“Woah, now,” said the stallion. “What about our guests?”

“Oh, right. Felicity, this here's Big Macintosh and Granny Smith, my brother and my...granny.”

“WHO'S THERE?” cried Granny Smith, confused.

“Nice to meet you both,” said the filly sweetly. The family was so tight-knit, it made Felicity a bit jealous of Apple Bloom. She wished she had a family like her.

“Ah didn't mean her,” Big Macintosh corrected. “Ah meant Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.”

“They're not here yet?” Applejack remarked, confused.

“Nope.”

“They did get invited, ra'ght?”

“Eeyup.”

“...Well, I guess we can start without—”

A loud knocking resounded throughout the room. Applejack, almost as hungry as the fillies by this time, stood up grumpily and made her way to the front door. Behind it stood three ponies; Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both ran past Applejack on their way to the food, but Rarity waited outside.

“Applejack, I'm so sorry we're late,” she said wearily. “I had to...err, talk with Sweetie Belle.”

“About school, ah reckon?”

“Yes. Why? How did you know?”

“Tinder told me earlier today about what happened. He's fairly sure that Sweetie Belle didn't do nothin' wrong willingly.”

“You mean, like, she was forced to?!”

“Not necessarily. Ah mean, she was...entah'ced. Long story short, Tinder said it won't happen again.”

“Oh...well, alright then,” Rarity replied cautiously. She found the notion of her sister acting up in school just as ridiculous as Applejack had, but the hollow promise didn't seem to appease her. “Take care of them both, and...”

“Yup, we'll take good care of 'em. Well, good-na'ight, Rarity.” Then she slammed the door shut and turned to go eat, when suddenly another knock on the door sounded. Applejack almost didn't go back to open it, but when the knocking persisted, she conceded. Rarity was still there, a mild frown and irritated eyes glowering back at her. “What?”

“You're not going to invite me in for dinner?” she whined.

“Wha—” Applejack stopped, realized what she was doing, then replied with a hint of sarcasm, “Oh, sorry. Rarity, won't ya'h join us for dinner?”

“I'd be delighted, darling!” Rarity replied happily, not noticing the sarcasm. “Thank you.”

Applejack shut the door and the two friends trotted into the dining room together. Rarity stopped to observe the decor, but remained silent until she went to sit down. “What's the occasion?”

“No occasion,” replied Applejack. “Just thought we'd have a nice dinner, s'all.”

“I have a hard time believing that,” Rarity replied with an inquiring glare. “You seem awful short with me today, Applejack. What's bothering you?”

“A'hm hungry!”

Rarity sat down at the table. “That's no excuse to be rude.”

Applejack didn't reply. By then, she had already stacked a heaping pile of vegetables onto her plate and was getting ready to chow down. Likewise, everyone else started gathering food from the table, and the ceremonial stuffing of faces commenced. The only sounds anyone heard after that was the smacking of lips and the crunching of various vegetables being devoured hungrily. Everypony was hungry – and understandably so, considering how late in the day it was – but only Rarity maintained her composure in the face of temptation. Felicity, who was across the table from her, spoke up between mouthfuls.

“Ms Rarity, aren't you hungry?”

“Yes, I'm famished.”

“Then why aren't you eating?”

“I am, dear, just not as...rapidly as everypony else. I'm a lady, and just because I'm hungry doesn't mean I can throw manners out the window, so to speak.”

Felicity looked down at her plate and considered how much she had eaten. Watching Rarity control herself in the face of temptation had reminded her that she had promised Tinder she would behave. Slowly, Felicity picked up a piece of steamed carrot and took a small bite, chewing it meticulously and thoroughly before taking another. Rarity watched in silence as the filly took after her example, and smiled warmly at her.

Dinner continued as scattered conversation drowned out the sounds of dinner. The Cutie Mark Crusaders told Felicity about their clubhouse, and about what they planned to do for the rest of the night, while Rarity conversed with Applejack about the arrangements for the sleepover. Before everypony knew it, all of the food was gone and dessert was brought out. Apple pies, cakes and fritters stacked higher than Felicity were laid out on the table, and soon everypony was scrambling for the biggest pieces. The piece of pie melted in Felicity’s mouth, every bite a steaming journey of appley goodness.

“Wow,” she commented to Applejack. “This is rilly good!”

“Thank ya kindly,” came the reply. “The Apple family takes pride in their apples.”

“I simply cannot stay any longer,” said Rarity suddenly, standing from the dinner table. “Thank you all so much for dinner. It was simply scrumptious.”

“Gotta be somewhere, Rarity?” prodded Applejack curiously.

“I do, actually. I'm meeting Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash at the boutique for a...special preview of my newest line of dresses. I'd invite you to come, Applejack, but you've got your hooves full with the girls.”

“Naw, it's alright. You have fun with yer...uh, dresses.”

