Canterlot Castle was known as the paragon of Equestrian society. Only the highest of the highest had the true privilege of being invited into its illustrious halls.
Princess Celestia was a figure that many, if not all, of pony kind admired and respected. Her power, kindness, and beauty were coveted by many, and that placed her high above those she ruled over. She was the picture of purest grace, of endless patience, and of unmatched charm.
This figure, this model, this image, was shattered by the sight of the giddy white alicorn whom was currently trying, and succeeding, in dragging him through those previously illustrious halls.
"By the moon!" Emerald cursed, "What is so important for you to show me, that you'd outright order me to come by and then drag me through the halls like some possessed filly?!" he demanded, though his words must have fallen on deaf ears, as the Princess didn't so much as slow down.
The white walls, so identical to each other that it was a wonder that anyone could find their way around the castle, blurred past them as Celestia dragged him through the castle, until finally, mercifully, she stopped.
Emerald stumbled forward for a bit, not expecting the sudden stop, before righting himself, and turning to the princess, ready to outright scold her for her behavior, but he stopped.
She was staring down at him, her deep magenta eyes peering at him with scarcely restrained glee. Her normally un-judging expression, perfected through a thousand years of use, had faded away, replaced by a smile he'd sooner expect from Pinkie than the mare before him. She was even bouncing on her hooves a little bit, for star's sake!
Finding himself unable to be angry at his m-boss' expression, he instead chose to look around, hoping to figure out the reason for her apparent excitement, to no avail.
She had stopped them in the middle of an otherwise indistinct hall, lined on both sides with dark coloured double doors that reached to the high ceiling, with one directly in front of them. There was a large, fluffy, red carpet that lined the center of the hallway, and between each door was a large tapestry, depicting the familiar symbol of the Royal Sisters and their corresponding celestial bodies. However, above each door was a large glass window.
Upon further inspection, however, he realized that a few of the many doors, perhaps twenty or so, bore a symbol on its faces that greatly resembled a pony's cutie mark. He also noticed that above those particular doors, the window was replaced with a stained glass version that depicted a pony with the same mark.
Even though it currently lacked a stained glass window, the particular door that Celestia had stopped the two of them in front of bore a mark that was very familiar to him.
His.
He turned backed to Celestia, not quite comprehending.
"What is this?" he asked, then frowned, "Why am I here?"
Somehow, her smile seemed to widen,
"Do you recall what I said at your birthday party?" she asked, looking past him at the door,
"... Something about my gift being too large to transport, right?" she nodded,
"That's right," she said, her eyes locking onto his once more, "A statue." He blinked,
"A.... a statue?" he asked, before the implications hit.
A statue? Of him?! No way, there was just no way that she was telling the truth! His expression must've given away his thoughts, as she sighed,
"Unfortunately, I can't have it displayed in the courtyard until you reveal yourself as the Champion, otherwise ponies would start asking questions that I'd rather not answer," she said. But Emerald only half paid attention to her.
A statue. Of him... it was insane. He didn't deserve some statue, he-!
Hold on....
"'When' I reveal myself?" he asked, staring up at her in confusion. Celestia's gaze mirrored his own,
"Yes, 'when'," she said, then tilted her head, and small smirk appearing on her features, "What? Did you believe you'd be able to keep it secret forever?" she asked, before giggling, a hoof flying up to her mouth in a vain attempt to stifle the sound.
"What's so funny about that?" he asked, his mind still too caught up on the fact that she'd apparently made him a statue to connect the dots himself. Her giggling stopped, instead replaced by a fond smile aimed at him,
"I understand what you're doing by keeping it secret, Emerald, but it simply can't be," she said, her smile softening, turning into a light frown, "You are the fourth most powerful citizen in Equestria, behind only myself, my sister, and my niece. You have saved Equestria time and time again, Emerald," she said, then nodded gently, the smile returning, "No other Champion before you has remained hidden as long as you have," she said, casting a glance back at the marked doors, "and, while it's impressive that you've managed this long, it's simply not meant to be," she finished sagely, turning back to him.
Emerald swallowed thickly, his throat suddenly much too dry. This... this couldn't be. He-he couldn't possibly come out now! He couldn't let his position be public, he couldn't let the entire nation know his name! There'd be riots! The knowledge that some non-pony was in such a high position of power would cause a nationwide outrage!
And when that happened, he be forced to run.
And if they caught him they'd take him away again. Just like they did, they'd hurt him, beat him, torment him, they'd-!!
He crushed that thought process with a vicious snarl. He must be getting restless again if he had truly allowed those thoughts to invade his head. Even if there was a public outcry, he knew Celestia would be there for him, just like she always had. He needn't fear that ever again.
He wasn't supposed to deal with this shit right now. When she'd summoned him, he'd been under the impression that she wanted to talk about his report about Appleloosa. Namely the apparent forger on the loose, as well as the compensation for the settler's lost gold. Not this.
"I know," he said finally, feeling just the slightest bit of guilt at the worried look on her face. He glanced at the door, the pair of question marks with blazing dots of fire looking almost alien to him for a moment, before turning back to Celestia, "If that's all you need, I should be heading back to Ponyville now."
Emerald sighed from behind the counter, his earlier interaction with the Princess still weighing on his mind.
He just couldn't understand why she'd do something like that. A statue, in his honour. It just.... wasn't right.
Perhaps if it were someone else in his position they'd be jumping for joy at the prospect of finally having their achievements acknowledged, but he'd grown used to hiding away, letting others either take the credit, or having it simply washed aside by Celestia. And she knew that, so why would she...?
He shook his head. His head was getting too jumbled from everything that had happened lately, and this certainly wasn't helping. First there was the whole traveling back to the Badlands, a place he visited fairly often in his nightmares and certainly hadn't wanted to in the real world, then the issue with Spike and the buffalo, the forged document, and now this?
At the very least trying to figure out the whole document situation wasn't too difficult. A buffalo, claiming to be Thunderhooves, and just so happened to have a document reminiscent of one that could be found in the Royal Archives, signature notwithstanding?
The only answer was obvious, to him at least.
Changelings.
But that didn't make any sense. Changelings and ponies, while never allies, hadn't had any sort of confrontation for the past 800 years, so why in the world would they do that? To spark a war between ponies and buffalo? Something like that, with the sheer number and weapons advantage the ponies had over the buffalo, made little sense.
A faint memory rose to the surface of his mind.
Someone... someone had mentioned something about Canterlot, and having plans....
Dammit, who was it?! It was in his head, he knew it! But all this bullshit surrounding him was making it difficult to concentrate!
A sudden cry from upstairs caught his attention for a moment, long enough to completely derail his thoughts, the light Manehatten accent he could hear confirming it as Mrs. Cake. He didn't pay much attention to the sound other than that, fearing if he did he'd be privy to a more private activity that could elicit that sound. It certainly didn't help that he could hear quite a bit of movement coming from their room.
Fighting to brush aside the distraction, he glanced back to the kitchen, where Pinkie was busy mixing together some batter for a pastry that hadn't been ordered, yet she still knew would be sooner or later. He hummed to himself, idly. Pinkie was such an odd mare, the fact having settled in long ago, yet it still managed to catch him off guard every now and again. If that whole 'Pinkie Sense' debacle had proved anything to him, it was that, when it came to the mare in question, it truly was better to simply brush it off as 'Pinkie being Pinkie'.
It was that particular fact that had him a little on edge since her return a few days ago. She had come walking off the train-walking not bouncing-with a small, content smile on her face. She'd been strangely calm since then, though she still had the same infectious smile as ever, so he doubted that there was anything wrong.
His attention was drawn away once again as the incessant noise from upstairs starting to get louder, as well as closer, which caused Emerald to frown. Just before he waltzed out from behind the counter and go check on them, however, Mr. and Mrs. Cake came damn near barreling down the stairs, with Mrs. Cake looking like she had just finished running a couple miles, and Mr. Cake looking as though he was expecting an Ursa Major to come knocking on his door.
"What's goin-?" he tried to ask, but the frantic stallion cut him off,
"Cup's going into labour!"
Well, that got things going.
Pinkie came rushing out the kitchen, looking both excited and anxious,
"Really?!" she asked, "That's great!"
"I'm not sure I agree, dearie!" Mrs. Cake muttered, though she went ignored,
"Let's get you to the hospital," Emerald said, already heading out the door, "I'll clear the way, Pinkie help Mr. Cake carry Mrs. Cake," he ordered, smirking when Pinkie saluted,
"Aye, aye, Cap'n!"
Emerald burst out the door, startling a few of the nearby ponies,
"Mrs. Cake's going into labour," he snapped, "Get out of the way!" the ponies all nodded, looking somewhat happy at his declaration, and moved off to the side. His order had been fairly loud, which resulted in quite a few other ponies already moving out of the way as well, each one seemingly dragging along another as the news passed around.
Thank goodness for Ponyville's small size. It helped information get around absurdly quickly.
Emerald rushed forward, shouting at the few ponies that hadn't moved to clear the street, when he happened by the apple stand,
"Howdy Emerald!" she called, causing him to pause for a moment, "What's the hurry?" she asked, smirking with a raised brow.
"Mrs. Cake's going into labour, so I'm clearing a path for for the others to hurry through," he explained quickly. Applejack smiled,
"That's amazin'!" she exclaimed, then gave him a determined nod, before grabbing a nearby wagon and strapping herself to it, "How 'bout I lend ya'll a hoof?" she asked. Emerald nodded,
"That would appreciated," he said, then pointed towards the bakery, "Just head to Sugarcube Corner, they can't've gone far," he said. She nodded,
"Alright! See ya there!" she said, before jogging down the path towards the soon-to-be-no-longer-pregnant mare. Once he was sure she'd make it, Emerald turned back around and charged down the road, resuming his task of clearing the way.
Though, it was turning out to be a bit harder than he'd hoped. There was a surprising amount of activity near the tail end of the marketplace, meaning that, no matter how loudly he shouted for everyone to move out of his way, only one or two ponies heard it.
"What the hay are you doing, Emerald?" a tomcoltish voice asked from above.
That was one of them.
He scowled slightly at her voice, but threw aside whatever dislike he had for the mare,
"Rainbow Dash!" he snapped, looking up at her, "I need your help with this crowd," he said. Crash blinked,
"Wha- my help?" she asked, then chuckled, "You are asking me for help?" she sounded just as surprised as he felt for asking, then frowned, "What is it?" she asked, sounding just the slightest bit suspicious.
"Mrs. Cake's gone into labour, and I need to clear a way for Applejack to bring her down to the hospital. I figure you'd have a much easier time getting everyone's attention," he explained. Crash stared at him for a moment, then smirked confidently,
"Aw, fuck yeah!" she shouted, "Leave it to me! I'll have this crowd cleared in ten seconds flat!" before speeding off, a rainbow contrail left in her wake.
Emerald growled slightly, feeling a little more impatient than he should, but, thankfully, Rainbow proved true to her word, and suddenly sped back with a large, dark, thundercloud in her hooves, and positioned it right above the crowd. She did something, involving kicking the cloud furiously, and a loud *CRACK* echoed through the area, causing the entire crowd to suddenly stop in their tracks, before collectively looking up,
"ALRIGHT, EVERYPONY!" Rainbow bellowed, "MRS. CAKE IS GOING INTO LABOUR, AND WE NEED ALL OF YOU TO CLEAR THE AREA SO SHE CAN GET TO THE HOSPITAL! NOW MOVE IT!"
That did the trick, and not a moment too soon either. Just as the crowd finished clearing a path through town, did Applejack, Pinkie, and Mr. Cake come rushing down the street, with Mrs. Cake sitting in the brown cart pulled by Applejack.
Emerald smirked. At least Rainbow kept her word. Ten seconds hadn't even passed, he believed.
"Applejack!" he shouted, "Down here!" he added with a wave. He saw her nod, and her gait increased, now beginning to outpace the two earth ponies by her side, not that it mattered considering their destination.
He charged off ahead of them, hearing Rainbow land and run with him as he did so.
The sight of Rainbow Dash charging down the road proved to be a familiar sight, as ponies hardly spared them a glance as they moved out of their way, though the large brown cart behind them likely didn't hurt either.
"Yoo hoo! Emerald!" a posh voice called out, Emerald's gaze darted to the side, spotting Rarity and Fluttershy, the two of them looking fresh and pristine, likely just coming from the spa, walking down the road towards them.
"Can't talk, Mrs. Cake is going into labour," he sputtered quickly as they passed. Judging by the added hoofsteps a moment later, he figured the two of them were giving chase as well.
