Family Relations

by Shorty Sparkle

Chapter 1

Family Relations

Twilight was running along the road as fast as her lavender legs could carry her. A look of malcontent on her face as she bobed and weaved through the crowds of shopping ponies. “How could I have forgotten this?!” She screamed to no one in particular.

The green and purple dragon riding on her back, Spike, gave a response that she didn’t even want to hear. “Well maybe it was because you got so into those books again! You really should stop reading as much as you do. Don't get me wrong, reading good, but you take it way too far.”

The purple unicorn looked around and shot the baby dragon a dirty look. She opened her mouth to chew him out about how reading a lot was not a bad thing. She interuptered herself as she crashed into a gray mailmare that had just finished delivering the mail. When Twilight recovered she gave an apologetic look to the gray Pegasus. “I am so sorry Ditzy! I wasn’t looking where I was going!”

Ditzy returned the look the best her Derpy eyes would let her. Although after hearing that Twilight took the blame, a smile krept over her face. It wasn’t often that somepony crashed and it wasn’t entirely her fault. “Thanks Twi, It wasn’t an issue.” The purple unicorn smiled before a shocked expression took over her face. A flash of purple blured the mailmare's vision and was quickly replaced with the view of the Ponyville Central Market.

Twilight bolted through the market place passing by Applejack’s stand. “Hey there Twi! How are ya’ doin’?”

“Great, thanks for asking.” She answered as quickly as her mouth would let her. As she blasted by the wake she left displaced multiple apples, which all fell to the ground. Applejack looked down at the apples and then up at the unicorn which was already blasting around the corner.

"Well then, see if I give you free apples now!" the orange mare huffed.

Pinkie Pie was carrying her cupcakes on her hair to the baked goods stand that Sugar Cube Corner owned in the farmers market. She looked over to see a flash of purple rushing in her direction. The reaction was a back flip, somehow keeping the tray of cupcakes perfectly on her crazy hair the whole time. “Hi Twi, Say hi to your brother for me!” The pink pony exlaimed while still upsidedown.

Twilight almost stopped at her words. ‘How did she? Ugh, Pinkie Pie is so weird!’

“Yes I am!”

"Wait, what?" Twilight tried to rack her brain to remember if the words she said were outloud. She didn’t have time to think though being late as she was already. She just kept running, with Spike holding on as tight as he could.

“Come on Twi! I am sure he won’t care THAT much if you are a little late.” The dragon exclaimed while trying to keep the lunch in his stomache.

“Spike! I am not going to show him that I am irresponsible! What would he tell mom and dad if I was late!” She shuddered. “What would they do to me!” Her imagination soared at the thoughts of their parents calling her purple flank back home to teach the unicorn a lesson. Having to live with them again and then making her go back to magic kindergarten! A scream almost escaped at the thought.

“Twilight, you are overreacting again.” A sigh came from the dragon which was matched by a gag as a fly went straight into his mouth.

The landing spot was right around the corner. The only street in Ponyville that wasn’t too busy to land on during this time of the day. Only there was nothing there! “Oh no! I am late! They must have already left!” She almost broke into tears. “Magic Kindergarten here I come!”

“Oh sis! You are so over critical!” Came a male voice as the white unicorn turned the corner. His purple mane flowed a bit behind him. A bit of Canterlot lingered in his voice and mane style. He was slightly overweight but that mostly came from his job. One of the best chefs in Equestria!

“Saucy! How are you!” Spike almost squealed. He adored the brother of his best friend. He ran over to the white unicorn and hugged his leg.

“Oh, why a bit of a feisty one are you? Well good to see you too Spike!” Saucy raised his hoof and ruffled up the young dragons spines. “So, Twilight, how have you been? I was so sad to hear that you moved to here permanently. I figured we wouldn’t be able to get around each other as often. I never thought it would be almost two whole years! You really do need to come to Canterlot more often.”

“Well you know, I have been a bit packed with all the studying of friendship!” She had a look of pride in her eyes. “Did you see us in the Hearths Warming Eve play?”

All Saucy could was chuckle. “Oh come on sis! You saved Equestria TWICE and you are more interested in if I saw your play?” He looked at Twilight with admiration. “You did such great things in these last two years. I would almost say that you were not my sister anymore!”

The blush was easy to see under her purple mane. That brother of hers had always been one to praise her. He somehow always knew she was special. “Thanks bro.”

“You’re welcome. Anyway, I did see your play and it was great. I would have said hello afterward but I got dragged away for a catering event for Princess Luna. I also heard you were at the gala from my friend Joe! He told me about how a bunch of ravaged ponies came to his store with Princess Celestia. When he said you showed up I freaked out! I also learned later that you six were the ones who Ruined the Gala so terribly! Did you know I was catering that night?"

She gave him a look of surprise. “You where? I am so sorry I didn't say hello! I guess I was a bit busy having the worst night ever.” They both chuckled until Twilight's stomach interrupted her. “Oh goodness! That reminds me that you need to meet my friends! I told them to meet me at Diamond Wednesdays! Come on!”

The purple mare took off in the direction of the restaruant. It took until she was already halfway around the corner to realize the white unicorn was more intrested in the scenery. Saucy looked up as his sister shot a death glare his direction.

“Sister, just relax! I am sure they won’t mind if you are just a bit late. Besides, I am in no hurry.” He started walking down the street taking in as many of the views as his eyes would let him. He looked up to see his sister had not listened to a word he just said and booked it anyway. A sigh escaped his mouth and a thought came to mind. ‘One of these days she will find how to take in the scenery.’

