//------------------------------// // Fashion, Apples and Friendships // Story: Spiders and Magic: Bonds // by Masterob //------------------------------// Trixie made her way back to the Parker-Sparkle home along with Flurry Heart, the eager young Princess excited to see her cousin. As Trixie was about to go inside, she heard somepony get her attention. "Hey! Trixie!" Trixie turned around and saw Scott Lang with a filly that looked only slightly younger than The Crusaders. "Hello Mr. Lang," Trixie said. "Um, you can call me 'Scott', I'm not that old that I need to be called 'mister'," Scott said. "Right, anyway who's that young filly with you?" Trixie asked. Scott rubbed the filly's head, "My daughter Cassie, I finally got to bring her to this world." "Without telling mom I might add," Cassie said. Scott nervously chuckled, "Yeah, she's gonna be mad...but I had to show her this place, it's so pretty and very friendly." "Yes, it is," Trixie said, then focused her attention to Cassie. "Nice to meet you Cassie, I'm Trixie Lulamoon, this here is Princess Flurry Heart." "Nice to meet you," Flurry said. "My mommy and daddy rule over a whole empire!" "Right, and is it your mommy that's Twilight's older sister?" Scott asked. Flurry shook her head, "No, my daddy is Auntie Twilight's big brother." "Right, the dad, sorry," Scott said. "I don't really know your parents too well so..." "Anyway I should be going inside now, Mayday's waiting," Trixie said. "That's fine, I was just showing my daughter around," Scott said. "Wait, didn't you say that Spider-Man lives here? Can we go see him?" Cassie asked. "He's not here right now, he and his wife are on a double date, they went with Flurry's parents," Trixie said. "Ah, going places with your wife, must be nice," Scott lamented. "...Right," Trixie said, sensing the awkward. "Anyway I should-" "Wanna meet my cousin Mayday!?" Flurry asked. "Mayday? That's Spider-Man's daughter right?" Cassie asked. "Yes, she is but-" Trixie said. "Can I see her instead then!?" Cassie asked. "Cass, maybe we go somewhere else, it looks like Trixie's busy," Scott said. "Aw, just a moment daddy?" Cassie pleaded. "Even if your dad was ok with it, it really wouldn't be that great, his daughter isn't that social," Trixie said. "Why do you keep saying that?" Flurry asked. "She's social with me." "Yeah, 'eventually' as you said," Trixie said. "Which to me isn't the best thing." Scott looked around awkwardly, "Anyway I'm just gonna get-" Suddenly the door opened, getting the attention of the ponies. At the doorway was The Wasp herself, Janet Van Dyne. "There you are Trixie, Mayday was wondering when you'd be home," Janet said, then noticed Scott standing there. "Hey Scott, what brings you-" Janet's attention was suddenly drawn to Scott's daughter. "Is that your daughter?" "Yeah," Scott said and turned to Cassie. "You remember Janet right?" "Wasn't she married to the guy you got your hero suit from?" Cassie asked. "Not anymore," Janet said somewhat bitterly. Scott again looked nervous, knowing how much of a sore spot that was for Janet. "Yeah...anyway me and Cassie were just leaving." "Aw, why not stay a bit, I bet she'd love to see Mayday," Janet said, causing a light groan from Trixie and Scott, but an eager smile from Cassie. "Awesome, come on daddy!" Cassie said, rushing into the house, Janet walking with her. Scott shrugged it off, "She'll get bored and want to leave, I hope." "Perhaps," Trixie said, then gestured Flurry inside. "Anyway let's go Flurry." Flurry quickly rushed inside as Trixie and Scott glumly followed. At the Carousel Boutique, Rarity is putting up some of her recently finished dresses for display, marveling at her own work. "This is probably my best dress this week at least," Rarity said, adding a few flowers for extra decoration. "How will I outdo myself?" "When don't you outdo yourself?" Bobby asked, putting some suits on display nearby. "Everything you make catches the eye of somepony, especially the ones with the most bits." "Well it just means some ponies have tastes," Rarity said. "It's working for you at least, you have like 3 stores selling your designs, really proud of you Rares," Bobby said. "Thanks love," Rarity said, leaning over to kiss Bobby. "It is a bit overwhelming I'll admit, thankfully I have good friends and co-workers." "Yeah, Sassy and Coco have done a lot for you, not to mention those other soon to be big fashionistas, like those three you helped out recently," Bobby said. "Soon everypony's gonna wanna work for you, totally