Sweetie Belle got up from her seat to hug her big sister goodbye before Rarity strode out the front door. Felicity stared curiously after her, feeling even more jealous of her new friends and their siblings. She wanted what they had; happiness, family and security were scarce growing up in an orphanage. But Apple Bloom, who had gotten out of her chair by that time, took hold of Felicity's hoof and started tugging her toward the door, causing her to lose track of her thoughts.

“C'mon, Felicity! Let's go up to my room!” she said anxiously.

“Yeah! We need to get as much crusading done as we can.” Scootaloo added.

“Y'all need to remember to go to bed early,” said Applejack curtly. “The summer's over, and y'all have school in the mornin'.”

“We will!” called Apple Bloom as she yanked Felicity out of the dining room. Up a flight of stairs and around a corner the little squad ran, running as fast as their little legs could carry them until they reached a moderately spacious room. Scootaloo locked the door behind them and Sweetie Belle dove into her overnight bag, pulling out of it three stitched capes with a large, blue emblem sewn into it. Each of the three fillies donned one, then looked at Felicity quizzically.

“We'll need to make you a cape,” noted Scootaloo.

“When I said I wanted to be a part of this, I didn't know it entailed wearing a silly cape,” laughed Felicity. “Who made those?”

“I did!” Sweetie Belle chirped.

“They're cute and all, but they’re...I don't know. Funny.”

“Have some pride,” Scootaloo interjected. “We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, after all. We want the world to know our quest!”

“Speakin' of which,” Apple Bloom said, “you told us you know the secret to gettin' a cutie mark.”

All three fillies looked at Felicity pleadingly, who stared back with amused disbelief. “No, seriously, it's not a secret. All it takes is time.” They all fell to the ground, disappointed.

“Aww, that's nothin' new!” moaned Apple Bloom. “Everypony keeps telling us that...”

“Because it's true,” laughed Felicity. “Cutie marks appear when a pony figures out what makes them special. Don't you girls have anything you can do that no one else can?”

They looked at one another inquiringly, then shook their heads.

“Nothing? Really?”

“We know what we can't do,” mused Sweetie Belle. “We've been keeping a list of things to try, and so far we're pretty sure none of us can bake, climb, swim, hang-glide, zip-line, bowl, or hunt chickens.”

“Well, that's not… hunt chickens?”

“Yeah, don't ask.”

“...Well, that's not very productive,” Felicity finished.

A knocking on the door drew the attention of the fillies away from the conversation. Applejack's voice emanated from behind it. “Girls, go to bed. It's gettin' late.”

“Ah, shoot,” Scootaloo pouted. “We didn't get anything done!”

“There's always tomorrow,” Apple Bloom offered. Each of the girls took a spot in the room and laid out a sleeping bag, save Apple Bloom, who simply got into her own bed. She stared at the canopy sheet for a moment while the others got adjusted. “I'm not tired.”

“Me neither,” Felicity agreed. “I usually don't go to bed until Tinder tells me a story.”

“You still need a bedtime story to go to sleep?” laughed Scootaloo mockingly. “You're older than I am, and I don't need that stuff.”

“I don't need it,” Felicity shot back. “It's just...a comfort.”

“Well, maybe Sweetie Belle could sing us a song,” Apple Bloom hinted. Sweetie Belle shook her head.

“No way. I hate singing in front of a group.”

“It's just us here,” Felicity argued, intrigued by the idea.

For a moment, silence fell over the group. It wasn't broken until Sweetie Belle stood up clumsily in her sleeping bag and started humming a few notes. Before long, she was singing a song Felicity had never heard before; it sounded like a lullaby, but Sweetie was singing it too quickly and too loudly for anypony to sleep. However, as the song went on and on, it dawned on the older filly that her new unicorn friend was a talented singer. Sweetie Belle's rendition of 'Hush Now, Quiet Now' ended with impressed silence that lasted a few moments.

Felicity spoke first. “Sweetie Belle, that was...incredible!”

“Yeah, you're totally an amazing singer!” added Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle blushed.

“That might be your special talent,” Felicity said bluntly.

All three of the fillies stared at her, wide eyed. “What?!” they cried in unison.

“No, seriously. That's something very cool, and only Sweetie Belle can do it. Didn't you think of that sooner?” They stared at Felicity blankly. “Girls, I know for a fact that finding your special talent is not something you do by crossing off activities on a list.”

“If you're so sure, wha'y don't you have y'er cutie mark yet?” countered Apple Bloom.

“I'm...I...” Felicity didn't know. She had always wondered why she didn't have a cutie mark; it had never been important before now, so it wasn't a big deal at the time. “Because...I don't know what I'm good at yet, I guess.”

“That's silly!” said Sweetie Belle. “You're really smart! Your cutie mark is probably a brain, or something.”

“Eww! I don't want a brain on my flank!”

The fillies began laughing at the thought of a brain cutie mark. Felicity began to realize then that she was becoming part of a group, something larger than herself. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were here friends. She pondered silently if families were like groups of close friends, like this, but her thoughts were interrupted by the Crusader’s talks of adventures and cutie marks. They continued talking well into the night, up until Applejack once again reminded them to get some sleep. All was silent after that.