He turned the corner as a peculiar building, which looked as if it was completely made of candy, had caught his eye. The distraction caused a collision with another pony. All it took was a slight glance at the beautiful mare and his mouth couldn't stop gushing out applogies. The appolgies stopped when her lips started moving.

“Look what you did!” The shear anger in the white mare's voice alone nearly made the stallion recoil. “You destroyed my outfit! Now I have to go back home and change! Next time you need to watch where you are going.”

The stallion didn’t even get a word in after that. He managed to mutter a “Sorry” as she walked away, but that was the best he was going to do. His brown eyes caught him looking at the mare while she walked away. “Now that mare sure is something…”

The rest of the walk consisted of making sure the path was clear before moving. No need to make bad impressions on any other beautiful mares he managed to find in this town. When he made it to the Diamond Wednesdays he nearly gagged. “How can anypony like food from a place like this?” He walked into the facility anyway and was greeted by a server.

“Hello sir! How can we help you today?” The almost too cheery hostess gave a forced smile. She obviously hated her job just as much as he hated this place.

“Yes, I am with one Twilight Sparkle for lunch. She would probably be the purple sweaty one that came in here earlier.” He couldn’t help but share a laugh with the mare.

“I will take you there.” She started walking away and he followed. He heard his sister’s friends before seeing them.

They were the biggest variety he had ever seen. The 5 ponies sitting at that table looked as if they would never be friends just based on their looks. There was a rainbow pony with a tom boy cut. She was hoof wrestling with an orange mare wearing a cowboy hat.

Twilight was engaged in a conversation with a completely pink pony that seemed far too energetic for her own good. The last pony was just sitting over in a corner not talking to any of the others. Perfectly content with staring out a window at the Everfree forest. The 5 ponies stopped what they were doing and stared at the stallion as he stood there looking dumbfoundedly on the group.

“Umm, can we help you?” The rainbow pony commented, breaking the awkward silence.

Saucy shot his sister a look asking to tell them who he was. The mare caught on quickly and recovered from the silence that had followed his arrival. “Everypony, this is my brother! Saucy Sparkle!” And Saucy, these are my friends. Rainbow Dash and Applejack are the two hoof wrestlers over there. This is Pinkie Pie and that is Fluttershy.”

The ponies each respectively nodded a hello to the stallion as their names were called.

“And Rarity should be here soon. It isn’t like her to be late.”

He took a seat and looked at the ponies sitting at the table before replying. “Oh that is fine. I am sure there is a perfect reason why she couldn-“

“Oh hey Rarity! There you are!” Pinkie Pie called out from the other end of the table.

Saucy turned around to see the mare that he had just been talking about. His mouth dropped to the ground. It was the mare he crashed into earlier.

“Oh I am so terribly sorry I am late girls! I had crashed into this stallion who had no idea where he was going and-“ She looked down at the intruder at the table in a mixture of surprise and disgust. The six ponies could see the scream in her eyes as she stared at the white unicorn stallion. “And I am sure it was an accident!” A forced smile crossed her lips.

Twilight decided to interrupt the awkward moment again. “So, anything you two want to tell us?”

---

The conversation had been easy. Started by the story about Saucy ruining Rarity’s dress, the seven ponies had somehow gotten into a huge story about their cutie marks.

“And that is how Equestria was made!” Finished Pinkie Pie which got a strange look from everypony at the table. More so from the newcomer stallion. “Hey Saucy! You should tell us how you got your Cutie Mark!”

He sighed. Looking down at the white hat on his flank. “Well, it isn’t as interesting as all of your stories but it is a rather cool one none the less. You see I am an extremely late bloomer. I couldn’t seem to find my talent for such a long time. I was just entering the age to get a job when twilight got hers. In celebration we threw a huge party and so many people showed up. Included none other than Princess Celestia herself. My mother was so occupied with keeping the Princess entertained that I was given the job of cooking. Long story short everypony loved my food and I learned I loved making good food.”

Everyone gave their oohs at the story. It was not that special but it had been rather great to hear the praise from Princess Celestia back then. He was now both her private chef and a caterer for many major events.

Rarity had gone nuts when she heard about how he lived in Canterlot. He could tell that she belonged with the ponies there.

The seven ponies had parted ways after each paying for their part of the bill. Saucy insisted on paying for Rarity’s since he ruined her dress. She thought she should pay for it since she ordered the food. It was a fight that lasted over a minute that was cut off by Pinkie Pie saying, “What a cute couple!” they quickly realized she was talking about the old couple who just sat next to us. Well, at least they thought that was it. Needless to say Saucy gave up and let her pay for it.

Twilight had led him to a hotel not far away from the library she worked at. “Tomorrow you can see my workplace! The library is a pretty cool place!”

“Of course you would say that. You ALWAYS loved the library.” Saucy shot back.

Twilight tried to think of a good comeback but quickly realized he was dead right. She did always love it so much and was proud of her love for it.

He quickly realized he screwed up. “I am just glad you seemed to have realized that friends were important now too.”

She smiled. “Thanks Saucy, I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

She parted ways with him there. He went to his room and took a warm shower. The next few days would be fairly difficult. He knew that already. Before sleep took him away he caught himself thinking of Rarity. She was a rather pretty pony he had to admit.

