//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Foalsitting Follies // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Overhead, the night sky was a velvet shroud festooned with glittering diamond sequins, and Spike liked to think that they were all part of his hoard. Yes, they were his, and Princess Luna was just keeping them safe for him. With his hoard safe and secure, Spike was free to think about other things, such as the nature of his relationships with the ponies all around him. The little dragon thought about his relationship with Corbie and other little foals. This relationship lacked complication and there was a straightforwardness that he liked, even appreciated. With adults however, things weren’t so straightforward; adults expected things from him, demanding a level of sophistication as Twilight Sparkle’s Number One Assistant. Or, sometimes, they just expected him to get out of the way. For Spike, it was a somewhat confusing state of affairs, and there were times that he wasn’t quite sure of his place in the world. A stray, roaming firefly caught his attention and he watched it for a time as it bobbed about. A firefly had a much easier life, Spike reckoned. All that was expected from them was to flit about and shine your light in the world. Being a dragon assistant to the Princess of Friendship was hard, especially when the Princess of Friendship was keeping secrets. Twilight had changed overnight, a profound change, and there were times now when she seemed like a different pony altogether. She had promised multiple times to give up an explanation, but so far, no explanation seemed forthcoming. She was busy and about to become even busier as a foalsitter. By Spike’s own reckoning, Twilight was a little too eager to walk in the shoes of Princess Cadance. Very little could be done, other than trust her, and Spike did trust her. The evening was the sort of lazy summer evening that ponies found ideal for lazing about. It was too warm to do much of anything, even at night, and the streets were almost empty. There were lights on though, shining through open windows, and the sound of music could be heard on the sultry summer breeze. It was humid, hot and sticky, all the fault of Froggy Bottom Bogg. It was ice cream weather—at least by pony standards—not that Spike needed an excuse to pig out on sweet, cold treats. Not far from Twilight’s castle, the bright air raid siren light blinked three times in rapid succession, indicating that the system was armed and ready to go. It did that on the hour, every hour, night and day, making it easy to tell time. Having the air raid siren be compromised or sabotaged would be disastrous, and Spike harboured a secret worry that the light would not blink when it was supposed to. The stillness of the night was disrupted by a fast approaching creature, and Spike knew who it was from the speed at which it was travelling. It approached in a streak, passed in a blur, and then, when it was quite some distance away, it came back in full reverse. Spike heard a sharp inhale from Pinkie Pie, and knew that the game was now ahoof. Sly Pie paused, somehow suspended in mid-air, and the pink streak of his mane seemed to possess its own illumination in the night. He waved at both Twilight and Pinkie Pie, still somehow hanging in the air, and his usual cheeky, saucy, ne'er-do-well greeting broke the quietness of the night. “Meep meep!” Then, he was gone, just gone, and the wake of his passing tugged on both Pinkie Pie’s and Twilight’s manes, stretching them out to ridiculous lengths. Spike watched as all of this played out, just as he had watched this play out hundreds of times before. This was a common occurrence, this was routine, this was life in Ponyville. “That Sly little Pie!” Pinkie Pie shouted, just as Spike knew that she would do. A second later, Maud appeared, moving with terrific speed, and she called after her son in a calm deadpan devoid of heavy breathing, “Sly Pie, you come back here, it’s bathtime and then time for bed.” Maud made no effort to slow down and say ‘hello,’ and Spike didn’t blame her. He did remember to wave though, and Maud waved back. “Hold up, Twilight, I promise I’ll be right back!” Pinkie Pie rose up into a bipedal stance, flexed her legs, smiled at Twilight, and then took off in a pink blur after her nephew. “Sly Pie, I’m gonna get you, Sucka!” As was typical, Pinkie took off in spectacular