The hospital quickly came into sight, and Emerald and Rainbow's pace increased simultaneously the two of them arriving at the doors at the same time, and pulling them open for the foaling mare and her little entourage.
Mr. Cake ran up to the front desk, the stallion sitting at it looking confused. He went to speak, but Mr. Cake beat him to it,
"My wife is about to give birth!"
Emerald sighed, doing his best to ignore the pained screams he could hear from in the room. The foals weren't even coming yet, and Mrs. Cake was already beginning to hate her husband for putting her through it. He chuckled at the thought,
"Ooohhh...." Pinkie muttered excitedly, "I can't wait for the new babies to arrive!" she cheered, holding her hooves up to her face as she wiggled in the chair to his left.
"Yeah, it's hard ta believe it's been 11 months already," Applejack added, smiling, though she winced at every pained yell that she managed to hear,
"Oh yes!" Rarity said, "It's wonderful! Oh, I remember how happy my parents were when Sweetie Belle was born," she smiled fondly, "Goodness, I don't believe they stopped smiling that entire month!" she added as an afterthought.
"I hope they're ready for it, though," Sparky interjected from Emerald's right side, "My parents had a hard enough time dealing with me and my brother, and he's twelve years older than me," she said with a smile, then frowned, "I can't imagine how difficult it will be to have to take care of two newborn foals."
"""""You have a brother?!"""""
Sparky shrunk against the wall at the loud, stunned yell of her five friends, looking quite surprised herself.
"Um.... yeah?" she said.
Emerald smirked as Sparky's friends all descended on her, each one asking a completely different question from the rest. Regardless, he already knew Shining Armor, though he never met him.
Mrs. Cake's screams suddenly began again, with renewed vigor. Though he could also hear the excited chattering of Mr. Cake, as well as the doctor and nurses in the room, meaning that she was finally giving birth.
He hummed idly, watching in amusement as the mares beside him stopped questioning Sparky, who looked relieved, and crowded near the door. He wondered if this was a natural occurrence in Equestria whenever a mare gives birth, or if it was just these mares being unusual. In Nocturne, from what he could only vaguely recall when he was five, the reaction was much bigger.
Thestrals have a low natural birth rate, which was why the population rarely ever crested passed more than a few hundred at a time. Having a foal in Nocturne was cause for mass celebration the entire species over. Having one foal was considered an honour almost as high as being the head of the family. The fact that his mother and father had a third foal when he came along, something that, if he recalled correctly, hadn't happened in over 1,500 years, resulted in a celebration that lasted months. The fact his father was the head of the family only made it more of a celebration. Though, he also could, faintly, remember the heavy air when it was revealed that he had a weak constitution.
He idly wondered how everyone took it when he was taken.
Probably not very good, though it was likely better then it would've been had he died. If there was one thing he could actually thank the Facility for, it was improving his medical condition to the point where he could survive on his own. Of course if he ever came face to face with someone who worked for the Facility, he'd sooner tear their head from their shoulders than thank them for anything.
The screams increased in volume for a moment, before a faint blue aura covered the door, and the screams ceased. Emerald chuckled. Of course the hospital staff had access to that spell.
"Oh my, I hope she's doing okay," Fluttershy said, worried. Rainbow scoffed,
"'Course she's doing fine. This is Mrs. Cake we're talkin' about! If she can deal with Pinkie everyday, then this is nothing to her!" she said confidently, likely trying to ease his cousin's worry. It worked, given the soft smile that wormed its way onto her features,
"I suppose that's true..."
"We should probably be a little more worried about Mr. Cake," Rarity said, giggling a little, "My Father had quite the bruise on his hoof from where my Mother crushed it during Sweetie's birth," she then hummed slightly, "Though, both my parents are unicorns. So I can only imagine how much stronger Mr. and Mrs. Cake are in comparison."
"Either way, he's coming out with a limp, is what you're saying," Emerald interjected, causing her to laugh lightly, before nodding.
"Indeed."
Time passed both quickly, yet agonizingly slow at the same time.
Without the presence of Mrs. Cake's screams to clue them in to her moments of rest, they had no idea when she was in the middle of giving birth, or when she was stuck waiting for the other foal to come out. There was no guarantee that the first one would come out easily either, so for all they knew, they'd be sitting here for more than a few hours.
Emerald tried not to watch the clock, really, he did, but with nothing else to keep an eye on, he really didn't have much of a choice.
Eventually, three hours passed, in which the mares had slowly started joining him in his endeavor to burn the clock with his gaze, and the door suddenly opened, revealing a white, blue-eyed mare with a soft pink mane, a white nurse's cap sitting daintily on her head. With a cutie mark of a red cross with hearts in each corner, coupled with her at-ease expression, she was obviously quite used to this.
"Hello everypony," she began, "Now, I imagine you're here for the Cake family?" she asked, earning seven nods. She smiled, "Alright, well the foals and mother have made it through the birth without any issues," she paused as Pinkie, and even Emerald, let out a relieved sigh, causing her to smile, "but we'll be moving them into the care center for a little while, so we can do some tests to make sure everything is fine. So if you could all follow me, that would make things a lot easier."
They followed the nurse, who eventually introduced herself as Nurse Redheart, until they all reached a small waiting room where a large pane of glass separated them from a room where, maybe a dozen or so, cribs littered the area, quite a few of them filled at the moment with peacefully sleeping foals.
The girls all crowded around the window, cooing gently at the the little foals, and even Emerald found himself sporting a small smile at the sight of the little bundles.
Even so, he carefully scanned the room before him, looking for any sign of the two new foals, though he was unsuccessful, having no idea what either of them looked like.
"Can you believe the new babies are here?" Applejack asked after a while, smiling widely,
"Mr. and Mrs. Cake must be so proud!" Sparky agreed, her smile just as wide.
"I wonder if they're both fillies? Or colts? Or perhaps even one of each?" Rarity interjected, "Goodness, I hoped they've prepared names for the little darlings," she added, scanning the room like Emerald had not too long ago,
"Ooohhh!" Pinkie moaned excitedly, nearly bouncing in place, her face mushed up against the glass, "I wanna see the new babies! I wanna see them sooo badly! Which ones are they?!" she asked impatiently.
Her question was soon to be answered, as a door off to the side opened up, revealing a haggard looking Mr. Cake walking into the room, clearly favouring his right hoof over his left, eliciting a pair of snickers from Emerald and Rainbow Dash, both recalling Rarity's earlier words. The two of them glanced at each other with narrowed eyes for a moment, before shrugging it off and returning their attention to Mr. Cake.
"Well everypony," Mr. Cake began, pausing in between two cribs, his voice loud enough to reach them, but quiet enough to not disturb the little ones, "I think it's time to introduce our new foals," he reached over, and gently removed the blanket from the crib to his right, revealing a light brown colt with a darker brown mane and tail, "This is our son, little Pound Cake, " as if on cue, the newly named colt let out a wide yawn, reflexively spreading a minuscule pair of light brown wings, which was met with a round of 'Aww's from the mares, and a gentle smirk from Emerald, "And this," he turned and did the same to the crib to his left, "is our daughter, Pumpkin Cake," Pumpkin turned out to be a light cream coloured unicorn with a darker orange mane and tail. The new filly was met with a round of confused 'Aww's, not that Emerald could blame them.
An earth pony couple, having both a pegasus and a unicorn foal at the same time?
That wasn't normal.
"But... how?" Sparky asked, though she went ignored as Pinkie completely bypassed that stage of confusion, jumping straight into elation, not that it was much of a surprise.
"Two foals for me to play with means two times the fun!" she cheered, before rushing into the room, somehow having procured a party hat, "And since you two were just born today, that means it's also your birthday!" she gushed eagerly, pulling out a party horn. Emerald and the others all stiffened at once upon seeing what the party pony was about to do, but they all relaxed when Mr. Cake, thankfully, stopped her,
"Pinkie," he began gently, having successfully snatched away her horn, "I know you're excited about the foals, but they're trying to sleep. You can wait until we bring them home to play, alright?" he asked. Pinkie pouted for a moment, before eventually brightening up,
"Okay!"
"Well, that's all well an' good," Applejack began, ignoring Pinkie's bouncing as she returned to their room, "but how in the world is one of 'em twins a unicorn, an' the other a pegasus?" she asked. The question caught the attention of everyone in the room, who proceeded to direct their collective inquiry over to the father in question. Mr. Cake smiled,
"Well, my great-great-great-great-grandfather was a unicorn, and Cup's great-aunt-second-cousin twice-removed, was a pegasus," he said, before chuckling sheepishly, "That makes sense, right?"
"""""""No.""""""""
The stallion just chuckled once again.
"Anyway," Rainbow began, brushing aside that particular topic, "you guys just wait, once Pound there gets his wings going, he'll be flying all over the place!" she warned excitedly,
"And do be careful with Pumpkin," Rarity cautioned,
"That's right, unicorn foals tend to have magic Surges that come and go," Sparky added, "They're not too bad, but it gets worse when they're older," Mr. Cake nodded,
"Alright, thanks for the advice, girls," he said, "I'll be sure to tell Cup as well."
Things progressed simply after that. The twins were brought home and introduced to their new room, with Pinkie cheerfully dragging Emerald along into the small celebration, not that she really needed to.
He might not have partaken in a celebration of birth in over 16 years, but he could still remember how important they were. And given how, admittedly, close he'd grown to the Cakes and Pinkie, he wouldn't have missed it for anything.
A week had passed since their birth, and December wasn't too far off. Strangely enough, the pegasi hadn't gotten any calls to start making snow, though there was still a noticeable chill in the air. Either way, the twins had been growing progressively more active during the week, and could be seen occasionally running around the store front, giggling loudly.
It was a pleasant sight to Emerald. To see such innocent joy practically flowing off of those two, it reminded him of happier days. Pinkie had, predictably, taken a shine to the two of them instantly, though, strangely enough, the twins had taken an even greater shine to Emerald instead, though they still adored Pinkie.
When they weren't running around, pounding their hooves on things, primarily Pound, or chewing on whatever they could find, primarily Pumpkin, they would often follow Emerald around the store like a pair of lost puppies. It was cute, he'd admit. Watching the two of them trail after him almost no matter where he walked was amusing on many different levels, though he was careful to prevent the two from following him during his lunch or when he ended his shift.
Emerald sighed softly, finding himself, once again, content with his surroundings. Mr. Cake was busy rushing around, preparing an order he and his wife needed to deliver to Canterlot in a few days, while Pinkie happily played around with the two foals. Mrs. Cake, however, was busy preparing the foals' things for the upcoming meteor shower later that night.
"Peekaboo!" Laughter. "Peekaboo!" Laughter. "Peekaboo!" Laughter.
It was a little annoying, but Emerald was fine with letting it continue. Idly turning his attention away from Pinkie, he gazed back towards the front door, idly wondering why business was being so slow today.
Perhaps everyone else was also preparing things for the shower tonight? It would make sense. The shower in question only came around every hundred years or so. Just in time for the twins to watch it as well. Shame they'd probably never remember it, though.
The bell above the door rang during his momentary lapse in focus, revealing the familiar pair of purple unicorn and hatchling walking towards him.
"Sparky. Spike. How can I help you?" he asked. Sparky smiled at him, sending the twins a fond look as well, before she nudged Spike forward. The action caused Emerald to focus more on the hatchling, finding him seemingly... nervous about something. He repressed a frown, figuring he'd find out anyways.
"Uh, do you think I could have a couple bags of chocolate chips? And some oats?" he asked nervously. Why the fuck was the hatchling so nervous? It's not like it was a big order. Unusual, yes, but not out of the question.
"Sure. Fifteen bits," he said, already reaching under the counter for one of Pinkie's 'emergency chocolate stash's, as well as the still untouched bag of oats that Mrs. Cake had kept under there for when her cravings started up.
He didn't know why she still kept it under there, though, but she probably wouldn't mind. Hopefully.
Sparky smiled and levitated the bits from her saddlebag,
"See, Spike? Emerald isn't that scary..."
He frowned for a moment, but made no other indication that he'd heard her, taking the bits and trading them over.
"So, whatcha need the chips and oats for?" he asked, "Planning something special?" Spike stiffened slightly, but Sparky was happy to answer for him,
"Spike's making some cookies for a little picnic we're having during the meteor shower," she said, smiling happily, "Can you believe it? We actually get to witness a phenomena that only happens every hundred years! Isn't it exciting?!" she gushed, before abruptly freezing, her face going red. Emerald chuckled,
"Yeah, I guess it is pretty exciting," he agreed, before frowning, "It's a shame the others won't be here to see it," he muttered to himself, lost in memories for a moment, before shaking the haze away.