-~-~-~-~-~

Tinder was trotting up to Sugarcube Corner when he saw a group of Pegasus ponies fly overhead. They were flying at a leisurely pace and appeared to be carrying supplies of some sort. It caused him to burn with jealousy for the slightest moment; then it occurred to him that it was awful late for ponies to be flying. When they landed at Sugarcube Corner ahead of him, it piqued his curiosity even further. It was too dark for Tinder to identify them individually, but that didn't stop him from going inside after them.

The lights were all on inside Sugarcube Corner. Warden was up on a stool, hanging a pink streamer across the sill of the front door. He looked down at his younger brother and smiled sarcastically. “Is it later already?”

“What's going on?” Tinder inquired.

“I thought you were just messing with me at the library. You really don't remember?”

“Remember what?”

The three Pegasus ponies Tinder had followed inside were all at the back of the store, each carrying a package with decorative wrapping and a colorful bow. He recognized them as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash from the party the night before. The third one turned around to the unicorn and revealed herself to be Airy Lightheart.

“It's Felicity's birthday tomorrow, silly!” she teased him.

Tinder froze. He'd never celebrated a birthday for the orphans before, so it seemed surprising to him that his siblings had remembered something as obscure as Felicity's. “How do you know?”

“Remember that letter Mr. Gardens sent last year, with the donation and the cake?” reminisced Warden. “Airy kept that letter, in case we wanted to contact Mr. Gardens. We have his address; and, slightly more relevant, we have the date he wrote it.”

“So we put two and two together, and boom!” Airy made a waving motion with her hooves. “And now we're throwing a party for Felicity's birthday!”

“But...but why? We never celebrated it before.”

“Well, she's basically family at this point,” Warden said thoughtfully. “We would do the same thing for each other, and we don't know how long we'll have her with us.”

A single tear started forming in Tinder's eye at the thought of Felicity leaving. He blinked it away, shunning the thought along with the tear, but the pang in his heart persisted. He didn't want to think about it now, and he certainly didn't want to acknowledge the truth of the statement. “You're right, Warden. As always. How can I help?”

“It's getting late, and you have to help at school tomorrow, don't you? Go home and get some sleep, and don't let Felicity catch on. After school, just bring her casually over here.”

“Easy enough,” Tinder concluded. Rarity walked in through the door and bid everypony a good evening before using her magic to levitate a roll of streamers and starting to beautify the place only she knew how. Tinder took the opportunity to act on his premonitions from earlier. “Warden, since the streamers are...being taken care of, mind if we talk privately?”

“Oh, yeah...sure.”

The two brothers stepped outside. Warden remained silent as Tinder compiled his thoughts. “What's up with you recently? You're very...solemn.”

“It's Felicity, and this whole party. Airy insisted on the whole thing. You're really attached to the filly, and everyone else loves her too.”

“Yeah? And?”

“As much as I hate to say it...she's not ours to keep. Any day now somepony is going to come and claim her. I'm just scared that when the time comes, you two won’t be able to give her up.”

The pang Tinder felt earlier slowly rose to his throat, cutting off his steady breathing. “Warden, n-now's not the time for—”

“For what? Truth? Tinder, this is what I was afraid would happen.”

“She doesn't want to leave—”

“That's not our decision, or her's.”

Tinder couldn't speak anymore. Everything in him wanted to lash out at Warden, to make him shut up. But it wouldn't make him any less right, and the younger brother knew that in his heart. That was why he was angry, and hurting Warden wouldn't make him feel better about it. Instead Tinder laid his head onto his brother's back and wept for a few minutes, letting the truth of the situation overwhelm him wholly. He couldn't move past this, so he decided to shoulder the burden, as Warden had. He would never act the same around Felicity, and he knew she would catch on to that tomorrow at school.

“I know this'll be hard,” Warden said quietly, “but you need to keep the party a secret. It's the least we can do, considering how much she's meant to us. After all, we wouldn't be here today without her.”

That much was true. Tinder had yet to determine whether or not being in Ponyville was a good thing, but so far he had not been disappointed. And he loved Felicity; she deserved a special party, with all that she'd been through. “I know. I'll...t-try.”

“Good. Get some sleep, alright? Let's not focus on this right now. She's still with us for the time being, and...personally, I want to see to it that this is her best birthday ever.”

“I...agree. Thank you, Warden.”

“Go to bed, Tinder.”

“Yes sir.” The younger brother rarely addressed the older as sir, but when he did, it was out of respect, and never out of spite. They parted ways with a brotherly embrace and Tinder sulked back to the cozy little home their parents had once owned. Warden went back inside to finish up the preparations, unsure if sending the unicorn home by himself was a smart idea.