---

The next day brought clear skies and a beautiful sunrise. Saucy was used to waking up this early from all his working as a chef for Celestia. Luna coming around hadn’t helped the schedule either. The Princess of the night seemed to be nocturnal. He would only see her right before and a little bit after night. No doubt she had to keep the moon going.

He had learned to deal with the schedule and sleep would either not happen or would happen in between requests from the Princesses. He felt blessed to have such an amazing job. The two Princesses didn’t need food but loved to taste of it. So he got praised for almost every meal he created. Not to mention the paycheck was rather fat.

He got ready and went out into the world. Knowing his sister she wouldn’t be awake yet. She was normally a late sleeper. He tried to think of what to do while he waited for his sister when Applejack came by. He decided to walk with her and talk.

“Hello there Applejack, a great morning isn’t it?”

“Why yes’n it does seem like it don’t it?” She shot him a rather annoyed look. “Sorry, I can’t be talkin’ right this instant. I have got a lot of work to get done on the farm.”

“Well maybe you could use some help.” He offered.

“I’m not sure… If’n you think you are up to the task of getting dirty I wouldn’t mind the help.” She gave him a cautious look. She knew the Canterlot type. Snotty and not willing to get a hoof dirty. She had expect him to run off at the mention of dirt.

“I would have you know that I help tend to the royal garden when I am not cooking. In return I get quite a nice amount of the fruits and vegetables from the plants.”

She gave off a chuckle. “Alright then, if you think gardening is the same thing then you are in for quite the surprise.”

They cantered up the trail to the apple orchard. It was positively massive and stretched on for miles. “Wow, this place is huge! I wouldn’t be surprised if a large amount of the apples I use come from your orchard.”

She glanced over at him and motioned to an overturned tree. “That storm that blew through here the other day knocked over that there tree. If you could help me turn it back over I would greatly appreciate it.”

He quickly got to work. She had expected him to just use magic but was surprised when he helped her without the use of his horn. After much hard work and the both of them getting a rather bit dirty they got the tree up. He held it up using his magic as she replanted the roots. “You didn’t use your magic to get it up. Why is that?”

He shrugged. “Well, I like to think of gardening as an earth pony tradition. So I try to use magic as little as possible.” He shot a look her way. “You thought I wasn’t going to get myself dirty didn’t you?”

“I’m not gonna lie. I have yet to meet a Canterlot pony that wasn’t all too proper to help in this kind of situation.” She looked over at him. “You are a rather different pony from what I thought you would be.” She paused for a moment before adding a quick no offense.

“None taken, honestly I don’t much care for those high end ponies either. Most of the ponies who I work with though are not uptight. Granted the guards which are trained to be uptight so I don’t count them. The waiters are a bit but only when doing their jobs.”

The harder job of the day being done so much ahead of schedule thanks to the help she received from the stallion. So as a thank you she decided to take him around town and show him some of the sights. It was Ponyville so not much was to be seen. After only about 30 minutes of walking they had stopped by Rarity’s house.

“This here place is Carrousel Boutique. This is Rarity’s home and workplace.” At those words a loud scream and a crash came from inside. The door opened and a small white filly came bolting out chased by two other fillies. Rarity followed them outside.

"Sweetie Belle! You get back here and clean this up right now!" She slumped back in defeat. "I swear that filly..."

Rarity saw us and walked over. “Oh hello you two! What are you both doing around?” She looked at Applejack, “Shouldn’t you be working on the farm. What will Big Mac say if you are fraternizing with somepony while you are supposed to be doing your duties?” She said with a bit of annoyance in her voice.

“Hey, I should have you know that I am already ahead of pace thanks for the Saucy here. Anyway, I should actually get back to work anyway. Thanks for the help Saucy.”

“Oh no, thank you for showing me around.”

As Applejack galloped off he heard Rarity gasp. “Oh dear! What happened to you?”

It was the first time he got a good look at himself after helping Applejack. His coat was a mess and his mane had been completely wrecked. Honestly he didn’t much mind but when Rarity offered him a day at the spa he couldn’t resist. It was a treat he didn’t get very often and he had to admit the thought of getting some time with the beautiful mare was icing on the cake.

The Lotus twins had almost jumped at the sight of Rarity. No doubt she spent a lot of time and, more importantly for the sisters, a lot of money.

“Well, I am glad you knew of this place. I might not have even tried to come here with how it looks outside.” The place didn’t look like a spa he would normally see in Canterlot. Although it was far better.

“Well, you know what they say. If you want a good place you need to ask the locals.”

It was silent for a few minutes as they got set up for massages. “I have to ask. How bad is that dress of yours I ruined? I would be more than happy to pay for it if you like.”

“Oh it was nothing. I overreacted to the whole thing. All it needed was a good wash and that only took a few minutes. Honestly you did me a favor. I mean what was I thinking! The hat I was wearing would have never matched. If anything it should be me apologizing for yelling at you like that.”

The apology was sincere. He could tell. It was a good sign that today would be good. He was making friends with his sister’s friends. The 6 ponies who had saved the world and he was related to one and friends with the others. How amazing was that? He was more amazed though at the mare that now soaked in a mud bath. He found it ironic how the pony who hated mud seemed to love mud baths the most out of the whole spa routine.

“Can I ask you something Saucy?”

“Go ahead.”

“Has Twilight said anything about me recently?”