Sparky didn't notice his lapse, instead sparing a glance towards the clock, before gasping,
"Wow! Look at the time! Sorry Emerald, but Spike and I have to head back to the library. I still have an entire checklist I have to go through to prepare for the shower later!" she explained rapidly, before turning and rushing out the door. Spike stood there for a moment, before sending Emerald a glance, then, with a scared twitch, ran out the door after Sparky.
He frowned. When the fuck had the hatchling started being scared of him?
Whatever, it wasn't his problem.
Mrs. Cake suddenly came jogging down the stairs, holding a large duffel bag Emerald was sure was filled to bursting with baby supplies,
"Okay!" she began, "I've gotten everything ready for the night. Blanket, snacks, the twins' bottles... am I missing anything, dear?" she asked, setting the bag beside Emerald.
"It doesn't sound like it, hun," Mr. Cake responded on one of his trips back into the kitchen, "But maybe bring an extra blanket or two in case," he added through the window. Mrs. Cake nodded,
"Alright."
Pound and Pumpkin, who had still been happily entertained by Pinkie, finally seemed to notice the presence of their dear mother behind them. They proceeded to spin around cheerfully, crying out as they happily ran over to her, giggling all the while. Mrs. Cake laughed,
"Oh, and how are my little babies doing?" she asked, peppering the little foals with kisses, each kiss eliciting a small cry of joy from the little ones.
Emerald felt his smile, which had started to slowly grow the more he watched, die a vicious death just like that. He stared for a moment, watching as the foals cooed and hugged Mrs. Cake, bright cheerful smiles abound, before he tore his gaze away.
His heart hurt. He could hear it pounding in his ears like a tidal wave, crashing against his mind with every passing second! It ripped and tore at his very core-
A Mother...
He didn't understand why. It was just a small show of affection from a pair of foals towards their mother, so it really shouldn't bother him.
Lost long ago, a fleeting memory...
It was nothing. A small, insignificant little thing. It wasn't like he was feeling jealous towards those foals for loving their mother, right?
A small foal cried desperately for a familiar warmth, but it never came...
Emerald grit his teeth, holding a hoof against his head. Those cheerful cries, once a source of smiles, now only caused his budding headache to worsen, causing sharp pains to course through his mind without rest.
He felt... confused by the feelings coursing through him. He spared another glance towards the twins and their mother, feeling something surge within him, but found himself unable to identify it.
Was that what it was like to have a mother?
Two hours had passed, and Pinkie was happily leading him towards Sweet Apple Acres, where the entire town was gathering for the meteor shower. Thankfully his headache had faded within that time, but, unfortunately his feelings of-longingresenmentloneliness-confusion plagued him the whole trip.
"Hey girls!" Pinkie called, picking up her pace for a moment, until she arrived cleanly between Applejack and Applebloom, who looked just as excited as Pinkie, "Are you all ready for this super-fantastically-amazing meteor shower to start?!" she asked. Applejack laughed,
"I sure am, Pinkie!" she replied,
"Oh it's going to be simply marvelous!" Rarity agreed, walking over to them, Sweetie Belle in tow,
"Yeah! It's gonna be amazing!" Sweetie added, her voice squeaking slightly.
"Hey girls!" the voice of Scootaloo chirped, as she came running up to them, "You all ready?" she asked,
""YEAH!!"" they cried, before the three of them jogged off.
"Well, they seem excited," a silky voice muttered from behind him, before Trixie appeared in his peripherals, Wisp following right after.
"Hmm," was his only reply, still lost in his earlier thoughts. Trixie glanced at him, immediately taking notice of his glossy-eyed-look.
Her mouth twitched downward in response. It wasn't often that he started thinking hard enough to ignore his surroundings, even slightly.
Whatever caught his attention must be important, she mused.
Wisp noticed as well, but didn't seem to be as content as Trixie was to just let him think,
"Emerald? You okay?" she asked, tapping her brother's wing. The touch seemed to jostle him from his thoughts, and he turned to look at Wisp,
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm alright," he said, "Just... thinking about something," Trixie scoffed,
"Yeah, something. Reeeaaallly not helpin' yourself there, Emm," he winced at her tone,
"That's... about as well as I can describe it, really. It was just a passing thought that ended up taking root, is all. It's honestly not important," he explained. Trixie's response was cut off, however, by the timely arrival of Sparky and the hatchling.
"Well, I am your Number One Assistant!" the hatchling boasted as they crested the hill, pulling a red wagon stuffed with various assortments, causing Sparky to giggle,
"Yes, you are," she said, "Would you mind setting up the picnic, Spike?" she asked. The hatchling saluted,
"No problem!"
Emerald watched on, with mild amusement, as the hatchling began to dutifully set up the blanket, placing a bowl of fruits, a plate of cookies, and a bowl of punch down, and even set up a blue telescope and its tri-pod off to the side, presumably for Sparky.
"Wow," Rainbow praised, munching on a apple she'd swiped after walking up to them, "It's pretty cool that you've got an assistant like that, Twilight," Sparky beamed,
"Yep! Spike is my Number One Assistant for a reason!" she said, not noticing the hatchling preen at the words,
"Man, I wish I had somepony who did whatever I said," Rainbow muttered to herself. Sparky giggled,
"He sure is special!" she added, not hearing Rainbow, before she frowned, "Though, it is a shame I didn't get to bring my The Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy with me," she said, pouting a little bit.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack both snickered at her, though Emerald's attention focused itself more on the way the hatchling stiffened, a guilty grimace overtaking his features.
Interesting. He'd have to keep that in mind.
"What happened to it?" Emerald finally spoke, fishing for information, keeping an eye on the hatchling's reaction as he did so. Sparky shrugged,
"I'm not sure. I was certain I'd put it back where it belonged, but Spike couldn't find it anywhere!" she said, looking worried, "I wonder if somepony checked it out without me noticing..." she added thoughtfully.
Given the way the hatchling's grimace worsened, as well as the way he shrunk into himself for a moment, Emerald had a feeling he knew what happened to the book.
Still, was it worth mentioning? She'd find it soon enough, thanks to her habit of re-shelving the whole place. He'd face his punishment, it was only a matter of time.
Emerald felt a wicked grin split his face for a moment. Oh yes, he'd let the hatchling go, for now. Let him stew in whatever it was he did. It would make the wait agonizing for the little drake.
"Oh, do we have Spike to thank for this amazing spread?" Rarity suddenly asked, taking notice of the laid out blanket, "Oh my, isn't he just wonderful?" she asked, her words causing the hatchling to melt, whatever feelings he'd had a moment ago fading away,
"Aw, come on..." he said bashfully, then paused for a moment, then added, "I said 'come on'," he implored. Pinkie interrupted that by ruffling the top of his head,
"Aw, little Spikey-Wikey... who knew that big, ferocious dragons started off so cutesy-wutsey?" she asked. Emerald snorted, trying not to think of the many dragons that would've taken offense to that statement.
"Spike," Rarity began, suddenly serious, "You are such a little star, that I just had to make this little bow-tie for you!" she announced, producing a bright pink, gem-encrusted bow from one of her bags, before carefully tying it just beneath his chin.
"Oh... stop it guys, you're embarrassing me!" Spike said, waving them off, before turning to Sparky, "Alright, Twilight, your turn," she scoffed, and rolled her eyes,
"That's enough, Spike," she said firmly.
"Good idea, we don't want his Greed to get out of hoof, now do we?" Emerald interjected for a moment.
"Greed?" Sparky asked, but a sudden shout stopped him from replying.
"Look! The shower's starting!"
The girls, as well as everyone else around them, suddenly scrambled for a good spot to watch.
Emerald ended up standing to the right of Sparky, with Wisp sitting on his back as the show started.
It started with one. Then one became two, which then became five, and it continued until the entire sky was littered with glowing trails of light that stretched across the infinite void beyond. It was magnificent. The dark midnight and purple sky glowed as the shimmering meteors passed through the atmosphere. Each one glowed with an almost alien radiance, leaving a glimmering trail of stardust in their wake.
For some reason, Emerald found it harder and harder to focus on the shower as time passed, however. Yet, none of the hundreds of awed gasps from all around him drew his attention from the spectacle before him.
Save one.
His eyes trailed over to the purple mare beside him, her eyes wide with wonder. Her mouth was open in a silent expression of awe and joy, her form coated delicately in the trailing light of the meteors, passing over her every second, and illuminating her soft eyes. He watched for a moment, as her eyes reflected the sky before her, the way those soft amethysts shone in the darkness.
He was, for an instant, struck with the sheer beauty that was Twilight Sparkle.
Her soft breaths were rendered all but inaudible by the cacophony of sound around them, yet he could hear each one as though they spoke to his very soul. The small puff of mist her breath made, glittered daintily in the cold night air. If he listened carefully, he could even track her gentle heartbeat, each life-giving pump sending her blood throughout her body, coursing through her very being. The way her stomach rose and fell with every breath, the way she gently swayed to the side as her focus was entirely upon the light-show in the sky.
His eyes trailed, once more, upwards, watching as the gentle breeze caused her mane to flow softly, the delicate strands of hair brushing softly against her coat. The wonder that was expressed through her face was a sight that he honestly could've watched forever.
Trixie smirked at her brother, finding how completely entranced he was by Twilight more than a little amusing.
She chuckled softly to herself.
'Operation: Get Emm a Marefriend' seems to be working juuuust fine, she thought And I haven't even done anything yet!
Eventually Emerald realized just how intently he was staring, and redirected his gaze an instant before Sparky risked a glance at him.
Twilight smiled, then returned her gaze back to the sky.
The meteor shower concluded almost fifteen minutes after Emerald wrenched his gaze away from Sparky, though he still had to prevent himself from staring during the picnic, on occasion.
Though, he also tried very hard not to lock eyes with Trixie, who seemed much too happy about something. Honestly, he was a little afraid to find out what it was.
He munched quietly on one of the cookies that Sparky, and the hatchling, had brought along, thinking to himself. His confusion from earlier had, thankfully, faded away sometime during his... examination of Sparky. Though, what hadn't subsided was his curiosity as to what that same curiosity had stemmed from. Obviously it had something to do with the twins and Mrs. Cake, possibly Mr. Cake as well, though he doubted it.
His mouth twitched downward. There were only so many explanations for it, really, and it was obvious in hindsight. So obvious that it was actually a little funny.
He was jealous. Of a pair of foals.
It didn't sit well with him, but what was he to do? Find a mother of his own to ease his worries? Hah! Just imagine it, him being held and coddled by some mare who only vaguely looked like him. It was an image worthy of laughter at best, and sneers at worst.
He smirked to himself, imagining that very scene himself. Though, for some reason, he found himself constantly having to readjust it. One second the mare had wings, the next a horn. One moment she was his size, then suddenly she was nearly twice his height! Was his fantasy mother supposed to be a damn alicorn, or something? He snorted to himself, and fought for control of the image for another ten seconds, before eventually giving up and tossing it aside.
It was probably the chocolate, he mused, staring down at the half-eaten cookie in his hoof. Too much sugar all at once.
He ignored the fact that he'd only eaten the one cookie, and hadn't even touched the punch.
"Mmmhmmm! These cookies are deeeelish!" Pinkie announced, licking up the crumbs she'd been sloppy enough to leave littering her face,
"Yep! Spike made them!" Sparky gushed, "He's been practicing the recipe for years now!" she added, before frowning, "I've never been able to eat too many of them at once, though. I always need something to wash them down w- S-Spike?!" she stammered, having been halfway to grabbing a glass of punch, only to discover the hatchling in question passed out with his head in the bowl. Her surprise fled her after a moment, replaced by fond giggling,
"Hey look everypony!" Pinkie called, "Looks like the punch has been... Spike'd!" Pinkie's joke caused a series of laughter to erupt out of the group, even earning a few chuckles from Emerald.
"Oh, poor little thing..." Rarity cooed, looking over the sleeping drake. Sparky giggled once more,
"Looks like he tired himself out," she said, using her magic to gently lift him onto her back, "Well, I guess it's time I head home and put Spike to bed," she added, already folding up the blanket and putting everything away in her little wagon,
"Aww, already?" Pinkie asked, making Sparky laugh a bit,
"Yep, sorry Pinkie," she said. A loud yawn from Rainbow kept them from talking further,
"Yeesh, it really is late," she muttered, already beginning to hover off the ground, "I'm headin' home to catch some 'Z's. See you guys later!" Applejack nodded after her, then turned to the rest of the group,
"Bloom an' I gotta get up a might early tomorra, so it's we time hit the hay as well," she said, gesturing for her younger sister to follow. Applebloom and the others bid each other good night, before she hurried off after her big sister.