-~-~-~-~-~

It didn't surprise Herb Gardens that the orphanage doors were locked, yet he felt undeniably sad nonetheless. His daughter would not be here – he had known that prior to his visit – but he had to see the abandoned building for himself. The large glass windows were gray and lifeless, and there was no furniture inside to liven the otherwise dead building. All that remained was a sign on the door, redirecting any orphanage inquiries to the mayor at town hall. After he read the sign, Herb determined that standing still was not going to solve his problems, and that the hopeless scene was not helping him either.

Slowly he made his way deeper into town, trying to find his way around the bustling metropolis. The street signs led him through a busy marketplace on his way to the town hall. Ponies trotted past him without so much as a passing glance, occupied with their daily lives. It saddened his lonely heart to see so many lives wasting away to make ends meet, and yet he sympathized, because he knew what it was like. He'd been there himself not all that long ago.

One pony was busy rearranging his stall on the corner of the market. He appeared to be rotating in some new merchandise; snow globes, by the looks of it. Herb wandered closer out of curiosity and inadvertently drew the attention of the owner.

“Welcome to Dainty Knicknacks. Those globes are on sale, if you're buyin'.”

Herb looked over at Mr. Dainty and smiled apologetically. “No, I'm just...browsing. Sorry.”

“Don't worry about it, stranger. You're dressed awful nice for someone browsing, though.”

“I'm not from around here. I have business with the orphanage.”

“Hmm. Shame, what happened to that place. I had an unfortunate run-in with the young Lightheart unicorn the day before the court hearing.”

Herb, suddenly very interested in the shopkeeper, pressed the issue. “What happened, exactly?”

“Poor boy was trying to save a little girl, and he ran straight into my stall. They payed me back for all the damages, but they kicked the poor boy and his family out of town.”

“And...what became of the orphans?”

“Transferred. All but the Gardens girl; she's with the Lighthearts, as far as I know.”

“AND WHERE ARE THEY?”

Mr. Dainty reeled back in shock. The marketplace had hushed rather suddenly, and Herb looked around to see many pairs of eyes staring awkwardly in his direction. The busy crowd moved on after a few moments of silence, but Mr. Dainty continued to stare blankly at the angry pony before him.

“I'm...not...sure?” he replied meekly.

“Sorry,” Herb apologized. “My name is Herb Gardens. Felicity is my daughter.”

The older pony's eyes widened in revelation. “Oh, that explains a lot! Though, I hate to inform you that I'm not entirely sure where they are now. Some say they left town.”

“How did they leave town?”

“By air, methinks. That's what Warden told me they were going to do when he dropped off my money, but I can’t be sure they actually did it. Not unless they had some extra bits and a place to live outside the city somewhere.”

“Which way is the Transportation Center?” urged Herb anxiously.

Chapter 6: A Sense of Foreboding

Chapter 6: A Sense of Foreboding

The large bell atop the school building rang loudly the following afternoon, as it always did, but unlike most days when the school bell rings, not every filly, colt, mare and stallion evacuated the schoolroom for lunch and, shortly after, recess. Instead, as Cheerilee escorted the majority of the students outside, Felicity found herself freezing at the threshold of the door at the sound of five simple words.

“Happy birthday, by the way,” said Tinder casually just as she reached the door.

For a moment, the words didn’t register with Felicity. She stood still, pondering just what they meant, and the deeper implications they carried. “Huh?”

“Happy birthday,” Tinder repeated, looking up from the chalkboard he had busied himself with clearing. “You know, congratulations on being a year older, and stuff.”

“How did you—”

“-know? Warden and Airy kept a letter from your dad with the information on it. I’m somewhat surprised you remembered yourself, seeing as we never told you.”

Felicity gulped, tears forming in the pockets of her eyes. “Mr. Warden did.”

“Ah,” Tinder said simply, turning back to his work. The sound of something soft hitting the wood floor caused him to turn around again, and when he spied Felicity sitting at the door, he dropped the eraser in his grip and moved to her side. “What’s wrong?”

“I...” she stammered. “I had... h-hoped I’d g-get to spend my birthday with my family.”

“Oh... Felicity, I’m so sorry—”

“Sorry?” she interrupted. She looked up at him with a silly grin, tears still forming in her eyes. “I did it! I’m happy!”

Tinder blinked. Felicity, taking it as an invitation, wrapped her little hooves around his leg and squeezed him gently, rubbing her cheek against his knee.

“B-but Felicity,” Tinder stammered, “you’ve got a family already.”

“I know,” she whispered. “Last night, at the Apple’s farm, I finally saw what a real family looks like. And... and I already have one. I’ve always wanted one, but I never knew what it was. Family isn’t blood, or having the same parents; it’s the relationships, the friendships... the love. You, Airy and Warden are my family, Tinder.”

Tinder tried to stand still, to silently take in what she said, but found himself returning the hug a moment later. He brought her up to his shoulder and pressed himself against her, returning her affection in full. Tears came to his eyes, and for a brief moment both ponies remained in the loving embrace.

“I love you, Tinder,” Felicity said quietly into his ear.