He gave her a curious look. “Well, we hadn’t spoken since she left Canterlot to come here. So no she hasn’t said a word about you or her other friends. I had heard a lot about you girls from overhearing conversations between Celestia and Luna.”

“Oh I see, I guess I should have figured she wouldn’t have time to keep in touch with you. I do hope you try to keep in touch with the rest of us though. After all, it seems Applejack really has something for you.”

He nearly burst out laughing. He had seen this from mares a hundred times. Granted, they were never doing this to him but rather to someone else. It was the old ‘Oh, my friend likes you and you should visit to see her’ trick. He didn’t actually know what to say to answer that though. “I will do my best. I can see why my sister chose you as her friends. You all are great ponies.” He tried to change the subject the best he could.

“You don’t like her?” It was obvious she wasn’t going to let this go. “She is a nice mare you know.”

He really had no idea how to respond. It took him a minute of thinking it through to find the best way he could say he didn’t like Applejack. “Well, she isn’t really the type for somepony like me. Otherwise she is a nice girl and I am sure somepony out there will like her just fine. I see a good friend in her though.”

Rarity looked at him as if expecting more. There was no way to see what she was thinking and he sure wished he could.

---

The rest of the spa went fairly silent. He got out and thanked Rarity for the help finding that place. He had paid the sisters head of time as to keep Rarity from paying. She had a few unkind words to say about what it said about her character. Honestly after the episode he heard from Prince Blueblood he figured she would see it as kind. Maybe the Prince was actually right about her being hard to please. Now, not everything he said was right of course. Blueblood was a royal pain.
He met up with spike who was making one of his weekly book pickup runs.

“Hey there Spike. How are you this morning?” He asked as he came up behind the baby dragon.

“Oh, everything is fine. So you know Twilight was looking for you. Something about showing you around town.”

“Oh, alright thanks buddy. I will go find her. You keep up the good work.”

He did find her as she left the hotel. He waved her down.

“So, how are you fairing here in Ponyville so far?” She asked him.

“Well, so far I love it. Everypony is so friendly. I went and helped Applejack on her farm and then got a nice spa treatment with Rarity. So far a good and productive day.” He also added how Applejack showed him around already.

“Well, good to see you are fitting in nicely. I am sure everypony loves you so far. I know I do!” She nuzzled him a little bit.

“Oh come on sister. You know I don’t care for lovey dovey family stuff.”

“Exactly why I do it.”

The two shared a good laugh as they walked to the library.

---

"Oh this is fantastic." Rarity exlaimed as she went through all her clothes looking for the best dress she could find. "Fluttershy darling, which do you think would be best for a date with him."

"Well, um, I think you should actually ask first and then pick out a dress. But that one looks really nice." She pointed to a bright but elegant saphire dress.

"Oh Fluttershy! You are so right!"

"I am glad you think so. I would hate to see-"

"That dress is perfect."

"Oh, um, yeah ok then. I am sure he will love it if he goes with you."

"Yes yes, he most certainly will!" Rarity squeed at the thought of going on a date with the Canterlot Chef. It would be amazing! She just knew it. "Now Fluttershy, would you be a dear and get me that brush over there."

Fluttershy went and got the brush.

"Hey, um Rarity, maybe you should go talk to Twilight about this first." She said. "After all, it is her brother. I am sure she would want to know."

"Oh! Yes yes you are most certainly right Fluttershy!" She beamed. "I have to find out where to take him! I am sure that Chez Delicious would work, but you never know with stallions do you?"

---

Applejack went through all the clothes she had. She couldn't find anything she actually liked. It was all too girly and froo froo for her. "Ah, who am I kiddin... I have no idea what to do..." She said to herself.

"Eeyup, that is pretty obvious." Came a deep southern voice from behind.

Applejack shreaked. "Big Mac! Why, you know better than to sneak up on me like that!"

The giant red stallion Big Macintosh just laughed. "Applejack, does this closet raid you have going here have anything to do with that stallion that helped you with the tree earlier today?"

"I, don't see how that is any of your buisness!" Applejack replied defensively.

"Well, you are my little sister. I want to make sure you stay safe. Maybe you should make sure that Twilight wouldn't mind you dating her brother. You never know how a friend might react."

As much as Applejack hated the idea of putting this off, she knew he was right. She needed an outfit anyway so maybe a stop by at Pinkie Pies would help with that.

---

Twilight had shown her brother the library before he went off to Sugar Cube Corner. He had come here on request by Mr. and Mrs. Cake for a job. He only accepted it for the chance to see his sister.

She was cleaning the library again when Applejack came in the door.

“Oh hello Applejack, what brings you here?” Twilight asked as she finished up her daily book organization.

“Well, I have something I need to ask ya’ Twi.” Applejack asked. She was acting extremely nervous. Something was on her mind and she still wasn’t sure if Twilight was the best pony to bring this to. “It’s about yer brother.”

Twilight’s eyes cocked into a strange position as she thought of what her friend may want. It took her a minute to realize how immensely her friend was blushing. She figured out what it was about. “Oh. My. Celestia. You like my BROTHER!?”

“Twi, don’t freak out or anything please.” She didn’t have time to say anything else as Twilight gave her a huge hug.

“We will be sisters! Oh this is fantastic!” She looked off into the distance a second. “Dear Celestia, we are going to need to set up a date. Oh! We need to tell him too. Come on there isn’t time to waste!”