"Come along, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, "Ladies need their beauty sleep."
"Coming!"
Having been left alone, Scootaloo pouted for a moment, before her name was called. She ran off towards a pegasus couple not long after, presumably her parents.
Emerald made sure to memorize their faces, for whenever he felt it necessary to talk about her possible ancestry.
Trixie and Wisp left, alongside Fluttershy and Pinkie, the latter of whom was excitedly bouncing side-by-side the Cakes, the twins laughter oddly not present. Likely asleep, he figured.
That left him and Sparky, as well as the snoozing hatchling, alone in the park, rapidly disappearing crowd notwithstanding.
"I'll walk you home," he offered, before he could stop himself. Sparky stiffened minutely, but turned her head to face him, smiling,
"I'd like that."
The trip itself was mostly silent, the two of them apparently quite content to just walk beside one another. Emerald chanced a look towards Sparky, only to find his gaze meeting her, equally surprised, one. They blinked at each other for a moment, before both rapidly looked away, each turning a faint red.
"S-so, how'd you like the, uh... the meteor shower?" Emerald managed, cursing himself for stuttering,
"It was... amazing," Sparky breathed, her tension melting away, her relaxation causing Emerald to follow suit, "I never thought I'd be lucky enough to actually watch something that amazing. And with my friends no less!" she gushed, practically vibrating, "I'll never forget tonight!" she added exuberantly, beaming at him.
Emerald felt himself smile at her attitude. This new Sparky was a bit of a change from her previously shy demeanor, but he simply credited it to her getting used to his presence. Not that it was a bad thing, far from it. He found that he enjoyed Sparky's slightly bolder personality from the shy, nervous it had been two weeks ago.
It was rather strange though, for her to suddenly shift demeanors like she did. Something must've happened on that trip, likely while he was asleep, that instigated this change.
...
Well, whatever it was, it probably wasn't his problem just yet.
"Goodnight, Sparky," he said once they arrived at the library, "I'll see you at the course tomorrow morning, right?" he asked. Sparky nodded confidently,
"Of course!"
And with that, he set out to begin his patrol for the night.
Mornings, he found, were something he'd started to look forward to, even a surprisingly nippy one like this one.
It had nothing to do with the fact that he got to spend extra time with Sparky, and most certainly had nothing to do with the fact that said time involved her getting sweaty, out of breath, and flushed as a tomato. He didn't find the way her figure heaved with every breath alluring, or the way the sweat smoothed down her coat and gave it a shine alluring in any fashion.
... Well, maybe it did, but frankly he didn't mind. His crush, his... infatuation with Sparky had only grown with time, as evidenced by him nearly forgetting to hit stop on the timer.
"Three minutes, forty-two seconds," he called, watching the way she flopped onto the ground, out of breath, amused, "Good job, you shaved off two seconds from last time. Keep it up, and you might reach my current time," Sparky tried to scoff, but all that came out was a breathless huff,
"You... you mean... the one where... where you're wearing weights?" she asked, incredulously, "How... in the hay... am I supposed to catch that?" she asked,
"Practice," he replied cheekily, ignoring her half-assed magic swat she'd aimed at him. He pointedly ignored the magic that struck him, whatever fear he'd felt towards it before gone in lieu of his crush. That was one pro of the damn thing, at least. He glanced towards the sky, gauging the sun's location, and nodded, "Alright, time's up for now. I gotta head to work." Sparky nodded,
"O...okay," she huffed, groaning slightly as she made her way to her hooves, "I... I gotta head home too," she said, suddenly beginning to brighten, "I have a new pet to take care of!" she cheered. Emerald paused, and glanced back at her, taking notice of the glow she seemed to exude at the mention of this 'pet',
"Really now?" he asked, curious, "And what kind of pet is it, exactly?" Sparky smiled, but held up a hoof,
"Ah, ah, ah!" she chimed, "You're going to have to wait to see him like everypony else! I still have to introduce him to Spike, first, since he'll be helping him out with his assistant duties," she explained. Emerald smirked, then scoffed a moment later when a thought struck him,
"Oh really?" he asked, she nodded, "Right, well make sure the little hatchling doesn't think he's getting replaced. Dragons are very territorial, you know?" he warned, "Who knows how he'll react if you don't clarify everything properly," Sparky frowned,
"I'd never replace Spike!" she insisted, "He's too important to me. He's family, and I know that he knows it," Emerald shrugged,
"Still."
Sparky shook her head, making him roll his eyes, before the two of them bade each other goodbye. There was no point in pressing the issue if she didn't want to believe him. Unlike her, he understood that a dragon's Greed was not something you wanted to mess around with, especially when the dragon is young and doesn't know any better.
He pushed that thought to the side. Like so many other things lately, it just wasn't his problem. Yet. Spike was about Wisp's age, yes? That meant that he should be somewhat mature at least....
Then again, Wisp was extremely mature for a filly her age, and add the fact that Spike was a dragon, a species that aged and matured far slower than ponies, and thestrals, and maybe he was wrong about that...
Whatever. Spike was Sparky's little brother/assistant. It was her place to teach him how to control himself, and he wouldn't interfere with them, just as he wouldn't want anyone to interfere if something like that was happening with Wisp.
He waltzed into Sugarcube Corner a few hours later with little flair, as usual. Unlike usual, however, he was beset by a pair of hyperactive little foals before he even made it to the counter. Emerald chuckled slightly as Pound and Pumpkin eagerly grabbed onto his hooves, clinging to him as though they hadn't seen him for months.
He made no effort to extract them from their perches, choosing to, carefully, walk over to his station behind the counter, smiling slightly at the sound of their little laughter.
"Well, it looks like someponies are happy to see you," Mr. Cake remarked from the kitchen, eyeing his little ones with fondness, Emerald nodded,
"It would seem so," he glanced down at the pair of brown and blue eyes peering innocently up at him, "I'm not too sure why, though," he added.
"Well, I think I have an idea," Mrs. Cake interjected, coming down the stairs, with Pinkie following behind,
"Do you now?" he asked, earning a nod from the motherly mare, though she didn't elaborate. She walked over to him, eagerly picking up the foals who, upon seeing her, demanded 'upsies'. Emerald watched the twins with restrained longing in his eyes, before he tore his gaze away from the trio a moment later.
Faust, he was pathetic.
The store hadn't opened yet, and thus the building was all but empty. Given the chill in the air, and the fact he was pretty sure it was scheduled to snow later, that would quickly change once the sign was flipped.
He was broken from his thoughts when Pound and Pumpkin were suddenly set in front of him, both happily sucking on a bottle, staring at him with wide eyes. He glanced over at the Cakes, a thought suddenly coming to mind,
"So, since the twins can drink from the bottle just fine, who'll be watching them while the store's open?" he asked, "I'd imagine that, as they're your foals..." he trailed off when he noticed the suddenly strained smiles of the earth pony couple.
"Well..." Mr. Cake began,
"While that's a lovely idea, dearie," his wife continued, "don't you remember what today is?" she asked. Emerald blinked,
"November tw-?"
"That's not what we mean," Mr. Cake interrupted, "Today is the day that Cup and I have to head up to Canterlot to deliver a wedding cake for Mr. Fancy Pants, and we can't exactly bring the twins with us," he explained.
"Are you asking me to-?"
"Babysit?" Mrs. Cake interjected, before nodding ,"Yes. Since we'll be leaving later today, we aren't opening at all until we get back later tonight. So we were hoping that you could look after the twins for us, since they like you so much."
"Me?" he asked again, hoping they'd clarify. Mr. Cake nodded,
"That's right," he said, smiling, "Not only do the twins just love you, but we know that you're a responsible stallion. You wouldn't be in the Guard otherwise, right?" he reasoned,
"Besides, dearie, we trust you," Mrs. Cake added, smiling at him. Emerald stared for a moment, then fidgeted,
"I-I don't know..."
"Ooh! Me! Me! I can look after the twins if you want!" Pinkie asked excitedly, "I just love playing with Pumpkin and Pound!" The Cakes spared each other a nervous glance, and turned to her,
"Well, Pinkie, babysitting is a huge responsibility, especially with two babies," Mr. Cake said,
"And it's about taking care of them, not just playing with them," Mrs. Cake added.
"I know," Pinkie said, seriously, "And I'm totally responsible enough to take care of the twins!" she added firmly. Emerald twitched.
What was he to do?
Take care of the twins or let Pink- oh who was he kidding? He didn't have anything else to do today, so why not?
"I'll babysit," he said in the momentary lapse of silence that proceeded Pinkie's claim. The Cakes noticeably sagged with relief,
"Oh thank goodness!"
"We were worried we'd have to-not that you're an awful choice or anything Pinkie, just, Emerald is-!"
"We'd prefer if somebody like Emerald, whose-"
"-calm, collected-"
"-responsible, gentle-"
Gentle? The fuck?
"-looked after the twins."
"You understand, right?"
The Cakes stared at Pinkie with a pair of sincere, but also worried, smiles on their faces, with Pinkie meeting them with a slightly confused expression.
"Aww...." was Pinkie's response after a moment, her hair deflating comically. Emerald rolled his eyes,
"You can help me if you want, Pinkie," Emerald said. There was no point in letting Pinkie sulk around all day. Besides, he could honestly use the help, there were two of them after all.
"Yay!" Emerald shook his head at her antics, and turned to the Cakes,
"So, what should we do until it's time for you lot to head out?" he asked. They shared a look with each other for a moment,
"Well-" whatever Mr. Cake was bout to say was cut off when the front door practically burst open, revealing the familiar sight of Rainbow Dash,
"Hey, Pinkie, Emerald, you guys gotta come over to the library. Twilight's got some new pet she wants to show us!" she said, before disappearing from sight, the door swinging closed in her absence.
Emerald and Pinkie stared at the spot she'd just occupied, before Mrs. Cake tittered,
"Well, aren't you dears going to go?"
It didn't take long for Emerald and Pinkie to make their way over to the Golden Oaks Library, though they obviously weren't the first.
"Did Rainbow hunt you two down as well?" he asked Applejack and Rarity, ignoring Rainbow huff at the accusation. They couldn't have been waiting out here long, he mused, after all, Applejack wouldn't leave her cart abandoned for more than ten minutes.
"Eeyup," Applejack began, "Darn near plowed me over too,"
"Oh yes, she certainly was in a hurry," Rarity added, carefully placing a hoof to her chin, "I wonder why Rainbow was so excited about this new pet of Twilight's."
"Who knows?" he asked, then glanced around, "I'm surprised Fluttershy isn't here. When an animal is involved, you'd think she'd be the first to come by." Applejack laughed,
"Well you'd be right, partner," she said, smiling, "Twilight brought her inside earlier, ta check up on her new friend befer she introduced us."
"Oh, I'm so excited!" Pinkie gushed, bouncing on her hooves,
"You're always excited, Pinkie," Rainbow said.
"Still!"
Conversation died down when the door opened, revealing a very happy looking Fluttershy walking out,
"So, thoughts?" Emerald asked. Fluttershy blinked at him for a moment, before understanding,
"Oh! Why, he's such a wonderful little thing!" she cooed gently, but no less excited, "He's the perfect little critter for Twilight as well!"
"Well, I hope so!" Sparky's voice called from right behind her, prompting Fluttershy to move out of the way as she came forward, "Well girls, Emerald, I want you all to meet my new friend, Owloysius!" she announced, before turning to the side, revealing the creature sitting on her back.
It was an average-sized tawny owl, with very light brown feathers coating its body, with its wings and a few scarce feathers on its head being a much, much darker shade. Its beak and talons were a pale orange, and its eyes were, perhaps a few shades lighter than its wings.
Owloysius let out a soft 'hoo'.
"Aw, what a fantastically, fluffelicous, feathery little friend!" Pinkie gushed, "I'm hooked!"