“I... I love you too, kiddo,” he replied, setting her down on the wood floor. “And no, you can’t have any candy from Cheerilee’s jar.”

“Drat,” she whispered.

Tinder laughed.

-~-~-~-~-~

Instead of having an afternoon lecture, Cheerilee declared there would be a field trip to an unknown location. She led the kids out of the schoolhouse after recess and walked into town with the students trailing after her. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked to Felicity nervously, but she said nothing to them to maintain the suspense, pretending to know where they were going. As Sugarcube Corner loomed into view, even she began to grow visibly curious.

Cheerilee knocked on the door of the Corner. A voice emanated from behind it.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Cheerilee, Pinkie. May we come in?”

“We’re not ready yet! Come back later!”

Cheerilee paused, tilting her head to the side in confusion, then knocked again.

“Who is it?”

“It’s... Cheerilee, Pinkie. May we come in?”

“Yeah, come on in!” The door swung open and Pinkie Pie motioned energetically for everypony to enter. Felicity’s eyes widened exponentially as a monstrous cake loomed into view; the smell of the busy kitchen wafted past it, and the sight of the bright pink and white frostings made her tongue water. It was large enough to fit a pony inside, and threatened to bump the ceiling at its summit. Pinkie Pie jumped beside her and playfully bumped her with a hoof, smiling with an overbearing intensity. “Happy birthday, Felicity!”

“I... thank you?” Felicity managed, her eyes fixated on the cake.

“What’re you waiting for?” Pinkie asked. “Dive in!”

Then she, quite literally, dove headlong into the cake. A loud shout emanated from within, and an icing-covered Warden emerged from the confines of his confectionary prison, rubbing his temple furiously. Pinkie began devouring Felicity’s cake single-hoofedly, but the little filly did not pay much attention to it. As Cheerilee and the rest of the kids swarmed into the Corner, targets locked on the mountainous cake, Felicity slowly approached Warden and wrapped her little hooves around his leg.

“You did make me a cake,” she said excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.

“Yeah, kid,” Warden replied, still rubbing his head where Pinkie had landed on him in her haste. “I even waited inside it to surprise you, but that crazy Pie girl just smacked me so hard my ears started ringing. I swear, she cannot and will never find time to settle down—”

But Felicity failed to reply to Warden. Instead she nuzzled his ankle affectionately and darted away, desperately trying to snatch a piece of her cake before the ravenous fillies and colts in her class devoured it. Tinder approached Warden as he watched Felicity break away.

“How long did this take?” Tinder asked, looking around the room in a daze. Streamers and balloons seemed to fill every square inch of Sugarcube Corner, and ponies were starting to enter through the front door, further crowding the scene.

“All night,” Warden replied. “Airy didn’t get any sleep, had to go to work early. She’s probably at home right now, actually.”

“As if,” came a voice from above. Tinder and Warden both looked up and saw Airy floating near the ceiling, her hooves crossed over her chest and her eyes half open. “I might be beat, but I wouldn’t miss the squirt’s birthday party for the world.”

“Speaking of the squirt,” Warden said suddenly, motioning to Tinder to move away from the commotion. All three siblings moved to the corner of the room at his command. “She’s acting rather... oddly. The way she was thanking me, being all affectionate... Did something happen?”

“Yeah,” Tinder admitted, staring at the ground with a remorseful frown. “She thinks of us as her family. She’s come to terms with us, and now she doesn’t want to leave.”

“Well, good!” Airy interjected. “I don’t want her to leave, either. You know what she means to us.”

“At what point are we going to pony up and move on?” Warden said frankly. “I don’t care how much we love her. The moment somepony comes for her, we have to give her up. We knew this day was coming for years now.”

“It’s different now,” Tinder offered. “Back then, it was our job.”

“Isn't it still?”

“Last I checked,” Airy countered, “she lives in our house, eats our food, and goes to school with my little bro.” She let out a long yawn and wiped some moisture from her eyes. “So to answer the question, no, it’s more than that now.”

Warden sighed. “I know what you’re saying is true, but so is what I’m saying. We can’t pretend like this will last forever. It’s only going to make this harder.”

“So what do we do?” Tinder asked, his hooves clasped nervously. “I don’t want her to go.”

“There’s not much we can do—”

“But not much isn’t nothing!” Airy interrupted.

“What do you want me to do, Airy? Short of adopting her ourselves, I can’t see any way of keeping her much longer!”

Airy and Tinder exchanged hopeful glances. Warden paused.

“No,” he said after a moment. “No, no, no.”

“C’mon, Warden!” Airy said, shoving him playfully with her hooves. “It’s a great idea!”

“It would legally bind her to our family,” Tinder added. “She would never know the difference, and when we explain it to her, she won’t care. It keeps her here and everypony goes home happy.”

“Except, say, Mr. Gardens,” Warden said evenly, “whom you two seem to have forgotten about.”