“Whoa there sugar cube.” Twilight paused already half way out the door. “I think I would rather do this on my own. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t mind.” She laughed a bit. “Looks like I got my answer.” She thought for a second and then added, “Could you not tell anypony? I don’t want this getting around.”

“Oh, right. I promise” Twilight almost deflated. She wanted to see what would happen but I guess that hearing about it would have to do. “Well, I wish you luck. ‘Sis’” She winked at Applejack for that last part.

“Just to make sure. Can you make that a Pinkie Promise?”

Twilight of course did the promise that her friends now used regularly. They learned to stop the hoof just a cupcakes length away from the eye. That is, after all, what the promise meant.

Applejack walked out and Twilight started working on fixing the books that fell on the floor from her jumping around.

It wasn’t long after Applejack left that the door opened again. This time the beautiful white unicorn entered. Rarity had just gotten back from her second trip to the spa that day and was looking just as beautiful as ever. Twilight caught herself looking at the mare sometimes. And she doesn’t even like mares!

“Twilight my dear, how are you today?” Rarity said in her rather higher end voice. Something was up and Twilight could tell. It was almost like she was practicing that voice…

“Hello Rarity! I am fine thanks for asking. What do I owe your visit to?” She tried to match the voice the best she could. To no avail though. No matter how long she lived in Canterlot she never seemed to get the voice down.

“Well, I am going to be frank. I am going to be asking your brother on a date tonight and want to make sure I do it right.”
She didn’t notice Twilight’s jaw drop to the floor. “Can I ask you the kind of places he likes to go?” She took a peek over at Twilight as she recovered from the news.

Twilight herself was in a conundrum. Two of her friends liked her brother and she was caught in the middle. She had just Pinkie Promised to not tell anyone else and lord knows that-

Pinkie jumped out of a flower pot from behind Rarity mouthing ‘Forever’ to Twilight.

She shuddered. Rarity was starting to look concerned. Her friend had still not replied. “Everything all right dear? I guess I shouldn’t be just dropping this on you like I am.”

“Oh no it is fine! I can tell you that he doesn’t like restaurants. I would recommend cooking your own meal if I were you.” She didn’t know what else to do. She couldn’t tell Rarity that AJ liked him too. She knew that this was all kinds of bad.

“Oh, thank you dear.” She started to walk out the door. “And would you be ask kind as to not tell anypony about this little conversation here? That would be fantastic.”

Twilight just sat on the floor for a few minutes contemplating what just happened. Two of her friends liked her brother and one of them would get disappointed. She had no idea what to do.

---

Applejack walked down the street to Sugar Cube Corner. No doubt Pinkie would be there cooking something up. Sure enough Applejack could smell the sweet aroma of pastries. For some reason the smell was more... Gormet then normal. She walked to the door and entered. The bell chimed as it was hit by the door.

"Hello there! Hang on a second we will be right out!" The voice of Mrs. Cake called out from the kitchen.

Applejack stood there looking around. The food looked extra well prepared today. She didn't exactly understand why, or for that matter how the cakes managed to make their sweets look even sweeter! She could feel her mouth watering at the deserts.

"Well hello dear!" Mrs. Cake was looking down on Applejack from the counter. "How is your day today?"

"Oh everything is fine. I actually needed to see Pinkie Pie if she isn't working right now." That didn't seem likely considering all the food that was coming out.

"Oh sure, she is in the kitchen working right now. Come on back!" Mrs. Cake lead Applejack to the kitchen where Pinkie Pie was doing her cupcakes song again. She had no idea who she was singing to until she saw none other than Saucy Sparkle helping make the food.

'That explains where that great food was coming from.' She thought to herself. "Hey Pinkie, can I get some help from ya for a second?"

She had stopped the pink mare in mid song and she didn't seem too happy about it. But she noticed her friends look and realized it had to be urgent! This was love after all! "Of course Applejack! I am sure I have what you need. Come on follow me!"

Applejack looked stunned there for a second. 'Did Pinkie already know?' She thought about it for a second. "Nah."

"Nah what?" Said Saucy. Applejack didn't even realize she said that outloud.

"Huh? Oh, nothin at all." She walked up the stairs to Pinkie's bedroom. She saw the cake twins playing together. They were so cute.

"So, what kind of dress do you need AJ?" Pinkie Pie had already opened up her closet and had 30 different types of dresses on her bed. "A frilly dress? Maybe an elegant dress! Or perhaps what you need is an impressive dress!"

Applejack knew where this was going. There was no doubt in her mind that Pinkie would-

"Oh come on there Applejack, you know somewhere in here is a dress that will make you look just right!"

There it is. Pinkie was singing.

"For that special somepony you want to make fall in love with you! Am I right?"

"You know I am! So come on Applejack pick a dress! One that will make you look like less of a mess!"

"For that special stallion of yours! Come on now let's get this chore done!"

"You need a look that will make you great for him! So let's get going! Find that dress that will make you want to griiiiiin!"

"Don't you settle for anything less! Then what will get you a soft Caress from that special somepony of yooouurs!"

"OOOH! Don't you fret there Applejack! I am sure that you will see what you want to put on your back for thiiiis!"

"Don't you see though that no matter what you do that somepony will love YOUUUUU!"

The song ended just as quickly as it began. Leaving a stunned Applejack in its wake. "Pinkie, can you do me a favor and never sing that loud when that somepony happens to be just downstairs and probably just heard everything you sang."

Pinkie Giggled "Sorry Applejack! I may have gotten a bit carried away!"