"And so am I!" Sparky agreed, giggling at the lackluster pun,
"He's a mighty fine lookin' owl," Applejack noted, then smirked, "We got some rats in the barn, iffin' he seeds ta go huntin'." she offered, ignoring Fluttershy's betrayed grimace,
"Oh he just suits you so well, darling!" Rarity exclaimed,
"Indeed," Emerald agreed, his voice containing a hint of restrained laughter, "The scholar has an owl for a pet. That's a new one," he teased, but with no malice in his voice. Sparky stuck her tongue out at him,
"He's not just a pet," Sparky insisted, "He's going to be my junior assistant! Since Spike's been working so hard lately, I thought it would only be fair if he had a little help, and Owloysius just so happened to show up last night and give me the idea!"
"Oh, he's just wonderful!" Fluttershy gushed.
"Oh, he's just wonderful! Peh," a petulant voice from above mocked, drawing everyone's attention upward, finding Spike sitting on the windowsill, a book with an owl picture on the front in his claws. He noticed the stares, "Er, yes! He's quite,"-he grit his teeth-"the charmer," he growled, before throwing the window open and stomping off inside.
"... Yeesh, what's got his tail all up in a knot?" Applejack asked. Emerald shook his head and sighed,
"Eh, he's probably feeling jealous of Owloysius," Rainbow mused,
"He might feel threatened that Owloysius is going to replace him," Fluttershy agreed quietly, sounding worried, staring up at Spike's earlier position. Sparky scoffed, like she had earlier when he brought up the same thing,
"Please! Spike is my Number One Assistant! And, more over, he's my brother! He knows he can't be replaced," she insisted confidently.
"""Right.""" he, Rainbow, and Fluttershy chorused, though its implications were lost on her.
"Welp, as nice as this was," Applejack began, "I gotta head back ta mah stand. It was nice meetin' yer new owl, Twilight,"
"Yeah," Rainbow yawned, "I gotta get back to work too, we've got some snow scheduled for later today, so..." she trailed off, already flying away, "See ya." Emerald watched the two of them leave for a moment, before turning to Sparky,
"Pinkie and I should be going too. The Cakes are making a delivery to Canterlot, and she and I are babysitting the twins."
"Yeah! It's gonna be so much fun!"
Sparky and Fluttershy both spared him a worried glance, which he appreciated.
"Good luck," Sparky encouraged,
"Thanks!"
"I was talking to Emerald."
He and Pinkie arrived at Sugarcube Corner and were greeted by the sight of nearly a hundred separate boxes and pastries, half of which Emerald had never even seen before, littering the counter and tables of the shop, with Mrs. Cake quickly packing each pastry into a small box, and Mr. Cake tending to the foals.
The fact that none of the little pastries that Mrs. Cake was all but shoveling into those boxes got, in any way, messed up, spoke of just how skilled the mare was in her field. Emerald could admire that kind of professionalism.
"Oh! You're back!" Mrs. Cake exclaimed, before sighing in relief, "Oh thank goodness!"
"Is something wrong?" Emerald asked, taking a few steps forward, Mr. Cake stepped in front of him, and all but thrust the twins into his waiting hooves,
"There's been some sort of mix up in Canterlot!" he said, frantically returning to the kitchen,
"Mr. Fancy Pants was kind enough to reserve some seats for us on the train when he made the order," Mrs. Cake explained in her husband's absence, finishing up the packaging, and went to reach behind the counter, pulling out a bag and a piece of parchment, "But, apparently, somepony in Manehattan named Blueblood had been trying to reserve the entire train for himself and now we need to go far earlier than we were supposed too."
Emerald's expression soured for a moment at the mention of the prince's name,
"I see. I'm not surprised. Blueblood has always been a piece of shi-trash-" he hastily corrected himself at the look Mrs. Cake sent him, "trash, I said trash," he assured her, before clearing his throat, "Really though, Blueblood is a spoiled little brat. Honestly, Celestia should've just punted the little runt out the castle when he turned eighteen."
Emerald took a moment to imagine that very scenario.
Then he did it again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
....
And again.
Okay, that was enough for now.
He'd have to remember that for the Gala. Luna would just love the idea.
Mrs. Cake faltered for a moment, but ended up shaking it off,
"Well, here you go," she said, hoofing off the bag and parchment to Pinkie, "There's some diapers in there, some milk, and that list details everything you need to do and look out for," she said, prompting Pinkie to unroll the list.
It hit the ground, and proceeded to roll about five feet away from them.
That.... was a little excessive.
"Alright," he said, not bothering to voice the thought,
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" he nodded,
"Of course," Emerald said, just as Mr. Cake came walking out with a large trolley, a large wedding cake sitting atop it, before he began loading all the small boxes onto the lower portion, "You have nothing to worry about. They're in good hooves, I assure you."
"Oh, I know," Mrs. Cake said, "But I can't help but worry about my little gingersnaps," she muttered fondly, leaning forward to nuzzle the foals in his hooves, who giggled happily at the attention, "I'm sure you understand what it's like for a mother to leave her foals. As responsible as you are now, I know your mother must've been tearing her mane out whenever she left you alone," Mrs. Cake inferred.
Emerald smiled at her, although something about it must've been wrong, since she turned a sickly pale at the sight of it.
"I wouldn't know. I had two older siblings my mother attended to, and that was before my subsequent foalnapping," he said, in a far-too-sweet sounding voice, "So no, no I don't."
Mr. Cake wisely chose to interrupt the conversation, pushing the cart over to the group, having just finished filling the damn thing.
"Well, we'll be leaving now. Are you sure there's nothing you need?" Emerald nodded,
"I'm sure, Mr. Cake," he responded absently, moving out of their way. The Cakes shared an unsure look, but eventually they relented, and began heading down the street towards the station,
"Well, alright," Mr. Cake said, pausing a few feet away from the door, "We'll be back later tonight."
"There's some bits under the register if you need them!" Mrs. Cake called, "And remember-!" she was cut off by Emerald shutting the door, feeling just the slightest bit vindicated for her earlier comment, however unnecessary it might be.
"Okay!" Pinkie almost shouted, evidently excited, "Now it's playtime!" she called, setting the bag and list down, before bounding off, leaving Emerald, and the twins, behind. Emerald sighed, and glanced down at the foals in his hooves, and stiffened.
Pound and Pumpkin were both staring at the door their parents had just left through, looking confused. A moment passed, before the two of them started to sniffle, evidently already beginning to miss their mother and father.
He knew that feeling.
Emerald's face twisted into a grimace, but it passed away in an instant, replaced by a soft, but ultimately indifferent, expression,
"It's okay," he cooed, leaning down to gently nuzzle them, "Your parents are just out for a little while, but they'll be back, I promise," he added, gliding across the shop floor, taking the bag and list along with him. It was obvious that Pinkie wasn't going to be of much help, if her sudden abandonment of him meant anything.
He gently set the twins onto the counter, where they stared at him with wide, and slightly teary, eyes. He sighed slightly, and gently ran a hoof along their heads, causing them to coo happily, their previous sorrow dissipating at his ministrations.
With a flick of his wrist, he rolled out the list and began eyeing its contents. It wasn't so much a list, as it was an itinerary, listing out various times and activities for him and Pinkie to follow. The list, despite being as long as it was, only listed out activities for about six or so hours for them to follow, and, considering the trip to Canterlot was about two hours, plus one of they were traveling to Manehatten first, coupled with the average two to three hours that most weddings, he'd been to at least, lasted, then the Cakes would return home somewhere between eight to ten hours from now.
He nodded to himself, and eyed the first thing on the list.
Lunch.
He smirked and, swiping the twins up and onto his back, made his way into the kitchen, just as Pinkie came back downstairs,
"Hey, watcha doing?" she questioned him, even as he set the twins into their respective highchairs.
"I'm going to feed them," Emerald responded, figuring it would be enough. He dug through the fridge for a moment, before emerging with a pair of bowls with some orange much in them, likely prepared in advance, and set them before the twins.
"Oh! Can I help?" Pinkie asked excitedly, practically vibrating on the spot. Emerald blinked, a little surprised at her enthusiasm, but nodded,
"Sure. You can feed Pound while I feed Pumpkin, alright?"
"Okay!"
Emerald rummaged through the drawer for a moment, then returned with a pair of spoons, only to pause,
"C'mon Pound, eat up!" Pinkie encouraged the colt, miming digging her face into the bowl, '"It's super yummy!" Emerald blinked,
"Pinkie... what are you doing?" he couldn't help but ask. Pinkie turned to look at him, looking just as confused as he was,
"What do you mean? I'm trying to feed Pound!" she gushed, smiling. Emerald stared for a moment, before shaking his head. This was likely the reason that Mr. and Mrs. Cake were against asking Pinkie to babysit.
"I'm... assuming that you have absolutely no idea how to take care of a foal, is that right?" he asked. Pinkie shook her head,
"Of course I know how to take care of a foal!" she said, reaching out to bop him on the nose, "I play with Pound and Pumpkin all the time!"
"I know," he replied, frowning, "But there's a difference between 'playing with a foal' and 'taking care of a foal', you know?" Pinkie tilted her head,
"Really?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused. Emerald sighed, and took his place before Pumpkin, tossing the second spoon over to Pinkie,
"Just watch me."
Taking the spoon, he quickly scooped up a bit of the mush, and held it before Pumpkin. She sniffed it, before turning her head away,
"C'mon, Pumpkin," Emerald whispered, "Aren't you hungry?" he asked gently. He gently guided the spoon forward, aiming for her mouth, but she turned away once more. He hummed idly for a moment, before grabbing the nearby bottle and holding it out to her. Pumpkin's gaze locked onto the bottle, and she leaned forward, mouth wide open, presumably to sate her odd habit of chewing on everything, and Emerald took the opportunity to slip the mush into her mouth, while pulling the bottle away.
"There, it's not so bad, is it?" he asked, watching as Pumpkin had little choice but to chew. She eventually swallowed and, after a moment of hesitation, opened her mouth for more.
"Wow... how'd you do that?" Pinkie asked, before frowning, and looked at Pound, "I couldn't get them to eat that easily..." she muttered. Emerald sighed, but continued feeding Pumpkin,
"Playing and having fun with them is all well and good, but things change when they're your responsibility, Pinkie," Emerald explained, extending a wing to gently wrap around her, hoping it might comfort her, if just a little, "It's a part of being an adult, and right now an adult is what the twins need, not a playmate," he finished, then nodded at the bowl as well as the quickly growing hungry Pound, "Now, try feeding him properly this time."
Pinkie nodded and, sending furtive glances over at him, calmly scooped her own mush into the spoon, and held it out towards Pound. Pound, likely seeing his sister's reaction, ate without complaint, making little 'om nom' noises as he did so. He smiled, more towards the massive smile Pinkie started sporting than the obvious enjoyment Pound was experiencing.
The two of them finished feeding the foals after a few minutes, though not without some difficulties. Partway through eating, Pound had gotten a little too excited and started hitting his table, causing some of his mush to spill onto his coat, though he didn't seem to mind. Pumpkin had gotten a bit too attached to the spoon feeding her, and ended up falling face-first into her mush when Emerald pulled it away. Thankfully she seemed to find it funny, so she didn't end up crying at the mess.
Emerald sighed softly,
"Pinkie, could you draw a bath for them while I clean this up?" he asked. Pinkie saluted,
"Yes sir!" she exclaimed, before darting up the stairs, causing Emerald to sigh again. He regarded the messy foals with a critical eye, even as he grabbed a towel and ran it under some water,
"Something tells me I'm going to be looking after Pinkie just as much as I will you two," he concluded.
-----
Pinkie giggled to herself as she squirted some soap into the water, watching eagerly as the bubbles began piling up. The foals were gonna love this so much!
There were tons of bath games they could play! Like 'Marco Polo', 'Who-Can-Make-The-Biggest-Splash?', and waaaaay more!
She clasped her hooves over her mouth, doing her best to hold in her laughter. This was gonna be so much fun!
She froze abruptly, as Emerald's words suddenly came back to her.
Playing and having fun with them is all well and good, but things change when they're your responsibility, Pinkie.
Pinkie frowned. He was right, wasn't he? She thought that babysitting the twins just meant more playtime, but all they had done so far was feed them, and she totally messed that up! Mr. and Mrs. Cake made looking after them so easy, and all Pinkie really had to do was keep them happy, and she was really good at that! But... she never really had to do anything else. She didn't feed them, bathe them, change them... she just played with them.
Boy, being an adult is pretty boring, she mused, and Emerald makes it looks so easy, too...
Well... so what? If being an adult was this boring all the time, then it just meant that making ponies happy was the right thing to do! And that was something she never messed up!
The door opened up behind her, startling Pinkie so bad she nearly fell into the tub.