The siblings went silent. Both sides of the argument had valid points, but neither was compromisable. Either Felicity joined the Lightheart family, or she continued to wait for somepony to adopt her. Tinder was torn. He grasped his chest suddenly as though he was in pain, and tears started to trickle down his face.

“Tinder,” Warden said quietly, putting his hoof on his brother’s shoulder, “I want her to stay with us also. Don’t think for a second that, if it were realistic, I wouldn’t jump on the chance to keep Felicity around—”

“Then do it!” he shouted. No pony in the room seemed to care, and with the party in full swing, his shout was drowned out by music and laughter. “We know how, we just refuse! We sit back and let things happen without a fight!”

Warden’s ears fell. “Tinder—”

“And so what! Who cares about Mr. Gardens, anyway? If he was trying so hard to get her back, then why hadn’t he come sooner? He probably doesn’t even know where we are anymore! He might have gone to the orphanage and turned back around or something! She’s all we have left, Warden!”

“Left of what?”

“Of Yearlingdale! Of the orphanage, and of Mom and Dad! We’ve basically raised that little filly ourselves! She’s part of our family in every single way!”

“I... I agree with you, Tinder...” Warden bit his lip and looked away, then sighed in resignation. “If we haven’t heard from anypony regarding Felicity by tomorrow... I’ll file for adoption. That’s technically within our legal capabilities, but it’s a long process.”

Tinder looked at Airy and smiled weakly through his tears. She winked back at him.

“I just don’t know what to do about Mr. Gardens,” Warden said slowly.

“Whatever, he’s not our problem,” Airy said. “I’m gonna go mingle some more.”

“Airy, go home and get some sleep,” Warden chided. “You look exhausted.”

“I’m not tired, Ward.” Airy’s left eye twitched and she moved back a step shakily. “But... yeah, I’ll go home. Felicity knows I love her, and... stuff...”

Tinder snickered at his sister as she stumbled away, off balance from her lack of sleep. His laugh cut itself short as the emotion choked him, and he stopped to rub the tears from his eyes. “I... thank you, Warden.”

“Don’t thank me,” Warden said quietly, smiling warmly. “Your devotion, and Airy’s, was what made the decision. I love Felicity, but I was not planning to keep her.”

“I’m gonna go tell her,” Tinder said with a nod.

“Not yet,” Warden replied. “Let’s do it later tonight. That way, all three of us can be there to break the news. Airy’s not exactly up for doing this right now, anyway.”

Warden moved to Tinder’s side and wrapped his hoof around his neck in a gentle hug. Tinder returned the hug and laughed abruptly.

“What’s so funny?” Warden asked in a serious tone.

“We’re gonna have a new sister,” Tinder said slowly.

“Technically, she’d be our... daughter, of sorts. From a legal standpoint.”

“Whatever. She’s becoming part of our family.”

“Wasn’t she already?” Then Warden released Tinder from the hug and walked past him, joining the festivities that proceeded around them. Felicity was at the other end of the room, opening presents that had been hastily gathered from the townsfolk and wrapped in colorful papers the night before. She looked up from an unwrapped box and smiled at Tinder from across the room. He was at her side in a heartbeat.

“What is it?” he asked excitedly.

Felicity quickly ripped the top off the box and dumped the contents onto the floor. Another box, also wrapped, hit the wood with an empty sound. When she shook the new box, Felicity frowned. “It’s empty.”

“It’s a gift box!” Pinkie Pie interjected, her head protruding from the monstrous cake. “Have you ever experienced the joy of giving a gift? It’s worth regifting!”

“There’s... a lot of wisdom in that,” Tinder conceded.

Felicity nodded, but glared at the present resentfully a moment later. “Some candy would’ve been cool, too.”

“Say thank you and move on to the next one,” Tinder said curtly.

“That was the last one,” Felicity replied. She looked around the room for a moment, but her eyes drifted back to Tinder. A smile crept across her face. “Thanks for the party, Tinder.”

“Now how come I’m just Tinder but Warden gets to be ‘Mr. Warden?’”

“Because he’s old.”

“Hey!” came a gruff shout from the crowd. “I heard that.”

Tinder laughed, and then stopped to consider how happy he was. Not since he had left Yearlingdale had his spirits been so high. Elated, he moved into the crowd and disappeared from Felicity’s view. The moment he was gone, she stood up and moved to the door of the Corner, where three innocently innocuous fillies waited patiently for her.

“Did you get the goods?” Felicity asked them, casually leaning against the wall.

“Eeyup,” Apple Bloom said. She passed a wrapped package to Felicity, who unwrapped it slowly. A little cloth bag slumped to the ground with a jingle. “It’s a few bits from each of us. Hope it’s enough.”

“This is plenty,” Felicity said. “We’re sure to get lots of essentials with this. Say, how many banks did you have to rob to get all these bits?”

“None!” Sweetie Belle replied, aghast. “How awful! Did you rob a bank, Scootaloo?”

“What? No!” Scootaloo said quickly. She looked around nervously for a moment.