cool." Rarity stopped to rub her stomach, "Our child's gonna be brought into something big, it makes me excited thinking about it." "I heard Sassy and Coco wanna do something special for you, ever since they found out you're pregnant they've been non-stop excited," Bobby said. "I don't blame them, I can barely contain my own excitement, I've already made a bunch of little clothes for the baby," Rarity said. "Wow really? Wow you work fast," Bobby said. "Perhaps, this is only the start, I have so many ideas for our baby!" Rarity said. "Easy Rares," Bobby said. "Try not to play dress-up with our baby, it'll be cute at first but then as they get older it'll just be too embarrassing." "I'm not gonna dress our child in anything silly Bobby, nor would I subject them into anything dreadful," Rarity insisted. Bobby looked unsure about that, he could already imagine all the embarrassing things his kid would have to wear. Hopefully Rarity won't use their child to model anything, unless the child already knew it wanted to be a model. As he wondered about the situation, he noticed Sweetie Belle trotting past him. "Hey kiddo, off to see your friends?" "Hopefully, I know Apple Bloom's working a lot today on the farm, so me and Scootaloo are gonna wait til the moment she's free," Sweetie Belle said. "Good luck, I've seen the Apples work, they never seem to stop," Bobby said. "Oh hush with that Bobby," Rarity said. "There's a reason they work so hard, and it's great the whole family does it together, what makes it even more great is how well your friend Remy's come along as part of that family." "Imagine our family doing something, like helping with your fashion," Sweetie Belle said. "Oh I'd love to have you and Bobby helping me with something if you two ever want to," Rarity said. "I'm up for that, I might suck at it but I'll try," Bobby said. "Have some faith in yourself dear," Rarity said. "Yeah, I'm sure you're not as bad as you think," Sweetie Belle encouraged. Bobby rolled his eyes in playful annoyance, "Thanks Sweetie Belle." "That settles it, we shall do a group project in the very near future!" Rarity exclaimed. "It shall be fabulous!" "Got that right," Bobby said, smiling confidently. "We'll be just like The Apple Family," Sweetie Belle said. "I'm sure even right now they're doing something great!" At Sweet Apple Acres, Remy and Applejack are seen bringing in their recent crop of apples. Remy has at least improved on his apple bucking, not a natural but decent enough for the job. Applejack doesn't worry much about that, she just likes having the company of her husband. Not to say he was bad though, he still helps a bit at least. "You've been doing this since you were a filly right?" Remy asked, wiping away some sweat. "Sure have, since before Apple Bloom's age," Applejack said. "Must have been a strong little filly, being able to do this daily, and for so many hours," Remy said. "I can barely handle this." "Well yer doing great, and ah really appreciate it," Applejack said. "I am your husband, gotta honor my wife's family job," Remy said, then sat down a moment. "Even if it can be a bit of a pain." "It's fine, ah know it's a lot, you adapted pretty quickly though," Applejack said. She reached into a bag and gave Remy a bottle. "Here you go sugarcube." "Thanks cherrie," Remy said, drinking the water. "So you never got tired of this? Didn't you wanna try something different?" Applejack looked away with an sad look in her eye, "In a way, there was a time, not sure if Big Mac ever told you about how ah used to shove mah responsibilities onto him." "Not really, he always insisted you were a hard worker," Remy said, then tapped his chin. "Though he did seem like he didn't wanna talk about something." Remy looked directly into Applejack's eyes. "Is there something you're not telling me?" Applejack bit her lip, looking around the ground. "Well...sorta." "You know you can tell me right, you tell me a lot of things about you, yet I feel like there's stuff I don't know about. You never really talked to me about your parents." Applejack looked as if she felt a surge of pain, "It's complicated, but, the thing is..." Applejack was saying, but suddenly stopped. Remy grew concerned, "Applejack?" Applejack sighed, "I'm sorry Remy, ah just can't right now." Remy looked a little disappointed, while he wanted to respect her decision, he didn't feel like this should just be dropped. "You know you can tell me anything Applejack." "Ah know, I'm just...kinda scared," Applejack said. "Scared? Why? You're