"A bit?" Applejack shook off the annoyed look on her face. "Nevermind that. Let's get down the buisness."

They spent nearly 15 minutes searching through dresses before they found the right one. Pinkie's wardrobe seemed to be almost endless. She thought she heard a snowstorm brewing when she was in it.

After she picked out the right dress. A cream colored short dress that managed to cover her up enough for Chez Delicous while not looking like she was modeling for Rarity. She went through Pinkies Makeup Collection. Finding the right amount that wouldn't make her look artificial. She took the makeup with here and headed out. On her way out she noticed that Saucy Sparkle was already gone. Hundreds of pastries replaced him.

---

The walk around the town put a smile to Saucy’s face. He loved this little town. Maybe he would try to settle down here some day. He knew just where he belonged though.

He got to the hotel and was greeted by the owner. “Ah, hello you must be the Stallion we heard so much about. You have
two messages waiting for you. One of them was brought here by a dragon saying it was from Princess Celestia. The other was anonymous.”

“Thank you for telling me. I would like to say that your hotel is fantastic and rivals many in Canterlot.”

The owner beamed at the compliment.

When Saucy reached his room he saw the two messages lying on the floor. The first was just a piece of note paper. The other a scroll with the royal seal. He read the scroll first.

‘Dear Chef Saucy,

I would like to inform you that you will be needed back in Canterlot tonight. There has been an unexpected guest that has showed up and you will be needed to cook a meal for our meeting. I am terribly sorry Saucy, but this has to be done. Your
Carriage will arrive just outside town.

Yours Truly,

Princess Celestia’

He frowned. He didn’t exactly want to go back to work so soon. However he did get his work done here and that is all that mattered. He decided to read the next note too.

‘Dear Saucy,

This is an invitation to meet me for dinner tonight. If you could meet outside the road leading into the town that would be fantastic.

Your Secret Admirer’

His frown grew deeper. Not only would he have to skip the date but he would also have to be at the meeting location. He would have to tell the poor mare that he couldn’t.

He actually wondered if this had something to do with that song that Pinkie Pie had sung upstairs. He didn't catch all of it but he did catch enough to hear about a special somepony. He shook his head though. They were still at it when he left. Even if she ran he doubted she would have time to write this note and beat him hear without him noticing her.

He packed his things and got ready to go. He looked around the room and started going. No doubt the carriage would be there soon so he had no time to tell his sister. He decided to leave her a note with the Owner.

He walked out the door and down the street.

Applejack came from the other direction and entered the hotel. She walked up to the owner. “Hello sir, do you know if Saucy Sparkle is here?”

“Oh, I am afraid he just left. I am sorry.”

“That is fine. Can you tell him that I need to talk to him. Tell him to meet me outside of Sweet Apple Acres. Thanks!” The owner didn’t even have time to tell her that Saucy had checked out when she ran out the door. He knew the poor mare would think her date skipped out on her. That dress she was carrying with her showed she was serious. He would have killed to have a date wear something like THAT.

Applejack ran down the street. She took the shortcut to home. She wanted to make sure she got nice and cleaned up before she saw him.

It barely took her any time to get there. Big Mac was waiting and saw her with the dress. He frowned. "I hope you know what you are doing little sister..." He said to himself.

"Hey Big Mac! I am going to get ready!" She bolted past him into the house. It wasn't long afterward he saw Rarity in a rather beautiful gown waiting outside town. This spelled trouble and he knew it.

---

Twilight had no idea what to do. Her brother would have to choose between her friends and that was not a good thing. She had to tell him! That was it! She had to.

Pinkie Pie blasted open the door. "FOREVER!" She screamed. Twilight had no patience for this. She didn't Pinkie Promise to Rarity. Infact, she didn't promise to Rarity at all. She knew Pinkie wouldn't stop her for that.

Pinkie seemed to know what Twilight was thinking. She drooped down. "Alright then..." She perked up again though. "I guess it is better if we do what is best for our friends anyway!"

They both went running down the street as fast as they could go. She didn't even know what she was going to do yet. No doubt her brother would get caught in this and not know what to do. She could just see him picking Rarity and then Applejack attacking him. Maybe hurting him badly! He would never be able to work again!

What would happen if he chose Applejack though? She Gasped! Rarity would ruin his career forever. She was so influential with the ponies in Canterlot! She would just have to say that he was terrible and they would never buy from him again!

This was terrible! She had to do something and fast! Fluttershy saw them running and joined in. Flying alongside them to keep up. "Why are you two running so fast?"

Pinkie was the first to reply. "Rarity likes Twilight's brother and that would be good except Applejack also likes him! We have to stop Rarity before she ruins Applejacks day!"

Fluttershy gasped a bit. "But Rarity worked so hard to get ready for today. Plus she is a far better match for him. They are both high end. We have to help her!" She bolted ahead of us going much faster then I could. But somehow Pinkie could keep up with her and ran off.

This was not going to end well.

---

Saucy walked gingerly down the streets of Ponyville. Not a large town but a rather large walk to get all the way to the other
side. He did finally reach the road he was supposed to be at. Sweet Apple Acres loomed to the left. Hundreds if not thousands of apple trees going on for miles.

He saw the Unicorn and sighed. She was beautiful and he would have to tell her about what would happen. At least she wouldn’t think he just blatantly ignored the invitation.

She saw him coming and smiled at him. “Hello dear, I am happy to see you! I am sure you are ready for a great evening?”