"Alright you two," Emerald intoned gently, "time for a bath." He glided over to the tub, which had mostly filled with water by then, and turned off the tap, before gently plunging the twins into the water, removing their diapers in the same motion.
Pinkie smiled fondly as the twins babbled to each other for a moment, before an idea popped into her head. Rushing over to the nearby cabinet, Pinkie pulled out a familiar rubber duck, and quickly tossed it over to the twins, hearing it land in the water with a small 'plop'.
The twins practically froze when the duck landed in the water, a moment that Pumpkin happily took advantage of, and quickly picked it up, and began chewing on it. She seemed particularly happy when she bit down, causing the duck to squeak.
"We don't chew on things, Pumpkin," Emerald admonished the filly, gently removing the duck, and set it back in the water. A moment of thought passed, and Emerald started patting the duck around, making it slosh around in the water. Pound laughed and started copying him, with Pumpkin following not too long after.
Unsurprisingly, Pound Cake was the one to discover the joys of splashing, giggling happily as he sent a small wave of water cascading onto his twin. Pinkie saddled up to the tub, watching them with a wide smile her face, while Emerald had leaned back, seemingly content to let them play for a while.
Of course, Pinkie couldn't just let them play all by their lonesome, now could she? Quickly gathering up some of the nearby bubbles into her hooves, and gave them a hard blow, sending the entire pile floating into the air. The twins stopped playing for a moment, gazing up at the shiny bubbles in the air with looks of awe on their little faces. Pinkie nearly 'squee'd.
They were just so adorable!
Unfortunately for her, the bubbles soon started falling down. Pumpkin started chasing after a few of them, trying her hardest to catch them in her mouth, while Pound was too busy trying to hit a few of the ones that came close to him, thankfully never hitting his sister in the process.
But it didn't last. Emerald finally returned to the tub, his presence announcing the end of playtime,
"Pinkie, hoof me the shampoo, would you?" he asked, Pinkie nodded, and, after a quick trip over to the counter, hoofed him the bottle. Squirting a sizable dollop in his waiting hoof, he passed the bottle back to Pinkie, confusing her for a moment,
"Uh...?"
"You still want to help, right?" he asked, already lathering up Pound's mane, turning it a soapy white. Pinkie blinked, before she understood,
"Yeah!"
She smiled and turned back to Pumpkin, and started squirting some of the shampoo into the filly's mane. Once she'd squeezed out about a hoofful of the stuff, she tossed the bottle aside, and quickly started scrubbing the soap into Pumpkin's mane.
The filly giggled at the sensation of Pinkie's hooves in her hair, which only resulted in Pinkie laughing along with her.
"Hey, this isn't so hard!" Pinkie announced, scrubbing a little harder. Unfortunately, her renewed vigor causing some of the soap to fall past Pumpkin's mane, and into the filly's eye.
Pinkie was forced to stop abruptly as Pumpkin suddenly burst into tears,
"WAAHHH!"
Pinkie's heart clenched,
"Oh no, oh no, oh no what'd I do?!" she panicked, "It's okay, Pumpkin! It's okay! Um, um, uh-!" she looked around frantically, trying to find something to calm her down.
While Pinkie was busy searching for some sort of saving grace, Emerald grabbed a nearby towel, and gently started scrubbing the soap away from Pumpkin's eye,
"It's alright," he cooed softly, gently rubbing the irritant away, "There's no need to cry."
Pumpkin's cries died down after a minute, with Pound looking at his sister worriedly, displaying a surprising amount of situational awareness for a week-old foal.
Pinkie turned back around when Pumpkin's cries died down, staring at Emerald with no small amount of wonder.
"Wow..." she breathed. She frowned to herself, but shook her head after a moment.
With the crisis averted, Emerald took the time to finally rinse their manes, gently scooping water into his hooves and letting it fall over their little heads. He made sure to avoid causing anymore soap-related accidents, and Pinkie had joined back in once it was clear everything was fine.
He pulled the plug and let the water drain away, setting a towel on the ground for him to place the twins on as he did so. With a gentle scoop, he plucked the two of them from the water and set them down on the towel.
Before he could do much else, however, there was a loud knocking from downstairs. Frowning, he turned to Pinkie,
"Dry them off and take them to their room to play, alright?" he asked, pushing a towel into Pinkie's surprised hooves, "I'll be back in a minute."
Pinkie blinked after the retreating stallion, before something tugged on the towel she was holding. She looked down, and sighed,
"Towels aren't food, Pumpkin!"
-----
He shut the door behind him and, when it was clear that Pinkie wasn't following, let out a deep, shuddering breath.
It hurt.
Watching over them, caring for them... Seeing how happy they were to have that, hurt. It tore at him from the inside out, it felt like something was ripping at him from within, screaming and raging to simply wipe the smiles from their faces, for how dare they mock him!
He growled, but forced himself to let out a deep breath. It was getting worse. At this rate, he might have to let Pinkie take charge. The knocking from downstairs sounded again, reminding him of what he was supposed to be doing.
Emerald quickly glided down the stairs to the bakery door, and swung open the top half. He peered out the door for a moment, before looking down, finding a very stiff looking hatchling staring up at him.
"Spike," he noted, "What is it?"
"U-uh, well, I, uh..." he stammered, "A quill!" he suddenly exclaimed, looking relieved, "I need a quill."
"What for?" Emerald asked. It was an obvious question, there were only so many uses for a quill after all, but if he really needed a quill, then why was he at Sugarcube Corner? Emerald was pretty sure that there was a store called Quills and Sofas, and there was no way they were out of quills. They only sold two things.
"Uh, well, Twilight ran out, the store was as well and-!"
"No," Emerald cut him off, "This is a bakery, Spike, we don't have any quills lying around." Spike deflated,
"Oh," he muttered, already taking a few steps back, "uh, okay! Uh, see ya!" he called, before sprinting away. Emerald frowned at the drake's retreating back.
Sparky wasn't kidding. He definitely seems scared of Emerald.
Emerald shook his head once more. He'd already decided not to help, so was there any point in thinking about it further?
Closing the door behind him, he made his way back upstairs, taking a small detour to check the bathroom, finding it empty, before heading to the twin's room.
He quickly slipped inside, letting a small smirk work its way onto his face at the sight of the twins playing with some blocks. Though, given how Pumpkin was just watching as Pound repeatedly knocked a few blocks together, he wasn't sure if 'playing' was the right word for it.
Entertaining, might be better.
He migrated over to Pinkie, who was watching the two of them play with a serene smile on her face,
"I would've expected you to be playing with the twins, not watching them," he remarked, causing Pinkie to jump.
"Oh!" she yelped, but relaxed and sent him a surprisingly tired grin, "I was, for a little bit, but..." she sighed, and glanced back at them, "I kept getting distracted since Pumpkin kept chewing on everything, and Pound kept hitting things, and..." she let out a world weary sigh, drooping down low, "I don't know how the Cakes do it all day," she muttered, "taking care of a pair of foals is hard." Emerald chuckled,
"Welcome to adulthood," he snarked, "it's a real pain in the rear."
He and Pinkie shared a small chuckle, before a... peculiar scent hit their noses. Simultaneously, they both pinched their noses shut, and turned to the twins, who seemed completely oblivious to everything around them.
"Smells like someone needs a diaper change," Emerald muttered,
"Or two," Pinkie agreed.
They spared each other a grimace, before each grabbed a diaper from the bag Mrs. Cake had given them.
The twins remained unaware of their encroaching presence, far too focused on the pile of innocuous blocks to pay them any attention. As such, it was no surprise that the two of them let out startled yells when Emerald and Pinkie snatched them from their playtime, though they didn't protest once they recognized the two of them.
Setting down Pound on the nearby dresser, Emerald frowned. He... didn't really know how to change a diaper. He'd seen Mr. Cake do it enough times that he was sure he'd manage, but... he didn't exactly have any practice doing it. He quickly rooted through his memories, trying to find any sort of instance where he watched someone, aside from the aforementioned Mr. Cake, change a diaper.
Nothing. A few minor stories he'd heard in passing, but nothing practical.
Figures.
Still, it wasn't a complicated process, as evident by how easily both he and Pinkie changed the twins moments later. Thankfully the two of them put up little fuss, and soon where placed back with their blocks, which they returned to immediately.
He not-quite-slammed the lid shut on the bin of diapers, ignoring the vehement disgust coursing through him, before promptly blocking the experience, hoping it would go away one day.
He fished out the itinerary from the bag, gave it a quick once over, and checked the clock.
Four hours of work, perfectly on schedule.
It didn't even feel like four hours.
He sighed, and replaced the list. Another four or so hours of foalsitting awaited him. He felt something tug on his tail, and a quick glance revealed Pumpkin, pacifier missing, happily 'nomming' on his tail.
He smiled, ignoring the twinge in his chest, and gently pulled it away,
"We don't chew on someone's tail, Pumpkin," he admonished gently, carrying her back over to her brother. He set her back down, and backed away, letting her resume her playtime. He nodded to himself. According to the itinerary, it was nearing their bedtime, anyways, so it was best to let them tire themselves out.
It might be a little early, the snow hadn't even started falling yet, but they were still very young. So, they needed more sleep.
He frowned suddenly, and looked around. The room was clean, most of the toys were carefully put away, and the twins were in sight. But there was something distinctly missing.
Pinkie.
He scanned the room once more, before his ears began twitching. His expression softened, but quickly turned to curiosity when he realized that she wasn't doing anything. If that was the case, then, why had she migrated to her room?
He shook his head. It wasn't his business what Pinkie decided to do with her time. She had probably decided that Emerald had things well in hoof, and had simply gone to take a quick rest.
He frowned, and made a decision.
"C'mon you two," he cooed as he made his way over to the twins, "it's time for bed."
"Pinkie?" he called, knocking on her door with an ear flat against it.
"Come in."
He frowned at the despondent reply, but set it aside for the moment. He slipped into Pinkie's room, closing the door softly behind him. Pinkie was laying on her bed, facing the door with a sad look on her face.
"What's wrong?" he asked immediately, hiding a frown. Had something happened?
"Hmm... nothing," she mumbled, turning until her back faced him. Emerald let his frown show,
"Well, that's obviously not true," he replied, walking towards her, "What happened?" He came to a stop by her bed, just as she rose to face him,
"You're...." she trailed off, mumbling something he didn't catch, he frowned,
"I'm... what?"
"You're more.... responsi..." His frowned deepened.
What Pinkie trying to say what he thought she was trying to say? No... there was no way...
"Again?"
"You're more responsible, okay?!" she snapped, before looking away with gritted teeth, "I'm just... not.. as good as you are with foals, alright?" she breathed. She adjusted her position, now sitting straight up with her hooves curled around,
"Pinkie, where is this coming from?" he asked. Responsibility never seemed to matter to her before, so why was she... "It's because you've never needed to be responsible before, isn't it?" She flinched at the question, but didn't deny it.
Emerald sighed and ran a hoof through his mane. Now, how was he to fix this? Slowly, an idea began forming in his head. It... wasn't the best idea, and, quite frankly, it could backfire in more ways than one, but what else was he to do?
"If being responsible is what you want," he began slowly, choosing his words carefully, "then... why don't you look after them for the rest of the night?" he asked. Pinkie blinked in shock, and looked at him,
"What?" she asked, staring at him as though he'd grown a second head. His ear twitched slightly.
It was a shaky idea. Having Pinkie look after the twins for the rest of the night could very well turn out badly, but, as it was he just didn't know if he could manage it as he was. It would allow Pinkie a chance to be responsible on her own as well as keep himself away from the foals. Besides, he'd just finished putting them to bed, so, what could possibly go wrong?
Faust he hoped he didn't jinx it.
"I'm... I've been getting some really bad headaches all day, and I'm worried that the twins might catch whatever it is that I have," he lied smoothly, "so, in return for keeping the twins healthy, you get a chance to learn for yourself how responsible you are, or can be," he offered. Pinkie stared at him, blinking owlishly once more. Suddenly springing into motion, she fumbled off of the bed and all-but-tackled him, wrapping her hooves around him in a hug.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she chirped repeatedly, her sad demeanor fading away like smoke in the wind. Emerald grunted as she applied a little too much pressure around his neck, but, mercifully, she let go moments later. She stared him the eye, a determined gaze overtaking her usually excited one,
"I won't let you down!" she proclaimed, nodding firmly, a wide grin fastened to her face. Emerald nodded, and returned the smile,
"I know."
Emerald sighed, weaving through the throng of ponies that pervaded the marketplace.
