//------------------------------//
// Pick of the Litter Part 03 
// Story: The Shadowbolts Adventures 
// by DragonShadow 
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"I'm sorry, darling. I simply can't take on any more pets. Opalescence is extremely territorial and jealous." 

"I understand, Rarity..." Twilight's shoulders were slumped as she spoke into her cell phone with her head turned down into her chest. "Thanks anyway..." She hung up the phone with a flick of her thumb and let it clatter to the carpet in front of her recliner. Her head slung all the way down, smacking into the upturned palms of her hands. 

"That... doesn't look like a positive sign," Indigo Zap noted. 

Twilight lifted her head from her chest to look over at her five Crystal Prep friends. They had gathered at Sunny Flare's place for an evening of wild studying, but Twilight simply couldn't put Spike's predicament out of her mind. None of her Crystal Prep friends could help... and after a few phone calls, it turned out none of her Canterlot High friends could either. Fluttershy had offered to take them in at the animal shelter she worked at... but that didn't solve the problem of taking them away from Spike. 

"I feel awful... and I don't know what to do. It kills me to not know what to do..." Twilight shuddered. 

"I can't blame you," Sunny Flare told her gently. "Could you imagine being told you had to give up your baby?" 

Sugarcoat huffed from the sofa. "Tch, he's better off. Money-sucking shit factories are not worth it. Even ones that cute." She flicked a popcorn kernel into her mouth. 

"Why is everybody talking like it's already over?" Indigo Zap punched her fists together. "We have seven more weeks to go, we can find a way to keep them together! We just have to keep looking!" 

Sour Sweet squealed. "Oh totally! We just have to keep a positive attitude until magic fairy dust flies out of our asses and solves all our problems." 

Sugarcoat popped another kernel into her mouth. "We really don't hang out together enough anymore." 

"Maybe we could let them loose in the forest so they can grow up big and strong and come back as battle-hardened adults their mommy can be proud of?" Lemon Zest suggested. 

Indigo hesitated for a moment. "Yyyyeah, let's make that Plan Z." 

Lemon Zest gaped. "Whoa, if we have that many plans already, what are we so sad about?" 

Sour Sweet put her hands on her hips. "Personally I think Twilight just needs to man up and tell her parents she's keeping the puppies! She's old enough to make decisions!" 

Sunny raised a finger. "She's also old enough to be kicked out of the house she doesn't own if she starts making frivolous demands." 

"Besides, her manning up would cost a lot of money." Sugarcoat popped another kernel. 

"It would?" Lemon blinked in confusion. 

"Anyway, we need a real solution!" Indigo Zap interrupted before things could get any more awkward. "And we don't have to come up with it tonight, right? We have seven weeks, that's almost two whole months." 

"Who says you suck at math?" Sugarcoat quipped. 

"We all just need to keep our eyes on the prize and our minds open for solutions." Indigo turned on Twilight with a cocky grin and a wink. "You bring us a problem and we'll solve it for you. Just leave it to us." 

Twilight had already started to smile halfway through the exchange, and was now looking back and forth between the five Crystal Prep Shadowbolts. She nodded swiftly when Indigo addressed her. "Yeah, I know I can count on you all. And I'll keep thinking about it, too. No giving up on Spike until there are absolutely no options left." 

"That's the spirit!" Indigo gave a half-hearted fistbump. "Sorta. I was more going for 'never give up, never surrender', but giving up only at the end works too." 

"Oh, sorry." Twilight blushed. "It's just that, logically speaking, failure is always a possibility, no matter how much you may wish it weren't or how small those chances might be, you can and will fail at something eventually. It's logistically impossible to never surrender." 

Sour Sweet crossed her arms over her stomach. "And you all call me a buzzkill." 

Sunny Flare stood up and clapped her hands together. "Well then! Now that plan 'keep an eye out for a plan' is in full effect, how about we spend the rest of the evening watching our movie and then turn in for the night? We all have school tomorrow, so we can't be up too late." 

"Yes, mom." Sour Sweet clicked her tongue. 

"Don't you mom me, young lady. Now sit down while I go get another bowl of popcorn since Sugarcoat finished off half of that one." 

Sugarcoat rubbed her belly. "Worth it." 

Sunny rolled her eyes. "Indigo, please put on the movie. Twilight, would you like to help me heat up some more popcorn?" 

"Of course." Twilight bounced up from the chair in strangely high spirits and followed her friend into the kitchen. Nothing had been solved, and yet it felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Truly friendship was a wonderful thing.