“What in tarnation is going on here?” Came a rather more southern voice.

Saucy looked over to see the orange mare dressed fairly more girly than what he had seen her in the past couple days. It took him a few minutes to figure out what was going on. When he did he nearly gasped. Both of the girls had left him messages. He must have only seen one. This was bad. Very bad.

“Oh, hello there Applejack. What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? I am here because I am going on a date with Saucy!”

“That is preposterous. I am going on a date with Saucy.”

"Hey! Rarity you stay out of this!" Pinkie Pie bolted over the hill and had screamed at extreme volumes.

"No, that is not a good idea. Rarity worked so hard to get ready for this today. She deserves this night." Fluttershy landed right next to them. Otherwise they wouldn't have heard her.

“Girls…” He tried to intervene.

“Oh yeah? I don't see why he would date Rarity! She has no values while Applejack is a really nice mare who values honesty and friendship above all else!"

“Why I never! I will have you know I have many values!”

"Yeah, she is a great pony! She values Generosity!" Fluttershy tried to talk. It wasn't exactly yelling as much as it was her talking in a stern voice.

“Oh please. The only value you have is yer social status!”

“I can’t believe you would go there! Just because she likes hanging with other ponies and getting her buisness out there doesn't mean she values her social status more than Generostity!

“Dear Celestia…” Saucy could see the carriage coming over the trees. It would be here in less than a minute. He was not going to get a break here. He knew he would have to get both of them to shut up. “GIRLS!”

"What!?" All four mares said in unison.

“Listen to me now. I am afraid that even if I could go on a date with either of you, which I can’t for two reasons, I wouldn’t because I would be tearing apart four great friends! And you two! What does this even do with you?”

The four mares all looked defeated. They all beat their hooves at the ground. Pinkie Pie was the first to speak up. "I guess I should have let them take care of this themselves..."

Fluttershy spoke up as well. "Yeah, I thought I had already learned that before. Jumping into somepony elses argument is bad and doesn't help anypony at all."

"Good! I am glad you two learned your lessons. Now you should go home and think this through. Maybe even write a letter to Celestia. I am sure she would be happy to hear about this!" Pinkie and Fluttershy both start walking away.

The two leftover mares looked down at their hooves. "Now, what did you two learn from this?"

"I suppose that I should have gone to you first. Maybe it would have saved us a lot of heartache now."

"I guess I shouldn't have been overreacting like I did when she showed up. I hadn't expected her to like you too and it made me mad because I thought you would have to choose her."

“Well, I am glad we all learned a valuable lesson today. Maybe we can keep that lesson from this point on and remember it for the next stallion you two fight over!”

The carriage landed. “Anyways, can you two tell Twilight I said goodbye. Oh, and maybe you should include this in the letter to Celesia as well."

The two nodded as the stallion got into the carriage. It took off and he flew into the distance. The two mares walked to Twilight’s library. They had quite the story to tell her.

---

Epilogue

The Princess sat comfortably on her carpet. She loved the plush carpet she got from the zebras. She had just got the letter and was about to read it when her chef came in. “Ah, hello there Saucy. That meal you provided was rather amazing.”

“Thank you Celestia.” He smiled. Her compliments never got old. “Here is your tea and a small snack.”

“I don’t remember ordering these.” She gave him a sly look as he plopped down next to her.

“Well, the kitchen thinks you did.” He winked and then nuzzled her neck as she opened the letter.

‘Dear Princess Celestia,

This is almost the whole gang here for this. It turns out that a lot of us learned a few lessons.

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy both learned that fighting for other people isn't always the right thing to do. You should fight to help your friends but not when they are fighting eachother. Or when you don't know the other side of the story very well.

Rarity and Applejack also learned a few valuable lessons. They learned that if you love somepony to make sure you tell them before immediatly thinking they will become yours. They also learned that if one of your friends happens to like the same stallion as you then talk it threw. You never know how much you might think the other deserves him more.

Your Faithful Students
Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy'

“Oh my, you sure have been busy haven’t you?” They both laughed. He knew just what she was talking about.

Hey there Everypony! Shorty Sparkle here for a quick message. First of all, all the characters in the story are owned by Hasbro and blah blah blah. Don’t really know how to do that anyway. Secondly, if you caught the foreshadowing in Celestia’s letter to Saucy then congrats. If not then go cry in a corner at how you couldn’t notice an extremely vague foreshadow.

Finally, to anypony reading my Scorched Earth Series. I am going to wait for that until after the next writers camp at EQD. I feel that my writing skills are not that great and I need to get them better. Once I do however I will be completely rewriting the story.

Until then though I am going to be writing these one shot or 2 or 3 chapter stories. If you have any ideas for stories that you want to be written but are too lazy to write yourself then message me at [e-mail]. Also, I am in need of an editor for my writing. I don’t want somepony who will tell me that I am doing great or something. I want someone who will give me real edits to my story and help me make it better. If interested message me at the Email provided.

Anyway, thanks for reading everypony!

After Edit:

Phew, well after a nice talk from penguin I decided to redo some of this. Basicly the whole argument was changed as well as added scenes of Rarity and Applejack getting ready for it. Included musical number from Pinkie Pie... That song came WAY too naturally for me. I don't know how I wrote that so easily. Actually, I had planned on having a muscial number somewhere in there in the first draft but go so excited near the end I decided to skip it. That was a big mistake. I know now to use Pinkie a lot more often in the future. She is an awesome pony to write.