“M’ah sister gave me some bits,” Apple Bloom offered, understanding Felicity’s question. She shot Sweetie Belle a confused glance. “Ah said it was a birthday present.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle said. “I just asked Rarity for some bits as a gift. She wanted to make you a dress, but I told her it would take too much time. By the way, she says you’re welcome to come by the Boutique for a fitting anytime.”

“My parents just gave me allowance for the month,” Scootaloo added. “So that’s some of it.”

Felicity attempted to swallow a lump that had formed in her throat, but it did not go away. “T-thanks, girls. You’re the best.” She cleared her throat and smiled deviously. “Let’s sneak out to the Joke shop and get some supplies. I’ve got the grandpony of all pranks in store for this party.”

“Cutie Mark Crusader Pranksters!” the three fillies cried in unison. “Yay!”

Felicity’s ears bent in, trying to dampen the sound. “Ouch...”

The Crusaders stepped through the door, which jingled cheerfully but was ultimately drowned out by the party inside, and snuck into the street as quickly as they could. They took one look behind them to make sure they were not being tailed and collided with a large object. When they picked themselves up, they noticed the object was a stallion. His green coat bristled at the sight of the four fillies staring in confusion back at him. Felicity started to move away, unconcerned with the stranger, but the other three fillies recomposed themselves and smiled at him.

“Good morning, young ladies,” said the stallion slowly. “I’m looking for somepony. A new resident to this area. Do you know anypony named Lightheart?”

“Sure do!” said Apple Bloom happily, pointing at Sugarcube Corner. “All three of the siblings are in there, Ah reckon.”

The stallion stopped short for a moment, then his eyes drifted to Felicity. His face grew solemn. “Felicity?”

Her eyes shot up to meet his, shock riddling her expression. “Daddy?”

-~-~-~-~-~

Tinder’s eyes drifted around the party, lazily looking at the many ponies dancing, talking and enjoying themselves. The commotion was nearly deafening, but the camaraderie radiating off the friends relishing in the festivities warmed his heart. Never before had he seen such a tight-knit community, where everypony knew each other and these kinds of social gatherings were just another integral part of their lives. Yearlingdale was so large, so impersonal, and Tinder had never known anything else.

“Having fun?” said a voice from behind him. Tinder did not react immediately, assuming the question had been posed to somepony nearby, but when he felt a hoof touch his back, he whirled around to see Twilight Sparkle smiling at him.

“Oh, Prin— err, Twilight. Hello. Yes, I’m having fun.”

“You seem a little dazed.”

Tinder sighed. “This is all so... new to me. The closest thing you’d find to this in Yearlingdale would be a New Year’s Eve party at some rich noble’s house.”

“Oh, still acclimating to the small-town mentality, then?” Twilight snickered. “I suppose I’ve gotten used to it, but I find it amusing that you haven’t thrown parties like this before.”

“We were orphans who ran an orphanage. We were lucky if we could celebrate any of our individual birthdays with a cake, let alone inviting the entire town.”

“I suppose that’s true.” A moment of silence passed, then Twilight looked around quickly. “Speaking of which, where’s the birthday girl?”

“I think I saw her trying to sneak out,” Tinder replied aloofly. “She’ll come back.”

“Shouldn’t she be here? It’s her party, after all.”

“I was gonna go make sure she didn’t wander off in a second, but I have a feeling she just went out for a breath of fresh air. It’s borderline claustrophobic in here.”

Twilight’s gaze came to rest on the window. “She’s right outside, actually. I can see her.”

“Oh?” Tinder looked in the direction of the window, but only saw a green stallion loitering nearby. “I don’t see her.”

“She’s talking to that green pony.”

Tinder grimaced. “I thought I taught her not to speak to strangers. I’ll get her.” Then he moved to the door and exited the Corner. Twilight followed at a distance, poking her nose around the corner. When he approached, Felicity turned to Tinder and shot a glare at him that made him sick. The corners of his mouth tucked back. “What’s... going on?”

“Tinder, this...” Felicity began, but she stammered on the rest.

“Herb Gardens,” said the stallion kindly, extending a hoof to Tinder. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Tinder’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Herb tried to wait patiently for Tinder to accept the hoofshake, but gave up after nearly a minute of silence and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

“So... are you Tinder Lightheart?” he asked slowly, staring into Tinder’s eyes intently.

Tinder nodded.

“Oh, good. You have no idea what I’ve been through these last few days, trying to find my daughter. Did you receive my letter saying I was coming?”

“I... yeah,” Tinder managed, finding his voice again. Every few words, a choke grabbed at his throat. “We couldn’t w-wait any longer for you.”

“Yes, I understand. Is everything in order for me to begin the adoption process then?”

“I-I... no?”

“No?” Herb blinked. “What do you mean?”

“W-we planned to adopt Felicity, a-as a birthday present. Sh-she...”

Herb blinked. “You, adopt her? Even after all the letters I sent, and the promises I made to come get her personally? Does your brother know you planned this?”