Was this really okay for him to do? It's not like he was unable to work through the issues, both his and Pinkie's, and take care of the twins at the same time. It would just be... annoying, is all.
He glanced up at the cloudy sky, taking notice of the dozen or so pegasi flying around. It seemed they were finally preparing the light snowstorm. He frowned, that was going to make his patrol a lot more annoying to complete.
His frowned deepened. It also meant that Sparky probably wouldn't be able to train with him for a while.
Shame.
The thought of Sparky lingered in his mind for a moment.
How was she doing? Spike's blatant resentment of Owloysius was probably causing her a few problems by now. Maybe he should check on her?
Nodding to himself, Emerald pushed his way through the crowd, his sights set on the familiar oak tree near the center of town. Successfully slipping onto the front step, he gave the door a quick knock, and, after a moment of silence, pushed his way inside.
He was greeted with the sight of Sparky standing at a desk, with a stack of books next to it, piled high enough to reach just a bit beyond Sparky's horn. The sound of a scratching quill, coupled with the open book next to her, proved that she was paying little attention to her surroundings, evidenced by the fact she hadn't so much as twitched when he cleared his throat.
He rolled his eyes, and glanced around. The hatchling was laying on the bottom step of the stairs, back first and snoring away, a sight that elicited a frown from the thestral. Owloysius was perched on a branch that jutted out of the wall above Sparky's desk, staring at him with his brown eyes.
"Hoo," the owl greeted. Emerald chuckled, and nodded in return, before glancing back at Sparky.
She was completely enraptured by her work, staring down at the paper almost unblinkingly. Her tongue was poking out from her lips, and her eyes were furrowed just the slightest, showing visible proof of the level of concentration she was putting into it. He glanced at the paper, finding it filled with various diagrams and small paragraphs, all of which seemed to relate to comets and their chemical make-up, likely inspired by the meteor shower the other night.
It looked remarkably like a school assignment, taking a second look at it.
Did Celestia ask her to write it? Or was it for herself?
"Sparky?" he called, smirking when the mare yelped, sending the book in her magic rocketing into the air, Owloysius taking off and catching it with little difficulty,
"Emerald!" Sparky snapped, turning to face him, accidentally brushing her nose up against his due to their close proximity. She faltered for an instant, before it faded as Emerald darted back a few steps, his own face turning red. He chuckled, slightly nervously,
"I see your new friend is putting in work," he noted, glancing at the little owl, the book in its claws looking over-sized in comparison. Sparky followed his gaze after a moment, then smiled,
"Yeah, he's been quite the little helper!" she gushed, turning back to him, and frowned, "Though... Spike was a bit strange today," she admitted. Emerald's brow rose,
"Oh, really?" he asked sarcastically, sending a half-smirk towards the bird, "I wonder why." Sparky pouted,
"Do you still think Spike is jealous of Owloysius?" she asked, sounding incredulous. Emerald chuckled,
"And you still haven't noticed?" he asked in return, smirking, before it fell, replaced by curiosity, "Speaking of the hatchling, what were you having him do that involved running around town looking for a quill?" Sparky sighed, but smiled softly,
"Oh, my last writing quill broke earlier, and Spike went out looking for one," she said, then glanced at Owloysius with a smile, "Thankfully, Owloysius was nice enough to give me one of his feathers to use instead," she paused for a moment, holding up a gray and brown quill for him to see, "but Spike left before I could let him know," she looked at Spike, "in fact, he only just got back a little bit ago, before falling asleep right there," she finished, giggling softly.
Emerald scowled slightly, but brushed it aside. He was still just a hatchling, so he probably couldn't help it.
Although, looking at the hatchling, as well as the bookshelf behind him, caused a small spark in his memory, and he turned to Sparky,
"By the way," he began, catching her attention, "did you ever find out what happened to that astronomy book of yours?"
Sparky blinked, then her eyes widened,
"No, no I didn't," she said, already walking over to the other door, "I'm surprised that it never occurred to me to check," she muttered to herself. Emerald glanced at Owloysius, before he followed after the mare, with the bird landing on his back in the process.
Sparky continued to mutter to herself after reaching the other room,
"Okay, if I remember right, the registry should be over here..." she murmured, her magic going to work rooting through a nearby drawer. Emerald, however, walked over to the shelves,
"What was the book called again?" he asked, feeling curious, his eyes scanning the shelves,
"The Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy," came the half-hearted response. Owloysius suddenly took off from his back, surprising the thestral. Emerald grew even more surprised as the owl navigated the shelves with all the familiarity of Sparky herself, grabbing the spine of a seemingly random book, before he made his way back down to Emerald, depositing the book at his hooves, then once more settled onto his back.
The book was dark blue, with a set of glimmering golden text on the front, reading The Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy.
He glanced back at Owloysius, then chuckled,
"Hehe, oh yeah, you're definitely the perfect pet for Sparky," he laughed, then called, "Hey, Sparky! Your little pet found the book."
Sparky perked up,
"Really?" she asked, walking over to them, her horn lighting up as the book rose into the air, "That's strange, why would Spi-?" she abruptly cut herself off as she opened the book, turning a very strange shade of white.
"Spar-?"
"SPIKE!" Sparky suddenly roared, turning right around and stomping into the main room. Emerald blinked in surprise at the sudden outburst, and immediately followed after her.
He walked into the other room just in time to watch Sparky drop the book in front of the sleeping hatchling, which woke him instantly,
"Huh? Wha-?" he groggily began, but stopped when he saw the book.
The inside of the cover was stained black by ash, and the pages were all burned away, leaving behind the very edges of the paper, a very visible sign of fire damage.
Emerald winced in sympathy for the drake. He'd burned quite a lot of things by mistake during his time in S.M.I.L.E, though, it never garnered a reaction quite like Sparky's.
"You said this book was missing," she hissed quietly, her anger nearly palpable, "but Emerald and Owloysius just found it, exactly where it was supposed to be and like this," she stressed the word almost venomously, "What. Happened?"
Spike swallowed nervously,
"W-well, you see-I, uh-" he twisted his tail in his claws, "Well, I didn't want to disappoint you, and, uh-Haveyoueverseenadragonsneeze?"
"No," Sparky almost whispered, eyes narrowing dangerously, "but I have seen a dragon lie. I'm very disappointed in you, Spike," she concluded evenly, turning away and heading back over to her desk. Owloysius followed his master's example, and flew back over to his perch beside her desk.
Emerald frowned, and glanced between Sparky and Spike.
Should he... should he leave? This was obviously something the two of them needed to work out, and having a third party standing about would likely prove detrimental to it all. Whatever previous enjoyment he'd had of the hatchling's situation earlier had faded now that he knew exactly what the cause of it was.
He came to a decision.
"I'll see you at the course later, Sparky," he said, and headed for the door without waiting for a reply.
Once he put the door between him and Sparky, Emerald let out a sigh.
So much for that, he thought bitterly. He started walking.
What was he to do now? It was getting really late, but his patrol wasn't too start for another few hours, leaving him with nothing to do to pass the time.
He sighed, pausing in the middle of the emptied street. A brush of cool air washed over him, accompanied by the faintest sensation of something touching him. Glancing up, he spotted a small white flake floating in front of him, with many more falling softly above it.
Great, now it's snowing, he thought.
He gave another, bitter, sigh, but didn't move any further. The cold didn't bother him, couldn't bother him, in fact.
But the loneliness, did.
He growled suddenly, his body coming alight with internal flames, causing a noticeable puff of steam to erupt from him. He cut the fire off abruptly, letting the cold wash over him once again.
He started walking forward again, paying no mind to the silence surrounding him.
Why was this bothering him? Being alone, that is. He'd been going it alone for the longest time, even here in this town. Every night in this town, in fact, but only now did it start to bother him.
There was a reason for it, there had to be. He assumed that it had something to do with Sparky and her friends, possibly even the knowledge of having family so close by might be contributing to it.
The wind picked up, a flurry of snowflakes rushing alongside it.
A sudden, loud cry tore through the silence, followed by the peal of laughter. He stiffened for a moment, before tracking the sound to its source.
Sugarcube Corner.
Sounds like Pinkie and the twins are having fun, he mused.
His heart suddenly wrenched at the thought of those twins. Their soft smiles, their bright laughter, their adoring eyes as they stared at their mo-
His head twitched violently as he quashed the thought.
The wind became a gale.
He ignored the wild whipping of his mane as he tore his gaze away from the bakery. Despite this, the thoughts stayed.
It must be nice to have a mother.
"What even makes a mother, anyways?" he growled to himself, his words almost drowned out by the fierce wind.
The question revolved around in his head for a moment. What did make a mother?
Blood? Choice? Chance? Fate?
He paused, beginning to seriously ponder the question he'd mistakenly thrust upon himself.
Blood didn't make family. He knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt, thus, that couldn't be the answer.
Choice couldn't be a factor. No one could truly choose their family, much less their mother, right?
Chance? With how shitty his luck often turned out to be, could chance even be a factor in this?
Fate? Did it even exist?
What was it then? There had to be something! What was it that made his family, his own?
Was it their experiences together?
Was it a desire for companionship?
No. It couldn't be any of that. There was only one thing it could really be...
Love.
It could only be Love.
That was it, then. If love bound his family together, then was it a Mother's Love that made a mother, a mother?
Had he ever felt such a thing? His mind wrapped around itself, hunting for the feeling.
Blurry images of purple and gray filtered through his mind, before bursting into a messy haze.
He didn't know if his mother had ever felt that Love for him. He had a brother and sister who were both older than him. And he'd been such a weak child. No, there was no way his mot-... no way that mare had felt a Mother's Love for him, so, by that logic, she wasn't his mother, right?
Right?
He didn't know.
What even comprised a Mother's Love?
...
A mother was someone who took care of their child, who taught them, who helped them grow, and who raised them... yes?
Was that a Mother's Love?
He chuckled to himself. It was a hollow sound, one that not even the wicked cold pervading him could fill.
Someone who took care of him, who taught him, who helped him grow, someone who raised him.
Funny, that sounded a lot like Celestia.
But... but that couldn't be right, right? Celestia wasn't his mother, couldn't be his mother, even. She hadn't.... she had never shown him those things, had she?
Someone who took care of their child.
A fuzzy memory of time long ago. A broken and scarred individual lay on the bed. A pair of empty blue eyes opened, revealing a world of pain and fear hidden beneath. Grunting slightly, the youth rolled onto his stomach, fear replaced by curiosity once he realized that his surroundings were different.
Was this death, he wondered. It certainly seemed like it.
A nearby door suddenly opened, revealing a strangely familiar sight.
A large white pony, who bore both wings and horn, walked into the room. Her multi-colour mane waved in an intangible wind, purple, green, blue, and pink perfectly aligned with each other, never overflowing, never fading.
"Oh!" the pony gasped, the voice revealing it as female, "My my, I didn't think you be awake so soon," she admitted. Her voice was soft and smooth. It reminded him a little of something, but he wasn't sure what.
"H-hel-lo?" he answered in broken Equish, not helped at all by the scratchiness of his throat. It felt like someone had lined it with sandpaper, before proceeding to light it on fire.
A strange twinkling sound filled the air, the source proving to be a strange... floating cup, covered in a golden light. He blinked at it owlishly,
"Drink," the pony said, giving him a soft smile that sent his body alight. He noticed her horn was glowing as well.
It was a lot like what Trixie had done. Magic, he remembered her calling it.
Deciding to listen to the strange white pony, he took the water, and drank it.
It felt like life suddenly flowed back into him. As though every pain and ache he'd felt over the past few white-rain-times, Winter, he reminded himself, had simply faded away. Was the water magic too? A soft... sound broke him from his thoughts. He glanced over at the white pony, confused.
"What that?" he tried asking. It was an odd sound. Like rapid breathing, followed by a sort of high pitched yell, though it was extremely short, and it certainly didn't look like the pony was hurt or in danger. She blinked her bright purple eyes,
"What's what?" she asked, sounding as confused as he, before she perked up, "You mean... my laughter?" she asked, making that... sound again.
"La... lafta?" he tried. The pony stared at him for a moment, then began walking towards him, until she ended up right by the bed he was laying on.
She was really tall. Almost as tall as Iron Will was. But not as bulky.
"You... don't know?" she asked once again. Suddenly fearing for his safety, he gave her a shake of his head, trying his best to hide the way his body started to shake.
His eyes darted away, hunting, searching for a way out. There was a strange hole in the wall, which looked big enough for him to jump out of. Though, the pony was much bigger than him, but as long as he had his pipe he should be-
Where was his pipe?