fashion, leaving divots in the grass as she bounded away after her physics defying nephew. “You know who deserves to be an alicorn?” Spike remarked as he watched the family drama play out. “Maud?” Twilight replied as she too, watched the merry chase. “Yep.” Spike gave a little nod while speaking, and he flexed his claws. “Aw, Sly isn’t a bad little guy. He’s just… excitable. I mean, at least he’s friendly.” Twilight looked down at Spike, and Spike looked up at her. “You’re thinking that he’s better than Nuance,” Spike said to the mare beside him that was now prancing about on her hooves. “Spike, I wasn’t going to say it!” “You didn’t need to say it, Twilight, but you did think about it.” “Well, I can’t help that.” Lifting her head, Twilight resumed stargazing and watching for Gosling’s return. “Poor little guy doesn’t even have one friend, it’s awful. He won’t let Corbie be his friend, even though she tries to be nice to him, and she even cries when he is punished. She can’t bear to see anything awful happen to her brother. I don’t understand it, Spike—he’s just so awful.” “Well, if anypony can sort him out—” “It’ll be me, the Princess of Friendship?” Twilight smiled and squinted in the direction of Canterlot. “No, I was going to say we should have Dim scare him into submission.” “Spike, that’s mean.” “Twilight, I don’t hear a ‘you’re wrong’ in your voice.” There was a sigh followed by Twilight repeating herself: “Spike, that’s mean.” Spike was about to say something witty when he saw the sky carriage in the distance, pulled by a half-dozen royal chauffeurs of what was sure to be the nocturnal pegasus variety. He glanced up at Twilight, saw the eagerness on her face, and once more, he could not help but notice that there was something off about Twilight, something different. Spike, a creature that would live for an indeterminable age, noticed that Twilight appeared old, but he couldn’t say how or why. Clutching his tail, he gave it a squeeze, and hoped that Twilight would keep her word. The carriage touched down in the grass and came to a rolling halt with a cacophony of sound. Metal clanged and clattered, wood creaked, and brakes squeaked. Twilight watched it all, her ears twitching, and she lifted her wings from her sides so that she might catch a cooling breeze. She was happy to see the foals, but she was even happier knowing that Seville Orange was on the carriage. It would be difficult resisting the temptation to glomp him—she wanted to—but it seemed like such an awkward thing to do. Their relationship was now complicated. More than friends, but how much more was yet to be determined, and there was also the fact that she had not seen him in a long time—eons, in fact. She had passed the many long years knowing that he would be waiting for her at the end. The door opened and Fox Populi stepped out, which wasn’t what Twilight expected at all. Fox was armed, as usual, and he was handsome enough to be interesting to look at, she guessed, but all Twilight could feel was disappointment upon seeing him. She watched as he looked about, turning his head from side to side, to and fro, doing his job. Two other unicorns came out, also unexpected. Beans and Toast took up positions on the other side of the door, and they too, were watchful. They had grown into their position, and were now stern, formidable protectors, devoted servants, and indispensable company for Gosling. Every great thing that Gosling did, Beans and Toast were right there in his shadow, offering support and keeping Gosling organised. Gosling stuck his head out, looked around, and then Twilight saw his gaze focus upon her. He stepped out, cautious, slow, and careful, and Twilight soon saw why. Clinging to his neck was a sleepy looking Corbie, who would no doubt be a little weepy about the fact that her daddy was leaving. The big stallion—now an alicorn—still moved and behaved like a pegasus, which is to say, he acted very much like a bird. A big, overprotective, somewhat predatory, over-paternal papa bird, and Twilight could not help but see the carriage as a birdhouse now. She laughed, destroying the silence of the night. “Outtathaway, you chucklehead!” Seville shouted as he gave Gosling’s backside a shove. “The only thing uglier than your mug is your backside, you stinky wingpitted wise-feather!” Twilight was no longer alone in her laughter, as now the little dragon beside her was giggling