starting to worry me Applejack," Remy said. "What is there to be scared of, I'm here for you." "Ah know, what I'm scared of is losing just that," Applejack said. That statement hit Remy pretty hard, to know that his wife is afraid of losing him, he wonders what would even cause her to think that way. "Applejack...why would you-" "Nevermind it, let's just finish up please," Applejack said with a hint of annoyance. "Wanna get this done already." Remy seemed a little surprised by her tone, even if it was a minor thing. "Sure thing cherrie, whatever you want." Applejack quickly left the barn to get the next supply of apples, barely even noticing Apple Bloom and Rumble, both  of whom were on their way towards the barn. "Hey sis!" Apple Bloom said. "No time, gotta finish," Applejack said, quickly trotting off. Apple Bloom looked concerned, then turned her attention to her brother-in-law. "Hey Remy, what's wrong with Applejack? She seemed upset." "Kinda," Remy said. "I may have upset her by mistake." "Wow nice going Remy," Rumble said. "Applejack's not a mare you wanna upset." "Real cute Rumble, I ain't trying to intentionally upset my wife," Remy said. "What happened anyway?" Apple Bloom asked. "I..." Remy rubbed his head awkwardly. "Well I might have brought up your parents, I'm guessing your sister don't like talking about them." Apple Bloom looked somber, "Oh...right, that makes sense." "We've been married all this time, even have a child together, yet she still don't wanna talk about your parents, I mean I'm sure it's not easy but she seemed really...I don't know the word but, I'm just worried." Rumble looked curious, "You never talk about your parents either Apple Bloom, is there a reason?" "Our parents is a really tough subject fer her, she don't talk about it with anypony else. Only Granny can get her to talk about it, Big Mac...well he can be just as bad. Me, ah barely knew them, though ah can't really talk with her much about it either." "So only your Granny knows why she might be upset?" Remy asked. "Well not just Granny Smith, she did talk to Peter about it once, he somehow got her to open up, probably because he went through something similar, since he also blamed himself for what happened to his uncle," Apple Bloom said. "Huh? Wait she feels responsible for what happened to her parents?" Remy asked. Apple Bloom cringed a little, "Let that one slip...listen if you wanna know you'll have to wait til she's ready to tell you." "Looks like I'll have to," Remy said. "Still, how long would that take?" He then muttered to himself. "And why would she be afraid?" Elsewhere at Sugarcube Corner, the Cake Twins are attempting to make a cake with Pinkie Pie assisting them. "You two are doing great so far! You've gotten all the ingredients down so well, I'm really proud of the two of you!" Pinkie said with her usual peppy charm. "Thanks Auntie Pinkie, I can't wait to be a great baker like you, mom and dad are!" Pound said. "You're on you're way there!" Pinkie said, then turned to her husband. "Right Pooly!" "Right Pinkie!" Deadpool shouted. "And you're Auntie Maud also agrees!" Pinkie said, turning to her sister Maud, who happened to stop by on that day. "Right Maud!?" Maud, expressionless as usual, nodded slowly before speaking. "Right Pinkie." As Pinkie went back to the Cake Twins, Deadpool turned towards his sister-in-law. "So Maud...how's it going?" "Fine," Maud said. "How about you?" "Life's a party with Pinkie Pie," Deadpool said. "She makes everything fun! But you would know that, you're sisters after all, and Pinkie says you two did everything together." "Yeah, we did," Maud said. "And now here you are, in Ponyville. Still trying to find somewhere to live in this town?" Deadpool asked. "Thinking about it," Maud said. "What's to think about? Your sister lives in Ponyville, and I know for a fact that she'll want you here, it'll make her SUPER excited!" Deadpool insisted. "Yeah...I do wanna live near Pinkie Pie, but at the same time, I kinda wanna be around rocks," Maud said. "Huh? If you wanted to be around rocks, then why not just stay at the Rock Farm? Seems pointless to move if you're just gonna be around rocks," Deadpool said. "I wanna discover new rocks, not just the ones already at home, besides there isn't much for me to do there, I'm not gonna continue rock farming," Maud said. "While farming for rocks can be fun, discovering new ones is one of the most exciting things that could happen to me." "Wonder what you look like when you're excited?" Deadpool muttered, then spoke