Comments

[Goholite]

Idk what to say... Saucy? Really? Really saucy?

[0956]

oc x canon

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[penguin]

TBH, i saw a lot of potential in this story. I could live with the name, but it felt entirely rushed. There wasn't a lot of conflict either, and I was hoping to see you write into the minds of AJ and rarity, or include the other ponies in it as well.

It wasn't terrible, though.

[Shorty Sparkle]

294516 I will go threw it and revise it. I will add what you said. Sorry, this is my 3rd writing ever and I did get a little bit excited near the end and rushed to finish it. I really need to follow my guidlines better. Come back later today to see the revised version.

[penguin]

294658

yup. I'm too shy to write my own fanfic. IMO, just go back and draw it out. Write some conflict into it. You could add 1-2 more chapters as well.

[Shorty Sparkle]

294661 Chapters? I was just planning on this being a one shot... I guess that maybe it would be a good idea. Let me just see how it pans out after making these revisions I am making currently. It will have a bit more and so you can be happy to see those two. Not sure how to throw dash into this though.

[Shorty Sparkle]

294420 Honestly, I don't see what is so wrong about that. It isn't like I made this character that could never be in the Canon world. I made a character that actually makes sense and could easily be intergrated into the pony world. Well, maybe not the ending part but you get the idea.

And in my defense. It isn't like there are a lot of Canon stallions I could use. Maybe Big Mac but there isn't a chance that Rarity would fall in love with him and Applejack is his SISTER! Maybe Flithy Rich for Rarity but be honest. Can you see Applejack liking him? I don't think so. The stallions in MLP are not extremely diverse and there are not many choices to begin with.

[-Brutus]

Interesting end, OCxCelestia heh, I wonder if Twilight knows *hoof rests on chin*

[Shorty Sparkle]

294780 Wait about 5 minutes for the updated version. Atleast a thousand more words and views from Rarity and Applejack. Along with an added Musical Number from none other than

[Shorty Sparkle]

Updated the story! I think it is now 20% cooler... I am sorry... That is way too overused...

Check out the bottom of the page to see what I edited if you aren't having any luck finding the edits.

[penguin]

Sorry i didn't get around to reading it earlier. I liked this version better. Good job on that ^>^

It's uncanny though, i was reading ED the other day and saw the rumour about twilights brother... and i thought to myself "I JUST READ A FANFIC ABOUT THIS."

[Shorty Sparkle]

302094 I literally screamed when I read that. It is amazing though.

I predicted she had a brother - (Wrong name but whatever)
I predicted her brother worked for the princess - (Not a chef but by the looks of it a royal gaurd)
If he ends up being hitched to Princess Celestia then I want front page on EQD. No questions asked.

On the otherhand. That completely un-canoned my story in less than 24 hours.

[penguin]

302099

Yup. Hopefully it's there on ED if that happens. Perhaps more people will give you better tips than i, if you decide to write another fanfic. Also, i saw your comment about it being hard to match certain ponies. the rarity/bigmac one caught my eye because i just finished up a story about them, which was a pretty good way of putting them together

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/13598/The-Lucky-One (not sure if you've read it or not) Also, i hope you make another fanfic. Perhaps you can make one w/ dash's parents? :D

[Shorty Sparkle]

302110 I will read it for sure!

As for a story with RD's parents... That gives me an AMAZING idea. I swear my imagination just came up with 3 different stories I could do with that. One sticks out rather like a sore thumb. Thanks for that idea sir! Keep an eye out for it. Cause I will be writing it!

[Method in Maddness]

''Two quick notes here:
1)When you have Saucy talking about his cutie mark story, you forgot to capitilze the 't' in Twilight's name.
2)When AJ and Twilight are talking about her liking Saucy, you have a brief moment when you switch the point of view, mid-way through.
'“Oh, right. I promise” Twilight almost deflated. She wanted to see what would happen but I guess that hearing about it would have to do.. “Well, I wish you luck. ‘Sis’” She winked at Applejack for that last part.'

Other then some small spelling mistakes that can be attributed to typing fast, it was an all around good story. Good job!

[Shorty Sparkle]

442388 Dude, you late. I finished revising this story as soon as mister Shield joined the light (which was less than 24 hours after finishing BTW) I honestly have a strong hatred towards Twilight's real brother for screwing over my hard work!

Although, I did guess EVERY aspect about that ending.

Twilight has a brother
Her brother works for the Princess
AND he has a thing for a princess!
How awesome is my fortune telling?

Stay tuned for more of my SLIGHTLY off predictions. Whats next? Perhaps Rainbow Dash DOES have a parent that was a wonderbolt but it was her MOM not her dad. Or maybe we will learn that Soarin is married to a wonderbolt but it isn't Spitfire which would kinda kill fanon and stuff. Possibly we could see Radio invented but by the wrong ponies! (Heh, Spooooilers!)

[Method in Maddness]

Love the enthusiam there!
Also looking forward to reading some more great work from you.

[Shorty Sparkle]

446127 Well then keep looking out for Origins of a Rainbow. I hope to update it soon however I have been EXTREMELY busy and I am running out of town for the weekend so I may not get a chance to write then. I already have most of the chapter written out but I keep getting time blocked and only getting the chance to write a paragraph at a time or sitting looking at the screen thinking of something to write. I am hitting a bit of a block to what I am going to write for Apple Cider's Wonderbolts rescue story so hold tight for that one.