“H-he was more willing to wait for you, but-”

“Good, as long as somepony in your family had some sense,” Herb interrupted, his smile fading into a stern grimace. “It would have been quite unprofessional for you to step on my hooves like that. As much as I appreciate all the time you’ve invested into my daughter, I am not above taking this to court.”

Felicity blanched. Tinder’s ears started burning.

“Now,” Herb said crossly, looking around the town, “where is your brother? I will speak to him now about the paperwork, if at all possible. I’d like to be back in Canterlot before sundown.”

-~-~-~-~-~

The Ponyville train station felt warm and rural, much like the rest of the town, but Tinder found no comfort in it sitting beside the ticket counter. He found the warmth to be distant and the comfort to be alienating. The sun was setting on the horizon, the light growing slowly dimmer over the course of the evening. Felicity was somewhere behind the counter, where the train was, probably pulling her meager suitcase onto a car. Tinder had no idea if that last part was actually true — indeed, Mr. Gardens had forbidden Felicity to talk to Tinder after his outburst earlier — but the pit in his stomach would not let him find out, unable to face the truth that Felicity was leaving him forever.

A small sniffle snapped his attention away from the sunset. Felicity was sitting beside the bench, frowning up at Tinder. The orange bow in her hair had been removed, and her mane had been combed straight. Tinder almost failed to recognize her at all.

“Hey, kiddo,” he managed.

“Tinder…”

A tear rolled down Felicity’s cheek. She climbed into his lap and lay completely still, sobbing silently into his foreleg. Tinder gingerly put a hoof to her head and stroked her straight mane, the pit in his stomach amplifying in size.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Why?” Tinder replied, equally quiet, as though too much noise might end the conversation. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I… I didn’t even ask D-Daddy if we could stay. He’s so scary, Tinder…”

“Scary? How?”

“H-he wants me to wear my hair straight, and w-wear clothes, and-” she choked at that point and resumed sniffling for a few moments. “-and he says we have to leave soon. He says we’re going traveling, and we won’t come back for a long time...”

“He’s not being mean, Felicity,” Tinder assured, stroking her hair again. “He’s probably just… happy, to have you back, and excited to show you his life. He’s been waiting—“ Tinder choked as well, “—for a long time to see you.”

“But why would we travel far away?” Felicity moaned. “I want to stay here… with you…”

She nuzzled into Tinder and resumed sobbing, her little chest heaving with every broken breath. He could feel his ears burning, and his heart was beating faster than normal. Why was he so angry? It was Mr. Gardens prerogative to do as he pleased with Felicity — after all, she was his daughter. But to cause so much pain to both her and Tinder, by separating them so deliberately; what was the point? Could they not find a compromise where everypony was happy?

“Tinder?” came the tiny voice, choked by tears. “Will I ever see you again?”

“If I can help it,” Tinder replied kindly, slowly pulling her into an embrace. “You’re my little sister, after all.”

She hugged him back, muttering ‘I love you’ under her breath a couple times. For almost a minute, the two ponies, lifelong friends, remained in each other’s company, saying a heartfelt farewell. They were content to remain there together until the pony managing the ticket booth leaned out of his window and whispered “The train leaves in two minutes, my friends.”

“Right,” Tinder said with a gulp. “Guess you need to… go.”

She nodded without a word, rubbing her nose against his chest one last time before climbing down and disappearing into the train station. Tinder stood up to watch her go, but stopped halfway and choked vocally, bolting in the opposite direction. Felicity turned to catch Tinder’s eye and saw him galloping into town. Before she could process that, however, her father, Mr. Gardens, approached her and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. Next thing she knew, she was riding on his back.

“C’mon, Felicity!” he urged impatiently. “The train leaves in less than two minutes. Orchid will have decorated the mansion and made a special birthday dinner for you, so we mustn’t miss our train home, I dare say.”

Felicity didn’t reply. Her father put her down when they reached the train. On the platform, standing near the door onto the car, were Warden, Airy, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, all of whom had come to see Felicity off. The Crusaders all moved to give Felicity a hug as the train blew its whistle.

“Well, look at the bright side!” Scootaloo yelled, trying to speak over the whistle. “Now we have Crusaders in Canterlot, too!”

“We’re gonna miss you, Felicity,” Sweetie Belle said solemnly.

“Y’all come back an’ visit us soon, ‘kay?” asked Apple Bloom with a wink.

Felicity stood still for a second, looking warily at her father, who was talking to Airy and Warden about Tinder, and making suggestions about finding him help. “I intend to.”

The other fillies blinked in unison.

“I won’t stay with my dad, even if he is my dad.” Felicity straightened herself and pushed her shoulders back resolutely. “Tinder and the Lighthearts are my family, not him. And even if it’s the last thing I do… I will come back here.”

“But… when?” Apple Bloom said curiously.

“And how?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Soon,” replied Felicity with a smug smile, a smile she had not worn since earlier that morning. “And I may not know yet, but I have a few ideas…”