while clutching his cheeks, and Corbie let out a sleepy sounding caw of amusement. For some, friendship was magic—for others, friendship was antagonistic. It wasn’t her place to judge, but Twilight did find their antics amusing. Now standing in the grass, Gosling stepped aside, and Seville exited. Just behind Seville, Radiance followed, wearing saddlebags loaded down with stuff, and then, hesitating a bit, Nuance followed his much larger brother. Little Nuance seemed distressed about having to step in the grass, and the look on his face was almost one of horror while he looked down at his own hooves. “Nuance, what is your problem?” Fox asked, sounding annoyed. “There might be bugs,” the little unicorn replied, and he shook his head in horrified disgust. “Dirt… my hooves have touched common dirt! I need a bath at once!” “Shut up.” Radiance turned his head about and gave his smaller sibling a stern, unyielding stare. “Just… shut up. It’s dirt, you dunderhead, and your food grows in it.” “Yeeeeeeeuuuuuuuugh!” Nuance stuck his tongue out, gagged, and then continued to freak out about having to walk on the ground. He walked on the edges of his hooves, wobbling, and gagging in disgust. Snorting once, Radiance gave his brother a hard shove with his left hind hoof, sending poor Nuance tumbling over into the dirt. Twilight scowled, not much caring for Radiance’s behaviour, and she watched as Beans lifted the knocked-over unicorn colt from the ground. Nuance began wailing at the top of his lungs, and Radiance now looked even more annoyed. “That was mean, Rad,” Corbie said in an accusing tone to her brother. “If he had been walking around flat-hooved, he might’ve kept his balance,” Radiance replied. “Serves him right, the little twit.” Glancing at Gosling, she saw a pleading look on his face, a ‘please fix this’ look if ever there was one. With an annoyed snort, Beans dumped Nuance over Seville’s back, and the little unicorn colt went into full blown meltdown mode, having a tantrum. He beat and kicked his legs against Seville, who let out a patient, longsuffering sigh. Radiance looked up at his brother, snorted once, and then turned away, repulsed. Corbie was the next to have a meltdown, and she began sobbing while clinging to her father’s neck. Her little wings flapped and her howling cries filled the night with a mournful sound. Corbie might have been small, but at the moment Twilight was almost certain the little filly was louder than the air raid siren. Things had gone horribly wrong and the situation seemed unsalvageable. Twilight Sparkle felt the first glimmer of fear as she began to realise this might not be so simple after all. At least Radiance was quiet, for now. Spike was clutching her leg, and she could feel him trembling with fear. Spike had been with her during some terrible moments, the little dragon had faced some dark, dark moments with her, never leaving her side, but right now, she could tell, he was terrified. “I’m sorry, Twilight,” Gosling said, offering up an apology. “Nuance will quiet down if you stick him in a hot tub… well, not too hot, of course. He has to be clean or he’ll freak out and have nosebleeds and panic attacks, and the nosebleeds make everything worse because, well, you know, he’s white and blood stains.” “Right.” Twilight nodded. “Corbie will stop crying if you put her head under your wing… if you don’t do that, she’ll just keep crying until she passes out. It’s a pegasus thing, Twilight, I hope you understand.” Gosling moved closer to Twilight, looking frazzled, out of sorts, and a bit sad. “You have nothing to worry about with Radiance, just don’t let him beat up his brother. Whatever you do, never, ever leave the two of them alone in a room with one another. There will be a fight, and you won’t like it.” “Gotcha.” Again, Twilight nodded. “Twilight, you’re the best, you know that, right?” Gosling winced while Corbie began beating on his broad neck with her little front hooves. “Just say your goodbyes.” Twilight let out a laugh—a nervous laugh—and ignored how Spike’s claws were digging into her leg. “Everything will be fine, fine I tell you. I run a school, I think I can look after the Royal Brood for a while.” “I DON’T WANT MY DADDY TO GO!” Corbie screeched, and every ear present twitched with pain. “I’M NOT GONNA SAY GOODBYE! NOOOOOOOOO!” Taking a deep breath, Twilight Sparkle called upon her special reserves of patience…