He stiffened in fear upon realizing that he didn't have his weapon. But he forced the fear away. He... he still had his fire, and his fangs. If it came to it, he'd have to aim for the big pony's throat. It shouldn't be too hard, he'd had a lot of practice on those scientists after all.
"I... I see," the pony said, sounding... sad? Why was the big pony sad? Shouldn't she be angry that he didn't know something? Where was the whip, or-or the n-ne-need-the super painful pointy things?
The pony seemed to notice his confusion, and actually backed away from him, as if she'd been burned. Had she? Did he breathe fire on her by mistake? Oh no! If he did that, then she'd cut off his wings for sure!
"S-so... rry..." he said, hoping it had come out right.
"Sorry?" the pony asked, then her eyes widened, and she rapidly shook her head, "Oh no! No, no! There's nothing to be sorry about!" she said, sounding... afraid?
He tilted his head, confused. The big pony sighed,
"You've... something bad..." she kept trailing off after speaking, like she didn't know what to say, "... I am the one who should be sorry," she finally said. The youth rapidly blinked his eyes, only growing more confused. Why was the big pony sorry?
"I should have taken a more active role in observing **** ****'s operations. If... if I had only paid a little more attention then none of you would've been there," the big pony said sadly, but noticing the way he shivered at that name only seemed to make her sadder, "It was my fault that you all ended up in that... horrible facility. But... don't worry, **** **** is being punished to the highest extent possible. He's heading straight to Tartarus. Death would be a mercy," she said darkly.
He didn't quite understand what she was saying, but he agreed. He deserved the worst possible fate for what He'd done to his family.
But... wait. That... that meant they were free. Free! They were free! They'd done it! They were away from that monster! The youth regained some of his vigor, but it vanished immediately.
So.... what now? He... he did it. He'd freed them, just like he promised. They'd get to see all the rainbows they'd ever want too, but... now what? If they were really free, if he'd really done everything he'd ever promised to do, what was there left?
He... he was done. He did it. There was nothing left.
A sense of emptiness welled up within him. Nothing. He was nothing now.
A soft white hoof on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts, and he looked up into the big pony's eyes,
"What's your name?" she asked. He blinked,
"Em.... Emerald," he said. She smiled,
"Well then, there's no need to worry, Emerald. I'll take care of you from now on."
No... no, that... that wasn't...
Someone who taught him.
"Once.... upon... a dime...?"
"Time, Emerald, a 'T' makes a 'tuh' sound. You're thinking of 'D'," his teacher gently admonished him.
Emerald winced slightly at the screw up. He knew his new teacher wouldn't hurt him for it, but it was hard to change 10 years of ingrained expectation in him. It certainly didn't help that the room they were in, the pony called it her 'private study', had a large fireplace with big pointy metal sticks next to it. Celestia, the big white pony from their first meeting, traced a hoof alongside his, helping him along the sentence,
"In... the maj-magical land of... Eck-Ek-Equestria" he continued, correcting himself, "There were... two re... regal sistah-sisters..." he trailed off at the next word, "Wh-whao... Wh-um...?"
"'Who'," his teacher supplied, "Like an owl," she added. Emerald nodded, and, licking his lips, continued,
"Ho-Who ruled toged-ther and... kurated?"
"Created."
"Created harmonie. Ny. In the land. D-To do this, the elduh-der used her uny-"
"You-knee, Emerald. The 'U' makes a 'you' sound like this," Celestia explained. Emerald was silent for a moment,
"... Equish is hard," he finally responded, causing the big pony to laugh. She held up a hoof to her muzzle, trying to stifle her giggling,
"Y-yes, Emerald, Equish is a very hard language to understand," she agreed, and sent him a fond smile, "but you're doing wonderfully, especially since it's only been a few months," she said. Emerald frowned a little.
He was doing... wonderfully? He didn't know what that meant. He'd have to look it up in the thesaurus Celestia gave him later.
Pushing that thought aside for the moment, Emerald returned his gaze to the story in front of him, particularly, towards the image of the white pony standing before the sun.
"... That looks kinda like you, Celestia," he said, pointing at the picture. Celestia nodded, smiling,
"That's because it is me, Emerald," she said. Emerald's gaze turned to the dark blue pony,
"Does that mean you have a sister?" he asked innocently, "Can I meet her?"
Celestia's smile fell abruptly, but she quickly brought it back, though even Emerald wasn't fooled,
"Y... yes. I do have a sister, Emerald," she began slowly, "but... there was a problem a long time ago. I haven't seen her since," she said, then, after sparing a glance at the blue pony's image, her smile turned a little more genuine, "But I'm sure the two of you would've been great friends if you had met back then,"
"Really?" he asked, wide-eyed. Celestia nodded, her smile back in full force,
"I know it. Maybe it would've saved her, too,"
Saved her? Emerald blinked at that. Had something bad happened to her?
He went to ask, but... a little feeling within him told him to pretend he hadn't heard her. Considering the last time he'd had a feeling like that, he'd broken out of his cell, he was more than willing to listen to it.
"I think that's enough reading for today," Celestia said, "It's been a few hours since we started," she added, and her horn suddenly glowed, before a small stack of blank paper, a pencil, and a paper filled with letters appeared before him, "I need to speak with my student, Twilight, about her recent paper. Until I get back, why don't you practice your writing?" she suggested.
O-okay, but... but that didn't mean anything! She was just-just helping him is all!
Someone who helped him grow.
A flash of steel tore through the neck of a wooden dummy, sending it falling to the ground with a lame *THUD*.
Emerald sighed, and gave the sword another practice swing.
"Hmm... too short," he muttered to himself.
"Out practicing again, Emerald?" a warm voice asked him from behind. The teenager, startled slightly, whirled around to face the newcomer, and sighed when he saw her,
"Princess Celestia," he greeted, then frowned, "Isn't Day Court still in session?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion. The princess smiled at him,
"Yes, but I've decided to take a small recess to stretch my legs," she said, walking over to him, "I fear sitting in that throne all day will leave me stuck to it, someday," she added, smiling. Emerald tilted his head,
"I don't think that's possible," he said, "Someone would have to cast a sticking spell to keep you stuck to anything," he began, "although I suppose if it was hot enough-" a white hoof covering his mouth cut him off. He looked up at the princess, who was giving him an amused look,
"I was merely joking, Emerald," she clarified, "I don't actually think I'll stick to the throne one day." Emerald blinked as she removed her hoof,
"Oh," was his response, followed by a frown, "I still don't understand this... joking thing you ponies do."
He turned back to his training dummy just in time to miss the worry flashing across the princess' face.
"... How have you been lately, Emerald?" the princess suddenly asked, using her magic to lift the severed dummy head back onto its owner, "I understand that you've been... restless since S.M.I.L.E was dissolved," she added, casting a spell to reattach the dummy's head. A rumble escaped Emerald's throat,
"I've... been looking for work in the city," he admitted, a sneer crossing his face, "but nothing I try... fits, if that makes sense." The princess nodded,
"I understand. It must be difficult trying to adjust to a new lifestyle so suddenly," she said somberly, "I was much the same when I became Equestria's princess," she admitted.
"It's not just the lifestyle," he muttered, swinging his blade, watching in only mild satisfaction as it sunk into the wood, nearly splitting the newly repaired head in half, he let go of the handle, letting the sword hang there, "Everything feels.... different."
"I see," the princess began, before gently returning to his side, "Often times when there is a large change in our lives, we find ourselves struggling to reconnect with what we know," she gently expanded a wing, wrapping him into a half hug, "You've been through more than most, Emerald. I believe you're simply struggling to come to terms with the fact that something you'd grown used to is gone. Much like when we first met. You've.... 'lost your purpose', as you so eloquently put it," she reminded him. He scoffed,
"Is that all?" he asked sarcastically, removing himself from her embrace, taking the moment to move over to a nearby weapons rack, hefting an axe off of its hanger, "Unlike back then, I know more now. I can actually do something about it, but I don't know what," he added bitterly, returning to the princess' side. He didn't quite notice that his dummy was, once more, fully repaired, with the leftover blade nowhere in sight.
"You're only nineteen, Emerald," the princess reminded him with a smile, "You're not supposed to."
He growled, and, with a mighty swing, cleaved the dummy in two from head to tail.
"Too heavy..." he muttered and turned away, ignoring the wide-eyed look the princess gave him,
"That was... impressive," she said, leaving out the 'and terrifying' part she was thinking, "I haven't seen a... feat like that in quite some time," she said, having caught herself from nearly saying 'pony',
"Maybe a bow?" Emerald muttered to himself, no longer paying much attention to the princess. She sighed softly, watching the misguided thestral rummage through the weapon's rack,
"Try a spear," she said suddenly, causing him to freeze, "If an axe is too heavy, and a sword too short, then a spear should be a good medium," she added. He pondered her words for a moment, before grabbing one of the spears on display, and returning to his dummy, which the princess had just finished fixing once more.
He held the spear out parallel to himself, before lashing out at the dummy with three quick strikes.
A moment passed, before its head, legs, and body split apart.
Both Emerald and the princess blinked in surprise, before the former chuckled.
"Yeah. That works," he muttered, spinning the spear in hoof. The princess eyed him for a moment, sparing a glance towards the butchered dummy every few seconds.
"Emerald," she began, catching his attention, "how would you like to join the Guard?"
... Okay, okay... She-she had done a lot for him. More than anyone else ever had.
But-but that didn't make her his mother! It's not like she... it's not like she...
Someone who raised him.
"I'm proud of you, Emerald," Celestia said, her smile as bright as the sun she rose. She gazed down at the slightly embarrassed 20-year-old, "Only a year has passed since you joined, and you've made Champion already. The youngest one yet, you know?" Emerald chuckled,
"Well, I suppose I can say I had a good teacher," he returned, smirking up at the princess. Celestia laughed,
"I would hope so!"
The two of them walked on, passing through the lavender scented halls of Canterlot Castle. Emerald slowed for a moment, and inspected his new badges,
"... To think, four years ago I wasn't even sure I'd be free, and now look at me," he muttered, "Champion of Equestria," Celestia nodded,
"It's certainly an achievement," she noted, a serene smile overtaking her features, before it hardened into a frown, "But your life isn't going to be easy, you know?" she asked. Emerald scoffed,
"Was it ever easy?"
"I mean it, Emerald," she repeated firmly, stopping to face him with a serious look in her eye, "You're one of the most powerful individuals in Equestria. Nobles are going to do everything in their power to get you to side with them, you need to be prepared for that." Emerald frowned,
"Only if they know me," his gaze hardened, "I... I don't need everyone knowing who I am, Celestia."
"Emerald?" He shook his head,
"I work for you, and you alone, Celestia. You're the only one who needs to know me," he argued, "As Champion, my duty is to you."
Celestia stared at him, uncomprehending.
Was this still that same scared colt from four years ago?
Her mouth twisted itself into a frown, but she nodded regardless.
"Alright," she said, placing a gentle hoof on his head, "alright. If that's what you want, then I see no reason to argue otherwise," her lips formed into a wry grin, "You've grown so much since we met, but you're still as stubborn as ever." Emerald smirked, his eyes dancing with an internal flame,
"I get it from you, you know?"
She was... she was...
She was his mother?
No... no, no, nonononononono!!!
That couldn't be true, it couldn't be!
She was the princess, not his damned mother! He knew that, hedidhedidhedid! Celestia wasn't his mother she was-
-thereforhim-
-she was-
-byhisside-
-she... she...was-
His Mother.
No.... no! Not true! Nottruenottruenottrueatall!
His head began to hurt.
He clutched his head between his hooves, a-poundingroaringburning-ache manifesting in his skull! It raged and ripped at his mind, tearing away everything he knew and believed!
She wasn't his Mother!
His legs grew weak.
He fell to the ground, still clutching his skull, even as he began convulsing wildly, his body no longer under his control.
She wasn't his Mother!
The world began to spin.
His mouth tore open in a silent scream, his eyes staring blankly up at the cloudy sky, the snow fluttering around the seemingly possessed stallion.
Was she his Mother?
His mind grew blank.
His wings flashed open, beating listlessly against the snow covered ground, as if the stallion was trying to escape from something.
Mother?
His heart threatened to burst.
No one was around to see the writhing of the broken thestral, leaving him alone as he'd always been.
... She was his Mother.
Everything slowed to a crawl-
He froze all movement, now still as a statue. All at once, his body fell limp, and his eyes began to close.
She had to be.
-as the world went black.