up. "I'm sure there's a lot to discover in Ponyville, why not just try living here? Maybe I can ask the Cakes if they have a spare room for you." "I'd rather not burden this family," Maud said. "You're Pinkie Pie's sister, thus you're kinda like family," Deadpool said, hoping to get Maud to agree. "I realize how close Pinkie Pie is with this family, they did take her in, and that makes me happy to know there's others who care about my sister," Maud said. "But I'm too different, I'm a rock lover, I already know that most ponies find that weird. I'm aware of what they think of me, so it would make me feel awkward to be the dull one in a room full of pep." Deadpool started to pity Maud, despite her continuous expressionless face, she can be really deep with what she says. In a way she reminds him of Big Macintosh, except smaller, and prettier as far as Deadpool's concerned, which now worries Deadpool that he thought of his wife's sister like that, even if it's just a friendly thing. He really hopes Pinkie Pie doesn't get the wrong idea if she ever found out, actually he'd rather she not find out, in fact he'll just forget this even happened, not important, no not at all. Deadpool that whacked himself really hard in the head, that's what he gets for thinking about things too much. "How annoying," Deadpool muttered, then turned to Maud. "Look, personally I think you're pretty cool, and if there are ponies who disagree, well they can buzz off. Pinkie would be so freaking happy if you agreed to live in Ponyville, I mean rocks can't be your only decision right?" "Well...I would like to have a friend to talk to, Pinkie Pie's great but I don't want to be limited to just her. Besides she's too peppy to really talk to sometimes, not that I don't love that about her, but I just need a little...diversity," Maud said. Deadpool tapped his chin, "I'm sure there's ponies here, what about The Apples, they seem to like you. I bet you and Big Mac can be the best of buddies!" "He doesn't seem like one for conversation," Maud said. "But there's others! How about....Ant Man!" Deadpool said, then shook his head. "Or not...he's kinda lame. Wait! You can become friends with...Lyra Heartstrings!" "She already has a friend I think," Maud said. "You can have more than one friend..." Deadpool said. "Though I'm pretty sure that Bon Bon is more than just a friend, so maybe not Lyra if you don't want to give off the wrong idea...wait! You can befriend the raddest pony I know, Vinyl Scratch!" "The DJ pony?" Maud asked. "Not just any DJ, she's DJ Pon3," Deadpool said. Maud shook her head, "She might be too rad for me." Deadpool groaned, "Come on Maud, work with me. Don't you want to make Pinkie happy?" "Of course I do..." Maud, said, then sighed. "I don't know what to do though." Deadpool tapped his chin, "Pinkie did mention something about an area of rocks nearby, she even joked that it'd be a great place for you to live if you ever did wanna live close to here. Even if you don't live in Ponyville, you can live in Ponyville Adjacent, as Pinkie would call it." "That sounds...interesting," Maud said. "Think you could take me there sometime soon?" "Sure thing Maudie," Deadpool said, then heard a big splat. He turned to see that the cake the Twins was working on somehow went straight towards a wall and there was a big mess everywhere. "Look what you did Pound Cake!" Pumpkin shouted. "Me!? You're the one who caused it to fly towards the wall!" Pound shouted. "Maybe if you focused more on the cake and less on kissy time with Mayday then this wouldn't happen!" Pumpkin shouted. "What!? I wasn't thinking about kissing Mayday!" Pound shouted. "Oh please, all you do is imagine what it would be like to kiss and eventually marry Mayday!" Pumpkin shouted. "That's not true! You take that back!" Pound shouted. Pinkie nervously watched as the two argued while Deadpool and Maud stared pitifully, at least that could be guessed with Maud. "Does this always happen?" Maud asked. Deadpool nodded, "Kinda, man those kids are really loud and can make quite a mess...I can't wait til Pinkie and I have kids of our own!" "When are you gonna have kids?" Maud asked. Deadpool shrugged, "Not sure, soon though." He gave her a sly look, "You ever gonna get married Maudie?" Maud stared a moment, thinking about the question. "Not sure." Truth be told, Maud wasn't even sure if she ever would even find anypony. But she's not that worried, knowing at least one sister is married is good enough for her, at least she'll likely have nephews and nieces.